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Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Bowls, Peyton, Heels

Dec 19, 2008, 1:37 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Peyton Manning vs. Tyler Hansbrough, Mark Teixeira vs. John Henry, Xavier vs. Duke, Brandon Roy vs. Dwight Howard, NASCAR vs. MLB and More.â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: It’s the annual College Football Bowl Quiz! â†µ

â†µâ†µ(1) Which of the following desperately hurting companies related to the U.S. auto industry still has enough money to spend on a bowl title sponsorship?â†µ
â†µ(a) Chryslerâ†µ
â†µ(b) GMACâ†µ
â†µ(c) Fordâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(2) Which of the following bowl sponsors is NOT receiving (or likely to receive) your tax dollars as part of the bailout?â†µ
â†µ(a) Citi (Rose Bowl)â†µ
â†µ(b) Motor City (Detroit)â†µ
â†µ(c) Papajohns.comâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(3) What, exactly, is a “magicJack?”â†µ
â†µ(a) Tim Tebow’s secret playâ†µ
â†µ(b) Chris Fowler’s newest signature catch-phraseâ†µ
â†µ(c) USB device to make phone calls over the Internetâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(4) What bowl sponsor makes you smell the best?â†µ
â†µ(a) Brut (Sun)â†µ
â†µ(b) Chick-Fil-Aâ†µ
â†µ(c) Outbackâ†µ

â†µ

â†µ(5) Which of the following bowls could NOT land a title sponsor?â†µ
â†µ(a) Internationalâ†µ
â†µ(b) Insightâ†µ
â†µ(c) Independenceâ†µ
â†µ(d) All of the Aboveâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(6) Which of the following bowls is NOT named entirely after a sponsor?â†µ
â†µ(a) Texasâ†µ
â†µ(b) Emeraldâ†µ
â†µ(c) EagleBankâ†µ
â†µ(d) Capital Oneâ†µ
â†µ(e) None of the Aboveâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(7) Match the sponsor with the bowl:â†µ

â†µâ†µ1. Valeroâ†µ
â†µ2. Konica Minoltaâ†µ
â†µ3. Roady’sâ†µ
â†µ4. AutoZoneâ†µ
â†µ5. Bell Helicopterâ†µ
â†µ6. Gaylord Hotelsâ†µ

â†µâ†µa. Libertyâ†µ
â†µb. Armed Forcesâ†µ
â†µc. Gatorâ†µ
â†µd. Music Cityâ†µ
â†µe. Alamoâ†µ
â†µf. Humanitarianâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(8) Which of the following bowl names is absurdly real?â†µ
â†µ(a) Sham-Wow Sugar Bowlâ†µ
â†µ(b) Viva Las Vegas Bowlâ†µ
â†µ(c) T. Boone Pickens Bowlâ†µ
â†µ(d) San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl â†µ

â†µâ†µAnswers found below in “The Last Word.” Meanwhile, keep reading for these hot topics: Peyton Manning, Tyler Hansbrough, the college hoops game of the weekend, the college football must-see player, Brandon Roy and More.
â†µâ†µ

â†µâ†µColts edge Jags, clinch playoffs: Two very big implications from last night’s playoff-clinching win by the Colts over the Jags in Jacksonville:â†µ

â†µâ†µThat now leaves one wild-card spot for three teams -- two runners-up in the AFC East and the Ravens -- to fight over.â†µDid Peyton Manning just clinch NFL MVP? 29/34, 364 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, one comebackâ†µ

â†µâ†µMy Top 5 Favorite Storylines of NFL Week 16:â†µ

â†µâ†µ(1) Home-field advantage on the line? Giants-Panthers, Titans-Steelersâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(2) Desperation! Cowboys-Ravens on Saturday nightâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(3) AFC East: Jets-Seahawks, Cardinals-Patriots, Dolphins-Chiefsâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(4) 0-16 Watch: The Lions’ home finale against the Saintsâ†µ

â†µâ†µ(5) Fantasy: Title weekend! Who’s in?â†µ

â†µâ†µCollege basketball: Is Tyler Hansbrough the greatest North Carolina player of all time? On the one hand, “most points in school history” is a pretty strong card to play; on the other hand, “stuck around school for four years because he wasn’t good enough for the NBA, so the career points record is sort of by default” is not.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(Plus: Until he leads UNC to a title -- rather than March chokery -- it is hard to put Hansbrough on the same pedestal as Worthy or Jordan ... or even, say, Sean May. And, really, do you think Psycho-T is better than Antawn, Vince, Jerry or ‘Sheed? (Actually, I’m a Hansbrough-hater, and I think he’s a better college player than all of them.)â†µ

