Starey Sheriff can’t stop staring

Sorry for the second straight post about the Fiesta Bowl, but I had to share some fun pictures from the game and its beautiful aftermath.  McCoy!  McConaughey!  Spikey shoulders!  Sweater vests!  Broken-hearted Buckeyes!  What more could you want out of a photo gallery?  Oh, right.  Boobs.  Well, stick around.  I’m sure there will be some later.  Right now this is what’s giving me a boner.

Ohio State led Texas 21-17 with less than a minute to go in the Fiesta Bowl, and I thought to myself, “Wow, the Buckeyes are actually going to win a BCS bowl game.  Too bad.  It would be way funnier if they lost.”  Then the Longhorns converted a 4th and 3 with about 45 seconds left, and Colt McCoy hit Quan Cosby (QUAAAANNNN!!!) for a 22-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining to give Texas a 24-21 victory, leading Longhorns fans to make rock ‘n roll devil’s horns and sing “I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad.”

Let me tell you, few things on television are as richly satisfying as the crowd shots of Ohio State fans that followed.  The heartbreak was so plainly obvious.  Buckeye fans really thought Charlie Brown was gonna kick the football this time.  You just don’t get to see shattered faith every day.  More like once a year.  Right at the beginning of January.  When Ohio State plays a big game.

Oh, excuse me — not just “Ohio State.”  THE Ohio State Unibombombombomwoooooooooooo.

UPDATE: Video below (HT: AA). Gotta love that OSU safety “coverage” with the game on the line. Read the rest of this entry »

Before we get into discussing the NFL playoffs, it’s kind of worth noting what happened on Friday night: a college football team completed a perfect 13-0 season by dominating a highly regarded SEC team that had been undefeated until the SEC championship.  Not too many people gave Utah an outside shot of knocking off Alabama, but the Utes controlled every facet of the Sugar Bowl in a 31-17 win.

In fact, Every Day Should Be Saturday has generously awarded Utah one-quarter of the national title:

Utah beat 5 ranked teams and embarrassed the SEC West champion. They did not lose a game this season. They had a defense that dealt out harm to all they faced and boasted one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the nation. They beat people with spread-option tactics executed with wishbone brutality. If you want more from a team, you’re either unreasonable, a total flaming asshole, or both.

So can we shove something up the BCS’s ass and get a college playoff yet, or what?

I actually kinda watched part of last night’s Holiday Bowl, and it wasn’t not entertaining.  For something on in the background, anyway.  For those of you who had better things to do, Oregon rallied to score five second-half touchdowns in beating Oklahoma State, 42-31.

I include the video highlights above because three of the TDs are pretty sweet: Jeremiah Johnson’s 76-yard run, quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s safety-flattening 41-yard score (one of his three rushing TDs), and the game-sealing 29-yard run by LeGarrette Blount, who hurdled a defender, then carried several more on his back the final ten yards into the end zone. Good stuff. Also, anything bad that happens to the state of Oklahoma has to be good. How else could I love tornadoes so much?

Bowls – Missouri topped my alma mater Northwestern in a close-fought, 30-23 overtime battle.  Jeremy Maclin is getting due credit for the win, but Mizzou kicker Jeff Wolfert missed a 44-yard field goal at the end of regulation, meaning that if the Wildcats hadn’t blown a PAT, they would have won their first bowl game since 1949.  Wheeee.  God, I hate it when I care.

In a related story, Jason Whitlock is bitter he didn’t get into the Medill School of Journalism.

NCAA Hoops — #8 Georgetown upset #2 UConn in Hartford.  Eh, wake me up in March.

NFL – Rod Marinelli, Romeo Crennel, and Eric Mangini all got canned yesterday.  In more interesting news, the NFL is finally moving the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl.  Holy crap, people might actually watch it!

You’ve probably already seen this by now, but if not: hey, it’s a gruesome sports injury you didn’t want to see! This is DeAndre Brown of Southern Mississippi getting an extra joint in his leg during the New Orleans Bowl. Gah, that’s brutal. It’s like he just grows a second knee in the middle of his shin. I can barely look at it.

Which is exactly why I’m going to watch it again five more times and leave it at the top of the page overnight. Woohoo! My editorial judgment is awesome!

[Fan IQ]