They’re Interested, but Not Conflicted

ABC has chosen not to bill it as The Conflict of Interest Bowl, even if there can be no denying the emotional links announcers Keith Jackson and Bob Griese will have to the participants on the Rose Bowl field below them.

Jackson is an active alumnus of Washington State, which recently received financial assistance from Jackson and his wife for the remodeling of the school’s alumni center.

Griese is the father of Brian Griese, the starting Michigan quarterback.

Does objectivity in the TV booth stand any chance of surviving all four quarters in Pasadena on Thursday?

“When the red light goes on, it doesn’t mean a thing,” Jackson says of his association with Washington State. “It’s a football game to be covered and documented.

“My wife and I have been active in academics [at Washington State] but not yet athletics until this year, when I gave some money to help build a new addition to the old facility that’s there.

“[The Cougars in the Rose Bowl] doesn’t really have a great personal meaning. We’re proud of them. We’re happy for them. It’s a privilege to know that if you persevere and work hard, eventually something good is going to happen for you.”

Griese, listening to Jackson deal with such scrutiny during a conference call with reporters earlier this week, let out a laugh.

Griese: “It’s kind of fun and interesting for me after going through this whole season being asked these types of questions about my son to see my partner have to answer some of these types of questions--’How are you going to react in the booth?’ I’m just kind of sitting back and enjoying this.”

Jackson: “I’m going to have a hell of a good time. Win or lose.”

Griese: “As Keith said, when the light goes on, it’s Washington State versus Michigan and we’re going to call it.

“We don’t drive the telecast--the telecast takes us where it goes and we’re going to follow. We’re going to supplement some things to make it interesting and be ready if it’s a blowout one way or the other.

“But we’re not in control of who wins and who loses. I’m very proud of the fact that Brian decided to go back to Michigan after being frustrated all of last year . . . and the way it’s turned out. As a father and parent, I couldn’t be prouder. I’m busting buttons.

“It’s been a magical year for him and for Michigan. As a parent, I’m thrilled to be at five of his games this year. As a broadcaster, it was a little bit tougher to do the games.”

BENDING OVER BACKWARD

If anything, Griese has underplayed his son’s finer moments while providing commentary for five Michigan games this season.

“You have to temper what you say about the good things that he does,” Griese explains. “I usually let Keith take care of that. Of course, if he does things that are bad, you call a spade a spade. I’m not one to over-glamorize or be over-demonstrative about something bad. I just call what it is and move on.”

However, Griese says he has been fortunate in that “there has never really been a game we’ve done where Brian had a really bad game. . . . He’s kind of made it easy. He’s only thrown five interceptions this year and three were against Iowa--and we didn’t do that game.”

Jackson too claims he has put professional distance between himself and his alma mater during the buildup to Washington State’s first Rose Bowl appearance since 1931.

Invited to numerous alumni functions during the past month, Jackson says, “I’ve turned everything down. It’s not often your old short-armed buddies, the ones always wanting tickets, show up wanting to buy you this and buy you that. My standard reaction is: ‘Where were you guys when we were tying to build our alumni center?’

“I am going to do one thing. I had [Michigan Coach] Lloyd Carr and some of the Michigan coaches up to the house in British Columbia this summer and we went fishing and had a wonderful day. And this week, I’m going to take the Washington State coaches to supper over at the golf club one night.

“I think that squares me up socially, so everything should be all right.”

WHO’S NO. 1? (CONTINUED)

The question was put to Jackson and Griese and CBS college football broadcasters Craig James and Lou Holtz:

If No. 1 Michigan wins the Rose Bowl and No. 2 Nebraska beats Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, leaving both the Wolverines and the Cornhuskers undefeated for the season, who truly deserves the national championship?

Holtz: “If you go on past records, a No. 1-ranked team going into a bowl game has never been displaced as long as they won. Whether they won by one point or whether they looked absolutely horrendous, it was a factor as long as they won.

“[But] Nebraska makes a very strong case for themselves. They will be 13-0 if they win the Orange Bowl and they would have beaten several Top 20 teams.”

James: “If Michigan really struggled and Nebraska put it to Tennessee, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the coaches give a co-national championship. But it would have to be a real lopsided victory either way or else that isn’t going to happen. The coaches have firmly said in their poll, ‘We think Michigan is a good football team.’ ”

Jackson: “I don’t really believe you can remove a team from No. 1 in the postseason unless they lose or tie. I don’t care how many points Nebraska scores.”

Griese: “I’ve read some stuff that there may be some sympathy votes for Nebraska if both Michigan and Nebraska win because this is [Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne’s] last year. I don’t agree with that. Nebraska still barely won against Missouri and struggled late in the game against Colorado.

“I don’t care how many teams they blew out. Nebraska almost got beat a couple times. Michigan didn’t. They took a tough schedule and went right through it.”

Jackson: “If something like that happens, if [the national championship] is decided on point differential between [bowl] games, then this whole alliance thing is a mockery. It doesn’t mean a thing, because you’re depending on the votes of the media and the coaches.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for sports programs Dec. 20-22.

SATURDAY

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Event Ch. Rating Share Pro football: Buffalo at Green Bay 4 10.3 30 Pro football: St. Louis at Carolina 11 7.7 22 Pro basketball: Lakers at Charlotte 9 5.6 11 Figure skating: Champions Series Final 11 5.5 10 Ironman Triathlon 4 3.5 10 Figure skating: World Team championship 2 1.7 5 College basketball: Texas at Illinois 2 1.3 4 Golf: Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge 7 1.1 3 College basketball: North Carolina at Florida State 2 0.9 3

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SUNDAY

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Event Ch. Rating Share Pro football: New York Jets at Detroit 4 16.5 36 Pro football: New York Giants at Dallas 11 10.3 25 Pro football: Indianapolis at Minnesota 4 9.5 23 Figure skating: Ladies Pro Championship 2 5.0 11 Golf: Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge 7 1.8 4 Skiing: Bumps and Jumps competition 11 1.7 4 Hockey: San Jose at Mighty Ducks 9 1.5 3 Skiing: King of the Mountain 2 1.4 3 Tennis: Nike Cup exhibition 2 0.8 2

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MONDAY

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Event Ch. Rating Share Pro football: New England at Miami 7 16.2 27 Pro basketball: Lakers at Houston 9 6.6 12

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Note: Each rating point represents 50,092 households.