HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  (ignore the “Weekend Edition” in the graphic)  Why is the bloody mary relevant this morning?  Well, many of you probably partied last night and may be feeling a little, ummmmm…heavy…today.  And, we all know the best cure for a hangover is some spicy vegetable juice and vodka (actually, you should just drink a bunch of water, but that doesn’t make a pretty S&F graphic, does it?).

Did everybody survive Y2K+9?  The mrs. and I were hunkered down in our fallout shelter waiting out the worst but everything seems to have passed on our end.  You guys all good out there?  Did you use that extra second of 2008 efficiently?  Hopefully you partied smartly and had a memorable evening with friends/family.  I know me and my bottle of Garnacha de Fuega had a good time (I’m not as much of a New Year’s Eve stick-in-the-mud as I pretended the other day)!

The Winter Classic is today!  Who’s hoping for snow!?

It’s been 11 years, but wanna guess who’s back on the sidelines next fall!?  Can’t stay away from the state of Bammer can you, Terry?

At least his last name’s not Kiffin…Lane Kiffin has convinced the Tennessee athletic department to hire former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron (pronounced O-zhur-on, in case you didn’t know and you happen to care) as recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach to join recently hired defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.  Also, Jim Chaney will be the Tennessee offensive coordinator.  There’s gonna be a lot of NFL flavor dressed in Orange on that sideline next fall (Lane – Oakland Radiers HC, Monte – Tampa Bucs D-Coord, Ed – Nawlins Saints D-Line, Jim – St. Louis Rams TE’s, trying to get Jeremy Bates – Denver Broncos QB’s).

So, what’s the significance of being NFL Comeback Player of the Year for the second time in the past three years?  I guess it means he stunk two times in the last four years…

Jerod Mayo (LB, New England Patriots) = NFL Defensive ROY…Matt Ryan (QB, Atlanta Falcons) = NFL Offensive ROY…Scanning through those S&F NFL “Expert” Predictions reveals that, so far, marcomarco and patphish (both correctly predicted Jerod Mayo) are the only NFL Nostradomas’ on staff around here.

Barkley’s disappointed in himself.  I’m disappointed in the cops that didn’t let him wipe his ugly mug off before photographing said ugly mug.  That’s gotta be worse than Busey’s mug shot, right?

Bowl season has really picked up:
- That triple-option was a Wreck last night wasn’t it?  LSU played like grown men at the Peach Chick-fil-A Bowl.  Side note: after jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in the Rocky Top v. Shorty-short Jorts Wager, I’ve had a streak of bad luck and Trey has caught back up; we’re tied at 2-2.
- Prior to Dec. 31, 2008, Vandy’s bowl record was a nice, symmetrical 1-1-1.  It only took 60 minutes for the ‘Dores to double number of their program’s bowl victories with a win over Boston College in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl.  I personally didn’t think that Vandy had it in them to not be Vandy after finishing the season on a 1-6 run.  A sincere congratulations go out to the Commodores for their first bowl win in 53 years.
- Houston beat Air Force in a shootout in the Armed Forces Bowl, Kansas waxed Minnesota in the Insight Bowl, and Oregon State squeaked by Pitt in whatever the polar opposite of a shootout is in the Sun Bowl.

And, there’s some big bowl games on tap today:
- 3 are “Wager” games:
          Konica Minolta Gator Bowl – Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4) – CBS – 1/1 – 1pM
          Capitol One Bowl – Michigan State (9-3) vs. Georgia (9-3) – ABC – 1/1 – 1PM
          Orange Bowl – Virginia Tech (9-4) vs. Cincinnati (11-2) – Fox – 1/1 – 8PM
- Outback Bowl – Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5) – ESPN – 1/1 – 11AM
- Rose Bowl - USC (11-1) vs. Penn State (11-1) - ABC – 1/1 – 4:30PM (could it be 14-3 again!?)

There are historic events occuring in NASCAR, mostly due to the economic problems – Petty Enterprises is closing shop along with 60 years of stock car racing history.

We here at Sparty & Friends hope you had a great 2008 and wish you and ourselves (because we’re selfish) a wonderful 2009.  Remember, don’t make any resolutions; they just might kill you.

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