These good dogs now have Xfinity Center K9 credentials

In the middle of a cold and hectic Finals Week, I found myself at the front of Xfinity Center. There isn’t another basketball game in the building for seven more days.

I was there to watch Maryland athletics award four K9 dogs from the school’s police department official arena credentials. It was an honor to be in attendance.

(I was later informed that I spelled it “god” instead of “good.” Fortunately, I corrected it in my next important tweet.)

These dogs earning K9 credentials means they’ll be a crucial part of the security team during basketball games. It’s an honor that comes after plenty of training, so they won’t be there just for show. That all-access badge is serious business.

But even on such a formal afternoon, it was still fun to watch dogs be dogs. One was being “interviewed” by a Maryland athletics reporter and tried to eat the microphone. Another was talked into jumping onto the Testudo statue, which led to this incredible image.

I’ve still got one exam standing between me and winter break, but there’s inspiration to be found in these dogs finishing their training on a high note.

In other news

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The intro to this lengthy AL.com story about interviews during coaching searches is ... yep, Mike Leach’s infamous interview with Maryland in 2010. (It’s also got the Gus Malzahn-wouldn’t-get-on-the-plane anectode.)

Five-star defensive end Eyabi Anoma is announcing his commitment next week. It should be Alabama, but Maryland is still theoretically a contender.

From SB Nation, here are the best and worst things from the first month of the college basketball season.

Editor’s note: This story initially referred to the University police department as the College Park police department.