I bought it for $3.

Later I looked out on Amazon to get the cover art because iTunes did not find it. There were no new discs available (not surprising, really). There were three used, “… starting at $99.99″ from various sellers. Wait. $99.99? Yes it was true. There were three used discs available, starting at just under $100 and going up to $250. Hm, I said to myself. Just because they’re asking that much doesn’t mean they’re getting it, right?

So the next step was to go out to eBay and search completed auctions. Believe it or not, there are two completed auctions in the last 90 days, both for over $100.

It seems that this disc was self-financed by Miranda and her family before she went on Nashville Star and ultimately became a hit recording artist. There was a very limited production, and most likely a limited distribution. Miranda grew up in Lindale, Texas, which is not far from the D/FW area. I’m guessing that’s why this one showed up here.

You never know what you might find.

Was it the idiot in the wrong lane who realized nearly at the last moment and put on their turn signal to move over a lane?

Or was it the jerk in the correct lane that purposefully sped up to prevent the idiot from being able to merge in?

Either way it was nearly an accident right in front of me. Fortunately the idiot was able to wedge their way in front of the jerk and we all went on our merry way…

It was a real shame that Colt got knocked out of the game so quickly. I would have liked to see him have the chance to end his career with an amazing championship game. Instead I got to watch Saban call conservative plays and yell at his special teams coach.

Wasn’t that a great onside kick by Texas? Kick it right at a guy, let it bounce off of him, then recover it.

Note to Texas: next time you’re about to intercept a fake punt pass, knock the ball down rather than catch it. Field position will be better.

Note to Texas QB Gilbert: it will be interesting to see you play next year. You showed some real spark in the second half.

LSU finished the season in the top 20 (#17 in both the AP and USA Today polls). It will be interesting to see what happens next year. I believe the main difference between LSU and Penn State this year was QB experience. That and more bad clock management by Miles at the end of the game, but that’s a different story.

LSU managed to mismanage the clock yet again. When there is less than sixty seconds on the clock, you don’t spend five seconds in formation before you start the play. One second is plenty. Yet that’s what they managed to do on their next to last play. A questionable penalty (at least in my mind) on an LSU player who was trying to get the pile separated pushed them back a bunch of yards, and ultimately Penn State won 19-17. The field was really sloppy which removed any “speed advantage” that LSU might have had, if there even was one. I was happy for the Penn State QB as the game obviously meant a lot to him.

There are quite a few discussions over the year about which conference is better. This year it seems there is no clear-cut winner unless it’s the Mountain West. Every other conference is at best 50% in the won/loss record for this bowl season, including the SEC which is currently 3-3. The Mountain West is 4-0, including victories by Air Force, BYU, Utah, and Wyoming. The conference has a chance to extend their record when TCU takes on Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. That should be an interesting game. It will be interesting to see if it’s close, or if one team or the other has a clear advantage. To me it was clear that Cincinnati did not belong on the same field as Florida; maybe TCU would have been a better choice afterall.

In other games involving SEC teams…

Florida whipped Cincinnati. Auburn escaped Northwestern in overtime. Georgia took out Texas A&M. On the losing side were Kentucky (lost to Clemson), Tennessee (lost to Virginia Tech), and LSU. Still to go are Arkansas, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. Oh, and I can’t forget Alabama. I’m looking forward to that game later this week.

Texas probably should have lost to Nebraska. I can’t remember a worse case of clock management at the end of a game. Ever! What did they think, that they had to use up the clock because of Nebraska’s “quick strike” capability? Unless Texas can find their grove again, Alabama is going to walk all over them for the national title game. I hope Florida gets their collective head into the Sugar, or the Bearcats will show them who’s what. The bowl game that has to be the most unusual is the Fiesta, with two undefeated teams not playing for a national title. TCU and Boise State… I have to believe they would rather be playing one of the “big boys” to establish more field credibility for next year, but then again, the Fiesta Bowl is a nice bowl for the two schools. It could be a really interesting game at that, perhaps even more compelling than ‘Bama versus Texas.

I LOL’d at USC finishing the season the way they did. I said it before; teams with freshman quarterbacks do not, as a rule, make a serious run at the national title.

And finally, I hope Toby Gerhart takes the Heisman. He deserves it.

After all of the upsets for the past two years it was interesting to see the top teams stay the same for essentially the entire season this year. Florida will meet Alabama in the SEC title game. Texas meets Nebraska in the Big 12 title game. Assuming Texas wins, it seems a reasonable conclusion for them to face the SEC winner for the title game. If not, another Texas school TCU seems primed to jump into the title game. I can’t remember a season with six undefeated teams this late into the season… of course one of the top two is going to have at least one loss after the SEC title game.

