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They were stretched all around, as far as the eye could see, at the BCS National Championship Game last night in Miami. The Florida Gators, and game MVP Tim Tebow, beat the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 to capture their second National Title in 3 years. Florida was also voted the AP National Champion in the poll released this morning.

Experts expected the game to be a shoot-out with two of the best offenses in the NCAA going head to head. Oklahoma did not score less than 35 points in any game this season en route to a 12-1 regular-season record and Big 12 championship. The Gators were also an offensive juggernaut, also finishing 12-1 and winning the SEC championship. It was Florida’s #4 ranked defense that made the difference.

Despite having the Heisman Trophy winner in Sam Bradford, Oklahoma was not able to put the points on the board that they are used to. They were stopped at the goal line twice in the first half, once on 4th down and once with an interception. Still, the game was neck and neck in the second half until Florida blocked an Oklahoma field goal attempt. After that play one could feel the momentum swing to Florida, and they ran away with the game. Tebow and Percy Harvin, who had missed a month with an injury and stayed in Florida over Christmas to rehab for the game, put the Sooners away.

It would be hard to tell which one he is more proud of, but the two are definitely correlated. A man with a beautiful wife has an inner confidence that allows him to succeed or a very successful man suddenly finds himself surrounded by beautiful women. Either way, Peyton Manning is a lucky man.

The Indianapolis Colts quarterback won a record tying 3rd MVP today by a landslide. He receieved 32 votes while the two tied for second got 4 each. He and Brett Favre are the only 3 time MVP’s in NFL history. Although Manning has had statistically better seasons, and a Super Bowl championship, this was by far the best performance of his career.

Coming off of two knee surgeries over the summer, Manning was not sure if he would even play to start the year. He did, but the Colts started 3-4. Aroundweek 9 Manning got his strength back and something clicked in his head. He led the Colts to 9 straight victories, including wins at New England, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee, and they are the hottest team headed into the Playoffs this weekend. Manning finished the season with 4,002 yards passing, the only player to surpass 4,000 yards for 9 straight season, with 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

When the NCAA adopted the Bowl Championship Series rankings to determine it’s national champion it was heralded as an incredible, groundbreaking decision. Previously, the national champion was decided by votes from sportswriters and coaches. There were 10 previous occasions where teams split the championship because of separate polls choosing different teams. The B.C.S. was supposed to take care of that problem with a sophisticated system, based on polls and computer rankings, that would pit the two best teams against each other for the championship.

Ten years later and the B.C.S. has failed to do what it had promised, provide a convincing champion every year. Many around the nation are calling for and end to the B.C.S altogether, or at the very least, a playoff involving the top 8 teams. In 2004, USC was left out of the B.C.S. Championship Game, somehow falling to #3 in the rankings. When favorite Oklahoma lost to LSU in the Sugar Bowl, LSU was crowned B.C.S. champion, but USC was voted the AP National Champion. The controversy that was supposed to be silenced by the B.C.S. roared again.

This season, there are undefeated, Division 1 teams while two 1 loss, Florida and Oklahoma teams play for the title. Alabama was ranked #1 until they lost their last game to now #1 Florida, while Oklahoma lost to 3rd rankedd. One would think Alabama would have the edge over Oklahoma, but a rematch would throw the world of college football into chaos. The only way to get a definitive answer would be to implement a playoff system.

Each Divison 1 team plays a couple lowly opponents every year. These games are laughers where the margins of victory are sometimes in the 70’s. Also, there is a gap of a month between a team’s last game and the Bowl Games. Cut out one regular season game, and start an eight-team playoff in mid-December. A three game playoff would only add one game to the schedules of the champion and runner-up, and a lot of credibility to the NCAA and eventual champion. Nobody can deny the winner of such a tournament. Those are the situations when true champions are revealed.

Joe Paterno spent most of the past college football season coaching from high above the field. With a bum hip, he was unable to walk the sidelines and instead sat in the coaches box, talking to players and assistants through a headset or phone. The longest tenured coach in NCAA history’s future was in doubt. On November 23, a day after clinching the Big Ten title, Joe Pa underwent hip replacement surgery. Less than a month later he was rewarded with a contract extension.

Taking in to account his 16 years as an assistant coach, 2009 will be Paterno’s 60th season with Penn State. His 43 years as head coach is far and away the most in college football history. At 81 years old, he is also football’s all-time winningest coach. Even with such a resume, his 2007 salary was reported at $512,000, well off the $4 million Alabama’s Nick Saban makes a year. Terms of his new deal have not been disclosed, but the extension runs for 3 more years, through the 2011 season. With his rehab coming along nicely, Paterno will be back patrolling the sidelines in Happy Valley next season.

While many coaches have become victims of an inability to alter their game plan and strategy, Paterno’s coaching style has evolved with the game. It is rare for a coach to last 10 years in college football, let alone 4 decades. Some believed that if the game couldn’t get the best of him, his health would. A couple years back, in a game against Wisconsin, Paterno’s leg was broken after being taken out by a falling player. He was back coaching at the next practice.

While coaching from the skybox this past season it seemed coach was getting farther from the game, with the next logical step being retirement. Instead, the grizzled veteran has been put back together and will be returning to the scene of the action. Paterno will coach one more game from the box, the Rose Bowl against USC on New Year’s Day. Come next season though, expect to see Paterno lead his team out of the tunnel for the 44th straight year.

When Michael Vick was arrested for dog fighting and related charges, the authorities promised that he would be treated like any other criminal. He wasn’t; in all reality he was treated more harshly than the average person and made an example of. Still, a 23 month sentence was not unreasonable for the types of atrocities he was found guilty of. Now, after only a year in prison and a little over 18 months of total incarceration he might be released to a halfway house.

Vick was the NFL’s golden boy before his world came crashing down around him. He was the league’s highest paid player and it’s most popular. Just a couple years ago he signed a $130 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Fans of football would watch his games, in person and on TV, just to see what amazing things he would do. From those highs to his present low is a punishment in itself, and some might argue more than enough of one for harming animals.

Unlike other criminals, however, Vick returns to the world with the promise of being an incredible athlete with a rags back to riches story. He will be signed to an NFL team, be applauded for turning his life around, and before too long be not too far from where he once was. While it is true that he has endured and lost a lot, he has a lot to look forward to. He was lucky to get a 23 month sentence. It would be a travesty to let him out of prison early. While some may argue that this crimes were overblown, or simply a product of his upbringing, he broke the law. The government decided to make an example of him and must not let him off the hook now. Keep him in prison, he will be back to the penthouse soon enough.