New Year Potpourri

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before, but the NHL really makes some head-scratching decisions. They institute an amazing event like the Winter Classic, and then, for reasons unbeknownst to me, put it on New Year's Day, a day reserved in most minds for parades and football. I was really interested in this year's matchup too, Flyers vs. Bruins in Fenway, but again, football.

That said, I was pleased to hear that the rink in Fenway isn't going away just yet. BC and BU will be playing a night hockey game this coming week there as well. That should be good times for the city of Boston, the two schools, and all involved. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be televised anywhere.

If you are a collegiate bowl game, your half time entertainment should consist of the bands of the teams that are playing in that bowl game. Period.

That said, I continue to be pleased with the Rose Bowl's commitment to really showing a decent portion of both bands' half time shows, instead of paying it some fairly cheap lip service, as Fox does.

This coming Tuesday, the Orange Bowl will mark the last BCS game televised on Fox for the foreseeable future.

And it's not that I don't like football coverage on Fox. To the contrary; I'm a fan of an NFC team, so I watch plenty of football on Fox. But I believe they should stick to the pros. Especially since they spend all year not showing college football and then snatch up the largest games of the year. They go into the game with little practice, and it shows.

Still, I have mixed feelings about everything major moving to ESPN. From a social justice standpoint, I believe there are a few things you should be able to have access to without having cable. Some of these are sports, including football and NASCAR; I don't know why those are particularly important to me, but  I feel intuitively those are probably statistically among the favorites of low-income households. So I wasn't too pleased with Monday Night Football moving to ESPN, and I'm less pleased to see the same with the BCS bowls, despite enjoying ESPN.

Today has been, again, football and parades. I actually had a double-dose going on at one time--USF was playing in the International Bowl, which they won, 27-3, and AI made a great showing, as always, in the Fiesta Bowl Parade. I was surprised that we reportedly only traveled 120, but then, the band is smaller these days and economic times are tough. And it's interesting to see how the cymbal part for Sounds of Christmas--which I don't believe we ever had sheet music for--has changed over the past 11 years.

Tomorrow, my last day of vacation, I head to see UNCG play the Terps (I'll be rooting for UNCG, for the record) and then come back home for a nailbiting Eagles-Cowboys season finale. I've got half a mind  to patronize UNCG athletics' sponsor Jersey Mike Subs and pick up a cheesesteak on the way home. I would think that with a name like Jersey Mike's they'd know a little something about making an authentic Philly cheesesteak. On the other hand, I'm not sure I could risk the bad mojo of an improper cheesesteak, so I may forego that.

Helluva matchup in the Liberty Bowl here--I'm going to give my full attention to the larger screen.