I have an open request to voters in both polls to keep slighting Memphis. How does Kansas pick up one of the Tigers No. 1 votes? Didn’t the Tigers blow out teams the way they are supposed to. With an average margin of victory of 22 points they aren’t exactly squeezing by a tough schedule. The Tigers put up 83 points a game so they can’t argue that the offense stinks. The closest anyone has gotten to them is 4 points by USC in NYC. My beef isn’t so much with Kansas as it is with NC. They have struggled to win several games including last night’s squeaker over Clemson. They had a hard time with DAVIDSON for goodness sake. So why am I pointing all this out and asking for voters to keep slighting the Tigers, MOTIVATION! The more you slight the Tigers the motivated they will be in March. Because unlike college football where the polls and biases keep non-BCS teams away from championships, the Tigers will get a chance to prove it on the floor.

Let me take that a step further, the Tigers have beat 3 Big East teams. Isn’t the Big East supposed to be a power conference? The Tigers took down their big dog by 14 points. Their staple school in UConn by 11. And an also-ran in UC by 10 in a bit of a rivalry game. The Tigers have beat two teams from the PAC-10 as well as one from Big-12. Now someone will say that those teams aren’t that good in those leagues. You won’t say that when they play in conference and how tough it is for the Kansases of the world. Sorry to complain but I just don’t get how folks vote sometimes.

The hiring of Tim Walton was not that surprising now, was it. The rumors started a while back and don’t forget that TW wanted to hire TW2 (I stole that) last year before he hired Kravitz. Miami bumped him up to the DC position and we couldn’t compete with that money. I’m really happy Tim is here and I expect him to get results in short order. He will definitely improve the DB play. With healthy linebackers I sense he’ll make y’all critics happy.

I didn’t want to harp on this but it is just eating at me. I’ve read the excuses about the poor student attendance for the Pepperdine game. The top 3 excuses were (with my mythbusting) added):
1. Students are out on Christmas break. The student section was FULL for Georgetown and Arizona. Weren’t they out on Christmas break then too?
2. The game was at noon and that was too early. The Georgetown game was at 11:00 a.m. and again, the student section was full.
3. It is too difficult on students to get downtown. Again, it sure wasn’t a problem for Georgetown and Arizona.

Most of the alumni I know are disgusted by the poor student attendance. What is upsetting is there always seems to be an excuse, not a reason but an excuse. You wanted a winner, you got it. Instead of responding, you start whining when the Tigers are winning. Did you know that less than 10% of the student body could fill the student section? I think that says it all. For what it is worth, the problem is with leadership among the student body. Student involvement in athletics creates a bond and pride. Don’t you think it about time we developed some self pride?

I’m going to catch some heat for this but…..Derrick Rose is not NBA point guard ready. Yes, as the story said, he’s improved and is a vital part of this team. But that doesn’t mean that he’s ready for the National Basketball Association. I said the same thing about Shawne Williams who while a first round pick would have been a lot better in the long run had he stayed with Cal for a 2nd year. Rose will probably go. He might even get drafted in the top 5. But he’ll be forgotten in 4 years. PG’s with less than 3 years college experience don’t normally last.

Wednesday…..Quirky things about the Tigers 40 game home winning streak.