BleacherBull

I think it's great we stopped playing . . . the way it was going, somebody was going to get killed eventually. It's also great there are no more gnat infestations on TheBullsPen.com and Greg's blog. GB!

Week 1. UWCF (home) Week 2. USF (away) Week 3. South Florida (home) Week 4. SFU (away) Week 5. Southern Central Florida (home) Week 6. Bye Week 7. Da Bulls (away) Week 8. Disney Classic: UCF vs. USF (neutral site) Week 9. USF Freshmen (Homecoming) Week 10. Orlampa Classic (neutral site) Week 11. USF-St. Pete (home) Week 12. USF-Lakeland (away) Week 13. FGCU, formerly USF (home) Post Season: The Bianchi Bowl, pitting UCF against "the epitome of everything that is wrong with college football".

Thanks for posting your pics. They are great! GB!

I'll bet Coral Springs Bull even remembers the games we had at the Armory; neither he nor I will ever complain about the lack of amenities at the Sun Dome.

I knew it was too good to last, but it did remain nit-free for almost two weeks. We can always choose to "ignore" a poster(s). There really is no end to their obsession.

I really like reading the posts to this board. Thanks everyone!

you will be tied up in traffic after the game, whether you're going to Opelika, Montgomery, Columbus, or elsewhere.  Just bring some eats, liquid refreshment, and tune into a local radio station that will probably be talking about the game nonstop.  And the wise one's will make a pit stop before leaving the stadium. ÂÂ

Thanks guys. I assume Dome improvements are a higher priority for us than a practice facility at this point anyway.

I need some help from our resident basketball experts. I understand the need for football practice facilities. But I don't understand why anyone would want to practice basketball with a different floor and baskets than they will use for home games. What am I missing here? Is this really an equipment/weight training issue, a Dome scheduling issue, or are these facilities just prestigious plums to lure recruits? Please advise.

Got mine today. Even better than the Car Care Bowl commemorative from last year IMO. Thanks to everyone in the Athletics Dept. that made this happen. Of course, I hope to order a much more prestigious bowl commemorative ticket next year. Go Bulls!

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/breaking_news/16962206.htm

See if I understand this correctly. First, they shouldn't have been there at that hour, if at all (dumb). Second, they are asked to leave by the owners/managers, but choose not to do so (dumber). Third, the cops show up and they still insist on hanging around (dumbest). Just seems like another bonehead "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty to me.

It's official. My little fund drive has now ended. Thanks to all who contibuted to HOT in the past and to those who plan on contributing at a future date. For those that are interested, I sent them a thousand on Jan. 11th, that covers the donations made by AgingBull and JEWBULL. Today I will send them another 500 to match the donation of CoolBull1. Thanks again.

Is CoolBull1's 500 part of JEWBULL's 536? If these two are different, I'll count them separately.

Right now it looks like the USF WBB team is the best in Florida, with FSU second. UF is having a horrible year and their coach is in the last year of a contract. If UF makes a change, they will probably look for a successful coach with excellent recruiting ties locally. Just food for thought.

I don't think it will take 1-1.5 hours to reach the stadium from Columbus, as the crowd tends to arrive in a fairly steady stream starting about 24 hours before kickoff. After the game, now that's a different story! You could probably walk out of town faster than you could drive. One interesting option is the shuttle system they have running between the stadium and a shopping area called Tiger Town that is just off I-85. I may consider that.

When ordering the nickname list alphabetically, it's easy to see there are many more gnat species in need of extermination. For example, there are actually four species of golden gnats and two species of scarlet gnats, plus the purple gnats, green gnats, and 12 species of generic gnats. As in the real world, gnats are more common than bulls.

The Riverwalk is a 15 mile paved and lighted path that runs along the Chattahoochee River from downtown Columbus South to Fort Benning. Here's a link for more info: http://www.columbusga.org/parks/park_sites/riverwalk.htm I think bikes can be rented downtown. If you're interested in this local attraction, consider staying at the Marriott, on the edge of the historic district downtown. The Riverwalk will be right across the street, the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts is the next block over, and a variety of restaurants, brew pubs, and night clubs are an easy two-block walk from the hotel.

