The 2006 college football bowl lineup brought out a lot of heart-warming stories about many players and the coaches. The past few days have been exciting and enjoyable watching the young men battle their hearts out on a highly visible national stage. For many it was the last time that they would ever play football.

I was particularly touched by University of Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez as he guided his underdog Badgers to a 24-10 Capital One Bowl victory over Auburn Monday in his final game. Alvarez, who has also served as the school’s athletic director, since April 2004 is relinquishing his football coaching duties to give fulltime to the AD position.

Alvarez came to Madison in 1990 to take over a Wisconsin program that had gone 9-36 over its last four seasons. In his 16 seasons as head coach, the Badgers have compiled a record of 108 wins, 70 losses and four ties. This includes three Big 10 Conference championships and three Rose Bowl victories. His overall bowl record stands at 8-3.

Alvarez, who grew up in a small mining town in western Pennsylvania and went on to play college football at Nebraska, coached some outstanding players during his Wisconsin tenure – Ron Dayne, Troy Vincent, Aaron Gibson, Chris McIntosh, Jamar Fletcher, Michael Bennett, Wendall Bryant, Lee Evans and Erasmus James were all NFL first-round draft picks – yet he will always be remembered most for the way he handled his program and his players. He has had a unique way of combining fairness and firmness that places him among the highest echelons of college coaches.

In 2000. Alvarez and his wife Cindy endowed $250,000 for an annual University of Wisconsin scholarship, showing their appreciation to the institution. In 2001, he was named of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by the Hispanic Business publication.

Following his team’s bowl victory, Alvarez gave praise to his current players, past players and to everyone he had been associated with in Madison for making his career a success.

Alvarez came in with plenty of class and has stepped with plenty of class and he turns a strong and proud program over to his predecessor.

THE DROP KICK for an extra point Sunday by ageless Doug Flutie in the New England Patriots’ NFL game with Miami will go down as “sweet” in Flutie’s 25-plus year career as a college/professional football. The 45-year-old Flutie, winner of the 1984 Heisman Trophy after a brilliant quarterbacking career at Boston College, scored the first drop-kick PAT in the NFL since 1941.

The only other successful drop-kicked extra point since then at any level that I am aware of was accomplished by Whiteville High School lineman Sidney Gibson (now a longtime Whiteville family dentist) on October 22, 1965 in the Wolfpack’s 39-0 late-season victory over the host Bladenboro Bulldogs.