Hot/Not: Race hard or race safe? Neither worked consistently at Talladega

Two-car drafts were the name of the game again for NASCAR's restrictor plate racing, but this time they had real Chase implications. How did the Chasers play it, and how well did it work? Jump in to find out:

NEUTRAL: A fundamental key of NASCAR restrictor plate racing since the device's introduction more than two decades ago has been survival. The reduced horsepower within the engine has produced racing in which drivers rarely earn separation thanks to the draft.

As a result, tactics unbecoming of true racing have become commonplace at NASCAR's two restricted tracks ? Daytona and Talladega. Drivers would often opt to settle in at the back of the pack and away from the potential calamity of The Big One, or the large crash that so often defined the pack racing.

The tactic has worked, too. Several drivers have secured wins or high finishes thanks to working the back of the room for much of the race before surging to the front as the checkered flag was in sight. Jeff Gordon's 2007 Talladega win in the Chase proved it the most, after Gordon led only the final lap after spending just 23 percent of the race in the top 15. His average running position that day? A paltry 28th.

But NASCAR's plate racing has substantially changed this season, with pack racing evolving to two-car tandem racing. The speed is in the push, and the push isn't just a bump draft here and there. It's about keeping the nose of one car squarely planted against the rear of another.

Despite the change in the style of racing ? one that carries more risk of error thanks to the consistent touching ? teams haven't completely changed their strategy. Some still like to hang around in the back and hope to miss potential carnage, while others choose to pace the field hoping the largest incidents happen behind them.

Decisions like that by a race team are often made on a gut feeling. They've seen contenders get wiped out long before the checkers are flying, while those who played caboose have snuck through to a decent finish ? or in Gordon's case, a win. After all, it's much easier to remember the violence and implication of a crash than to remember the ho-hum drive of someone coming from the back.

Using NASCAR's loop data, I decided to take a look at how those decisions played out in Sunday's pivotal race for the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup. After Talladega, we're down to a likely four-car fight to the finish in Homestead. The decisions made at Talladega had a lot to do with it.

Matt Kenseth spent the most amount of time in the top 15 of any Chase racer, logging 148 of the 188 laps. After getting shuffled during the final restart, Kenseth wound up 18th. Tony Stewart was in the top 15 for 72.3 percent of the race (2nd most) and picked up an seventh-place finish.

The next four Chase drivers spending the most amount of time in the top 15 (Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Kyle Busch) all failed to finish on the lead lap despite racing 34-50 percent of their respective races in the top-15.

Brad Keselowski played the wait-and-see game the best, spending 26 percent of his race in the top 15 but ending up with a fourth-place run.

Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports made a concerted effort of staying at the back. Their three Chase drivers of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon spent between 13 and 20 percent of their Talladega Sunday in the top 15. The method ultimately bit them at the end when Gordon lost his tandem partner in Mark Martin and the Earnhardt/Johnson combination never pushed to the front.

Finally, Carl Edwards, who emerged from Talladega with a healthy 14-point lead thanks to an 11th-place finish played the backmarker card the best. Edwards spent just nine laps in the top 15, but rallied to an 11th-place finish.

The results from Talladega seem to tell one thing: nowhere on track is actually a safe play to secure a good finish. Of the six Chase drivers who spent the most time in the top 15, just two finished on the lead lap. The guy who came out with the best chance for the championship raced in the back ? further back statistically, even, than the three drivers ahead of him who took much worse finishes.

Racing at Talladega has long been the luck of the draw, and teams that feel like they can control the beast are nothing new. Sunday's race, however, proved just how wrong they were in thinking they could stack the deck in their favor.

HOT: Let's give a call to the lack of team orders in the Richard Childress Racing camp at Talladega. Clint Bowyer's move exiting Turn�4 on the final lap was a bit a surprise in the tandem drafting world we live in. The contact between him and teammate Jeff Burton in the tri-oval was risky. Still, the two veterans made it work ? and made the finish a memorable one.

NEUTRAL: The novelty of this two-car stuff has worn thin on me. What was once an interesting game of cat and mouse has seemingly faded. NASCAR seems closer to making non-contact drafting just as fast as the current form. Here's to hoping they continue that pursuit.

NOT: Jack Roush's edict that his Ford teams were not to�help non-Ford Chase teams during Sunday's race wasn't necessarily a problem. (Roush has since�denied any such orders existed, however, we'll�stick with what Jeff Gordon and Trevor Bayne told Yahoo! Sports Jay Busbee immediately after the race.) However, it opens the door for future problems involving team orders. Let's hope we don't get there.

