Here's the email courtesy of ex Okie Stater "Jack" who's very upset about singer-songwriter John Martin's milquetoast anthem:

Click the upper left hand corner and listen. It doesn't really get me fired up for football, but it does make me want to hit someone: John Martin, in the groin. This song will not sound at all dated in 4 years. Anyway, the students and alums (I'm an alum) are pretty pissed about it. There is facebook chatter that this song will get booed in Boone Pickens on game day.

Well, to be fair, Martin didn't want to do just the ordinary rah-rah Garry Glitter crap for his Cowboy tribute. No — he wanted to tell the imaginary story of Pistol Pete.

Early on in the pre-production stage of the project, I thought about one of the many facets that makes OSU different, Pistol Pete. I've always thought that it was very unique that the school's mascot was a real person! Frank Eaton was a larger than life type person, and for this project, I wanted to embrace the story of Pistol Pete. After watching all the video I could find and reading as much information that I could get my hands on about Frank Eaton, I wrote the song "Cowboys Forever". The lyrics are loosely based on the legend of Pistol Pete, setting out to "avenge the blood" of his father.

See? He's like Dylan.

Unfortunately, Martin's craftsmanship and trips to the library to do diligent research on Pistol Pete's vengeful past hasn't converted some OSU students who are mortified about the prospects of this song (and accompanying video) blaring through Boone Pickens Stadium:

From O'Colly.com's comments section:

• Simply put, the songs sucks. As an alumnus of OSU I am appalled that they would use this song at a COWBOY football game. The only COWBOY that will be humming this tune lives on Brokeback Mountain......

• We googled the song and listened. We then came to the verdict that we don't like the song at all. The song resembles the ugly, mongoloid offspring of Cold Play, Kings of Leon, and Tim McGraw. Not only do we believe it belongs on the next installment of Kids Bop, but we find it entirely inadequate to precede anything related to Cowboy football. We as students and avid fans are ashamed that our football program is associated with this song and we would rather listen to a sack full of kittens being murdered than to participate or sing along if Cowboys Forever is played anywhere near Boone Pickens Stadium.

• This song does not pump me up, this song doesn't make me want to do anything, except maybe pick flowers. It makes us sound like we're wanna be cowboys. Not cool!

Poor John Martin. Also, as pointed out many times, OSU already has a very capable songwriter in their extended Cowboy family. Yes, Chris Gaines.

New School Spirit Song Gets Mixed Reviews [The Daily O'Collegian]

And that's a glorious feeling, isn't it? Other sports are well and good, but few — with the exception of major golf tournaments, which barely count as it is — are as regimented and, thus, as convenient as football. Wake up, eat breakfast, watch football. All Saturday, all Sunday. There are interludes, of course, but there is always football to be watched on the weekend, and, moreover, there is always good football to be watched on the weekend.

With football come the fringe benefits — tailgates and Tailgates, depending on where you're from; frat boys in Oxfords and sorority girls in summer dresses, depending on your preference; Lou Holtz and Joe Theismann, depending on your taste in sadism — but the autumn and early winter are paced by football itself, the sport at its bone-shaking and helmet-thudding purest. None of these slices of Americana exist without football, the biggest piece of all, the one that seems strangely missing in the spring and summer and every day that's not Saturday or Sunday.

"If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead," Erma Bombeck once mistakenly quipped, forgetting or just not knowing that sometimes, those afternoons-turned-into-nights can make anyone feel as alive as ever. Meanwhile, I'm going to go play some wiffleball, or something, knowing that next week, at this time, I'll be busy and booked straight through February.

After all, Tebow is hardly a student-athlete, and he readily admitted it to The New York Times yesterday. And what's wrong with that? I'm not a student-athlete. Chances are, you're not a student-athlete, and we're still not confined to some labor camp in Siberia. (At least I'm not, so far.) Tebow needs only one class to graduate, so he's taking something called a "senior seminar" — even he wasn't quite sure of its name — which meets once a week for one hour and is akin to Matt Leinart waltzing through ballroom dancing in his final semester.

