While we cover the NFL, Major League Baseball, NCAA Football, and other sports with fervor and rapt attention here at TMC, many of our writers’ would confess that their first love is college basketball. You can expect to find some of the best coverage of NCAA hoops in SBA right here on The Meaningful Collateral, from the start of practice to the last major coaching change in April (or May).

Now that we’re fully into October, the time has come to start bringing you some of the stories leading us into the 2007-08 campaign. But first, a blast from the past. Some enterprising (and truly noble) soul put together all of the “Happy Action Fun Time” promos from the late 90’s. Enjoy. And read on after the jump.

[youtube width="425" height="335"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wNS7I_65bg[/youtube]

— CBS Sportsline’s Gary Parrish catches up with Dan Monson of…Long Beach State. Yes, after Monson’s tenure ended in Minnesota, he found his way to the land of Seth Greenberg. Apparently Dan is happy (and still living off his $7 million contract with the Gophers).

— There’s good news for stats-minded college basketball fan, as Ken Pomeroy, John Gasaway (Big Ten Wonk), and the Baseball Prospectus people are hooking up for a new service called Basketball Prospectus. Both bloggers have promised extensive in-depth previews of the college basketball landscape, and we’ll be waiting with baited breath for those to start rolling off the assembly line.

— Coming off a 17-14 season, UConn and coach Jim Calhoun (or maybe it’s just Calhoun and not UConn) feel like they have something to prove.

— You know it’s getting close to college hoops season when Mid-Majority Kyle is writing again. His ESPN piece notes that, for a change, several BCS-conference schools are making forays into smallville this non-conference season. Interesting, although I bet Syracuse isn’t among those teams.

— John Beilein is the new coach at Michigan. Is the Big Ten ready for the triangle-and-two (or, for that matter, a heavily perimeter-oriented offense)? I’ll be curious to see how he does up there, if only to gauge the shock on the faces of Michigan fans who’ll watch a well-coached team for the first time since 1989.

— FoxSports.com’s Frank Burlison breaks down some early-season matchups.

— Finally, those (very few) of you with the Big Ten Network are in luck. Per Awful Announcing, the Big Ten Network is airing 5 of the 10 midnight madnesses from teams across the conference.