• A pirate never discriminates. Not surprisingly, Mike Leach used his platform Monday to endorse Oklahoma as the top team in the country ("Our experience with that is Oklahoma beat us, Texas did not, so Oklahoma goes above [Texas]"), but the real news in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal's account is how the good Cap'n proposes to solve this mess if handed the wheel:

Leach has espoused a plan for a 10-game regular season and a 64-team national tournament. Teams not making the field would be allowed to play two additional games for 12 total.
[...]
He likes to point out that Texas high school state champions wind up playing 16 games.

"The guys younger than us can play 16 and guys older than us (in the NFL) can play more than 16," he said, "so I don’t know why we magically only play what we do."

Utter insanity backed by plain common sense, in the span of two paragraphs. The most horrific beating of his career hasn't changed the man. 

• Wolverines finish what they start (only more competently next time, please). Best possible news for Michigan out of Rich Rodriguez's Monday press conference: Defensive end Brandon Graham, easily the brightest aspect of this year's disastrous season, and running back Sam McGuffie will both be Wolverines in 2009, pending a change of heart/super-positive draft evaluation for Graham and the resolution of "family issues" for McGuffie, who's also dealing with another in a series of concussions after this kick return at Ohio State:

Brian Cook says cautious w00t, though Troy Aikman reminds young Sam that multiple concussions bad, so bad, they are LaVar Arrington, concussions ... What were we talking about?

• Real Cowboys go all in. You're a real Cowboy, aren't you? Oklahoma State, home of the creepy, exploitive Gift of a Lifetime plan for Cowboys/girls who aim to keep on givin' from beyond the grave, took marketing cynicism to another level for Saturday's Bedlam game with Oklahoma. OSU decided at the beginning of the year to offer seats for the OU game only as part of a season ticket package -- if you wanted to see the Sooners, you'd have to buy a ticket to every Oklahoma State game. The result was a record number of season tickets sold, presumably boosted by Oklahoma fans who can't bear to miss a game, no matter what it costs. But at 39,600, that still leaves 15,000 empty seats for one of the biggest games in the history of the rivalry.

You can still buy Bedlam tickets through the university's ticket office, if you're willing to shill for the six homes games the Cowboys have already won. Otherwise, it's live and die with the scalpers or one of the ticket sites, where they're allegedly going for $200-$800.

Quickly ... The State's Ron Morris already knows Clemson's choice to succeed Tommy Bowden: It's Dabo Swinney. ... Gary Pinkel ended the Washington rumors by signing an extension through 2012 at Missouri, which should also have tight end Chase Coffman back in the lineup against Kansas. ... The win over Notre Dame was nice and all, but the greatest moment in Syracuse sports history? Haven't they had, like, a couple good running backs there, or a basketball team, or something? ... Once-hyped USC recruit Jeff Byers hopes the NCAA will grant him a sixth year of elgibility in 2009. ... Jonathan Dwyer, getting much respek, at last. ... Why is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette parsing levels of vengeance in a game called the Backyard Brawl? ... And it's a good thing Chuck Long didn't break the news of his termination to San Diego State players, who played their game of the year in a win over UNLV before finding out they'd unwittingly sent their coach out on a rare high note.