I’m going to try a weekend wrap-up format I used to employ in the Big 12, y’all tell me if you like it or not.
I’ll scattershot some notes on big events around college football and touch on a few different programs and games. Normally I’d wrap up the weekend a little earlier, but this week I used the Monday space to honor my friend Jonathan Tjarks who passed away over the weekend after a year-plus struggle with cancer.
A couple of additional quick tidbits on Tjarks, about whom many people have shared.
-Tjarks offered me an opportunity to write a weekly column at the short-lived SB Nation Dallas in 2012 and got me a credential to cover the Red River Shootout that year. He was always an encouragement and boost to my vocational life in addition to being a personal friend.
-In the last year, Tjarks connected me with a fellow named Andy Burt, who reached out to Tjarks during his struggle to ask if he could help or support him in any way during his battle. Tjarks’ response, “could you help my friend Ian, he’s thinking through some career steps.” Burt has done exactly that and has quickly become a huge boost in my life. Tjarks’ willingness to connect people and build community were amazing.
If you look around NBA Twitter you’ll see countless stories of him doing these sorts of things for tons of people. I could go on and on, as many others have done, he touched a lot of people. I enjoyed this tribute to him by his Ringer friends and colleagues:
Alright, let’s talk football.
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