Would-Be Inauguration in Venezuela for Chávez

Ariana Cubillos/Associated Press

A woman walked past a wall plastered with election campaign posters of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela in Caracas on Wednesday.

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez’s supporters have not ruled out swearing him in from his hospital in Havana. His detractors are calling for government investigators to go check his pulse themselves. The justices whom Mr. Chávez’s allies have named to the Supreme Court have decided that he can continue to govern in absentia.

In a country that Mr. Chávez has dominated for so long, his health crisis and the decision to proceed on Thursday with a quasi-presidential inauguration that he is unable to attend are producing a stream of bizarre developments and national angst about who is in charge.

“Who’s governing Venezuela?” Julio Borges, an opposition member of the National Assembly, said during a noisy legislative debate this week on the biggest issue facing the country, overshadowing other urgent matters like pressures for a painful currency devaluation, stagnant oil production and chronic shortages of food and other staples on store shelves.

Mr. Chávez has long said, “I am the people,” a mantra that his supporters are invoking as they plan to don the sash the president would have worn had he been able to attend his inauguration, symbolically becoming presidents themselves.

“Anyone who has a sash, bring it along, because tomorrow the people will be invested as president of the republic, because the people are Chávez,” Diosdado Cabello, the president of the National Assembly, said Wednesday. “All of us here are Chávez, the people in the street are Chávez, the lady who cooks is Chávez, the comrade who works as a watchman is Chávez, the soldier is Chávez, the woman is Chávez, the farmer is Chávez, the worker is Chávez; we’re all Chávez.”

To no one’s surprise, the Supreme Court, full of Chávez loyalists, ruled on the eve of the ceremony that Mr. Chávez’s inauguration could be postponed and that his team of advisers could smoothly move, in his absence, from one term to the next.

The court declined to set a time limit for the swearing in, raising the possibility that the country’s deepening uncertainty could go on for weeks or months. And it did nothing to clear up the stubborn mystery of the president’s condition.

Luisa Estella Morales, the president of the Supreme Court, said Wednesday at a news conference that there was no need at this time for a delegation to go to Cuba and report back on the condition of Mr. Chávez, 58. Asked if the swearing in could occur in Havana, she said the time and place of the ceremony had not been determined.

 Ms. Morales said the Supreme Court’s ruling was meant to uphold the results of October’s presidential election.

“It’s one of the most important values that we should preserve as a constitutional court,” Ms. Morales said. “The sovereign Venezuelan people have expressed through their vote their desire to continue being governed by President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías.”

The government has been opaque for months, acknowledging that he suffered from a relapse of cancer in the pelvic area, but not specifying the type of cancer or detailing his prognosis.

The lack of information has left Venezuela tied in knots. Mr. Chávez has loomed so large for so long — with speeches that have lasted for hours, frequent Twitter posts and his outsized singing, ranting, poetry-reciting and foe-bashing personality — that his sudden silence has created a sizable vacuum.

“We don’t have a president,” lamented Estela Martínez, 63, a nurse who has supported Mr. Chávez throughout his 14 years in office. She said she was afraid that the public was not getting the full truth about the president’s condition and that there was far more shouting than clarity from political leaders. “Someone has to take the reins of the country.”

Henrique Capriles Radonski, the opposition candidate who lost to Mr. Chávez in October, criticized the Supreme Court’s decision endorsing a delay in the inauguration. “Institutions should not respond to the interests of a government,” he said.

The State Department in Washington, which has been cautious about getting involved in the contentious political back-and-forth, said Wednesday that it would be eager to improve relations with Venezuela, which have long been strained.

María Iguarán and María Eugenia Díaz contributed reporting.

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Jaguars fire Mularkey after team's worst season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars fired coach Mike Mularkey Thursday after just one season, the worst in franchise history.

New general manager David Caldwell made the announcement, giving him a clean slate heading into 2013. Caldwell said he made the move just 48 hours after he was hired because he wants to immediately explore every avenue possible to turn the Jaguars around.

