Oh yes, and I was interested in the Orange Bowl for a few minutes last night with a close first half, but upon awaking this morning, I relieved that I hadn't missed anything special.

As a child, I would have loved this extended bowl season, but as an adult, I cannot muster the patience or the time to watch them all.

However, I must say that I'm very excited by the national championship, hoping that Oregon can win with its fast-paced offense. What makes it a great matchup is that I don't think it's going to be easy for them, going up against Auburn's defense and quarterback. But with a month off, perhaps the QB has been busy counting dollars or even spending those 'soon-to-arrive' dollars.

I just hope I can stay up for the game.

We're all interested in what is happening with Michigan's most important football job.

It appears that RichRod could be fired, though there are questions about who would replace him as coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines. So maybe he won't be fired, if reports about Jim Harbough - once the favorite for the job - intending to decline it prove true. Harbough may prefer to state in his home and just move on to the San Francisco 49ers, competing against his brother in the NFL.

In other coaching news, the top coach in the state, Mark Dantonio, was spanked by former Spartan coach Nick Saban, who traveled to LSU and Miami (NFL) before winding up at Alabama. Everyone here had hoped this would be the removal of that era if MSU could have beaten the Crimson Tide, but it was not to be.

Meanwhile, Rich Rodriguez remains a top story in the state, even as our auto industry sees significant improvements in sales, as a new governor gets ready to slash away at the state budget as we await a $1 billion-plus shortfall, and we wonder how much misery the next snow storm will bring. Let's not mention the Lions and their four-game winning streak....FALSE PROMISES.

I wonder how long he would have to coach before the news about his job lessons in importance. Perhaps just another season or two, especially with that defense, and then he'll be relegated to the back page.