NEW ORLEANS - Let me be among the first to wish you a Happy New Year, or new decade. Ironically enough, the first day of the “20-teens,” if you will, provides some endings in the Allstate Sugar Bowl between top-five teams Florida and Cincinnati Friday night in the Superdome.

There’s the soap opera-esque story of Gators coach Urban Meyer, who abruptly resigned on Dec. 26 for health-related reasons, then changed his mind less than 24 hours later to take a leave of absence. Meyer will coach against the Bearcats, then step aside for an as yet undetermined period while offensive coordinator Steve Addazio assumes the role of interim head coach.

Speaking of interim coaches, that’s the one-game role for Cincinnati’s Jeff Quinn, who runs the Bearcat show for the Sugar Bowl after Brian Kelly resigned three weeks ago to accept the Notre Dame coaching position. Quinn is leaving after the game to begin his new position as head coach at Buffalo.

And did we really make it to the fourth paragraph before mentioning Tim Tebow? Oh, yeah. It’s his final game in a Gator uniform.

“It will be emotional. It will be hard,” Tebow said earlier this week. “Probably taking that uniform off (after the game) will be the hardest.”

Clearly, there have been enough off-the-field storylines for these two programs in the last month to last a lifetime.

Meyer and Quinn spent much of their Thursday news conferences answering questions unrelated to what’s going to happen on the field Friday night. Meyer got a half-dozen or more questions about his health, but only addressed the release of the 911 call made by his wife the night after the SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama. The call indicated he was suffering from heart problems, which contradicted an earlier report of dehydration.

Meyer admitted to “not coming clean with full details” about the incident.

“I didn’t want it to get out at all,” Meyer said. “I didn’t want anyone alarmed. At some point, you think … there would be a lot of respect for families involved and children, (and you) do what you have to do to protect them.”

Even Quinn was asked about Meyer’s health.

“I think we should just go fishing and … relax a little bit,” Quinn joked. He then added, “It just goes to show life is more important than the game.”

And while the last week has again provided a reminder that there are things more important than the games we cover, toe will still meet leather sometime shortly after 7:30 Friday night.

On the field, the most intriguing matchup, and arguably the game-deciding one, will be Cincinnati’s offense against Florida’s defense. The Bearcats rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring, passing and total offense, while Florida is a top-five unit in all three of those defensive categories.

While Cincinnati’s defense is not nearly as good statistically as Florida’s, it ranks among the top 10 nationally in quarterback sacks.

Both teams have played turnover-free throughout the season. Tebow has thrown just five interceptions, while Cincinnati’s Tony Pike has been picked off only six times.

Cincinnati is clearly an underdog heading into the game, but so was Utah a year ago against Alabama.

“Florida is a great ballclub,” Quinn said. “We’ll have to play our very best. We’ll have to play our triple-A game to be in a position to win this game.”

One of the ways you always hear this time of year to handicap bowl games is to go with “the team that wants to be there more.” Friday, it may be the team that handles distraction the best.

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written by Balbir Singh Sooch, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year! Why Not to Wish the ‘Happy New Years’ Ahead?
God’s Will’ Shall Prevail!
Happy New Year to the Best Friend and All

Dear Jarnail,

We are ready to play in ‘New Year-2010’
And the past played with us
The days ahead like a U turn for us
To further strengthen my belief in GOD
As you wish us all a "VERY HAPPY,
HEALTHY,
WEALTHY,
PROSPEROUS AND ENJOYABLE
NEW YEAR-2010"
All HE planned and gifted me to wish so a friend
To enjoy an enjoyable past, played with us
Health was because of happiness
Wealth is the soundness of health
We wish all of you the healthiness
Includes everything which you wish for us
Nothing added by me but my belief in HIM
God planned the friend and now a relation
A ‘U’ TURN IN LIFE FOR US
We are ready to play in ‘New Year-2010’
And the past played with us
It was all normal for HIM but new for us
A ‘U’ TURN IN LIFE FOR US
‘We wish all of you the healthiness
Includes everything which you wish for us’

From: Balbir Singh Sooch, Advocate, Ludhiana and his family
www.sikhvicharmanch.com

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