College football bowl mania

So Ohio State blistered Southern Cal in the Cotton Bowl. And Michigan State trashed Washington State in whatever bowl that was.
Both these teams thumped the Michigan Wolverines this season, so why is it that....
The Maize in Blue gets to play in a higher profile game on New Year's day, the very same day the national semi-finals are taking place, and collect WAY bigger bucks than the Buckeyes or Spartans?

Sports Illustrated, and we know those genius prognosticators never get it wrong -- right -- has already laid out their predictions for the games that matter.

They have Clemson narrowly beating Bama again, and Georgia squeaking by Oklahoma.

In the Finals, to determine the ultimate champion, they've tabbed Clemson to stuff the vaunted Georgia running attack and beat them by a score of 21-19. How do you score 19 points?

Of course, given SI's track record, that likely means the Crimson Tide will thrash the Tigers, and the Sooners will send the Dawgs back to bow-wow land.

But it should be a pretty interesting day of football nonetheless.

New Year's day is always a good thing in several ways.

Throw out the old, not necessarily your long time significant other, but a thought, and ring in the new.

Sober up from the night before, if you were fortunate enough to wake up in your own bed -- or any bed -- in a room that didn't have bars for a door and a stainless steel toilet with no seat.

My favorite watering hole always has the same thing going on New Year's day. They call it the "hangover party", which, amazingly, starts at 9 in the morning. What kind of self righteous drunk is up and around at that hour?

Worse yet is the food that is the "special" of the year. Clams, oysters, and other slimy stuff out of the sea.

This is the LAST thing a person with a serious hangover wants to smell or look at, let alone eat.

Whatzamattuh you? Are you trying to make my first act of 2018 running to worship the porcelain receptacle on my knees? There's a constitutional amendment (sixth?, eighth?) against these sort of things. I think it's called cruel and unusual punishment. Good enough for the Founding Fathers is good enough for me. Bet they would have preferred a couple eggs, toast, and maybe some bacon instead of that slimy stuff after a rough night of overindulging.

And I'd also be willing to bet most sane people would much prefer coffee or orange juice over a double shot of tequila when their stomachs are a bit queasy. Yet the crazies are out there, that will do just that. Amazing. Hair of the dog? Even the most feral of wild dogs wouldn't partake in that sort of nonsense.

Nonetheless, the bowl games keep on coming, most of them of the garbage variety, but it will get right down to the nitty-gritty in a couple days.

Be safe and think. Sitting in front of the flat screen clicking away surely beats the heck out of hoping somebody will come through and bail your sorry butt out the that room with bars.