Playoff factoids

Two modest points about that pesky Rose Bowl which Michael Adams may need to factor into his playoff equation:

• The Rose Bowl played its first game four years before the NCAA was formed.
• It is stipulated by contract that the Rose Bowl will host the 2013 championship game.

Time to pay the piper

Congrats, LSU fans.  You’ve got your MNC.  You’ve got your head coach.  He’s got his raise.

Now the bill is being presented.   The gratuity is already included.

(h/t The Wizard of Odds) 

What game was HE watching?

This is Pete Fiutak’s idea of getting medieval on Fox’s ass about the quality of the BCS broadcasting crews:

… Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis were more than solid this season, while Kenny Albert and Terry Donohue were fine. Barry Alvarez wasn’t as good as he was last year, I was totally lost by the Jumper thing, and I could’ve done without the endless shots of the bands, but overall, Fox was more than fine and was certainly better than TNT’s broadcast of the baseball playoffs.

Not exactly a very high bar he’s setting there.  He evidently has a very different definition from the general population of what “solid” and “fine” mean.

For example, here are a few gaffes from the Sugar Bowl broadcast:

“With Nomar Moreno you never know whether he’s down or not.”- Thom Brennamen

“They were in the Sugar Bowl two years ago but had to play that in New Orleans because of Katrina” – Thom Brennaman
“Atlanta” – Charles Davis

“We’ve talked about how Hawai’i has come back frequently this season – or at least a handul of times” – Thom Brennamen

“First Down for the Gators…”- Thom Brennaman

You can find some more praise here.

Line of the day:   “We’re not entirely clear what, exactly, waterboarding is, but if it doesn’t involve Fox’s college football coverage, it’s not as cruel and unusual as it could be.” Ryan White, Portland Oregonian