NCAA College Football 2011: Season Review

Without a doubt, the 2011 NCAA college football season will be remembered more for what happened off the field rather than what happened on it. That said, there has been some wonderful moments on the gridiron and in the shadow of NCAA scandals, continued conference realignment, and the sad affair that unfolded late in the season at Penn State University, and they deserve to be recorded for posterity.

It was the year of the quarterback in 2011. Houston's Case Keenum capped his sixth campaign as starting QB for the Houston Cougars and graduated with basically every major passing record, putting Houston back on the map, and putting on a show that everyone - defensive coordinators around C-USA - enjoyed. We've rarely seen a quarterback with such control over the offense, and his eye-popping numbers, recording 48 touchdowns to a mere 7 interceptions, throwing for 5631 yards at a 71.0% completion percentage. I don't care what opposition you're playing against, those numbers are insane. Had it not been for Houston's flub in the C-USA Championship Game vs. Southern Miss, Keenum might've ended his spectacular career in a BCS game.

Baylor's eye-popping quarterback Robert Griffin III continued the theme of signal callers dominating, bringing home Baylor's first ever Heisman Trophy, and putting himself in a position to go as the second QB in April's NFL Draft. Like with Keenum, it was excitement-plus whenever he had the football. The opening game shoot-out against TCU on a swelteringly hot Waco, TX evening was one of the most entertaining football games I've ever seen. Griffin beat out a very good field, including pre-season favourite Andrew Luck, to win the greatest individual honour in all of college football.

We also got to see perhaps the greatest college QB of all time - speaking strictly in wins, he is the greatest - on the Blue Rug in Boise, Idaho. Kellen Moore closed out the Golden Era of Boise State Bronco Football, leading BSU to a one-loss season, and a resounding victory in the Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona State. The Broncos had been on the edge of talk about a berth in the National Championship Game, but a last-second loss to Texas Christian put an end to those hopes. For the second season in a row, Boise State cost themselves a chance at a BCS bowl berth because their kicker could not make an intermediate field goal attempt. We may never see Moore's like again. His legacy at Boise State will remain. Replacing Moore, in terms of what he's done at the school, will be nigh on impossible.

Forgotten nationally due to a two-year bowl ban, the USC Trojans burst back onto the big stage, pushing Andrew Luck and Stanford close one week, the beating Oregon in Eugene the next, and ending their season with a 50-0 drubbing of cross-town rivals the UCLA Bruins. They also recorded an impressive win against Notre Dame in South Bend, the combination of QB Matt Barkley and WRs Marquise Lee and Robert Woods backed up by a vastly-improved defense. With Barkley back with Woods and Lee and most of the defense, the Trojans, eligible for a bowl game in 2012 but still facing scholarship sanctions, might be primed for a serious run at the National Championship.

On the flip side, it was another season of great defense in the SEC. The Alabama vs. LSU game in the middle of the season - dubbed the Game of the Century - was a marvellous game between two defensive units that would be well at home in the NFL. As much as the rest of the nation hates to admit it, there's little doubt that the SEC is the best conference around, as referenced by six straight national championships. It's just a shame that the return meeting between the Tide and the Tigers didn't at all live up to the hype; a serious let-down for the last game of the season.

More offense. There was plenty of that in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where QB Brandon Weeden engaged in a seemingly endless game of pitch-and-catch with WR Justin Blackmon for Oklahoma State, who ended their season with a tremendous OT victory against Andrew Luck and Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, OSU's first BCS bowl berth. Like Boise State with Kellen Moore, Blackmon and Weeden combined for what will surely be looked back upon as the golden age of Cowboy football. Also like Boise, Oklahoma State are going to have trouble replacing those guys next year.

Surprises of the 2011 season: Kansas State, Baylor, Vanderbilt, USC, Houston, Michigan.

Disappointments of the 2011 season: Ohio State, Texas, Florida, Nebraska.

I personally got sick and tired of hearing about conference realignment. Texas A&M and Missouri left the Big Twelve for the SEC after Nebraska had left the year before. Texas Christian left the Big East Conference before they even joined. Pittsburgh and West Virginia and Syracuse are gone from the Big East to the ACC to give that conference 14-teams, so the Big East brought in Boise State and San Diego State from the Mountain West, where the Broncos had played just one season. The only problem there is that neither team is from the East Coast. Yep, crazily, the Big East conference is going to have a west division. Navy gave up their independent status to join the Big East. Confused yet?

