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Thursday
May 2 2024
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PREVIOUS SPORTS
• Sideline: Yes, Non–Conference Games DO Count
• NCAA Preview 2009
• Sideline: Time For The Talking To Stop
• Sideline: In Memory of Air McNair
• Sideline: Will Goodell Hand Out Hard Time?
• Sideline: Marshall's Not Joshing
• NFL Draft: No Rush To Judgment
• NFL Draft Analysis 2009 (Part 2)
• Sideline: NFL Draft Thoughts (Part 2)
• Sideline: NFL Draft Thoughts
• Sideline: Will Play For Food
• Sideline: Wonderlic Scores
• Sideline: Manning and Sanchez
• Sideline: 2010 Leagues Sci–fi, or Fantasy? / March Madness
• Sideline: Break Out The Brackets
• Sideline: LaDainian Tomlinson On The Record
• Sideline: The Incredible Sulk Continues
• Sideline: Guildford Heat Fired Up
• Sideline: Super Bowl thoughts from the Valley of the Sun
• Sideline: I know I came in here for something
• Sideline: College Football National Signing Day
• Sideline: 27 Points — 27 Super Bowl thoughts
• Sideline: An Epic QB Matchup?
• Sideline: Appreciating Arizona for What They Were
• Sideline: NFL Divisional Weekend Preview
• Sideline: Bowl Season Hangover
• Sideline: Six weeks Later
• Sideline: Wildcard Weekend Preview
• Sideline: Santa's Sackings
• Sideline: A Weis Decision ...for Now
• Sideline: Eye on the Ticker
• Sideline: Lions — An Anagram of Losin
• Sideline: Ready for the Turkey
• Sideline: Making it to the Big Dance
• Sideline: Brighter Days Ahead for Chargers?
• Sideline: Unnecessary Hits To The Pocket / Upset: BYU
• Sideline: Romo's Pause / Seattle Seahawks
• Sideline: Weekend Prep: Red River and More
• Sideline: College Football's 'Crossroads' Weekend
• Sideline: Gramatical Error
• Sideline: Turning The Page
• Sideline: So Cal 'Quizzed
• Sideline: 3rd Tuesday Panic / Forté Yard Dash
• Sideline: Two and Oh; Oh and Two
• Sideline: No More NCAAffeine
• Sideline: Week 1 College Football
• Sideline: How To Spell Heisman / Chad Ocho Cinco
• Sideline: A Second Slice
• Sideline: The Favre story STILL won't go away
• Sideline: Olympic Notes / Ricky's Still Relevant
• Sideline: Committee Meetings
• Sideline: Let the QB Battles Begin
• Sideline: Slinging The Slinger — More Favre
• Interview: Clint Dempsey
• Sideline: Welcome to the 2008 season
• Sideline: Plus One
• 2008 NFL Draft Review
• Sideline: Draft: The Morning After
• Sideline: Draft: Thinking the Unthinkable
• Sideline: Draft: Ready For The Long Haul
• Sideline: Sofa–bound Sport
• Sideline: Post–Winter Wonderland
• Sideline: Six Impossible Things
• Sideline: Brady's Misdirection Play
• Sideline: Colorful Language
• Sideline: Let the Romo–bashing begin
• Sideline: Bowl Bites: The Wrap
• Sideline: All About The Coaches
• Sideline: Bowl Bites 3
• Sideline: Bowl Bites 2
• Sideline: Bowl Bites 1
• Sideline: Coach Situations Vacant
• Sideline: For Some, The Playoffs Are Now
• Sideline: A Certain Lack Of Welcome
• Sideline: Unrelated Notes
• Sideline: Two Thanksgiving thoughts
• Sideline: Halftime: NFC
• Sideline: Halftime: AFC
• Sideline: London / A Tale of Two Chads / Intimidation
• Sideline: Damp Squib / Other London Notes
• Sideline: Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em / Dolphins – The Aftermath
• Sideline: The Dolphins Did What?
• Sideline: Notes on the Defenses
• Sideline: Habits to be Broken
• Sideline: Overtime
• Sideline: This Week's Starters
• Sideline: USF: Covering The Spread / Fantastic Football
• Sideline: Grossman: The Final Act? / McNabb, the Epilogue
• Sideline: Eagles QB in Slight Controversy
• Sideline: Leftwich's Parting Gift / Boos cruise
• Sideline: Notre Dame M.I.A.
• Sideline: Looking Beyond NFL Wk. 1
• Sideline: Best Hope For Heisman
• Sideline: Coaching Hot Seats / AP Poll Feeling ’Appy
• Sideline: The NFL’s Prime Cuts
• Sideline: Michigan Falls to Killer Apps
• Sideline: Look Out Couch / The Taint's On You, Bud
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SPORTS
SIDELINE
Observations, Opinion & Occasional Silliness by Richard L Gale
Bowl Season Hangover
Congratulations, everyone — well done for getting through it.
The Bowl Season party's over, save for Texas and USC fans conducting half–heard scuffles in the street outside,
Dave Wannstedt standing in the doorway having never removed his coat, and the GMAC Bowl still skyboxed away like an
overlooked can of Stella hidden behind the sofa for morning–after discovery.
But we have a champion. Not a consensus champion, and the NCAA itself doesn't take sides, but two polls agree that when
all is said and done, one–loss Florida is better than an unbeaten Utah team they didn't get to play.
And you know what? I'm okay with that.
Maybe I've just been beaten into submission by the endless cavalcade of meaningless.com bowls sponsored by companies
some of which I have NO idea what they do (even after the publicity), or maybe I've just woken up to the fact that its
January 9, and I still haven't given everybody their Christmas presents yet. But if somebody says Florida are No.1, that's
fine by me because Ole Miss beat Florida by a blocked extra point three and a half months ago — the only thing
preventing the Gators from being unbeaten as well.
USC and Texas fans: pipe down — you didn't stay unbeaten in your own conferences, so don't tell us you have a
national gripe. Get in line behind Utah.
And AP poll voters: thanks for giving Utah 16 first place votes in your final poll, but try not to have the memories
of goldfish next preseason when you once again use the Mountain West's supposed competitive deficiencies as an excuse
to drop them into your poll's outer reaches.
I'd still have loved to see Utah v Florida at the end, and I still favor a playoff over the convoluted BCS cartel
that allowed the MWC champs into a BCS game, but not the BCS game. But like President–Elect Obama, my attitude
is now 'Enough already, let's go do something useful' (well, those weren't his precise words, but that was the gist
of his reply when asked recently if he'd take down the BCS). And anyway, he's got the Middle East to solve, the economy
to repair, and the polar bears to save, all before March Madness, so he's going to be a busy man.
Personally, now I've got all this needless bowl business out of the way, I can start the real January work... building
the list of early–entry draft prospects. If Tim Tebow's coming back as a Senior after a national championship, a
Heisman, and another national championship in his first three years, it's hard to see why. He's unlikely to prove his
case further as a drop–back pocket passer in the Florida game plan, and his accuracy, character and desire are
all abundantly clear, in addition to his running skills.
If the NFL still doesn't 'get' Tim Tebow, then the BCS National Championship Game truly was bogus.
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