Well, I feel like an ass.

Just this week I gave Bill Belichick props for having an astonishing 18 undrafted free agents on the Super Bowl roster. I gave him props for being able to consistently win, while not surrounding his legendary QB with freaky playmakers that cost the team a fortune. I gave him props for Operation Troy Brown II with Julian Edelman (remember when Troy Brown went both ways for the Pats as a WR/DB?).  That’s a damn good coach right there.

I stayed away from the Spygate scandal. Didn’t try to dredge up the past, but the facts are the facts. He cheated. He got caught. He lied publicly about it. He lied to the Commissioner of the NFL about it. He got fined $500,000. His owner got fined an additional $250,000. He cost his team their 2008 1st round draft pick, which was forfeited. But here we are on the eve of the Super Bowl, and I wasn’t harping on it at all.

And then on Saturday evening, the entire world (including me) got a giant kick-in-the-package reminder as to why Bill Belichick is still a villain, and why NFL players rarely want to show any loyalty to NFL teams. Because they are nothing more than meat, and we as fans and media forget that pure, ultimate truth. The players all know it, some more than others.

Bill Belichick did the unspeakable: he cut a player the night before the Super Bowl. Not for pulling a Eugene Robinson and being busted picking up a prostitute on the eve of the biggest game of his career. Nope. Not for pulling a James Brooks and being coked out of his mind before the biggest game of his career. Not for pulling a Barrett Robbins and disappearing and ending up in Mexico before the biggest game of his career. Nope. Bill Belichick cut Tiquan Underwood simply because he wanted to make a roster move. He cut Underwood and elevated a pass rusher from his practice squad. As simple as that. Wanted more depth up front. Underwood was the expendable chess piece.

My phone started blowing up with texts from several of my buddies who are former NFL players, media colleagues, and a few of my friends that are currently playing in the NFL. The common tone amongst those messages: DISGUST.

So the next time a player holds out in camp because he wants more money and feels like he’s outplayed his contract, don’t get upset. Don’t complain about a player not “honoring” his contract. Think about Tiquan Underwood. His contract meant nothing to Bill Belichick.  The next time a player demands a trade, don’t get upset. Think about Tiquan Underwood. The next time a guy bolts in free agency from a good team to a crappy team so that he can get a fat pay raise, don’t get upset. Think about Tiquan Underwood.

These men that put their bodies through hell, and go to battle on Sundays in the NFL are human beings. They are not chess pieces; they are not meat. They have feelings, they have pride, they have families, they have friends, they have joy and they have pain.

I am extremely passionate about the NFL. I love the league, the storylines, the incredible players, the brilliant coaches, and all the drama the exists in an NFL season. I love the adrenaline that flows through an NFL stadium in the fall and winter. I admire the work ethic, the pain, and the sacrifice that these men endure to be Champions.

There is also a side of the NFL that flat-out disgusts me. Bill Belichick reminded me why on Saturday night.

Way back in the late 90′s when the Boss Lady and I got married, my in-laws gave us an awesome gift: their 1993 Nissan Altima. For two young newlyweds that didn’t have much, I have to say that we were pumped to have such a nice ride. It was classy to look at, was great in terms of gas mileage, and we knew that it would be reliable. We took our very first road trips up to Fort Collins and the Rocky Mountains in that car, and never had a concern about it’s ability to handle the task.

Fast forward about a dozen years, and I was presented with a brand new Altima Sedan 2.5 S to test drive for the good folks at Nissan.  To put it simply, not a whole lot has changed in terms of the quality of the Altima, and that’s a good thing.

Let’s start with price. I’m a sensible guy. I try to take a common sense approach to purchases. I see the price tag for sedans and sometimes I want to grab someone and shake them by their shoulders. The Altima is very reasonably priced in the mid-20′s. As a matter of fact, that’s really a great value based on what you get from the car.

Fuel Economy is a must for the majority of Americans, and the Altima does a fine job in that regard. I got on average 27.2 mpg, which is pretty good for a 4-door sedan. Gas prices in Denver (I’m not sure about the rest of the country) have steadily declined over the past few months, so paying $2.91 p/g and knowing that the Altima will use that fuel reasonably is a comfort to the wallet.