Sadly, we can't talk about the 2011 season without mentioning the sad events unfolding - still unfolding - at Penn State. I don't think anyone could have imagined the downfall of Joe Paterno, and then the great man's subsequent death.  For a university so long lauded for conducting their college athletics the right way, with honestly, morality and with good people in the right places, the Sandusky scandal was an unimaginably rapid implosion. For more on this, read my post from November of 2011 here

Thanks for reading in 2011. See you in late August for the 2012 season - only about seven months away!!!

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Nine - Los Angeles vs. Colorado

Los Angeles vs. Colorado
Staples Centre; Los Angeles, California

7.30pm; January 21 2012

Colorado def. Los Angeles 3-1

This was it. The ninth of nine games.

I don't know, but maybe the Los Angeles Kings might want to call me up and ask if perhaps I could find another LA sports team to watch when I'm in Southern California. On Thursday night they lost in a shoot-out and tonight, in as insipid a performance as I've seen in a while, they didn't even get that far, giving up weakly, a 3-1 decision. The final score was probably flattering the Kings, who couldn't get much going on the night of goalie Jonathan Quick's birthday.

Tonight's shut-down performance by the Avs was strangely reminiscent of two weeks prior, when we saw the same team - Stastny, Landeskog, Duchene - in the United Centre against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Avalanche completely stifled the 'Hawks that night, giving Semyon Varlamov the shut-out, and tonight was a similar effort against the Kings. 

Perhaps the highlight of the night was seeing Quick, obviously frustrated because he wasn't going to win the game on his birthday and because not many of his team-mates bothered to turn up to help try and deliver a win as a birthday present - 28 saves basically kept the Kings in the game for much of it - was whistled for slashing late in the game. I mean, he lashed out, swatting that stick at a passing Avalanche player and connected pretty solidly. That was after slamming his stick on the goal after the last goal, the Power Play marker that basically ended the game at 3-1.

So that's it, the ninth of nine games...and only a plane ride home to Australia left to come. I have a feeling that it's going to be far to long before I'm back in an NHL arena. There's nothing like this great game experienced loved, where you can near the crack of a stick-to-stick pass and the rumble of a guy getting checked into the glass, or a definite ping as a puck blasts off the goal post. It's a shame that I love a sport that's so far away. But coming back for a few games every year or so makes it more special!

The National Hockey League is in a good place at the moment. The games are exciting, the crowds are up, and there's a nice buzz about the sport all around. Aside from continued concussion awareness, I hope not too much changes in the future.

It's been a blast!

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Eight - Anaheim vs. Ottawa

Anaheim vs. Ottawa
Honda Centre; Anaheim, California

1.00pm; January 21, 2012

Anaheim def. Ottawa 2-1

Honda Centre in Anaheim was the first place I ever saw live NHL hockey and I remember it like it was yesterday. Sadly, it was four years ago - yeah, we're all getting old - but it made an incredible impression on me. It was the Ducks and the Dallas Stars, the season after the Ducks had won the Stanley Cup. It was loud inside Honda Centre. I had lost my voice; a bad combination of a stuffy hotel room and a fourteen hour flight from Sydney. Still, it was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen; a game as brutal as it is beautiful. There was a fight, there were goals, and there was a lot of noise. I was hooked.

Back, nearly four years later, the team is different. Chris Kunitz is gone, JS Giguere is gone - ironically, he will be in net for the Colorado Avalanche against Los Angeles, the second game of our Super Saturday double - and so is the coach, Randy Carlyle, quickly replaced by ousted Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau. Still there from the nucleus of that Cup team is Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf and the ageless wonder, Teemu Selanne, still going at age 41.

The Ducks ice perhaps the best all-around line in the NHL, that of Perry, Getzlaf and the young American sensation Bobby Ryan. Like with Alex Ovechkin, when these three are on the ice, you get the sense that at any moment something amazing could happen. They were responsible for some of the best plays of the game today, and Perry managed to get the puck in the crease, make a move and rocket a shot into the water bottle for the first goal of the game.

