This article basically says the BCS is good because it provides lots of money to schools/conferences that get to participate. I was still under the impression that college sports were still sports. Yes, they can’t loose money, but they do need to break even and sports like football (and b-ball and at some schools, hockey) need to pay for the rest of the non-revenue sports, but isn’t the ideal behind it that it is still a sport. (Pro-sports are a whole ‘nother can of worms.) Isn’t the NCAA suppose to help their member schools maximize the revenue of the sports. Not the revenue of their business?
Tag: Sports
The Mess that is the BCS
Alright everyone, I’ve been chomping at the bit to write this ever since I saw that the BCS has created a website dedicated to documenting the problems with a playoff in college football. I found out about via the BCS Twitter feed. Both have been providing me with a daily source of entertainment since I found them.
That simple truth hasn’t changed in the BCS which, for all its flaws, is largely a product of human whim.
- No limits on how many teams from a single conference. If a conference has 2 undefeated teams, they’d both get in, one via the conference championship, one via going undefeated. (This could happen in the Big Ten for example.)
- No special rules for any independent teams. They’d need to earn an at-large berth or go undefeated to get an automatic entry.
Playoffs would weaken the regular season. It has happened in every other sport. Once a team has clinched a playoff berth, subsequent regular-season games often become meaningless. The interest of fans, sponsors, television viewers and others is redirected from the regular season into the playoff.
The Jersey… Part 2
Back in April I posted how I thought it would be awesome if the guy who put a Red Sox jersey in the cement of the new Yankee Stadium had buried a second item somewhere. I specifically mentioned a second jersey, but now there are reports of a score card being buried somewhere, and this time, he isn’t blabbing about the location.
Heard about this from Keith Olbermann/Deadspin/USA Today.
In the words of Eric Cartman… “Sweeeet!”
Ice Mite Fight
I grew up playing hockey, so it holds a special place in my heart. The NHL playoffs are fun to watch, and so is college hockey (I follow the Badgers). Olympic hockey is also a lot of fun to watch.
One thing I’ve never been a fan of is fights in hockey. I just never really saw the point. Once you’re old enough to check, there are so many legal ways to hit someone really hard, why throw your fist into somebody’s helmet. It just doesn’t make sense. So the frequent fights in the normal NHL games are pretty much a turn off for me.
Last time I went to a Badger hockey game, they had some Ice Mites playing hockey between periods. One kid tripped another and I stood up and started heckling the “refs” about missing the call. Another guy stood up and starting yelling it was clean. It became quite the funny scene and then pretty much the whole section started laughing. See Ice Mites are about 5, 6 or 7 years old and most can just kinda ice skate. They don’t know all the intricacies about playing position yet, they just kinda follow the puck. Lots of fun to watch… at least for a few minutes.
This video came to my attention from one of the many sports blogs out there. It shows, what looks like Ice Mites, getting into a fight. Unlike most fights, this one is hilarious. It almost looks like they are on the same team and someone from the other team comes to break up the fight. I had to keep myself from laughing out loud at work when I saw this. Enjoy…
This Isn’t Good Sportsmanship…
It’s GREAT sportsmanship!
Sara Tucholsk, a senior from Western Oregon’s softball team, hit her first home run ever in a game vs Central Washington. In her excitement, she forgot to tag first base as she passed it and went back to touch it. That’s when her knee gave out and she crumpled to the ground.
The antiquated rules of softball (probably inherited from baseball) state that the runner has to touch all the bases for it to be a home run and Sara wasn’t able to move anymore on her own power. The rules also state that she couldn’t get help from an official, her coaches or anyone on her team to round the bases. It appeared that they were going to have to score it as a single and then put a pinch-runner in for her.
Then Mallory Holtman, a senior from Central, asked if they could carry Sara around the bases already knowing in the rules that nothing prevented that. So Mallory and Liz Wallace, both from Central, carried Sara around the bases so her first home run would be scored as a home run.
For a few more details, go check out the full article on ESPN.com.
The Jersey
If you pay attention to sports, you’ve probably heard that a Red Sox fan who happens to be a construction worker on the new Yankees’ stadium decided to put a Red Sox shirt in the cement of the stadium. (Here’s the story from TBL.) The guy couldn’t keep a good think secret and blabbed and then the Yankee’s went and dug it up.
