Tebow or not Tebow, that is the question

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. My internet decided not to work when I was ready to write, and by the time it was back up I didn't have time. U2 put on a a good show, although the acoustics of the Georgia Dome are every bit as crappy as I anticipated they would be. The Tampa show tonight should sound quite a bit better.

All week people have been asking me about the Tim Tebow situation. Will he play or not? Should he? I have no secret source with the answer, although the word from people close to the situation as of last night seems to be leaning toward yes. Tebow's clearly going to make the trip, but lots of things could factor into what choice is made. There's zero benefit for UF to put the word out one way or the other, so I dont expect them to before Saturday at the earliest. To me, holding Tebow out is the smart play here. If UF plays without him and wins, it's great experience for Brantley and Meyer gets credit for looking out for his player's safety instead of trying to win at all costs. A UF loss in that same scenario will instantly be downgraded in importance by voters because they had to play without Tebow. I doubt they'd drop lower than number 4 in the polls unless the defense got destroyed, which seems unlikely. LSU has spectacular athletes and should be playing much better than they are. They're held back somewhat by the fact their coach is an imbecile. That by itself doesn't explain no sacks in the past three games or an offensive line that hasn't been able to get the run game going. It's a very dangerous squad, but if UF's D plays as it's capable of they should be able to win this regardless of who takes the snaps.

The media has not covered itself in glory during this Tebow thing. I've seen way too many pious proclamations that Tebow "must" be protected even if he's cleared. Tempted as I am to take the medical opinion of a columnist for the LA Times or Tennessean over that of neurologists who have actually been examining the patient, if the doctors say Tebow is healthy I don't see how anyone can fault Urban Meyer should he opt to play him. The single stupidest Tebow related observation came from ESPN's Kevin Negandhi, who was filling in for Rece Davis on their Thursday night football pregame show. They were going through the tiresome ritual of naming their Heisman candidates (as if it matters after five weeks who the "leader" is) and Lou Holtz names Tebow as his current top choice. Neghandi's skeptical followup: "Even though he missed the Kentucky game?" Great point, Kevin. Please try to keep up with the rest of the class next time. I repeat my belief that no one in Bristol should be allowed to discuss college football unless they have passed a test administered by me. Here's this week's list of your college football viewing options from Awful Announcing.

It speaks volumes about where the SEC is in the college football power structure that the Gator Bowl has dumped the ACC in favor of bringing the sixth or seventh best SEC team to town each season beginning next year. Why are they down on the ACC? Maybe this piece addressing concern about whether a 6-6 Maryland could knock itself out of a bowl by playing and losing in the conference title game can explain it for you. After the debacle that was the ACC Championship game in Jacksonville before a crowd that appeared no larger than 25000 its final two years, the city has clearly seen all of the league it wants to for a long time.

Tiger Woods emphatically denied he's a billionaire a couple of days ago. It's not like being a billionaire's a bad thing, so why make a point of saying it's not true? It's not like people are going to suddenly notice Tiger's rich and start trying to hassle him for loans or donations. Anyone who would try to take advantage of him in some way for financial gain is no less likely to do it if they think he's "only" worth 950 million. This is like denying a rumor you're a great lover - why would you want to? Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here Monday.