Things I learned this weekend

1. Just because Cameron Crowe directed and wrote "Elizabethtown" doesn't mean you are not taking one for the team. It is a chick flick. From watching "Elizabethtown," I learned:
(a) No matter how cute Kirsten Dunst gets, the memory of her playing an eight year old vampire still creeps me out;
(b) I want Cameron Crowe to program my ipod;
(c) apparently old women from southern Georgia sound just like old women from rural north Kentucky.

2. Kite flying is easier when you have wind. And explaining that to a three year old is hard.

3. April is not too early to get a sunburn;

4. Vinick should have beaten Santos.

5. An SMU football Spring game is not the place to learn creative playcalling.

6. No one wears blue to the SMU Spring game.

7. Even at a Spring game, the refs don't think I am funny.

I went to the Spring game hoping, above all else, that one quarterback would emerge the better of the three. And low and behold, one did. Justin Willis is the starter. Do you hear me Bennett? Justin Willis is the starter. Repeat: Justin Willis is the starter. Justin was on target. When his passes were incomplete, they were drops. He has a little speed. And boy, he is short; there is no way he is 6'.

As for the other quarterbacks, niether were impressive in the first half. Both Slater and Johnson were better in the second half. Chalk that up to either playing with the first team or playing against second and third teamers, depending on your perspective.

The other highlight was Johnny Fitzgerald and James Mapps at RB. Probably good that Martin was out at tailback, because they got a lot of reps and both look good and as good as any running back has in a Spring game in a long time. Speaking of Martin, he looked impressive on the sideline; there is definitely some increased strength there.

Thirteen different players caught passes. Zack Sledge stood out to me. That and Bobby Chase's DROP. That is Chase's allotted ONE for the calendar year. You hear me, Bobby?

This was an offensive show more or less. Maybe one hit stood out, and that was Damon Hurst's.

But let's be honest for a moment. For better or for worse, all Spring games are the same. Playcalling on both sides of the ball were very vanilla and that is good and bad. There is rarely motion; there is rarely a blitz. Personally, if it were up to me, I would have blitzed Willis once. Tell him it is coming and just to see what happens. It is easy to make the third read when nobody can touch you.

Couple O' Links:
SMU Release.

DMN Recap.

I tried to get some basketball info, but ended up with nothing new. But let me end with this: Imagine a police drama. The detective is investigating a petty theft, minor deal really. He brings in the suspect's known accomplice/acquaintance that, unknown to the detective, doesn't like the suspect much. The detective asks a couple of questions, takes a couple of notes, really no big deal and nothing earth shattering. As the detective is closing his notebook, he nonchalantly asks the known acquaintance, "Is there anything else?" The detective starts to get up, expecting no answer, when the known acquaintance says, "Hey, you aren't going to ask about that armed robbery?" Turns out the detective has a few new questions he wants to ask.

That would be a pretty interesting scene in Law & Order, wouldn't it?