FOOTBALL

In college football, yesterday was the Rose Bowl, dubbed “The Big Daddy of Them All”.  However, given how the BCS Championship features #1 v. #2, this is hardly the case.  It’s just marketing.  Typically, the Rose Bowl is the winner of the Big 10 v. the winner of the Pac 12.  This year, that’s what we got, except the winner of the Big 10 (Wisconsin) is unranked.  They would take on Stanford, a team that proved this season that it is quickly becoming a national powerhouse.  This game featured former Heisman candidate Montee Ball (running-back for Wisconsin), but it wouldn’t really matter as this was a defensive struggle from start to finish.  And in the end, Stanford did just a little bit more than the badgers to claim the Rose Bowl title and show the world that it intends to be a serious National Title Contender next season.  Stanford 20, Wisconsin 14.
And in some NFL head coaching news, with the head coach Andy Reid era officially over in Philadelphia, a lot of teams likely will want his talents on the sidelines.  After all, Reid kept the Eagles relevant and competitive for over a decade.  There are a lot of bad teams out there who might want Reid’s pedigree, and now the rumors are swirling that after firing head coach Ken Whisenhunt, the Arizona Cardinals are looking at Reid very seriously.  Arizona was horrible this season, but they did show flashes of excellence, especially on defense.  If a leader like Reid comes in and transforms the energy and attitude of the team, the Cardinals could have a bounce back year like the Minnesota Vikings had this year.  Plus, they have a high draft pick to use.

Elsewhere in head coaching news, a name from the past has popped up as a possible head coaching candidate.  With the Cleveland Browns cleaning house in an effort to revamp their organization, Mike Holmgren is suddenly looking for work.  Holmgren is a bit older, but he did lead an excellent Green Bay Packers team to a Super Bowl victory in the late 90s, and also sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.  He knows how to guide a team to excellence, and could certainly be an asset to a team in need.  Some experts are saying that San Diego and Chicago should seriously consider looking at Holmgren. Those are two teams that are just a few tweaks away from having a stellar season, and bringing in a strong veteran coach like Holmgren could be just the ingredient they need.