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'Canes center cleared by NCAA

CORAL GABLES -- The NCAA cleared Miami center Brett Romberg of any wrongdoing after he made a bet with a radio talk show host this season.

The school's compliance office released a statement saying he can play Saturday at Syracuse.

Romberg and talk show host Paul Castronovo of WZTA-Miami made an on-air wager before the top-ranked Hurricanes' Sept. 7 game against Florida.

If the Gators won, Romberg and his fellow offensive linemen would don Gators jerseys for a picture to appear on the station's Web site. If the Hurricanes won, Castronovo, a Florida graduate, would take the linemen to dinner.

Romberg called Castronovo the next day and informed him it would be an NCAA violation for the radio host to take them to dinner, so they altered the bet to make it dinner at Castronovo's house. The 'Canes beat Florida 41-16, but Castronovo said he hasn't provided any meals.

"I'm cleared, everything's fine and I'm allowed to play this weekend," Romberg said. "I'm just glad this thing only lasted a day and it didn't put any distractions on our team."

BCS berths still open

Two of eight spots for BCS games are filled, and there are 14 teams under consideration for the remaining berths.

Ohio State, co-champion of the Big Ten Conference with Iowa, completed its season 13-0 and is headed to the title game, the Jan. 3 Fiesta Bowl. Florida State clinched a bid as ACC champion.

Ten teams are in the running for four conference titles with automatic bids: Miami, Pittsburgh and West Virginia in the Big East, Colorado and Oklahoma in the Big 12, USC and Washington State in the Pac-10, and Arkansas, Georgia and LSU in the SEC.

The other teams -- Iowa, Kansas State, Notre Dame and Texas -- are looking for at-large spots.

Tampa wants to host the Army-Navy game

Tampa is among 14 cities that have expressed an interest in being the future home of the Army-Navy game. The academies' agreement with Philadelphia expires after next season's game at the new Lincoln Financial Field.

Miami, Jacksonville, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, East Rutherford, N.J., Pittsburgh, Houston, San Antonio, Texas, Buffalo, N.Y., and the New England region of Warwick and Providence, R.I., also inquired about a five-year contract.

GRIDIRON CLASSIC: Maryland's Ralph Friedgen and Central Florida's Mike Kruczek will coach at the fifth annual college all-star game Jan. 25 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando. The game pits seniors from Florida against seniors from around the country.

COLUMBIA: Coach Ray Tellier was fired after 14 seasons but will remain at the school as assistant athletic director. The Lions went 1-9, last in the Ivy League.

FLORIDA A&M: Athletic director Ken Riley and associate athletic director Cynthia Dupont-Jones were fired. Riley, 55, was a quarterback for the Rattlers in the late '60s and played 15 seasons as a cornerback for the Bengals.

JACKSON STATE: Robert Hughes will not return as coach after the team's third straight 7-4 season.

NEBRASKA: Kicker Josh Brown was suspended from playing against Colorado on Friday. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Sunday.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: The Wolfpack accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, the school's third straight bowl in Florida under coach Chuck Amato. The No. 21 Wolfpack faces either Notre Dame or the winner of Pittsburgh-West Virginia.

SACRAMENTO STATE: Coach John Volek was fired after the Hornets finished the season 5-7.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Coach Lou Holtz had his $800,000 a year contract extended one year through '07. Next season will be Holtz's 32nd as coach. He has 238 wins, tied for eighth with Woody Hayes.

TEXAS A&M: Defensive lineman Brandon Fails died Monday from a blood clot in his lungs, the Travis County medical examiner's office said. The 18-year-old collapsed as he was leaving his dorm room.

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