Even without games, colleges hold sway

The Bowl Championship Series is set and whether or not we agree with it, there’s nothing we can do except wallow in our college football withdrawal as we realize that this is the first weekend without any major college football.

Take heed. The sports gods are so cruel as to leave us with nothing.

Just as all the arguments over who should and shouldn’t be playing for the BCS championship begin to quell, we have another round of arguments to get us through the week . . .

The Heisman Trophy Presentation (Saturday, 5 p.m., ESPN): It’s a tossup this year, which makes it worth watching. Colt Brennan of Hawaii, Chase Daniel of Missouri, Darren McFadden of Arkansas and Tim Tebow of Florida will be dressed to the nines, sitting uncomfortably for the better part of an hour before the winner is announced.

The “College GameDay” crew of Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit will analyze each player’s season and, who knows, maybe Herbstreit will have information from an unnamed source with inside information on the winner so we know exactly who won’t win.

If you have really bad withdrawals . . .

Richmond at Appalachian State (tonight, 5, ESPN2): The division formerly known as I-AA has playoffs and this is a semifinal featuring that team that defeated Michigan in Week 1.

To see the college players of tomorrow . . .

Long Beach Poly vs. Encino Crespi (Saturday, 8 p.m., Prime Ticket): The high school major division championship game, live from the Home Depot Center, will feature teams littered with players who we’ll regularly watch on Saturdays in the future. Also, Birmingham vs. Carson (Friday, 11 p.m., Ch. 36, delayed) in the City Section title game at the Coliseum.

Then again, there’s always the NFL if you can hold out until Sunday.

The Thanksgiving Day special, 17 days later . . .

Dallas at Detroit (Sunday, 10 a.m., Ch. 11): The Cowboys can clinch the NFC East, but nobody will get any turkey legs in this game between teams that traditionally play on Thanksgiving. The Lions were 6-2 at the midway point, but their playoff hopes are fading and things aren’t going to get easier with games against Dallas, San Diego and Green Bay among their final four.

Vince Young vs. Southern California . . .

San Diego at Tennessee (Sunday, 10 a.m., Ch. 2): Or maybe it’s LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Albert Haynesworth. Or it’s both teams vs. playoff spots. Tennessee (7-5) is in third place in the AFC South with the same record that San Diego has taken to first place in the AFC West.

The next game that New England will almost lose on its way to a perfect season . . .

Pittsburgh at New England (Sunday, 1:15 p.m., Ch. 2): Hey, if the Patriots have been exposed and are as beatable as ever, as many so-called experts contend, then why are they still winning? Isn’t the ability to win close games the mark of a good team?

It’s “Take your family out to dinner night” on Monday . . .

New Orleans at Atlanta (Monday, 5:30 p.m., ESPN): The game between the Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens set a record for largest audience in cable history with a 13.0 rating. This week’s dud matchup might set a record for the smallest, unless viewers are still interested in watching Reggie Bush underachieve.

Waiting for Scott Niedermayer to return . . .

Ducks at Chicago (Tonight, 5:30, FSN West): The Conn Smythe Trophy winner announced his comeback, but he won’t play until the team returns from a three-game trip. He’ll also miss the Ducks at Nashville (Saturday, 5 p.m., FSN West) and the Ducks at Columbus (Monday, 4 p.m., FSN Prime). Don’t fret, though, Niedermayer will get plenty of frequent flier miles when the Ducks play 12 of 13 games on the road Jan. 17-Feb. 12.

Spring training is still two months away, but we have a doubleheader Sunday . . .

Miami at Clippers (Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Ch. 5) and Golden State at Lakers (Sunday, 6:30 p.m., FSN West): Both games are at Staples Center, which means the pregame show for the Lakers game will feature the obligatory high-speed film of workers changing the arena floor.

Kobe Bryant says he can go on three days’ rest even though his shoulder is hurting. Maybe we’ll see Baron Davis score 51 since that strategy worked against Allen Iverson.

Ho, hum, December college basketball . . .

Davidson vs. UCLA at Anaheim (Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Ch. 9): There could be another upset Bruin here. Davidson may be 3-4, but the Wildcats lost to North Carolina by four points and Duke by six.

Kentucky at Indiana (Saturday, 1 p.m., Ch. 2): Looks good on paper, but wake us if they play in March.

Set the DVR (but this time, don’t skip the commercials) . . .

This is SportsCenter (Tuesday, 5 p.m., ESPN) is a one-hour special chronicling the best of the lampooning ESPN ad campaign.

Host Karl Ravech will take viewers on a journey through more than 50 of the “SportsCenter” commercials that feature pro athletes interacting with ESPN anchors.

Included will be the first commercial in the series as well as debuts of three new spots.

Christine Daniels has the day off.

--

peter.yoon@latimes.com