It was Lubomir Vishnovsky who iced the game, a crazy sequence of events that ended up netting the Ducks their second of the contest, and behind Jonas Hiller, another in a long line of incredible goalies we've had the privilege of watching on this trip, the Ducks held on for a 2-1 victory and are looking pretty good right now. Bruce Boudreau has them rolling nicely. There's definitely enough talent to carry them deep into the playoffs.

So that's Game One of the Super Saturday double header. It's off down the road to Los Angeles for the Kings vs. the Colorado Avalanche at 7.30pm, the last game of the road trip!

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Seven - Los Angeles vs. Calgary

Los Angeles vs. Calgary
Staples Centre; Los Angeles, California

7.30pm; January 19 2012

Calgary def. Los Angeles 2-1 (SO)

After six games, finally, we saw a fight. And we saw a shoot-out, too. Unfortunately, it didn't go the way anyone who wore the black and silver of the Los Angeles Kings wanted to see.

It was another beautiful day in Los Angeles - is there any other sort? - and after a fantastic day at Disneyland, we drove back from Anaheim and into downtown LA, to the Staples Centre for the Kings match-up against the visiting Calgary Flames. I've seen more Canadian teams on this trip than ever before, and seeing Calgary means a chance to watch their great captain, a legend of the game, Jarome Iginla do his thing. Everyone forgets that Iginla had the primary assist on Sidney Crosby's Olympic gold medal-winning goal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Before and since, Iginla has really carried the Flames team, making them better than they are.

We had excellent seats, six rows back from the ice, just off centre, looking across the ice to the benches. There were a lot of Flames fans in the house, and the game was a spirited one from the beginning. I think there were many more big hits in tonight's contest than in nearly all of the previous six that we've seen this trip. For whatever reason, guys were going in big. It's a real pleasure to watch guys like Penner and Doughty and Johnson laying giant hits. New Kings coach Daryl Sutter really has this team playing with a physical edge. So far as I'm concerned, hockey is at it's best when there's a lot of hitting.

Dustin Brown opened the scoring and the Kings played with a 1-0 lead until the back end of a Flames powerplay when Iginla had an open look and rocketed a shot into the net. You can't give a guy with that much talent so much open ice. Nine times out of ten, he's going to bury the puck. The game stayed tied at 1-1 through the end of regulation and into overtime, and it was still tied after the extra five minutes. That means shoot-out, one of the most exciting moments in hockey. Goalies hate it, most coaches hate it, but as a fan, it's great.

Justin Williams scored the first goal for the Kings, but Miikka Kiprusoff had enough after that, stoning Jack Johnson - who had a second tap at the puck to score, which is not allowed under the rules of the shoot-out - and then Mike Richards, thus winning the game. On the other side, Mike Cammalleri and Olli Jokinen scored for Calgary, giving them the 2-1 lead in a contest that, for the most part, was dominated by the Kings, yet it was the Flames who left LA with two points.

Two more games on our 2011-12 Hockey Road Trip and they both come on Saturday, Super Saturday. We'll watch the Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators at Honda Centre in Anaheim at 1.00pm and then drive back to Los Angeles for the Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche at 7.30pm. It's a BIG day of hockey. Then that's it; back home to Australia and into another live hockey drought!

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Six: NY Rangers vs. Nashville

New York Rangers vs. Nashville Predators
Madison Square Garden; New York City, New York

7.30pm; January 17 2012

NY Rangers defeated Nashville 3-0

It's always the best day of my American trip. Game Day for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. It's always there on my itinerary, at least one chance to go to the World's Most Famous Arena on 8th and 33rd right in the centre of Midtown Manhattan, to see the Rangers play. I love hockey, and I love watching NHL games, but nothing compares to watching the Rangers.

There is so much history at the Garden. You can feel it when you walk in off the street. So many famous sportsmen have played here - Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Michael Jordan, Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Patrick Ewing - and some of the greatest musicians in the world - U2, Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Billy Joel - which makes the moniker true. It really is the World's Most Famous Arena. There's nowhere else with as much sports and musical history in North America...and probably in the world.

