The Good: Some dude talking about some set-aside:

This is basically the first political ad for the 2040 election.

The Bad: He’s got soul but he’s not a soldier… Slowly but surely, the “victims” of Army’s forced reversal of the ASO are matriculating back from whence they came.

The Ugly: For most of my life, every single team that I like has pretty much sucked. It’s an unusual feeling for me to cheer for teams that actually win. Rest assured, though, that Chargers GM A.J. Smith is working hard to get things back to normal.

The Chargers: If the Chargers are doomed to be mediocrity’s standard-bearer, at least baby steps have been taken toward making sure that they do it in San Diego. With the buyout in their Qualcomm Stadium lease being cut in half in 2011, though, I’m still convinced that they’re moving to Los Angeles.

The Lacrosse Schedule: Don’t expect too many changes. Richie Meade was a pioneer among lacrosse coaches when it came to finding talent in areas outside of the traditional lacrosse footprint. Rather than go head-to-head in recruiting against the game’s titans, Coach Meade was able to get the pick of the litter in areas where other schools just didn’t bother to look. When the Mids made the finals of the NCAA tournament in 2004, it was almost a running joke how cosmopolitan their roster was compared to the New York and Maryland-dominated squads they were beating. Navy’s schedule reflected that recruiting effort; the Mids regularly played Ohio State, played Colgate in Orlando, Holy Cross in Dallas, and Bucknell in San Diego. But the Mids are no longer alone in canvassing all corners of the country for lacrosse talent; a quick scan of Johns Hopkins’ roster, for example, yields players from California, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Florida, and Colorado. Being lacrosse’s travelling roadshow was worth it when you could hit ’em where they ain’t, but the cost-benefit isn’t really there anymore. Now it just makes more sense to play relatively high-profile games against the likes of Loyola and Towson in our own backyard rather than spending money to fly all over the country.

The Vuvuzelas: Like the World Cup, but wish there was a blog that stressed tactical matchups kinda like we do here with Navy games? Meet Intelligent Soccer.

The Blogs: The Pre-Snap Read preview countdown continues, including a look at Maryland. Barking Carnival continues to comment on the inner workings of the Big 12’s realignment turmoil, including this cogent bit on what really matters when confereces look to expand:

If I see another poster offering New Mexico and TCU as potential partners, I’m finding out what industry they’re in and entering it both guns blazing, with confidence that I’ll be a billionaire within a decade. Or at least be their shift manager at Quik E Mart.

He will, too. And finally, One Foot Down ponders the possibilities of Notre Dame’s own network.

The iPod: School of Seven Bells– Half Asleep

The Padres: The Padres beat the Rays 2-1 yesterday because Mat Latos is good at throwing baseballs. Last night, I had a dream that they lost 5-4 with a blown save from Heath Bell. I’m sure my subconscious is just trying to keep my optimism in check.