THIS DAY – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  This is an important day in our holiday season, marked on calendars all over the nation as TDTRGH...The Day the Relatives Go Home.  Tomorrow brings the serenity of quietude.

But there's time for one last toast – to Texas Christian University for winning the Rose Bowl, showing that a small school can do it, and deserves to be counted in the big leagues.  I had a slight leaning for Wisconsin, since half the population of New York State attends the University of Wisconsin, but I take pleasure in TCU's victory.

Of course, I do remember, if only via history books, when our Columbia University, dear to our family's heart, played in the Rose Bowl, and won – in 1934.  Okay, that was only 77 years ago, and my parents weren't even married.  But Columbia did win, under legendary coach Lou Little.  Then Columbia turned left, and football become a secondary sport, losing out to campus riots. 

My daughter was a Columbia football cheerleader.  I'll ask her if she recalls any victories.  If I remember correctly, all the players were under 5'6" and wanted to be entertainment lawyers. 

But three cheers to TCU.

January 2, 2011