Hopefully most of you are starting a three-day holiday weekend. If not, here is some stuff to help get through the day.

NEW DUCKET OFFICE

There is some construction going on next to The Oxley.

Right now it is just a hole in the ground, but eventually what will rise from this place is a new ticket office.
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The Oxley is behind and to the left in this picture, and that is The Burrow in the background, with the practice baseball field to the right.
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The old office was a double-wide trailer parked next to The Oxley that was condemned last year, meaning the ticket office moved into The Oxley on the second floor.

Oh, and the construction project you are most interested in, the stadium, is supposed to come up at the July 22 BOT meeting.

3 part debate: Build big later, build small now, and if build small now, which side to build? The home side, with luxury boxes, etc, or the visitors side, with just seats?

KNOW YOUR OWLS

OK, the receiver we know is Chris Bonner. The question is, who is the DB covering him?
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BELT, C-USA MERGER?

Here is how the blogger up in Murfreesboro is battling the Dreaded Summer Doldrums – by envisioning a merger of C-USA and the Sun Belt.

That would at least put FAU, FIU and UCF in the same league.

I do think there will be some conference reshuffling in the years ahead, but I don’t envision something as grand as this.

I am thinking economics is going to drive some of it, since we may get out of this recession but I don’t see things being like they were when the bubble was expanding.

Regardless of what happens, I think more Florida schools should play each other more often.

FAU having one in-state game in football this season is not good. FAU should be playing a minimum of three – FIU, UCF or USF, and one of the big three – UF, FSU, Miami – each year.

That makes better economic sense for the university and is better for the fans on both sides of the sidelines.

Later…

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If there is a God, please make this happen: FAU versus Oklahoma in a bowl game.

Wouldn't that be something?

I am dreaming of that following yesterday, when I started getting e-mails ranting about Barry Switzer out of the blue.

Well, turns out my post on how Switzer was still dumping on Howard Schnellenberger 20 years after Switzer was forced out at Oklahoma was linked to on the ESPN Big 12 blog.

That sent Sooner Nation into a tizzy, as the Switzer apologists rallied behind their beloved former leader, forgetting all that happened leading up to his ouster.

Whatever.

Fan psychology is fascinating, The 20-year anniversary of the day Switzer is forced out in disgrace gets turned into a Switzer luv-fest, with all these warm and fuzzy memories of how all his wins and what could have been if only he had been allowed to remain as coach. Blah, blah, blah.

The better question might be what would have happened if Howard had stayed for at least three years, long enough to get the right players in to execute his offensive system?

But we'll never know, and if he would have stayed, FAU probably wouldn't have gotten him as coach, and who knows where the program would be if he was not in charge.

Think FIU. Sends a chill down your spine, doesn't it?

FIU TOUGHEST NON-CON SKED?

While at ESPN, saw where FIU was tabbed as the team with the toughest non-con sked – Alabama, Rutgers, Toledo, Florida.

OK, Bama and Florida are tough, but Toledo of the mighty MAC, and Rutgers of the overrated Big East? I say FIU has a good shot in both those games.

This does show that the Belt is doing a better job of scheduling. Remember 2006 with the Owls played Clemson, South Carolina, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, or 2005 when it was Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Louisville?

Nice having UAB and Wyoming to go along with Nebraska and South Carolina.

ONE LESS BLOG

I noticed that the ESPN college football blogs is minus one – that would the one that included the WAC, MAC, Sun Belt, Mountain West, C-USA and independents, which meant it was all about Notre Dame with an occasional mention of the others.

Not sure how much traffic they expected when one poor blogger was covering five conferences and Notre Dame. Doomed to fail from the start.

ALL BETS ON

Interesting stuff from you folks on betting on the Owls.

We’ll get into that a little more as the season approaches.

I can see where having money on the outcome can compound the joy of winning and the hurt of losing. Feel for those who had money on FAU in that MTSU game.

Geez, it was bad enough to lose on a heart-ripped-out-of-chest Hail Mary, but to see potential winnings evaporate with it….

Later…

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I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when a google alert steered me to another FAU season preview, but this one was from a betting web site.

Decent information. Of course, if they are trying to entice you to bet hard-earned dollars, they better have their facts straight.

They also included a link to the preview of last year’s Troy versus FAU game. Troy was a 3.5 point favorite, with an over-under of 51 points.

Those that have not successfully erased the memory of that disaster from their minds will recall a 30-17 win by Troy. On national TV. With the ball-bouncing-off-helmet-of-FAU-player incident to spice things up. Oh, the horror.

They were right on that one, though, but they also had a link to the Motor City Bowl, where Central Michigan was a 6-point favorite in a game FAU won 24-21.

Which leads me to a couple questions.

Wondering if any of you bet, and specifically, bet on FAU.

Have you made any money? How does it change watching or being at a game if you have money riding on it?

I’ve covered enough FAU games to know that aside from Howard’s record in bowl games (6-0), and that the Owls will get blown out against BCS teams on the road, I think I would shy away from any bets on the birds. Especially in these uncertain economic times.