"For that to happen as seamlessly as we want, and as quickly as our fans deserve, I feel it is in everyone's best interests for an immediate and clean restart," Caldwell said.

Mularkey, who went 2-14 this season, looked like he would be one and done when owner Shad Khan parted ways with general manager Gene Smith last week. Even though Khan ultimately hired Mularkey, Smith directed the coaching search last January that started and ended with the former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator.

"Mike Mularkey is leaving our organization with my utmost respect," Khan said. "Mike gave the Jaguars everything he had on and off the field, and his efforts as our head coach will always be appreciated."

Mularkey's brief tenure — he didn't even last a year — was filled with mistakes. His biggest one may have been his loyalty to Smith, who assembled a roster that lacked talent on both sides of the ball.

Mularkey probably stuck with Smith's franchise quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, longer than he should have. And the coach's insistence that the team was closer than outsiders thought and his strong stance that he had the roster to turn things around became comical as the losses mounted. The Jaguars lost eight games by at least 16 points, a staggering number of lopsided losses in a parity-filled league.

Mularkey would have been better served had he said publicly what he voiced privately: that the Jaguars didn't have enough playmakers or a starting-caliber quarterback.

Instead, he never conceded that Jacksonville was a rebuilding project that needed time.

Mularkey signed a three-year contract on Jan. 11, 2012, getting a second chance to be a head coach six years after resigning with the Buffalo Bills.

His return was shaky from the start.

His best player, running back Maurice Jones-Drew, skipped offseason workouts as well as training camp and the preseason in a contract dispute. His first draft pick, receiver Justin Blackmon, was arrested and charged with aggravated DUI in June. And his team was riddled with injuries, including key ones to linebacker Daryl Smith and Jones-Drew.

Even things he had control over went awry.

He had to backtrack after saying Chad Henne would compete with Gabbert for the starting job in March. He created a stir by threatening to fine players up to $10,000 for discussing injuries. He initially played rookie receiver Kevin Elliott over Cecil Shorts III early on. And he really irked some players with tough, padded practices late in a lost season.

Throw in the way he handled injuries to receiver Laurent Robinson (four concussions before going on IR) and Jones-Drew (admittedly should have had foot surgery sooner), and there were reasons to doubt whether Mularkey was cut out to be a head coach. Dating back to his final season in Buffalo, Mularkey has lost 20 of his last 23 games.

Nonetheless, if Khan really wanted to fire Mularkey, he would have done after the season finale along with Smith.

So this was Caldwell's call.

Caldwell and Mularkey spent four years together in Atlanta, getting to know each other well enough that Caldwell didn't need a sit down with Mularkey after he got the GM job Tuesday.

Caldwell and Khan have a news conference scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Potential replacements for Mularkey include former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

Roman's name has been linked to the Jaguars since Caldwell became the leading candidate to replace Smith.

Roman and Caldwell were teammates and roommates in the 1990's while attending John Carroll University.

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F.D.A. Requires Cuts to Dosages of Ambien and Other Sleep Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that it was requiring manufacturers of popular sleeping pills like Ambien and Zolpimist to cut their recommended dosage in half for women, after laboratory studies showed that they can leave people still sleepy in the morning and at risk for accidents.

The agency issued the requirement for drugs containing the active ingredient zolpidem, by far the most widely used sleep aid. Using lower doses means less of the drug will remain in the blood in the morning hours, and leave people who take it less exposed to the risk of impairment while driving to work.

Women eliminate zolpidem from their bodies more slowly than men and the agency told manufacturers that the recommended dosage for women should be lowered to 5 milligrams from 10 milligrams for immediate-release products like Ambien, Edluar and Zolpimist. Dosages for extended-release products should be lowered to 6.25 milligrams from 12.5, the agency said. The agency also recommended lowering dosages for men.

An estimated 10 to 15 percent of women will have a level of zolpidem in their blood that impairs driving eight hours after taking the pill, while only about 3 percent of men do, said Dr. Robert Temple, deputy director for clinical science in the F.D.A.'s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Doctors will still be told that they can prescribe the higher dosage if the lower one does not work, Dr. Temple said.

