Totally Random
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What is the strangest name ever for a college bowl game?
The website FanIQ.com lists a few contenders:
The Bacardi Bowl: A reference to the famous Cuban rum, this bowl was played seven times in Havana, Cuba. In the last Bacardi Bowl, held in 1946, Southern Mississippi defeated Havana University, 55-0.
The Refrigerator Bowl: The game was played annually in Evansville, Ind., from 1948-1956, when Evansville was known as the ‘Refrigerator Capital of the World.’
The Salad Bowl: A short run for this bowl, only five years. It was played at Montgomery Stadium in Phoenix from 1948-1952. In the inaugural Salad Bowl, Nevada defeated North Texas State Teachers College, 13-6.
Including corporate sponsors’ names, however, it is difficult to top the Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl.
Trivia time
Which was the only NFL team to complete the 2008 preseason undefeated?
Sleeping well in Seattle
With the Oklahoma City Thunder on pace for the worst regular-season record in NBA history, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News wonders if all the effort expended to relocate the franchise from Seattle was worth it.
‘The back-biting, the legal wrangling, the hue and cry, the trek across the Continental Divide — it was all for this?’ Finger wrote.
‘A team that has gone 3-26, fired its coach and shown no signs of escaping the depths of the Western Conference anytime soon?
‘At least Seattle got something for Christmas, and it’s called karma.’
Golf etiquette
Some golf-related quotes of the year, as compiled by Bob Frisk of the Chicago Daily Herald:
Steve Elkington, 44, winless since 1999, on why he is playing more: ‘My son, who is 11, asked me where I bought all my trophies.’
Mike Greenberg of ESPN Radio, on whether Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson is a rivalry: ‘No. Not unless you consider a hammer and a nail a rivalry.’
Champions Tour golfer Joey Sindelar, on his short game struggles: ‘I think the only way I can explain it to my sons, who are 18 and 15, is that my scoring software has a virus.’
Trivia answer
The Detroit Lions.
And finally
After the Toronto Raptors lost to Oklahoma City, 91-83, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun wrote: ‘If this isn’t rock bottom, it’s going to take a visit to the D-League to beat it.’
-- Mike Penner