It may be worthwhile to ask some people who've gone to Auburn before where they eat and sleep, i.e., some traveling gator fans.  Though it's usually a disappointing trip for them overall.  HaHaHa!

The analysis is flawed because it doesn't take into account the number of teams in each conference.  With his method a conference with 8 teams will usually lose to conferences with 12 teams.  The BE #4 should be compared to the #6 teams in 12-team conferences IMO.

100 from AgingBull and 536 from JEWBULL & Friends=636 to date

BTW, a pledge is just your promise that you will donate. I can't and don't care to verify that everyone's pledges will be fulfilled. I'm just trying to stimulate a little bit of giving. Maybe some HOT insider can verify that X number of dollars were received by a certain date. When you donate, they won't ask for your Board username, so I don't know how that can be tracked. I'm open to suggestions.

I'm glad somebody else is willing to chip in.  Use the HOT Band Link under Official Sites at the top of this Board.  When you get on the HOT Board, use the link at about the 8 o'clock position to donate.  After provding some background identifying info, hit the submit button and you will be taken to the USF Foundation site (HOT cannot take donations directly), where you can pay by credit card with a secure connection.  They also provide an address and telephone number if you want to pay by check or phone. So far, looks like I'll only have to cough up $100 of my own money. Thanks!

From today's Columbus, GA Ledger-Enquirer: Auburn scrambles to finish schedule Tigers still have two holes to fill in 2007 football schedule BY CHRISTA TURNER Staff Writer AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn associate athletic director Mark Richard estimates he's talked to someone at nearly every university in Bowl Championship Series conferences -- or at least their league commission for scheduling football. Like last year, it's been a nightmare for the Tigers to come up with the last couple of teams to round out the 2007 football schedule. The Tigers are trying to fill two slots -- opening day on Sept. 1 and the week before the Georgia game, which is Nov. 3 "We've talked to a lot of teams," Richard said. "I can't really throw out names at this point." Richard and athletic director Jay Jacobs each expressed a desire to finish the schedule within the next two weeks. Auburn is seeking a team from a BCS conference for the season opener -- much like Washington State in 2006 -- and a non-BCS caliber team for the November slot. With the help of ESPN, Auburn tried to work out a deal with Oregon State for the opener. "They tried to make it work," Jacobs said. "I believe they had to move around a game or two. We certainly appreciate them trying." The key for the Tigers is beefing out a home schedule many Auburn fans perceive as weak already. For the conference schedule, the Tigers have Alabama -- their strongest draw -- but also Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. None of those three are considered big draws. The Tigers already have a pair of interesting non-conference games. South Florida plays in the Big East, finishing 9-4 this past season with a bowl win. The Bulls lose only five senior starters and ended the season strong with an upset of West Virginia. They will also host New Mexico State, coached by former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme. "We feel like we owe it to our people to have at least a couple of strong games in there to make it a little more attractive, the home season ticket, and that's what we're trying to do," Richard said. Jacobs said scheduling will be much easier once the Tigers get past the 2007 season. West Virginia is already on tap for the 2008 and 2009 season, and Auburn is already working on schedules for 2010 and beyond. Richard said that having West Virginia lined up has actually hindered the efforts for the upcoming schedule. "It's tough to get a team because they want to go back-to-back-years," Richard said. "That's what has been making it difficult. We've tried working with ESPN again to land a team like we did with Washington State that came in and played one game and we didn't have to return that trip. "We're hoping to have something soon. I would like to have this completed by January 31. I think we can reach this goal." www.ledger-enquirer.com

I see their rationale now . . . create a combination football/basketball/show venue. Makes sense for them (before I thought someone had just put some illicit substance in Smelly's pipe). But, it probably doesn't make sense for us, because you can't expand it once you put the dome over it. We've already drawn more than 40K for football several times and our current draw for basketball would be almost invisible in a place that large. Maybe they need to factor in the cost for some enormous black curtains.