The Wiz of Odds

Reporters Notebooks

Sean Keeler, Des Moines Register: Gene Chizik left Iowa State a better place because, well, he left.

Emily Price, KCCI-TV: Alex Giffords, Iowa State's kicker from 1979-82, is the brother of Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was among the victims of the horrific shooting Saturday in Tucson.

Pete Thamel, New York Times: Auburn has the top-ranked team, but the university's football team has tumbled in the NCAA's most important academic measurement to No. 85. Plus, Auburn booster Bobby Lowder isn't sharing in the Tigers' moment on the big stage.

Roy L. Williams, Birmingham News: With a winter storm moving in, some hotels near the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport have seen a surge of bookings for Sunday night from Auburn fans wanting to make sure they can make it to Monday flights to the Bowl Championship Series title game.

Charles Goldberg, Birmingham News: Auburn has canceled plans to show the BCS title game in the new Auburn Arena because of expected hazardous weather conditions Monday.

Renee Busby, Mobile Press-Register: Auburn has also canceled classes on Monday. The reason? Officials say it's because of the weather and not the BCS title game.

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Under Armour vs. Nike. It's the game behind the game. Plus, meet the bowl guys — two friends on a mission to attend every bowl game.

Reporters Notebooks

Darren Everson, Wall Street Journal: Which teams rule bowl TV ratings? No team draws viewers like USC. Also bringing them in: Florida State, Notre Dame, Miami and Michigan. No team turns viewers off like Virginia. Also among teams that hurt ratings: North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Louisiana State and Clemson.

Kate Hairopoulos, Dallas Morning News: Army fans may outnumber Southern Methodist fans in Thursday's Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, played at Ford Stadium, the Mustangs' home field.

Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Every day is sunny for bowl committee people, who feed on universities.

David Briggs, Columbia Tribune: Why Iowa and Missouri, whose campuses are only 192 miles apart, haven't met in football for 100 years.

Mark Brennan, Fight On State: Those rumors about Joe Paterno retiring? "Who started the crazy rumors?" said Sue Paterno, JoePa's wife. "He's fine. No one has to identify who starts it. We don't even know where it starts. It's just lies."

WBNS-TV: Yet another rumor shot down. Ohio State's Jim Tressel meets with team and tells them he's staying.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: A day after Texas Tech announced James Willis was no longer its defensive coordinator, police were answering questions about a domestic violence call at a home last Wednesday morning. A source told the Avalanche-Journal that Willis was connected to the incident.

Associated Press: Alabama governor Bob Riley's office accepted 20 free tickets to this year's Alabama-Auburn game while state legislators were preparing for a special session on ethics that resulted in a new law making it more difficult for officials to accept such perks.

Dallas Morning News: Snubbed? Wisconsin Rose Bowl champion T-shirts available for sale; Texas Christian title shirts nowhere to be found.

Tony Krausz, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: Miami quarterback Jacory Harris calls right tackle Sentrel Henderson "our Great Wall of China."

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: How the Holiday Bowl lost its luster.

Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News: Terrelle Pryor isn't Cam Newton, on or off the field. And if any compliance office should have been educating its players about the evils of extra benefits, it was Ohio State's.

Reporters Notebooks

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Ticket policies for the Bowl Championship Series title game cater to the wealthy.

Dom Amore, Hartford Courant: Connecticut still has 12,900 tickets to sell for the Fiesta Bowl and to make the problem worse, there is a plentiful supply of tickets well below face value available on the Internet.

Kate Hairopoulos, Dallas Morning News: Some Southern Methodist players are disappointed with their bowl assignment. "I did not want to be in Dallas for Christmas," left tackle Kelvin Beachum said.

Judy Battista, New York Times: An academic study has found that the practice of icing kickers in the NFL by calling a delaying timeout really works.

Ted Lewis, Times-Picayune: Scandal and strife have taken cheer out of the bowl season.

Drew Sharp, Detroit Free Press: It won't matter how loud the righteous scream: The NCAA happily will exist within its hypocrisies because those funding the double standards — the bowls, the TV networks and, yes, the fans — will never demand accountability.

Brad Rock, Deseret News: The secret to Boise State's success? The Broncos have played on an ESPN channel 49 times in the past decade.

Neal Rubin, Detroit News: Give Rich Rodriguez time and he'll have Michigan back among the elite teams. The problem is, he'll still be Rich Rod — the guy at the party who's scanning the room as he talks to you, looking for someone more glamorous to spend time with.

Reporters Notebooks

Susanne Craig, New York Times: Cantor Fitzgerald is one of the biggest brokers of United States government securities. He has expanded his business to Las Vegas and is banking on the next frontier in gambling: a license that would allow sports betting on mobile devices anywhere in Nevada, as long as the bettor had an account at a casino.

