AUBURN | I usually turn my nose up at most of these made for T.V. sports infotainment shows that happen in the offseason.

The only thing I find interesting about NFL schedule release day is when one of the teams manages to do it in a funny and unique way (See the Tennessee Titans’ tweet from May 11 linked below).

That said, I’ve got to admit I’m pretty intrigued with the SEC releasing its one-off list of conference opponents for the 2024 season during a special primetime show on the SEC Network Wednesday.

I won’t be on the proverbial edge of my seat but I’m excited to see how commissioner Greg Sankey and his staff incorporate Texas and Oklahoma into the schedule, maintain traditional rivalries and balance the relative strength of the schedules throughout all 16 teams.

I can’t remember the last time Auburn didn’t play one of, if not THE, toughest schedule in the conference.

That balanced schedule, assuming they pull it off, will be one of the most positive developments for Auburn football in years.

When you look ahead to 2024, I think it’s very reasonable to expect Auburn to play both Georgia and Alabama on the road. That means the Tigers are probably gonna get one or two top-notch home games.

Could Oklahoma or Texas be visiting Jordan-Hare Stadium in about 16 more months?

I’d actually be a little surprised if that doesn’t happen.

And Texas better be playing Texas A&M. That’s a rivalry game I’m looking forward to seeing for the first time since 2011. If you love college football, you love seeing those games.

It’s also pretty cool to know that the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas will be part of the SEC starting in just one more year.

The SEC is going to be so strong in so many sports it’s just ridiculous. Texas won the Director’s Cup for 2021-22 for a second consecutive season wining national championships in men’s golf, women’s tennis and women’s rowing.

Oklahoma has won the softball championship in three consecutive seasons and was runner-up to Ole Miss in baseball last year.

Both programs are historically good to great in the two major revenue sports — football and men’s basketball — and the same goes for baseball, which provides the third or fourth-most revenue for most schools.

I’m not sure if the SEC will be classified as an official Super Conference but it sure looks that way to me.

The times they are a-changin’ and this old timer is actually pretty fired up for it.

***

In today’s musical journey, we go back 22 years to one of the top pop-punk bands of the 1990’s and 2000’s releasing an album whose title is a pun on masturbation. On June 12, 2001, blink-182 released their fourth studio album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. The album came two years after they hit the mainstream with their 1999 breakout album, Enema of the State. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and included three hit songs. The album sold 14 million copies but was produced under strained conditions. Their manager, Rick Defoe, and label, MCA, wanted more catchy pop tunes like the previous album. Guitarist Tom DeLonge and bassist Mark Hoppus were angered by the demands and ended up writing what they thought were cheesy pop songs but ended up being two of the top hits from the album in “First Date” and “The Rock Show.” The third hit, “Stay Together for the Kids,” was written by DeLonge, Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker. Blink-182 have produced a total of eight studio albums, gone under a couple of personnel changes and remains active today.

Blink-182 was formed in Poway, Calif., a suburb of San Diego, in 1992. After being expelled from one high school for being drunk at a basketball game, DeLonge met drummer Scott Raynor at a battle of the bands competition at a new school. Hoppus quickly joined up and the trio started playing together, first under the name Duck Tape and then Figure 8 and finally Blink. They recorded their first demo tape in Raynor’s bedroom. The band signed with a local label, Cargo Records, and recorded their first album, Cheshire Cat in 1995. After an Irish band named Blink sent a cease and desist letter, the band added 182 to the end of their name. There have been a number of theories about the meaning of 182 but the most recent, which was partially confirmed by DeLonge, was that it’s a euphemism for F*ck RB, with RB standing for Rancho Bernardo, a neighboring town and high school from where they grew up. The letter R is 18th in the alphabet and B is 2nd. Two other theories were it was picked at random or it’s how many times Al Pacino says “f*ck” in the movie Scarface. They toured heavily, released a second album in 1997 and had to fire Raynor in 98 due to drunkenness. He was replaced by Barker and the band released its breakout album, Enema of the State in 99, which included two mega hits in “What’s My Age Again?” and “All the Small Things,” which became the band’s only top 10 hit on the Billboard 100, rising to No. 6. “Adam’s Song” was another hit from the album and all three singles got major airplay on MTV, increasing the band’s popularity. The album sold 15 million copies. Blink-182 has sold over 50 million albums worldwide.