*The Lakers are 10-1 and the Boston Celtics are 12-2. Why don't we just skip the rest of the meaningless regular season and get to the NBA FinALs?

The only games I'm interested in are Celtics at Lakers on Christmas Day and Lakers at Celtics on Feb. 5.

*Ohio State's Jim Tressel is now 7-1 against archrivAL Michigan, including an unprecedented five consecutive victories after Saturday's 42-7 romp.

When you do that, the BCS title-game disasters are quickly forgotten, because Buckeyes fans care more about beating the hated Wolverines than anything else.

*By the way, Ohio State dodged a bullet Saturday when Penn State clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl by blowing away Michigan State.

You know the Buckeyes didn't want to be pummeled by USC again on New Year's Day.

Yes, I expect the Trojans -- not Oregon State -- will be playing the Nittany Lions in Pasadena.

*The Pac-10 is so weak this season, USC probably will moveupin the BCS standings after a bye week.

*The Angels made a mistake by raising ticket prices during these troubled economic times.

Very surprising, because Arte Moreno normALly is more attuned to the pulse of his fans.

*Some people are saying President-elect Barack Obama has better things to worry about when he takes office than pushing for a playoff system in college footbALl.

I totALly agree. It's much more important to get rid of the DH in the American League.