“Most people thought that by the morning it is gone,” he said. “What we’re reminding people is that is sort of true, but that in some women who take a full 10 milligram dose, and in a lot of people who take the control release dose, it is not entirely true. Some people will be impaired in the morning.”

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App Smart: A Deep Look at Tech Tools for Scuba Divers

In the middle of winter there can be few more spine-chilling thoughts than the idea of slipping into the ocean for a dip. But at least one group of people are attracted to the idea of year-round: scuba divers.

The Android and iOS app Scuba Exam offers a quiz to prepare divers for tests.

While high technology and water don’t mix well as a rule, the smartphone and tablet revolution has expanded to diving. Divers now have many apps to help them plan, execute and even train for their dives.

For beginners who need to pass certification tests before they can dive freely, the Scuba Exam app (a restricted-feature version is free on iOS and on Android) is an ideal helper. Novice divers will enjoy its short history of diving, back to early diving-bell experiments by Guglielmo de Lorena in 1531. It also has a dictionary of diving terms and expressions, and you’ll get more terms with the app’s full version on iOS and Android ($4 each). But the app’s main feature is a practice quiz about best diving practices, with plenty of questions to prepare you for your diving qualification test. The app is not pretty to look at, nor is it very sophisticated. But the simplicity of its straightforward design will be useful to help you refresh your knowledge in your spare moments.

For seasoned divers, apps can help you log dives; you can enter data on your smartphone while every detail about the dive is fresh in your memory. The $12 iOS app Dive Log offers one of the most comprehensive diving logs. A quick tap on the “+” button takes users to a prompt to either enter a new dive in an empty template, or use the last dive’s log as a template. The interface for entering dive data is intuitive — twirling dials to set dive depth, for example, or choosing from a prepopulated list of dive types (like “fun” or “wreck”). It can even sync with dive logs on your computer, show you your overall diving statistics and keep track of your diving buddies’ details. The one criticism is that the app is so complex that it’s easy to get a little lost in its menus.

Diving Dude (free on iOS) offers a similar experience, and even has a few social networking features. You can, for example, see your buddies’ recent dive experiences in detail.

It’s more cheerfully designed than Dive Log, relying more on icons to simplify logging dive details like water visibility or weather. But the app feels slow to respond in some places, and you have to scroll down to the “save” button to save data, a step that is easy to forget.

The free Android app Dive Log offers a basic, text-based interface. But it doesn’t skimp on functionality. Like the iOS app of the same name, it lets you log detailed dive data. Divers who like to keep precise track of their experiences may even prefer it to the iOS alternative.

To help with compressed air calculations, iDive Nitrox ($2 on iOS) is a simple no-frills app. On its single screen, you enter your planned depth and other details, by using sliders or typing in figures. The app immediately gives data like the best blend of nitrogen and oxygen to use. The free Nitrox Calculator app for Android is similar in function. These apps also caution you that they are not meant to replace your own calculations; they’re best used to double-check yourself.

Knowledge of tides and currents is critical to divers, and many apps promise to help. For worldwide tides, Marine Tides Planner (free on iOS) has a long list of global ports, and delivers tide predictions with clear charts and numerical tables. Its map interface for selecting locations is confusing, but you can mark locations as favorites. You’ll probably tap most often on those favorites and rarely have to worry about the map. The app is free for basic tide predictions, but for more precise tidal calculations there’s an in-app purchase option. The app is free, though it does require you to pay for extras to make calculations accurate for tidal predictions.

A free Android app, Tides & Currents, does an equally fine job of predicting tides in the near future. This app has a slightly confusing alphabetical list of locations, but you can configure it to report ports nearest to your location. It has a basic interface and the tidal data display is clear and uncluttered.

Quick Calls

Android fans of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog and casual gamers in general will enjoy the new $2 game Sonic Jump, which sends the familiar spiky cartoon hero soaring through a vertical obstacle maze.

The popular iOS fitness app RunKeeper (free on iTunes) has been overhauled. Version 3 has a more stylish interface, easier in-app navigation and better support for taking race photos.

