SpongeBob? They soak it up in Miami

Nickelodeon’s ratings are up in Miami, where the Hurricanes are undefeated since quarterback Jacory Harris asked his teammates to start watching “SpongeBob Squarepants.”

“Jacory called everyone up and said, ‘Hey, listen, the only thing we’re going to watch on TV from now on is SpongeBob,’ ” Coach Randy Shannon told the Miami Herald. “ ‘We ain’t watching ESPN. We ain’t watching CBS. We ain’t watching ABC. If SpongeBob can tell you how good you are, then you deserve it.’ ”

Apparently, SpongeBob was on to something. Miami came from behind to upset Oklahoma, 21-20, then routed Florida A&M;, 48-16, last week.

The Hurricanes have decorated their locker room with SpongeBob stickers and posters. Junior linebacker Colin McCarthy told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel some of his teammates have become serious SpongeBob fans.

Said McCarthy: “All the guys watch it.”

Trivia question

Which state will host the most college football bowl games this season?

Taster’s choice

UC Riverside men’s basketball Coach Jim Wooldridge questioned the validity of the judges after he and women’s basketball Coach John Margaritis got the “kitchen disaster” award at a cook-off event at the Big West Conference’s media day.

That’s because David Dekker, executive chef for Aramark and the Angels, arrived in the middle of Wooldridge’s presentation.

“Never in a million years would I have imagined something like this occurring with the Big West Conference commissioner standing right there in the room,” Wooldridge joked. “I am calling for a full and impartial investigation on the part of the NCAA to get to the bottom of this travesty.”

Commissioner Dennis Farrell issued a tongue-in-cheek statement to The Times, saying, “The accusations leveled by Coach Wooldridge certainly give me food for thought.

“We don’t want to whet the pallet of controversy in any way, shape or form. I hunger to know what exactly happened and we will fish for more details.”

Winners all around

Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball Coach Bob Burton and women’s basketball Coach Marcia Foster won Big West cooking awards for best presentation, best taste and top chefs. Cal State Northridge men’s basketball Coach Bobby Braswell and women’s basketball Coach Staci Schulz were recognized for best creativity.

Margaritis found some consolation in his designation as a “kitchen disaster.”

“Had we won the competition, my wife would have expected me to do more of the cooking,” he said. “Now I have written proof from a professional chef that I do not know my way around a kitchen.”

Trivia answer

Florida, with six. California and Texas will play host to five.

And finally

Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel, on President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize:

“I heard the president was also recently named to the Outland Trophy Watch list, is a Biletnikoff semifinalist and was last week’s Davey O’Brien quarterback of the week.”

--

mark.medina@latimes.com

twitter.com/latimesmedina