Sunday, December 29, 2013

Residue from my Armpit Bowl binge


Good news, I guess. Now they've got a few women among the officiating crews. There were two women working the Fight Hunger Bowl -- aka the Emerald Bowl and the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl. It can't hurt those amped up young men to have to defer to "girls" wearing the striped shirts.

Less good news: if you watch bowls, you learn about the prevalence of UVTRs -- the acronym stands for "undisclosed violations of team rules." It seems as if most teams have sent some players home for UVTRs. Since the conduct in question is undisclosed, it is not immediately clear what the offenses may have been. Google reveals samples from past bowls ranging from drunken assault with a broken bottle, to groping women, to smoking marijuana (hey, what will change when that's legal?) to pissing off a hotel balcony.

My favorite is the Notre Dame star who responded to his suspension by apologizing for "poor academic judgment." Huh? My sharp partner who teaches college students didn't hesitate to diagnose that one: "he got caught plagiarizing, passing off someone else's work as his own. Lots of them do that."

Fifteen bowls glimpsed and some enjoyed -- twenty yet to go ...

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