Last night Rep. Mark DuVall, the genius behind the proposed constitutional amendment to "Bring Back Col. Reb", was destroyed by the Republican challenger, Randy Boyd, 62%-38%.

While I'd be lying if I said that I knew his buffoonish proposed amendment was the reason for his defeat, I do know that local Tea Party and conservative groups latched on to the issue. A press release was issued taking DuVall to task for his bill stating, "Considering Mississippi’s economic challenges... if the most important thing our representatives have to do is introduce bills concerning football mascots, perhaps Mississippi deserve to be last in nearly every category in the nation!... not only did District 19’s elected representative waste valuable political capital on this issue, he made the whole district look insensitive and foolish in the process."

Again, no idea if the bill actually played a role in DuVall's defeat, or if last night was just a hot night for Republicans in Mississippi, but the race seems worth mentioning.

So, I received this in my inbox today from more than a few snickering and oh-so-clever friends from back in Yankeeland.

http://gawker.com/5624041/comment-of-the-day-mississippis-purpose

Would any of my fellow 'Cuppers care to educate, and I mean that in the actual sense of the word, some of our smuggier fellow 'netizens about "Mississippi's Purpose"? (I remember someone in here came up with "Elvis. Faulker. The Blues. You're Welcome", and thought that was classic...)

Rumours have it that BYU will be leaving the MWC. Reports, or internet buzz, at least, indicate that BYU will be independent in football, and will play in the WAC in all other sports. Despite the fact that BSU will be joining the MWC in 2011, this most recent defection, coming right after Utah's departure for the Pac-10, will most likely kill any chances the MWC had of becoming a BCS conference, and may very well sound the death knell for the conference, generally.

Most interesting about this story is the fact that BYU has its own, high definition TV network. The connection to the network apparently figured prominently into BYU's decision. Reading message boards and local news reports, it would appear BYU fans are confident that BYU has enough of a national fanbase to capitalize on being independent and having their own network.

Thoughts?