Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made a statement. Too bad it has nothing to do with Victory Lane. You see by announcing today that he will drive the number 88 car next year, made familiar by Dale Jarrett at Robert Yates Racing the last few years, he not only saved his fans from having to get their tattoos removed (now they'll just add another ocho) but he also traded in the alcohol for the sugar substance. And both can be addicting.

Budweiser has made a living (and a killing) off of Little E the last few years. Their image fit The Intimidator's Kid perfectly... he was a hard-charging party boy from the South who put everybody around him at ease. The perfect pitch-man for the target audience. Now, he'll move from the after-hours crowd to the after-school crowd... nothing says teenager like a little Mountain Dew to wash down the brain cells after school lets out. It worked for me for years!

How will it go over? We'll have to wait and see... but to his credit Little E is playing the part well. He's seems genuinely excited about this move, and his new deals, but I can guarantee you one thing... his fan base won't soon trade in their frosty beverages for the Dew on race day. Or any day for that matter. And to think pretty-boy Kasey Kahne, Bud's new man, barely looks old enough to drink. It should be interesting to say the least...

My only take is this... whether you Do the Dew or say This Bud's For You... neither one of them will contend for a title anytime soon. The facts are just the facts.

Christian

Job well done in Auburn Coach Croom and Company! It's always great to see good people succeed in sports... and you'd be hard pressed to find a man who treats people better, runs his program with more integrity, and truly coaches his players at the collegiate level ON and OFF the field with more compassion then Sylvester Croom. He deserves to succeed in Starkville. Not just because he was the first African-American Head Coach in the SEC, nor because he's a journey-man assistant who finally got to be the top dog, and certainly not just because he's a good guy. Even though all of those are solid reasons.

He deserves to hoist the SEC Championship trophy because he is rebuilding a program (that was in shambles) the right way, with honesty and hard work, and he's taking the road less travelled as compared to most around the nation.

Sure you can look for the quick fix and cheat (Alabama, South Carolina, Illinois to name a few) or you can recruit kids with no interest in being students, who only get into school because they run fast or weigh 300 plus pounds and can block or rush the quarterback (Miami, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M) Seemingly the character of those athletes drives the team, and thus the institution to embarrassment (while the Head Coach looks the other way until he gets caught... see Bob Stoops). Don't get mad at me for saying it, I'm only reporting the facts here. Do your homework.

And Larry Templeton deserves some credit as well. He could have gone ahead and hired the next "hot assistant" and then sat back and watched that crumble. Rick Neuheisel already destroyed two college programs and left them in shambles (am I right Washington and Colorado fans?) Thanks goodness he hasn't gotten a third shot at it. Croom was the right hire because he is the right man. Plain and Simple.

Sure it's not flashy, he's no Steve Spurrier. And no, it's not that entertaining to listen to his press conferences... he doesn't spit one-liners like Lou Holtz. And you're right... he's not going to wow you off your feet with his Bobby Bowden stories and personal nature at alumni functions...

But he is going to turn his boys into honorable young men with degrees.

And given time, he may bring home some hardware.

Christian

Greetings Mississippi

Just a quick post tonight - and it's great to hear about the upgrade in Kevin Everett's condition in Buffalo. You might remember he was knocked to the ground trying to make a tackle on the opening kickoff of the 2nd Half as the Bills played the Broncos. He lay there motion-less, most thinking the worse. The doctors who performed his spinal surgery say that he has some movement in his arms and legs, and after initially fearing he would be paralyzed for life, now say he may walk again.

Football is a violent sport. Every time you put on the pads you know injury could be waiting for you on the field. Let's just continue to lift up the Bills reserve Tight End, he's by no means in the clear, but it sounds as if there could be light at the end of the tunnel. And to think just four nights ago, he went to bed dreaming about playing in the NFL.

Now he's dreaming about simply standing again. And maybe putting one foot in front of the other.

We're all praying for you big man

Christian

Hope you enjoyed your first football weekend of the fall! Friday night was a special experience for me, getting to witness high school gridiron glory in Mississippi for the first time! It was amazing to see the intensity and passion people have for the game here! And hang in there with us on BLITZ 16 - we are making some changes to the show to allow you the viewer to see your team more often and to hear about what is really going on in high school football across the Metro! It's going to be a fun endeavor and as always we want your feedback!

STATE is going to have to regroup, as they face Tulane. It hurt to play like that on National TV, didn't it? Even though you aren't expected to win, you at least want to represent yourself with more of an effort than that. Ole Miss hung tough in the end to knock off a weak Memphis team, we'll see just how competitive they'll be in '07 this week against Mizzou. USM is once again the pride and joy of the Magnolia State - can they knock off the Vols in Knoxville? I think maybe. And finally it was tough to see J-State fall to Delta State, embarrassing yes... but will it define Coach Comegy's team this year? I don't think so...

Tell me what you think about the first week of play!

Hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend

Christian