Okay, I know I just hit you with fuel economy and price tag. Hold that thought.

What I LOVE about the Altima is how it handles. Living in the mountains, if you don’t have 4wd then front wheel drive is a must. Generally there is a trade-off in how a front wheel drive vehicle will handle, and I didn’t feel that at all with the Altima. In one word: smooth. Hair pin turns were not a problem, and the engine did have strength.

All new cars are nice to a certain degree in my mind, but the sound system, cloth interior, moon roof, and leg room all got thumbs up from me. I’m 6’1, 215 lbs. If I’m driving a car, I need leg room. Often times, that can cause discomfort to backseat passengers, but there were no issues with the Altima. I grabbed groceries from Whole Foods, and had plenty of trunk space for the bags.

Obviously you can add as many bells and whistles as you can think of, but at its core the Nissan Altima is still the real deal in the world of Sedans. It’s got everything you’d want in terms of accessories, it handles well, and the price/fuel economy are excellent.

In this fast paced world, it’s comforting to know that some things never change.

(Quick Hitters to help MPIFLers avoid the blitz of another run-of-the-mill Wednesday)

What Will Brady Do???

Nobody has really talked about this, but how pissed must Brady Quinn have been this season as he watched Tim Tebow put together some of the worst passing performances the NFL has ever seen? In eight different games this year Tim Tebow failed to complete more than 10 passes. I’m not making that up. That’s a real stat. At some point Brady Quinn must have been looking at John Fox and Mike McCoy and asking “Really coach? Really?…I can’t get a series?”. In two seasons in Denver, Quinn never took a regular season snap, but that certainly cannot be attributed to his lack of effort this past off-season.

While Tim Tebow was shooting underwear commercials and doing a book tour (I know, 23 years old and he wrote a best-selling memoir), Brady Quinn stayed in Denver and hired Ole Miss QB Coach David Lee to work with him on his footwork and throwing mechanics.  That effort paid off, as Brady looked much better in the 2011 pre-season. His performance against Buffalo was an eye-opener.  I interviewed him after that game, and he credited his mechanical improvement to the work with Lee during the spring and summer. Speaking of Buffalo, they just hired David Lee to be their new Quarterbacks Coach. With Brad Smith doing his ‘Slash’ impersonation, the only backup QB that Buffalo has on their current roster is Tyler Thigpen. Don’t be shocked to see Brady Quinn in a Bills uniform soon, as he is an unrestricted free agent.

They’ve Got some sort of  Plan in Tampa. Allegedly.

I have no idea what is going on with the Bucs. Tampa offered their Head Coaching job to Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who accepted, then had a change of heart and backed out on Monday. Chew on that for a moment…they just let go of Raheem Morris who went from 10-6 in 2010 to a disastrous season in 2011. Things are already in total disarray in Tampa. So the guy they chose to come in and right the ship (pun intended) is a coach that runs a gimmick run-based offense that has never coached a single snap of football in the NFL? Literally has ZERO NFL experience. Impressive. The latest rumor is that former Green Bay Packers and Texas A&M Head Coach Mike Sherman is the leading candidate. If you want to know what Mike Sherman is really about, you have to read this letter that he recently sent to high school football coaches in Texas: Mike Sherman Letter

Nepotism is Nawesome.

Ahhh. Nothing like a good ole’ NFL nepotism story to give you the warm and fuzzies on a Wednesday. The St. Louis Rams hired Jeff Fisher to be their new leader, and he has subsequently hired Brian Schottenheimer to be his Offensive Coordinator. Yes, his father is Marty Schottenheimer. So here’s Brian’s background:  Brian was an All-State QB in Kansas in high school, leading his team to a State Championship. He played one season at Kansas, then transferred to Florida where he served as Danny Wuerffel’s backup through the 1996 season. Immediately upon graduation from Florida, he was hired as an Offensive Assistant with the St. Louis Rams in 1997. Since then, he’s coached at the D1 and NFL levels. Wow, thanks dad.