HOT: Give Trevor Bayne a hand for being outspoken about not getting to make a driver decision on who he works with. If anything, he should be the most perturbed that not getting the opportunity to work with Gordon on the final restart likely cost him a top-10 finish.

NOT: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson ? should they be tandem partners again�in 2012, should race up front all day. Talladega marks two straight races where the backmarker method failed them.

HOT: The next time someone says NASCAR is too safe, please show them the video of Regan Smith's crash. People don't come to watch Smith get hurt. Those people ? the ones who like to see carnage ? want to see Smith get out of that car, no matter what you think of those who like crashes.

I held my breath when he hit that wall. I was relieved when all of the safety devices worked. That's the way racing should be.

HOT: Dave Blaney finished third. Read that again. It made me smile.

NOT: Kyle Busch's paranoia meter got a little high Sunday, didn't it? Did he really believe Juan Pablo Montoya hit him on purpose during the large frontstretch crash? You know, the one where Montoya was sliding sideways with the brakes locked?

Odd.

NEUTRAL: All signs point to Jimmie Johnson's title hopes being done. I can't bring my head around that point quite yet.

NOT: Why, again, is Red Bull Racing closing their doors at the end of 2011? The fifth for Brian Vickers and sixth for Kasey Kahne at Talladega mean that the team has had at least one top-10 car in the last five races.

FINAL: It seems like ages since NASCAR has been in Martinsville. The track is one of Carl Edwards' worst by average finish, and Matt Kenseth isn't much better. Expect the title fight to tighten up one more time.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Hot-Not-Race-hard-or-race-safe-Neither-worked-?urn=nascar-wp4826

Gabriel Dumont Philippe Dupuis Cody Eakin Andrew Ebbett

Bill Lunde takes home the $1 million Kodak Challenge

Your opponent is in the middle of the fairway and needs to hole out in order to eagle and force a playoff. This is a hole that's been eagled only five times since 1983. You're feeling pretty confident, right? But then you remember that this is golf, and strange things happen pretty much every day, and suddenly you start getting really, really nervous ...

And now you're in Bill Lunde's shoes. Lunde was in line to win the Kodak Challenge, a season-long event comprising the best 18 holes from 30 tournaments. Coming into this weekend's Disney event, Lunde was two strokes ahead of the field to win the challenge. He led Fabian Gomez, Cameron Tringale and Josh Teater by an aggregate score of -19 to -17. Teater dropped out, Tringale fell short, and so it was up to Gomez to try to eagle the hole and force the playoff.

Sometimes, amazing happens in golf ... and, well, sometimes it doesn't. Gomez missed his eagle attempt, though probably not by as much as Lunde would have liked, and presto: Lunde was $1 million richer. (And you can't be in his shoes anymore.)

So, there you go: the end of an interesting little season-long contest, but one which didn't draw a whole lot of heat and star power. Anything you could recommend to improve its standing and prominence? Fire away.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/golf_experts/post/Bill-Lunde-takes-home-the-1-million-Kodak-Chall?urn=golf-wp6510

Brayden McNabb Grant McNeill Patrick McNeill Adam McQuaid

Robbie Savage may have broken his nose while jive dancing

According to a recent poll of all former professional footballers named Robbie Savage, Robbie Savage is the most handsome man on the planet. The results of this poll, however, may no longer be accurate, as the Welshman damaged his beautiful face on live TV on Saturday night.

At the climax of a jive routine for "Strictly Come Dancing" (the BBC version of "Dancing with the Stars"), Savage slid along the floor so he could kiss the closest object in which he could make out his reflection. Unfortunately, he got a little too close to the camera, and now he looks like this...

After the show, he said:

"I was supposed to stop my slide but I overshot the runway a bit.

"[...]I thought I'd make it look good by sliding in and kissing the camera, but the lens is sunken in and the top bit banged me on the nose.

"It got red straight away and [now] it looks terrible. It's bloodshot and it was bleeding last night. I'm going to have to go and get it checked out."

Poor old Robbie may have embarrassed himself, but it's not the worst thing a former footballer has done in a dancing show.

Quote: mirror.co.uk; Image: @RobbieSavage8

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Robbie-Savage-may-have-broken-his-nose-while-jiv?urn=sow-wp5994

Daryl Boyle Nick Boynton Justin Braun Chris Breen

Happy Hour: Stop cheering for wrecks, you clowns

Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: You write us with your best rant/ joke/ one-liner at nascarmail@yahoogroups.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face.