Here’s what would be awesome…
He went and told about this shirt to make a big fuss about it. The secret is he really buried 2 shirts in the cement and didn’t mention that there is a 2nd shirt.
That would be awesome if he was smart enough to do that!
Brewers Ranked #1
Over at Ladies… they have the Brew Crew ranked number 1 in the MLB standings. Now I’m not a big baseball fan, but their little summary of their ranking rational made me laugh.
1st place: Cardinals and Brewers. Best records in baseball at 5-1. This is clearly the NL Comedy Central’s year to make a dramatic comeback. Half the NL All-Star starters will be Redbirds and Beer Makers, we will win home field advantage and then the Cards will beat the Brew Crew in a dramatic game 7 of the NLCS on a Pujols bomb that knocks Bernie Brewer unconscious and causes Derrick Turnbow to collapse in a pile of tears. Yep. That’s exactly what will happen.
MSU Likes ESPN Polls
Over at ESPN, they have a poll going on right now about who’ll win the NCAA basketball tournament. I think there are just a few people from Michigan State voting based on the results from when I took the poll, particularly in questions 3, 7, 8 & 10. I’m a big fan of the results for question 2 though.
1) Which team will win the East Regional?
48.6% North Carolina
39.5% Tennessee
8.9% Louisville
3.0% Washington State
2) Which team will win the Midwest Regional?
46.8% Wisconsin
45.9% Kansas
4.8% Davidson
2.5% Villanova
3) Which team will win the South Regional?
50.4% Michigan State
30.9% Texas
10.8% Memphis
8.0% Stanford
4) Which team will win the West Regional?
73.8% UCLA
17.0% Xavier
7.4% West Virginia
1.8% Western Kentucky
5) What was the biggest surprise of the first two rounds?
36.3% (12) Western Kentucky’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer over (5) Drake
27.6% (10) Davidson upsets (2) Georgetown behind Stephen Curry’s 25 second-half points
23.8% (2) Duke beats (15) Belmont by only one point
8.5% (13) San Diego’s De’Jon Jackson beats (4) Connecticut with a last-second jumper
2.9% (9) Texas A+M loses to (1) UCLA by only two points
0.9% (16) Mississippi Valley State scores fewest points in tournament (29) since 1946 vs. (1) UCLA
6) Which No. 1 seed is most likely to lose before the Final Four?
77.1% Memphis
12.1% UCLA
6.0% Kansas
4.8% North Carolina
7) Who has been the most outstanding player of the first two rounds?
43.9% Drew Neitzel, Michigan State
29.1% Stephen Curry, Davidson
3.7% Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
3.3% Ty Lawson, North Carolina
3.0% Joe Alexander, West Virginia
2.3% A.J. Abrams, Texas
2.2% Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin
1.8% Wayne Ellington, North Carolina
1.6% Kevin Love, UCLA
1.0% Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
++more people that I’ve omitted.
8) Which Cinderella is most likely to reach the Final Four?
61.0% (5) Michigan State
17.9% (10) Davidson
14.6% (7) West Virginia
3.7% (12) Villanova
2.8% (12) Western Kentucky
9) How many of your Final Four teams remain?
49.5% 4
43.9% 3
4.9% 2
1.0% 1
0.7% 0
10) Which team will win the NCAA tournament?
44.6% Michigan State
20.5% North Carolina
7.9% Kansas
7.2% UCLA
3.5% Wisconsin
3.1% Texas
2.5% Memphis
2.5% Tennessee
2.2% Louisville
1.7% West Virginia
1.1% Washington State
1.0% Davidson
0.8% Xavier
0.7% Villanova
0.5% Stanford
0.3% Western Kentucky
Total Votes: 213,403
18-1…
…so beautiful!
Carl on the Giants and Packers
Carl is not as pissed as usual, although he is still a little grumpy. He doesn’t like that he has to wear his Jessica Simpson wig for 3 more weeks. Hopefully he’ll be able to take it off after next Sunday. Anyways, enjoy his commentary on the Giants, Cowboys and Packers.