The Wiz of Odds

Welcome to the New, Improved Tiger Stadium

Louisiana State, which struggled to cross midfield in its loss to Alabama in the Bowl Championship Series title game, has been forced to reconfigure its home field. Click the image to enlarge.

Thanks to John!

What They Are Saying About Paterno

A look at reaction from around the nation on the passing of Joe Paterno.

David Jones, Harrisburg Patriot-News: Joe Paterno and how I knew him.

Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: Paterno was the last of his kind, and we all are a bit poorer for his absence.

Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The ending wasn't so neat and tidy. Many people will remember the way he was fired more than the good he did for the university. But his impact on those who played for him is undisputed.

Jeff Rice, Centre Daily Times: Former players have nothing but good memories of Paterno.

John Luciew, Harrisburg Patriot-News: Paterno leaves a complicated legacy — Ivy League philosopher, library benefactor, famed coach, control freak, living legend and flawed human being.

Bill Kline, Allentown Morning Call: Critics will point to the Sandusky scandal, but nobody did more good for Penn State than Paterno.

Kevin Gorman, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Paterno is gone, and with him so is Penn State's heart.

Frank Fitzpatrick, Philadelphia Inquirer: His life was defined by success. His end was defined by scandal.

Remembering Joe Paterno

The man who won more games than any other major college football coach lost his battle to lung cancer on Sunday. He was 85. His final interview.

The Return of the Worldwide Follower

Editor's note: Post has been updated with comment from ESPN's Josh Krulewitz. His full response has been added at the bottom.

ESPN, the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports," is at it again, taking another media outlet's report and passing it off as its own.

On Wednesday at 1:56 p.m. (ET), ESPN posted a story on its website that said: "Former Arizona coach Mike Stoops will join the Oklahoma staff — and his brother — as co-defensive coordinator, a move that will be announced as soon as Wednesday, sources said." A screengrab of the original page is posted above (click to enlarge).

Again we ask, who are these "sources" and why don't they want their names published? Could it be that there was only one source on the story, and that source was Dean Blevins?

Blevins, a former Oklahoma quarterback, is sports director at KWTV News 9, the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City. After ESPN posted its story, Blevins, who has been named the Oklahoma sportscaster of year eight times, sent out the following tweet:

Alabama-LSU BCS Title Gets Low TV Rating

Editor's note: Story has been updated to reflect final ratings after initial overnight ratings.

Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game between Alabama and Louisiana State was the third-lowest rated title game in the 14-year history of the BCS.

The ESPN telecast drew a 14 rating. The only BCS games with lower ratings were the 2005 USC-Oklahoma matchup, which got a 13.7, and the 2002 Miami-Nebraska game, which had a 13.8.

Ratings were down 8% from the 2011 title game between Auburn and Oregon.

Monday's telecast had regional appeal, with seven of the top 10 metered markets having a Southeastern Conference footprint, according to the overnight numbers. Birmingham topped the list with a 61.2, followed by New Orleans at 53.3.

Then the ratings took a steep drop, with Oklahoma City (29.1), Minneapolis-St. Paul (27.5), Atlanta (26.8), Memphis (25.8), Knoxville (25.5), Greenville (24.5), Jacksonville (23) and Austin (20.5) completing the top 10.

The Mother of All BCS Title Game Prediction Posts

Which team will win Monday night's Bowl Championship title game between Louisiana State and Alabama? For the fifth year in a row, the Wiz went to distinguished members of the news media and blogging community for the answer. Opinions vary, but nearly everyone agrees that one of these teams will actually score a touchdown in this Rematch of the Century.

At the bottom of the post, readers are invited to vote in two polls. The first asks which team will cover the spread. At the time of this post, Alabama is favored by 1.5 points. The second asks if the total number of points will go over or under 40.5.

Let's get to it (Twitter feeds are linked off names):

Larry Brown of Larry Brown Sports: Bama 20, LSU 17. Even though they lost, Bama appeared to be the better team in the first meeting between the squads. It moved the ball slightly better than LSU and lost because it couldn't make a field goal. I don't think LSU will get that lucky this time.

Yost of the Michigan blog M Zone: 'Bama 21, LSU 17. I just think it's going to be too hard for LSU to beat 'Bama twice in a season. Plus, unbeknownst to LSU, Nick Saban has probably signed 42 additional players since the end of the regular season.