Detroit Free Press

Before we close the book on the college football season, I wonder if you had the same feeling I did watching Florida trounce Ohio State for the national championship. It didn't leave me cheering. It didn't leave me satisfied.It left me depressed.

When are certain people involved with this Duke lacrosse team case going to use the word they seem to be consciously avoiding?Liar.It's a word for someone who tells lies. And so far, the only thing certain in this case is that the accuser has told many of them. The biggest, of course, may be that she was raped. Now she says she can't be sure. As a result, rape charges against the three players were dropped, charges that have damaged their lives forever.Yet no one calls her a liar.

And what if Chris Webber became a Piston? It could happen. The Pistons would like it to happen. Hey, any team that could pick up a guy of Webber's talent - or what's left of it - for the price of chewing gum by NBA standards would be crazy not to.And so the Pistons might.And wouldn't that be something?

When I was a kid, I shoveled snow to make a few dollars. One time, a friend and I did a driveway for a grumpy old neighbor. We pooped out before all the snow was gone, and when we asked to be paid, the old man refused."You don't finish, I don't pay," he said.We skulked off. But those were the rules of the marketplace. You wanna get paid, you gotta do the job. Simple enough, right?

PASADENA, Calif. - Here came a linebacker. Here came a nose tackle. Here came a cornerback. Here came another linebacker.It's supposed to be the ocean that smacks up against you in these parts, but on Monday it was the Southern Cal defense that crashed like waves against Michigan quarterback Chad Henne, over and over, chasing him, knocking him down, until you half expected some "Baywatch" lifeguard to come flying out of the stands to save him.No such luck.

PASADENA, Calif. - Here came a linebacker. Here came a nose tackle. Here came a cornerback. Here came another linebacker. It's supposed to be the ocean that smacks against you in these parts, but on Monday it was the Southern California defense that crashed like waves against Michigan quarterback Chad Henne, over and over, chasing him, knocking him down, stuffing him into the turf, until you half-expected some "Baywatch" lifeguard to come flying out of the stands to save him.As Kid Rock might say, where's Pamela Anderson when you need her?

MITCH ALBOMU-M If I believed Michigan was the second-best team in the nation in November, they still should be so in January. And the second-best team in the nation should be able to do whatever UCLA and Oregon State did.Who's your Wolverine? Mike Hart. You run, you control. You control, you limit Southern Cal's offense and tire its defense. You do that, you win. Who's your Trojan? John David Booty. The quarterback will be looking to make people forget Matt Leinart, and if he wins this game, he might. MVP: Mike Hart.Final score: U-M, 23-13.

One elephant, OK. Two elephants, maybe. But when the room is so full of elephants all you see are tusks, you have ...