Q. How close are you to graduation?
A. I'm going to graduate in December.

Q. A light semester coming up, I assume?
A. Yeah.

Q. Ballroom dancing like Matt Leinart?
A. (laughs) Easier

Q. What do you have?
A. I guess the class that I would have is senior seminar. It's one hour and one credit. It's on Tuesday afternoons and we have practice. I'm going to work around that with the professors. I'm going to do whatever my counselor sets up. I'm a football player this semester.

Before the NCAA gasps in wink-wink disapproval, let's put this in perspective: seniors at every school in the country slack off, especially if they have cushy jobs lined up. But not many of them sit down with reporters from The New York Times and, while gabbing about philanthropy, glaze over their academic pursuits. Good for Tebow for shunning this politically correct illusion bestowed upon athletes by the bowtied masses, because really, Tebow was never a student-athlete. He's been a football player every fall semester and every spring one, at that, and as a football player — as a battering ram who glides and drifts and smells of deodorant and wears a different color T-shirt than everyone else — Tebow has no need to dabble in Shakespeare and Sophocles. He's already a hero.

And by the way, Tebow's GPA is 3.72. In other news, some dweeby CompSci major in Gainesville racked up 900 total yards with Tebow in NCAA Football '10 last night. Go Gators!

The Quad Q&A: Tim Tebow [NYT]
Tebow not swamped with homework [Eagle Tribune]

Here are Kennedy's vitals, per this quirky Washington Post profile:

• He's homeless, living on the streets of Georgetown, but he's not a bum, thank you very much.
• Like every other college athlete, he wrote a paper about the BCS for English class and became hooked by the topic, so much so that he went all John Nash and scribbled his proposal all over his apartment's walls.
• His parents cut him out of their cellphone plan, and he now considers himself the Kennedy's "black sheep." He turned to grandma, of course, and she bought him a cell phone. If he doesn't have the money to pay for the bill by month's end, he'll beg for it.
• The Kennedy Proposal: six champions from the BCS conferences and four at-large teams compete in a playoff bracket. The two left standing play for the national championship; the eight losers play in BCS bowls.

It's more complicated than that — it must be, since it's gone through 160 pages in drafts, and Kennedy uses the Georgetown library to remain up-to-date with the latest developments — but 15,000 e-mails later, he's still having trouble getting the ear of college presidents and D.C. politicos. (They're busy bemoaning the state of the BCS in a more public setting.)

Kennedy's thinking about leaving the Beltway soon, but before he bolts, he'd be wise to go straight to the top. Rumor has it, there's a guy in the White House who happens to share similar views on the BCS and knows something about hope and change.

Maybe Shaq can hook him up.

Playoff Advocate Goes Homeless Against The BCS [Washington Post]
Leveling The Playing Field [Sports Illustrated]

The California Kid, Nate Montana, is going to enroll in Pasadena City College and play for one year, before transferring back to Notre Dame and try to compete for the starting quarterback job in 2010. Pasadena City College? I think UND plays them next year.

In case anyone thinks there's some kind of funny business goin' on with the heralded quarterback, Nate is here to put any of those rumors to bed. (There were rumors?)

I'm going there with the intention of getting playing time and then returning to Notre Dame in the spring to join back up with the team and compete again for the job ... Nothing's ever certain. That's a long way down the road, and I guess we'll just have to see where things go ... I don't have any academic problems or personal deals, it's purely for the experience of getting some time under center.

Just say it, son. You don't want to constantly live in your father's shadow. You want to stay at home for a year, do your thing, and then take a crack at the ol' big time school. It's the Carlton Banks Success Plan. I mean, look at him now! Actually ... whatever happened to him?