Tonight, in the presence of so much history, I got to see my guys - Hank, Richie, Gabby, Cally, Dubi, Rupper, Pruster - skate against the Predators of Nashville, a team much like the Rangers, with a solid goalie, great work ethic and gritty defense. Their netminder, Pekka Rinne, is amongst the best in the League and defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, are always mentioned when the best blueliners in the NHL are discussed.

Yet the real star of tonight's show was Henrik Lundqvist. Whatever the Preds did, Henrik stoned them, making brilliant save after brilliant save, helping the Rangers kill off a 4-minute minor for high sticking that might have changed the course of the game in the second period, in the favour of the Predators. The Garden crowd - myself included - love Lundqvist, and there's good reason to call him currently the best goalie anywhere in the world. Tonight was vintage Henrik, recording his fourth shut-out of the season.

On the offensive side, there's nothing that I saw tonight to suggest that Carl Hagelin, the smooth-skating Swede, won't be a superstar pretty soon, and definitely a face of the franchise for years to come. Marian Gaborik looks to be recovered from his down season last year. I believe the addition of Brad Richards has freed Gabby up to do his thing, and as a result feels less like he has to carry the entire team squarely on his shoulders.

We saw a very good hockey team tonight. Their goal tending is solid, their defense is solid and their offense, slow to get started, has come along nicely, too. Everyone is playing a part. This is a team that's been built nicely, on some great, young players who'll be around for a long time, and led by the hard-working, blue-collar Ryan Callahan, whose work ethic seems to have rubbed off on the rest of the team. And John Tortorella is a good coach! This team is so unlike a lot of the recent Ranger teams, where Lundqvist was back-stopping an average team. Now, he's back-stopping a very good team and, here's hoping, they're poised to go a long way through April and into the spring.

For right now, though, I'm happy with the win. Let's Go Rangers!!!

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Five - Washington vs. Carolina

Washington Capital vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Verizon Centre; Washington, D.C.

5/00pm; January 15, 2012

Washington def. Carolina 2-1

It's been a beautiful weekend of weather in Washington D.C. and I feel like I'm far more versed in American history after we travelled to Mt Vernon, the estate of the great George Washington on Saturday and to Antietam, Maryland today. Antietam was the sight of a bloody battle during the Civil War, that was featured in the amazing movie Glory, with Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington.

Then it was back to D.C. for a south-eastern conference match-up between two teams who recently fired long-standing head coaches. The Caps are a great team to watch, and their fans are among the best in hockey. I personally love to see Alex Ovechkin skate. He is the sort of sweet-skating player who looks dangerous on every single shift, and only ever a curl and drag away from breaking open the game. I guess in the NHL world you're either a Crosby fan or an Ovechkin fan. I'm definitely squarely in the Ovi Camp. Watching the Great Eight play is one of the great joys in all of hockey.

It was Kids Day at the Verizon Centre and every single person in attendance - unless you were there as a 'Canes fan, of course - was treated to a superb goal-tending effort from Caps goalie Tomas Vokoun, a native of the Czech Republic who came across from Florida during the summer to much fanfare. Tonight, Vokoun made good. He spent the entire sixty minutes robbing the Hurriances, stopping a whopping 43 of 44 shots in the 2-1 victory. Vokoun was just about the only reason the Caps won, stretching their home record against South Eastern Conference opponents to 6-0-0. Washington registered twenty less shots on goal.

We also saw Alexander Semin ripping a shot from the top of the circle that popped the waterbottle on Cam Ward's goal - is that the most exciting play in hockey? - and the first career goal from another Russian, Dimitry Orlov, but it was all Vokoun all of the time for the Capitals, who sent their sell-out home crowd happy, and probably feeling pretty good about their situation between the pipes. It was perhaps the greatest goalie effort that I've seen in person.

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Four - Boston vs. Montreal

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
TD Garden; Boston, Massachusetts

7.00pm; January 12 2012

Boston defeated Montreal 2-1

It's been a miserable Thursday in Boston! Rain, rain and more rain, with some squally winds chiming in to make the day more bleak than it already was. But we braved the ugly weather and caught the Boston subway - the first in North America - out to Fenway for, obviously, the Fenway Park tour. The ballpark is a little different at the moment, with a hockey rink on the field for the Frozen Fenway college hockey games.