I was in New York City over the weekend. I took a little run through midtown Manhattan wearing a Jimmie Johnson t-shirt, and oh, the looks I got. I walked down to the Occupy Wall Street protests, and I so wished I had some posterboard to make up some good slogans, like

SHARE THE WEALTH, JIMMIE

JUNIOR: 0-FOR-OBAMA

HOW ABOUT TEARING UP SOME OF WALL STREET'S PROFITS, KURT?

Send me your best NASCAR protest slogans, or post 'em below. (Hint: Photoshops get moved right to the front of the line.) Now, let's get to your letters.

Where did good sportsmanship go?� Saturday night Jimmie Johnson was in a wreck that mirrored Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s and it could have been very, very bad.� Without HANS, SAFER barriers, etc, NASCAR could be in mourning just like IRL is this week.� And what could you hear from the crowd?� Cheering!� Now, my driver is Tony Stewart, and I really want him to win the championship, and like most people, I'm ready for a change in champ.� But even if that had been my least favorite drivers (Busch brothers, Montoya) I would have still held my breath until they walked away.

? Jenn
Big Spring, Texas

Tragic and near-tragic moments can bring out the best in people, but they can also bring out the worst as well. To be fair, I can't imagine that anybody with a basic grasp of humanity was actually cheering at the possibility that Jimmie Johnson was hurt (or worse). Sure, we see people around here all the time saying they want to see this driver or that driver put into a wall (or worse), but they're viewing these drivers as characters in a game, not as living, breathing human beings with families.

Now, as regards Johnson specifically, people were cheering because the dominant five-time champ took a possibly crippling hit to his Cup chances. People are tired of Jimmie Johnson, tired, tired, tired. That's no reflection on Johnson's character or his talent; fans just want some change at the top of the standings. I get that, and since the wall seems like the only thing that Johnson can't run over, I can see why people would be elated at anything that could slow down the 48. Hell, the other drivers can't do it.

Still ? don't ever cheer a wreck, folks. Show some class.

____________________

In a recent column you said:

That's one of the big knocks against the Chase, that fans of certain drivers don't have anything to root for, but then again the Super Bowl and World Series seem to do OK with only two teams participating and everybody else at home watching.

How well do you think the ratings would be if the World Series coverage only showed Derek Jeter?� When the opposing team was at bat, we'd be looking at the shortstop.� When Derek had a hit, we'd watch him run to first base.� Derek would be on 1st base with Albert Pujols and the outfielder would throw to 2nd to keep him on base, but we wouldn't see that because the right fielder and 2nd baseman weren't part of the planned storyline for the game.

?Andy Denardi

I'll tell you this: the World Series ratings for this year would be better if they just showed a streaming feed of Derek Jeter watching the World Series, not the Series itself. Cardinals-Rangers? Yikes.

Anyway, to your email. I get the point you're trying to make, that focusing on one player gives a skewed view of the game, but you're drawing this too narrowly. My point is that the focus in the playoffs ought to be on the teams/drivers that actually have a chance in the playoffs. Don't like it? Hey, your guy had 26 races to get into the Chase mix; who's to blame if he didn't? (And this is coming from a Braves fan still repairing holes I put in my drywall after their collapse this year.)

Besides, there's already a channel that focuses exclusively on star Yankees or Red Sox, no matter who else is playing. It's called "ESPN."

____________________

I'm having a hard time getting worked up about David Ragan and Brian Vickers looking for rides. I know Vickers' story is inspirational, but how successful has he been? One Chase berth where he was a non-factor for his highest finish, which was 12th? Two career wins? Ragan has one win, this year, in five almost full seasons, and no Chase berths (highest: 13th).

On the other hand, Dale Earnhardt Jr.,, just signed to a lucrative extension and subject of much Kournakovian (new word!) scorn for lack of success, has 18 wins, several Chase berths, and at least two years where he was a factor in the Championship.

Cry me a river, because I'm just not that worked up about where they'll land. I'd rather see Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Austin Dillon, or Justin Allgaier given their shots. If some guys have to start their own teams and Start 'n Park for a year, so be it.

?Jeff "Sarge" Smith
Statesboro, Ga.

