Sports is all about the money and how much money any individual game can generate. That’s fine and not worth getting angry about. Entertainment as we know it is about the money too. It’s really not about the art-television, movies, theater etc.

Forget about legalized sports betting for a minute or two. The once marvelous college football bowl games have been consumed and subsidized by sponsors for years with universities, conferences and coaches being the major beneficiaries (for years).

I have no idea how many different bowl games there are any longer, nor does it really matter. I can’t tell who most of the sponsors are since many don’t pay for that much advertising. I mistakenly though Yahoo Sports would identify the sponsors in their various scoreboards, but they don’t-even the Peach and Fiesta bowls.

What does bother me though is how the sports media loves to bad mouth the college playoff system and one of the four selections. Rather than letting the playoffs play themselves out, they always predict a lousy outcome, a mismatch. It’s happened before and will happen again-as it often plays out that way in the real Final Four.

Just because one team blows out another in the semi-final round doesn’t necessarily mean that losing team was a bad selection. You have to let the games play out. Conversely, you never know when a lower-level game, like last night’s Liberty Bowl will entertain you.

Were I not driving last night and held captive to the broadcast on ESPN radio, there is no way I would have watched a game between 6-6 Kansas and 6-6 Arkansas. I don’t even know who called the game or who the sponsor was, but I couldn’t have been better entertained as I listened to much of the end of the fourth quarter and first two overtimes. I can’t imagine anyone in Chicago other than new Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi rooting for the Razorbacks. And despite the number of Jayhawks residing in Illinois, I don’t think anyone really cares about Kansas.

Given that I don’t know the sponsor’s name, I don’t know what their ROI on a 55-53, thrilling, three-overtime game could possibly be. If you’re a true college football fan, isn’t this the type of game you’re hoping for?

Even the historic Pinstripes Bowl (at Yankee Stadium) has a sponsor that isn’t getting their money’s worth. I caught a down or two on the radio this afternoon and heard the power mower company’s name but can’t recall it. Even realizing why it’s called the Pinstripes Bowl; I can’t help but think of the bowling alley-bocci courts/restaurant/entertainment centers Pinstripes in suburban Chicago.

Without worrying about whether the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl are competitive, I’m sure the fans of the two winners will be happy with the outcomes. It seems half the football world is cheering for an Ohio State-Michigan rematch and the other 90% as Yogi would say, are rooting for a different outcome.