It's not just "some community college" he's choosing instead of Charlie Weis' fantastic program. The Pasadena City College Lancers have won five national titles, the most recent being 1977. Notable NFL alumni include Browns defensive lineman Jerome Harrison, and there've been dozens of famous PCC grads, such as singer/songwriter William Hung, fashion model Nick Nolte, and gay rights activist Fred Phelps.

Montana Headed To Junior College [South Bend Tribune]

"It was a very exciting day, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to study at Oxford," Rolle said at halftime of the Seminoles' 37-3 victory. "I will remember today for a lifetime."

He finished the interview in Birmingham around 6 p.m. EST. After learning of the honor, he boarded a private plane to catch up with his teammates for the game that started around 7:45.

Rolle had started 32 consecutive games before Saturday. He arrived at the stadium at 8:34, dressed and emerged from the locker room with 6 minutes left in the first half. He waved at the fans in the FSU section of the crowd, then warmed up on the sideline before entering the game with 1:30 left in the second quarter.

Rolle is one of 32 US Rhodes scholar recipients this year and the first prominent athlete to receive one in almost 25 years.

• Syracuse pulled off a big upset on Saturday with a last minute touchdown pass to beat Notre Dame 24-23. Looks like it might be time for Charlie Weiss to dust of his resume. The winning touchdown pass was thrown by Syracuse's Cameron Dantley, who happens to be the son of Notre Dame basketball legend Adrian Dantley. Funny how that worked out, huh? And it seems like the Notre Dame students took it personally:

"The Irish players were pelted by snowballs on the sideline for much of the first quarter by fans sitting on the student section. Defensive end Ethan Johnson was struck on the left cheek and several other players also getting hit by snowballs despite three announcement urging fans to stop."

Future Jets fans, ladies and gentlemen.

• Penn State has earned their first Rose Bowl bid with a decisive 49-18 win Saturday over Michigan State. Joe Paterno confirmed his belief that he's returning and apparently, he thinks contracts are for pansies.

"I'm planning on coming back, yeah," Paterno said. "I never planned otherwise. Everyone's making a big deal that I don't have a contract signed. I've never even asked to do that."

Indeed.

Lee Corso has already fired the rifle and but the wagon on his head, so I'm assuming he's going with Oklahoma. It should be an epic battle of the offenses tonight at Memorial Stadium tonight. Enjoy the open thread and try not to trash the place. I'll see you in the morning.

Photo HT TV Tan Line

Shaking a metal walking cane at his Rally in the Valley audience, the 81-year-old head football coach declared, "No matter what you read, no matter what you think, I'm not going away tomorrow.

"I believe in what Penn State is all about," Paterno told the Nittany Lions faithful. "I'm not going to walk out of that press box a loser."

Penn State needs a win against Michigan State today to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 13 years. Michigan State could steal the bid with a win against Penn State and an Ohio State loss. Not an easy task, as the Spartans have lost 10 straight games against ranked opponents.

• A BCS bid is at stake today for Utah, with a must-win match-up against BYU today. The Utes are unbeaten and ranked eighth in the country. May the best Mormon win.

• A full schedule of today's games coming up in For Your Viewing Pleasure.

A student reported the computer stolen Oct. 16, according to the police report, and an investigation

University police went to Newton’s dorm Friday, were invited inside and noticed the laptop on Newton’s desk. Officers left the room to confirm that the computer matched the serial code of the laptop reported stolen, according to the report. When they returned, it was gone.

According to police, the laptop had been painted black on the top and had “Cam Newton” written on the top in white paint. Officers found the computer behind a trash bin outside the dorm and learned that “Mr. Newton threw the computer out of his bedroom window,” the report said.

Arrested, kicked off the team, and referred to in the headlines only as "Tebow's backup". Talk about insult to injury.

Now when you think about it, players can't have jobs, can't accept gifts, and generally have no money. What's left to do but pimp some nerd's computer? Am I right? Free Newton!