I never want anybody to lose a job, but yeah, this is kind of like the Casey Mears phenomenon: just because you've been in NASCAR for years doesn't mean you're entitled to a ride in perpetuity. There's no tenure in NASCAR.

Here's the question, though: have these two guys maximized their talent? I get the sense that Ragan would be driving about as well as he's driven no matter whose car he was rocking, but that Vickers might have a little something extra if he was behind the wheel of a Hendrick car again. Still, there is certainly the idea that if you haven't proven yourself by now, when are you going to do it?

____________________

I have to share a different view about profanity in NASCAR. If this is really a family sport then NASCAR needs to get serious about this problem. It is truly something "detrimental to the sport" (Actions Detrimental To Stock Car Racing - NASCAR Rulebook Section 12-4-A). To allow profanity to proliferate under the excuse that this is just a way to express anger is just not sensible or profitable to our sport ? My definition of a true hero is one that I could invite to my home to eat dinner with my family and kids. I will not be "inviting" Michael Vick, �Mark McGwire or a number of other sports figures who have disqualified themselves by their actions. �The list of NASCAR drivers I would invite is getting smaller all the time as I hear words I should not have to hear or bleeps where I can guess what was omitted.

?Richard Lewis
Riverside, Calif.

I have to disagree with your comparison of a guy who cusses when he gets spun out with a guy who killed dogs for sport or (allegedly) took enough medication to disrupt an entire sport. I respect that you don't want to hear the profanity, but please bear in mind that drivers usually cuss on a private radio channel, not during autograph sessions. (Though there was this one time I saw Trevor Bayne go absolute drunken-sailor on a grandmother ? kidding, of course.)

Again, they're just words, people. Maybe this is my sliding scale of morality, but I don't see that throwing a few f-bombs now and then is part of an inevitable slide into reprehensible behavior. A driver who cusses out a rival today isn't going to suddenly start putting school buses into the wall tomorrow.

____________________

Hey NASCAR, great idea for you to try?.broadcast night races in real-time all across the country at drive-in theaters. This would allow a whole bunch of people who wouldn't otherwise experience a race live to experience it with a motivated crowd?and think of all the next-day chatter, people telling friends what they did Saturday night?.(again increasing the fan base). You could sell headphones with in race broadcasts just as at the track, concessions, souvenirs, etc. I understand maybe it would be blacked-out in a region near the race, but the rest of the country would be a-watchin'.

?Tom
Walden, N.Y.

Didn't they used to do that with boxing matches? Closed-circuit broadcasts in movie theaters? That was before my time, but I like the idea. Thing is, you've got to get a theater owner to buy into it, and let's face it, we NASCAR fans can be a pretty filthy lot. If you've got a horde of half- or all-drunk NASCAR fans barreling into your drive-in, you're going to be sweeping out beer cans, bones of undetermined origin and pickled fans for a week. And how would patrons of the other movies react? (Then again, if a roof-rattling NASCAR race disrupts the girls' night out watching "I Don't Know How She Does It", fine by me.)

Another question: do they even have drive-in theaters anymore? I remember being a kid watching one of the Star Wars flicks at one, but we spent the entire time looking over at the other screen to see if that 40-foot-tall woman would lose some of those clothes ? and if some of the women in the cars would, also.

Bottom line: I love the idea, but this would've worked a lot better back in the '70s. Everybody's got their own personal movie theater now, which means we don't have to deal with anybody else if we don't want to. And thank heaven for that.

____________________

For me, one of the "Kenseth gets no love things" that drives me crazy is that the media treats Matt differently than other drivers in similar circumstances.� I would be happy if the media treated him the same way they treat the other drivers.

Here's one example courtesy of Larry McReynolds.� Earlier this year, before the points reset, there were 6 drivers�very close together in points, and then then the dropoff to 7th was a full race.� Matt was 6th, a couple points behind 5th and then 40+ points ahead of Gordon and others ? Larry, the brains of the outfit says, "I believe these top 5 cars are the best teams right now and the ones to beat." How is that not a deliberate slight against my guy?

?Stephanie Wood
Westland, Mich.

I had to trim some of Stephanie's letter and other evidence of media bias; she was as loquacious in her call-out of media slights as Kenseth is taciturn. (Today's mailbag brought to you by the thesaurus.) Anyway, here's the thing with Kenseth: while he's now a legit Cup contender, he's rarely demonstrated the ability to jump up and win a race the way many other drivers have. (This year is DIFFERENT, Kenseth fans.) But the very quiet consistency that fans prize is the same thing that makes outside observers wonder (again, until this year) whether he's got what it takes to throw that extra gear you need to win a Cup. And this year, he very well might have found it.