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World Briefing | Americas: Colombia: Former President’s Ties to Militia Under Investigation

Colombia’s chief prosecutor’s office has opened a preliminary criminal investigation into former President Álvaro Uribe over allegations he sponsored a deadly far-right militia as a regional governor in the 1990s. The inquiry ordered last Wednesday was made public Tuesday by Mr. Uribe’s lawyer, Jaime Granados. Mr. Uribe denounced it on Twitter as defamation based on the testimony of “manipulated prisoners.” The case stems from 2011 accusations by a leftist congressman, Ivan Cepeda, that a far-right militia that killed suspected rebel sympathizers operated from a ranch owned by Mr. Uribe and his brother Santiago. The prosecutor in charge of the case is Martha Lucia Zamora and she says it is based on the testimony of former militia members. Mr. Granados says it is built on lies. Mr. Uribe was president from 2002 to 2010.

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AP Source: Surgery reveals damage to RG3's ACL

WASHINGTON (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says the surgery on Robert Griffin III's knee revealed damage to the ACL.

The Washington Redskins quarterback had surgery Wednesday morning to repair a torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. The procedure also examined Griffin's ACL, which he tore while playing for Baylor in 2009. Another torn ACL would complicate Griffin's chances of returning by the start of next season.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Redskins had not made an announcement about the latest details surrounding the rookie quarterback's injury.

Griffin sprained the LCL last month and reinjured the knee in Sunday's playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

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Well: Feeling Bullied by Parents About Weight

Nancy Keefe Rhodes, a therapist and writer in Syracuse, N.Y., has struggled with weight all her life. So when the uncle she idolized asked her, at age 10, if she went to “Omar the tentmaker” for her clothes, she was devastated. “When I begged him to stop, he said he was just trying to help,” she said.

Parents and other adults who are “only trying to help” may do harm rather than good, as a recent study from the journal Pediatrics makes clear. More than 350 teens who had attended one of two weight-loss camps filled out detailed questionnaires about their experiences of being victimized because of their weight. It found, not surprisingly, that nearly all heavier teenagers are teased or bullied about their weight by peers. What was surprising was the number of teenagers who said they have experienced what amounts to bullying at the hands of trusted adults, including coaches and gym teachers (42 percent) and, most disturbingly, parents (37 percent).

“What we see most often from parents is teasing in the form of verbal comments,” says Rebecca M. Puhl, director of research at Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and the study’s lead author. Such comments can range from nagging a child about eating too much to criticizing how she looks in a particular outfit to trying to bribe him into sticking with a diet.

Those are the kinds of comments that Kim Kachmann-Geltz, 46, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., heard from her father, a neurosurgeon, around the dinner table, where he would needle both her and her mother “that if we ate our dessert, he would find a new wife and no one would ever want to marry me.” Coming from a father she adored, they triggered decades of bulimia and compulsive exercise that she’s only now getting over, she said. “My father’s rants still must be stirring deep within my subconscious,” she said. “Cognitively, I know the things he said weren’t right or good. But somehow the truth still hasn’t sunk in 100 percent.”

“There still remains the widespread perception that a little stigma can be a good thing, that it might motivate weight loss,” said Dr. Puhl, a clinical psychologist. (Medical doctors, too, fall prey to this misconception.) But research done at the Rudd Center and elsewhere has shown that even well-intentioned commentary from parents and other adults can trigger disordered eating, use of laxatives and other dangerous weight-control practices, and depression.

Parents who struggled with weight themselves when young, for example, may believe their criticism will help their own children sidestep some of the hardships they endured. Kido, a mother in Oakland, Calif., who goes by only her last name, says she was obese as a child, and that her mother used to set up booby traps with food, to catch her sneak-eating. So when her older daughter started gaining weight in middle school, she reacted harshly. “I didn’t want her to know any part of what I’d gone through,” she said. “I’ve been apologizing to her for years about what I did.”

Dr. Puhl urges adults to make extra efforts to support overweight young people, who are already so often bullied at school. She and other experts offer this advice.

