College Prep: By The Numbers

Here are some interesting, as well as startling statistics for your consideration …
h/t Alex Campbell, Title: Unprepared for College
Graphic: http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2013/01/17/unprepared-for-college/

*CRASH**BANG**POW* Original BatMobile Sells For $4.2Million

Was watching last night’s broadcast of the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car auction on Speed channel.  Saturday night of the nearly week long event is known as “Super Saturday,” as that is the night when the truly remarkable collector cars cross the auction block.

In the fifteen years I have been watching this auction, I have seen some amazing automobiles cross the stage, cars, boats, buses and trucks, but never have I seen a spectacle like the BatMobile auction.  They had difficulty getting it on stage, as the throng of people hovering around it was massive.

This was the original, created by hot rod customizer legend George Barris in only a few weeks back in 1966 and this model has remained in his possession all this time. Created from a concept car by Lincoln, called the Futura, this car is more than iconic, it became the star of the campy television show with Adam West.

The gentleman that had the winning bid claims he will knock out a wall and park the BatMobile in his living room.

Congratulations to the entertaining George Barris for tying the record sale with the James Bond DB9 from a few years ago.  George is a one of a kind character and he got so excited speaking to the audience that his dentures nearly popped out a few times.

One aspect of this auction that my brother and I always look for is how strong the money is for the cars in this auction and how it is an indicator for the economy.  I am happy to report that the crowds were HUGE every day and night, enthusiasm was high and the money was exceptionally strong.

I would also like to mention that President W’s F-150 pickup truck, which he drove on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, was auctioned off for the Fisher House charity for $300,000 by Jay Leno.

If you didn’t see it, here is a fan posted video that doesn’t really do the event justice, but until a better video from the broadcast is available, a fair presentation can be found on the video.

Manti Te’o~Fallen Hero

It is odd, hero worship.  It fills the worshipers with hope and pride, promoting the heroes as models of the perfect man…much like Mohammed the murdering pedophile.

How quickly that model is discarded when the Hero has fallen…like Manti Te’o, and no hero is loved nearly as much as a fallen hero is despised.

There is more than anecdotal evidence that he was involved in a publicity stunt to promote him as another legendary and mythical football player at the myth factory of collegiate football, Notre Dame, despite that institution’s protests about his involvement in the myth of his dead girl friend.  Much like the myth that George Gipp was a hero and not the actual ‘for hire’ football mercenary he was.

The story of Te’O and his alleged girl friend, and how it burnished his popularity into the runner up to the Heisman Award is all over the internet and twitter universe.  This article is the most comprehensive:

Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax!

There was no Lennay Kekua. Lennay Kekua did not meet Manti Te’o after the Stanford game in 2009. Lennay Kekua did not attend Stanford. Lennay Kekua never visited Manti Te’o in Hawaii. Lennay Kekua was not in a car accident. Lennay Kekua did not talk to Manti Te’o every night on the telephone. She was not diagnosed with cancer, did not spend time in the hospital, did not engage in a lengthy battle with leukemia. She never had a bone marrow transplant. She was not released from the hospital on Sept. 10, nor did Brian Te’o congratulate her for this over the telephone. She did not insist that Manti Te’o play in the Michigan State or Michigan games, and did not request he send white flowers to her funeral. Her favorite color was not white. Her brother, Koa, did not inform Manti Te’o that she was dead. Koa did not exist. Her funeral did not take place in Carson, Calif., and her casket was not closed at 9 a.m. exactly. She was not laid to rest.

Manti, is that you?

For the record I have despised ND since I was seven years old.  I have seen nothing in those many years to alter my original perception of this schools football glory as nothing more than a myth factory.  When I first heard about the double tragedy that allegedly occurred to this young man, I was moved, knowing how devastating losing a loved one is, yet I was dubious.  Some thing about the story just didn’t seem plausible.  It clearly wasn’t and what degree of guilt I may have felt for doubting his tragic story has now been assuaged.

Don’t really need a reason to post this excellent video, but it seems appropriate, now.

Happy BD EAP

Elvis would be 78 years old if he could have made it out of the 70’s alive. It’s too bad, you know. I think old Elvis would still be bringing it.

Maybe those hips might have slowed down some, but that voice, and that presence! Yeah, I bet he would still be packing them in.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Choppin’ Cotton At The ‘Death Star’

I haven’t payed much attention to what the alleged experts have to say regarding tonight’s Cotton Bowl match between OU and TAMU.  I’m certain the story lines always begin with Johnny Manziel, though.

As for the nuts and bolts of the game, my take is probably quite different from the alleged experts.

Other than La. Tech, I’m not certain TAMU has encountered a potent spread offense and they barely escaped Shreveport with a 59-57 win, that was a missed two point conversion from going to overtime.  Other than La. Tech, TAMU has only faced one other team ranked in the top twenty scoring offenses, #14 Alabama.

Conversely, OU encountered five of the top twenty scoring offenses, losing one to #9 Kansas State.  OU has faced four of the top fifteen teams in total offense, winning all four. TAMU faced only one, La. Tech.

As for how these two teams ranked in scoring defense, TAMU finished at #29 while OU finished at #40.  In total defense, OU finished 45th in the nation, TAMU was not ranked in the top 50.

If the thought hasn’t already occurred, TAMU has not faced the high powered offenses OU has and doesn’t have the defensive statistics to indicate they are capable of doing so.

Then there is the fast paced offense that OU runs, an offense that TAMU head coach Kevin Sumlin was instrumental in developing while co-offensive coordinator at OU.  Many of the TAMU defensive players will remember facing it last year and others from the years before that.  Many teams in the NCAA now use the ‘hurry-up’ offense, but OU was the originator of the concept five years ago.  In the 2009 BCS championship game, Urban Meyer of Florida said if his team hadn’t had forty days to prepare for it they could have never won.  Even when Florida had conditioned specifically for the ‘hurry-up’ they were clearly gassed at different points in the game when they couldn’t substitute defensive players.

My conclusion, the OU offense OUt matches the TAMU defense more than the TAMU offense OUt matches the OU defense.  Further, the advantage of  Senior QB Landry Jones, the most prolific passer and winner of more games than any OU QB(which speaks volumes), and his experience in big games is a tremendous advantage over the young red shirt phenom Johnny Manziel.

Regardless of the words I have used and the many others have, the game is only hours away.

The tailgaters will be setting up outside Jerry’s ‘Death Star’ soon.

The bands will be arriving in their buses and prepping their instruments and uniforms.

The excitement is building for the fans and players, a big game on national television on a Friday night at the stadium that sets the standard for modern stadiums.

Both teams have played at this stadium, OU played a big game there a few years ago, coming from behind in the last Big 12 championship game against Nebraska.

Then, when you don’t think you can wait any longer, the players exit the locker room and take the field.

BOOMER SOONER!!

SEC football: Overated!

I think this conclusion woud have been reached a few years ago, had not the Texas qb McCoy went down early in the NCG against Alabama.

We saw what the highpowered offenses from the Big-12 could do to the vaunted “SEC Defense” with the addition of ATM to the SEC.  Yesterday, the high powered offense of Clemson showed the same to a highly favored LSU.  New Year’s Day Bowls were a mixed bag:  but clearly underwhelming.

SEC Football, in a word, overated.