Basically, Kenseth fans, chill out and enjoy your run of success. You don't want to be as annoying as those Jimmie fans who complain they don't get enough respect. You really don't.

____________________

hello my name is Rose i saw your profile today at [site redacted] and i love it and i will also like to know more about you please i will like you to email me back with my email address so that i will give you my pictures for you to know whom i am .waiting for your lovely reply� soon.
miss Rose !

Rose, I told you never to contact me here.

Let's wrap up by continuing our NASCAR ultimate infield playlist. Last week, I threw out "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band. More contributions: Deep Purple's "Highway Star" (Bob Delveaux), Toby Keith's "Beer for my Horses" (Raldo from CT), Dierks Bentley's "Sideways" (the mysterious HS). Add in your contributions and we'll create a combo that you can use to make any day race day.

And on that note, we're out. Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at nascarmail@yahoogroups.com, find us on Facebook right here, or hit us up on Twitter at @jaybusbee. Make sure to tell us where you're from. We'll make you famous!

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Happy-Hour-Stop-cheering-for-wrecks-you-clowns?urn=nascar-wp4632

Jamie Fraser Mark Fraser Benjamin Gallacher Jason Garrison

Andy Carroll and Charlie Adam have a cake baking contest

Liverpool's Melwood training ground is a sanctuary of cutting-edge fitness development and fastidiously constructed dietary regimes, so naturally it was chosen as the venue for a celebrity cake baking competition to raise awareness of the Children in Need charity.

In a clip filmed for BBC children's TV show Blue Peter, Charlie Adam ? who knows his way around a cake ? took on striker Andy Carroll, who either has the thickest Geordie accent on the planet or is still drunk from breakfast (I'm English and I still can't figure out what he's trying to say at [1.39] in the clip). It's surely the first instance of food preparation that Carroll or Adam have had to embark on in many years, and boy does it show. Liverpool's canteen has never served food that terrible looking to any of the staff ? even Rafa Benitez after the club moved his desk into the car park.

The bake off is surprisingly tense and humorless for a charity event, and the final decision is left to teammate and part-time cake judge Pepe Reina. The Spaniard isn't usually allowed near large kitchen knives, but he resists the urge to wrestle control of the blade and astutely declares Andy Carroll's imaginative football-shaped treat to be the winner.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Andy-Carroll-and-Charlie-Adam-have-a-cake-baking?urn=sow-wp5843

Keith Aucoin Jared Aulin Justin Azevedo Mikael Backlund

Webb Simpson could force Luke Donald to play more golf

Don't tell Webb Simpson that the tour's season-ending money list isn't a big deal. For a guy who was struggling to keep his card last year, you'd think he'd be content with his runner-up finish in the FedEx Cup and two wins this season.

With only two events left on the tour's schedule, the Fall Series is usually a time where golf's top players take some time off before the Presidents Cup, and golfers on the bubble grind it out to get inside the top 125 on the money list.

That's why it seems odd that Simpson's in the field this week at McGladrey Classic in Sea Island, Ga. For the North Carolina native, the event is a relative home game, so it makes sense to show up and pocket some extra cash before the end of the year.

But Simpson seems to be in the field for one reason: to make Luke Donald sweat. Sitting just $68,971 behind Donald on the PGA Tour money list, Simpson knows a top-15 finish or better this week would see him leapfrog the Englishman with just one event remaining on the schedule.

Before Simpson's strong finish to the year, it seemed like Donald was a near lock to capture the PGA Tour and European Tour money lists in the same season -- a feat that had never been done before.

Now it looks like Simpson could throw a wrench into those plans. Assuming he shows up this week and overtakes Donald, we could see the current No. 1 make a tough call. His wife is pregnant at the moment with their second child and he's played a whirlwind schedule all season, going back and forth between the United States and Europe to play. Simply put, he's tired and probably wants a break.

But if Simpson makes the pass, do you grab the sticks and play one more event for the chance to win the money title? The bigger question at that point has to be if Donald plays Disney -- he was quoted as saying he'd think about it if Webb played the McGladrey -- will Simpson play back-to-back weeks?

