Roy Kramer, the architect of the BCS system, was honored on the field prior to the kickoff of Florida State's 34-31 win over Auburn in last night's Vizio BCS National Championship game. BCS Exec Dir Bill Hancock said, "Thanks to the vision Roy Kramer and many others shared, college football entered a new phase 16 years ago" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/7). ESPN play-by-play commentator Brent Musburger began the broadcast by calling the game a "perfect ending to an imperfect system" (ESPN, 1/6).
The L.A. TIMES' Bill Plaschke writes of the end of the BCS era: "The much maligned system finished its run by getting it right with the two best teams in America playing one of the best games of any season." The FLORIDA TIMES-UNION's Chet Fussman writes the BCS' "demise was a little under the radar" because the matchup was "one of the rare occasions where the system probably got it right." The ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER's Jeff Miller: "The greatest awful thing to ever happen to college football ... is breathing its last breath and all I'm wondering is if it's OK to dance at a funeral." The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE's Matt Calkins: "Hail to the BCS. You were college football's Dark Knight – a hero cast as a villain. ... But in time, you will be appreciated."
Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable reportedly "had some cable-service problems during the fourth quarter in parts of the country." The problems "didn't sit well with fans who missed the end of the game" (CLEVELAND.com, 1/7).