Fisher has now hired former Saints Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams to be his DC. Well, guess who’s coming with Gregg Williams to coach the Rams Linebackers? If you guessed his son Blake Williams, you’d be correct. Blake Williams was a 4-year starter at Princeton, and immediately upon graduation in 2006 was hired by the Washington Redskins as an assistant. Wanna take a wild guess as to who the Washington Redskins Defensive Coordinator was in 2006? If you guessed Gregg Williams, you’d be correct. Wow, thanks dad.

And lastly, we can’t forget about young Brandon Fisher, former standout linebacker at the University of Montana. Brandon Fisher graduated from Montana in 2010, and immediately joined the Tennessee Titans staff as an unpaid coaching intern. Multiple media outlets reported, and have since confirmed, that Titans owner Bud Adams has a strict policy forbidding nepotism. This was a major source of contention with Jeff Fisher, as Adams would not allow Fisher to hire his son as a full-time assistant coach. There were other obvious issues that led to Jeff Fisher abruptly resigning as the Titans head coach, but the nepotism policy that Adams adhered to was a major factor in that decision. Brandon was then hired by Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz as an assistant to the coaching staff. It should be noted that Schwartz was Jeff Fisher’s Defensive Line coach from 1999-2000, and then was the Titans Defensive Coordinator from 2001-2008 prior to taking the Lions job. Brandon Fisher will be joining his father’s staff in St. Louis as a full-time assistant on the defensive side of the ball. Wow, thanks dad.

Check out this past week’s MPIF MVP’s right here: ?p=7876

Every Tuesday morning I post my MPIF MVP’s…5 who shined on the Gridiron. Check it out here on milehighsports.com:

http://www.milehighsports.com/?p=7428

Adrian Peterson is THE offense in Minnesota.  He’s got the new contract. He’s got the ultra-conservative play caller in Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave. And he’s having a great season, as evidenced by today’s 122 yard, 3 Touchdown performance.

Meanwhile, the media/fan scrutiny and criticism bestowed upon Minnesota QB Donovan McNabb in the first month of the season was and has been absolutely ridiculous.

What happened last season in Washington was  completely on The Shanahans, period. An example of silly NFL nepotism at it’s finest. Yes, Washington is off to a 3-1 start in 2011, but Grossman’s numbers are typical Rex Grossman…under 60% completions, 6 TD’s, 5 picks, and 2 lost fumbles. More turnovers than TD’s. And despite some serious speed at the receiver position and two outstanding Tightends in Fred Davis and Chris Cooley, the Redskins are not a juggernaut in the passing game.

Meanwhile, anyone with access to a radio mic, a tv teleprompter, or a keyboard has been screaming for the benching of Donovan McNabb because of Minnesota’s 0-4 start leading up to today’s game.  Which begs the question: Was anybody actually watching the Minnesota games or simply looking at their fantasy football report?

The REALITY is that Minnesota is not loaded with talent on Offense. The O-line is suspect, especially without Bryant McKinnie protecting the QB’s backside. Although he’s very talented, Percy Harvin is not a #1 receiver. Bernard Berrian is an average NFL receiver, and that might be putting it nicely.  Visanthe Shiancoe is a good but not great Tightend. Bill Musgrave has always been known as an ultra-conservative Offensive Coordinator, and was fired from his last OC job in the NFL with Jacksonville after the 2004 season. He’s going to play it safe and feed the football to Adrian Peterson at all costs.

Having said that, McNabb is doing exactly what his team needs him to do right now. He’s not trying to force the ball to playmakers that don’t exist. He’s not turning the ball over (only two turnovers in 5 games). He’s got 4 passing touchdowns, and added another on the ground against Arizona. Since his rough start against San Diego in week one, McNabb has completed 59% of his passes and averaged over 200 yards passing per game.

The Vikings have lost 4 close games and won 1, with their QB only turning the ball over twice thus far. Yet, people are calling for Christian Ponder? Really? As usual, fans and media want to place the win-loss record solely on the shoulders of the Quarterback, which is absurd.

