"A tragedy of monumental proportions"

What a horrific day in Blacksburg. Thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and all who are affected by today's massacre at Virginia Tech.

If you wish to do so, leave your condolences and best wishes at these two fine Hokie blogs:

Blacksburg Beacon
Tech Superfans

Still Alive

Call it blogger's overload. Call it an extended decompression. Whatever you want to call it, I needed a break from covering the world of ACC and college football for awhile. Which makes me seem all the more pathetic when compared to the likes of SMQ or Brian at MGoBlog. Do these guys have real jobs too?

Anyway, look for a weekly post or two from now on until the 2007 season hits us, when I might actually kick it up to three a week. And a big thank you if you're actually reading this, since I haven't given you any reason to keep coming back here lately.


I needed a friggin' break

Super Bowl XLI Thoughts

As a Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan, I have the utmost respect and admiration for Tony Dungy. Coach Dungy was truly a victim of his own success here in Tampa, helping to raise a franchise from the dead (with able help from GM Rich McKay and the loose purse-strings of the Glazer family), only to hit a wall every year come playoff time. From 2002 through 2005, we saw much of those same collapses by his Colts in the playoffs, adding more and more weight to that proverbial monkey on his back. Nonetheless, all those shortcomings in crunch time never diminshed the respect folks around here had, and continue to have, for the guy we simply call "Tony".

During his six year stint in Tampa Bay, Dungy ingratiated himself into the community like very few professional coaches do, and did so to the extent that he is still revered here and still lives here during the offseason. He sings in the choir here at a local church. His son is buried here. It's a very unique situation, this love-affair a city has with a long departed football coach that never won a championship, and who was let go without much debate.

I write this because I want to leave no doubt that I will be rooting for the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow, almost as if my own Buccaneers were taking the field. That's the kind of grip the mild mannered Dungy has in the Tampa area. It's the kind of grip Jon Gruden has never had, despite winning the Super Bowl in his first year here. On the field, sure, Tony's teams left a lot to be desired in crunch time. Off the field, the man has no peer, no equal, in any professional sport.

All that aside, look for Dungy (and the also previously much-maligned-in-crunch-time Peyton Manning) to stampede over the Chicago Bears on Sunday evening. Dungy, Manning and the Colts are a different team now. They finally got past that hurdle that had always tripped them up in the past, the New England Patriots, and did so in a way that required the ultimate gut-check -- coming back from an enormous deficit on the scoreboard. All that weight that Dungy, Manning and the Colts have carried is gone....and they'll play looser and crisper because of it. And it also helps that they are facing the worst quarterback to ever start in a Super Bowl.

Indianapolis 31, Chicago 14


Nice guys really can finish first

Bowden Bowl IX on Labor Day

Florida State will visit Clemson on Monday night, Sept. 3, 2007, in the season opener for both schools. As an ACC fan, these Labor Day evening games are fantastic and offer the kind of exposure for the league that you really can't find outside of the annual conference title games.

As a Florida State fan, though, this sucks. It throws off the planning and practicing for the first two weeks of the season. On top of that, there's another game just 5 days later. Last year, the Noles almost lost to Troy five days after their Labor Day win at Miami. Thanks, but no thanks. Find some other sucker next year, ACC.


Sept. 3, 2007...The last of the interminable "Bowden Bowls"?

A Brief, Way Too Early '07 ACC Preview

There have been plenty o' goings on in the world of ACC football lately, and a few of those big topics (FSU's new coaching staff, the Georgia Tech semi-shakeup, the problems at Miami, the state of Clemson, etc.) will be addressed shortly.

But on this lonely ol' Saturday night, I offer you my quick 2007 ACC preview....

ATLANTIC
1- Florida State- they're starting to gain momentum on the recruiting trail, and holy mother of God, the new coaching staff is eye-popping.
2- Maryland- probably the least-talked about team in the conference and yet they're coming off a 9-win season and returning a ton of talent.
3- Boston College- Coach Jags is a total mystery, but there's still enough talent left over to remain competitive.
4- NC State- Chuck Amato knew how to recruit. He just had no ability to be an effective head coach. Tom O'Brien actually knows how to run a program and '07 will be a springboard for the Wolfpack to roar, starting in '08.
5- Clemson- Sayonara, son of Bobby. Everything was laid out perfectly for Clemson to launch into the elite of college football in '06, and Tommy still managed to lose 5 games. That's unforgivable in today's college football world and he's losing too much talent to make a run in '07.
6- Wake Forest- Penthouse to outhouse. Well, not really. But losing over 25 seniors from their ACC championship team is going to cripple the Deacons. Still, Riley Skinner and Co. will be the best 5-7 team in the country in '07.

COASTAL
1- Virginia Tech- Easiest pick of this entire list, even with the underwhelming Sean Glennon returning at QB and with some significant losses on defense.
2- Georgia Tech- The best of a ho-hum lot, they should actually be better with Reggie Ball and Patrick Nix gone. Calvin Johnson would normally be irreplaceable, but Tech never used him enough to warrant his departure being considered a catastrophic loss.
3- Virginia- A 5-7 year with the dearth of talent in '06 was actually sort-of impressive for Al Groh's Hoos. If they can bring in a good recruiting class this spring, UVA is a contender in '08.
4- North Carolina- Strangely quiet so far, given the big splash hire of Butch Davis. They'll be much better than in '06, but it'll be a stretch for them to get above .500 overall.
5- Miami- They're returning much of the same team that went 7-6. Randy Shannon's been on the job for 6 weeks and only yesterday hired an offensive coordinator, and a very underwhelming one at that (GT's Nix). They're still without a defensive coordinator. Recruiting slipped over the past few years and it's not looking much better this spring.
6- Duke- This is all on the Duke athletic department and school administration. They have decent coaches and some pretty good athletes, and they're completely unsupported by the school. This is as hopeless a case as any major 1-A program.

Final '06 Blog Poll Ballot

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida	2
2	Louisville	2
3	LSU	5
4	Boise State	2
5	Ohio State	4
6	Southern Cal	3
7	Wisconsin	2
8	Michigan	6
9	Oklahoma	2
10	West Virginia	2
11	Auburn	6
12	Texas	2
13	Rutgers	3
14	Wake Forest	1
15	Boston College	8
16	Brigham Young	4
17	Virginia Tech	6
18	Notre Dame	8
19	California	3
20	Penn State	4
21	Arkansas	6
22	TCU	4
23	Oregon State	3
24	Tennessee	6
25	Hawaii	1

Dropped Out: Nebraska (#19), Texas A&M (#21), Georgia Tech (#25)