Best Of The SB Nation Network: February 2, 2010

Here is the best of the SB Nation network for Tuesday, February 2, 2010:

Football

- At the ripe old age of 25, Shawne Merrimen's best days may be behind him. Bolts from the Blue digs into what the Chargers should do with their over-the-hill linebacker.

- The Mile High Report leads a daring fan revolt over the continued snubbing of Floyd Little from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rise up!

- The Bengals police blotter as seen through the experienced eyes of Cincy Jungle. Defendant Rey Maualuga, please step forward.

Basketball

- Pounding the Rock has a nice little chat with Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer discussing the finer points of the "pick" in the pick and roll.

- D-leaguer Michael Gansey agrees to blog on Ridiculous Upside and then wins Player of the Week. Coincidence?

- A break down of how to break down Dirk Nowitzki from the break down artists at Blazer's Edge.

College Basketball

- Clemson's vaunted Diamond Press Defense in brilliant and colorful X's and O's by Shaking the Southland.

College Football

- We can thank the BCS for bringing together arch political rivals Orin Hatch and Barak Obama in a moment of anti-trust crusading. A bi-partisan love story from Track 'Em Tigers.

- Debunking a hot mess of sloppy (bleacher) reporting on Pitt's alleged move to the Big Ten from Black Shoe Diaries who perhaps needs to add "Gum Shoe" to their name.

Soccer

- The ratings geeks over at Nielson released a report on sports consumption by U.S. consumers and RSL Soapbox discovers that soccer has a long way to go.

- Egypt beat Ghana to win the 2010 African Cup of Nations and Soccer World Digest is there to provide the geo-political, global-historical context.

Hockey

- Light House Hockey goes deep into the math bag to tear apart and then rebuild the Islanders best 5 man line.

Baseball

- A super cool interview with baseball analyst Alex Eisenberg who tells Halo's Heaven all about his secret sauce for finding and ranking the best young prospects.

- Viva El Birdos does yeoman's work putting a huge pile of Cardinals Spring Training invitees into bite sized buckets.

MMA

- What do you get when you mix macho combat sports and Evangelical Christians? Cheesy T-shirts of course. Watch Kalib Run looks at the newest heresy that is sweeping the MMA nation.

- Leave it to the watchdogs at Bloody Elbow to hold the Virgina Athletic Commission accountable to protect fighters in the Old Dominion.