The offseason is long. It is hard. It is other vaguely dirty things. We may grasp at Spring practice, but past statistics have been tediously wrung, future stars signed, coaching vacancies filled, revisionist orthodoxies solidified - we've entered the unrelenting bowels of the offseason, a pit of desolation where visitors wear thin and enticing blog pickings even thinner.

If SMQ could fashion some protocol to this game, it would be non-negotiable: when the offseason emptiness weighs on the blogger, the blogger goes on vacation.

February to August: The sheer desolation is breathtaking.
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Well, not vacation, exactly, but a much-needed week to gussy the place up a bit while gaining ground on non-blog projects and filing away certain other chores and celebrations. The blog end of that includes adding and removing some new links, deleting at least some of the truly prolific spam in archived comments and charging up for the remainder of the vast, football-less desert ahead.

Barring irrepressible inspiration or other unforeseen development, exciting updates resume March 5. Comments and e-mail (sundaymorningqb -at- yahoo) remain in force and encouraged in the meantime.