`christmas Carol' Scrimps On Energy

911 May Save Time, Lives -- But Not Jobs 
As The Final Hearing On Adopting 
The Streamlined Emergency Service 
Arrives, The Best Aspect Is Its Ease 
To Remember. The Worst Is The Jobs That Could Be 
Lost

Thursday, December 01, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





Orange's bowl plans get crushed &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Whenever a selection committee swallows its pride and awards a pretty sweet
bid to a mediocre Notre Dame team, as the Fiesta Bowl's committee did this
week, it's easy for people to get upsetBut at least the Notre Dame invitation
has some sense to it -- the sense being that the Fiesta Bowl wants to make
some money and wants a maximum television audience for its game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The bowl story that still doesn't make sense to me is that Syracuse didn't
get an invitation, not only to a major game, but to any bowl. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Syracuse botched its bowl chances with a miserable showing on national
television on Thanksgiving night in West Virginia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Orangemen were absolutely hapless that night, and the loss was their
third in their final four games. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But they still finished 7-4 in a decent conference. And though they lost to
Boston College and West Virginia, they still had better overall records than
those two teams. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Maybe, considering the way Syracuse finished the season, it didn't deserve
a bowl invitation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But look at the teams who will be going to bowl games and you'll find teams
who certainly didn't deserve an invitation any more than Syracuse did. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The worst example is a team that looks just like Syracuse -- Illinois.
Supposedly possessing the best defense this side of the NFL, the Illini
botched a game against Michigan they needed to win to have a good shot at the
Big Ten championship. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then they let Penn State go 96 yards to beat them in their biggest
gut-check of the year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And then, they go out and lose to Wisconsin, after which their quarterback,
Johnny Johnson, said he was sick of being mediocre and didn't care if he went
to a bowl game if it wasn't the Rose Bowl. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Unfortunately for him, he'll be forced to spend New Year's Eve shivering at
the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then there's Oklahoma. A decent team, no doubt, but one that also managed a
tremendous 6-5 record this year and whose coach, Gary Gibbs, is a lame duck. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Sooners' offense, once the most feared in the nation under Chuck
Fairbanks and Barry Switzer, was pathetic in its regular season finale against
Nebraska. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Texas Tech backed into the championship of another lame duck (the Southwest
Conference) and, at 6-5, is going to the Cotton Bowl. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 South Carolina, which I can't recall hearing one word about for most of the
season, is 6-5 and is going to the Carquest Bowl -- the bowl that passed up
Syracuse for West Virginia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even some of the 7-4 bowl teams seem dubious. Baylor is going to the Alamo
Bowl after giving up 63 points to Texas on the same day Syracuse only gave up
13 to West Virginia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TCU also went 7-4 in the Southwest Conference and is going to the
Independence Bowl. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tennessee had as bad a start to the season as Syracuse had a finish, yet
the Volunteers go to the Gator Bowl, where they will play a Virginia Tech team
that Syracuse beat. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And, though the Holiday Bowl has to take Michigan as the third-place team
from the Big Ten, do the Wolverines deserve a holiday in San Diego? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 True, they beat Notre Dame. But they also flopped against Colorado, Penn
State and Ohio State. Remember, this was a team that was supposed to be a
major factor in the national championship race. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Syracuse wasn't supposed to be. But the Orangemen overachieved and had a
great run going until they floundered against Miami, BC and West Virginia down
the stretch. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Only one thing wrong. Their fans don't cash in their Christmas Club checks
and go to bowl games the way other teams' fans do. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In Syracuse, they start thinking about something called basketball in
December. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ironically, Syracuse recently lost its first regular season basketball
game, to George Washington. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Maybe that means Jim Boeheim will coach the Orangemen to a strong finish
and a return to at least the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of course, they have to get invited first. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And, as the football team just found out, sometimes it's that invitation
you're expecting the most that seems to get permanently lost in the mail. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bill Savage is a Times Leader sports writer. His column appears Tuesday and
Thursday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Orange's Bowl Plans Get Crushed 
Whenever A Selection Committee Swallows Its Pride And Awards A Pretty Sweet 
Bid To A Mediocre Notre Dame Team, As The Fiesta Bowl's Committee Did This 
Week, It's Easy For People To Get Upset.

Orange's Bowl Plans Get Crushed Whenever A Selection Committee Swallows Its Pride And Awards A Pretty Sweet Bid To A Mediocre Notre Dame Team, As The Fiesta Bowl's Committee Did This Week, It's Easy For People To Get Upset.