• Thank you for your service. As expected, West Virginia officially announced Dana Holgorsen as its new offensive coordinator and head-coach-in-waiting Wednesday, with a plan to usher Bill Stewart off the stage after next season. Stewart played the good company man in a statement, welcoming Holgorsen and looking forward to "working with him to ensure a smooth transition in 2012,'' but to locals, the move looks like the final humiliation of a proud loyalist. [Charleston Gazette, Charleston Daily Mail]
• In lieu of a closing statement, my client has asked to spend the next 20 minutes waving a towel in front of the jury. Auburn receivers coach and top recruiter Trooper Taylor has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit after his son was kept off a junior high basketball team because of the coach's ban on hair braids. The suit challenges the rule as unconstitutional because "it singles out a hairstyle almost exclusively worn by black players." [Associated Press]
• Times are tough everywhere. TV ratings for the 2010 season were significantly down from a record-breaking 2009, with ABC, NBC and ESPN2 all suffering 10-percent drops and only the least-watched network, Versus, managing to actually gain viewers. (Its numbers were up by a whopping 50 percent over '09, thanks in part to Oregon's close call at Cal on Nov. 13, Versus' most-viewed game ever.) Even CBS, the most-watched network for college football for the second year in a row, saw a 4.5-percent drop in its first year After Tebow. [Sports Business Journal]
• Big dreams gone bad = Solid gold. "Pony Exce$$," the last entry in ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary series, was also the most watched, joining "The U" and "The Best That Never Was" to give college football a clean sweep at the top of the ratings. A well-deserved distinction in all three cases, but for my money, "The Two Escobars" remains in a class of its own. [ESPN]
• Get back to where you once belonged. The saga of Sheldon Richardson added a new chapter Wednesday when the coveted JUCO defensive lineman signed a letter of intent with Missouri – his original choice as a five-star All-American out of St. Louis in 2009, before he was detoured to California as an academic casualty and briefly committed to USC last month. It's still not clear Richardson will be eligible next year, and he's made clear he's taking the shortest possible route to the NFL even if he is. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
• Loose Cannon. Memphis quarterback Cannon Smith, son of FedEx CEO Fred Smith, was arrested early Wednesday morning on charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct after allegedly refusing to pay cab fare and challenging police to a fight on Beale Street. He was booked at 4 a.m. and released on $100 bond, which may or may not be more expensive than the cab fare. [Memphis Commercial Appeal]
• Ego? Moi? Why didn't those Dan Mullen-to-Miami rumors pan out? The locals just didn't like him, per the Miami Herald: "… UM was turned off by Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen's big ego, with one trustee saying he acts like he invented the game." Maybe, but Mississippi State fans will take it. [Miami Herald]
Quickly… The BCS Championship Game will be officiated by a Big Ten crew. … White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, lifelong Auburn fan, makes his prediction. … Michigan State fans are putting up billboards to complain about the Spartans' Rose Bowl snub. … Nebraska's probably going into the red on its trip to the Holiday Bowl. … Fresno State suspends three players for the Humanitarian Bowl. … A closer look at Boise State's alternate uniforms for the Las Vegas Bowl. … Joe Haden's younger brothers, Jordan and Josh, plan to transfer to Toledo. … How come nobody's trying to hire Tim DeRuyter? … USC welcomed six mid-year enrollees, including hyped quarterback Cody Kessler. … Soon-to-be conference mates Cal and Colorado are still trying to ditch a non-conference game next September. … Vote for an alternate Big Ten logo. … And since in-state rivalry supersedes conference solidarity, Alabama fans looking to indulge their Auburn hate this holiday season can become satellite Oregon fans in style.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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