3 DEC 07: BOWL BASHED

Sorry, NBC - Sunday night was indeed football night, but not for you. Some of us were more interested in where our favorite college teams would play next. Even if we had to get slapped around by broadcasters along the way....

The Georgia Bulldogs will head to New Orleans in January - but for the Sugar Bowl, not the Bowl Championship Series title game. This isn't completely bad news, though. Mark Richt's team can stick around the city between the games, and challenge Louisiana State to a showdown in someone's backyard.

Last week's Bowl Championship Series rankings had Georgia fourth in the country. The final rankings released Sunday night had the Bulldogs fifth. Now hold on -- I thought the top two teams lost Saturday night. But did that many other teams actually win?

Georgia head coach Mark Richt told Fox Sports his final Top 25 ballot had his Bulldogs second, behind Ohio State. I suppose that's understandable - but it's also a little scary. Doesn't he realize how many number-two teams have lost this season?

Mark Richt said he was disappointed that Georgia seemed to be disqualified from the B.C.S. title game because it didn't win the Southeastern Conference championship. But there's a small problem with that argument. People in Tennessee would argue their college actually finished in second place....

Georgia will face an unusual opponent in the Sugar Bowl. Hawaii has plenty to prove in New Orleans. Not only because their football team is unbeaten -- but because the state of Hawaii produces a lot more sugar than Louisiana.

(But how many Hawaiians actually are going to make the trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl? That university might do better paying off Georgia Tech fans to show up as stand-ins.)

My alma mater Kansas was selected for a B.C.S. game - and most of the so-called experts were proven wrong, when the Jayhawks were selected for the Orange Bowl near Miami. The dream season continues, as far as I'm concerned. I might actually drive to Miami for the game -- while a one-day drive to the Fiesta Bowl might force me to drive above the speed limit.

My road atlas shows there are 661 miles between Atlanta and Miami. I could drive to the Orange Bowl in one day, attend the game on the night of the second day, and drive back on the third day. Then I'd be limping for two more days, since my car doesn't have cruise control.

The "instant analysis" on TV and radio declared Kansas unworthy of the Orange Bowl, because Missouri beat the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 North title. But please do some mathematics here. Kansas has one loss. Missouri has two. And what in the world is Illinois doing in the Rose Bowl, with three?

Did you notice the Fox crawl during the selection show, saying you can go to a web site and buy Bowl Championship Series merchandise? Can I buy my own computer, and figure out the rankings another way?

E-MAIL UPDATE: Sometimes we get messages that are downright head-scratching....

I am just wondering....do you turn your Emails over to the almighty one? I guess you decided not to follow up on information that has been shared with you over the last few months. Hey second place isnt to bad.

I'll take three guesses as to what this is about:

1. No, Mayor Wetherington has never asked for our e-mails. Nor has Police Chief Boren.

2. I'm still not married.

3. If this is about Sunday's item about the court order from Cascade Hills Church, I didn't turn over any messages to Pastor Bill Purvis. No one there even asked for the three different e-mails about the church which we posted 7 October. Maybe if I had left a larger tithe check in the bucket....

I took Bill Purvis at his word in October, when he ruled out any legal action by Cascade Hills Church. And this blog did call the District Attorney's office last spring, when rumors first spread about possible lawsuits. The prosecutor's staff had no record of any cases involving the church and pastor then. But times change - much like e-mail identities can.

Now to the Sunday news headlines....

+ Columbus Police were involved in a late-night standoff at the Big Lots store on Sidney Simons Boulevard. Authorities say two people robbed the store, one of them wearing a President Bush mask. If this was someone's weird idea of making up for what happened at Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign office, it didn't work.

+ The annual Toys for Tots motorcycle ride roared down Victory Drive, to Flat Rock Park. The line of bikes was long enough to stop traffic for about ten minutes - and no one dared try to cross a street with so many leather-wearing guys, even if they were carrying stuffed bears.

(The Iron Cross motorcycle club puts together this toy ride every year - but what's this I hear about a feud with the Cruisers Club? Does the Springer Opera House need to stage "West Side Story," to bring reconciliation?)

+ The Courier reported promoters are trying to schedule a Janet Jackson concert at the Columbus Civic Center. Police are already preparing for this - by lining up several clothing stores to cover up Jackson during the show.

+ Football's Atlanta Falcons lost in St. Louis 28-16. Fox Sports announcer Ron Pitts praised Atlanta wide receiver Roddie White at one point for showing "a lot of energy in the film room." Well, THAT explains why they're 3-9 - they're too tired to play on Sundays.

THE BLOG OF AMERICA: Don Imus is returning to New York radio today. His morning show is being telecast on the rural-focused channel RFD-TV - and I'm not sure if that TV audience will laugh more at Imus, or all those city slickers he interviews.

+ The journal "Nature Geoscience" reported tropical conditions seem to be advancing toward the north and south poles. It makes you wish the Tropic of Cancer was on the Southern hemisphere side, instead of our own.

+ The Kennedy Center in Washington honored five famous people in the arts, including Steve Martin and Diana Ross. Put Ross's hair on Martin's head, and he could do one wild comedy act....

+ Ozzy Osbourne held a garage sale in Beverly Hills, and items sold for incredibly high prices. A pair of his eyeglasses was purchased for more than $5,000. Now he'll need his wife more than ever, to avoid stumbling around his mansion.

+ A giant truffle was sold at auction in Macau for $330,000. Some people apparently don't realize the candy prices will drop by half on December 26.

+ The Apollo Theater in New York hosted the "Holiday Classic" of double-dutch jump roping. Teams from Japan finished in the top three positions - so if you hear people start doing triple-Tokyo jumps, that's why.

+ Tampa Bay nicked New Orleans 27-23 in pro football. And on a dare, Tampa's Greg White did a backflip on the field before the game. White is a defensive lineman, weighing about 290 pounds! How many cheerleading squads will have to change their weight requirement, because of this?

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