After Fenway we dried out enough and headed to TD Garden. Seeing a game in the home venue of the reigning Stanley Cup champions has become a tradition. In 2008 we saw a game in Anaheim after they won the cup. Last year I saw a game in Chicago the fall after they'd lifted Lord Stanley. Clearly, I like taking photos of banners in the rafters. And I also like rivalry in hockey. The best games are usually those where the two teams hate each other, and I've always thought that Montreal vs. Boston is the best example of that.

Boston are lucky to have Tim Thomas. It was his superb work between the pipes that kept the Canadiens from escaping Bean Town with a win. Some of his saves were completely off the chain. No wonder they're so in love with that guy up here. The way he throws himself about the crease, you can't help but cheer for him. Tonight was a perfect example of why he's amongst the best in the entire NHL when it comes to save percentage. Some of his saves were pure larceny!!

For mine, the rest of the Bruins team seemed a little lacklustre, and they didn't seem completely enamoured with shooting the puck. But it was a fun night, and interesting to see some guys in action live for the first time. Boston's Tyler Seguin is as good as advertised and Montreal's PK Subban...well, he was up to his usual dirty tricks. Someone should really clean that kid's clock sooner rather than later. Tonight, Shawn Thornton was trying his best, but the referees got in the way. Shame!

I was sort of disappointed that there wasn't a fight, but there was enough angst in the game and some exciting saves by Tim Thomas to make it an interesting - if not somewhat frustrating - night that ended with a super-quick trip home on Boston's MTA subway system.

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Three - Chicago vs. Detroit

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings
United Centre; Chicago, Illinois

6.30pm; January 8 2012

Detroit defeated Chicago 3-2 (OT)

Well, at least the Blackhawks managed to score a goal tonight. They scored two early in the first period - Dave Bolland after some solid work from Marian Hossa, and then Patrick Sharp on a ripper of a shot - and it looked like THE CURSE was over, but it continued. No one knows how to break her curse. It's at about 5 games now, and Blackhawks fans the world over should be getting worried if she goes anywhere near the United Centre during playoffs. At least we got to hear the excellent Jim Cornelison singing Star Spangled Banner, always an epic moment, and The Fratellis singing Chelsea Dagger - the 'Hawks goal song - twice.

The Blackhawks have a curse of their own, having lost their last four. I'm glad it started before I came to town. It's a shame to see such a talented team in a rut, and I'm disappointed that I didn't get to see Kaner score a goal. He had his chances today. The entire team did. They lost on an unfortunate tally - a friend called it "lame" - after having a goal disallowed, and the ensuing penalty show stopped by Detroit's Ty Conklin. Still trying to work out why the goal was disallowed. The puck crossed the line, did it not? It changed the momentum of the game. Detroit scored soon after, and it was the old third period collapse. Seen that movie before. Usually, it happens to my Rangers!

Anyway, despite two losses - the Blackhawks scored two goals, and the combined efforts of the Avalanche on Friday and Red Wings on Sunday netted 6 in regulation and 1 in OT - it was fun watching hockey in Chicago again. It's a great city, with some great fans, and they pack into the United Centre regardless. The weather has been wonderful here, too. None of the frigid cold like Lake Placid, NY over New Year's, and none of the bitter bleakness that so characterise Midwestern winters.

Going to watch a high school basketball game here tomorrow to wrap up my Illinois sports experience for this year before watching the BCS National Championship Game at Buffalo Wild Wings. Then it's off to Boston on Wednesday. And when I next write in this blog, it'll be after Boston vs. Montreal at TD Garden. Talk about Rivalry Week, Detroit vs. Chicago tonight, the Habs and the B's on Thursday. Livin' the dream!

2011-12 Hockey Road Trip: Game Two - Chicago vs. Avalanche

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Colorado Avalanche
United Centre; Chicago, Illinois

6.30pm; January 6 2012

Colorado defeated Chicago 4-0

The last time I saw a hockey game at United Centre, we got to go up to one of the luxury suites and meet Blackhawks legends Stan Mikita and The Golden Jet himself, Bobby Hull. That was an amazing experience, and one of the best nights of my life. Whenever I come back to United, I'm always going to fondly remember how speechless I was I saw Bobby Hull in the suite, how we talked about it for hours after, how it didn't matter that the 'Hawks lost the game. There's now two great statues, one of Mikita and one of Hull, outside United Centre, to accompany the long-standing Jordan statue. A fitting tribute for two legends of this franchise.