¶ Don’t blame your child for his weight. Dinner-table comments like, “Do you really need another piece of bread?” will make your child feel badly about himself, which will undermine his efforts toward health. “Powerful biological forces maintain weight differentially in people,” explains Dan Kirschenbaum, president of Wellspring, an organization that runs weight-loss camps and boarding schools. In other words, some people are genetically predisposed to be heavier, and since the human body is designed to hang on to calories, weight loss for some requires severe and even punitive measures.

¶ Don’t engage in “fat talk,” complaining about weight and appearance, whether it’s your own, your child’s or a celebrity’s. Saying “My thighs are so huge!” teaches your child it’s acceptable to disparage herself and puts way too much emphasis on appearance, says Dr. Puhl.

¶ Don’t promise your child that if only he lost weight, he wouldn’t be bullied or teased. A study published in the journal Obesity by researchers at the University of Hawaii showed that stigma around obesity often persists even after someone loses weight.

¶ Don’t treat your child as if he has — or is — a problem that needs remedying. “This will make him feel flawed and inferior,” says Ellyn Satter, a dietitian and therapist in Madison, Wis., and author of “Your Child’s Weight: Helping Without Harming.” Instead, she suggests, focus on a child’s other good qualities, and encourage traits like common sense, character and problem-solving skills.

¶ Don’t ignore or dismiss bullying. If you suspect or know your teen is being stigmatized, talk to her about it. “Questions as simple as ‘Who did you sit with at lunch?’ can open a dialogue and help determine if she has allies or support at school,” says Dr. Puhl.

¶ Explore your own biases around weight. “If parents can get past their own inner bigot and be accepting and supportive, they can be of great help to children,” says Ms. Satter. “I’ve seen kids with that secure foundation come up with their own effective solutions to the teasing.”

¶ Focus on health, not weight. “Promote a healthy environment for everyone in the home,” says Dr. Puhl, not just the child who is overweight. Serve delicious, well-balanced meals, and encourage everyone in the family to be active in ways they enjoy. Emphasize the value of healthy behaviors rather than looks.

¶ Speak directly and matter-of-factly about your child’s weight if he asks. Don’t try to avoid the issue with euphemisms like stocky or solid, says Ms. Satter. Instead, she advises, tell the truth but reframe the issue, saying something like “Yes, you do have fat on your body. Why, do people tease you about it?” Children are looking for information and guidance. “You can neutralize a message that’s often meant in a derogatory way,” she says.

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Wall Street Modestly Higher

Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday after Alcoa got the earnings season under way with better-than-expected revenue and an encouraging outlook for the year.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 0.5 percent in morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite index was up 0.6 percent. European shares were moderately higher in afternoon trading.

Alcoa said it expected global demand for aluminum would continue to grow in 2013, though the company kept a cautious tone as worries lingered over a looming budget confrontation in Washington. Shares of Alcoa, the largest aluminum producer in the United States, were 0.2 percent higher.

Still, investors were wary about the outcome of the fourth-quarter earnings season. Profits were expected to beat the previous quarter’s lackluster results, but analysts’ estimates were down sharply from where they were in October. Earnings were expected to grow by 2.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Equities have pulled back over the last two sessions from last week’s rally, which was spurred by a deal in Washington that averted automatic spending cuts and across-the-board tax increases.

“With the euphoria of the fiscal cliff deal wearing off, the market is looking for the next positive theme and the hope is that earnings season can fill that need,” said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York. “With expectations muted, any semblance of decent numbers could provide a robust upside potential.”

Constellation Brands, whose labels include Robert Mondavi and Ravenswood wines, rose 0.4 percent after it reported higher profit.

On the downside, Apollo Group slid more than 9 percent after it reported lower student sign-ups for the third straight quarter and cut its operating profit forecast for 2013.

Dish Network late Tuesday announced a bid for Clearwire that trumped Sprint Nextel’s $2.2 billion offer, setting the stage for a battle over the wireless service provider. Clearwire was up 7.5 percent, while Sprint lost 1.8 percent.

