Utterly Useless Knowledge

There's usually 1 or 2 college football Saturday's where I'll decide to veg out all day and watch non-stop college football. Easily one of my most enjoyable days to spend a fall weekend. Yesterday was a classic day where the coffee is poured about 8 AM (not too early for a bloody or a beer, but coffee seemed more justifiable that early in my house), the t.v. is turned on to some pre-game stuff (in this case it was finishing watching the unreal ending of the Kansas-South Florida game from Friday night), and I settle in for the all-day marathon. Games watched/suffered through included: Iowa-Iowa St. (absolutely brutal to watch. Why Tim accepted a bet with Thad getting only 7 points instead of 14, I have no idea. It's your own fault, dude.) Missouri-Nevada (Mizzou is like watching a video game with the opponent skill level set to "novice") Cal-Maryland Oregon-Purdue Meeechigan-Notre Dame Georgia-South Carolina Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech New Mexico St.-Nebraska Oh...

It's officially Silly Season in Lincoln, as the college football season is finally here. This is our 7th fall of being fully intrenched in what has to be easily one of, if not THE most obsessed fanbases in the game. Their recent struggles have been pretty well-documented: the debacle of the last 4 years, the hiring, the firing, the end of the bowl streak, worst defense ever, the Return of the Messiah, back to tradition, restoring the order, yadda, yadda, yadda..... But this off-season really has been unlike anything Nebraskans have ever experienced. Bo Pelini, the man that can seemingly walk on the waters of Lake McConaughey, was brought back as head coach. He's short-tempered, bullheaded, and has the entire state hanging (and agreeing) with his every single word. As soon as a new coach arrives in Lincoln (which has happened 5 times in the last 50 years) he is instantly the most recognizable man in the state. Every old lady and every old crusty farmer at every kitchen table, ev...

This book is getting a lot of attention around the country, and deservedly so. I had been looking forward to reading it ever since I heard that it was coming out earlier this year. The advance reviews & praise for it only made it that much more intriguing to pick up before we left for vacation. For those that aren't Nebraska fans, or football fans in general, Jason Peter was one of the mainstays on defense through Nebraska's incredible championship runs of the mid-90's. Drafted in the middle ofthe 1st round of the NFL Draft in 1997 by the Carolina Panthers, he began to lean on painkillers to get through injuries and surgeries on his knees and neck. Finally after doctors refused to clear him to play, he was forced to walk away from the game in 2001. With the only thing important in his life now taken away, Jason was left with his addiction to pills and thoughts of what only could've been. Life spiraled out of control pretty fast after that. Written in a straightfor...