Finally. It is here. Super Bowl Sunday. Not so much because I can’t wait to watch the New York Giants play the New England Patriots, but rather because the hype is over and we can get on with our lives.

That said, we’ve got to add a little spice to things so let’s have some fun with it beyond trying to figure out a creative way to get out of work on Monday. ( post your best excuses-ideas here by the way )

We want y’all to give us your score picks today. If anyone gets it exactly right, including the winning team of course, we’ll get you set-up with some great Rudy’s BBQ! For tie-break purposes we need to know how many receiving yards former Red Raider Wes Welker has tonight. Closest to that actual number will be the winner. We’ll also throw in some other random prizes for great picks, predictions and analysis.

So, have at it. Give it a shot and give us your pick today!

If you heard the show Friday, you know I went with New York 31-24. It’s crazy to pick against Tom Brady, but I think the Giants offense can put a number up on the Patriots defense that I just don’t see New England being able to match today. So, with that in mind, obviously you should pick the other way.

Be sure and let us know what you’re cooking today and where you’re taking the game in. Don’t forget our pre-game coverage starts at 1 on The Fan, so listen online or if you’re out driving around the Hubbaplex today you know where to find The Super Bowl on your radio dial! Time for me to get the queso going.

Hyatt

1. Josh Hamilton is human. Josh Hamilton may or may not have had a “relapse” as reported Thursday night by many media sources. It doesn’t change who he is or who he wants to be in the future or how people should look at him. He’s flawed. Just like you. Just like me. If you liked him before, like him even more now. Why? Like him because whatever it is in your life that you can’t quite master, he’s going through the same battle-just in front of the cameras, in the papers and on the internet. When that happens, it really doesn’t matter how much money you make or who you are. Think about it and get back to me…

2.  Les Miles has more to be ashamed of today than Josh Hamilton. Miles most likely was sober when he publicly ripped a kid whose greatest crime was not wanting to be mis-coached by Miles at LSU and have to be defended by Bobby Hebert. Maybe there is a reason why Miles never got his dream job. . .

3.The most impressive thing to me about Texas Tech’s signing class is that no one bailed. A brutal finish to the season, a tumultuous off-season that saw a contentious departure of your defensive coordinator and other position coaches yet they still didn’t lose and in fact added. Impressive. Texas Tech fans should feel good that recruits seem to be looking at the school, the program and the experience in total.

4.  If Texas Tech ever wears silver or red helmets under Tommy Tuberville I will lead any effort necessary to make sure he has to watch the Tech-OSU game tape for 24 hours straight.

5.  I have been told by two folks outside the Big 12 footprint that The Longhorn Network is going to undergo significant changes and restructuring and that it will no longer be a barrier to Texas joining the Pac-12 or other conferences in the future. Seems the House Of The Mouse has realized the Network is an albatross costing them not just money, but the ability to control college sports by using it as a bargaining chip. The Mouse hates that. Will it lead to a new round of realignment talk? Of course. Will anything happen? Ask @DanBeebe on Twitter…

I welcome your comments, thoughts and anything else you’ve got today. Post ‘em here and share with your friends.

Hyatt

Spent a lot of the weekend watching the 50th Rolex 24 from Daytona. What a great show! Even if you’re not into motorsports you’ve got to appreciate the team-work, endurance and just pure sporting nature of a guys and gals that want to get after it and compete for 24 hours straight. It was also a lot of fun to watch one of our favorite guests, Andy Lally, win his fourth Rolex-this time with Magnus Racing.

The folks at Magnus Racing did a tremendous job in the GT class putting together two strong teams They did an even better job representing one of their sponsors in The Children’s Tumor Foundation. What they did for those kids and the NF Heroes was fun to watch. The win was impressive but the work they all did at Magnus for those kids was humbling. We can all take a lesson! If you’re a fan of racing or just want to help, go to their facebook page!

As for the event itself, I wouldn’t mind seeing some other sports give the 24 Hour thing a try! Pocono already seems like that for the Nascar folks but I still think it would be cool to see the engine builders try and come up with a Nascar engine that could last that long. It would also be cool to see how long Kurt or Kyle Busch would last. . .

