weekend review

The game's the thing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so here as usual we take a Monday drive to see what we missed.

We start with the first news of this type since July: the 20th verbal commitment. Javanti Sparrow is your man. This comes as no surprise: Sparrow had just one actual written offer - ours - and claimed few other verbal ones. He mentioned that UNC, for example, had verbally offered, but a verbal offer is not really an offer. Sparrow is, at the moment, projected as a safety. The recruiting board and depth chart are updated accordingly.

Speaking of UNC, they got awful news this weekend with the loss of Brandon Tate for the season. It is a brutal knee injury. It's always a shame when a guy's senior season is lost to something like this. I feel bad for Tate. I'll start feeling bad for the rest of the Heels after Saturday's game; til then, it's naught but a change to the scouting report. And I'd be lying if I pretended this didn't improve our chances to keep the streak alive.

Clemson also lost a key member of the team, but on purpose. The Age of Bowden is no more in Death Valley. This simultaneously takes care of any speculation as to whether Al Groh or Tommy Bowden would be the first ACC coach fired, and shelves ESPN's plans for BOWDEN BOWL X! - THE WAR-IDA IN FLORIDA!! Seriously, thank you thank you thank you Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips for doing this before the annual tangle with Florida State, and sparing us the Bowden Bowl hype that ESPN foisted on us each and every time the two met. Cullen Harper wasted no time hilariously throwing his now ex-coach under the bus: "It's what he deserved," and "I'd call it karma. I thought it needed to be done," and such. Wow. Think somebody was pissed about being benched? You know, the Tommy Bowden catapult was cocked and ready for some time now, but then again Tommy Bowden hasn't been throwing poorly timed interceptions deep in his own territory in the biggest divisional game of the year, Cullen. Fired coach, fired quarterback - the stage is now set for Clemson to have completed a spectacular meltdown by November 22, which happens to be when we play them. Isn't it funny how two teams can be 3-3 and feeling entirely different about themselves?

ESPNU will be bringing you the Georgia Tech game at 3:30 on the 25th. Hooray for 3:30 starts, and hooray for ESPNU not bringing us Student-Section-O-Vision for the Maryland game as they did against USC.

The soccer team has officially heated up. 4-0 in the ACC with a win over Clemson on Friday, outshooting the Tigers 15-2. Both the number 15 and the number 2 are excellent stats. The end of the regular season will be against Wake Forest on November 7, and both teams are 4-0 in ACC play. A terrific game is brewing if the two teams can remain undefeated.

Recruiting board update! Besides the aforementioned Sparrow commitment, we add Tajh Boyd, who decommitted from West Virginia. Chances rated as low right now; I have no idea if the coaches have even been in contact with Boyd since. He currently claims BC and Tennessee as his two schools of interest based on who's actually talked to him, but considers himself more or less wide open and waiting to see who he hears from. In other words, square one. The board is duly updated, as is the depth chart with Sparrow and the promotions of Austin Pasztor and Patrick Slebonick.

Now for the high schools. What has our freshman class of '09 been up to?

DOMINIQUE WALLACE: 97 yards and 2 TDs in Chancellor's 56-0 rout of Caroline.

ROSS METHENY: 7/15 passing for 130 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT as Sherando knocked off Skyline 44-20.

PERRY JONES: Have we mentioned that Oscar Smith is freaking good? Jones caught two TD passes and ran for another, and potential commit Tim Smith caught two more as OS beat King's Fork 55-0. Jones' play on defense was also highlighted.

Slow week this week. Tucker Windle's team won but with minimal contributions from him. Kevin Royal joined Alex Owah on the injured list last week with a broken arm. Paul Freedman's team lost as did Tyree Watkins'.

Aaaaaaaaand more ACC coverage....

Clemson laid a fat egg against Wake Forest, and Block C compares it to pissing oneself, which is probably apt. He also likes watching his running backs run smack dab into large piles of opposing defenders. Welcome to my world, circa September.

UNC beat Notre Dame 29-24, a nice win for the ACC. Tar Heel Fan has something like five separate posts railing on the referees and replay officials. TarEye or Buckheel? loves him some Butch Davis.

Georgia Tech escaped Gardner-Webb 10-7, and The LegacyX4 couldn't be unhappier with the offense. One sympathizes.

Finally, since I have this soapbox, I'm gonna bitch for a second about Michigan here. You don't have to read, it's cool. I'll just go off for a bit. We lost to Toledo, so....yeah....things are ugly. Any Michigan fan who:

- Wants to fire Rich Rodriguez after half a season and zero games against measuring-stick conference rivals....
- Thinks losing to Toledo is the worst loss ever....
- Is otherwise in a general state of panic, and raging against the "newfangled" spread we now run....

Can eat shit. We will be fine. I just have to come to terms with the end of the bowl streak.

That is all.

Cheers - that's your weekend review. Three weeks ago I was thanking my lucky stars I had Michigan football to make me forget about the horrendous losses we 'Hoos were destined to suffer week after week. Now the situation is reversed. Funny ol' world, innit?