In this week's episode......

.......Tony Romo asks Terry Bowden for a pink band-aid. And limps away with a headache.

Did I miss a memo? I wasn't aware that ESPN was switching their programming and becoming the Dallas Cowboys channel. Just when they started to back off their 24/7 coverage of Tony Romo missing 4-6 weeks, he decides he is going to play anyway. Joy! Then they start more non-stop coverage of whether this is a wise decision or not. Did Favre provide some vicodin along with his sage advice to Romo?

Oh!....did I mention Romo has a BROKEN PINKIE FINGER? With all the attention he's getting you would think he was something more than an average QB who happens to date some chick who tries to entertain people with her.....voice. If there's a plus side, the DCNN (Dallas Cowboys News Network) had to break up their coverage of another overrated athlete fighting with his babysitter (not his children's babysitter, and not his bodyguard...his own babysitter) in a drunken stupor and his punishment therein.

And all of this the week before the first BCS rankings come out in college football. It was enough to make me watch a minute and a half of that Dancing show.

There was a lot of news this week in college football, some of which ESPN mentioned on the little ticker at the bottom of the screen. Most newsworthy, Clemson canned their coach. I know the eventual headlines read he resigned, but only Momma Bowden believes that. And there was no shortage of people lining up to kick Tommy while he was down either. His former All-ACC QB threw him under the bus and then the kid's dad threw the bus in reverse. What an example for Jeff Harper to provide for his son Cullen. "When you get benched because you suck, blame someone!" Meanwhile the Thunder to the Tiger tailback tandem stood in front of a camera and wept......didn't really say much.....just wept. Captivating!

And if things weren't spicy enough, Bowden's own brother let things die down just a little before cranking up the bus again. I guess Terry (never one to enjoy not talking for more than the amount of time it takes for him to suck in some more hot air) couldn't stand to see his brother grab five consecutive days' worth of headlines so he had to throw his nickel's worth in.

Reached at his home where he was busy taking a bubble bath with his Auburn National Championship Trophy - PROBATION STYLE!!, Terry didn't mince words. "Diddy once benched me from our family Thanksgiving Day backyard game and put Tommy in at quarterback. I guess Tommy got what he deserved then. Yeh, I always say you gotta coach em real good, just like my Diddy." BDB then pointed out that his name is not on Clemson's short list of candidates. "Well they never really gave my brother much of a chance." He had ten years. "My Diddy said he shoulda gotten at least another game." He just lost to Wake Forest....again. "So'd my Diddy." Can you have a complete thought without mentioning your father? "One time back at Samford, we trailed Our Lady Sister of Mercy by 10. We had 4th and 1 from our own 13 yard line. I didn't even call Diddy. I kicked the field goal." Well, there you go.

Someone who has been mentioned as a Tommy successor is Bobby Johnson. He touched that rock at Clemson as a D-back and recruited the area well as Furman's head coach. He has lead the SEC's academic school to a torrid start this season. It says something to me when a school who has a history of just reacting to their own coaching changes comes out early Tuesday (before the ink was really dry on the headlines of Bowden's dismissal) and proactively says they will do whatever it takes to keep Coach Johnson. He helps sell the program, but more importantly to the school, he sells Vanderbilt University. Stay tuned!

Vanderbilt .........they're kind of like the kid brother. You push them around, beat them up pretty good on occasion, and consistently remind them that they are the kid brother and that they'll never be as big or as strong as you. Then puberty hits and it's a whole new ball game. For Vandy, puberty was the beginning of the Coach Johnson era. During his six years at the helm, they have always played tough. So tough that the Dawgs barely escaped Nashville with a win last year. In fact, we really snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. If a team runs away with a game against Coach Johnson's team, they likely have caught them when their depth was a serious issue. Vandy's first string, for the most part, can line up against anyone. Where they suffer is the depth behind those starters. After all, there's only so many southern football players with a qualifying SAT score for Vanderbilt.

BYU fell last night. It's a week the Dawgs could move up a notch or two in the rankings as we head for the "back nine" of the college football season. Many Dawg fans feel their beloved team is poised for a knockout, either on the receiving end or the giving end. You know - on the one hand you can see us falling flat and heading into Death Valley next week with two losses. On the other you can see us finally putting a complete SEC game together and blowing the 'Dores out. It is Homecoming week after all.

I guess I'll shoot the gap - this as a game that is close for three quarters. We'll enter the 4th with our fingers raised to the sky, staring at a 3 point lead. Somewhere in the final ten minutes we pull away with a Walsh kick or a Green TD catch. You know, a lot like last year.

Dawgs 27

'dores 17

This week's trivia: Aaron Murray of Plant Senior HS in Florida is the nation's top recruit at the QB position and is committed to UGA. I would say he is arguably the best 17 year old QB in the nation, but we all know that scouting high school recruits is an entirely objective process. Last night Murray broke his leg and dislocated his ankle after passing for over 200 yards in a little less than a half. He is one of two QB commits CMR has received for the '09 class. For this week's prize, name the other commit. Bonus if you can also explain this young man's ties to UGA.

Happy Homecoming! And remember to tune into ESPN next week for an in depth look at how botox has literally changed the face of the Cowboys.

Bernie