BCS Picture Hazy as Season Wraps

It will be nothing short of fascinating to watch watch the BCS picture fully unfold over the next two weeks. Does Michigan---with its season already finished---somehow stay at #2 in the rankings and make it to an Ohio State rematch and all-Big Ten national title game? Does USC win its last two games over Notre Dame and UCLA to grab a spot in its third straight championship game? Or does the SEC Champion---be it Arkansas or Florida---get a needed stumble from the Trojans and close out with enough momentum to slip into the second spot for Glendale? Can Notre Dame upset USC and ride historic sentiment all the way up the BCS ladder? So much left to be decided in a short amount of time, it's no wonder so many heads are spinning . . .

This much I already know for sure: Ohio State and Michigan should not rematch for the national championship. Plain and simple. The Wolverines had their shot at the Buckeyes and came up short. Say what you want about the final score being just a three point spread---anyone who actually watched the game knows the outcome was never in doubt. Ohio State controlled the flow of the contest pretty much from halfway through the first quarter on, allowing a meaningless touchdown to Michigan with a little over a minute left. To give the Maize and Blue another shot at the Buckeyes would be a supreme disservice to every other one-loss BCS contender in the country. Big Ten football is good, for sure, but it's in no way the best conference in the nation, let alone being that much better than every other league.

If life isn't fair (and we all learn early that it's most definitely not), then college football's BCS system is downright unjust. Surely, it's better than the way it was before 1998, when not having a ranking system that guaranteed a #1 vs. #2 matchup made the end of the season an absolute joke very year. But the joke is only slightly less funny now. The future of college football is bright, but to really take it to the next level of the American sports consciousness, an end of the year playoff system is required.

The way I see it, the BCS ranking system can still be used to help decide who makes it into the tournament. Whether it's four teams or eight (and I prefer eight), adding an extra game or two at the end of the year is in no way a major detriment to the student-athletes participating in the games. They're in winter break at Bowl Season every year anyway! The "missing class" argument went out the window a long time ago. And if the added time and effort for an extra game is such a big deal, then why not limit regular season slates to no more than 11 games? Some may urge caution before proceeding, and argue that the lesser bowls still have their place; I absolutely agree with that point as well. We all know the bowl system has survived as long as it has because of all the money in play. So I think you keep those money bowls for teams that don't qualify for the bigger payday BCS playoffs at the end.

Try looking at it like this: if an eight team playoff system were in place right now, Michigan's national title hopes would be not finished. Based on their strong overall season, the Wolverines would be no less than the #4 seed in an eight team tournament for the title. But as it currently stands in this deeply cruel world of NCAA Division I football, Michigan is got beaten by a better team in Columbus and is now headed to Pasadena for an at-large BCS date in the Rose Bowl.

As for now, the debate continues over who will play Ohio State in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8th, but clearly the conversation has been diverted from the more important issue of why college football still doesn't have a playoff system in place.

You know, the more I think about it, a playoff system will probably never happen. It just makes too much sense.

-JAB

Gameday in Fayetteville Another Sign Hogs are Back

I'm not big into hype. I realize I work in the media, folks, but that doesn't mean I buy into the constant publicity that frequently fills the content of our television and radio talk shows in this country. Not to get all Shakespearean on you this morning, but more often than not, sports hype is much ado about nothing. However, sometimes there is a reason for hype---to a certain extent, at least---and with ESPN's College Gameday program, it's always "all about" the school that is hosting the show for that particular week.

Unquestionably, College Gameday has emerged as the preeminent college football on television. Every Saturday morning during the football season, Chris Fowler (as good as any studio host working today) and analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit hold court on the big college football stories and games of the day on location at a designated "school of the week." Frequently the chosen campus is home to a powerhouse amongst college football's giants, be it USC, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, Florida, etc. But every once in a while, a darkhorse school emerges from the misty fog of the "lower" reaches of college football to host the program, and this week, for the first time ever, it's the University of Arkansas.