I’m not sure how to do a 24-Hour event for football but if anyone has any ideas, let me know.

Undercover Boss

I just got done watching Undercover Boss with the President  of Kendall-Jackson. It may be stupid, but I’ll be more likely to buy their wine and products in the future after watching the show. Whether it be for TV or otherwise, I’m usually impressed with leaders that go on that show and are willing to make changes, admit that strategy might have been misaligned and then face the music. Rick Tinger seemed to fit that bill tonight.

Obviously the true test will be time. Will Tinger continue to be as open-minded and willing to listen to the people that make the company work? My bet is that he will. When you do a show like this, you not only make yourself accountable to your employees, you open yourself up to the scrutiny of the wine buying public. Pretty good way to hold yourself to your standards.

Texas Tech Football

National Signing Day can’t get here soon enough for Tommy Tuberville and the Red Raiders I’d imagine. They need something good to take everyone’s mind off the finish to 2011 and an off-season that saw the ugly divorce between the program and former defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow.

For what it’s worth, I think Texas Tech A. D. Kirby Hocutt did a fine job handling the mess back in December. Maybe now some fans will understand why Texas Tech was being so guarded in the responses to the media and others about Glasgow’s status. Hell, I’m not even sure Glasgow was sure of his own “status” after reading the e-mails in the A-J on Friday. He obviously wanted out, but he obviously wanted to make it look like he got fired. That comes in handy when making a cash-grab. Between college football coaches and city managers around here, I’ve got to figure out a way to get paid while leaving my job . . .

Speaking of the recruiting class, @AJ_DonWilliams has the latest on another California kid coming to play defense for the Red Raiders. I wonder if Robert Prunty put out a help wanted ad there. . .If the mid-term guys make an impact next year, and most have to, that alone with make the class a success. As it stands, it looks like Tuberville and crew will back-up last years strong class with another. That’s how it gets rolling.

Come Monday on The Show we look forward to taking your calls on about all of this and much more. We’ll have the obligatory Super Bowl hype as well as look back over a weekend that saw the Lady Raiders take down Texas (that never gets old), the men scrap pretty well at Mizzou but come up short again and we’ll even delve into the world of food and fun just because we can. Join us starting at 3p.m. on www.1340thefan.com. We’ll be taking your calls on The Domino’s Fan Line-1-866-984-5326.

Looking forward to hearing how y’all recap the weekend on the Good, Band and Ugly topic.

Rest well, get us your thoughts and drive Texas Friendly.

Hyatt

Hope you’re having a great weekend. I’m knee-deep in Texas Tech basketball and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Nice way to pass the time til we hit the Super Bowl next week and work in a little National Signing Day mayhem as well.

We’re gonna start a new thing on Sunday’s and hopefully be able to keep up with it for a while. I always feel like I miss something during the week, don’t pass along everything we find interesting or just flat-out forget to get back to something. On Sunday’s I hope to pass along a few links to interesting stories, podcast, interviews or other things that will be of interest to you guys. I’d also like to encourage y’all to post any links to cool stories or otherwise that you find for us here and we can all benefit from group knowledge.

So, let’s get on with it. Here’s what we got today.

Earlier this week it came to my attention that a new blog was up and going at Chicago Now featuring news about pork, music, gummers, sports and leisure suits. How can I resist? I highly encourage you to give a read to my friend’s blog: And They Call It Pork!

If you are a fan of history, you need to be reading WWII Tweets from 1940. These guys are “live tweeting” events from WWII. It is amazing. You’ll gain a whole new appreciation for how events unfolded and the impact on the normal folks of the time. Very creative and good work. If you have kids I would say they should follow this on twitter or facebook too. Much beyond the text book. . .

I enjoy reading lots of different business, motivational and marketing websites. PickTheBrain.com has some good stuff. Here’s one from earlier this week that will help you stay focused when things get a little fuzzy in life.

I’m really looking forward to what you guys have to contribute to this today. I think we can have a lot of fun sharing some links and stories, so have at it boys.

