01/05 Quickie: Ohio St, Jobs, HOF

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Ohio State gets off the SEChnied: Though they did their best to give the game away at the end, the Buckeyes beat Arkansas to win the Sugar Bowl -- but, more importantly, Ohio State finally beat an SEC team in a bowl game for the first time in a couple decades.

What next for Terrelle Pryor? I'm no OSU fan, but that was a pretty powerful scene in the game's immediate conclusion, with Terrelle Pryor limping on an injured ankle and in obvious pain. Was it his final game for Ohio State (no matter what he or Jim Tressel say)?

Even more than the suspension, the ankle injury should remind him that he is one really bad injury away from seriously undermining his contentious NFL draft potential. If his mobility is such a big part of his ability, then ankle (or knee) injuries are no joke.

But really: Despite all those wince-inducing drops, Arkansas should have won the game by running back that final Ohio State punt, rather than falling on it -- one more piece of chokey execution failure by the Hogs.

Jim Harbaugh: No decision yet. But all the scuttlebutt has him ending up with the 49ers, with a power/control set-up to his liking. The Dolphins are also rumored to be making a push. All power equal, which team would you rather coach?

I'd say San Francisco for Harbaugh, because he obviously loves the Bay Area -- and because he has a better chance of succeeding in the NFC West than in the AFC East.

(Alas, either means he won't be able to draft Luck, but there will be plenty of potential franchise QBs in the mix when SF or Miami picks.)

I buy the rationale that now matter how he does in the NFL, he can always return to college, basically at the job of his choice, and command one of the Top 5 salaries in college football.

Speaking of Andrew Luck: Apparently the Panthers would take Luck with the No. 1 overall pick if he was in the draft. (This is news? Of course they would! Almost any team in the bottom half of the NFL would, too. Even if you have a solid incumbent QB, you don't pass on the biggest QB talent since Peyton Manning.)

Rich Rod: Out! No... not out! (Yet!) Here's the thing: Rodriguez may yet have been able to save his job by begging (or whatever would convince AD David Brandon to keep him around), but the reality is that RichRod will eventually get fired.

(So is it possible that Brandon keeps RichRod around for another season for lack of a better alternative right now? Harbaugh doesn't want the job. Brady Hoke is uninspiring. Next season may allow for a new "hot" coach to emerge.)

NFL Coaching Carousel: Tom Cable out in Oakland, but the coaching staff's impact on the Raiders' improvement this season will not go unrewarded -- apparently, OC Hue Jackson will get a promotion to HC. Meanwhile, Marvin Lewis will be back in Cincinnati.

NBA: Last night's Knicks win over the Spurs might be New York's new signature win of the season.

Mark Cuban on Phil Jackson: "I love that Jeanie Buss' boy toy had something to say about us. I don't know if it was his thought or Jeanie's thought, but it's nice to know that she lets him speak in public about other teams." (Cuban on Jackson on Caron Butler's season-ending injury.)

OJ Mayo vs. Tony Allen: When you let competitive NBA players gamble for money on team planes, fights are going to happen. Haven't we seen this before, over and over? (I'm not against it; I'm just saying it is a natural outcome that everyone should expect.)

MLB: Dan Uggla gets a 5Y/$62M extension, which was presumed the minute he was traded to Atlanta.

CBB: Notre Dame over UConn? Maybe the Irish are for real this year after all.

Baseball Hall of Fame: Today is the big reveal of the 2011 class. Roberto Alomar is presumed to be a lock. Bert Blyleven will likely get in after more than a decade of being on the ballot.

There are a bunch of other players who DESERVE to get in -- Tim Raines and first-timer Jeff Bagwell among the more contentious -- but won't. Get some background on why this year creates a new era in HOF voting in this must-read piece from Jayson Stark.

-- D.S.