Tonight, a contender for the national championship of college football is playing a game. The game is being played on Friday night in Moscow in a college basketball arena. All of this is true...strange, but true.

Say hello to the Kibbie Dome, home of the University of Idaho Vandals in Moscow, Idaho.



Sorta cute, ain't it? Or maybe "quaint" is a better word. A Division I football stadium that seats 16,000 is definitely quaint. Either way, the University of Idaho is so proud of this place that it is home to their football team...and basketball team...and tennis team...and track & field team. Quite quaint and versatile, no?

Ok, this post isn't about the shortcomings of the athletic facilities at the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest university. It's a swell place and has been for 120+ years, which is fine. It is, however, a post that further demonstrates why a team cannot be given equal credence when it plays in a conference where a late-season intra-conference & intrastate rivalry road game can be played in a place such as the Kibbie Dome.

A season-opening victory over Virginia Tech is a nice win. So is an early season win over Oregon State. A late season win over Nevada will also be an accomplishment. Problem is, nobody would consider these to be great wins if they didn't show up on the schedule with opponents such as Wyoming, New Mexico State, Toledo, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech and Utah State. By beating VaTech, Oregon State and, presumably, Nevada, Boise State will be no better than the following teams, based solely on head-to-head wins: James Madison, Washington, UCLA and Hawaii. In a major conference, Boise's three "biggest" victories would be considered "getting the job done" and "having a solid season", or maybe nothing more than "halfway to being bowl eligible".

It is a simple fact that Boise State is better than those 4 teams. Look no further than the game last weekend when Boise beat Hawaii by 35. The argument is not if Boise is a good team. They are. The argument is, regardless of who they're willing to play, does Boise deserve a spot in the championship game when they've played such inferior opponents on a weekly basis that their starters don't even have to play (or play hard) beyond 10 minutes into the game? Again, it is not Boise's fault that they are able to jump out to giant leads in many of their games, but it is also not an SEC (or Pac Ten/Big Ten/Big 12) team's fault that they just so happen to be in a conference where almost every game is an absolute battle that requires maximum utilization for a full 60 minutes (or more).

Boise has proven they are capable of beating good teams from major conferences (VT, Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl) and other small conference powerhouses (TCU in last year's Fiesta Bowl). They would also have a very good chance of beating whoever they might play in this year's BCS Championship, be it Oregon (who they swept in a home-and-home series in 2008-09, as Byron Hout will remind you), TCU (see above), Ohio State (does anyone really think they're that good?) or Auburn (with or without the blameless one). However, don't let it be forgotten that TCU beat Boise to end the 2008 season and Boise lost back-to-back to Hawaii and East Carolina to end the 2007 season. Just for good measure, the only time in recent history that Boise played a game in an SEC stadium was at the start of the 2005 season and they left Athens, Georgia with a 48-13 loss. That same season, that same Georgia team that was 35 points better than Boise, lost two SEC conference games and narrowly escaped with wins in two more.

So, while their blue turf and blue jerseys can be fun to look at, these Tuesday, Thursday and Friday night games are excruciating to watch because its just further reminders of why Boise is what it is. Even ESPN, who does a LOT to promote Boise, will only give them primetime TV slots on nights that people don't even realize football is on. Football on Thursday nights has started to become more of a common thing and yet still, ESPN put the Pitt/UCONN game on last night and relegated the Potato State showdown to Friday night, when the only football people care about is being played by high schoolers, albeit often in stadiums larger than the one Boise is playing in tonight.

Bus.

Thankfully, as of 85 minutes ago (as this is typed), Conan O'Brien is back on television. It was a sad and uncomfortable past few months and this period of time will be remembered more for what Conan did off of television than what Jay Leno did on it. His tour, his musical forays, his Twitter and his entire persona transcended a late-night talk show slot, proving that there is more to life than who hosts which show and what time it airs.

Tonight's debut on TBS felt very natural and did not really seem like anything had changed. The show felt like it was truly his own, which makes sense since there's no standard to live up to. No Jay Leno, no Johnny Carson, no Steve Allen, no precedent. The comedy bits seemed to work pretty well, the guests seemed to be receptive to their roles and, perhaps most importantly, Conan seemed OK with what was transpiring. (It's amazing what millions of dollars can make you seem OK with).

Of course, as nice as it was to see Conan on the airwaves again, there always has to be a negative and that negative is George Lopez. George Lopez is painful. Painfully not funny. Painfully awful. Of course George Lopez had to name drop his predecessor and his time slot within the first 30 seconds of tonight's show, as if that would make him somehow funny by association. So far, the most substantive thing out of his mouth on this show has been that he likes Antoine Dodson's hair straight. Yep, G-Lo likes Antoine Dodson's hair straight. Sadly, Antoine Dodson is a more legitimate entertainer than George Lopez. Even sadder, a better night of television would include Antoine Dodson hosting a talk show and George Lopez being a guest that only gets a few brief minutes to be unwatchable.

A small saving grace for what TBS is doing once Conan's show ends each night is that they're repeating that night's episode again after George Lopez's thing goes off. That means two hours of Conan for one hour of G-Lo, which is a step in the right direction. At least this gives people an hour to brush teeth, have a snack and update blogs in between opportunities to see that night's episode of Conan. The only problem is, Glopez comes on again after Conan goes off again. As if you needed any more reminders of exactly how wide the gap between the haves and have nots is in late night talk shows. Mercifully, there is absolutely no reason to be awake at 1am CST, so maybe George's show will go the same route as Arsenio Hall's, Tom Snyder's (RIP), Jon Stewart's, Chevy Chase's, John McEnroe's and (cringe) Magic Johnson's. It really needs to.

Fingers crossed...

Just a reminder, this is not a football blog or a blog dedicated to any other sport, either. Most of you would probably rather read about something else, so now's your chance to be a part of the magic. Heck, your involvement could actually help create a more informative experience for your fellow readers. With that in mind, your mission is as such:

As the year 2010 draws to a close, the holidays draw near and sunlight past 5pm ceases to be a reality, there are important preparations being made. No, contrary to popular belief, an annual "BEST OF" music list does not just appear out of thin air. That said, your input is welcome here, so leave comments on this post with your suggestions for the Best of 2010. It's been a pretty solid year for new music so far and there are plenty of worthy candidates, but it'd be a shame to leave out a deserving act. Feel free to put in a few supporting words as well.

Just to get the ball rolling, here are a few appetizers...

-The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
-The National - High Violet
-Beach House - Teen Dream

Your turn!