McNabb’s body of work for his career is impressive. He’s put up Hall of Fame caliber numbers…more TD’s than Aikman, Griese, Young. Far better TD to INT ratio than Moon, Kelly, Namath, Bradshaw, Aikman, etc. He’s got the same number of Super Bowl rings as Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, and Warren Moon. He led the Eagles to 5 NFC Championship Games and a SuperBowl, and did it all while throwing to the likes of Todd Pinkston, James Thrash, and Freddie Mitchell. Not exactly the Hall of Fame caliber guys that other QB’s had.  Yet, he is crucified by the football world.

McNabb was brought into Minnesota for a reason, and it was to stabilize the QB position and provide veteran leadership. He’s doing just that.

 by Warren McCarty

Is The Mormon Mission The Best Kept Secret In College Football?

Watching explosive skill players and large-bodied linemen suiting up each Saturday during the college football season, we as fans and media often forget that the majority of these players are merely teenage boys or young men not yet old enough to legally drink.

That is not necessarily the case in the state of Utah, or on the campus of Brigham Young University in particular. Many people outside the BYU program and outside the Mormon faith feel that the Cougars have for many years benefitted tremendously from a staggering age difference in their football players versus the age of their opponents each season. The University of Utah has historically featured far fewer players of the Mormon faith than their counterparts at BYU, and are more open to discussing the age and background of their student-athletes.

 “We have many athletes on our football team that have served LDS church missions,” said Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham. “We feel that these athletes have had a very positive impact on our program and add a level of maturity to the team. These athletes have been out on their own throughout different parts of the world for two years and have learned many life lessons and how to be self sufficient. As a coaching staff, any of our athletes that choose to serve religious missions have our full support.”

Utah’s 2011 roster features 30 players who have completed LDS missions. Three starters for the Utes are 24 years old or older. There are 23 players on the team that are 23 or older, with 13 of those players listed as juniors or underclassmen. Thus, they will have a very veteran group in terms of age over the next two seasons. In comparison to BYU’s roster, however, they will be a much younger football team.

BYU Football Spokesman Brett Pyne stated that for privacy purposes BYU does not publish the date of birth of their student-athletes. According to the Salt Lake City-based Deseret News, an astounding 76 players on this year’s BYU roster have completed LDS missions abroad, which last a minimum of two years and sometimes longer.  Many of those players are redshirted for a year upon their return, thus by the time most of the BYU players enter their Junior or Senior seasons on the field, they are often 24-26 years old. To put this age differential into perspective, the 2011 season opener tells the tale. BYU visited Ole Miss on September 3rd, and came away with a 14-13 road victory. Ole Miss started 8 players that day that were 19 years old or younger. The five oldest players on the Ole Miss roster are 23 years old, and they are all seniors.

Utah and BYU have both enjoyed tremendous success on the football field, especially since 2000. Utah has gone 99-41 (8-1 in bowl games), including an undefeated season in 2005. BYU has gone 92-60 over that same timeframe, including 7 bowl appearances.

“The bottom line is it’s a competitive advantage for BYU,” said a current NCAA Division 1 Head Coach who asked to remain anonymous. “Their 25-year old Left Tackle, who is a grown man in his physical prime, should be able to handle my teenager that lines up at D-End. That’s just the laws of nature. In the 4^th quarter, who is better suited to deal with adversity? The guy in his mid-twenties who’s married and has a child, or the teenager lined up across from him? Yes, Utah has Mormon players, but it pales in comparison to BYU’s roster. Those are men playing at BYU. We know it, and we make sure our players know what they are up against when we play them.”

This maturity advantage manifests itself not only emotionally, but physically as well. Most NFL players are cut or retire prior to reaching the age of 29. A report issued by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office in April of 2011 states the average career in the NFL for a player who makes a team as a rookie is 6 years. So, the average player drafted at age 22 or 23 will be peaking in terms of his football and athletic ability around the age of 25 or 26 and then will have diminished by the age of 29. Thus, when the majority of BYU’s upper classmen range in age from 23-26 years old, they are essentially in their athletic peak as men.  It’s difficult not to see the competitive advantage that gives BYU on the field.