Seagate Technology, the maker of computer hard drives, rose 4.5 percent after it raised its second-quarter revenue forecast.

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India Ink: In Maharashtra, Fight Over Restaurant Bill Erupts into Riot

What started out as a skirmish over a restaurant bill escalated into riots that left five people dead from police gunfire and injured over 200 in Dhule, a city about 350 kilometers northeast of Mumbai.

“It all happened within a span of about 30 minutes,” said Mohan Pawar, the additional superintendent of police for Dhule, who was among those injured in the weekend violence.

Mr. Pawar said by telephone that the incident began on Sunday after a group of four men between the ages of 20 and 25 refused to pay their bill at a restaurant in Dhule’s Machhi Bazaar Chowk (Fish Market Square). The young men began to argue with their waiter, and then the argument quickly turned serious as the restaurant owner and others in the area got involved.

Mr. Pawar said the violence was fueled by religious tensions, as the owner of the restaurant was Hindu while the four customers were Muslim. According to local media reports, the police are looking at the inflammatory content of speeches made by a few Muslim politicians in October that might have inflamed the rioters.

Dhule is normally a peaceful city but has some history of communal violence. In October 2008, riots between the Hindu and Muslim communities shook the city for several days.

Mr. Pawar said that the four men had left restaurant but returned with a crowd from their neighborhood. In the meantime, the restaurant owner had also gathered a crowd, Mr. Pawar said, and within 20 minutes a mob had gathered. Stones were pelted, houses and shops were burned, and motorcycles, bicycles and hand-drawn carts were destroyed.

Two police officers at the nearby station arrived at the scene, but they were unable to curb the violence, Mr. Pawar said.

The riots then spread in the Machhibazar, Palabazar and Madhapura areas of the city. The police sent two platoons of the riot control police, along with a larger police force. Rioters heaved stoned, bricks, acid and soda water bottles at the police officers, according to a statement from the chief minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan.

The police tried to use batons and tear gas to control the crowd and then resorted to opening fire on the rioters, killing five. Four died on Sunday while one succumbed to injuries on Tuesday, said Mr. Pawar.

The injured include 11 police officials, 102 police officers and 100 civilians, according to Mr. Chavan’s statement. The district superintendent of police was among those injured. On Tuesday, Mr. Chavan asked Ahmad Javed, the Maharashtra additional director general of police, to visit Dhule.

The city has been under curfew since 4 p.m. on Sunday, but Mr. Pawar said the curfew was likely to be lifted on Wednesday.

Mr. Chavan has asked the additional district magistrate to investigate the riots and submit a report within two months. He has also said that the government will pay for the treatment of the injured and bear the funeral expenses of those killed by the police.

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'Bama bashes Notre Dame 42-14 in BCS title game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Barely taking time to celebrate their latest national championship, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide are ready to get back to work.

That's how they make it look so easy.

In what must be an increasingly frustrating scene for the rest of college football, another season ended with Saban and his players frolicking in the middle of a confetti-strewn field. Eddie Lacy ran all over Notre Dame, AJ McCarron turned in another dazzling performance through the air, and the Tide defense shut down the Fighting Irish until it was no longer in doubt.

The result was a 42-14 blowout in the BCS title game Monday night, not only making Alabama a back-to-back champion, but a full-fledged dynasty with three crowns in four years.

This one was especially satisfying to Saban.

"People talk about how the most difficult thing is to win your first championship," he said. "Really, the most difficult one to win is the next one, because there's always a feeling of entitlement."

Rest assured, that feeling won't last long in Tuscaloosa.

While Saban insisted he was "happy as hell" and "has never been prouder of a group of young men," it was hard to tell. He was already talking about reporting to the office Wednesday morning and getting started on next season.

"One of these days, when I'm sitting on the side of the hill watching the stream go by, I'll probably figure it out even more," Saban said. "But what about next year's team? You've got to think about that, too."

So, in short order, he'll be talking with underclassmen about entering the NFL draft, making sure everyone goes back to class on schedule, and getting started on that next depth chart.

