Before you throw the paper at me, at least let me apologize for being absent last week. The only excuse I can offer is after a personal best of 18 games this season, I was completely out of sync with everything.

Add a super sized sinus problem and, well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. While I was in New Orleans I ate nothing but New Orleans/Cajun food and I really think the reason I got so sick was my body revolting at being denied that wonderful food after I got back.

First was the Sun Bowl in El Paso with my CBS friends. In all my travels all over Texas in years past, I’ve never had occasion to go to El Paso. After I got in I did my usual routine of going to the stadium directly from the airport.

It was interesting, nestled in among the mountains. I went down to the field and the typical day-before-the-game stuff was happening, getting everything ready.

The only way to the field from the trucks was by climbing the stadium steps. When I went back up the few thousand steps I was really out of breath and reminded of how far behind I am in my conditioning work. But then one of the camera guys told me we were at almost five thousand feet altitude. I didn’t feel so bad then.

The whole 25 hours I was in El Paso was fun. The game was a lot of decent defensive plays but not a lot of offense. I did stay out during halftime and made the Guinness Book of Records by participating with the Village People in the largest ever Y-M-C-A dance. Why not? Never know when that might happen again.

But as soon as the clock hit double zero and Pitt had no other chance to kick a tying field goal, I hit those steps again running to my rental car. The only flight I could get out on and make it to New Orleans for the BCS required meeting the next morning left in an hour and 20 minutes. I made it, still breathing hard, and got to Dallas for my 12-hour layover. But it was New Year’s and Julie and the guys had made it in for the Cotton Bowl so I did get to welcome the New Year with them. Then to DFW for a 7:20 a.m. flight to New Orleans.

The meeting was pretty much the same as last year’s before the National Championship Game. Met some new faces with FOX Sports after all was done I went to the hotel in the Warehouse district for some rest and then food.

Both of the Bowl games I worked this time were celebrating their seventy-fifth anniversary. The Sun Bowl honored CBS Sports Executive Producer Craig Silver who played in the Sun Bowl many years ago as part of their all-time team. Then the Sugar Bowl did the same but included in this was many including Archie Manning, Vince Dooley, Jackie Wayne Sherrill and our own Bobby Ray Franklin. That was Coach Franklin’s second game to be recognized the other was the SEC Championship. I talked to Archie a long time about Peyton and Eli but he did grin big when I told him how much we like their commercials. Said those are fun to do. The Sugar Bowl game was a big disappointment to me with Alabama looking like they forgot everything including blocking and tackling. I really think they made Utah look better than they really are. And Utah made the best of it too.

We’ll get into a few interesting situations from the games next time. See you next week.