FanHouse

I kept hearing "23 years" this, "23 years" that, based on the length of time that it has been since the University of Florida Gators, keepers of The Tebow, formerly of the Old Ball Coach and recently of a National Championship, beat the University of Miami.

It's fairly shocking to believe that it's even humanly -- or Tebowly -- possible for two powerhouse teams located so close hadn't played each other since the 2004 post season, although that does mean that very few people involved in the action tonight actually had anything to do with either team the last time they played.

And it also gives a semi-logical explanation for why that streak has stayed intact as Miami has fallen from grace and Urban Meyer -- who wasn't around either -- has pushed Florida back into the upper echelon of college teams.

Not helping matters is the fact that Florida was a 21 point favorite (and with good reason, seemingly) but the halftime score -- nine to three (again, coaches, typing the score out = poor offensive performance) -- kind of held out a little hope for a close game.

Don't blame Tebow though; as Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews and anyone else with a microphone or a camera in their face pointed out, it was just the rest of the Gators looking slovenly in the first half and failing to meet the WonderKid's expectations.

Rashad Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell with a brutal punch to pull off a stunning upset tonight at UFC 88 in Atlanta.

It was the best moment of Evans' young career, a powerful right-handed strike directly on the chin in the second round. That right hand firmly establishes the undefeated Evans as one of the up-and-coming stars of the UFC, and potentially a light heavyweight title contender.

On the other side of the coin, the loss was Liddell's third in his last four fights, and it raises the question of whether The Iceman -- long UFC's biggest star -- still has anything left. One of the most accomplished fighters in the history of the sport may be nearing retirement.

Liddell's professional MMA record falls to 21-6. Evans improves his record to 12-0-1.

Matthew Stafford was decently efficient (18 of 28 for 213 and two touches) and Knowshon Moreno was an absolute monster (18 carries for 168 yards and three trips to the end zone) but I think we all know that it was Mark Richt's message on his brand spankin' new blog (MarkRicht.com) that inspired Georgia to a 56-17 slaughterhouse of Central Michigan on Saturday.

I want to see if our atmosphere can exceed anything Central Michigan has ever experienced. I am challenging the fans to get as loud as they can when Central Michigan is on offense and they're trying to communicate signals, plays and audible. You can make a difference! I want Central Michigan to see what SEC Football is all about.

Coach Mark Richt

Truly inspiring. And kind of impressive that Richt has a blog. Too bad he doesn't even know what one is.

Georgia coach Mark Richt plans to blog Sunday. Sometime between now and then he'll have to figure out exactly what that is.

"I don't even know what a blog is, to be honest with you," Richt said with a laugh Thursday afternoon.

Yet ... he ... somehow ... already ..... blogged? Is it meta? Or does Richt just not care? I'm guessing the latter. Also, it would be nice to hear him blog about red-shirting Moreno, an act he admitted was a pretty big mistake after tonight's game. I'm not guessing he mentions that though.

(Double fist head pound to Game On for finding said site.)

After today's loss to Georgia Tech, Boston College quarterback Chris Crane was asked what happened on his first interception. And in his explanation, he also explained why Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson is going to be a high first-round NFL draft pick in April.

"They started bringing pressure from the field," Crane said. "I tried to throw over a 6-foot-7-guy and I didn't realize it."

NFL scouts absolutely love Johnson's 6-foot-7, 260-pound frame and the long wingspan that Crane wasn't able to avoid when Johnson tipped a pass that was intercepted. He's a great athlete and showed today against Boston College -- when he also had a tackle behind the line of scrimmage -- that he's a very good player.

The reason I question whether he's one of the truly elite players in the 2009 draft class, though, is that he came off the bench as a situational pass rusher in his sophomore and junior years and didn't become a starter until this season. That tells me that Georgia Tech's coaches don't see Johnson as a complete player, even though NFL scouts seem to think he'll become one.

Stop by NASCAR FanHouse on Sunday at 1pm/ET for some good ol' fashioned live bloggin' of Sunday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400. It'll be Chase-tastic!

I've had a few days now to muse over the recent profile piece done in Rolling Stone on the always lovable Tony Stewart.

If you haven't a chance to read it yourself, I'd highly recommend it. And if you have read it, I'm sure you'll agree with me on a couple of fronts:

1) If you love Stewart because of his rank attitude and keen ability to not adapt to what people say he should be, then this piece exemplifies why so many people are so passionate in cheering for Tony and

2) If you're not the biggest Stewart fan but enjoy reading about how drivers really live outside of the limelight, it's again right up your alley.

The article is loaded with juicy tidbits about Stewart's life and the language he uses when he's not around the media -- or at least attempts to refrain from using. It mainly follows Stewart over the course of a few races earlier in 2008 and includes written imagery about Stewart riding back on his airplane, what the inside of his Hummer looks like, and just how "lavish" his Columbis, Ind. home is.