The flipside of that argument is that the coaching staff at BYU, Utah, or any other program that has a Mormon player may have a young man as a freshman, and then lose him for two years. When that player returns, he’s been away from football and essentially has to be retrained in every aspect of the game, from fundamentals to x’s and o’s. At Utah and especially at BYU, coaching staffs face the challenge of roster maintenance. They must balance the number of players exiting the program for two-year LDS missions while others are returning to the program upon completion of their own missions. With a strict number of 85 scholarships to distribute, maintaining functional depth at each position becomes paramount.

The discussion about the advantages that older players face versus their younger counterparts will soon be thrust into the national spotlight. Now that the first month of the college football season is complete, the Heisman Trophy race inevitably heats up.  Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden is in the mix, as he’s having yet another monstrous season for the Cowboys. He got his first start in the 2009 season, and was named the full-time starter at the start of the 2010 season. Weeden turns 28 on October 14^th. Prior to joining the OSU football program, he was a 2^nd round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 2002, and spent five years in the minor leagues. He’s putting up phenomenal numbers for the 2^nd straight year at Oklahoma State, yet there are people questioning the legitimacy of his exploits on the field due to his age and maturity compared to his competition.

The same talk surrounded Chris Weinke, who guided the Florida State Seminoles to a spectacular 3-year stretch from 1998-2000. FSU won a National Title, went 32-3 during his three seasons as the starter, and Weinke won the Heisman Trophy after his senior season. He was also 28 years old when he received the honor.

If it’s controversial for Weinke and Weeden to receive Heisman consideration based on their ages, should the same discussion encompass the BYU football program? Approximately 20% of the Utah roster is comprised of players who’ve completed the LDS mission and thus will be in their mid-20’s when they are seniors. Meanwhile, almost 80% of the BYU roster has completed an LDS mission.  Is it fair that the vast majority of BYU players are physically and emotionally more mature than the players they face each Saturday?

One former Pac12 Assistant Coach who also requested anonymity expressed a separate concern regarding players taking the LDS mission.

“Those LDS kids are good people and we never had any issues with their behavior. Our issues arose when they were gone for two years, then came back telling us they wanted to transfer to BYU all of a sudden. Thankfully the NCAA stepped in after what happened to Utah State.”

The incident the coach was referring to involved Riley Nelson, a Parade All-American in high school who set several Utah High School passing records. He started 8 games as a true freshman in 2006 for Utah State, earning Team Captain status. He left campus after that season to serve his LDS mission in Barcelona, Spain. Upon returning from his mission, he stunned the coaching staff with news that he would be transferring to BYU. Although Utah State chose not to dive into an ugly spat with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints-run BYU publicly, behind the scenes Utah State officials were livid with what had taken place. Rumors of BYU’s recruitment of athletes while on their LDS missions ran rampant, and Nelson became the poster child for the discussion. In 2009, the NCAA adopted new legislation that was presented by Utah State and the Western Athletic Conference to prevent such an occurrence in the future:

NCAA Bylaws

13.1.1.3.2.1 Exception — Official Church Mission.  An institution shall not contact a student-athlete who has begun service on an official church mission without obtaining permission from the institution from which the student-athlete withdrew prior to beginning his or her mission if the student-athlete signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) and attended the institution (with which he or she signed the NLI) as a full-time student.  If such a student-athlete has completed his or her official church mission and does not enroll full time in a collegiate institution within one calendar year of completion of the mission, an institution may contact the student-athlete without obtaining permission from the first institution.

So in layman’s terms, the new NCAA rule states that a player who leaves school to take an LDS mission may not transfer nor have any contact with another program unless he or she sits out of school completely for a full calendar year after returning from the mission.

In case you missed it, Riley Nelson made national headlines this past weekend as he marched BYU on a 96-yard game winning drive to cap a wild come-from-behind 27-24 victory over… Utah State.

The question remains as to whether or not BYU has won a multitude of football games simply because the majority of their players are physically and emotionally more mature than their opponents. Meanwhile, the men in Provo, Utah are quietly going about their business on the gridiron as they’ve always done.

Bronco fans will analyze their Monday night loss at home to the Oakland Raiders in a variety of ways, with many pointing the finger directly at Kyle Orton’s sub-par performance. Meanwhile, many Raider fans will see the victory as a physically dominating performance by the Raiders Offensive and Defensive lines. Both story lines are true, as are several others.

