Red Zone goes through the mail

I decided to dive into the mailbag this week and let some of my readers ask me some questions, heckle me, and above all else tell me that I am an idiot. I swear 90 percent of the e-mails I receive either on the website or sent directly to my e-mail address are telling me how stupid I am, and as always my usually response is “You’re right.”

Great article! Alex Smith is the best quarterback, and player in the country. His numbers are unmatched, and with the numbers you need to consider he has played probably seven quarters less than most of his opponents. He has been pulled out of most games mid-way through the 3rd, or beginning of the 4th. He has led the Utes to a fabulous season, and deserves the Heisman. Ute Man

Washington, D.C.

The fact that someone from Utah felt the need to email me is pretty cool, but it raises a couple of series questions about Utah in general.

1) I know currently he lives in D.C. but is there really that little to do in Salt Lake City that people sit around goggling Adam Smith + Heisman to pass the time. I’ll actually answer my own question by saying, yes, because if you’re not skiing you’re sleeping while visiting the Great Salt Lake.

2) If Ute fans got this excited (I received two other personnel emails) about a column in the Daily Campus of SMU written by a guy with absolutely no journalistic background, what did they do when Sports Illustrated named Smith their Player of the Year? I mean they may have gotten really crazy and had two sips of beer, or added vodka to their Jell-O (the people of Utah buy more Jell-O then any other state in the Union). I mean they may have even gone all out and married a second wife (oh, they already do that?)

3) Someone explain to me how this team didn’t get to play Auburn. All they did was win every game by at least 14 points, and yet they get stuck playing Pittsburgh who they predictably walloped in the Fiesta Bowl. Yet Auburn gets to stake a claim, although not a convincing one, that they should be national champions because they went undefeated too. I would go a step further and say Utah would have beaten Auburn and that I am sure that will inspire a whole slew of e-mails that I am an idiot which leads us to…

I try to support SMU in all things but the writer of this article is clearly an uneducated boob. Look at the facts and you will see the University of Virginia will win and Wisconsin will dominate. Maybe I am edgy because I have not had my coffee yet but pull your head out of your ass instead trying to act like you truly know something we don’t.

Matthew, Finance Manager, Chicago

Well Matt, despite the fact that I am an uneducated boob that evidently can’t see anything but my own insides I have some scoreboards for you:

Miami over Virginia 31-21

Michigan State crushed Wisconsin 49-14

Well evidently, I do know something others don’t like taking two underdogs against ranked opponents. Hell, Michigan St. was a double-digit underdog and had a 4-5 record against the then undefeated Badgers. Really, if your smart enough to be a finance manager you might be smart enough to also check out the fact I went 32-18 this season in my picks this season despite only picking games between Top 25 teams or games that were unranked teams that upsetting ranked opponents. I have a buddy that lives in Nevada who takes the money line (getting odds to pick the underdog outright) on every game I picked the underdog in. He just bought himself a new car. Funny I didn’t here back from you the rest of the season from this great “supporter of SMU.”

You drop a lot of rap references in “The Red Zone” so I was wondering what you think about Nelly ‘cuz I think he is the truth.

Nick

Dallas

Nick, I will correct you and say that Nelly was the truth, which is really sad because he had such great potential, but really its something that needs the be broken down further.

1) Nelly is now officially a pop superstar. You loose all street cred once you start making songs with N-Sync, Christina Aguilara, Justin Timberlake, and Tim McGraw. One of these songs you can get away with (see Snoop Dogg’s latest surprisingly catchy tune with Timberlake called “Signs”), but four and you become a punch line.

2) No 1 is really too bad because there is absolutely no reason for it. Yes the Sweat & Suit albums both went platinum but Country Grammar sold 8 million albums and was a hip-hop classic. Nelly slowly went more pop with Nellyville and then this last double album release was like the Backstreet Boys with a lot of base. Despite this complete and utter sell-out Nelly hasn’t sold more records which means he gave up hip hop immortality to be more popular yet has made less money (does this bug anybody else but me?)

3) Yes “Over and Over Again” with McGraw was the fastest song to No. 1 on the singles chart in history (How did that sales pitch to McGraw go, “Tim its Nelly, all you have to do is say over and over again, over and over again and we will make a ton of money.”) but Nelly please stop singing. You released three singles in a row that were singing ballads and it allowed the one song that was pretty hot “Na-Na-Na” to get very little radio play. That was the song that was actually pretty good, a glimpse into the old Nelly. This is what people should know Nelly for so when he does get all introspective and sings, people are actually surprised and enjoy it. How do I know this? Because it was the exact formula Nelly used on Country Grammar where he ended a great album with a slow ballad called “Luven Me” about his friends in family that was probably the second best cut on the record (behind E.I.).

Lay off my boy Freddie, just because he’s been tearing up the SEC while you were still in high school doesn’t mean he’s been in Athens forever What were you thinking picking Arizona St. to beat USC? They were behind 28 before the first quarter ended you idiot.

Kris

Atlanta

You’re right, I am an idiot.