Mike Leach AP

Former Texas Tech coach and current CBS analyst Mike Leach joined the show to talk about what happened at his old school and this season in college football.

-- Dan asked Leach if he thinks the NFL is in the future. "I'm intrigued by the NFL," Leach said. "I've been in college. That's what I think. I'll end up in college next year."

-- Leach thinks there's an opportunity to win in the NFL because teams are picking guys for the wrong reason and a lot of talent falls in the draft. He thinks the media builds up players and teams don't approach personnel in the right way.

-- Leach said that a lot of teams run "his stuff." In the NFL, he said New England, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Green Bay, Philadelphia, Dallas and more teams in the pros use spread principles.

-- Leach says no one has contacted him about a job since he left Texas Tech. He says he's not surprised, because jobs weren't open at the time and he's still involved in a lawsuit resulting from his dismissal at Tech.

-- Leach had the latest on his lawsuit against Texas Tech for wrongfully firing him. "We're trying to get it to trial as soon as possible," Leach said. "They're trying to keep it out. Everyone pretty much knows what happens. you don't hear them really denying them any wrongdoing any more." Leach said the bottom line is they fired him to save money. 

Brooklyn Decker Icon SMI

That's the debate today -- would you rather win one major and marry a supermodel, or win 10 majors and die lonely?

Not that this poll is about one specific player, but it does fit Andy Roddick, whose wife, Brooklyn Decker (a.k.a. the fifth Danette), is picture to the right.

(By the way, this guy to her right could be a bit more subtle.)

Cal Ripken AP

Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. joined the show to talk about some of the big topics in baseball. Here are some of his takes ...

-- Ripken said that Manny Ramirez reminded him of his old teammate Eddie Murray. Murray had a bad reputations, but Ripken said every team Murray went to, the players like him. Same with Manny. "Manny is well respected for how he goes about his job. ... Overall he's perceived as a very good teammate," Ripken said.

-- Ripken had interesting things to say about Aroldis Champman throwing the ball 104 mph. Ripken thinks radar guns pick up the ball earlier out of the pitchers' hands and produce better numbers now. "It couldn't be any harder than Nolan [Ryan] or Randy Johnson," Ripken said.

-- Ripken said the Padres' seven-game losing streak does not mean they're finished. The one season he won a World Series (1983), he said the O's had two eight-game losing streaks. Ripken said teams can rebound from that, so don't count the Padres are out of it.

-- Ripken had some interesting comments on Nyjer Morgan and the Nats-Marlins fight. He said on one hand, you can't stop playing the game, so it's OK to steal late. But you always have to be careful about rubbing it in. It's a fine line.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel joined the show to talk about the upcoming season and his competition in the Pac-10. Here are some of his takes ...

-- Dan asked Neuheisel which schools stand out in the conference.  "Stanford and Washington," Neuheisel said. "Both those teams start with a really, really key piece (referring to their quarterbacks)."

Dan asked who is the one quarterback that most concerns him. "[Washington's Jake] Locker, for me, would be the guy, because he can beat you in so many ways," Neuheisel said.

-- Neuheisel said he's not sure USC's Matt Barkley is at the same level as Locker and Stanford's Andrew Luck. "I don't know that he's reached that level of consistency yet that you can say he's a front runner for conference quarterback of the year," Neuheisel said.

-- Neuheisel said he still hasn't picked his starting quarterback for his upcoming game against Kansas State.

-- Neuheisel said that strategically there's no reason to play tough out-of-conference schools early in the season. But he said the fans love it. UCLA is visiting Texas early this season.

Patrick "Seton" O'Connor has picked up the golf bug. Dan watches his pupil with great pride.

(Look how jealous McLovin' is on the side).

We argue about a lot of sports topics, but no one can argue Sunday Ticket is the greatest invention ever. Today, the best email or phone call to the show today gets a free Sunday Ticket package -- whether you have DIRECTV or not. Go to danpatrick.com to email the show or call us at 877-3-DP-SHOW. And remember ... if you want to order Sunday Ticket ... call 1-800-Get-Sports.

Mike Leach AP

The Big Ten has split into divisions and we may now get to Ohio State-Michigan showdowns in the same season. Ben Roethlisberger will reportedly ask NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to lower his suspension to three games. And baseball's playoff race is heating up.

We'll cover those stories and a lot more on Thursday. Here is the rundown of guests:

Cal Ripken Jr.: The Hall of Famer weighs in the divisional races and Manny Ramirez joining the White Sox.

Mike Leach: The former Texas Tech coach previews the upcoming college football season.

Rick Neuheisel: The UCLA coach talks about the Bruins' upcoming season and the major issues in college football.

Houston Nutt Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Ole Miss head football coach Houston Nutt joined the show to talk about the NCAA ruling that Jeremiah Masoli can't play this year. The NCAA said Masoli left Oregon for football reasons and not academic reasons and therefore has to wait a season to suit up

"The hope is that it's not over yet," Nutt said. "There's still an appeal that's going to happen ... hopefully by Friday."

Nutt says that he doesn't agree with how the NCAA interpreted the rule. He said they didn't follow the rule, because Masoli, who graduated, picked a major at Mississippi that he couldn't do at Oregon. "If you're not going to go by the rule, get rid of it," Nutt said.

Dan asked Nutt how Masoli is taking this. "He's devastated," Nutt said. "He's going to hang in there. He's still hopeful."

Nutt said Masoli is a great kid despite some of the problems he had. "I pulled him aside last week and asked him 'how in the world did you get in trouble?'"