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05.01.2008 8:41 am

Making college football worse, not better

The Bowl Championship Series system is goofy at best. And there are way too many college football bowl games cluttering the sports landscape in December in January.

But postseason play, as confusing and excessive as it is, generates a LOT of money. So the folks running college football have decided to keep the BCS as it is, refusing to add a four-team playoff to determine a real champion.

And a separate group of administrators voted to add two more crummy bowl games, the St. Petersburg Bowl and the Congressional Bowl.

The latter game will pit Navy — no matter how bad the Midshipmen are in any given year — against an ACC school in Washington D.C.

The other bowl will sent a middle-of-the-pack Big East team against a Conference USA also-ran in Tropicana Field.

“The St. Petersburg Bowl is another great bowl opportunity for the Big East,” league commissioner Michael Tranghese gushed. “The game is played in a Big East market and already has generated great interest in the local community.”

That’s great, but C-USA now has six bowl berths. Six!

Tipsheet can’t imagine fans actually paying to watch some of these games, but last year the 32 bowls distributed $222 million to the competing schools.

So look for the NCAA to keep going until every major college team at 6-6 or better has some place to play. How long before Shreveport gets a second game?

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while Mark Mulder recovers from that thrashing he took while hurling for the Memphis Redbirds:

  • Now that Rick Ankiel and Chris Duncan are both locking in at the plate, will the Cards really need to add an “impact bat”?
  • Who is this Geovany Soto and why is he terrorizing the National League?
  • Upon further review, was it really a good idea for the Mavericks to acquire Jason Kidd and the Suns to add Shaquille O’Neal?

A DALY DISASTER

Despite John Daly’s claims to the contrary, swing coach Butch Harmon insists he is done helping the porcine golfer.

“That won’t ever happen,” Harmon told ESPN.com. “I like John Daly and wish him well. I hope he gets his act together . . . I saw this ridiculous video the other day of him playing without his shirt and shoes. He does one bizarre thing after another. I feel sorry for him. He’s a tremendous talent. But he’s wasted all of his talent and continues to do so.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “How can an 11-team conference that calls itself the Big Ten possibly be opposed to a ‘plus one’ football playoff?”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “ESPN analyst Bobby Knight suggests the NCAA men’s basketball tournament expand from 65 to 128 teams. What, like we needed one more reason to hate Bobby Knight? I say they go the other way. Restrict the tournament to only teams with no tattooed players, and have a three-team round robin.”

Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com: “Seamheads are still wondering how Barry Zito could be 0-6 with a 7.56 ERA. But the real question is this: How did Scott Boras get him $126 million without using a gun?”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “Kelvin Sampson is talking to the Milwaukee Bucks about an assistant coach job. Still, I can’t help thinking he’d be a better fit with the Wizards. I mean, if there’s one place Sampson belongs, it’s in an arena nicknamed the Phone Booth.”

Jerry Greene, Orlando Sentinel: “NBC will show the last two rounds of the U.S. Open in prime time June 14-15. This is brilliant — especially when you consider NBC’s programming. If this works, other prime-time shows in NBC development include Everybody Loves Tiger — Daly or No Daly — and Phil’s Big Losers.”

MEGAPHONE

“They’re elite players coming into the prime of their careers. They have great will and determination. And that to me is what separates you from being a regular player to being a star, is how much drive you have, and how much heart and how much passion you have. They’re elite in that way. I thought they were magic throughout the game, but even better in the third period. Every time something went wrong, they went out and turned the game in the right direction for us.”

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, on Pavol Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

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[…] FAZED - Until the weekend heals us wrote an interesting post today on Making college football worse, not betterHere’s a quick excerptSo look for the NCAA to keep going until every major college team at 6-6 or better has some place to play. […]

Earth to Gordo…Earth to Gordo…I don’t care what Dunc and The Natural are doing at this moment we still need an established bat behind AP.

— Tommy Lawless
10:54 am May 1st, 2008

S.W. - how do you think the vets in the league get their “track record”?? They gotta start somewhere buddy, nobody just shows up with a proven track record…they are in the big leagues to prove they can play! Also, you can bash management all you want but the FACTS with them is that they have continued to put winning teams on the field, minus a couple down seasons (which nobody can be perfect…not even you Slaten). And finally, its very hard to debate with you on anything with 99% of the time you make one post a day that is overly negative and short sided…

Not sure what a Moto Mart is but I’m guessing you disagree with their management too…

— Homer
10:55 am May 1st, 2008

S.W. does make some pretty negative posts most of the time but if you weed through it, sometimes he throws them a bone. I understand his frustration with the owners but the players and coaches have show considerable fortitude in spite of it. Give credit where credit is due SW, I think that’s what most people are saying.

