This week, NCAA commissioners and athletic directors will meet to determine what to do with the college football postseason. In case you’ve watched paint dry the last ten years, the BCS system does nothing to crown the best team in college football. Even if you agree Alabama was the best team last year, the BCS does not allow other one-loss (or undefeated) teams any title chance after the regular season’s end. In the context of growing numbers of undefeated teams each year, the current format does nothing to give good teams a fair shot. So, how should college football authorities figure out the new system? It’s simple.
The Format
This should be the easiest aspect to figure out. Four top teams play two semifinals with a national championship game. Lots of ideas out there, but there’s no way a sport as steeped in tradition as college football will go from a 2 team playoff to an 8 team playoff, much less to a 16 team tournament. Those who pine for a March Madness-style bracket should understand how much time such an idea would take, likely spanning into February. So, a four team format.
The Teams
I love how certain conference commissioners three years ago hated the idea of a playoff but now act as if they had the idea to begin with. The worst aspect of the BCS is the automatic qualifier status, which allows conference champions of the power conferences immediate access to a BCS bowl game and all the revenue associated with that. While such madness now looks all but dead, the question remains how to pick the teams who go.
First, there are polls in college sports for a reason. Using the extremely difficult mathematical concept of the average, the top four teams can be determined easily. The NCAA also should consider, however, eliminating the coaches poll from the equation entirely. While beat reporters might be biased towards their teams, coaches are guaranteed to be biased. In addition, their vote counts more than that of a beat AP writer. Perhaps the BCS formula should be kept. Regardless, the determination of the top four teams has been easy since 1950.
Many wonder if only conference champions should go. Another inane question considering how many teams in the past four years played well but did not win their conference. Alabama last year springs to people’s minds, but Oklahoma also did so in 2003. Commissioners should pick the best four teams, regardless of conference affiliation and championship.
The Sites
I find this the most interesting aspect of the debate. There are multiple ideas on the table, so I’ll give you my ideal situation.
The national semifinals should be played at the traditional bowl sites in New Orleans, Miami, Los Angeles, and Tempe. Those stadiums are huge and can support the hype and attendance for such games. In addition, the NCAA could still call these “bowls,” preserving sponsorships and traditions. The semifinals would rotate between the big bowls, two at a time, providing an opportunity to showcase teams on the outside in similarly marquee matchups. Thus the Rose Bowl could keep its conference affiliation for sure every other year while still bringing in lots of revenue with a national semifinal in the other year (The Rose Bowl wants to maintain its conference affiliation as much as possible). Consider if the Big Ten champ is a top four team but the Pac-12 champ is not. That possibility looks very real and would create more controversy than the previous system if the Rose Bowl can keep its affiliation every year and still cash in on the party.
As to the final, I would treat it like the Super Bowl. Allow cities to bid to host the game (don’t act like the NFL, who assumes championship football should only be played indoors or in 70-degree weather). Might the big four bowls dominate this? Perhaps, but the revenues that Detroit, Houston, Atlanta, or San Francisco would gain definitely brings other locales into play. It would be fun to see teams win the Rose Bowl semifinal then go to Ford Field to play for the championship. The sports world would focus on one city, a lot like it does on Super Bowl Sunday.
(What if they allowed college stadiums over 90,000 capacity to bid? Probably would never happen, but the national championship in Michigan’s Big House, Ohio State’s Horseshoe, Florida’s Swamp, or LSU’s Tiger Stadium would only add to the tradition college football loves so much…)
The Schedule
The best part of this whole shift: we no longer need to watch the GMAC Bowl on January 5. Nor do we need to risk a hangover on the Tuesday after the championship. The consensus of commissioners is to take back New Year’s Day, placing the four big bowls on that day with the championship the closest Saturday between 7-13 days after the semifinals. Thankfully, ESPN will have to play two bowls on each night between December 15 and December 31, giving us some respite from having to watch bad football for a solid two weeks.
As much as I would love an 8-team tournament, the bowl system has become so entrenched that any change to the status quo won’t look radical enough but will mark a huge difference from years past. These changes would not start until 2014 but we should have a clear answer by the start of this year’s season. Don’t believe every rumor you hear since the truth remains: most of what happens now is merely posturing, drawing out a truly simple process that would appease almost all parties. Hopefully, the executives will learn that.
