There's a sad excuse today to enjoy some classic Dan Jenkins.

The game was marked by all of the brutality that you somehow knew it would be when such gladiators were to be present as Michigan State's 6-foot-7, 285-pound Bubba Smith, "the intercontinental ballistic Bubba," a creature whose defensive-end play had long ago encouraged Spartan coeds to wear buttons that said KILL, BUBBA, KILL. Bubba killed, all right. He killed Notre Dame Quarterback Terry Hanratty early in the first quarter. When Hanratty, a sensational sophomore for eight games, slid off right tackle on a keeper, Bubba Smith whomped him in the left shoulder and separated it. He caught him just right, as they were falling. It looked as if Hanratty had been smacked by a giant swinging green door.

Although I had no love for either team I loved this article for introducing "whomped" to my young vocabulary and for giving me an appreciation for Bubba Smith in his prime, since by the time I read this I had only known him from beer commercials. To be named for an ICBM at a time people were practicing hiding under desks from real ones - that was pretty strong.

This may be a bit of a stretch but Bubba's hit on Hanratty changed a significant bit of history. If Hanratty had stayed healthy throughout college, would he have let Terry Bradshaw beat him out as starting QB of the Steelers? Think of that before you automatically turn down the sound on Fox's pregame show. And when he was picked up by Tampa Bay in their expansion year he could not beat out the eventual starter - fellow named Steve Spurrier. Beating out a Bubba-damaged Hanratty no doubt helped his later college coaching career, so Spurrier's Florida SEC and National Championship teams most likely were a direct result of that hit in 1966.

And would there be an EDSBS without a Fearless Leader inspired by those Florida teams? I think Bubba Smith deserves some gratitude today.

* Assuming there would have been could be 2 Pac10 teams in BCS games, Cal to the Holiday Bowl instead of the Sun

POSTGAME INVESTIGATION:  Sandy Barbour was NOT speaking on Brock Mansion's helmet radio link before the interceptions and fumbles - repeat, no direct Athletic Dept. involvement in the interceptions and fumbles.  Baseball and gymnastics coaches still not accounted for.

The responses to the earlier post made clear the obvious, that in terms of evil   

Throwing the Big Game for increased Athletic Dept. funding >> eating babies

Didn't channel enough Swift to get the point across (Kafka fizzled on EDSBS this week as well).  No doubt that dropping the last Luck interception today for a 1 point loss is unthinkable, but for fun at least one stat major could have run the numbers properly.  We can't all be in law school.  So, only for laughs, and with very crude calculations:

Bowl expenses:

Turns out the Holiday Bowl payout is only $450,000 more than the Sun (2.35 mil vs 1.9 mil).  All Pac10 teams receive even splits of bowl payouts after individual team expenses, so let's say Cal only receives $50,000 less for playing in the Sun.  The main loss to Cal in playing in the Sun is increased expenses for both the school and fans.  Airfare to El Paso averages $100 more than San Diego, so for example, it would cost an extra $20,000 or so to take the Cal Band to the Sun rather than the Holiday.  (Don't know if the Band would prefer going to SD by party bus - or Party Yacht).  We'd also have to buy 9000 tickets to the Sun Bowl.  If fans don't buy them all the school has to pay for the rest.  For example, Oregon State fans only bought 1200 tickets when they played.  Fun fact:  Texas A&M supposedly lost $490,000 playing us in the 2006 Holiday Bowl.  Other spare item:  recruiting opportunity in San Diego vs El Paso.

The most painful number is the $4.5 million the Pac10 gets for a second BCS bowl team.  The SEC, Big12, and Big10 have been slurping this up for years.  So that's $450,000 extra for every school, including Cal, for that 2nd team, no matter who or what it is - even if it's Cal Graduate School Prep Academy.

Everything today points to a Cal victory - sloppy weather forcing a ground game, the ghosts of 1991 seeking revenge, last Big Game in 1923 version Memorial, the Torchio/Brown/Levy/Mansion Big Game Surprise.  Still, just strange to think how expensive it will be.  Still, a bargain for the Ax.