Mike Poorman, State College.com: Is Joe Paterno about ready to retire? No. This story is about the power of the Internet and its ability to take octane-fuel and untrue rumors and rocket them literally across the country.

Courthouse News Service: Lane Kiffin is still causing lawsuits in Tennessee. A body shop worker claims a Toyota dealer fired and defamed him because he had evidence that the dealer committed insurance fraud "for the benefit of then University of Tennessee head football coach Lane Kiffin." Thanks to Ben Maller.

Dan Steinberg, D.C. Sports Bog: ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, one of the most visible Maryland fans in the country, says the only viable option now is for the school to hire Mike Leach.

Lee Barfknecht, Omaha World-Herald: Bowl games are not to blame for teams running up a huge deficit going to a postseason event. It is the schools that through the years have entered into lopsided agreements with bowls, and it is the schools that have purposely overspent their bowl allowances.

Ron Maly: The most idiotic quarterback and the dumbest athletic director in America.

Reporters Notebooks

Tim May and Ken Gordon, Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State is investigating whether several of its players traded signed memorabilia for tattoos and perhaps other favors from the owner of a Columbus tattoo parlor, actions that could put their eligibility for the Sugar Bowl and beyond in jeopardy. Update: Five players, including Pryor, will be suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for accepting illegal benefits. but all five will be eligible for the Sugar Bowl.

Eleven Warriors: The two minutes that brought down the Ohio State-Arkansas line in Las Vegas sportsbooks.

Matthew T. Hall, San Diego Union-Tribune: Crews worked overnight to try and pump water out of Qualcomm Stadium, site of Thursday night's Poinsettia Bowl.

Brad Rock, Deseret News: After a beatdown loss to Boise State, it's time for Utah to get in the Pac-10.

David Jones, Harrisburg Patriot-News: Temple may have made a big mistake in hiring Steve Addazio as coach.

Tommy Deas, Tuscaloosa News: Alabama officials say there is nothing outlandish about the university paying thousands of dollars to upgrade facilities at an Orlando high school where the Crimson Tide will be practicing for the Capital One Bowl. The school is home to Hasean Clinton-Dix, a safety who has given Alabama a commitment, and Dee Hart, an all-purpose back who has been reported to be wavering on his commitment to Michigan.

Jordan Blum and Randy Rosetta, Baton Rouge Advocate: The NCAA is requesting additional information from Louisiana State regarding self-reported recruiting and benefits violations involving its program. Plus, starting tailback Stevan Ridley has been ruled ineligible for the Cotton Bowl. The Tigers are appealing the NCAA's decision.

Bill Kline, Allentown Morning Call: Joe Paterno needs to call it quits after the 2011 season.

Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News: Here are the biggest locks of the bowl season.

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Auburn is cashing in on a new apparel agreement with Under Armour that the university values at $27.45 million in cash and products over seven years.

Reporters Notebooks

Sports by Brooks: Auburn booster Milton McGregor, who will stand trial April 4 on charges that he attempted to buy the influence of state politicians, was given clearance by a judge to travel to Glendale, Ariz., to attend the Tigers' Bowl Championship Series title game against Oregon. McGregor is facing 285 years in prison and $4.5 million in fines.

Andrew Gribble, Knoxville News Sentinel: Thirty-six Tennessee athletes were treated as "VIPs" from May to July at a Cumberland Avenue bar that was brought to light after a summer brawl involving numerous football players, according to the athletic department's self-report of a secondary violation to the NCAA. Twenty-six of the athletes are football players. The players were not required to pay cover charges at Bar Knoxville on Thursday nights when other patrons were required to pay $5-$10, depending on their age. PDF file of correspondence between Tennessee and NCAA. Plus, coach Derek Dooley committed a secondary violation with a post on four-star high school tight end Nick O'Leary's Facebook wall.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: Officials expect a crowd of over 50,000 for Thursday's Poinsettia Bowl, smashing the previous record of 39,120 set in 2007.

Mike Brown, Tulsa World: Tulsa has sold only 800 of its allotment of 10,000 tickets to the Hawaii Bowl.

John Branch, New York Times: The missed field goal by Kyle Brotzman in Boise State's loss to Nevada cost the Western Athletic Conference $8 million, according to commissioner Karl Benson.

Stefan Stevenson, Dallas Morning News: Gripping story of Texas Christian assistant Eddie Williamson suffering a heart attack in the first quarter of the Horned Frogs' Nov. 13 game against San Diego State. "I wasn't afraid to die, but I didn't want to."

Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman: Players from Boise State and Utah were involved in an altercation during a welcome reception Sunday evening. The fracas started outside the massage room, where the bowl provided professional massages for players. The bowl staff broke up the scuffle. A bartender sprayed water on the players.

Jeff Rosenfield, St. Petersburg Patch: A poolside dance contest between Louisville and Southern Mississippi players nearly ended in a brawl.