By Mike Luce

Our inimitable bowl coverage continues.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
#9 Ole Miss Rebels (9-3) vs. #6 TCU Horned Frogs (11-1)
December 31, 11:30 a.m.
Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Another in the Poultry Playoff Series, the Peach Bowl features two one-time contenders. Ole Miss went through a terrible four-game stretch late in the season, bracketed by impressive wins over #3 Alabama and (more importantly) #4 Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. The games in between included losses to #24 LSU, #3 Auburn, and (most damning) unranked Arkansas, which dropped the Rebs from playoff contention. An unbeaten TCU team would also have been playing for all the marbles but for a three-point defeat to #5 Baylor.
Why watch?
For an answer, do not turn to Yahoo! Answers. A Yahoo! search for “peach bowl why watch” returns, among other front-page results, a series of compelling reasons in response to “Why isn’t my crested gecko eating independantly?!?!?”

Read More

Posted on December 31, 2014

‘My Heart Was Broken For The Parents’

“I was taught that justice is a right that every American should have. Also justice should be the goal of every American. I think that’s what makes this country. To me, justice means the innocent should be found innocent. It means that those who do wrong should get their due punishment. Ultimately, it means fair treatment. So a call for justice shouldn’t offend or disrespect anybody. A call for justice shouldn’t warrant an apology.

Read More

Posted on December 30, 2014

By Mike Luce

To get us caught up, a number of football games took place on Saturday. Take our word for it. There are box scores and everything. Here is a rundown on the few remaining bowls prior to a full slate beginning New Years Eve:
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Texas A&M Aggies (7-5) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (7-5)
December 29, 1 p.m.
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis
Someone will win the day in Memphis, carrying the team to victory in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to win the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, brought to you by AutoZone.

Read More

Posted on December 29, 2014

By Jim Coffman

First and foremost, the McCaskeys are fans. George is the chairman of the Bears and his mom Virginia, the daughter of George Halas who will turn 92 on January 5th, is always referred to as “the matriarch,” whatever that means. But despite their titles, they are fans through and through.
And as such, they had to be feeling all the same things the diehards were feeling as this Bears season went so incredibly wrong these last few months.
They had to be feeling that they could not possibly watch one more delusional Marc Trestman press conference. They had to be feeling revulsion as Phil Emery gave a clueless interview Sunday in which he seemed completely convinced he would carry on despite all that has happened.
And finally, leading up to the news today that the coach and the general manager have both been fired, the McCaskeys had to be feeling that for the first time in the franchise’s 95-year history, ownership simply couldn’t care how much it all cost. They concluded that they couldn’t have these guys in charge of the NFL’s charter franchise for even one more day.

Read More

Posted on December 29, 2014

By Mike Luce, Thomas Chambers and Steve Rhodes

Our man on campus and our man on the rail join the show to discuss NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s call to legalize and regulate (and presumably tax) sports gambling, something we’re loosely familiar with – and by loosely we mean tightly. Let’s just say we know people who know people. And they know people too. But would legalized sports gambling really be everything we would hope it to be? Could a Chicago casino include a sportsbook? Would legalization kill the romance? And who do you like in the fourth at Santa Anita? We’ve got the answers.

Read More

Posted on December 28, 2014

By Carl Mohrbacher

Week 1: Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel silences critics of his new “Starter 4 Life” back tattoo by leading Buffalo to an improbable overtime win in Chicago, effectively dooming the Bears’ 2014 season.
Week 2: Defying a trend of epically historic proportions, the Bears coaching staff implements a defensive scheme in the hotel which allowed only five skill players to slip past hall monitors and participate in the all-night conga line at Male Tails Bar ‘N’ Rim.

Read More

Posted on December 25, 2014

By Mike Luce

Miami Beach Bowl
Memphis Tigers 55, BYU Cougars 48 (2OT)
December 22, 1 p.m.
Marlins Park, Miami
If you missed it, the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl ended in a double-overtime shootout and an all-out brawl immediately following the thrilling finish. No one seems to know who started the fight or why. Memphis coach on Justin Fuente: “I don’t know what happened, so I don’t know how upset I am.” The skirmish has forever marred the nonexistent history of Miami Beach’s preeminent, and by that we mean only, bowl game.

Read More

Posted on December 23, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

The vast majority of local sports punditry seemed pre-determined to not give any credit whatsoever to Jimmy Clausen – or, by proxy, Marc Trestman – regardless of the outcome of the Bears game on Sunday. I wish they’d get off his case.
Consider: Clausen hadn’t started a game since 2010 and had gone three years without throwing a single pass in a real game until earlier this season – when he threw one.
Also consider he was facing one of the league’s toughest defenses on a team playing for a playoff seed while his own side was in complete disarray – and missing its No. 1 receiver and playing two undrafted free agents on the offensive line.
Given that, I’d say Clausen’s 23-of-39 for 181 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT (on the last play of the game) – plus nine yards rushing on three carries – was pretty damn respectable.

Read More

Posted on December 22, 2014

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Weirdest, Worst, Wackiest Bears Team Ever. Plus: Duncan Keith, MVP; We [Heart] Pau; and Theo Forgets The Cole Slaw.

Read More

Posted on December 19, 2014

By Mike Luce

A long slate of bowl games kicks off on Saturday in a postseason that will include the inaugural four-team format to decide the national championship. Before we reach the championship game on January 12, 36 other (non-playoff) match-ups will take place featuring teams from far-flung places (Central Michigan, Western Kentucky) facing off in exotic locales (Boise, Detroit) in historic venues (Ladd-Peebles Stadium, in Mobile, Ala.) with the endorsement of the nation’s preeminent companies (Royal Purple, Duck Commander). Fortunately for you, The College Football Report is here, bringing you an exclusive preview of the biggest games and a sneak peek at those you might not know existed. It’s a holiday miracle. Shout and rejoice.

Read More

Posted on December 19, 2014