You Fight for a Nickel, You Die for a Dime

Great news out of Abilene today as ACU rose to the #1 spot in Division II football rankings for the first time in program history.

With the news, I've noticed a strange correlation between my departure from a school and that school's subsequent success of the gridiron.

• I graduated from Whitehouse High in 2002. As of my graduation, the Wildcats had made the playoffs once in 23 years. After my graduation, the Cats made the playoffs in 2006 and 2007 and are now no longer a laughingstock in the East Texas football discussion.


• After graduating from ACU, the program made the D-II playoffs for the first time in 2006, had an undefeated regular season in 2008, and as stated earlier, has achieved the inaugural #1 ranking in school's history.


• Baylor has....well, Baylor is still Baylor.
  

So, even though the Bears have yet to reap the full rewards of my matriculation, I think fans of the Green and Gold should get ready for some unprecedented success on the banks of the Brazos.

Any donations and gifts that you would like to send to yours truly would be greatly appreciated.

Current Reading

Londonistan by Melanie Phillips

Every Moral Has a Story, Every Story Has an End

Congratulations to Mr. Andrew Tuegel for correctly naming "Wake Up" by the Arcade Fire as the Thursday Song of the Day.

Speaking of Mr. Tuegel, Andrew also passed along to me earlier today the following headline regarding our alma mater:

"NCAA Hits ACU for Track & Field, Football Violations"

When you go to a Division II school, the best you can really hope for in the athletics department is:

1. To constantly annoy people when the one guy from your school in the NFL (Danieal Manning of the Chicago Bears) does anything remotely noteworthy; and
2. Try to avoid scandals and NCAA violations, because as Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson taught us in Wedding Crashers, "You want to draw attention to yourself but in a good way."

You can read the full article here, but the following portion of the article absolutely blew my mind:

The NCAA cited the program with numerous violations, including ACU men’s and women’s track coaches and athletic boosters providing illegal benefits to student-athletes during the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 academic years.

During the Christmas holidays in 2006 and 2007, Hillcrest Church of Christ held parties for some of the international students at the home of an ACU assistant track coach. During those parties, 15 ACU track athletes were given gifts, including small appliances, DVDs, CDs, food items, personal items and cash donated by the church.

Before those parties, another assistant had asked the head track coach for a list of international athletes who would be in Abilene during the holidays. Also, the NCAA said the head coach attended the parties and was aware of the gifts received by the athletes.

The NCAA did not name the head coach, but Hood has been in the position since Aug. 24, 2005.

According to the NCAA, Hood said “he did not realize the gifts would be considered extra benefits,” and he went on to add that the church members who provided the items “were acting out of a desire to assist people who were far away from their homes and families for the holidays, not to assist the athletic program.”

Thanks, NCAA.

You've really outdone yourself this time.

I'm not so sure that international students being forced to spend the holidays away from their loved ones in a foreign country and receiving gifts from members of a local church is quite the same thing as former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar getting a cushy job at a Norman car dealership, but then again, what do I know?

Sailing Like a Silver Bullet, Hit 'Em 'Tween the Eyes

It's always a good day when your alma mater makes Deadspin and the words "scantily-clad", "drunk", "racist", "indiscretion", or "regret" are not utilized.

Assuming that the band plays the school fight song following every touchdown, this tuba player most likely fell over dead around about the middle of the third quarter on Saturday. It was Abilene Christian vs. West Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Div. II football playoffs, with Abilene pulling out the victory, 93-68. Yes, a college football team surpassed Oklahoma's point total on Saturday, and still lost by 25. Jumpin' Jehoshaphat.

Fun fact: Abilene Christian's men's basketball team played host to Huston Tillotson that evening and could not outscore the football team, losing 92-90.

"So Abilene Christian Scored a Few Points on Saturday" by Deadspin's Rick Chandler.

Don't Want to Discuss It, I Think It's Time For a Change

Congratulations to Mrs. Katrina Kincaid for correctly naming "A Pirate Looks at Forty" by Jimmy Buffett as the Friday Song of the Day.

Here's the bad news: ACU gave up 68 points this afternoon to West Texas A&M in Round 2 of the Division II playoffs.

Here's the good news: ACU still won by 25 points.

That's right, the Wildcats scored an NCAA-playoff record 93, yes, 93 points this afternoon after rolling up 810 yards of offense. (Cousin) Bernard Scott scored an NCAA playoff-record 7 touchdowns in the victory.

Not a bad day for the old alma mater.