Any good stories of big paydays or major losses? Hey, it's July 1. Another month to kill before training camp...

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OK, he hasn’t applied for the job yet, but FAU Prez Frank Brogan is the perfect candidate for the open position of chancellor of the state’s university system.

He knows politics and is now in his sixth year at FAU, so he knows how to run a large public university. Brogan has had a few missteps, but those pale into what he has been able to accomplish at FAU.

He has the resume for the job, and I would have to think it is his if he wants it.

This impacts FAU sports fans, because Brogan has been a big booster of athletics, particularly football. He understands what an on-campus stadium will mean to the university and has been pushing for it.
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Brogan giving Tavious Polo a hug after loss to South Florida in 2007.
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And celebrating win over Minnesota that same season. (Bob Markey with camera to left).

So, FAU Country must ponder what life without Prez Brogan will be like.

He has a great gig now, but he would be the Big Boss up in Tallahassee, and let’s remember his wife went to FSU and has family in that part of the state.

This could all come down by the end of July, as they will being interviews in the middle of the month.

If I were on the BOT, I would start looking for a replacement. It’s been a nice run, but methinks Brogan’s days at FAU are numbered.

Later…

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Round III of Know Your FAU Owls…

These three should be easy…
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And while coaches can’t coach during summer workouts, they can wander out onto the porch of their offices and take in the view…
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Later…

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OK, round two of Know Your FAU Owl.

Who is this dude who does a nice job of finding the ball, adjusting, and hauling it in…(and CallawayOwl, sit this one out, please. You come in when people get stumped.)
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TROY FANS DEFEND ‘LARRY THE OVERSIGNER’

My friends over at the Owls Nest have noted that some Troy fans have been calling me derogatory terms for focusing in on coach Troy Blakeney’s love for the sleazy tactic of oversigning.

Yes, oversigning is legal, but it is rarely used, and when Houston Nutt signed 37 at Ole Miss in Feb., then bragged “I could have signed 80,” the SEC quickly stepped in said, “No You Can’t,” and imposed the “Houston Nutt Rule,” capping recruiting classes to 28 (the most that can enroll each year is 25).

I think it’s time the Sun Belt adopt the “Larry Blakeney Rule,” since Blakeney is considered the King of Oversigning, where a class of 37 is the norm.

Speaking of which, here is the latest news out of Troy. This is the kind of stuff you face when you sign so many kids you KNOW aren’t academically qualified. (This from Drew Champlin’s blog. I give Drew credit for keeping up with all this crap):

Some guys aren’t enrolled yet. JUCO transfers Eugene Kinlaw (DT), Jonathan Massaquoi (DE) and Nate Newland (OL) are completing course work to be eligible for the fall. High school RB Greg Pratt is doing the same and DB Bradley Wallace is waiting on a test score.

The signees who didn’t qualify are DT Vinson Bass, WR Dominique Bonman, DE Daymond Brinson, DB Tony Gray, ATH Dezman Ivory, DT Anthony Payne and OL Jeremy Simmons. The plan is for them to go to JUCO if they’ve done enough to qualify for that (i.e. graduate, pass exit exams, etc)

So, Troy signed like 37 players in Feb, knowing a lot wouldn’t qualify, and turns out at least six didn't qualify, with others pending so the list could grow.

Now they get shipped to JC, IF they qualify to get in. Then, if they survive the rigors of JC, in two years they can come back to the mothership and maybe get in a couple years of football.

You go, Troy.

Later…

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OK, a little game of Know Your Owls

Some shots from the 7-on-7 practice that went on this week behind The Oxley.

The first one is an easy one.
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Big Bonus Points: Who is the DB behind the guy with the ball?

And while there was a lot of catching going on, the D did have its moments. Can you identy these two happy d-backs who are returning an INT?
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FIRST BERNIE, NOW VINNIE

Seems like Vinnie Testerverde, who was recruited along with Bernie Kosar to UM by The Voice, is having a better time of things at this stage of his life than Bernie.
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The stuff with Howard Schnellenberger is kind of low, but it is interesting and worth getting down to. At FAU, Howard is clearly looking nationwide and not just east of the Mississippi when seeking out a QB to run the system he has had since God forged it onto the rock just after he finished with the 10 Commandments. Or at least it seems that long.


SIDNEY GREEN SURFACING?

Any Chicago Bulls fans out there?

Well, some bad news. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls are >considering hiring Sidney Green as an assistant coach.

It’s down at the bottom of the story, just one line, but Bulls fans should be concerned.

Sidney Green is a name that makes many Owls fans cringe. Yes, he did take the Owls to their first and only appearance in the NCAA Tournament, after they won their first and only conference title back in 2002.

But that was a fluke, and his only winning season, and he squandered the momentum it should have generated by negotiating for a higher salary instead of recruiting.

Those other five years of his reign were lamentable, and he was forced out with a 54-121 record and reputation as a absentee-coach, leaving most of the work to his assistants.

HEADLINES WE LIKE

Only in Florida could someone get arrested for sexually harassing a mermaid.

And got to love seagulls that can change the outcome of a ball game.

Later…

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