Bolstered mightily by all-world sophomore running back Darren McFadden, the Razorbacks are 8-1 overall, and an unblemished 5-0 in the SEC, hands-down college football's toughest conference. Arkansas is on an eight game winning streak since a season-opening loss to USC, this despite starting true freshman Mitch Mustain at quarterback for most of the season. However, that will change on Saturday against Tennessee when sophomore Casey Dick makes his first start of the year under center for Arkansas. Dick came off the bench for a struggling Mustain early on against South Carolina last weekend to lift his team to victory. The stat line was good for Dick---11 of 19 completions, 228 yards, 1 TD---with the end result (a road win in Columbia, SC) being even better. So it will be Dick again at Razorback Stadium on Saturday.

Arkansas has been clamoring for national respect all season long. Now the Hogs finally get some. Even though it's just a television show, ESPN hosting College Gameday at your school is a pretty big acknowledgement of the season you're having given the current landscape of college football. It's fun for the fans, it's great for recruiting and it adds just a little more fuel to Arkansas' fire in the great big hype machine that is today's sports media.

Given Tennessee's injuries problems at quarterback with Erik Ainge and running back with LaMarcus Coker, this is a game Arkansas should win. I realize the Hogs are 2-12 all-time against Tennessee, but this is the first time ever when Arkansas is actually the favorite going into the contest. And for good reason: Arkansas is the best team in the SEC right now. With a great offensive line, two tremendous tailbacks in McFadden and Felix Jones, an elite wide receiver in Marcus Monk, and a defense that's gotten better every week, I'll take it one step further and say that the Hogs are as hot as any team in the nation. . . .

Now just make sure, Razorbacks, when all the hype settle downs around 6 PM and the opening kickoff sails high into the air in Fayetteville, just make sure you win the game itself. That's the only way to capitalize on the accolades everyone's going to be waving in your collective faces all day long. It's one thing to start the day with people singing your praises, it's another thing entirely to end the evening with a stumble against the Vols and a complete about-face to your season.

Prediction:

Woo Pig Sooie! Arkansas gets out on Tennessee early and doesn't let the Vols breathe much after that.

Razorbacks 31 - Volunteers 17


-JAB

Josh's Official 2006-2007 NBA Predictions

y=division champ
x=playoff berth
(predicted conference ranking in parentheses)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

(y) 1-New Jersey Nets (2)
(x) 2-Boston Celtics (6)
3-Toronto Raptors (9)
4-Philadelphia 76ers (10)
5-New York Knicks (14)

Central Division

(y) 1-Detroit Pistons (3)
(x) 2-Chicago Bulls (4)
(x) 3-Cleveland Cavaliers (5)
4-Milwaukee Bucks (11)
5-Indiana Pacers (13)

Southeast Division

(y) 1-Miami Heat (1)
(x) 2-Washington Wizards (7)
(x) 3-Orlando Magic (8)
4-Charlotte Bobcats (12)
5-Atlanta Hawks (15)

Conference Finals: New Jersey over Chicago
NBA Finals: Phoenix over New Jersey

Best Player in East: (tie) Dwaye Wade, Miami, and Lebron James, Cleveland
Best Coach in East: Pat Riley, Miami
Best Rookie in East: Marcus Williams, New Jersey


WESTERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division

(y) 1-Denver Nuggets (3)
(x) 2-Utah Jazz (6)
(x) 3-Seattle Supersonics (8)
4-Minnesota Timberwolves (12)
5-Portland Trailblazers (15)

Southwest Division

(y) 1-San Antonio Spurs (1)
(x) 2-Dallas Mavericks (4)
(x) 3-Houston Rockets (7)
4-Oklahoma City Hornets (11)
5-Memphis Grizzlies (14)

Pacific Division

(y) 1-Phoenix Suns (2)
(x) 2-Los Angeles Clippers (5)
3-Los Angeles Lakers (9)
4-Sacramento Kings (10)
5-Golden State Warriors (13)

Conference Finals: Phoenix over Dallas
NBA Finals: Phoenix over New Jersey

Best Player in West: (tie) Steve Nash, Phoenix, and Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
Best Coach in West: (tie) Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix, and Greg Popovich, San Antonio
Best Rookie in West: Randy Foye, Minnesota

-JAB