Three and Out - Rivals Inaugural Edition

1) Thanks for signing up and we're glad you are here. My little weekly column is going to be different from what you're accustomed to seeing from me. I'm going to touch a bit on pop culture, the sporting world, stuff I love or hate, things I am looking forward to, et cetera. There's still some Bobcat talk I'll stir up but for the most part my role once expansion stops is going to be to support Brent and Justin. Both of their jobs just got bigger and mine got smaller, as Rivals is taking care of most of the day-to-day operation of the website.

Fletcher is officially an intern for us until he graduates in December. I filled out his paperwork on Friday. Fletcher has some work with KTSW this semester, including every SMHS game and duties with the Bobcat football team. He's always been a part of us but now we're going to be able to officially help out his young career. I'm pretty proud of being able to do this. Now go get me a breakfast taco, rook!

(I kid. Fletch could whup up on me quite easily.)

(2) Thanks to the NFL Network, I have watched a staggering amount of preseason football. I know it's not that indicative of what to expect for the regular season but I think the Detroit Lions are my sleeper team for 2011. Stafford's sharp (though as a rich kid from Highland Park I'd probably hate him in person) and their defense plays mean and nasty with the swagger you'd expect from a playoff team. I can't believe they have both Suh and Fairley - watch what that's going to grow into. Of course, their secondary is crummy, but it looks like everyone not playing Carolina is giving up Xbox passing yardage. Best is a solid chain-mover and they play a lot like Pittsburgh did the first couple of years of the Big Ben era. Megatron looks like he spent the lockout eating corners and bench pressing safeties. It'll be tough sledding sharing a division with defending champion Green Bay and 2010 playoff team Chicago though.

I can't get into MLB and doubly so for the televised Little League World Series. When did they start airing the regional games? I'll tune in when the US team plays the juggernaut from Taiwan or whatever but I don't care if 12 year olds from Montana beat Oklahoma. It's a little creepy though I am sure Coach Memphis is enjoying himself. There's not enough sports programming out there to prevent pedophiles that like boys in tight white pants from their two weeks of glory? Surely there's some bikini tennis out there waiting for a camera.


Speaking of, I have a couple of suggestions for when Yahoo! Sports launches their TV channel:

Women's Team Beach Volleyball - Each team has seven players and they play three matches with two players each with a substitute for injury. NASCAR that shizzle up and air it on Sundays all summer with a big beach party theme. I'd cheer for the Dallas Spikedolls if properly attired.

Competitive Drinking - If I watched a bunch of dudes cram tubesteak down their throats on the 4th of July, I'll damn sure watch a lineup of them tossing back 23 ounce beers for ten minutes. This could be fun to use local beers for each venue and doubly so for interviewing the guys after the buzzer sounds. If the alcohol scares the programming department away we can always substitute Slurpee's and have an instant sponsor.

It was brought to my attention that I have never seen any of the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movies, but I have seen all the Twilight ones and am looking forward to the Hunger Games. I guess my inner child wears a training bra. I'm not a Trekkie or a Star Wars guy, either. My friend Melissa went to a "con" in Philly over the weekend and met actor Sam Trammell - Sam Merlotte from True Blood, and Ernie Hudson - Winston Zeddemore from the Ghostbusters franchise. I guess I've been living under a rock the size of Gibraltar for not knowing there are nerdfests with underemployed actors out there. People dress up like they're hitting up a Halloween destination party and go mingle with their own kind. I don't believe there's enough Four Loko in existence to get me to go to one of these.

My foray into San Marcos a couple of Fridays ago was interesting. Brian, a townie, introduced me to some whacked-out techno nightmare called dubstep. Basically this screeching, beating nightmare is all the rage right now for the demographic directly beneath my own. It sounded like the noise my computer makes when I leave my cellphone next to it. Liberal doses of Jagermeister were administered to ease the swelling of my eardrums. Later that evening, I watched several people get tazed for the first time. First time for me - I don't know them. I would have liked to stay and watch what happened but I feared for my safety. I sort of felt obligated for Fletcher's too - nobody was threatening me with electrical current. Plus I didn't need to be questioned in my state by anyone in a blue uniform.(Fletcher didn't misbehave - he was closer to the ruckus than anyone else in the crowd.) There's a part two to this story I'll tell next week. "BobcatReport Behaving Badly - the Sequel!"

(3) I really wish I could tell you everything to expect from the new Texas State Rivals site. The truth of the matter is that this has come so suddenly we didn't have the time to try a few features we've kicked around. You'll see an increase in content from the staff, that's for sure. We are working out video stuff with the school, downloadable podcasts for Brent and Fletcher, and guest columns from other members of the Rivals network. I know recruiting will be better than anyone has ever dreamed of and I have interesting plans for content. Some will get rolled out this week, some once the season starts, and more as we gain capability. Look for columns from some people you know and some others you do not yet. I'm kind of excited about being a producer and director. I've never done anything remotely close to this in my career and I look forward to the challenge.

In closing, I do think I am going to have someone new to introduce everyone to in the next couple of weeks. We need to work out the details but I think you'll love what they are going to do on behalf of the website.
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