For essentially the first time in his career since high school, Raiders QB Jason Campbell has the same core set of skill players, and is running the same offensive system with the same play caller. Campbell’s numbers were not staggering compared to Tom Brady and Cam Newton in week one (13 of 22, 105 yds, 1 TD and 1 TD rushing as well), but they did reflect his mastery of the offensive system he’s been tasked to operate.

“He has a ‘C’ on his jersey for a reason and the whole country saw why tonight,” said Raiders Head Coach Hue Jackson. “He’s our offensive leader .  We ran the ball downhill and controlled the game, and he put us in the right spots. There may be other games when we push it downfield and throw for 300 yards or more. I’m very proud of Jason tonight. Big throws. Crucial throws.”

Campbell credited his backs, offensive line (only 1 sack allowed), and receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey for the offensive success achieved against the Broncos defense.

“Our backs ran hard and they ran downhill,” said Campbell. “Our O-line really contained their edge rushers, and that was our game plan. Not to let them bring it from the edge. Run north-south; hit the quick passes; move the sticks. It was cool to see Darrius get pumped up. He made some clutch catches tonight. I’m telling you, the sky’s the limit for that kid. Just wait.”

Conversely, the Broncos were unable to execute offensively in a similar manner. Although Orton statistically had a solid night (24 of 46, 304 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT), he was under constant pressure from Richard Seymour who had 2 sacks and several pressures. In all, Orton was sacked 4 times and hit several other times. Bronco receivers and backs also had several drops, including two on third down passes that would have kept drives alive. Untimely penalties plagued the team throughout the night, and Orton’s fumble in the 4^th quarter proved to be the beginning of the end in terms of hopes for a come-from-behind victory.

“It’s just sick when that happens to you,” said Orton regarding his fumble.

Those errors, coupled with the fact that the Broncos were only able to manage 38 yards rushing on the night, did not equate to the kind of offensive performance that Coach John Fox was expecting. However, he is still looking at the 2011 season in a positive light.

“I think we still have optimism,” said Fox. “This was a game against a team that swept our division a year ago. I think it’s a team that whacked us twice a year ago. There’s no consolation for ‘close’, but I think we’re still optimistic. We are just at 0-1 like half the teams in our football league.”

The Broncos will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon with kickoff slated for 2:15 MST.

People fantasize about becoming mega-rich after hitting a jackpot in Vegas or winning the lottery, but the odds are astronomically not in favor of that actually happening. An informal poll of 120 NCAA Division I schools shows that Austin Gillmore, Crockett Gillmore, and Weston Richburg are the only three players from the same high school, starting on the same side of the football, for the same D1 program. The odds of that happening are paramount to winning the lottery.

“We realize how crazy it is,” said Colorado State Tight End Crockett Gillmore. “When we step into that huddle on Saturday at New Mexico, and I’ve got Weston behind me and Austin beside me, it will be an incredible feeling. There aren’t really words.”

Crockett Gillmore will start at Tight End this season after bursting onto the field as true freshman last season as a starting Defensive End. The Rams expect a huge contribution from him in the passing game based on his exploits as an All-State receiver in high school. Richburg earned Freshman All-America honors last season as he had a spectacular season up front for the Rams, and he will start at Center against New Mexico on Saturday. The biggest surprise amongst the three is 220 lb Austin Gillmore, who will start at Fullback after playing Linebacker the previous two seasons.

“Coach Fairchild approached me about it, and I said I’d do anything for the team,” said Austin Gillmore. “I’m quickly picking up the offense, and I really like playing fullback and initiating contact. I’ve only had about a week to learn things, but it will all come together on the field.”

Colorado State features a pro-style system offensively that utilizes both the Fullback and Tight End in running packages and in the passing game. Colorado State Offensive Coordinator Pat Meyer glows when talking about the former Bushland standouts.

“All three will have a huge impact on our offense this year. All three are competitors and all three are extremely  tough.  They were coached well in the past at a great high school program, and they come from great families.  I wish we had 18 or 19 more just like them from Bushland, to fill both sides of the ball. They are the type of kid we want in our program.”