Watch for falling objects around Cam Newton's dorm room [Dr. Saturday]

Wikre told the doctor, “ ‘This is my senior year. If I want to go on, I’ve got to play great the rest of the way. These are my last few games, we’ve got to make this work.’

“He’s like, ‘We can’t.’ I said, ‘We can. Cut it off.’ I love football. When you face the fact you’ve played your last game, it hurts. If you love the game and you’re told that, you do whatever you have to do to play again.

“This team means the world to me. I love everybody on the team like a brother. I told them all before the Western New Mexico game that I would have no problem taking a bullet for any of these guys. I love ’em that much. This is my bullet.”

Wow, buddy. You play for Mesa State. A couple games of glory or a lifetime without a pinkie? Doesn't sound like Sophie's choice to me. I mean, think of all the things you can't do now. Pinkie swearing? Out. Drinking tea like a proper gentleman? Out. The Shocker? Out.

But even in the wake of losing his pinkie, the loss of his digit wasn't what angered him most. It was what he missed with his fiance.

“I was pissed,” Wikre said. “Trace was going to make chicken and potato salad and we were going to watch Iron Man. I missed out on all of that.”

Oh, the sacrifices.

Here's a video of the story:

H/T The Sporting Blog

ECU's star of the game was quarterback Patrick Pinkney who went 22 for 28 with 236 yards and a touchdown. By keeping the ball away from the WVU offense, ECU claimed an early lead that they never relinquished.

• BYU almost fell victim to an upset but escaped with a little help from the referees. In an extremely controversial call, Washington quarterback Jake Locker was penalized on a potential game tying touchdown for excessive celebration with two seconds left. The penalty added 15 yards to the extra point attempt, an attempt that was blocked by BYU, preserving their win. According to officials the penalty was assessed when, after the 3 yard run, Locker tossed the ball in the air in celebration, an apparent violation of NCAA rules. With the win BYU extends their winning streak to twelve, the longest active streak in the nation.

• Ole Miss almost upset #20 Wake Forest on a 56 yard touchdown drive with under a minute left in the game. Not willing to give-up, Wake kicked a game winning field goal with 5 seconds left in the game. After last week's losses by Virginia Tech and Clemson, the ACC would have had no ranked teams next week if Wake had lost. Once a powerhouse of top 25 teams, the ACC is dropping into irrelevancy.

• Florida's predicted trampling of Miami was the Tim Tebow show with no less than ten mentions of his off season work in the Philippines. The game was full of incredible hits and lots of air bombs, sending the Hurricanes limping home with a 26-3 loss. Too bad Florida couldn't cover my spread. Slackers.

• South Florida squeeked by Central Florida last night in an overtime 31-24 win. South Florida missed an opportunity to win in regulation when kicker Delbert Alvarado flubbed a field goal attempt as the fourth quarter was ending. It was another game in a day of "almost upsets".

You can't argue with some of the facts Delsohn had in front of him, including some confidential judicial affairs reports that suggest Paterno may have tried to cover up some of the incidents. But one interesting argument over at College OTR suggests that ESPN may have violated some of the student's privacy rights by revealing that material on air. One thing for sure is that this will be the storyline that follows Paterno all year and should Penn State falter this season, it might be big enough to tarnish his legacy.

Penn State DTs Baker, Taylor Kicked Off By Paterno [SI]
ESPN's Witch-Hunt Into Penn State Football [College OTR]

But what Walker was caught stealing (hey alright) is a cause for great consternation, even to those of us who may have at one point dated a woman so unclean that seagulls would nosedive at her feet the moment she stepped outside. According to the Richmond Register, the stolen contents stuffed inside Walker's backpack were "a cell phone battery charger, a box of douches and a bottle of feminine hygiene spray."

He may be better off in prison.

Grand Jury to hear football player's case [Richmond Register]
Eastern Kentucky Player Steals, Is, Douchebag [EDBS]