The best part by far, however, is when Stewart bashes Kurt Busch during the qualifying session this past May at Texas Motor Speedway [and as a slight warning, the language isn't exactly Disney movie appropriate]:

The political columnist Robert Novak is known for his strident conservatism, but in a column about his fight with brain cancer, he sounds as if he's turning over a new leaf, even having nice things to say about Ted Kennedy.

But read a little further into the column, and we find out that brain cancer hasn't completely changed Novak. After mentioning that his doctor is the chief of neurosurgery at the Duke University Medical Center, Novak writes:

The irony of my going to Duke to save my life can only be appreciated by somebody who knows that I am a fanatic University of Maryland basketball fan with no use for the Duke Blue Devils and their student basketball fans, who certainly have not turned the other cheek toward me.

The ingenious taunts by the students at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium are usually directed against opposing players, but I am one fan who also has been the target of the "Cameron Crazies."

During my last visit there to watch a game won by Maryland, students raised a placard with two pictures: one of Benedict Arnold and one of me. "Two Traitors," said the headline.

It's good to know that a little thing like a brain tumor won't change the passions of a college basketball fan, even though Novak also writes, "it will be very difficult for me to inveigh against Duke in the future."

Okay, Lou Holth is kind of awesome sometimes. The ESPN studio crew is justly ripping the morons who wrecked the BYU-Washington game, and Holtz is teetering on the edge of madness:

"I am very much against thowboating, but that was a shavesty [sic] of justice."

...and the edge of pure unadulterated awesome:

"The thing that thcares you is thethe people can vote."

Amen. They're probably deciding between Bob Barr and Millard Fillmore. This "point of emphasis" we can do without.

Meanwhile in officiating fiascos: Jim Tressel called out the refs in the Ohio-Ohio State game for a missed block in the back call... on Ohio State. Not a good weekend for the men in stripes.

Number eight West Virginia came into their game against East Carolina today with their sites on going to a national championship game. But the Pirates had other ideas. From the first possession of the game for East Carolina, it was obvious that they were going to be able to move the ball on the Mountaineer defense. The first drive went for 80 yards and they chewed up over six minutes on the clock. From there, it was all East Carolina. The Mountaineers were able to break a couple big plays, but for the most part the Pirate defense tackled well all day long. They forced the Mountaineers into third and long situations and kept everything in front of them.

On the flip side of that coin, East Carolina was able to break tackles consistently and convert third downs. They held on to the ball and kept Pat White and Co. from getting in anything resembling a rhythm. Final score, East Carolina 24-3.

This marks the third straight ranked team that East Carolina has defeated going back to the bowl game last year against Boise St. Expect the Pirates to slide way up in the polls and West Virginia way down. Nothing is a guarantee, but the rest of the schedule looks much easier and much more BCS busting friendly for the Pirates. And I probably gotta write a song about this...

I love you, West Virginia player. I love you so much. Isn't this nice? What do you mean we're down three touchdowns?

Well, West Virginia just punted from midfield with seven minutes left in a game they're down three touchdowns, so it's time to write the requisite "boy, I bet Ed Pastilong wishes he didn't wake up on January third with a wicked hangover, the faint memory of something profane at three in the morning, and a contract signed by Bill Stewart" post.

So, yeah, I bet Ed Pastilong wishes he didn't wake up on January third with a wicked hangover, the faint memory of something profane at three in the morning, and a contract signed by Bill Stewart. We heard all fall about how Bill Stewart was a terrifically nice man who didn't yell at his players and boy wasn't that nice and new offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen would UNLEASH THE UNBELIEVABLE PASSING ABILITY OF PAT WHITE.

These are the fruits of magnificent freedom: 214 yards and three points against Eastern Carolina. Even Michigan managed more. As you might imagine, West Virginia message boards have turned into Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and will feature heavily in This Week In Schadefreude.

And hey, how about East Carolina? If they run the table do they get a shot at the national title? They've got Virginia on their "tour of teams with Virginia in their name who want no piece of this," and if they take 'em out that's three BCS teams, two of whom should/might win their conference.

Attempting to compare Olympic gold medals and NFL touchdowns is an apple-orange type debate. One is a four-year culmination of hard work (unless you're a backstroker, then you just need to learn how to swim on your belly like everyone else) condensed into several hundred seconds celebrated on a world stage. The other is a week's worth of hard work condensed into several seconds celebrated on a ... Oh.

Well, maybe they are kind of similar, value and frequency aside. Which would explain why pool-pals Michael Phelps and Braylon Edwards are making a bet on quantity, which was confirmed by an NBC halftime report during the Notre Dame - San Diego State game.

The foot injury wasn't a complete loss. Edwards used the time on his couch to catch up with swimmer Michael Phelps' chase for history at the Olympics.

Edwards and Phelps have University of Michigan ties and struck up a friendship. Edwards bragged before Beijing that he would more than double Phelps' gold-medal total with touchdown catches. After Phelps' record eight golds, Edwards needs to set another franchise record.

So, as you can see, they actually made this bet before the Olympics. Whoops, Braylon.