This weekend is our last taste of football until August, with eight spring games taking place — two on Friday and six on Saturday. So, get your fix of the pigskin while you still can, as there’s not even Alliance of American Football action to fill the void anymore. Georgia has its spring game next weekend, but after that, there’s nothing on the schedule.

It’s going to be a long summer, but after a brutal winter, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I, for one, am ready for constant sunshine and warmer temperatures.

Still, I’m going to enjoy this weekend’s action, particularly the Mizzou spring game. I can’t wait to get a look at Kelly Bryant in the Tigers’ offense, even if Derek Dooley won’t show us too much of what the actual offense will look like this fall.

Speaking of the upcoming football void, here are your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

@SChinni12:

Now that spring games are (mostly) over, what should I do to fill my time?

Spring football is such a tease. You get all hyped up for the spring game and then it always underwhelms. Coaches understandably don’t want opponents to have tape of their actual offense, so the spring games are often just pointless exercises to please fans.

However, it’s better than not having football at all, and that’s what we’ll have to deal with for these next four long months. Fortunately, the weather is getting nicer (unless you live in Utah or Colorado), and the sun is out for longer each day.

But still … no football. It’s going to be miserable, I know. Read a book, go for a long hike, do some traveling — anything to get your mind off the time until Week 1 finally arrives. Oh, and SEC baseball is pretty great again, too, so maybe give that a shot!

Robert:

It’s shocking how many coaches are using jobs like the UCLA basketball gig to convince their current schools to give them raises. Which formerly elite jobs aren’t worth the trouble, based on expectations lodged firmly in the past?

Well, it’s certainly going to be tough to top UCLA basketball. John Wooden made that school into a basketball mecca, winning 10 national championships. Now, if you don’t win a title every other year, you’re on the hot seat.

Ben Howland led the Bruins to 3 consecutive Final Four appearances from 2006 to 2008 and he got kicked to the curb in 2013 like a pile of trash. Now, the Bruins are settling for Mick Cronin — a fine coach, sure, but not what fans were hoping for.

So, in no particular order, here’s a list of once-proud jobs that I think are overrated these days:

  • UCLA basketball — reasons detailed above.
  • Notre Dame football — has only been relevant for a couple of seasons since the 1980s.
  • Nebraska football — got a good coach in Scott Frost, but he’s an alum.
  • Arizona basketball — only one national title and four Final Fours. Yet it is treated like a blue-blood program.
  • Tennessee women’s basketball — no one is ever going to be able to live up to the insane standard Pat Summitt set. It already cost Holly Warlick her job, and we’ll see how Kellie Harper fares.

There you have it — jobs with at least one national championship that might not be worth the hassle thanks to insane fan expectations.

@Dobbe8:

It’s Masters week! What would be on your champion’s dinner menu?

Every time you ask me a food question, I always get yelled at. Southerners know their food, and if you happen to disagree with them about anything, they come after you. Oh well, here goes …

One-time Georgia golfer Patrick Reed won the Masters last year, so that means he got his specialty dinner on Tuesday night in Augusta. As you can see below, his menu was rather straightforward, going with a couple of salad options, a ribeye steak and some great side dishes:

If I ever won the Masters (not likely, considering my utter lack of golfing skill), I would go all-out on my menu. Multiple entrees, fancy wines and whiskeys, etc.

For appetizers, I’d go with deviled eggs and gumbo. For main courses, give me some baked salmon with pesto and some fried chicken. And for sides, I’ll have creamy mashed potatoes, my dad’s lemongrass shrimp skewers (sorry Dad, you’ll have your work cut out for you if I ever win the Masters), garlic bread and mac and cheese.

Add in a selection of High West whiskey and classy red wines that will be served, and it’ll be one heck of a party.

@HReside:

Which SEC coach and which SEC mascot would you most trust to file your taxes for you?

It’s tax season, and the scramble is on to get those forms filed by the upcoming deadline! Fortunately, my wife made us get our taxes done last month, and they weren’t filed by any mascots or coaches.

I’ll start with your mascot question, because I don’t trust elephants, tigers, bulldogs, other types of dogs, wildcats, hogs, sharks, alligators or roosters to file my taxes for me. That leaves just one option — Vanderbilt’s Mr. Commodore.

That doesn’t mean I’d necessarily be happy with him doing my taxes, though. He seems like he’s rich enough to have never done taxes before in his life, so I’m not sure he’d know what he was doing.

As for coaches doing my taxes, I’d probably go with Auburn’s Gus Malzahn. He has the glasses, the even-keeled personality and the boring voice I associate with accountants. He’s also a stickler for details, so I’d trust him to file for me without having the IRS bursting through my door for an audit a few months later.

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.