For one night at least, college football is sidelined

Unbuckling the mailbag:

Question: College football? Beyond the drunken student body, booze-fueled alumni, gambling junkies and the entire demented state of Texas, who cares?

Not this baseball fan.

As for college and pro football … I can’t work up any enthusiasm for a game that routinely concusses the brains of so many players to a spongy mush, reducing these once-vibrant human beings to drooling hulks by late middle age.

I don’t think I’ll stand and cheer for that.

Michael Taylor

Los Angeles

Answer (written after seven innings of Thursday’s World Series Game 6 between St. Louis and Texas): When was the last time a baseball game made you not want to rather read a phone book?

Are you watching this World Series game tonight? The Cardinals and Rangers have combined for five errors … so far. Was this part of some “Bobble-Ball” promotional night?

St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa, stone-faced in the dugout scribbling on his little bits of paper, looks like he’s about to testify against the Corleone family in a murder case.

Isn’t baseball supposed to be fun?

I’m tempted to flip the channel to the Houston-Rice football game but have been informed Houston quarterback Case Keenum may throw for nine or 10 touchdowns against that Rice-a-phony defense.

(Amended answer following Game 6 of World Series): Um, wow. That may have been the most thrilling three or four innings of baseball ever played.

I bow to Bud (Selig), but it isn’t easy.

Q: You used a college football column to knock Bud and baseball. The point?

Tom Scheerer

Glendale

A: You’re right, and after Thursday’s game I feel about as small as Eddie Gaedel of the old St. Louis Browns.

Next week I promise to write a baseball column knocking college football.

Q: Before you rhapsodize about the upcoming games this Saturday, I wanted to offer my support for one game. Kansas State can beat Oklahoma in Manhattan. Granted, Oklahoma is angry after last week’s loss, but who says they can’t lose two in a row?

John H. Williams

Simi Valley

A: Who says? Recent history says.

Oklahoma has not lost two straight regular season games since Bob Stoops’ first year in 1999 (Notre Dame/Texas).

That said, what Bill Snyder is doing at Kansas State, at age 72, is amazing. He is clearly the national coach of the year so far. I just think he has always given laziness and “personal day” a bad name with his maniacal work ethic and compulsive disorders. No one has seen him eat since July. Snyder once asked a psychiatrist if it was possible to get by on only one hour’s sleep a night.

He was told it wasn’t.

If Kansas State beats Oklahoma on Saturday, nobody in Manhattan — the one in Kansas — is going to sleep.

Q: Your writing, “If anyone cares, the Nittany Lions host Illinois this week,” seems to throw a wet blanket on JoePa’s achievements with this year’s team. Why do you have such feelings about a much-admired organization?

Stuart Block

Woodland Hills

A: Three of Penn State’s final scores this year have been 14-10, 13-3 and 16-10. The victory at Indiana might have been the ugliest game I have ever channel-surfed into by mistake. I don’t know how or why Penn State keeps winning but, in time, I think Joe Paterno can develop into a good coach.

Q: Are college athletes eligible to get frequent flyer miles? If so Boise State in the Big East would have a huge advantage.

Sailesh Patel

A: Hawaii players receive 10,000 Kon-Tiki points for every voyage under the Thor Heyerdahl Executive Plan; Texas Tech kids are rolled into the Wells Fargo Stagecoach Platinum Club, but I am almost certain the only school allowed frequent flyer miles is Air Force.

Boise State, I hear, is trying to strike a deal with JetBlue.

Q: You’re revealing your age when you refer to a $49.95 Earl Scheib paint job. I think by now they’re up to $99.95, maybe even $129.95.

Gene Axelrod

A: Even at $129.95 it’s still the best deal in town. And, as always at Earl’s, if you leave your car windows down you get the interior painted at no additional cost.

Q: Why does Craig James have a vote? Is the Associated Press obligated to have a representative buffoon?

Wayne Norton

A: Correct, the AP has always required one buffoon per region. It is also required that one voter each week has to be impossible to locate when their top 25 ballot is due. Also encouraged is a voter (or two) who ranks 1-AA James Madison if that school upsets Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

Q: Didn’t everyone expect Utah to be down this year? It wasn’t like they were undefeated every season as a non-AQ.

Jason Wells

A: Everyone expected Utah to be down, yes, but maybe not 0-4, coal-miner depth down. It’s clear the overall depth of the Pac-12 is wearing on the Utes.

“Quarterbacks we are facing are definitely a step up from what we’re used to,” defensive lineman Dave Kruger told the Salt Lake City Tribune this week. “I’d say receivers as well.”

It hasn’t helped that Utah lost its starting quarterback, Jordan Wynn, to an injury. Utah also played the toughest part of its schedule first. The Utes were lucky to miss Oregon and Stanford this year and have winnable games remaining against Oregon State, Arizona, UCLA, Washington State and Colorado. At 3-4 overall, Utah needs three more wins to become bowl-eligible.

Q: Why do computers rank Virginia Tech, who lost to the only top-25 team they played, so highly? Wolfe has them No. 8, Sagarin No. 10.

John Wallin

A: I have no clue, let’s move on.

Q: Whoever continues to vote Boise State as the AP No. 1 should be removed from the jury.

Eric Hillerns

A: The lone-wolf juror is Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News. You may have seen him in that suspenseful courtroom drama about no food in the press box: “Twelve Angry Sports Writers.” Wolf covers football down at University of Superior Court (USC).

chris.dufresne@latimes.com