Week in review.

Monday

• Bowl ratings: Overnight ratings for the Capital One Bowl on ABC dropped 27%, but were still the highest of the non-BCS bowls. Meanwhile, overnight ratings increased for the Cotton and Sugar Bowls on FOX.
• More bowl ratings: the Orange Bowl drew a 5.4 final rating, the lowest rating ever for a BCS bowl game.
• Moving to the pros, FOX drew the highest overnight rating of Wild Card Weekend, drawing a 19.9 for Eagles/Vikings in the late Sunday afternoon window. Meanwhile, the lone Wild Card game on CBS, Ravens/Dolphins, was down slightly from last year’s comparable game.
• Familiar names in new places: Jay Mariotti moves to AOL Sports, while Matt Millen joins NBC’s Super Bowl coverage.

Tuesday

• Overnight ratings for the Fiesta Bowl jump 38% from last year’s game.
• The Rose Bowl draws an 11.7 final rating, up from last year, but still the third-lowest rating for the Rose Bowl in the BCS era.
• Final ratings also increase for the Sugar Bowl, but the game is still the seventh-lowest rated BCS bowl in history.

Wednesday

• Most readers were not particularly interested in hearing ESPN’s Dick Vitale analyze an NBA game.

Thursday

• The Fiesta Bowl draws a 10.4 final rating, up 35% from last year. Excluding National Championship games, the 10.4 is the best ever for a BCS bowl on FOX.
• Heading into the National Championship game, ratings for the BCS were up 6% from last year.
• College football bowl games also did well on cable, as the 2.5 U.S. rating for bowls on ESPN and ESPN2 was up 9% from the previous year.
• NFL Wild Card games drew strong numbers on FOX and NBC. Colts/Chargers on NBC was the week’s highest rated and most viewed prime time program, while Eagles/Vikings on FOX was the highest rated and most viewed program of the week in any daypart.

Friday

• The BCS National Championship game drew higher numbers than last year. The 17.0 overnight ratings was up 9%, and the 15.8 final rating was up 10%. Overall, ratings for the five BCS bowl games on FOX and ABC were up 7% to a 10.2.
• Ratings and viewership for every 2008-09 college football bowl game.
• The NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day drew a 2.5 final rating, up 14% from the previous year.
• Charles Barkley‘s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit when he was arrested for DUI in December. As a result, he will take an extended leave of absence from his role as a TNT NBA analyst — one which will last a minimum of several weeks.

Saturday

• Ratings predictions for the NFL’s Divisional Round playoff games.

Sunday

• The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium will play host to a prime time college football game on ESPN Labor Day Weekend. Meanwhile, the 2010 NBA All Star Game at the same venue will have a seating capacity of 100,000, which would be the biggest crowd in basketball history.
• Assorted articles: scrutiny for the ESPN Adam Jones piece, a look at the current state of sportswriting, and an examination of Thom Brennaman‘s adoration of Tim Tebow.