Back in the saddle after a long, exciting weekend of college football. A post on that should be up this afternoon. In case you were tv’d out by the time Labor Day finally rolled around, know that you missed something uglier even than Auburn’s performance for 98% of its game against Utah State or Notre Dame’s weather-extended and not unexpected defeat at the hands of South Florida:
Yesterday marked the close of the first month in ALDLAND, so it’s time to make like Texas A&M and up the ante.
As promised, this site and its various outlets will be covering college football’s opening weekend live(ish) from Nashville, where Vanderbilt hosts Elon tomorrow night. In that spirit, here’s today’s Friday jam, which happens to include appearances from some folks featured here before (Bruce Hornsby and Jerry Garcia):
High schoolers have been at it for a couple weeks, and now it’s the undergrads’ turn. Conference play doesn’t begin for a few weeks, but opening weekend of college football has its share of high-profile matchups.
It all starts tonight, when in-state basketball rival Murray State kicks off in Louisville at 6:00 pm. Two top-25 teams, Wisconsin and Mississippi State, are in action against unranked opponents on a busy Thursday as well. Two more games are scheduled for Friday night, when Youngstown State heads to East Lansing and TCU scoots down to Waco to face Baylor.
College football is all about Saturdays, and Saturdays in the fall are all about college football. This Saturday’s schedule has a number of highlights, including Oregon against LSU in Arlington, TX, Boise State in Athens to face Georgia, and Rice against Texas for the visually challenged debut of the Longhorn Network.
Vanderbilt hosting Alabama in 2007
The big game on Saturday night is in Nashville, though, and ALDLAND staff will be in Vanderbilt Stadium as the Commodores open the James Franklin era against FCS/I-AA powerhouse Elon. This game has been thoroughly previewed at Open ‘Dores and Vanderbilt Sports Line. As the 6:30 pm (central) kickoff approaches, check here, twitter, and flickr for multimedia updates of the gameday atmosphere.
The rest of the week one schedule includes two in-state pairings on Sunday– Marshall at West Virginia and SMU at SEC-to-be Texas A&M— and an interesting-because-they’re-in-trouble game in College Park, MD on Monday between Miami and Maryland, which got questionable back-to-school outfits this year.
Check out the full extended weekend schedule, including broadcast availability, at http://espn.go.com/college-football/schedule.
It is said that the Lord works in mysterious ways, but this summer, He has been stepping out a bit more, seemingly bearing a new cross for those who praise Him. The Almighty has tackled public works projects before– the Great Flood, liberation of his people from bondage in Egypt, urban renewal in cities like Sodom and Gomorrah, descending to Earth in human form, etc.– but this campaign feels different, perhaps because of its apparently limited, if no less public, scope. Mark 2011 as the year the Ancient of Days took on high-profile NFL player contracts.
Yahweh’s first target was in the Arizona desert, where He helped Larry Fitzgerald secure an eight-year, $120 million deal with the Cardinals. After Fitzgerald’s new contract became public, Chris Johnson, holdout running back for the Tennessee Titans, praised the Everlasting Father for His accomplishment: “Congrats to Larry Fitzgerald. God is good.” Indeed.
Luke, the Gospel writer, tells us that there is more rejoicing in Heaven when one sinner repents than there is for ninety-nine other righteous people who need not repent, and so it should come as no surprise that the Wonderful Counselor would take the case of the once-disgraced, now-redeemed Michael Vick (f.k.a. Ron Mexico). Just this week in the City of Brotherly Love, Vick signed what his head coach called “a beautiful contract,” which may or may not be worth $100 million. In response, Vick said, “I want to thank God for the opportunity that I’ve been presented.” And so we can assume he did.
Numerically, if there’s a digit more biblically favored than four or seven, it would have to be three, and so we should expect Elohim to be involved in at least one more blockbuster deal before the season starts next week, and the smart talents are on Johnson himself. Johnson believes the Titans should compensate him on a scale comparable to the highest-paid players in the league, and not merely as the highest-paid at his position as the team has offered to do. On Wednesday, Johnson said, “I like to thank everyone who have me in their prayers thru my situation, it’s much needed.” It just might be.
Can the Holy Spirit reach this man on behalf of Chris Johnson?
Sure Labor Day is next week, high school football started last week, and August is over tomorrow, but there’s still plenty of time for summer relaxation, and Root Glen, a New Jersey-based rock outfit, can help with that.
Eric Blank (drums), Andres Gonzales (bass), Ross Griswold (lead guitar, vocals), and David Moroney (lead vocals, guitar) describe their sound as “alternative rock of a funky nature,” and I think that’s accurate. The group isn’t afraid to work out over their riffs and grooves, especially in the live setting and especially if they’ve got a dancing audience (as they always do), but the lyrics are always there too, and they come through by way of strong, musical vocal work. The combination of the bottom end– Blank’s drums always pushing ahead, Gonzales’ bass creating a complex, broad foundation– and a top side with the ability to soar on the wings of Moroney’s distinctive, classical voice and Griswold’s melodic guitar lines give the quartet a full, textured sound without getting heavy so as to bog down band or dancers.
Back in late May, the band released Summer, a five-track EP and the first of its planned seasonal releases. Summer does a nice job of showing off different sides of Root Glen, all while remaining under the broad umbrella of the summertime theme. Stream the album or purchase it by naming your own price at http://rootglen.bandcamp.com.
I’ve been lucky enough to catch Root Glen twice, once in Philly and once in D.C., and I recommend East Coast readers in particular check their fall dates on their website. Everyone else can get a feel for their live performances here.