"The Process," as he calls it, never stops.

"We're going to enjoy it for 24 hours or so," Saban said.

No. 2 Alabama quieted the top-ranked Irish on the very first drive — so much for waking up the echoes — and could've started the celebration at halftime, heading to the locker room with a commanding 28-0 lead.

The Tide (13-1) pushed it out to 35-0 midway through the third quarter on the third of McCarron's four touchdown passes, a 34-yarder to Amari Cooper with a defender nowhere in sight.

At that point, Alabama was on a 69-0 blitz in national title games, having scored the last 13 points in its 2010 triumph over Texas and blanked LSU 21-0 for last year's BCS crown.

When Everett Golson finally scored for Notre Dame (12-1) with about 4 minutes remaining in the third, it snapped a scoreless stretch of nearly two full games — 108 minutes and 7 seconds — by the Tide.

"It was just a complete game by the offense, defense and special teams," said Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley, the defensive MVP with eight tackles, one of them behind the line.

Despite the dazzling numbers by McCarron — 20 of 28 for 264 yards — he was denied a second straight offensive MVP award in the title game. That went to Lacy, who finished with 140 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored two TDs. Not a bad finish for the junior, who surely helped his status in the NFL draft should he decide to turn pro.

Lacy also was MVP of the Southeastern Conference championship game, rushing for a career-best 181 yards in the thrilling victory over Georgia that gave Alabama a chance to repeat as champion.

The Tide will have some big holes to fill, no matter who decides to leave school early, with offensive tackle D.J. Fluker and cornerback Dee Milliner also pondering their draft prospects. There's not a lot of seniors on the roster, but All-America linemen Barrett Jones and Chance Warmack and safety Robert Lester are among those who definitely won't be back.

But Alabama had some huge holes to fill a year ago, too, with five players drafted in the first 35 picks.

That worked out just fine.

The Crimson Tide wrapped up its ninth Associated Press national title, breaking a tie with Notre Dame for the most by any school and gaining a measure of redemption for a bitter loss to the Irish almost four decades ago: the epic 1973 Sugar Bowl in which Ara Parseghian's team edged Bear Bryant's powerhouse 24-23.

"The process is ongoing," said Saban, tightlipped as ever and showing little emotion after the fourth BCS national title of his coaching career. "We have a 24-hour rule around here. We enjoy everything for 24 hours."

Notre Dame went from unranked in the preseason to the top spot in the rankings by the end of the regular season, winning two games in overtime and three other times by seven points or less.

But the long wait for a championship — the Irish haven't finished No. 1 since 1988 — will have to wait at least one more year.

"They just did what Alabama does," moaned Manti Te'o, Notre Dame's star linebacker and Heisman Trophy finalist, trying to digest an embarrassing loss in his final college game.

Golson will be back.

He completed his first season as the starter by going 21 of 36 for 270 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. But the young quarterback got no help from the running game, which was held to 32 yards — 170 below its season average.

"We've got to get physically stronger, continue close the gap there," said Brian Kelly, the Irish's third-year coach. "Just overall, we need to see what it looks like. Our guys clearly know what it looks like now — a championship football team. That's back-to-back national champions. That's what it looks like. That's what you measure yourself against there. It's pretty clear across the board what we have to do."

Kelly vowed this was only beginning, insisting the bar has been raised in South Bend no matter what the outcome.

"We made incredible strides to get to this point," he said. "Now it's pretty clear what we've got to do to get over the top."

Alabama is already there but still longing for more, not content even after the second-biggest rout of the BCS era that began in 1999. The only title game that was more of a blowout was USC's 55-19 victory over Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl, a title that was later vacated because of NCAA violations.

You could almost hear television sets around the country flipping to other channels as Alabama poured it on, a hugely anticipated matchup between two of the nation's most storied programs reduced to a laugher when the Tide scored on its first three possessions.

"We're going for it next year again," said offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandijo, only a sophomore and already the owner of two rings. "And again. And again. And again. I love to win. That's why I came here."

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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

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