I am in shock.

I came across the news hearing just a small :10 sec blurb out of the corner of my ear. Totally focused on work, but working with an ear to the TV.

Working and punching keys. Occassionally reading the news scroll.

Supremely talented and gifted mixed-martial artist Evan Tanner had suddenly passed away at age 37. The Amarillo native had been camping in the mountainous desert of Southern California.

I found the news report and played it back. Evan was gone.

You have to understand, while I wasn't close personal friends with the guy, some of my friends were and we've been cheering him on for years. Not just for what he did as an athlete, but for what he did in life.

I always thought of him as a kindred spirit.

Being from West Texas, willing to take risks, always on a journey looking forward, and someone you wanted to see do well.

Before I knew anything about MMA or UFC-style fighting, I met Tanner out on the town in Amarillo. I was working there at a rock station and still getting to know everyone in town. We ended up speaking while at a small gathering. Frankly, we were both there for the women at an afterparty. While I did shots of tequilla and smoked like a chimney, he sat quietly with his arms and legs crossed drinking a bottled water.

Once he realized I had no clue who he was, he relaxed a bit and we talked for a short while.

Now, I can't even tell you the name of the girls we were there with but I remembered that conversation and asked around about him. Of course everyone knew Evan, geez some of my best friends grew up across the street from the guy. Man, did I feel stupid. He knew who I was and who my friends were. And I was supposed to be some plugged-in radio guy that knew everything about everyone.

I know this much, though... Evan's chic was WAY hotter than mine.

But anyway.

Even in the midst of anonymity with the temptations of young adult life offered free and without thought, he simply wasn't interested. I'll be the first to admit, this was long before I was married, long before I was a father of three, and as my momma always said, "Nothing good happens outside the house after midnight."

My obnoxious first impression cast aside, I got to meet Evan. Not "Evan Tanner" the legend.

The more I learned about Evan over the years I understood the focus of being driven to really "live life" and I always watched as he pursued his fighting career with great interest and enthusiasm. It's always more fun watching sports when you have a dog in the hunt, but with Evan you wanted him to win because you knew how hard he worked to get there.

I was amazed by his raw talent and his ability to instantly start working things out in his mind before ever showing his hand. Street smarts and natural instincts. I admire that. The school of hard knocks and I are old friends as well.

That's why we all loved to watch Evan throughout the years.

While living up in Washington State for a couple of years, perhaps fullfulling some of my own wanderlust, I heard Evan was living in Oregon. It made perfect sense.

As much as I hated the flat nothing that was West Texas, I loved the mountains, the rivers, the extremes of Northwestern living. I understand that drive and that ambition that Evan had about life.

That is why I am in shock.

I feel as most folks from Amarillo do hearing the news this week. Evan was an example of the kind of person you would like to be.

He died living life on his terms. You have to respect that.

That's what I brought away from that night I met Evan Tanner. Respect. And Texans are big on respect.

Texans are tough people and we're talking about the kid from Amarillo that could collapse your skull with a brutal set of elbows.

So, no I am not going to the Bulls/Jayhawks game tonight. I just don't have it in me tonight. I'll watch from home for a while and I'll drink my tequilla watered down with margarita mix, but I may watch some old Evan Tanner fighting highlights.

Good luck on your next journey, Evan.

See you at the afterparty.

...

While it is early and I may ultimately watch as the Big 12 simply implodes just as every other conference is doing this year, I think the first two weeks have illustrated how dominant the Big 12 North will be the next few years. Sure the SEC is strong, but neither the East or West has as many programs on the rise.

Sure the same rants that SEC haters spout relentlessly with a good measure of Big 12 hate sprinkled in will certainly spill over the comment section, but hey, at least take a look at the facts.

The Fact is that The Big 12, The SEC, and The Pac 10 are the best conferences in the country.

The fact is that those three conferences are the only three deserving of an automatic BCS bid. Right now, the SEC is a little weaker than it has been in a while but the fact is a doormat in the SEC would be considered a decent team in the Big East.

Though the Big 12 has seen a lot of South Champs dominate in recent years, the fact is that the athletic programs of the Big 12 North realized to compete they actually have to spend money. And spend they did.

Missouri alone has built a state of the art athletic complex, new basketball stadium, gave a multi-million dollar facelift to Memorial Stadium and Faurot Field, etc..

Then they raided Texas for recruits and drained other former powerhouse recruiting grounds with promises of starting instead of riding the pine three deep in Austin.

Kansas and Missouri followed the similar plans to that of Kansas State in the late 90's and you can see the fruits of their labor now.

What you see down south is a few once proud programs walking in circles. The same old models being followed year after year and no progress in site.

Sorry Texas A&M, tradition only sells so much. Ask Notre Dame.

While Kansas may be a 9 win team this year, so too may be the Kansas State Wildcats. We'll see if I may be right when they meet Louisville.

Nebraska has a favorable non-conference schedule, with Virginia Tech being the toughest (cough) opponent. The Cornhuskers could also be a 9 win team with wins over VT, Texas Tech, and Kansas although they will likely be the underdog in each game.

Colorado is a tricky call. I'm not sure if the new coach has the boys up to Big 12 standards. They seem a bit Mountain West at times. We'll see how they stack up as they meet West Virginia and Florida State in the next couple of weeks.

Iowa State has neither Oklahoma or Texas on its schedule. Aside from Missouri, Oklahoma State, Kansas and Nebraska they could win 7 or 8 games.

The Big 12 South on the other hand has no hope when looking at Baylor, or Texas A&M. Texas Tech still has no defense, Texas is over rated, but at least Oklahoma is Oklahoma... well, until bowl season arrives.

The surprise of the South could be Oklahoma State, not the Red Raiders.

Looking at the ACC, Big East, and Big 11 I find it hard to see how they claim to be anywhere near the elite quality conferences of the Big 12, SEC, or Pac 10.

Sure I'm holding out hope that the Big 11 is going to have an "up" year with the resurgance of Wisconsin and Penn State.

I know, you hate me now. I said it. You other guys are just fighting for scraps.

But before you throw the rotten tomatoes, do you really think that Wisconsin or Penn State could beat USC. Don't give me that "any given Saturday" ####.

The answer is no. And as we'll see Ohio State won't be able to either.

Do you really think Georgia Tech or Wake Forest  are really as good as the 2-0 SEC teams? Hell, Vandy vs. either of them is a toss up.

Do you really think South Florida has a chance at RJ Stadium this Friday? The Big East's best against the 4th best team in the Big 12. Did you even SEE that UCF game last weekend? I did.

That's not to say I won't be at the game Friday. Hey, I can suspend disbelief after tailgating for a few hours.

Of course, I'll be wearing my glorious Mizzou attire for all you KU schmucks. Meet me at the Buccaneers pirate ship for a pint. Gotta love the party deck.

While not the most impressive NFL stadiums, the games are sure fun at the home of the Tampa Bay Bucs. (Where you can still get $10 tickets from the scaplers!)