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Crimson Tide fullback said it best when heasked his teammates If you could write a page in history, what would you wantit to sayTheir opponents will be playing with a chip on theirshoulders, not only are they five point underdogs, they had to watch as theleading passer in Texas Longhorn history was passed over for the Heisman Trophyin favor of the Crimson Tides Ingram in what was the closest vote in thehistory of the award.This is a powerhouse matchup between two of college footballsmost storied programs, Alabama and Texas rank No 2 and 3 respectively inrushing defense and No 1 and 8 in scoring defense. Alabama and Texas arestatistically two of the best defenses in the country. On offense, Colt McCoy and the Longhorns ranked 14thin passing offense and 55th in rushing, while Mark Ingram andAlabama rank 12th in rushing but only 84th in passing.Alabama likes to spread the ball around, QB Greg McElroyhas several options including WRs Julio Jones and Marquis Maze. But weknow what to expect from the Tide, theyll pound the ball with Ingram.That run game allows them to control the clock; their 33 minutes a game leadthe SEC in time of possession. Theirpounding offense wears down opposing defense so that they can light it up inthe fourth quarter. The Crimson Tide have outscored opponents 109-24 in thefinal 15 minutes this season.The 2009 Crimson Tide will be playing to create their ownpage in the history books, while turning the page on their winless recordagainst the Longhorns.. I love bowl games.

Growing up, New Year's Day was the best day of the year, as I could sit back all day long with my dad and watch the best games of the entire college football year, where the best teams of each conference would battle each other before a national audience.Bowl games at one time represented rewards for great seasons, a chance for good teams to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of their success.Unfortunately, those days are mostly in the past.The BCS has ruined New Year's Day by moving some of the BCS bowls to later dates.Where bowl games on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day were the best of the best, going down the current list of games played from New Year's Eve disgust me, as mediocre teams get to play on dates once reserved for only the best.Sure, bowl games have always been more about tourism and money than about football or football greatness.Still, we used to have a chance to least pretend that a team one game above .500 should not be anywhere near a January bowl game.In one my first articles, I argued that 26 teams should not have gone to bowl games last season.My argument was very simple: a team should a have a .500 record in conference and seven wins over FBS teams to be eligible for a bowl game.As such, bowl games should be rewards for teams that had a slightly above average season or better.Any team that fails to meet these two standards really did not have a decent season and should not be rewarded for being average or worse. Now the NCAA calls any team that wins seven games (with no more than one versus an FCS school) as bowl qualified and any team that wins six games (with no more than one versus an FCS school) as bowl eligible.To me, that is a joke of a standard and encourages teams to schedule cupcakes to inflate their records. So which teams should not be in bowl games this yearLet's look at the teams that should be done for the season, but are not.ACC (2): Florida State 5 FBS wins, UNC 6Big East (3): Rutgers 6 (3-4), South Florida 6 (3-4), UConn 6 (3-4)Big 12 (3): Iowa State 5 (3-5); Oklahoma 6; Texas A&M 6 (3-5)Big Ten (2): Michigan State 5; Minnesota 5 (3-5)CUSA (3): Marshall 5, SMU 6, Southern Miss 6MAC (1): Northern Illinois 6MWC(2): Air Force 6, Wyoming 5Pac-10 (1): UCLA 6 (4-5)SEC (6): Arkansas 6 (3-5), Auburn 6 (3-5), Georgia 6, Kentucky 6 (3-5), Mississippi 6, South Carolina 6 (3-5)Sun Belt: None.WAC: None.Looking at these results, it appears that the SEC has the most undeserving teams, with as many undeserving teams as the Pac-10, Big 12, and Big Ten combined. Of course, with the stature and hype of the SEC, as well as its school's close proximity to bowl game locations, such is to be expected.Now, some people argue that any football is better than no football and I can understand that.Others argue that even average teams should get a chance to play in a bowl game and it means a great deal to an improving program to be rewarded with a bowl game.Those are nice arguments, but they also cheapen the meaning of the bowl games. Given that one of the reasons given against a playoff is to protect the sanctity of the bowl system, it appears as though the sanctity is long gone.With undeserving teams such as Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Michigan State, Mississippi, Northern Illinois, and UConn playing on Jan. 1 or later, it cheapens the entire bowl system and makes a mockery of the great reward of playing in a January bowl game.For me, I would prefer to return to an age with fewer bowl games but more deserving teams rather than have these 23 teams be rewarded for having an average season, or worse.Even more so, I wish that we could just move on to have a playoff so that we could get some really meaningful games in the college football post-season.. HONG KONG (Reuters) - Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK) shares were down 6.3 percent at HK$9.10 shortly after the market opened, hit bythe airline's warning of disappointing 2008 earnings due to weak revenue and fuel hedging losses. Asian MarketsThe stock had been up before the opening session by as much as 3 percent with investors focusing more on the drop in oil prices.Hong Kong's dominant airline estimated its unrealized mark to market losses as of the end of December 2008 at HK$7.6 billion ($980.5 million).The increase in the losses was due to a substantial reduction in oil prices for the three months ended in December, Cathay said.Shares in the carrier have fallen by more than half over the past year.(Reporting by Nerilyn Tenorio; editing by Jacqueline Wong) Asian Markets.

Thursday, one day after sustaining life threatening injuries suffered after a fall from a moving truck. While exact details are unclear as to the events leading up to the injury, authorities are saying the event was part of a domestic dispute. He was 26 years old.Henry leaves behind a fianc Loleina Tonga and three children. Henry was a beleaguered member of the Cincinnati Bengals. He was drafted in the third round in 2005 after what can accurately be described as a checkered past at West Virginia University. In fact, his conduct resulted in his former coach at West Virginia, Rich Rodriguez calling him, “an embarrassment to himself and the program.”His problems did not end at West Virginia, either. After being drafted by the Bengals, Henry had a solid rookie season leading Cincinnati to its first playoff appearance in fifteen years while amassing 31 receptions for 422 yards and six touchdowns. A knee injury on the second play from scrimmage during the Bengals playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers ended his season.He followed that up with 605 yards on 36 catches and nine touchdowns in 2006. His off the field problems however had already begun to surface. Henry was suspended for two games during the 2006 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies following his arrest on December 15, 2005 for marijuana possession, driving without a valid license, and driving without valid insurance. He was also arrested on January 30, 2006 for concealment of a handgun and aggravated assault with a firearm. Following Henry’s arrest on April 29, 2006 for supplying underage girls with alcohol, he was suspended for the first eight games of 2007. In April 2008 Henry was finally waived by the Bengals after a myriad of other arrests and allegations; including driving under the influence and assault. However, after making an attempt to “clean up his act” and injuries to Bengals receivers Chad Ochocinco, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Andre Caldwell, Henry re-signed with the Bengals in 2008; signing a two-year contract on August 18th. His rebirth now begun, the “new” Chris Henry finished the 2008 season with 19 receptions for 220 yards and two touchdowns. In 2009, Henry had totaled 12 catches for 236 yards and two touchdowns before being placed on injured reserve in November with a broken arm. This, while likely leading the Bengals to their second playoff birth of his short career. Now we’ll never know how Henry could have finished his comeback. Professional athletes in this country receive so many second chances it can sometimes lead to a backlash among fans. However, when the chances of a 26 year old kid are gone forever, it makes you wish they had a million more. . Bush and his successor, Barack Obama, joined all the living U.S. presidents on Wednesday for a historic meeting at the White House two weeks before the country's next transfer of power. U.S. Barack ObamaBush, a Republican, and Obama, a Democrat, met privately for about 30 minutes ahead of the wider gathering.Then former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both Democrats, and Republican George H.W.