Kittens.

They’re cute and cuddly and make great subjects for funny videos on YouTube. Plus, they taste like chicken.

Okay, I don’t know about that last part. But little kitties grow up to be mean old tomcats or pussycats.

Kittens, despite however cute they may be, are nothing little toms or little pussies.

And sometimes it seems like we’re becoming a nation of kittens. And it’s not cute.

For example, when I was in high school, back in the 1970s, high school teams would play football in the rain. On November 27, 1976, there was a game played in Albany where there was so much rain, one end of the field was unplayable. On one series, the official set the ball down for play, then walked away. The ball started to float off. The official stayed with the ball until the center approached from that point on.

Later in the game, a punted ball hit and didn’t bounce. It never touched the ground. It hit the water and bobbed.

No, I’m not making any of this up. I was at that game, and it was wet and miserable. And fun.

This week, though, in southeast Georgia, several high school teams moved their football games from Friday night (tonight) to Thursday night (last night).

Why? Because there’s a hurricane on track to hit North Carolina. And they don’t want to play in nasty weather.

What a bunch of kittens.

Back on September 21, 1989, with Hurricane Hugo bearing down on the Georgia/South Carolina coast, Statesboro’s Georgia Southern College (now University) hosted their first night game. It was windy and wet. Four inches of rain fell during the game. The rain was falling sideways. I was there, and it was absolutely fun.

Today, they wouldn’t play that game. Because people are a bunch of kittens.

We have too many kittens. They’re everywhere and making decisions for us.

We need to be able to play football in the rain.

Those kittens? They need to be spayed or neutered.

Somebody mentioned something about “professional football” the other day. I simply thought they were talking about Auburn and Cam Newton. But, no. As it turns out, there is an organization that consists of grown men playing football on Sunday afternoons.

Who knew?

It’s almost like real football, like they play on college campuses on Saturdays. Or Fridays, if you have a small college, or high school.

But, this group of people are something called the “Eneffell.” I think that’s how it’s pronounced, anyway. Like the letters “N,” “F,” and “L” all rolled together.

I’m not sure. The thought of grown men getting together and playing a kids game? It seems to me it would attract all kinds of riff-raff. Like potheads, murderers, rapists, Chris Rock look-alikes, and other irreputable types.

I prefer the real football. College football.

The players still get paid. Or their dads do. Or their dad’s churches do.

But, they only hang around for four years, then move on to selling drugs or knocking over liquor stores. Or becoming potheads, murderers, rapists, or Chris Rock look-alikes.

The college game even has playoffs and a championship. For three levels. And could have one for a fourth, if someone would just come up with a good plan.

Anyway, this “Eneffell?” I don’t think it’ll last.

What can Sarah Palin do?

The better question is: What can Sarah Palin not do?

I discovered just how talented and versatile she is. She can quarterback Auburn University.

No, really. Look:

Source: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

It surprised me, to say the least.

With her leading Auburn on the gridiron, I suspect she’s completely lost all the Boise State and Texas Christian fans. All 20 of them.

My local Little League baseball team was knocked out of the Little League World Series yesterday. The West team, from Waipahu, Hawaii, beat the Southeast team, from Columbus, Georgia.

Ever since Barack Obama was thrust onto the national scene, the Hawaii has been tainted by association. However, Barack Obama doesn’t have any connection with Hawaii Little League. None whatsoever.

I mean, you’ve seen him try to throw a baseball, right?

Plus, Little League requires a birth certificate.

Obama was high and way to the left.

[Direct link]
Video tip: Ace of Spades HQ

Oh, I wasn’t talking about his first pitch (although it’s applicable there). I was talking about him every day of his political career.

Just thought I’d clear that up.

Update:

[Direct link]

What is it with the SEC? Or the politics of the states having schools in the SEC?

First, the University of Mississippi drops Colonel Reb as its mascot. Now, the University of Tennessee has banned student-athletes from owning guns.

This comes after some pot-smoking basketball players were found with handguns that had altered serial numbers.

So, how does the school respond? Banning drugs? Throwing idiots off the team? No, they ban guns. Stupid athletic director.

