Weekend Wake Up: College Kickoff, Halladay Goes Off, Bowen Done And Hoyer Almost Starting

Summer may technically go on for another two weeks, but for many today marks the beginning of autumn with the first Saturday of the college football season.
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↵Let It Begin. Today’s college football slate is highlighted by No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech (8 p.m. EST), No. 20 BYU v. No. 3 Oklahoma in Jerry Jones’ ornate palace of low-hanging video boards (7 p.m.), No. 13 Georgia vs. No. 9 Oklahoma St.(3:30 p.m.) and No. 12 Cal vs. Maryland (10 p.m.).
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↵Halladay Regains Form. Derek Jeter entered Friday nine hits shy of Lou Gehrig’s all-time Yankees lead, but Roy Halladay stopped him from inching any closer, surrendering only one hit in a complete game shutout in Toronto. Said Joe Girardi, “If we gave up one (run), we wouldn’t have won tonight.” Yes, that’s what happens when you get shutout.
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↵Bowen Hangs It Up. A key defensive specialist retires after 12 seasons of general ball handler harassment. Bowen had been dealt by the Spurs, where he won three titles, to the Bucks in the offseason trade to acquire Richard Jefferson.
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↵Backups Still In The News. The Patriots don’t seem to have learned their own lesson from last year, as Bill Belichick is content to have the returning all-world Dreamboat Tom Brady backed up by undrafted rookie Brian Hoyer. Better make sure to doubleteam any defenders coming in low. Elsewhere, Rex Grossman made a case for a roster spot with the Texans, returning from injury to go 9-of-16 for 197 yards and two TDs in a 27-20 preseason finale victory over the Bucs.↵