The lesson is learned from the comments that a couple of you made. They were right on the money. I shouldn’t write and not review it before I hit the publish button. I was tired, my hands were infected and still had not recovered from a late night from Jonesboro. I had minor surgery yesterday to correct the infection. I’ve even managed some sleep. I apologize to those at the CA for making the mistakes. There is no excuse that is good enough but I’ll try not to let it happen again. I’m no Calkins or Stukenborg (I’m sure you know that already) but I will try to meet your expectations in the future.

Believe it or not I spell pretty well. When you see the mistakes they’re more typos rather than spelling errors. The mistakes come primarily because my brain is moving faster than my fingers. When I’m tired and angry they get worse. I also write things from a conversational position. Which means I will use words as if I was speaking. So you will see words like gonna and kinda as flair and they are intentional. Enough about that but I felt the need to address it before making another post.

Hunt and peck would describe how I’m typing at the moment. The middle finger on the right hand and the thumb on the left have large post-op bandages on them. So I am forced to take my time today. But with so much on my mind I had to write something.

I still think we should blow off the postponed A-State game. It just isn’t needed to have a successful season. I know West has said that he doesn’t like the idea of playing in December. I say only play it then if either team needs it for a bowl bid. If not then put the game in Jonesboro at the end of the contract. Three games in 11 days could harm the Tigers season and simply isn’t worth the risk.

I’m still laughing at the alcohol dumping at Oxford this weekend. Having the police dumping the booze will put a damper on the top party school ranking of Mississippi friends. The best quote in the story had to come from the freshman from Tupelo who was obviously underage. It probably is a good idea to keep your mouth shut if you’re committing a crime. But what do I know.

Sometimes I truly think that there are some out to hurt the University of Memphis. I realize that sounds just a little paranoid. No, it sounds really paranoid. But if Memphis becomes a front line athletic program then it will hurt several SEC schools in recruiting this talent rich area. This is yet another reason that makes getting into a BCS conference priority #1 for the school.

I do like tailgating at Jonesboro. The large grassy field makes for a cooler and very pleasant day. That is until the night comes or the rain falls. The bugs were thick Friday night. I believe those bugs were the genesis of infected fingers. The rains make the nice field a quagmire. There were a couple of RV’s that became stuck in the muck. One was towed out Saturday night and another managed to escape Sunday morning. With this said, I think we need a tailgating area like that here in Memphis. I’d ony change one thing. I’d make paved parking spaces and roads into the area.

I’ll take any suggestions on drying out tennis shoes. I’ve got to have the ready by Saturday.

By the end of the season many folks will think Rick Kravitz was the best hire Tommy West has ever made. The Tigers defensive motto of “Swarm and Punch” is a good one. It is even better when they execute it. I know it is hard to judge after one game but I really like what I saw on the first of September.

How can one not be sentimental on this day? I hope no one ever forgets what this day means.

I hate not having a game to talk about this week. Not playing last week and a less than stellar opponent this weekend is kinda blah. I don’t want to disrespect Jacksonville State but they just don’t get my juices flowing. I’m just glad the Tigers will be chomping at the bit to get on the field and win.

I have a question for you SEC fans. If Baylor was ejected out of the Big 12 and Arkansas accepted a bid to join them. What school would Memphis SEC fans want to be invited into their conference? And why. And if you don’t want Memphis, why not?

Duke Calhoun and Stephen Black will become one of the most dynamic receiving corps in the country over the next two seasons. They are big, talented and are in an offense that will accentuate their talents.

I normally don’t like looking this far ahead but next spring practice and fall camp will feature an interesting battle for the Tigers starting QB job. Will Hudgens and Matt Malouf bring different talents to the table. Both could do the job. Both will compete like crazy to get the job. And in the end competition for positions makes for better play. I think both are now pushing Hankins now which in turn will help keep Martin at a high level of play this year.

South Florida is living, breathing proof that getting into a BCS conference can help you develop a program. While they had success prior to getting into the Big East they were looking thin just before leaving C-USA. The Tigers last visit to USF was a good one as the Tigers rolled to a 31-15 win. Once they got the “BCS” label they have been able to compete in recruiting with Miami and FSU which has built them into a much better program that can compete with anyone. It is really frustrating for we Memphis fans to see this. I liken it to Memphians seeing Jacksonville and Carolina in the NFL. Remember one of those teams would have been a Memphis team. I use that example because I felt the Memphis NFL group didn’t do enough to get the franchise and feel the same way about our efforts to get into the Big East.

If you haven’t seen the new equipment trailer the Tigers have then you are missing something. It looks great. Thanks to those who were instrumental in getting it for the program. They aren’t done with it yet but it still looks good.

So that’s what is on my mind this morning. I hope I’ve passed your grammar and spelling tests this time. Until then……

C-ya
j