Totally Random

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Banner-toting rental planes have become the latest weapons in the Red River Shoot Your Mouth Off.

Thursday morning, an orange plane was spotted circling the University of Texas campus with a banner that read, ‘Hey Mack, Quit Your Whining U Knew The Rules.’

The message is a reference to Texas football coach MAck Brown complaining about the Big 12 tiebreaker rules that determined Oklahoma, not Texas, would advance to this Saturday’s conference championship game against Missouri. Earlier this season, Texas defeated Oklahoma on a neutral field, 45-35.

That score helped ignite the aerial duel. Earlier, Texas fans rented a plane to fly over Stillwater, Okla., while the Sooners were playing Oklahoma State. The banner behind the plane read, simply, ‘45-35.’

Trivia time

After compiling an 11-0 record en route to the national championship in 1974, Oklahoma played in which bowl game?

Air power

Tim Tebow was the object of a full-on recruiting war between Alabama and Florida three years ago, with Alabama the early favorite, considering Tebow’s strong relationship with David Shula, then the Crimson Tide head coach.

Florida Coach Urban Meyer told the Orlando Sentinel that he recalled a recruiting trip conversation with his defensive coordinator at the time, Greg Mattison, while sitting in a plane on a freezing tarmac. ‘He said, ‘You realize if we don’t get Tim [Tebow], that will set the program back 10 years,’’ said Meyer. ‘I said, ‘Shut up.’ He said, ’10 years.’ I got so upset with him, I grabbed a blanket and didn’t talk to him the rest of the trip.’

Tebow agreed to attend Florida in December 2005, and the courses of two big-time football programs were altered. Shula was fired after the following season, replaced by Nick Saban. Florida won the national championship with Tebow in 2006, then Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007. And now Tebow and Saban have their teams in the SEC championship game, one team four quarters away from the BCS title game.

Group MVP?

During a NFL season where no player stands out as an obvious most valuable player, Mike Lombardi proposes giving the award to a bunch of them.

‘I cannot think of a group that has dominated as much as the Giants’ [offensive] line,’ Lombardi, a former NFL personnel executive told the New York Times via e-mail. ‘Tennessee dominates the defensive line because of Albert Haynesworth, but the Giants’ offensive line is the sum of their parts.’

Given the unlikelihood the 50 award voters can name all the Giants’ offensive linemen, let alone vote for them as a unit, Lombardi was asked for an individual selection. Again, his choice was unconventional.

‘Matt Ryan,’ he said, referring to the Atlanta Falcons’ rookie quarterback. ‘He has done more for that team than any other player in the NFL, and they would not be 8-4 if he was not there.’

Trivia answer

None. The Sooners were on probation for a recruiting violation and were not allowed to participate in a bowl game that year.

And finally

After a round of tryouts held to upgrade Green Bay’s erratic punting game, what was Packers Coach Mike McCarthy’s modest request of new punter Jeremy Kapinos?

‘I want him to punt the ball in the right direction,’ McCarthy said.

-- Mike Penner