Suddenly, it's okay to be a Duke fan

The old coaching carousel keeps spinning. The childcare provider for the Manning family and noted Bulldog-whipping OC David Cutcliffe is leaving the sideline shadow of Phat Phil and taking over as head coach at Duke. Duke football has always been an afterthought, except for a brief period under Darth Visor (before he turned to the Dark Side of the Force, and fully blossomed into the Evil Genius, and then became another laughingstock pro reject, then settling into his current role as Head Ball Cock for a .500 team watching bowl games on television). Despite the fact that Coach Cut engineered many wins over the Dawgs during his tenures in carrot-eating-baby-diaper-shit-orange, I've always respected his game planning, play calling and the fact that he got unbelievably canned by the hubris-filled Powers That Be in The Grove, who inexplicably overestimated their place in the football universe.

While I enjoy the fact that this should this diminish the offensive prowess of the Rocky Tops in the short term, I'm also cautiously concerned that it could hasten The Great Pumpkin's eventual exile from the banks of the Tennessee. UT has great resources, and I'd hate to see a bright young up and comer take the reigns there. However, I'm sure foodservice operators who run all you can eat buffets would welcome the increase in their profit margins should Phil be kicked to the curb.

Bonus? It adds another team to the list of programs that can hang a loss on the Jackets.

I was traveling during the great Bobby Petrino Debacle, and just about everything that could be said on the subject already has. Bottom line: while this insufferable, amoral weasel knows his college Xs and Os, he just wasn't cutting it in the pro game. As one of the few long-suffering Falcons fans who didn't just jump on the bandwagon during the Ron Mexico days, I'm hoping that all involved can put this torturous season behind us and start fresh by making the *right* hire this time. I hate having Petrino's O in the SEC (but hey, good luck with Casey Dick!) where it might come back to bite UGA, but it just adds to the embarrassment of coaching talent riches currently in the World's Greatest Conference. But by the time he implements his system and finds a QB to run it, he'll already be looking for the next BBD like an uneducated Columbus hooker. One of the best Petrino takedowns I've read is from former Louisville resident and ESPN writer Pat Forde.

And finally, is it possible that someone high profile will actually sign up to lose to Ohio State once a year?