GOING BOWLING

There's a lot of negative press surrounding the college bowl season. But as I get ready to veg out in front of four meaningless (for most) bowl games today (my excuse is that it's still snowing out and there's really nothing else I could be doing), I'm here to tell you that I look forward to these next couple of weeks more than many other parts of the sports year.

Some sports I enjoy for the pure sport. Others I need a bit of rooting interest. College football is one, and the bowl pool I participate in each year provides me with plenty of rooting interest. This year there are 34 bowl games, and I've picked the winner of each one, ranking them from 1-34 in confidence rankings.

The bowl pool is one of my top 3 favorite pools of the year that I participate in - and though I never do particularly well in it, it at least keeps me interested in something in that slow few weeks between my elimination from fantasy football and the NFL playoffs.

You might argue that the bowl season takes away from the fact that college football has no playoff system - well, when they do get those playoffs, I have a strong suspicion it won't change much of the bowl format - and I'll still be able to do this bowl pool in the same fashion.

So be careful when you say no one cares about the Papajohns.com Bowl between Rutgers and NC State. Because I'll be watching, and I'll care.