Found:  the one person out of 53 who voted to throw the game

via img703.imageshack.us 

I have now lived long enough to remotely consider being pleased with a Cal loss in the Big Game.  Call it maturity, call it big picture thinking, call it temporary insanity produced by the prospect of no Italian food for the rest of the year (in memory of Oregon game events) - I can't get the thought out of my head that we will reap many long-term benefits from sending the Ax south for just a year if the other games fall into place. Maybe someone can rescue me from this craziness by running the numbers based on the following:

Holiday Bowl payout vs Sun Bowl or lower bowl payout (plus I assume better swag for the players)

trip to San Diego vs trip to El Paso

Cal's share from 2 Pac10 teams in BCS games

So how many hundreds of thousands of dollars will a Cal Big Game victory cost this year?  You can't deny the Athletic Dept could use the extra cash with the projected drop in revenue next year from the temporary stadium situation and perhaps continued economic climate.  Could we work an equation Cal Big Game loss = baseball and rugby restored to varsity status?  How much money are we really talking about?

Since next year will be the second in a row that we'll be playing without a seasoned quarterback with more than one year of remaining eligibility we could be looking at another up and down season with accompanied attendance drops.  I hope the Party Yacht gets going full steam ahead but if not it's a rebuilding year unless we get a big surprise from the other QBs.

So, will the extra money come in handy for construction overruns or increasing our recruiting budget?  Yes, that other school will get extra money too, but after their coach is poached and players realize that their fun-sized stadium is still less than full even with the team in the top 10, I don't think their money will matter much.  And look how long it took them to recover from their last Rose Bowl appearance.

My freshman year I spent money I really, really could not afford to spend on a scalped Big Game ticket for my girlfriend - the year was 1982.  I suffered a bit, but it was a great investment.  I'm thinking about considering it an investment if I pull against the Bears just this one time.  I love Cal and Cal Football.  My stomach turns at this dilemma, can I still love a team and want it to lose?  Or is it just oregano withdrawal?  In the meantime, I'll try to earn enough money to make up for the shortfall if we win, and if we lose it's always easier to take if it's part of a master plan.

Go Bears, Beat Huskies!

JM taught the Rebels that losing your first game to a smaller school is the key to conference championships!  Although I don't know if it works with FCS (bring back A/AA!) schools . . .

OVERTIME				JVST	MISS
	TD		Marques Ivory pass complete to Alan Bonner for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. James Esco extra point GOOD. Drive info: 5 plays, 25 yds in 0:00	41	34
	TD		Brandon Bolden rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Bryson Rose extra point GOOD. Drive info: 8 plays, 2 yds in 0:00	41	41
	TD		Enrique Davis rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Bryson Rose extra point GOOD. Drive info: 5 plays, 25 yds in 0:00	41	48
	TD		Coty Blanchard pass complete to Kevyn Cooper for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Two-point conversion attempt, Coty Blanchard pass to N/A GOOD. Drive info: 4 plays, 25 yds in 0:00	49	48

First Direct Photo of Alien Planet Finally Confirmed

The host star, which has an estimated mass of about 85 percent that of our sun, is located approximately 500 light-years away in a group of young stars called the Upper Scorpius Association that formed about 5 million years ago.

The planet has an estimated temperature of over 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit

We now know the real target of SEC expansion.  Who needs FSU when you can get a team that can really handle the heat.  Ole Miss will finally have some serious sundress competition.

via i.space.com

http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers#tp-tab-set-1:tp-grid-container-three-cone-drill

He posted the best time, but at what price . . . should we be stocking up on pestilence vaccine and grain supplies?

QUARTERBACKS

Have to give him credit, though, he beat all of the running backs posted.  Or does this just show at least one NFL official has a sense of humor?  Either way, if you have land to sell on high ground, look for the price to go up.  And make sure your umbrella can withstand frog impacts.