knapplc

Bottom Line - the rest of the nation tried to settle it on the field and created the Bowl Coalition while the Big 10 held on to the Rose Bowl. When Nebraska won the Orange Bowl it was all over, and it had nothing to do with "giving" anything to Tom Osborne. That championship was earned on the field, and the voting wasn't even close.

You might want to check the batteries on your Rhetorical Question Detector.

Here's the rub recipe. It's just called "Cajun Rub." Cajun Rub 2 tablespoons paprika 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons onion powder 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons cayenne 1 1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves 1 teaspoon oregano leaves I just combine all ingredients, then I use an old parmesan cheese shaker to shake it on the rack of ribs. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

I make my own BBQ sauce. It's a recipe from Tyler Florence and it kicks butt. If you don't like sweet BBQ, take out the peach preserves. You can add a kick to it with just about anything, from red pepper flakes to Louisiana Hot Sauce. It's pretty versatile, and I like having the control over what I'm putting on my ribs. 2 bacon slices 4 sprigs fresh thyme 1/2 onion 3 smashed garlic cloves 2 cups ketchup 1 cup peach preserves 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or 1 tablespoon dry mustard 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/4 cup molasses 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground paprika Heat a 2-count of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon and thyme and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes to render the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly, without coloring, for 5 minutes. Add all of the rest of the sauce ingredients, give the sauce a stir, and turn the heat down to low. Cook slowly for 20 minutes to meld the flavors. Strain the sauce to remove the solids. I'll dig up my rub recipe, too. It's a spicy rub that goes well with the sweet sauce. And I only use baby back ribs.

Can you explain it to me, then? Because I don't know how he got elected. Or how Bush got elected. Or Clinton, or Bush the First. Reagan was a good president, but before him Carter was crap, and Ford, and Nixon.... The problem is that none of these guys are truly the best available, or even the Right Man at the Right Time (which Reagan was). We've had crap to vote for in most of the past 20 elections, yet there are still partisan nitwits running around calling "the other side" out for their stance, when the fact of the matter is that we're all Americans, and damned good Americans, and we don't have to have the same political ideology or the same background or the same ancestors or the same religious beliefs or the same color skin or the same mode of immigration or the same anything to be great Americans. It's our diversity that makes us great, and our unified vision despite whatever minimal differences we have. If people would just stop getting their political views from the TV or emailed fearmongering we'd be in a hell of a lot better position today than we are. Unfortunately people are being sold a belief that we have to worry more about our differences than our similarities, and instead of thinking critically about those differences, we're just buying into the fear (and buying into the ads, and TV share, and Q Rating, and all the other crap that goes along with keeping these talking heads on the air), and these superficial differences are becoming "real" to people. And I'm concerned about that, because I like my neighbors, even though they're different from me. I like those differences. Knowing them and learning about them broadens and deepens me as a person.

I make better BBQ at home, so I'm not a good one to ask. Remind me to post my BBQ Ribs and baked beans recipe on Monday. I don't have them on this computer. EDIT - see below. I found them on the Interwebz.

We are dangerously close to personal attacks here. Everyone please remember that the rules still apply even if it's the offseason. Converse, but do so respectfully, please.

I'm on here pretty steadily throughout the year. We went from semi-sleepy offseason doldrums to the kind of traffic we usually have during the season in about two days. I don't know actual factual numbers, but it was busy.

I see I'm providing the valuable service of making sure nobody else loses this thing.

Get used to it. Typically, all Big 10 bowl games are away games. vs SEC in Florida/New Orleans; USC in Rose Bowl, played Texas & AM in Texas. The SEC ususally get all home games. Either in Florida, New orleans, they have put UK in Nashville many times. Get used to it? When's the last time you saw a bowl game played in Lincoln? I'd say we're pretty used to it. I caught an interview with Delany a few weeks ago where he discussed bowl game locations. He said his fans don't want to watch a bowl game in the North - they want to vacation somewhere warmer, and get a break from the winter. Completely understandable, and I have no problem with that. Bottom line is, if you want to win bowl games or championships, you should be ready, willing and able to play any team, anywhere, any time. If that means playing Florida in the Orange Bowl or USC in the Rose Bowl, so be it. The better team will win.

How freaky would it be if Nebraska were to win the Big 10 in its first year and represent the conference in the Rose Bowl?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Big 10 - and not all schools, just those going to BCS or major bowl games - has only recently realized that their historic philosophy of "three yards and a cloud of dust" isn't going to cut it in the modern era. They're making inroads into Florida, Texas and California, and they're building relationships with those high schools and getting kids to go up there like never before. We've all seen the geographic breakdown of where kids are going to school, and we know that kids are more likely to stick close to home. Nebraska already bucks that trend with recruits out of the Northeast (no Big XII teams), Florida (no Big XII teams), Ohio (no Big XII teams) and California(no Big XII teams), to name just a few where recent recruits came from.

A bylaw is not a law. It gets fuzzy when you're talking about legally signed contracts, but suffice it to say that the agreement everyone signed isn't 100% binding. There are arguments to be made and it will be up to a judge to decide if the contract was broken and if so, by whom. Ebyl has been raising some good points (+1!) about settling out of court, and that's the way I'm leaning right now. If the Big 12-2 becomes belligerent they could force UNL to take them to court, and I do not think Texas in particular wants that. We'll see.

A conference that already has three of the top seven schools in football history, with the tradition and pageantry that entails, vs. a conference wholly built around convenience and expedience. That's a no-brainer. The Big 10, every day of the week.

Texas Lawmakers can't make us take Houston. The 4 Texas schools don't want us too, either (they won't say it), and the 6 non Texas schools don't have to care and therefore... Won't... we did not want baylor either... But that was part of getting the thing done in the first place. We were going to take 4, politics dictated which 4 in that case. I am not saying the politicians can never influence, just that the dynamics for that don't exist here... I just have one question - do you really trust that what you're hearing out of Texas is the truth? Really?

Actually, I think it's kind of cool to say Barack O-BAM-a. I'll have to use that from now on.

Here's the pertinent part about that article. This is what I've been thinking, and why I've been saying I don't think we'll be paying anything to the Big 12-2. If we pay anything at all, it'll be simply to put this thing to bed. I doubt that happens, mostly because of the threat of legal action and the fear of the discovery process that Shatel and another member here has posted about (sorry, I've forgotten who). We'll see. I bet we pay nothing.

When you speak it out loud, do you add extra punch to the middle syllable, like Forrest Gump did when he told Jenny that he thought she should come back home with him to, "Greenbough AlaBAMa!" Are you supposed to read it like that?

Back where they were before, but with one and possibly two more schools from Texas. That's what that conference really needs...more Texas schools. Yep. I believe they call that "one step forward, two steps back."

Was that a Braveheart reference?

I find it extremely doubtful that this "play everyone" schedule comes to fruition. Texas lawmakers are pushing to include Houston in the Big 12, and if they succeed (and I can't imagine why Houston wouldn't want to join), you'll have to pick up another school and then you're right back where you were before. LINK

What is the significance of adding extra m's to Obama's name?

It's possible that we'll gain fans through exposure through the Big Ten Network. We have a TON already.

Wow, I'm really surprised by all the rancor against Kansas. I thought people understood that what they did was a crappy deal for them, but necessary (at least in the short term). Would your opinion change about them if they left the Big 12-2?