The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

Consider this a very public cry for help...


Ummm....

How do I say this?

OK, fine, just out with it...like ripping off a Band-Aid....

Ahem....

My name is Scott...and I have been watching a LOT of soccer lately.

There...it's out there.

And I don't mean just the World Cup...heck, everybody is watching at least SOME of that. (Right? What do you mean, NO?) ANYway....I have even been watching some of the stuff from overseas that comes on the Fox Soccer Channel. You know, the stuff that comes on in the middle of the day. Which means...I have been setting my DVR to record soccer every day and then watching it when I get home from work.

Yeah...it's like THAT.

All of this can only mean one thing...I am REALLY ready for football season to get here. The REAL football.

Luckily, today marks only FIFTY NINE days to kickoff. I know I have fallen WAY behind on the countdown, but yesterday was Clint Boling Day. I celebrated by being consistently excellent at everything I did, only to receive minimal recognition for my efforts.

Couple other "newsy" items that have happened while I was off watching Arsenal vs. Liverpool in an English Premier League match from last October:

- Nothing much left to be said about the Damon Evans situation. The saddest and most frustrating part of this story to me is this...if you had asked me a week ago what the ceiling was on Damon Evans' career, I would have struggled to come up with one.

SEC commissioner? NCAA President? Governor? Senator?

Seriously...all of that was on the table. This was a guy who was handed the AD job at one of the most prestigious athletic departments in the country at 34 years old, and has done a fantastic job with it in the six years he's had it. He was the Golden Child. Not only one of the most respected AD's in the country, but a flag bearer as the first black AD in the SEC.

Now? I don't think his career is "over" per se...he's too talented. He'll get another job, and if he keeps his nose clean for a few years he may even resurface as an AD at another (probably much smaller) school. But all of those other opportunities listed above? Gone. Completely off the table.

And, to me, even that knowledge pales in comparison to what he is putting his wife and children (11 years old and 8 years old) through, and the fact that he has probably lost his family.

And for what? A few drinks and a 28 year old "Asset Manager".

Wow.

Let this be a lesson, kids...what takes a lifetime to create only takes a few hours and a couple of bad decisions to destroy.

- The Jordan Love situation really ticks me off.

The situation as I've heard it (mostly from UGASports.com), for those who may not be aware (Hi, Mom!):

A bunch of students (including football players Jordan Love and Shawn Williams) are hanging out in a common area outside East Campus Village shooting off fireworks and lighting sparklers. A neighbor calls the police to complain (which...come on, seriously? It's 4th of July, you communist!). The neighbor then informs the group that the police have been called, and the group breaks up. Jordan and Shawn stick around to talk to the police, which I assume was because they didn't want it to look like they were "running" from them. Police show up, question the players, and ask for their name. Jordan gives his first and last name, but when asked for his middle name he initially says he doesn't know it, then says he DOES know it, but isn't sure of the legal spelling. For this egregious offense, Campus Police slap handcuffs on him and arrest him for obstruction of justice, and initial reports are that he was "uncooperative" with the police and "refused to give his name". He was released two hours later on $5000 bond.

The "rest of the story"...Jordan's middle name comes from his birth father, who he has no contact with. It's not listed on his driver's license. Jordan's mother, who is an FBI agent, has reportedly instructed Jordan that, when asked, to give his first and last name and then to invoke his right to remain silent if questioned further.

Campus Police Chief comes out the next day and says it was a "breakdown in communication" and plans on asking the Judge in the case to drop the charges.

Let's look a little deeper...

First of all, the arrest happened at 11:35 PM, which means that it couldn't have been any later than 11 when the fireworks were being shot. So the neighbor really is a dillhole.

Second, Jordan CHOSE to remain behind and talk to the police voluntarily, when he was well within his rights to leave the premises before the police arrived. So..."uncooperative"? I don't think so.

Third, even if the "rest of the story" wasn't what it turned out to be...THAT'S what you're going to arrest somebody for? Not spelling their middle name? So, because of that, he has an arrest on his record, had to go to jail for two hours, had his name plastered all over the papers, has to appear in court...ridiculous.

Way to go, Deputy Fife. That's some high quality police work right there.

Those of you who know me know that I am not one to play the race card at all...but I wonder if the player had been, say, Kris Durham, would it have gone down the same way?

Or, for that matter...what if it wasn't a football player at all? Think things would have been handled differently?

Whatever...I hear the Loves have acquired an attorney and plan on suing the University police. I say more power to them.

PLEASE...can we PLEASE just get the season started? I'm sick of talking about crap like this, plus I think I'm becoming a Euro pantywaist soccer fan.