Bit #1: College coaches lack credibility
As if Bobby Petrino wasn’t bad enough, his replacement looks no better. John L. Smith signed a 1 year contract with his former team at Arkansas, ditching the players at Weber State that he has coached for all of five months. In basketball, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan refused to let one of his players transfer to another Big Ten school, believing he had the ability to write up a short list.
Now, Smith and Ryan are not the worst examples of college coaches by any means. But, their examples shatter the idolization many athletes and fans hold for coaches, personalities that guide younger players to higher levels. What we forget until now is how human—and subsequently how petty—coaches can be in all sports. Smith, after committing to a new job, left quickly to take a shot at a national championship with Arkansas, albeit for an essentially interim gig. You might do that in your own job and risk career stagnation. People should be opportunistic, but when impressionable youngsters look to you for guidance and leadership, don’t undermine yourself with this kind of stunt.
Bit #2: Empire failure
Remember when Luke tells Palpatine he has no desire to join him? The Emperor, looking an awful lot like a pound of hogshead cheese, pumps him full of electricity. While you feel sorry for Luke, there’s a kind of happiness that the guy with 20 pounds of make-up failed…
I felt the same happiness today when I learned Joel Pineda will not pitch for the Yankees this season. The Yanks loved Pineda so much they traded Jesus Montero, the best hitter in their farm system, to Seattle for Pineda’s services over the summer. Pretty high price for a rookie who went 9-10 last year and lost much of his velocity later in the season. Added to that, Pineda showed up 20 pounds overweight to spring training. Before long, his shoulder gave out, requiring surgery. For Yankee fans, I’m not sorry. While I can’t speak to GM Brian Cashman’s cosmetic habits, it’s good to see the Evil Empire fail so badly at talent evaluation every once in a while.
Bit #3: Worst Stanley Cup matchup?
In my life, few series excited me less than the Lightning-Flames finals in 2004. While this might be premature, the early exits of traditional powerhouses like Detroit, Vancouver, and Chicago this weekend means we could see some truly unsavory Cup possibilities. For instance, would you watch a Panthers-Coyotes matchup? Or the Predators against anybody? I would, but most casual fans would not.
On the flip side, the NHL could be salivating over the potential for a Kings-Rangers or Kings-Bruins final (thankfully no longer possible due to my team). Imagine the two biggest media markets squaring off in late May? Since Gretzky left, Kings fans are hard to find, gravitating towards the two other pro teams playing at Staples Center. That kind of matchup, however, would be great for the game in general and create more buzz than hockey has had for a while.
Bit #4: Champions League surprise
Well I feel foolish. My many predictions of Spanish final could not be more wrong. Despite Barcelona and Madrid being the better sides in their respective semi-finals, Bayern Munich and Chelsea will meet later in May for the Champions League title. Considering the chances both Spanish teams had, they will feel cheated of a title shot. Messi hit two posts late in their game against the ten man Chelsea, for instance, tearing at the sports heartstrings for most of Catalan. As to Madrid, they won their game but could not win on the always randomized penalty shootout to make up goal differential. While you should not listen to my soccer predictions, Bayern Munich will beat Chelsea. Not only is the game being played in Munich but Chelsea will be without captain John Terry and others on account of red and yellow cards.
Bit #5: Remember the Bobcats?
They are still horrible and are, in fact, much worse than my initial post two months ago ever contemplated. At that time, the Bobcats flirted with bottom 10 in NBA history as far as winning percentage is concerned. The way they are playing now, the Bobcats will likely set that record for the worst winning percentage ever, almost to the day the Bulls crowned the best statistical season ever in 1996. They are on a 21 game losing streak with only 1 game remaining. Michael Jordan, the worst executive ever, must consider how to turn things around in such a small market before the fan base abandons him entirely.
Bit #6: Stop voting for Madden cover
This might not be a Bit about the game itself, but the buffoons running the Madden franchise need to stop letting the Average Joe vote. The current system allows cities to get out the vote so their flash in the pan players can grace the cover of a video game. Peyton Hillis, the cover of Madden ’11, represents the best example, but the same happened for Shaun Alexander back in 2006. And yes, he’s out of Cleveland by now. I understand Cam Newton played a great season last year, but I do not think his body of work allows him to become a large face for the game. If he performs this year like he did last year, I am all for it. But, the video game cover should celebrate consistent greatness (Aaron Rodgers), not the grassroots abilities of NFL fan bases.
No comments:
Post a Comment