For some reason which no one seems to understand, none of the in-site links go to anything. Yet for some reason, the entire back-end which allows us to post is fully functional. But fear not, the people we pay 6 six dollars a month to take care of these problems are working diligently behind the scenes to resolve the problem. I’m sure it won’t take long to fix, just as I’m sure this sentence won’t leave sarcasm residue on your monitor.

Update [2008-06-22] The site is back in working order. I have no idea what the problem was, but an upgrade of the blog software fixed things.

Also, 68 days until kickoff!

This gnome has been paying very little attention to the hoopla of pre-season polls. However I am aware — and alarmed — that we seem to be consensus top-25, if not top-10 picks. It’s frightening. Fortunately, we can all relax because I found a list that doesn’t include Bowden, none of the Bowdens actually.

Via Rivals’ Fanblogs, the Rivals 2008 Football Power Rankings: Football Head Coach category:

1. Pete Carroll (USC)
2. Jim Tressel (Ohio St.)
3. Urban Meyer (Florida)
4. Les Miles (LSU)
5. Bob Stoops (Oklahoma)
6. Mark Richt (UGA)
7. Frank Beamer (VT)
8. Jim Grobe (Wake)
9. Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
10. Mack Brown (Texas)
11. Dennis Erickson (ASU)
12. Steve Spurrier (USCe)
13. Nick Saban (’Bama)
14. Mark Mangino (Kansas)
15. Rich Rodriguez (Michigan)
16. Gary Pinkel (Missouri)
17. Bronco Mendenhall (BYU)
18. Brian Kelly (Cincinnati)
19. Jeff Tedford (Cal)
20. Mike Riley (Oregon State)
21. Jim Leavitt (South Florida)
22. Mike Bellotti (Oregon)
23. Mike Leach (Texas Tech)
24. Pat Hill (Fresno State)
25. Bobby Petrino (Arkansas)

With it we get some commentary from Fanblogs like:

- How do you put Steve Spurrier at #12? Can you name a game last year where Spurrier’s coaching *won* a game for South Carolina? Oh, well there was that one. But still… this *seems* like a legacy ranking.

- Is it just me… or is this a very West Coast heavy list? Pat Hill?????

I’m sure we all agree about the Spurrier issue. But West Coast heavy? I mean, 7 out of 25 sure seems like a lot, but considering that all the Bowdens are on the East Coast, I think it makes sense. Besides, the number of West Coast teams does not exceed the number of SEC teams (7), so I think we’re ok.

And maybe we should go ahead and agree right now, that if the team does well this year, it is despite, and not because of, HC Tommy Bowden.