Richburg missed his sophomore and junior seasons at Bushland due to injury, but came on strong as a senior and got a late offer from Colorado State.

“It was Colorado State or WT, and I am thankful that I was given the opportunity at the D1 level,” said Richburg. “This will be a great season for our program. We are all a year older and a year wiser, and we are all back together. And to know that I get to do this with my brothers from Bushland makes it that much more meaningful.”

The Bushland trio also live together in Fort Collins off-campus, and spend most of every waking hour together as well. They’ve developed a legendary status not only from being from the same 2A high school in Texas, but also for their devotion to McDonald’s.

“Weston and I once slept for a few hours in the drive-up lane waiting for them to open for breakfast,” said Austin Gillmore. “When we go for lunch or dinner, they set us up with three orders of 50-piece McNuggets, and we have no trouble finishing that whatsoever. Our only issues occur at home, because Weston and Crockett fail to leave the toilet seat down sometimes, which I find to be disrespectful to our lady friends. Otherwise they keep everything clean.”

When asked about toilet seat etiquette, both Crockett Gillmore and Richburg cited Austin’s “neat-freak behavior” and complained of his propensity to “leave sticky notes with profanity throughout the house”.

Whether its executing blocks on short yardage situations or devouring McNuggets, the Gillmores and Richburg do it together.  That’s something Bushland fans are certainly familiar with, and something that the New Mexico coaching staff will be preparing for on game day.

Everybody remembers their first car. Mine was an Egg-White, 1982 2-door Subaru Sports Coupe. It was about 10 years old when I got it, and it was unique to say the least. Standard transmission of course, but it had been customized so that an ignition key was not necessary. It literally had helicopter switches to start the engine…seriously. It featured a red toggle switch that you flipped up, and a second blue toggle switch that you flipped down to start the engine.  My friends and I all thought that was the coolest thing ever, in addition to the exceptional gas mileage. Of course, these were the days of $0.98 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, but every dollar counts when you are 16 years old. Oh, we had some good times in West Texas, me and my Subaru.

Like we all do, I eventually had to part ways with my beloved Subaru. Fast-forward 20 years, and I’m married with five kids and we are a classic American Minivan family. No more sporty cars with standard transmissions, no sun-roofs, and certainly not much along the lines of ‘cool’.

Thankfully the kind folks at Subaru asked me to test out the Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT for a week. Here in the Rocky Mountains, Subaru Outback is generally considered the ‘Official Car of Colorado’. My family and I live up in the mountains, so I was a bit skeptical as to how this new vehicle would handle my daily travels up and down the mountains and onto the highways.

In one word: EXCEPTIONAL. No, it did not feature helicopter switches, but it did captivate my attention with a Sun-Roof, 4 doors rather than 2, a 6-disc cd changer, a phenomenal sound system, smart device capabilities, and outstanding gas mileage (27.9 per gallon for the week). Keep in mind that I’m 6’1, 220 lbs so leg room and comfort in a sports car are not often attainable, but I was perfectly relaxed and never felt cramped. The car has a deceptively large trunk as well, which is great for the active lifestyles that most Americans lead these days.

In terms of the ride, handling drastic mountain curves in a car with standard transmission can be a bit tricky. The Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT made me feel like James Bond as I transitioned from gear to gear with no grind, and never had the sensation of being top-heavy that some cars exhibit when they lean into a sharp turn. This engine has punch.  Despite some steep inclines, I was able to ride through in both first and second gear with no difficulty whatsoever.

When pressed for a price, I would have speculated that the Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT would be in the $30-35k price range. For a car that is actually priced in the $20-25k range, I find it to be a stunning bargain. It looks sleek, has plenty of room if you are on the tall end of the spectrum, has great gas mileage, and is as high-tech as a car can be in 2011 with respect to accessories.  The ride is exceptionally smooth, and it has the engine punch that you need and desire when you hit the highway.

I’ve racked my brain trying to think of a criticism to offer for this vehicle, and I simply can’t come up with anything.

To my friends at Subaru: You’ve come a long way since the 1982 Sports Coupe. I’m impressed.