Monday Morning Coffee: 12/2/07

--The big news from the weekend is the final BCS standings are out and it is going to be Ohio. St. and LSU in the National Championship game, neither of which deserve to be there. But, let's face it, the BCS is all about making money. But this year more than ever begs for an answer to the eternal question: Why can't we have a playoff system in Div. 1 football? For years university presidents have said that a playoff system would put an undue burden on the students trying to study for finals and such. The lower divisions, formally known as Div. II and III, have had a football playoff system in place for years. I guess their students are just smarter than Div. I students.

--LSU defeated Tennessee to capture the SEC title and right before the game, head coach Les Miles held a hastily organized press conference to announce that despite reports broadcast that morning on ESPN that he was heading to Michigan to take over as head coach there, he would be staying at LSU. Translated: LSU officials were afraid that if he happen to win the SEC title game and then go on to the national championship game his price would skyrocket. Better to lock him in now at the lower rate. Hiring a head coach is a lot like buying a house, you know.

--Congrats to Oklahoma for winning the Big 12 title, crushing Missouri 38-17 Saturday night in San Antonio. Oklahoma's defense was simply too quick and too physical for the Missouri O-line and they put QB Chase Daniels under constant pressure all evening. In my opinion the Big 12 is the toughest football conference in the nation and the fact that there are 3 teams from the Big 12 in the top 10 in the nation speaks volumes about the quality of competition.

--Glad to see Hawaii get into a BCS bowl game. They will be taking on Georgia at the Sugar Bowl on January 1. Hawaii is an underrated and overlooked team and I predict that they will beat Georgia. Coach June Jones has built a great program in the islands and QB Colt Brennan will probably be a first round pick in the NFL draft next year.

--Why didn't the BCS put Oklahoma and Kansas in the Fiesta Bowl? What a great game that would have been. Instead we get Oklahoma against West Virginia. First, nobody outside of West Virginia really cares about this team and secondly they are COMPLETELY one dimensional as their loss to 29 point underdog Pittsburgh proved on Saturday. Booooring!!!!!!!!

--Speaking of Pittsburgh, head coach Dave Wannstedt was given a three year extension through 2012 despite the fact that he is 16-19 in three seasons as Pitts' head coach. Since Wannstedt has been at Pitt they haven't even smelled a bowl appearance after appearing in five straight bowl games under previous coach Walt Harris. Is this a great country or what?

--Parents, pay attention: If you child can throw a baseball, particularly left-handed, practice with them every single day. The market for pitches in major league baseball continues to spiral towards the ridiculous with the Tigers resigning 43 left-hander Kenny Rogers to a 1 year, $8 million dollar deal. This after Rogers made an astounding 11 starts in 2007 and went 3-4 with an ERA over 4 in a season cut short with injuries. Rogers was a good pitcher in his time, but come on!!! Some of these deals are starting to make A-Rod's contract look reasonable.

--The Boston Celtics continue to roll, running their record to 14-2. Is anybody going to step up and give these guys a battle in the East? Orlando appears to be the only team that might have a shot.

Here is a list of the upcoming bowl games, times and where you can view them. Hope everyone has a great week!!!!!!


PoinsettiaSan Diego
Utah vs. Navy
Dec. 20, 9 p.m.
ESPN

New OrleansNew Orleans
Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis
Dec. 21, 8 p.m.
ESPN2

Papajohns.comBirmingham, Ala.
Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss
Dec. 22, 1 p.m.
ESPN2

New MexicoAlbuquerque, N.M.
Nevada vs. New Mexico
Dec. 22, 4:30 p.m.
ESPN

Las VegasLas Vegas
UCLA vs. BYU
Dec. 22, 8 p.m.
ESPN

Hawaii Honolulu
Boise State vs. East Carolina
Dec. 23, 8 p.m.
ESPN

Motor City Detroit
Central Michigan vs. Purdue
Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m.
ESPN

Holiday San Diego
Arizona State vs. Texas
Dec. 27, 8 p.m.
ESPN

TexasHouston
Texas Christian vs. Houston
Dec. 28, 8 p.m.
NFL Network

Champ Sports Orlando, Fla.
Boston College vs. Michigan State
Dec. 28, 5 p.m.
ESPN

Emerald San Francisco
Maryland vs. Oregon State
Dec. 28, 8 p.m.
ESPN

Meineke Car CareCharlotte, N.C.
Wake Forest vs. Connecticut
Dec. 29, 1 p.m.
ESPN

Liberty Memphis, Tenn.
Central Florida vs. Mississippi State
Dec. 29, 4:30 p.m.
ESPN

Alamo San Antonio
Penn State vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 29, 8 p.m.
ESPN

Independence Shreveport, La.
Colorado vs. Alabama
Dec. 30, 8 p.m.
ESPN

Armed ForcesFort Worth, Texas
California vs. Air Force
Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m.
ESPN

HumanitarianBoise, Idaho
Fresno State vs. Georgia Tech
Dec. 31, 2 p.m.
ESPN2

SunEl Paso, Texas
Oregon vs. South Florida
Dec. 31, 2 p.m.
CBS

Music CityNashville, Tenn.
Kentucky vs. Florida State
Dec. 31, 4 p.m.
ESPN

Chick-fil-A Atlanta
Auburn vs. Clemson
Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.
ESPN

InsightTempe, Ariz.
Indiana vs. Oklahoma State
Dec. 31, 8 p.m.
NFL Network

OutbackTampa, Fla.
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
Jan. 1, 11 a.m.
ESPN

CottonDallas
Missouri vs. Arkansas
Jan. 1, 11:30 a.m.
FOX

GatorJacksonville, Fla.
Texas Tech vs. Virginia
Jan. 1, 1 p.m.
CBS

Capital OneOrlando, Fla.
Michigan vs. Florida
Jan. 1, 1 p.m.
ABC

RosePasadena, Calif.
Southern California vs. Illinois
Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m.
ABC

SugarNew Orleans
Hawaii vs. Georgia
Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m.
FOX

FiestaGlendale, Ariz.
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
Jan. 2, 8 p.m.
FOX

Orange Miami
Virginia Tech vs. Kansas
Jan. 3, 8 p.m.
FOX

InternationalToronto
Rutgers vs. Ball State
Jan. 5, noon
ESPN2

GMACMobile, Ala.
Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
Jan. 6, 8 p.m.
ESPN

BCS Championship Game New Orleans
Ohio State vs. LSU
Jan. 7, 8 p.m.
FOX
ALL TIMES EASTERN