Oh, and then there’s the whole Second Amendment thing. But let’s suppose we ignore that for a second. (After all, many on the left do it all the time. It’s used to being ignored.)

Let’s look at the school itself. The University of Tennessee. What’s the school’s nickname? The Pundits? No, that’s not it.

The Moonshiners? Nah.

The ‘Possums? That’s not right.

Hound Dogs? Nope.

The Volunteers? Yes, that’s it! The Volunteers. Because Tennessee’s nickname is “The Volunteer State.”

Now, how did they get that name? Wouldn’t have anything to do with the War of 1812, would it?

…when President James Madison called on Tennessee to help defend the “Lower Country,” Tennesseans volunteered en masse, earning the nickname “The Volunteer State.” Tennessee Governor Willie Blount was asked to send 1,500 troops for the defense of the lower Mississippi region and an expedition under the command of Andrew Jackson, major general of the Tennessee militia, was outfitted in December 1812.

You think that maybe left-wing nutcases think the “Volunteer State” nickname came about from registering voters?

What will happen when they discover that the “Volunteer” nickname is from gun-owners offering to help defend others?

Maybe they’ll want to change the mascot.

How about the Dumbasses?

Thinking about a solution to the BCS problem, I came up with a 16-team playoff system, using conference champions as the top 11 slots, with wild card teams filling out the field of 16.

But some don’t like that. Some complain that teams like Troy or Buffalo shouldn’t make the mix while better teams like Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Brigham Young, or Ball State are left out.

So, if its the best teams that should fill the field of 16, then there’s an easy solution:

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Mississippi
5. Louisiana State
6. South Carolina
7. Vanderbilt
8. Kentucky
9. Arkansas
10. Tennessee
11. Auburn
12. Mississippi State
13. Oklahoma
14. Texas
15. Southern California
16. Utah

Problem solved.

The mythical college football championship game is set. And lots of people are not happy.

Me? I don’t have a dog in the hunt. Or Dawg, to be specific.

Still, there are some unhappy campers. And I’m in that group. Despite my not having a team of interest in the mix … or close to the mix … I’m in the unhappy group because … well, let’s face it: I have strong opinions.

But I do more than just whine about something I don’t like; I have a solution.

Check that.

I have THE solution: A 16-team playoff that uses the BCS for seeding.

Automatic Bids

There are 11 conferences. The 11 conference champions get an automatic spot. The remaining 5 spots … call them “wild card” spots … would be taken up by the top teams in the BCS standings that don’t get an automatic berth.

Here are the 11 conference champions, listed alphabetically by conference:

Wild Card Teams

Here are the top five teams (according to the BCS) that did not win their conference.

There are two ways of doing the seeding.

One is using the BCS to rank them, plain and simple.

But that’s too plain and simple for me. I actually like the way the NFL does it. In the NFL, the division champs get the top seeds, and the wild cards get the leftover slots, regardless of record.

For instance, in 2007, Tampa Bay was the #4 seed in the NFC, winning the South with a 9-7 record, while the Giants were the #5 seed, despite having 10-6 record. Likewise, Pittsburgh took the AFC North with a 10-6 record, and were seeded 4th, while Jacksonville, sporting a better record (11-5), was 5th seed, since they didn’t win their division.

Seeding

Using that as a model, here’s the 2008 NCAA Division I-A (using the older name) playoff seeding:

Matchups

This will set up some interesting matchups:

• (16) Texas Christian at (1) Oklahoma
• (15) Ohio State at (2) Florida
• (14) Texas Tech at (3) Southern California
• (13) Alabama at (4) Utah
• (12) Texas at (5) Penn State
• (11) Buffalo at (6) Boise State
• (10) Troy at (7) Cincinnati
• (9) East Carolina at (8) Virginia Tech

The 8 winners would play the following week, with the top 4 remaining seeds hosting the bottom 4 remaining seeds. The 8 first-round losers and the 4 second-round losers would get bowl invitations. And pretty good bowl invitations, in all likelihood.

The final four would play as part of the January 1st bowl games. The final two would play a week later for the real … not mythical … championship.

Problem solved.