Watching hockey at United Centre is a great experience. Aside from Madison Square Garden, it's my favourite venue in America, mostly because the Blackhawks fans really love and understand the game and because the United Centre is LOUD!!!! They start screaming during the National Anthem - Jim Cornelison delivers the best version of Star Spangled Banner I've ever heard, and the crowd responds; it's one of those shivers up your spine moments - but the rest of the game was a disappointment.

I don't know what happened, whether it was the 'Hawks looking ahead to Sunday and Detroit or whether they were fatigued from last night's tough slog - and late loss - against the Flyers in Philadelphia, but they looked rather flat and uninterested tonight. When things aren't going your way, you don't get the bounces. The Blackhawks didn't. Colorado did. They rode those lucky breaks - and some excellent goal-tending from Semyon Varlamov - to a 4-0 shut-out win, ending the game in front of a mostly-empty United Centre.

Even so, it was good to be back at a hockey game.It seems ages since we were in Vancouver at the Rogers Arena - that was so last year!!

After temperatures as low as -14F in Lake Placid over New Year's, it's been rather mild in Chicago, with lots of sunshine. None of the bleak weather that so many people associate with the Midwest. Went skating today on the rink at Millennium Park, where 'The Bean' weirdly reflects the Chicago skyline in all directions and draws a bunch of tourists. On the ice, I was living out some hockey fantasies, with a 'Hawks #88 on my back! I skated about as well as Kaner played tonight, I reckon.

With tonight's game disappointingly in the books, we're getting into the depths of our schedule, with 3 games in the next 9 days. We're back Sunday night at United Centre for one of the great rivalries in the National Hockey League when the Detroit Red Wings come to town. Talk about star power on the ice on both sides - Lidstrom, Zetterburg, Franzen, Datsyuk, Toews, Kane, Sharp...wow!! It should be 1 vs. 2 in the Central Division, with a playoff-like atmosphere. Can't wait!! Hopefully the 'Hawks are ready!!

NCAA College Football 2011: At The New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Yeah, okay, so half the city of New York City don't really give two hoots about the college football bowl game in Yankee Stadium. It's another in a long line of too many worthless Bowl games, they say.

There are too many Bowl games, for sure, and perhaps the critics are right about this particular game, but what an awesome day it was for us in The Bronx. The novelty of watching football in a baseball venue hardly wore off before the clock went 0:00 at the end of the fourth quarter, and a very popular Rutgers win. Sitting above home plate in the seriously cool Jim Beam Suite seats made it so much better. It was a surprisingly mild New York City day, beautiful sunshine until around the half, and being front row of the section gave us an unimpeded view of the field from very comfortably padded seats. Thanks for awesome seats, J!

Having a local team this year made the atmosphere fantastic. Rutgers market themselves as New York's college team, and the proximity of their campus, only about twenty miles away in Piscataway, New Jersey, meant that there were plenty of fans rugged up in the scarlet colours of their team, the Scarlet Knights. On the other sideline, the Iowa State Cyclones, famous for their epic 2OT victory over previously-undefeated Oklahoma State, to begin a weekend where Oregon and Oklahoma also lost games. And back to the idea of football in a baseball stadium. It is so cool!!

Rutgers won 27-13 in a game that had a little of everything - blocked field goals, some amazing directional punting, fullback runs, a kick-off return called back, a long bomb of 86 yards for the game-winning score, a few sacks, a big defensive lineman nearly going the distance to score, and three Iowa State turnovers. Jawan Jamison was deservedly the MVP of the game, going for 137 and two touchdowns. Great, also, to see Eric LeGrand, the kid who was so tragically paralysed last year. Coach Greg Schiano dedicated the game to LeGrand, and there was barely a dry eye in the house.

It's a shame that yesterday's game was the only football game on this trip. I'll reconcile myself with the thought of going to lots of hockey in the next three weeks!!

Happy 2012 everyone!