Thanks, Ryan Hyatt

1. The legacy of Joe Paterno should be the cautionary tale of what happens when people, groups and institutions engage in the Cult of Personality, which is what happened at Penn. State. At a time it was all about the ideals and principles Paterno espoused and supposedly represented. After a time it became about Paterno. It became about protecting the Institution of Paterno Football. When you hear people say, “Joe Paterno WAS Penn. St.” it is very telling. We’ll let y’all chew on that for a while. Some won’t like it. That’s ok.

2.  The AP reports that Pat Sajak and Vanna White used to knock down a few margaritas in between tapings of shows back during the day. Makes sense. That’s the only way most can watch it now… Knowing now that Vanna was a little tipsy makes me want to find that legendary poster she made in the 80′s. . .

3.  I have no problem with the Texas Rangers resigning Josh Hamilton as long as it is for 4-years and is heavily loaded with incentives for games played over 125 per season. Anything more than that will be foolish money. I can’t see the team getting a deal done before spring training as Hamilton wishes, and why should they? I’d like to see how he does this year, can he stay on the field and what will his bat look like. More than willing to risk it.

4.  Chicago Now has a new blog by a guy that says he’s gonna write about Pork. He hasn’t written about Pork yet, but he has talked about Journey, leisure suits and spices. We’ll be waiting for the pork. I’ve often thought the world needed more blogs about leisure suits and I’m pleased this man is bravely jumping in to fill the void.

5.  There are reports that Texas senatorial candidate Craig James called Texas Tech coaches during games while working for ESPN. This would explain the broadcasts on ESPN a bit. . . No word if he called Newt Gingrich last night during the CNN debate to see if he’d mention his name a few times.

Hyatt

5 Things We Know On A Friday:

1.  While the Texas Tech Lady Raiders scrapped and did the best the could against Baylor Wednesday night, the real loss was the rule of law, once again in the Hubbaplex. The local D.A. had another chance to issue an arrest warrant for Baylor’s Brittney Griner for her assault on Jordan Barncastle 2 years ago and chose not to uphold the law. I’m still disappointed in that decision. Not so much for Barncastle, she’s long moved on, but rather for the rule of law in general. I’m tired of folks thinking they can get away with criminal activity just because it takes place at a sporting event. Why should that matter? I can’t do what Griner did at my work-place, why should she get a pass at The United Spirit Arena? A criminal assault took place in front of several officers and others that day. None did anything. The main reason is because they know schools like Tech don’t want the “negative publicity” of a cop doing their job on a basketball court. Looks bad…  well—so what? Someday I hope we’ll get past this idiotic idea and start to enforce law no matter where. It’ll eliminate a lot of the crap most folks have railed against over the years on our show. . .

2.  Muhammad Ali turned 70 this week. Good for him. I don’t want to upset ESPN or anything, but he’s still pond-scum for the way he treated Joe Frazier. If he were really a man of peace, he’d have done better by Frazier. As it stands, he used his “faith” as an escape for serving his country. . . Of course many will disagree and that’s fine and your right, still- Ali talked one game yet his actions didn’t back it up. Happy Birthday.

3.  When Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels is old enough to vote, imagine how good the Rangers will be! To get Yu Darvish, who will be a solid 2nd starter, for that money is bold. Now that he’s playing poker against saying they’re not sure if they can afford Prince Fielder-you can bet he’ll get Fielder too. I’ll take Darvish over C. J. Wilson by 2 wins in the regular season plus anything else in October. Who’s with me?

4.  We had a topic this week asking if a 4A or 5A school will ever win another UIL State Championship in Football again here in Texas. I’ll ask y’all. What do you think? It’s been over 30 years. Will it happen again? Why or Why not? I say no, unless they radically change the numbers for these schools West of I-35.

5. If you’re the Governor of Texas and you can’t whip guys name Newt and Mitt, not only should you get out of the race, you might want to resign as Governor and pay back the good folks of Texas for wasting all of our time and money. . .

Hyatt

It’s back. Sorta. Kinda. But it’s back. 5 Things returns for 2012. Feel free to add your comments, questions, helpful household cleaning tips and winning lotto numbers below.

1.  A fine grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup with saltine crackers should be on menu’s at every restaurants everywhere. If I were Governor I’d highly encourage it, if not make it State law. It makes more sense than most of what comes out of Austin these days.

