But wait, there's more...

Looking for further Pederson commentary? You can find it here.

Northern Aggression

My latest column for FOX Sports, detailing the Big 12 North's role in national perception, is available now. Read it before it becomes irrelevant after another wild weekend.

Compelling Reasons to Root

WARNING: SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION BELOW!!*

As a college football fan, you only get one game a week where you're truly invested in the result so what do you do with all those other perfectly good games each Saturday?

I set out to answer that question in my latest FOXSports.com column.

* The self-promotion will continue until I can trick somebody into paying me to write for a living. Until then you need not live in fear; as a hiplainsdrifter.com reader you will never miss a single piece of my writing. Ever.

Let the pre-race hype begin

I've got a new column about the Kentucky Derby and what it means for your status as a die-hard sports fan up on FOXSports.com right now.

Now, it's time to break out the green and red ink pens and track down the videos from the Derby preps on-line. Once I do that and they draw for post positions tomorrow, we can finally start handicapping.

That said, I've got a couple of early favorites. Street Sense has shown some heart and Great Hunter has the potential to do it, but he's been spotty.

Nevertheless, I'll at least put something down on Great Hunter simply because it reminds me of the good doctor and Kentucky Colonel, Hunter S. Thompson. Reading his article, The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved, should be as much a part of your Derby preparation as buying fresh mint.

And if you're still feeling literary after that, check out Stephen Dobyn's poem, Kentucky Derby Day, Belfast, Maine. I hate poetry, but I love that one.

A March without Madness

Loyal readers: My latest column for FOXSports.com is up now.

Enjoy the weekend of games and see you after Selection Sunday.

I Like Baseball

Looking for some good, independent MLB team previews? A blogger by the name of Morisato is doing a team per day over on the FOXSports blogs and they're a damn fine read. Well thought out, nicely organized and fairly honest in their appraisals of each team. (Perhaps too honest in terms of my Cubs return on their off-season investments.)

A late Xmas Gift

My apologies to all of you have had your Hi-Plains fix denied in the past three weeks. (Crickets chirping.) If you read my post from early December, you know that I was participating in FoxSports.com Next Great Sportswriter competition.

Well, I found out tonight that I made the final round of 16. My excitement is only surpassed by that of the cowpoke to the left.

So what happens now? Well, I get my first assignment on Monday. I assume all bloggers will be receiving the same assignment, but with some leeway to take the post in different directions. After that, I believe four bloggers will be eliminated each week based on reader votes. So, if you're reading this, head over to my FoxSports blog next week and, I hate to get violent, but it's P.Diddy, not me who said "Vote or Die!"

Happy New Year...

**BREAKING NEWS**

I'm sorry to say, but this site will take a quasi-hiatus from sports blogging for the holidays, not because I'm not interested, but rather because I've got a new project that I hope will be worth your attention.

I'm starting a blog on FoxSports.com and participating in a contest to find the "Next Great Sportswriter". The deal is, you start a blog on Fox Sports and post your sports columns through the end of December. At that point, a panel of judges will narrow the competition down to 16 participants and assign them topics, which will then be voted on by the readers to determine an ultimate winner in February. At stake? A 20-column gig with Fox Sports and $5000.

Due to these recent developments, I will be devoting all of my sports writing to my new blog at http://blogs.foxsports.com/HiPlainsDrifter

So if you're jonesing for more of my stuff, click on that link and if you feel inspired leave comments. I'm really excited about this opportunity and due to the fact that I've missed the first two weeks of the competition, check the site often as I plan to update frequently.

But don't forget about Hi-Plains Drifter. Check back here for any miscellany, including music and movie reviews, general commentary and Holiday wishes!

Season's Greetings...Survie and Advance!

BV