NOTEBOOK | Rose Bowl

Top matchup: Southern California-Texas isn't the only 1-2 matchup in the Rose Bowl. There's this little deal between Reggie Bush and Vince Young. It started at the Heisman Trophy ceremony, when Bush won and Young finished second. The USC tailback celebrated; the Texas quarterback said he was disappointed and felt he'd let down his team and family. "I surely didn't expect for him to make the comments that he made," Bush said Sunday. "He seems like a great guy, a normal guy, so I don't have any negative thoughts about him. I wouldn't say there was an edge, but you've got that competitive nature, you want to win." Asked if he avoided talking to Young at the awards presentation in New York last month, Bush said, "I don't think I was giving him the cold shoulder at all. That was a special moment for all of us. I was just trying to focus on the whole thing," he said. During an outing at Disneyland last week, Young clearly nodded toward USC quarterback Matt Leinart when players on both teams passed each other. Young made no such gesture toward Bush. The top-ranked Trojans and No. 2 Texas meet Wednesday in the Rose Bowl. Young starred in the Rose last season, and hopes to lead the Longhorns to another victory this time. "He's already made it clear that he wants to try to make it a platform, so what can you do?" Bush said. Bush is expected to pass up his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Young has said he intends to return next fall for his senior season. Bush insisted he won't decide whether to turn pro until sometime after the Rose Bowl. Hours before the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers played, he said he might try to watch some of the so-called "Bush Bowl." The loser was assured the No. 1 pick in the draft, and many predict Bush would be taken first if available. The 49ers -- the team Bush said he liked best as a a kid -- wound up winning 20-17 in overtime. "I won't be rooting for anybody, just be watching the game," Bush said. "I'm hoping for Alex [Smith] to do something." Smith, a high school teammate of Bush's in San Diego, was picked by the 49ers last year as the overall No. 1 choice.
Old-school broadcaster: When the hype and hoopla peaks just before kickoff at the Rose Bowl, there will be a calm, familiar voice to bring order and perspective to the national championship game. Working what for what may be his final time in the broadcast booth, Keith Jackson will call the action on ABC in the same relaxed, folksy-but-wise manner that's been his style for nearly 40 years. "All my life, I've just tried to help people understand the game," Jackson said Sunday. The 77-year-old Jackson, who may decide to retire when his contract expires in May, obviously doesn't care for some of the other changes in the business. "We try to be as focused as we can, and it's hard because you have so many elements introduced into it today -- the promos, the flashbacks, your commercials, your this, your that," he said. "And then you've got a 'suiter' from New York who suddenly shows up in the truck and says, 'Do this.' And the producer worth his salt hits him with his briefcase and sends him out of the door. There are a lot of distractions. You just have to steel yourself against them." Through it all, Jackson is determined to stick to basics. "I got a letter, oh, it must have been 40 years ago, from a lady in Rock Springs, Wyo., who wrote: 'I like the sound of the broadcast. I think you're a nice man. But I seldom understand what you're saying. Will you please keep it simple?" Jackson related. "I still have that letter, and everybody who has ever worked with me is well familiar with that lady from Rock Springs, Wyo."
Associated Press