Does the Rose Bowl on ESPN bug you?

We don't mean to bug you. .... but right after buying that digital box for your rabbit-ear TV set, you might as well fork out for a cable hookup by 2011.

(Although anyone who this message is directed to likely has little access to the Internet, so they'll have to wait until they pick up their newspaper in the next couple of days).

Another shoe has dropped in taking main-stream, high-profile sporting events and moving them to cable TV -- or does that term even mean anything to anyone anymore? -- as ESPN will do the 2011 game, it announced this morning.

The Rose Bowl had been a staple for years on NBC, then moved to ABC.

ESPN previously announced it would carry 15 other Bowl Championship Series games -- Fiesta, Orange, Sugar and BCS National Title -- with a new agreement, starting in 2011. The Rose Bowl was the only holdout, but it was just a matter of time.

For ther record, the 2010 Rose Bowl and the 2010 BCS National Championship, both taking place in the Pasadena venue, remains on ABC. The Rose Bowl has had a separate rights deal from the other BCS games.

The customary quote: "Having all BCS matchups on one home, especially within ESPN's year-round college football environment, is the very best scenario," said ESPN boss John Wildhack said. "Fans will welcome ESPN's all-encompassing approach, and the additional opportunities and value resulting from our multi-platform presentation will benefit the college football community and our business partners."

For the record:

What else is on cable now -- All college football major bowl games, Monday Night Football, the MLB League Championship series, some of the Stanley Cup finals, all four rounds of the British Open, the NBA Conference finals.

What isn't -- The Super Bowl. The NFC and AFC championships. All other NFL playoff games. The NBA Finals. The World Series. The NCAA basketball tournament (including the title game). Some Stanley Cup finals. All the Triple Crown horse races.