I got to go to the Stadium for the first time this past weekend when I came home. Wow, what a place. I kinda miss the sticky, dirty floors of the Busch II but this joint is amazing. Very pricey for a mid-market team but hey, whatever man, no one is making us buy tickets right?

As for the jerk who keeps posting the garbage about the deceased, karma is a bitch homey, karma’s a bitch

— Also in Babylon
11:18 am May 1st, 2008

I don’t necessarily have a problem with S.W.’s posts because his beefs are generally well founded. Just because he doesn’t post something positive doesn’t mean there isn’t anything he thinks is positive. I don’t usually post negative about the Birds but that doesn’t mean I am 100% happy with them.

On a side note, I can’t understand how the Habs have fallen 3-1 behind the Flyers. I guess getting physical can make up for the difference in talent, but at some point Montreal should have turned on the jets and made this series interesting…o well.

— Tim
12:17 pm May 1st, 2008

“Restrict the tournament to only teams with no tattooed players, and have a three-team round robin.”
You would be hard pressed to find enough bodies to fill two teams let alone three

— Groucho
12:26 pm May 1st, 2008

I tell my son most everyday, that he should never underestimate the amount of stupidity in the world, and if I were in the process of building a foundation to support such a statement, I could certainly begin with many (not all) of the comments posted on this very website.

Nearly everyday there are posts from one or more individuals using the name of a person who died in a tragic accident (which luckily only claimed one life) in a futile attempt at humor. Although I do not condone the actions of the late Mr. Hancock, I certainly take no pleasure in his death, nor do I feel the need to defame his memory with such hateful comments. I would not begin to try and understand the type of person who would, not only think of such things, but actually put them in writing. To the individual or individuals who persist in these heinous messages I would like to say only this: Please be mindful of the things you say and do. For though you act in perceived anonymity, there is a higher power (whether you choose to acknowledge it or not) who sees what is done in private, and will judge you accordingly. If, God forbid, some tragedy befalls you, a family member or close friend, I hope that you will not find that there are people in the world cruel enough to do these same things to you. By your actions you dishonor a grieving family, you dishonor yourself, and you dishonor the human race. May the same heartless comments never find themselves pointed at you or your family.

Some would argue that my case for the amount of stupidity in the world is proven by my own actions, in that I continue to visit this site and others like nearly every day. To those people I must say that I agree, and that is why I will no longer waste my time or energy on this site. I fully support the first amendment and the right of an individual to free speech, but I do not believe the right to free speech pertains to those who make anonymous comments for fear of reprisals. I will make my feelings known to the website administrator, and I have no doubt that they will fall on deaf ears. However, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I did the right thing. The rest I will leave to all of you.

— Joe Lunchbox
1:10 pm May 1st, 2008

To #6, MGM73: You say you understand the first amendment and freedom of speech. Your blog seems to indicate otherwise. In these types of blogs, freedom of speech is in no way linked to common sense or propriety. Not to give a civics lesson, but hundreds of thousands of our fathers and brothers have gone to war just to make damn sure that dumba$$es like Sloshed can do exactly what he does, and no doubt will continue to do. The only cost to him is, and rightly should be, the contempt of those who read his entries, and their knowledge that he is most probably a sick and emotionally stunted individual.

— gregg
1:13 pm May 1st, 2008

S.W., I assume you have never owned a business or had a lesson in economics. The general idea is to minimize expenses and maximize profits. The customer will realize when the product quality is suffering due to a lack of investment on the owners part and the customer will in turn stop paying for said product. When that happens it is time for the owners to increase expenditures to improve product quality which should lead to a corresponding boost in sales and profits. The Cardinals were at the pinnacle in 2006 and if I am not mistaken, were not eliminated until very late in 2007. I am gald the Cards have not spent unwisely on free agent busts like Zito, Jones, etc. If they had that would really give you something to bitch about and we would never hear the end of it. Spend wisely Cards, and keep those championships coming!

— Drunken Sailor
1:49 pm May 1st, 2008

I bet he is some white trash hoosier from south city

— DJ Axeom
1:51 pm May 1st, 2008

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