4 Hard Downs: ACC Kickoff, My Top Ten Entering 2024 & Getting Random

I'm working over here, plus do you love a metal pitcher?

This week is going to be a whirlwind of activity that I hope my body is ready for both mentally and physically. If you know anything about me it is that I don’t usually leave my house and certainly not just to return home after 5pm. I will be experiencing traffic that I never experience, talking to more people each day, for four days, than I usually talk to at all.

My main gameplan is being prepared, helping my Learfield crew so we get good content for College Sports Now and trying to stay hydrated. Oh, and continuing my mile streak, somehow.

Let’s go ahead and SPOT THE BALL!!!

1st Down: Your Boy At The Kickoff

Day One in the books and got to chat with Haynes King from GT, Patrick Payton and Mike Norvell from FSU. We’ve got three more days to grab some more interviews with coaches and players plus some of my good old buddies from around the league media.

It is a good time and a great chance to get some facetime in with coaches, players but also the folks who you end up doing radio with over the course of the season.

Like my guy, Roddy Jones, who I got to talk to on Day 2.

2nd Down: From Busy To Bright

What a day, as I went out the back to get into the car I passed my kid’s raised bed to see several sunflowers showing out.

Sunflowers are my kid’s favorite. My kid is my favorite. So, what my baby wants, my baby gets. In this case sunflowers. Multiple varietals

They make it feel like summer. They smile at you for the next little bit until I have to start the grind of the season. Just a breath of fresh sunflower air when I walk out of the backdoor.

And I’m gonna try to roast some of the seeds and save the rest of them for next year.

3rd Down: My Top Ten For 2024

The show for Bleacher Report is archived, so you can check it out here. No one is ever going to be happy with these lists but here is what I gave the folks:

1-Georgia
2-Texas
3-Ohio State
4-Ole Miss
5-Alabama
6-Notre Dame
7-Oregon
8-Utah
9-Michigan
10-Mizzou

Honestly, Michigan fans were the most receptive to just being included in the Top 10. Normally they lose their mind about being undervalued and disrespected but I think they realize losing your Head Coach, QB, RB, WR does matter for what happens in the next season.

Oregon is polarizing. The difference between 3, which is what Oregon fans want, and 7, where I have them, is not that big of a deal to me. Sure move them up in your mind, at the end of the day in the words of Tommy Lee Jones from “The Fugitive.”

That’s right, I don’t care.

I’m bullish on Riley Leonard at Notre Dame, Cam Rising being back at Utah and Mizzou having Brady Cook and Luther Burden.

4th Down: LOL Random!!!

Didn’t know where to put this stuff but wanted to hit on it in more than just the Hand in the Dirt Podcast for next week. First off, my mom is a super thoughtful lady and she got me this pitcher:

I love a metal pitcher. I absolutely love them. I grew up, summers in Delaware, drinking overly sweetened Kool-Aid from a metal pitcher. This is a 3 liter pitcher, it has the ice stopper on the top. I am now drinking two of these a day so that is around 6 liters of water, or 200-ish ounces.

Does it sweat? Yes. Do I ever put it in the fridge? No. I ice it in the morning and then the rest is just letting the ice meltand keeping the water flowing.

Shout out to my moms for coming through with a gift she knew I’d absolutely love.

Also random? Somehow my neighborhood has a shit-ton of geese.

We had 7 geese a year ago. Now we have over 20 hanging out. This is from my car, taken only after I’ve already ran and was met with these geese without expecting them on my final stretch. Nothing sucks quite like surprise geese when you’re about to finish a run. They start walking toward you. It sucks.

So, on the back end of Day Two of the ACC Kickoff, there will be more to come this week.

Cheers!!!