Weekend Primer

By Eric Horowitz

Pittsburgh's Levance Field (left) and Gilbert Brown take on No. 11 Georgetown on Saturday. AP

Your guide to the weekend, SIOC style

Friday

World Series of Beer Pong

More than 400 teams are gathered in Las Vegas, their eyes fixed firmly on the $50,000 grand prize. Only one team will leave with the cash, but the losers still win the consolation prize of getting drunk in Vegas.

Cotton Bowl: No. 25 Mississippi vs. No. 7 Texas Tech, 2 p.m.
I've got a dynamite idea. Let's take a classic New Year's Day game like the Cotton Bowl and move it to Jan. 2. Oh wait, that's a terrible idea.

Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 6 Utah, 8 p.m.
When you google the phrase "Sugar Bowl," the first site that comes up has the heading "Sugar Bowl: Utah Utes vs. Alabama Crimson Tide." Sounds good. Except that it's actually the web site for a Lake Tahoe ski resort. Those sly dogs.

Men's Basketball, No. 9 UCLA at Oregon State, 10 p.m.
Behind Obama-in-law Craig Robinson, the Beavers already have five wins (one short of their total from last year), and one of those wins even came against a school from the BCS conference (Oregon State went 0-20 against such opponent last year.) The fast start has fans dreaming of a Pac-10 win, or better yet, a berth in the CBI.

Saturday

Men's Basketball: No. 3 Pitt at No. 11 Georgetown, 12 p.m.
Tickets are half-price for any Washington Wizard interested in learning how to defend the pick-and-roll.

Sunday

Exhibit of the Week: Frost/Nixon, Providence College
Ron Howard's new film is taking the world by storm (OK, the historical fiction cinema world), and this is the only exhibit about the Frost/Nixon interviews which contains materials from the private collection of Providence alum Jack Brennan (Nixon's former chief of staff who's played by Kevin Bacon in the film.) The exhibit is a must see for any Nixon or Bacon buff.

Men's Squash: Snow Flake Tournament, Dartmouth University
Don't let the BCS buzz make you forget about squash season. It's here, and it's out in full force.

Men's Basketball: Kentucky at No. 18 Louisville, 4:30 p.m.
It's the "Battle for the Bluegrass," or as the game's currently known, the "Battle to See Who Can Disappoint Their Fans the Least."