Golden Nuggets for 12.8.08

As we continue our charge of creating awesome nicknames for our favorite men's basketball players, and ensuring that Brent Musburger uses them when he and Steve Lavin next come to town, I have one idea and look to solicit others.

What I'd like to do is this: There is a t-shirt company that allows lowly bloggers like me a chance to create our own shirts and then sell them for a fair price on our Websites. We can have them say whatever we want, mess with the coloring and even upload graphics on them.

What I'd like to do soon is enlist some of the TDG community to come up with an image for Absolute Zero, Colt 45 and DJ Swat--that is if there's consensus here. We'll then work to create the shirts and sell them. I might even buy a bulk load, perhaps with thedailygopher.com written on the back, and give them to one of my friends who sits in the student's section at Williams Arena.

Anyway, that's my thought on making Absolute Zero a household name by the time we're in the Final Four in 2011. Anyone have other thoughts on how to market this crew?

• MInnesota football blogger Buck Bravo looks at two Detroit-area recruits Tim Brewster and his staff are looking at.
• The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team has indeed been impressive with wins over UCLA and Duke. Their fanbase is reacting accordingly. I must admit they look pretty good, mostly because junior DeShawn Sims and sophomore Manny Harris are as good as any one-two combination in the conference.
• Auburn is looking for a new football coach and a local paper lists Tim Brewster as one of many candidates. They note Brewster's recreuiting abilities for why it makes sense. An Auburn blog notes Brewster as a candidate and then states he "can be counted out for the time being."
• The Kentucky Wildcats lost again this weekend, this time to Miami. Yes, the Miami I still think can compete for the top of the ACC, though UNC is quite impressive. I point this out to link to this Rivals piece bashing Billy Gillispie.
• Charley Walters of the PiPress had interesting notes on Minnesota commit Trevor Mbawke and a big-time player Tubby Smith is recruiting, Harrison Barnes. "Gophers-bound Trevor Mbawke, 6 feet 8, 240 pounds, is averaging a national junior college-best 24 points and 22 rebounds for Miami Dade College and will play major minutes for Minnesota next season. The Gophers men's basketball team is competing against Kansas, Florida, North Carolina, Duke and Iowa State for 6-6 high school junior guard Harrison Barnes of Ames, Iowa. Barnes' mother works at Iowa State, but Barnes is a big fan of Minnesota coach Tubby Smith. "