As crazy as that sounds, I think it's great that these two guys are playing a chess match at the end of the season. We tend to discount the Fall Series as the silly season, but with Donald and Simpson going all out for the money title, we may have another reason to keep an eye on the final two events of the year.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/golf_experts/post/Webb-Simpson-could-force-Luke-Donald-to-play-mor?urn=golf-wp6318

Simon Danis-Pepin Rob Davison Calvin de Haan Michael Del Zotto

Headlinin?: This is Rick Neuheisel?s final countdown

Making the morning rounds.

? I'm still here? Rick Neuheisel made it off the field with his job after Thursday night's 48-12 debacle at Arizona, and there are no reports of him being fired overnight. (Quite the opposite, in fact.) But there was no mistaking the diagnosis after UCLA's nationally televised death rattle: With a golden opportunity to keep pace in the Pac-12 South and take another step toward a bowl game, against a lame-duck outfit that had just fired its head coach on the heels of its tenth consecutive loss at the hands of FBS competition, the Bruins came out flat as pancakes and had to scraped off the field with a spatula.

Over the course of its five-game losing streak, Arizona had been outscored 146 to 37 in the first half and trailed at the half in all five; against UCLA, the Wildcats scored touchdowns on six straight possessions to open the game and led at the half, 42-7. They came into the night ranked 119th out of 120 teams in rushing offense at 71.8 yards per game; against UCLA, they surpassed that number in the first quarter and finished with 254 yards on the ground for the game. They came into the night ranked dead last in the Pac-12 in every major defensive category, and near the bottom nationally; against UCLA, they yielded a single touchdown and at one point forced the Bruin offense to go three-and-out on five straight possessions. In the words of Bruins Nation, "To call that game embarrassing is embarrassing to the word embarrassing."

Mathematically, the Bruins are still alive to win the South Division and/or go to a bowl game. Realistically, they're crashing toward their third losing record in four years and Neuheisel's hourglass has officially run out of sand. [Bruins Nation, Los Angeles Times]

? And since the streaker ref stole the show? Here's crowd video of the streaker's entire run ? possibly shot by his friends ? following him from the moment he leaves the stands to the moment he's led away in handcuffs by security. WARNING: Bro doesn't get completely naked here, but he's only a pair of underoos and a form tackle away:

The best part? Our man being slowly paraded in his skivvies in front of the halftime entertainment decked out in full 19th Century Mexican regalia. That's what I call fun for the whole family. [lankowlllyk]

? That's not a brawl. This is a brawl. The Southwestern Athletic Conference has suspended a whopping 41 players from last Saturday's wild postgame brawl between Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, eight of them for two games for using "excessive force" in the melee. Among the suspendees: Arkansas-Pine Bluff's top pass rusher, three of Southern's four leading tacklers and both teams' leading receivers. [Associated Press]

? Don't get too comfortable. Ohio State and interim head coach Luke Fickell have agreed on a restructured contract that will pay Fickell $775,000 this year, but also makes clear he's not guaranteed anything after the contract expires on Jan. 31, 2012. "This agreement is renewable solely upon an offer from Ohio State and an acceptance by coach," the contract stipulates in section 2.0 under Term, according to the Associated Press. "This agreement in no way grants coach a claim to tenure in employment." Fickell is widely expected to be on his way out at the end of the year in favor of a bigger name, depending on the severity of pending NCAA sanctions in the meantime. [Associated Press, Columbus Dispatch]

? I are serious Congressman. This is serious letter. Add another politician to the ranks of BCS haters in Washington: Michigan Rep. John Conyers, who sent a letter to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday urging the committee to hold panels on antitrust claims against the BCS and a "combination of issues and challenges facing intercollegiate sports," including conference realignment and use of athletes' images in video games. "?[M]odern-day college athletics is a massive business, with widespread economic impact on athletes, their families, broadcasters, and fans as well as universities and colleges all over the country," Conyers wrote. "Today, I believe, the time is ripe for our committee to again take the lead when no other entity appears to have the authority or standing to act to protect the interests of athletes, their families, smaller colleges, and [historical black colleges]." [USA Today, National Journal]

Quickly? Banged-up USC running back Marc Tyler says he can go Saturday at Notre Dame. ? Texas reportedly pays $400,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit against Mack Brown's former right hand man. ? Death to the BCS! ? And Mike Gundy says Oklahoma State spends 4.5 hours on the practice field per week. Per week.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Headlinin-This-is-Rick-Neuheisel-s-final-count?urn=ncaaf-wp8382

Michael Del Zotto Steven Delisle James DeLory Jason Demers