Well Ohio State fans, the time has come to enjoy some crow. LSU 38 - OSU 24...sigh.
It has been said that revenge is a dish best served cold. Some have said the same about crow, but I disagree. So...just because I care - I have provided you with some recipes that may help you stand the bitter bird just a bit easier.
Having been a life-long Dallas Cowboy fan, I have had several long stretches in which I have had time to perfect some of these recipes.
In skillet brown the crow breasts, then place them on a 1 1/2" layer of sauerkraut in bottom of a casserole. Cover each piece of meat with a strip of bacon and sprinkle the onion over them. Cover the breast with another layer of sauerkraut and pour sauerkraut juice over it. Bake two hours in oven heated to 350 degrees.
*Tip: Since your tears are naturally salty, crying a bit over the casserole, after removing from the stove, can add just that extra bit of needed seasoning that makes the dish special.
Crow and Mushroom Stew (Button and Buckeye Stew)
3 crows 2 Tbsp cream 1 Tbsp lard/shortening 1/2 cup mushrooms 1 pint stock or gravy salt and pepper cayenne pepper (this should be easy to find in Lousianna - may even be on the table)
Clean and cut crows into small portions and let them cook a short time in the lard/shortening in a saucepan, being careful not to brown them. Next, add to the contents of the pan, the stock or gravy, and salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Simmer 1 hour, or until tender, add mushrooms, simmer 10 minutes more and then stir in cream. Arrange the mushrooms around the crows on a hot platter.
*Note: The pieces are big for a reason - it is supposed to be hard to ####. For some reason it is easier to pallete when eating it with friends and making excuses about the referees costing us the game - so be sure to invite your entire National Championship party entourage over for some.
Potted Crow: (BCS Buckeye Surprise)
6 crows 1 diced onion 3 bacon slices 1 diced carrot stuffing of your choice chopped parsley hot water or stock 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup shortening buttered toast
Clean and dress crows; stuff and place them upright in stew-pan on the slices of bacon. Add the carrot, onion and a little parsley, and cover with boiling water or stock. Cover the pot and let simmer for 2-3 hours, or until tender, adding boiling water or stock when necessary. Make a sauce of the shortening and flour and 2 cups of the stock remaining in the pan. Serve each crow on a thin slice of moistened toast, and pour gravy over all.
*Tip: if you soak buckeyes in water for about a week, you can get this great bitter horse-chestnut sauce, pictured below, to pour over your dish. This reason is that you don't want to actually enjoy this dish - or you could be in danger of being the next Notre Dame.
TAKE HEART BUCKEYE FANS
On the upside, you can see that Ohio State will probably be better next year than they were this year. The 2006 recruiting class is starting to come into its own and may be good enough to win it all in spite of idiotic defensive coaching decisions made on their behalf. Only time will tell.
This is the time that I am supposed to say "better luck next year." - But I won't - because I don't mean it.
One last thing. This is for a few special people - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE - SEC is 7-2 in bowl games this year. The Big Ten? 3-5.
The bottom is about to fall out in Atlanta and the SEC is about to become an even tougher conference.
After just 13 games, Bobby Petrino, who was brought to Atlanta as head coach because it was thought that he would be able to help Michael Vick raise the bar and truly realize his potential, resigned as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and took the vacant position as the head coach of Arkansas.
The Falcon players are livid because he did not and still has not addressed the Atlanta players of coaches directly. Most are calling it a classless move.
The University of Arkansas is ecstatic because they just landed what is thought to be one of the brightest offensive minds in football.
There is no word yet on who will take over as Atlanta's head coach for the remainder of the season.
I don't know how to feel about this one. On one side I don't blame him "gettin' out while the gettin' is good"; on the other hand I think it showed a lack of class and respect for him to not address his team about his decision.
Embattled Tennessee Coach Fulmer Deserves a Break.
Lets start with a short history of University of Tennessee football. The program started in 1891 and was known as being a perrenial loser. In 1926 a young aide to General Douglas MacArthur at Westpoint took the TN coaching position...Robert Neyland. In his first years his teams were 8-1, 8-0-1 and 9-0-1, including an upset of top-ranked Alabama. This put Tennessee on the football map and Neyland went on coaching TN through 1952 amassing a .829 winning percentage and a record of 173-31-12; his best season being 1938 in which the team was 11-0 and won a National Championship. He took 5 years off to go to WWII, attaining the rank of Brigadier General. During this time John Barnhill coached the team to an .846 winning percentage with a record of 32-5-2. This, incidentally, is the same John Barnhill who, after Neylands return from war, left TN to become the coach and athletic director at Arkansas. He built their program and eventually hired legendary coach Frank Broyles as his replacement, .
Since Neyland, Tennessee football has had seven different coaches. The most successful of them, by far, has been Phillip Fulmer with a record of 146-44. He has been to four SEC championship games (including this year - five), winning two and has an undefeated National Championship team to his credit in 1998. His teams have finished in the top 10 in the year-end polls six times, the top 15 ten times and the top 25 thirteen times. This year's team is currently #14.
Fulmer paid his dues as both a winning player under Doug Dickey at TN and as an assistant coach under Johnny Majors for 13 years, who he eventually replaced in 1992 when Majors' health was in question. He has a reputation as an ace recruiter, leading many opposing coaches and analysts to label him as one of college football's top recruiters.
He has lost to TN in-state rival Vanderbilt only once and has only once not taken the team to a bowl game...both in 2005 - his only losing season during his tenure posting a 5-6 record. Despite that bad year, his winning percentage is still among the elite in the country for coaches with over 10 years experience. Yet, since that year, many fans have been campaigning for his removal and have taken their cause to fanatical extremes - even to the point of publically stating that they hope TN loses this season so that Fulmer will be replaced.
What if the fans in Neyland's era called for his removal during the seasons following his return from war in 1947 and 1948 his teams posted 5-5 and 4-4 records respectively? What if they said, this is not the same coach who left to go to war...he's out of step and is losing to these younger coaches who are more innovative? TN would have missed out on back to back National Championship years in 1950 and 1951 under Neyland, just before his retirement as coach and promotion to AD.
Let's compare Fulmer's numbers to other top coaches shall we:
He has a better winning percentage than Joe Paterno (.748), who has also faced his share of naysayers in his down years. Joe has five losing seasons while at Penn State, but also two National Championships. He is the second winningest coach in history. Who would argue that Paterno isn't one of football's great coaches.
Fulmer has a better winning Percentage than Bobby Bowden(.762), who has one losing season to his credit at Florida State and two National Championships. He is the winningest coach in history. Who would argue that Bowden isn't a great football coach?
Let's compare his numbers to one of his similar-aged contemporaries in the same conference. He has a better record than Steve Spurrier, who has one losing season and one National Championship under his belt with a .756 winning percentage. Is Spurrier not considered a great coach?
Bottom line - Fulmer is a top notch coach, who has consistently kept Tennessee as one of the top teams in the country. He has helped to rally a team that was down early in this season to an improbable SEC Eastern Division Championship. If the Vols win today, he will have led this same team to a BCS bowl. TN has a great recruiting class coming in that want to play for him and by all accounts will keep TN in the National Picture for years to come.
Change for the sake of change is no good. All teams are going to have an off year or two. Noone is exempt from the occasional bad year and quality coaches are too hard to find - ask Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska and dozens of other schools about that. The naysayers need only to compare the coaching records of others in their conference and around the country to begin to fully appreciate how good Fulmer has been and realize that their argument for his removal has no merit.
