The Orange Bowl was doomed from the start: Louisville defeated Wake Forest 24-13, but most of the free world was probably still talking about and replaying the Boise State/Oklahoma game, which is one of the best games of this generation. There was no way the Orange Bowl was going to top it. It’s like batting after a grand slam. Or singing karaoke after RandBall.

The Answer tossed: Allen Iverson was ejected; his old team, the 76ers, defeated his new team, the Nuggets; and Denver is now 2-4 since the big trade. We’ll reserve judgment until Carmelo Anthony is back, but so far, not so good for A.I. in Denver.

Hey, great news for Lions fans: Matt Millen said this on Tuesday: “I’ll never quit.” One might think that having a 24-72 record during his tenure might take the job decision out of Millen’s hands, but indications are otherwise.

The details of the Darrent Williams shooting death are starting to unfold, and it’s pretty grusome. Deadspin.com has posted a picture of teammate Javon Walker, who was in the vehicle with Williams, in a bloody shirt. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s out there if you want to have a look. The Denver Post is also doing some very nice work, which you can see here. All in all, an ugly and tragic story. What else can you say?

The Arizona Cardinals made it official, dumping Dennis Green after a 5-11 season and an overall record of 16-32 in three years in the desert. His tenure can pretty much be summed up right here. Thank you for that, Denny. We’ll never forget it.

Nice grab by thebiglead.com in finding this interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal about the shortcomings of the NFL Network this year. The network had hoped its package of NFL games would boost demand and help it jump into 70 million homes. Instead, it’s at 40 million, according to the article. Honestly, don’t we get enough NFL on Sunday and Monday? The best part about pro football is the exclusivity. You can’t just see it whenever you want like baseball, basketball or hockey. The Thursday NFL Network games seem to water down the overall product. They’re almost forgotten, with the exception of that hideous Vikings/Packers game. The best part, though: “Oddly, the closest the NFL came to stoking a public demand for its programming was among fans of a college team, Rutgers University, which (played) Kansas State in (Thursday’s) Texas Bowl.”

You’ll notice the Gophers/Texas Tech Insight Bowl matchup, scheduled to air on the NFL Network tonight, did not generate similar castle-storming.

An NFL team is making a change in who calls plays. Sorry to report, Vikings fans, that the team in question is the New York Giants. Head coach Tom Coughlin has relieved offensive coordinator John Hufnagel of his play-calling duties. QB coach Kevin Gilbride will call plays against Washington on Sunday, a game New York basically must have. “John Hufnagel is not a scapegoat here,” Coughlin said. Um, coach. That’s pretty much exactly what he is. Hufnagel, you’ll be pleased to know, will continue in an administrative role with the offense. It is estimated by RandBall that 80 percent of his time will now be spent clipping negative stories out of the New York Post before Eli Manning reads it. The other 20 percent of the time: Back rubs for Tiki.Â