Texas A&M’s departure from the Big 12 Conference drew closer to reality on Monday when the university’s president, R. Bowen Loftin, sent a letter to the Big 12 board chairman, the Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton, notifying the league that the Aggies would formally withdraw — very likely on Tuesday — according to two college officials with direct knowledge of the decision.
This latest step in the Aggies’ effort to join the Southeastern Conference appears to have two stumbling blocks. The first is Texas A&M’s exit fee from the Big 12, which it has not negotiated. That amount is expected to be close to $15 million. The other is the approval of the S.E.C. presidents. Nine of the 12 would have to vote in favor for Texas A&M to become a member of the conference. It is unlikely that Texas A&M would be this far along in the process without adequate S.E.C. presidential support.
Texas A&M hopes to play in the S.E.C. during the 2012 football season, which would appear to leave the conference with a mathematically clunky 13 teams for one year.
With this move, Texas A&M’s membership in the SEC is far from secured, and a smooth transition into the SEC is not guaranteed. There has been no public statement from the SEC on conference expansion since mid-August, when the conference “reaffirmed [its] satisfaction with the present 12 institutional alignment.”
Rather than negotiate the particulars– including its Big XII exit fees and whether the SEC would operate with an odd-numbered membership (currently it has east and west divisions of six schools each)– behind closed doors, A&M has stepped out into the open, formally making its intentions known to all.
The move does not place any more pressure on the SEC to act, however. A&M is a school that needs a conference– it can’t and won’t operate as an independent– but the SEC is not in danger of losing it to another conference; this pairing is the only logical option, and the SEC should want a foothold in Texas if it is to expand at all.
Even though this decision doesn’t raise the stakes for anyone but A&M, it may make easier a deal that brings it to the SEC. If the conference was nervous about making the invitation before it was sure A&M would accept it, this formal notification of departure from the Big XII would appear to erase any first-mover qualms the SEC might harbor. The ball may be back in the SEC’s court, but Texas A&M has served up a slow floater, and the SEC can and likely will sit and watch this one for a bit before taking action.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a sold-out performance by Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at the same venue where I saw Bruce Hornsby, Béla Fleck, the Noisemakers, and the Flecktones earlier this month.
Lovett and his crew put on an excellent show from start to finish, and despite taking no set break and shifting personnel over the course of the night, Lovett himself was on the stage for the all but one song, during which he let his female backup singer take control of the band. Lovett’s Large Band is comprised of Lovett on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, four backup singers (one female, three male), four other guitar players (one pedal steel, two electrics, and one more acoustic), fiddle, mandolin (who was the second acoustic guitarist), cello, percussion, piano, and a prolific, veteran bass player. (HT: @jwg31 for a long-distance ID of Leyland Sklar. More photos here.)
I’ve seen this group before, in the same spot, a few years ago, and I had an enjoyable time then despite not knowing any of the singer-songwriter’s tunes. In the interim period, I’d picked up only a sparse smattering of his recorded sounds (primarily pilfered from my paternal unit), so I was especially pleased at the number of songs I recognized during this performance.
If Lovett is two things, he is a storyteller and a Texan, and the former in particular was on display this night. He deftly adjusted his personnel throughout the performance, beginning offstage while he let his full band work out for the crowd (an approach well-used by the best, like him and B.B. King), eventually stripping the band down to bass, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and one microphone for Texas-style bluegrass, and slowly building the band back up again, featuring different alignments and arrangements along the way.
Lovett interacted with his bandmates and the crowd with ease and tumbleweed-dry wit. He took care to introduce and shine the spotlight on his cohorts, and he conversed from the stage with a child he recognized in the audience from prior appearances at this venue (they’ve played it three consecutive summers).
I enjoyed this performance even more than the last one. Lovett showed why he is one of the best singer-songwriter-big(large)-bandleaders and, despite being “one ugly dude” (in the words of my father’s friend shortly before the show), a consummate and intimate showman. He also tricked a bunch of upper-Midwesterners into liking country music for a night, and for that alone he and his band earned the audience’s applause, of which there was plenty.
Click here for more photos of the night.
This week will round out the site’s first month online, and I think it’s been a fairly representative sample, although I hope it will continue to expand in scope, style, and authorship. I’m excited that Magalan joined as a co-author a couple weeks ago, and I’m looking forward a couple more writers coming on board before too long. (As always, if you’d like to get in on the action, send an email to ALDLAND[dot]com[at]gmail[dot]com.)
In addition to regularly visiting the site, you can keep up with content through Twitter (@ALDLANDia) and the new Flickr photo page.
This week, look for my review of the Lyle Lovett concert I attended last week, some college football content, and more.
He wants no attention, even though he’s still as charismatic and eloquent as any football analyst. He wants no sympathy, even though he probably deserves it. He says over and over again that he’s out of the league because he “went from outstanding to mediocre.” He’s got a nice house and a lovely former cheerleader wife and an 11-year-old son named Jay (who, by the way, recently won a Punt, Pass and Kick competition). Vanderjagt readily confesses, “I was an idiot” for saying those things about his team. He has Manning paraphernalia all over his restaurant, and he says the two are long past their dust-up. He has some powerful things to say, that’s for sure, but “Peyton did me wrong” is not one of them.
Vanderjagt has moved on.
Sorta. … Read More
via ThePostGame
For a slow week, that went pretty fast. Any week that begins with a Monday night concert probably is going to go pretty well, though, and I’ve already started my report on that night with Lyle Lovett, so watch for that in the next few days.
Onto the good stuff. Like this post, I’m a little late with this selection, helpfully entitled “Friday Night, August 14th,” but it is better late than never. As they say (said), free your mind, and everything else will follow:
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