Singer Alanis Morrisette can add a new line to her song "Ironic" after Saturday's college football action.
North Carolina Central's Quentin Atkinson earned a penalty for excessive celebration -- in the Celebration Bowl -- and the Eagles lost 10-9 to Grambling State in the bowl that decides bragging rights for historically black colleges and universities.
The Eagles had a chance to tie the game at 10-10 after Atkinson shook loose a defender and caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling Malcolm Bell. But Atkinson took off his helmet while reveling with the crowd at the Georgia Dome, drawing a personal foul penalty.
"I kind of felt at fault for that," Atkinson said. "I do want to apologize to my team for that because that was a selfish act. I'm not selfish, but it was the heat of the moment and I was excited to bring the team back with an outstanding play."
The 15-yard penalty pushed back the extra-point attempt to the 17, and on the snap, Grambling's Joseph McWilliams surged in and blocked Brandon McLaren's kick and the Tigers held off NC Central for the remaining 2:14 to preserve the victory.
Bell called Atkinson's mistake "kind of a bonehead play" but said the team also was hurt by other mistakes in the game.
Here's hoping Clemson and Ohio State keep this in mind when they play in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve.
Money trouble
Golfer John Daly once threw $55,000 out of a car window. Just to make a point.
During an interview Thursday on ESPN Radio's The Dan Le Batard Show, the Dardanelle native and former Arkansas Razorback told the tale of how he tried to teach his then-wife Sherri a lesson.
"I won like $55,000 in the casino and I said [to Sherri], if you're going to yell and scream at me about this, I threw it over the bridge between Memphis and Arkansas," said Daly, 50. "I threw all the money out the [car] window and said, 'You know what, if you want that money, you can go find it. But let me tell you something, you don't have a job. You're not working. I'm supporting you, I'm paying all the bills.' "
Sherri, Daly's fourth ex-wife, told much the same story in her 2011 book, Teed Off: My Life as a Player's Wife on the PGA Tour. Daly really did toss $55,000 out of a car window. In the book, she said she went back and was able to retrieve most of the loose bills.
Later in the interview, Daly, now engaged to Anna Cladakis, was asked why it's been so hard for him to find the right woman. Did he have bad judgment?
"No, I'm like Jesus," Daly said. "My problem is I love them all."
Curses
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been having a good season, despite his 3-catch, 41-yard effort during Sunday's loss to Tennessee.
Kelce fell 59 yards short of becoming the first NFL tight end with five consecutive games with at least 100 yards receiving.
That's the kind of thing that lands a player in contention for the cover of the latest edition of the Madden NFL video game franchise. Just like New England Rob Gronkowski, whose 2016 season ended early because of injuries, The "Madden curse" is definitely on Kelce's mind.
"You know what, that's a scary thing to even talk about," Kelce said in an interview Friday on NBC Sports' PFT Live. "I hope Rob comes back stronger than ever and ready to take on the league but man that's definitely been something that as a kid you always dreamed of being on the cover of a video game or something like that. [But] it seems the curse is alive and it's a scary thing."
Former Arkansas Razorback Peyton Hillis of Conway, then with the Cleveland Browns, graced the cover of Madden NFL 2012 before heated contract disputes and ailments that included strep throat and an injured hamstring limited him to 587 yards rushing in 10 games during the 2011 season. After the season, the Browns declined to re-sign him and he left as a free agent.
Sports quiz
What NFL player was on the cover of the first edition of the Madden NFL video game in 1998?
Answer
San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst, who broke his ankle soon after and didn't play again for two years.
Sports on 12/19/2016