LSU did manage to move up after their overtime victory (over Arkansas) since Pitt lost and Georgia took out Georgia Tech. I don’t quite get how Ohio State ended up back in the top ten… when did that happen? They haven’t beaten anyone of note and they’re playing in a weak conference. Oh, wait, it’s the annual “Big 10 schools move up because they’re not playing anybody anymore” push. As other teams lose, Big 10 teams move up into the gaps. I see Iowa and Penn State in the top 10 too. Would I pick a two-loss Ohio State team over a three-loss LSU team? Nope.

Texas Tech took out Bayler after a slow start, and Oklahoma spoiled Oklahoma State’s season by giving them one more loss in the Bedlam Bowl. USC finished with a victory over UCLA, giving them 3 losses for the season. Hmm, who predicted that at the beginning of the season? Teams with freshman quarterbacks don’t often win their conference. I expect them to be back next year though. Granted I expected one of the losses to be to Notre Dame, but I’ll swap out the Stanford victory for that one instead.

I believe LSU played well enough to stay in the top 15, especially since Oregon, Iowa, and Penn State all lost. LSU has been officially knocked out of the SEC championship race, as Alabama has locked up the West just one week after Florida cinched the East. The goal now for both teams is to get there with unblemished records, setting up a sure play-in game for the BCA championship. The most likely opponent? Texas, who ran all over UCF (who? yeah, I thought, so, a nobody) today. There aren’t many challenges left for Texas now, who should run the table all the way to the Big 12 championship game.

Once they get there, they might even lose (doubtful) and back into the BCS game like Oklahoma did a few years back… before they lost to LSU.

Let’s look at it this way… given the amount of padding that football players wear, how much damage is a punch going to do anyway? What is the possibility of long-term damage from such an action? None, or at the most extremely slight.

What is the possibility of long-term damage to having your eyes gouged? Real good, if you ask me. Look at what happened to Orlando Brown when he caught an official’s flag in his eye. He was out of football for several years.

So to summarize: In NCAA football, if you punch someone with little or no chance of doing long-term harm you get kicked off the team. But if you try to gouge someone in the eye you get suspended for half a game. That makes sense.

If you feel like I do, please send Coach Urban Meyer an email at CoachUrbanMeyer@gators.uaa.ufl.edu and let him know.

Florida clinched the SEC East title based on their victory over Georgia and the South Carolina loss to Tennessee. Florida’s biggest challenges remaining on their schedule are probably South Carolina and a very unpredictable Florida State team. Alabama was off this week.

Ole Miss and Auburn played one of the most exciting 3rd quarters I’ve ever watched. There were long touchdown runs, long pass completions, and a blocked extra point returned for two points. Auburn got the win, which could put them back into the top 25. They might replace Ole Miss who could easily drop out. They are probably one of the biggest disappointments in the SEC this year. After finishing so strong last year (and defeating a good Texas Tech team in the Cotton Bowl) they had high expectations this year. Now they’re sitting in fourth place in the SEC West.

Meanwhile Texas seems to be hitting on all cylinders as they scored 41 against ranked but out-matched Oklahoma State last night. With only the defense playing it would have been a tie game (14-14). With the offense chipping in a few points it was hardly a contest. I turned off the game in the 3rd quarter. Will Texas move up? It’s hard to say. Florida looked like the champion team from last year as they dismantled Georgia. Tebow set the SEC record for rushing touchdowns. (With a * by the record as he played four years to Hershal Walker’s three.)

USC was on the receiving end of their worst loss in the Pete Carroll era. It was 24-17 at halftime and even if the Ducks had not scored again the final would have been 24-20. As it stands they cruised to a 42-20 final score. USC could drop out of the top ten, and Oregon should move up. Oregon now controls their own destiny in the Pac 10 but probably can’t make up enough ground on the teams in front of them to qualify for the BCS Championship.

BCS busters TCU and Boise State (who owns a victory over Oregon) both shellacked their opponents this week. TCU beat patsy #1 41-0 and Boise State beak patsy #2 45-7. Do the opponents matter? Not this week, because neither was ranked. TCU has the better shot at hitting a big bowl because they still have some ranked opponents on their schedule. Boise State doesn’t.

They cynic in me from the beginning of the season predicts LSU will lose two of their remaining four games to finish at 9-3 and will play in a good but not top-tier bowl game. They haven’t shown enough growth over the season to make me think otherwise. The hopeful fan in me sees them running the table, beating Florida in a grudge match SEC title game, and taking down Texas for their 3rd national title.

Yeah, that’s not going to happen. But it’s still fun to think about.