More Recommended Reading

The lineup and Tom Cable polls will close later tonight. In the meantime, here are some links for fellow fantasy football fans to enjoy.

Innovative, like New Coke? ESPN.com published an excerpt from Chuck Klosterman's new book "Eating the Dinosaur." The excerpt takes a look at the development of the "read option" play (a much better description than Wildcat, if you ask me) and argues that football isn't what you might think it is.

"It feels like a conservative game. It appeals to a conservative mind-set and a reactionary media and it promotes conservative values. But in tangible practicality, football is the most progressive game we have -- it constantly innovates, it immediately embraces every new technology, and almost all the important thinking about the game is liberal."

He also argues that the read option didn't exist 25 years ago, though I can think of at least one coach who would beg to differ. But never mind that. Chuck's piece (as usual) is worth your time.

Circling the wagons...to ensure the prey won't escape. I can't decide if this is a sign of the times or just the latest way for football fans to express their displeasure at their coach, but one of our fellow Wordpress users has a blog called Fire Dick Jauron! But these folks aren't just ranting. They're trying to do something more productive.

 If you live in the Buffalo area, you might have noticed a billboard urging the venerable Ralph Wilson to give Jauron his walking papers. The folks at Fire Dick Jauron! are helping raise money for the billboard (and possibly for a second one). Most "fire the coach" sites never get past the name-calling stage. This one makes you hope Mr. Jauron leased his home instead of buying it.

What's a reading list without an Ochocinco item? Here's the latest on the People's Pigskin's most quotable player, Chad Ochocinco. It seems that he plans to form a social news network on Twitter. He's calling it OCNN (Ochocinco News Network). One thing's for sure: This network will get scoops on things like uniform violations.

It's like Cliff's Notes for football. If you watch Sunday's game between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, you can expect to hear about the "Heidi Game" at least once. If  you're not old enough to remember the incident, here's a video and a quick rundown.

On Nov. 17, 1968, the Raiders were trailing the Jets 32-29 when somebody decided the game was over. With 1:05 left on the clock, NBC affiliates in the eastern U.S. cut away from the game and started showing a made-for-TV remake of the movie "Heidi." In the meantime, the Raiders scored two touchdowns and won the game 43-32. NBC was flooded with angry calls, and football broadcasts have featured the phrase "will be seen in its entirety following today's game" ever since.

By the way, in researching this post, I learned that the "Heidi" in question was a made-for-TV version starring Jennifer Edwards, not the 1937 classic starring Shirley Temple. If the former ambassador is reading this, please accept my apologies for thinking you played a role in this controversy.

And apologies to the rest of you for not getting this post up sooner. There's still some time to vote in our polls. We'll be back Sunday morning with the results.