2.  I applaud Penn. State for going “outside the family” in hiring Bill O’Brien as head football coach. I have no idea if he’ll have success or not. It looks like right now a lot of the Penn. State alums are hacked that they didn’t hire one of Paterno’s guys. Typical response at a time like this. The O’Brien hire will help Penn. State move down the road if they rally around him. If they don’t, the school will remain stuck in the mire of their own myopic world for some time to come. It’s their choice.

3.  Say what you want to, but Texas isn’t a football state, a basketball state or a baseball state. It’s a winner’s state. Some folks seem to forget that from time to time.

4.  If I could alter the outcome of any Texas Tech sporting event in history I’d have to go back to 1976 and see what would have happened if the Red Raiders had beaten Houston that day in Lubbock. Most likely a trip to the Cotton Bowl as an unbeaten and a shot at Maryland. The Terps were unbeaten going into that Cotton Bowl against Houston. It very likely could have been a game to decide the National Championship. Pitt would win the Sugar that year with #2USC having a loss out West and the SEC and Big 10 not providing undefeateds that year, Tech may have been able to play their way to a title. Had that happened, how different would the rest of the decade have been and most certainly the 1980′s?  Something to ponder. . .

5.  I have no problem with the Texas Rangers hiring Josh Hamilton’s father-in-law as his personal life-coach and mentor. Whatever it takes to keep Hamilton “right” and productive, the Rangers should do. Now, when it comes to signing him to a long-term contract. . . well, I’ll have other thoughts on that.

Y’all enjoy the weekend and try to pay attention when you’re out driving around.

Hyatt

There’s not much worse than getting sick around a holiday or a vacation. I hate it. Started feeling poorly Sunday night and it just kept getting worse. I get a bad cold or flu once every few years, so I guess this was my time. I used to schedule it for October, right before basketball season started so it wouldn’t affect my play-by-play. Now that I don’t travel with Texas Tech I guess it decided it can show up whenever. Thanks.

The worst part was not being able to stay up and watch the Stanford-OSU game last night. Sure, there’s DVR, but when you know the results it just isn’t the same. Throw-in the fact that the game is rendered meaningless under the current BCS system that tells us only one game matters and you have a great game in a vacuum syndrome. It was cool to watch, but means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Oh if it were the National Semi-Final Game! We’d be talking about that game last night for years to come. Instead, fans will largely forget about it in a few weeks nationally, which in Palo Alto is a good thing I guess.

That would be one thing I’d be talking about on the show tonight, except I won’t be there, so I’ve got to bang out a few words here and see what y’all think.

How much more attention would you have paid that game last night if it had been for the right to play in the National Title Game? If Alabama gets the win against LSU does Oklahoma State rightfully have a claim to a split-title this yr? Did the Cowboys really do anything last night to make you think they deserved a shot at LSU? ( A little defense would have been nice to see )

If we were on today we’d also recap the end of the Dallas Cowboys season. We all saw it coming, but for different reasons I think. I’m still surprised at how many people think Dallas choked this year. They continue to over-value the talent that the Cowboys have on both sides of the ball. In order to choke, you’ve got to have a decided advantage over your opponents and then do everything you can to make them win. That rarely happens in pro sports. Fans just like to throw that word around because it makes them feel like the other team isn’t really better, it’s just their team stinking it up.

Dallas didn’t choke, they’re just not that good. Slightly better than average talent in most spots and well below in other spots for sure.

Now the question becomes for some, do you give Rob Ryan more time on defense or does he become the fall-guy for this past season? I’d stick with him. Get better talent, give him a full off-season to work with players and I think you’ll see results. It ain’t the X’s and O’s in Dallas right now it’s the Jimmies and Joes. . .

Oh well, time for the meds to kick in. Y’all listen live tonite via www.1340thefan.com and get the latest on the Red Raider’s search for a defensive coordinator ( Art Kauffman anyone? ) as well as recaps of the bowls and more with Don Williams, Robert Snyder and Zack Kennedy. I’ll be back Wednesday if the creek and my fever don’t rise.

Hyatt