Happy Ash Wednesday...er...I mean, Signing Day!

It's finally here. Signing Day has arrived. Ash Wednesday just so happens to fall on this same day since Easter is in March this year (seriously, isn't Easter like Thanksgiving where it is always in April? I'm still a little unsure and feel like it's all an elaborate hoax. Well not as elaborate as say, this.)

So, today a bunch of high schoolers will be trotted out in front of their local media to sign a totally unnecessary contract, well that is unless you are the number one rated quarterback and believe in postponing your decision to hoard as much attention as possible. I say they spice things up since it's Ash Wednesday, throw some ashes on these kids' heads, and let them contemplate the fact that they've just committed a year of their life to playing football for their chosen institution, even if their coach decides to jump ship.

In the spirit of that, I want to be the first to congratulate all the new recruits of Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino, and our favorite here, Dan Hawkins! May you somehow sleep easy knowing your coach is just a huge paycheck or bad season away from leaving you in the dust.

Keep checking back here today, Bronco fans. We'll be bringing you some facts and interesting tidbits on at least some of the recruits being announced today. I doubt you'll find anything quite like it anywhere else.

Oh, and Sean Renfree...just because David Cutcliffe coached Peyton at UT and Eli at Ole Miss doesn't mean he's going to do the same with you at Duke. I mean, it's freaking Duke.

Signing day tomorrow

Good afternoon, Bronco fans. As anticipation builds for tomorrow's signing day, we here at OBNUG are growing curious as to what will happen. Over the past few weeks, we have seen some recruits take back their commitments and go elsewhere, and we have seen others pledge allegiance to our program. With all the information out there, some of the mystique of signing day has rubbed off, but if the past several days are any indication, there could still be some surprises out there from Coach Pete and the staff.

OBNUG will be at the Big Easy tomorrow to take it all in, and we hope to see you there. We also hope to see several four-star recruits that we haven't heard about. That would be fun.

For a preview, check out the Bronco recruting lists on these sites:
Scout.com
Rivals.com

What is up with this field?

So, as we prepared for kickoff yesterday of the Super Bowl, I mentioned to my Patriot friend and fellow Bronco bretheren, "Hey, you know this is the same field as the Fiesta Bowl, right?"

Now, a day later, I'm wondering myself -- what exactly is up with this field? Boise State pulled off the upset of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. A week later, Florida thrashed a then undefeated and supposedly much better Ohio State team. And now, a year later, arguably one of the greatest upsets in NFL history has taken place on the same field.

The thing that really stuns me is how quickly things have changed. Seven years ago, the Patriots were the underdogs, they were just happy to be there, and they were elated when they won. It wasn't supposed to happen. A little over a year ago, many of us Boise State fans were in the same boat heading into the Fiesta Bowl (those of us that weren't still had the memories of the Georgia debacle fresh in our minds and feared the worst). When the seemingly impossible happened, it was a feeling like anything I had ever experienced as a sports fan. Boise State isn't supposed to make plays like that. Eli Manning isn't supposed to elude a rush and throw a 30 yard strike.

We all root for our teams to be great. We want them to remembered as one of the greatest of all time. But at what price? At some point the joy gets removed from the winning and it's replaced by relief. We can no longer enjoy the games that they're supposed to win.

So, as much as I want Boise State to continue to climb the ladder of respectability in college football, I hope somehow they can keep the mystic of being the underdog. Can there be a happy medium? I'm not sure. However, a win that's not supposed to happen feels a whole lot better than the ones that aren't.

Tharp leads Nation to loss

Taylor Tharp went 10-21 for 94 yards and two interceptions in the Texas vs. the Nation all-star game Saturday, which Texas won 41-14. Apparently, Tharp thought it was Washington vs. the Nation.

Team Texas downs team Nation [AP]

Bold predictions for the coming week

Good Monday, Bronco Nation. This week we find out the 2008 Bronco recruiting class, and we have a feeling that this class will be one of the best. Without further ado, here are some bold predictions for the week of February 4 through February 8.

• Signing Day will go as planned until BSU announces the commitment of myself--a 6'0", 185 pound safety with one year of eligibility remaining. I will proceed to make everyone forget about Marty Tadman.
• The Broncos' new motto will be "Anywhere but the Humanitarian Bowl."
• The Steelers will cut Jared Zabransky after finding out that, while he did lead the game-winning Fiesta Bowl drive, he also threw one of the worst interceptions of all-time to put his team behind.

WIR: Childs, Zabransky, and the birth of a blog

Week in Review likes it when there are Broncos in the news, even if it is just Broncos being drafted by leagues that won't exist in two years. We'll take what we can get.

--OBNUG's first post, and a new generation of Bronco football begins.
--Zabransky to the Steelers...and Pittsburgh fans rejoice.
--Jeremy Childs will return to the team.
--Cheating: not all that bad when you consider the alternatives.
--KBOI will have to fight...for its right...to brooooaaadcast!

We'll be back on Monday. Enjoy the weekend.

An open letter to Jeremy Childs

Dear Jeremy,

Your recent suspension from school is equal parts disappointing and deflating. Tim Gilligan would have never done this to us.

We understand that you are an athlete, and as an athlete, you are afforded certain privileges. You cut in line at the cafeteria, you get to talk to Chadd Cripe, and you can have people do your schoolwork for you. We get that. In fact, those reasons alone are why we didn't give up on our college football dreams until an embarrassing episode in our local gym made us realize we could never cut it.

So while we are not completely appalled at your plagiarism, we are still annoyed at what happened. How could you? How could you...get caught. We think that if you are going to cheat, you should make sure you cover all your bases. And that, Jeremy, is where you have let us down.

Well, we are here to help you. Specifically, we are here to help you cheat. Whoever you had writing papers for you in the past is obviously no good. We can provide original content, and while we do not guarantee good grades (we don't like reading), we can assure you that no one will ever mistake your work for someone else's.

We may not know a lot about a lot of things, but we certainly know a little about a lot of things. Here is a list of classes and potential papers that can be yours if you only ask:

Biology: Would someone cure cancer already?!
Chemistry: E=mc Hammer: the life and times of chemistry's brother from another mother
Sociology: Five billion people and we can't find anyone to get my order right at McDonald's?
Finance: What's the deal with subprime mortgages?
Economics: Benefits of the $3 bill
Health: What Powerade does for your body that a multivitamin never could (complete with visual aid)
Theater: Acting is for weirdos
Graphic design: Double entendres of the Nike logo

If you have additional classes that are not on this list, please let us know so that we can start doing research. We want you to succeed, and if that means doing a science project on hamsters, then we are more than willing to make that sacrifice.

All the best,

OBNUG team

Photo courtesy Idaho Statesman