New Years Day Bowl Marathon!

Hey, everybody.

It's been a long coupla weeks of unreliable posting for me, so to shake off the rust, I've decided to do something a little wild for New Years Day; I'll be trying to watch all five bowl games and keep a running journal here on Armchair Superstar. The lineup is Big Ten-heavy (isn't it always on Jan. 1?), which certainly doesn't hurt my interest level. Here's how it looks on what should be a great day of college football:

11 AM (ET): Outback Bowl - Northwestern vs. Auburn

If this isn't a reason to shake off those New Years hangovers (not me, I'm sober these days!) and get up early, I don't know what is. The Wildcats were rewarded for their sizzling finish to the season with a trip to the Outback Bowl, their best bid since 1997. Northwestern comes in 8-4, while Auburn is 7-5 after fading down the stretch. However, the Tigers played Alabama tough to finish their season.

All the hype around this game focuses on offense, so I expect a defensive battle.

Northwestern wins, 24-20.

1 PM: Capital One Bowl - #13 Penn State vs. #12 LSU

This is another Big Ten-SEC battle (the conference drew two SEC opponents, two from the ACC, two from the Big 12, and one from the Pac-10) which means we'll be hearing, yet again, about strength vs. speed. Blaaaah.

To me, the most important stat is that the Nittany Lions have scored 50 more points and allowed 50 fewer this season than the Bayou Bengals. That's a 9.3 ppg margin. Plus, Joe Paterno against Les Miles is a coaching matchup that the old man ought to dominate.

Penn State, 27-17

1 PM: Gator Bowl - #16 West Virginia vs. Florida State

Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno will be dueling for viewers, as both play in the one o'clock spot. I'll probably be flipping to the Gator Bowl on Capital One Bowl commercials, unless I go the ESPN360 route and watch 'em both at the same time.

Logic says to go with the Mountaineers, who have been better all year. I also happen to like West Virginia better, in general. So we'll call this a close one.

West Virginia, 36-33 (OT)

4:30 PM: Rose Bowl - #8 Ohio State vs. #7 Oregon

Much as I like to see the Big Ten succeed during bowl season, this looks like a bad matchup for State. Oregon is running with authority, and the Buckeyes offense has sputtered at times. Also, Terrelle Pryor is hurt. I think Oregon's big three (Masoli, James, Blount) wear down The Sweater and pull away in the 3rd quarter.

Oregon, 31-14

8:30 PM: Sugar Bowl - #3 Cincinnati vs. #5 Florida

I'll be very happy if I last this long. The Sugar Bowl this year has a ton of storylines - the last game for Tim Tebow, The Departed Brian Kelly, Urban Meyer's injury status... but I think the real story will be QBs Pike and Collaros for 'Nati. One or the other is going to outduel Tebow in prime time. This game is on Fox, and I will cry if Joe Buck is announcing. Please, no Buck.

Cincinnati 34-24

There you have it! Check in tomorrow to keep up with me and all the college football action.

Mike Leach Fired by Texas Tech

Well, he went to court today seeking an injunction that would allow him to coach the Red Raiders in the Alamo Bowl, but instead Mike Leach got the pink slip.

Tech officials handed his lawyer a notification of his firing 'with cause' before either side could enter the courtroom.

This story has an unusual Indiana connection, because Texas Tech gave Bobby Knight his second chance to coach after all of the goings-on at IU, yet canned Leach, the most successful coach in program history with an 84-43 record, after just one incident. Plus, the two kind of resemble each other, no?

CNNSI's Stewart Mandel has a great indepth piece here.

And yes, you can add another name to the list of people I'd love to see (A) as IU's next football coach or (B) as the Bears offensive coordinator! How sweet would that be? You think he couldn't work magic with Cutler and the undersized Bears receivers, not to mention a running back who is money catching the ball out of the backfield?

Anyway, just a thought.

Maurice Creek Out for Season

...Crap.

That pretty much describes the scene in Bloomington last night after Indiana's leading scorer (and the top freshman scorer in the country!) went down with what was later diagnosed as a broken knee.

Yeah, Maurice Creek is done for the season. IU was up 57-23 when he got fouled on a layup attempt and landed awkwardly.

It's really a shame because he was having one hell of a season so far, averaging over seventeen points a game including the 31-point outburst that kept Indiana alive against Kentucky.

More on this later, but I just wanted to get the news out there and get myself off of the writer's block that's been holding me down since two weeks ago.

The Downfall of Notre Dame

I came across this article today. It does a really nice job of summarizing the downfall of Notre Dame. The nice thing about it is it requires minimal reading as it is pretty self explanatory. I'd suggest taking a look!

Bear Fans United

Basically, what I am writing about today is a newly formed organization called Bear Fans United. Bear Fans United is asking Bear fans to donate money in order to put up a bill board and take out full page ads in both the Tribune and Sun-Times asking that the McCaskeys fire Lovie, Angelo, and even Phillips. This is a legit organization, and tomorrow's story from David Haugh of the Tribune is going to mention the organization:

"Whatever happens in the next two weeks, the anti-Lovie Smith brigade has mobilized, even if CSNChicago.com reported Friday night that Smith will return for a seventh season regardless of the final three games. They are raising funds online for billboards and newspaper ads urging the Bears to clean house. They are organizing anti-Lovie protests, like the guy who sat in a lawn chair along 1000 Football Drive for hours last Wednesday holding up a sign that said, "SOS.""

So, I thought I'd just mention this in case anyone was interested. I am unable to donate money as I'm basically broker than a joke. Anywho, the website is:

BearFansUnited.org (Notice it says BEAR not BEARS). Donations will go towards bringing in da chin!

Big Ten Trivia

I heard an intresting statement today while watching this on ESPN.com. Did you know that every Big 10 school has won atleast 1 National champisonsip in at least 1 NCAA sponsored sport over the last 11 years? So I am trying to think of the title for each school. My Answers in the comments, and I will post the answer later in the week.

Bengals' Chris Henry In Fatal Wreck

Chris Henry was in a fatal Car Crash today on his way home from visiting his fiance in Charlotte. That's sad. The guy had a ton of talent but just seemed like he was too troubled to ever get together. I pray for his family and fiance.


On a related side note, and in all respects to the Henry family, you will notice that we here at Arm Chair Superstar have reported his death before ESPN. However, I don't mean to cheapen his death. I hope the Henry family the best in getting through this horrible tragedy.

UPDATE: Apparently, he was in a fight with his fiance and jumped into the bed of her pickup truck as she was driving away from her house. Only to later be thrown out of the truck.

UPDATE: CBS apparently lied to me. And ESPN was right, in this case it was for the better. Henry is currently still alive.

SN UPDATE: Chris Henry was pronouced dead at 6:30 am Thursday Morning after falling out of the back of the pick up truck after a domestic dispute. Chris Henry was 26.