â†µâ†µMeanwhile: So this was awkward. Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy was arrested for allegedly assaulting a cab driver, then there he was on ESPN, where the Rebels happened to be scheduled to play No. 9 Louisville! It’s a good thing the Cards’ Earl Clark provided a distraction with 25 points and 16 rebounds in Louisville’s 77-68 win.â†µ

â†µâ†µThis Weekend in College Hoops: Sick. Xavier-Duke at the Meadowlands is one of the most intriguing games of the year, as is UConn-Gonzaga, as is Davidson-Purdue. In any other weekend, Texas-Michigan State or Syracuse-Memphis would be headliners. Tomorrow, they are afterthoughts. If you watch one afternoon of college hoops, it should be this one.â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Hot Stove: One minute, Mark Teixeira is headed for Boston. The next, Red Sox owner John Henry is claiming that the Sox are “not going to be a factor” for the player. That is either some savvy last-minute negotiating, or the Angels got freaked out enough over word of a Boston deal that they seriously upped the ante. (I’m betting it’s the former and that the Red Sox end up with him, as originally speculated late Thursday.)â†µ

â†µâ†µCollege football bowl season starts fast ... with a quadruple-header tomorrow: (Picks in bold)â†µ

â†µ

â†µSaturday:â†µ

â†µâ†µEagleBank: Wake Forest vs. Navyâ†µ
â†µNew Mexico: Colorado St vs. Fresno Stâ†µ
â†µmagicJack St. Petersburg: Memphis vs. South Floridaâ†µ
â†µPioneer Las Vegas: BYU vs. Arizonaâ†µ

â†µ

â†µSunday:â†µ

â†µâ†µR&L Carriers New Orleans: Southern Miss vs. Troyâ†µ

â†µ

â†µLower-division title games:â†µ

â†µâ†µD-III (Fri.): Featuring NCAA all-time leading rusher Nate Kmic!â†µ
â†µDivision 1-AA (Sat.): Montana vs. Richmond in Division 1’s only true playoff champion!â†µ

â†µâ†µNFL Draft: Let me help Andre Smith with gauging his projected draft status. Ummm ... FIRST OVERALL.â†µ

â†µâ†µNBA Instant History: Brandon Roy had the best game of his stellar young career, 52 points (14/27 FG, 5/7 3-pt, 19/21 FT) in a Blazers win over the Suns ... Meanwhile, the Magic routed the Spurs behind Superman’s 14 and 13 (after taking 2 games off with a bum knee); Orlando has won seven of eight heading into games with the Lakers and, on Christmas Day, the Hornets ... Must-See Video: Chris Webber throwing a shoe at Charles Barkley on the TNT NBA set.â†µ

â†µâ†µNHL: Hey, Mats Sundin picked the Canucks! And just in time for the Sharks to go into the tank!* (* If “tank” means two straight losses.)â†µ

â†µâ†µNASCAR: You know what would be just great for a sport already being hammered by the economy -- auto and otherwise -- in a nosedive? Settling a $225 million racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(Just think: Presuming government bailout money ends up in the hands of auto companies whose sponsorships put dollars in NASCAR coffers, YOUR tax dollars could be paying for NASCAR’s racist, sexist stupidity.)â†µ

â†µâ†µOn the plus side, NASCAR could replace that scandal with a PED scandal of its own -- if next month’s new doping tests come back out of the ordinary. Why would NASCAR drivers take PEDs? To push the gas pedal down harder? Let’s start here: Who uses Adderall?â†µ

â†µâ†µPrep Football: More Obama halo effect in sports. Manti Te’o of Honolulu’s Punahou -- Obama’s prep alma mater -- won SN’s High School Athlete of the Year award. He is looking at UCLA, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford and BYU and insists he will be going on a Mormon mission in 2010, which likely won’t bother any of his suitors.â†µ

â†µâ†µMeanwhile, if you’re looking for a de facto high school football national title game, try tonight’s Florida 5A championship between USA Today’s No. 1-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 6 Lakeland. The winner should lay claim to the title as the nation’s best prep team.â†µSports and the economy: MLB will NOT be firing its employees. Happy holidays! But recently “right-sized” NFL and NBA workers need not apply, as MLB is now undergoing a hiring and wage freeze. Oh, and employees are being asked to give up 20 percent of their vacation time. So: How many days was that until pitchers and catchers report?â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: Answers to the annual bowl quiz!â†µ

â†µâ†µ1) bâ†µ
â†µ2) câ†µ
â†µ3) câ†µ
â†µ4) bâ†µ
â†µ5) dâ†µ
â†µ6) eâ†µ
â†µ7) 1-e, 2-c, 3-f, 4-a, 5-b, 6-dâ†µ
â†µ8) dâ†µ

â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. â†µ

â†µ

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