07/21 (Lockout Over Yet?) Quickie

At this point, I'm getting a little annoyed that the NFL lockout isn't over yet. That's irrational, because the ending has never been closer -- it could come today or tomorrow, certainly by the weekend.

Fortunately, there's a lot to keep us occupied. Most personally, today is the 10th anniversary of the first date (blind date!) with my wife. Longtime readers will remember this post from 2007 -- probably my favorite post in the history of the site -- but here is a revised version for new folks.

Oh, and today my kids return from being down in Florida with my in-laws for the past two weeks -- it's the longest I've ever been away from them by far, and I'm a bit giddy at seeing them again.

More on the radar:

*Tiger breaks up with caddie Steve Williams. This is a moment where "It's not you, it's me" feels fairly authentic.

*SEC Commish Mike Slive wants to reform college football: His plan is both common sensical and almost noble. He is the best commissioner in college sports and has the clout of running the best football league to pull it off. (Slive and the SEC's success is the reason I always claimed he could, if he hated the BCS enough, secede from the BCS and form his own playoff system.)

*Oklahoma and Texas A&M threatening to leave Big 12 because of Texas' "Longhorns Network?" Maybe it's posturing, but this made a lot of sense for A&M last summer during Realignment Mania -- it still makes sense. Texas doesn't need the Big 12 to make the LHN work; I've thought all along it makes sense for UT to go indie. A split would be wild, though.

*Bandwagons: Unless you root for another team in the NL Central, how can you not be rooting for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

*Kobe to Turkey? Not seeing it. Great pub for the Turkish team (and Kobe), though.

*Bart Scott thinks the NFL going away from two-a-days is for wusses. He's a fool. (Meanwhile, kudos to the Ivy League for dramatically reducing the number of "full-contact" practices its football teams can have. Expect the rest of the country to follow in the next few years.

More later. Check out Quickish all day for the latest on the NFL Lockout and more.

-- D.S.