This weekend's headline game should be a corker, or at least closer than McCallum's 52-0 blowout over LBJ last night. (Stamp Cedar Park's playoff passport too, though the T-Wolves were lucky to get past Stony Point by a single, stony point, 14-13.) Hurry up and head out 290; even with Friday afternoon traffic, there's still plenty of time to get to Giddings in time for the kickoff of a game with the outcome of 23-3A in the balance. The hometown Buffs entertain the fightin' Leopards of La Grange, and whoever walks off the field with fewer points will do so for the first time all year. The visitors are playing for more than that: the Buffs tied them to the whipping post 58-6 last year, plus La Grange hasn't been scored on since the fourth quarter of their September 15 game at Sealy.

If you'd rather head north, Hutto drops by Cameron Yoe for some payback – the Hippos advanced to the 3A Division II state finals last year but lost to the Yoemen 17-13 at home. Cameron is likewise looking for revenge – Hutto ended their season in the playoffs.

The Crying Boy of OU is apparently getting his mug plastered all over T-shirts and e-mail attachments slinging back and forth across the Red River. See the above photo of the sobbing youngster who may or may not have been upset that his beloved Sooners got squashed by the University of Texas Longhorns. Or maybe his dad wouldn't buy him a corny dog.

In either case, he's not the only one in Norman with crocodile tears. OU Coach Bob Stoops has also been letting a few drip over what he sees as "questionable" calls made in favor of Texas in the Sooners' 28-10 loss last Saturday. Was it a lateral or was it a forward pass? Did Adrian Peterson actually fumble or did the ground knock the ball loose? Who cares, Bob? You lost.

The Lady Longhorns had a great weekend up north, beating Kansas, 1-0, then coming from behind to beat 14th-ranked Colorado, 2-1, with freshman Emily Anderson (Westlake High) nailing the winner, the first goal of her college career. With that, the Horns ran their season record to 10-3-1, including 6-2 on the road. This week they host Sam Houston State – Friday, Oct. 13, 7pm, Mike A. Myers Stadium, $7, or four for $8 – before heading back north to Nebraska for a Sunday-afternoon game. The Huskers have been disappointing this season, after being a preseason pick to finish second in the Big 12. -------------------- The long season for national teams pretty much wrapped up this week with two very full days of Euro 2008 qualifiers on Saturday and Wednesday. It was a tough week for England, who were held to a home draw by Macedonia, then lost in Zagreb to a very good Croatian team. Likewise Ireland, who crashed badly at lowly Cyprus, to pretty much kill off their hopes. Only Scotland salvaged some British pride, surprising France, 1-0, in a battle of previously unbeatens, while Italy got two late goals and a vital win over Ukraine to get untracked in the same group. And in a tale of two teams going in opposite directions, defending champ Greece beat Norway, 1-0, and then Bosnia on the road; while Spain ended the year on a sour note with their second straight loss. Click below for the full results.

There's activity aplenty within the Ice Bats organization, but no news is more exciting than its move into Austin proper. While they made some improvements to the barn commonly known as the Travis County Expo Center, and it had a certain charm, relocating to the Chaparral Ice Arena may be the biggest news from the Ice Bats since they first dropped the puck 10 years ago. The new Bat Cave is located on I-35 North between Howard Lane and Wells Branch Parkway and has seen several improvements in the last year in preparation of hosting the Bats. Among the many renovations is the addition of a new ritzy club seating level. Here's a description: “The new second-tier Center Club and Balcony Club sections will be complete by the opening of the team's training camp. The new seating levels will comprise a private club on the arena's north side. Ticket holders in those sections will receive exclusive amenities including full wait service at their seat, a private entrance and exit, and reserved, close-in VIP parking.” Pretty sweet. Let the pampering begin.


For Ice Bats' roster moves, affiliations, and schedule ...

If you would have told Pig Skinny on Friday afternoon that the Oklahoma Sooners would outgain the Texas Longhorns 332-232 and go eight-for-16 on third down, the Skinny would have declared a certain victory for the Sooners based on early returns. Unfortunately for OU, the Sooners also loaded the ballot box with five turnovers and 11 penalties. The 28-10 final was in question well into the fourth quarter, but the defining moment of the game came in the third, when UT's offensive line moved the OU defensive front seven yards on a third-and-one quarterback sneak. Kudos to the UT program, who proved they aren't just a bunch of pansies who can't win without Vince Young, and to all the Longhorn fans around Austin who will undoubtedly not let me forget the game any time before 362 days from now. The Sooners again got jobbed on some calls in a big game, at least this time it didn't overtly affect the outcome. It's pretty obvious at this point that Herr Stoopsy has lost his vice grip on his team's focus. The false-start penalties are completely unacceptable this late in the season, and if Bob and the boys can't do any better than that, we might as well not even show up for the game.

Just in the nick of time, major dividend No. 1 darted for 65 yards and a game-winning touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The number of new friends Reggie Bush made in New Orleans Saints country Sunday afternoon with that oh-so-timely punt return puts census workers to swamp boots and pirough oars. It was indeed a murky win, with seemingly secure leads fed to visitors like tables piled with miles of crawfish. Was it some sort of gentlemanly gesture for Sean Payton’s offense to cease ramming Deuce McAllister down the throats of the baby-soft Bucs defense? No. 26 had a whopping 117 yards by halftime, yet only carried the ball six times for six yards in the second half. Drew Brees looked like his already usual steady self, engineering a somewhat loaded offense without a single turnover to spare. Yes, even stone-hands Ernie Conwell managed to embrace a share of victory with a third-quarter touchdown reception.

For more on the Saints, UT-OU, and the Reagan Raiders ...

Forget about the Drew Bledsoe/Terry Glenn connection. It looks like Bledsoe's found himself a new favorite receiver. With two receptions in the Philadelphia game, including a 102-yard touchdown, looks like Lito Sheppard may just be the face of Dallas' future. Wait, what's that you're saying? Sheppard is an Eagle? Well thanks for the info, Pat Summerall. Why didn't you explain that to Bledsoe yesterday? I don't see how that last coffin-nail intercepted pass wasn't aimed directly at Sheppard. Now, I'm not saying Bledsoe did it intentionally. He's old, he's confused, and he should probably be tested for blue/green color-blindness. At this point I wonder if Terrell Owens is wishing he'd worn his old Eagles' jersey Sunday. Maybe Bledsoe would've thrown a few more his way.

Still drunk and stinking even more so after a 3-mile jog to retrieve my car from the evil clutches of a colleague's-birthday-party parking spot – thanks for the ride this morning, whoever you are – I called up my grandmother in St. Louis.

After the requisite small talk – my cousin will not, in fact, be making it to my brother's wedding; in other news, I'm growing up too fast – we settled into the real reason for our own little Sunday Conversation.

I'm no Margaret Cho or every single other stand-up comedian walking the face of the Earth – not trying to do the funny-family thing here – but what follows is real, people, albeit slightly parsed.

News came in this week that the Austin Toros will have the 10th pick in this year's D-League draft, which will take place Nov. 2. In honor of the occasion, I felt it was a good time to explain the ins and outs of the NBDL, its draft, and its affiliation system: in other words, a little primer. So, get out your pens and pads, put the kids to bed, and put on your learning caps. This is the NBDL in 2,000 words or less: