TGIF Linkage 12/12

** It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Cole Hamels (you know, the World Series MVP, ace of the Phillies), but the 24-year-old is back in the news. In an interview with a New York radio station on Thursday, Hamels called the New York Mets “choke artists.” You won’t hear me disagreeing.

— RANTING ALERT —

** So, did you see the 3 Heisman Trophy finalists? Tim Tebow (Florida), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) and Colt McCoy (Texas)…..

….wait a second. How is Graham Harrell (Texas Tech) not in there? He had 1300 more passing yards and 9 more TD than McCoy, identical team records and actually won their head-to-head matchup. What the heck?

** Not to continue bitching about the BCS, but even the computers — one of three polls used for the composite — have the national championship game as Oklahoma vs. Texas. The computers ranked Oklahoma No. 1, Texas No. 2 and Florida third.

** Boise State has the biggest BCS gripe right now. No question. End of story.

— RANTING ALERT OVER —

** Man, the joys of being a college football player seem nice.

** Wait, I thought the deal was no more Jay Leno? At all. Personally, I’m enraged at the latest late-night news.

** Here’s a tip: Don’t point a camera at John Daly.

** Hey, Curt Schilling, nobody cares whether you think the U.S. is winning in Iraq. Also, how does one actually “win” a war? Stop using those terms (Yes, I’m looking at you, Sean Hannity).

** The Cleveland Indians must want to pad their disabled list.

** Memo to Bill O’Reilly: You might want to actually read the Army Field Manual before making up facts again.

— — — —

TGIF Recommended Tune

“It’s Not My Time” by 3 Doors Down

Heard this song on the radio this morning and again, downloaded it to iTunes right away. Thought you might like it too. I believe 3 Doors Down performed this song before the MLB Home Run Derby earlier this year.

Recruiting Update

We’re now deep into the recruiting season for football, so I’ve been keeping an eye (and an ear) on any potential USD recruits.

So far, I’ve told you about Avon’s Earv Archambeau and S.F. O’Gorman’s Mike Pharis.

Now, I’ve come across a number of kids from Wisconsin who have been offered scholarships by USD, at least according to wissports.net:

* lineman Bryan Witzmann (6-8, 255) will make an official visit to Vermillion on Saturday. He will also visit North Dakota State on Jan. 10 and South Dakota State on Jan. 17. Right now, he lists NDSU as his favorite.

* Wissports.net reports that Witzmann is the state’s 10th known prospect to receive a scholarship offer from USD, joining defensive end Clay Gosse, linebacker Cordero Finley, defensive lineman Zach Anderson, running back Ryan Givens, linebacker Brian Otto, defensive end Ben Gardner, defensive lineman Ethan Hemer, wide receiver Ben Ericksen and offensive lineman Nick Doehling.

* The Coyotes will also likely look for a quarterback in this recruiting class. Noah Shepard will be a senior, backup Dante Warren will be a sophomore and Tyler Robinson will be a junior for the 2009 season.

National Signing Day for football is Feb. 4, by the way. Its crunch time for coaches right now.