Oklahoma Jumps Texas. Again, Why The BCS Is Stupid

On what planet does the BCS make any sense? I hate the freaking thing and it screws with the foundation of sport.

Since Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech tied at 7-1 in the Big XII South Division, they go to tiebreakers. Since Texas lost to Tech, Tech lost to Oklahoma and Oklahoma lost to Texas, the tiebreaker falls to who is the highest ranked BCS team. So voters and some computers decided that Oklahoma was.

Oklahoma leaped over Texas in the latest BCS standings.

How? Texas beat Oklahoma in a neutral site game. Texas' lone loss was at Tech on the last play of the game. Sure, the Sooners blasted Tech a few weeks later ... in Oklahoma, I might add ... but isn't Texas the better team because, ya know, they actually beat Oklahoma???

Texas could expect to get screwed again. Say Oklahoma wins over Missouri in the Big XII title game and earns one of the title game spots. Now, suppose that #4 Florida beats #1 Alabama in the SEC title game. You know Florida will leap over Texas to earn the right to play Oklahoma in the title game.

That's right: Texas keeps winning and teams keep jumping over them.

And Florida's one loss was to Ole Miss ... at home!!!! I think the Big XII South was much more difficult than the SEC East. So how does Florida get to jump Texas?

Why even have the BCS rankings? Why not just have all the voters pick the two teams they want to see play for the championship? Then add in the computers' top two ranked teams.

In the history of the BCS, I have never seen a season end where we were like "thank goodness for the BCS!" I almost liked it the old way when bowls just picked up teams and then we crown a champion after the bowls.

Of how about doing what everyone else does: PLAYOFFS!!!!!

Oh my God! How exciting would a college playoff be this year with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Florida, Alabama and USC???

Sportz' AT&T Commerical About Brian Westbrook

"Hi. Sorry, but I didn't get that phone call where you tell me to start Brian Westbrook on my fantasy team this week. Genius here doesn't have AT&T. I saw the injury reports and the fact the Eagles stunk the last three games and decided to sit my star running back for Ronnie Brown.

Now may fantasy team will be missing those four TDs Westy scored tonight against the Cardinals. Awesome!"

OMG! WILL LEBRON GO TO NEW YORK!!! I NEED TO KNOW!!!!

This is ridiculous.

LeBron James is nearly two years away from being a free agent and all the buzz is in the NBA is what he will do then. ESPN even had a countdown ticker going for LeBron's free agency.

Sad day for the NBA when all we have to wonder is what one player may do in 2010.

How 'bout we all shut up about this?

ACC Update - 11/23

Normally, I'd post the current ACC standings and break down the upcoming week. Well, since the ACC has come down to an easy-to-read four team race, I'll just tell you what's up.

ATLANTIC DIVISION
The game that matters is Maryland at Boston College. If BC wins, they are Atlantic Division champs. If Maryland wins, Florida State becomes the division champs.

COASTAL DIVISION
The game here is the Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry. If Va Tech wins, they are Coastal Division champs. If Virginia wins, Georgia Tech becomes division champs.

ACC Update - 11/17

Another wild week in the ACC. Here is the update, with the list of division teams they have beaten:

ATLANTIC
Maryland (4-2): W: Wake Forest, Clemson, NC State
Wake Forest (4-3): W: Florida State, Clemson. L: Maryland, NC State
Florida State (4-3): W: Clemson, NC State. L: Wake Forest, Boston College
Boston College (3-3): W: Florida State, NC State. L: Clemson
Clemson (3-4): W: Boston College, NC State. L: Maryland, Wake Forest
NC State (2-4): W: Wake Forest. L: Maryland, Clemson, Boston College

COASTAL
Miami (4-2): W: Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke. L: North Carolina
Georgia Tech (4-3): W: Duke. L: Virginia Tech, Virginia
Virginia Tech (3-3): W: Ga Tech, North Carolina. L: Miami
Virginia (3-3): W:Ga Tech, North Carolina. L: Miami, Duke
North Carolina (3-3): W: Ga Tech, Miami. L: Virginia, Virginia Tech
Duke (1-5). W: Duke. L: Ga Tech, Miami

NEXT WEEK
Miami at Georgia Tech [Thu]: The top two teams in the Coastal Division fight it out for a spot in the ACC Championship game. If Tech wins, it could set off the mother of all tie-breaking procedures.
NC State at North Carolina: The Tar Heels have to get up off the mat after seeing their Orange Bowl dreams all but flame out. Look out: NC State is getting warm.
Clemson at Virginia: The Wahoos still have a shot at winning their division. Who would have thought that they would but Clemson wouldn't?
Boston College at Wake Forest: Are there any two teams in this league that drive you more bananas?
Duke at Virginia Tech: Duke's mission is to upset the Hokies attempt to win the division.
Florida State at Maryland: Maryland actually controls their own destiny and gets the Noles in their backyard. Best game of the week.

Sportz' BSC Playoff Picture

Another week ... but not as much shakeup:

#1-Alabama (SEC Champ)
#2-Texas Tech (Big XII Champ)
#3-Texas
#4-Florida

#12-Cincinnati (Big East Champ) vs #5-Oklahoma
#11-Miami (ACC Champ) vs #6-USC (Pac10 Champ)
#10-Boise State at #7-Penn State (Big Ten Champ)
#9-Ohio State at #8-Utah (Top ranked non-BCS Champ)

I have 12 teams make the BSC: the champion from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, SEC and Pac10. I also make it mandatory that the highest rated non-BCS school gets a playoff spot. The remaining five spots go to at-large teams ... with the cutoff point at three schools from one conference.

There are seeds and the games are played at the higher seed's home. The top four seeds get a first round bye. Obviously, I'm guessing on who would win the conference championship games.

Farewell to FireJoeMorgan

Goodbye to FireJoeMorgan.com:

"After 21 years, and almost 40 million posts (we'll have to check those numbers, but it's something like that), we have decided to bring FJM to an end.Although we have not lost our borderline-sociopathic joy for meticulously criticizing bad sports journalism, the realities of our professional and personal lives make FJM a time/work luxury we can no longer afford.

We started this site with two purposes: to make each other laugh, and to aid and abet the Presidential campaign of Bob Barr. Although we failed in the latter goal, we gleefully succeeded in the first, and thanks to a grassroots internetty word-of-mouth kind of a deal, we appear to have positively affected the lives of actual citizens as well, which astonishes and delights us to this day. We really never thought FJM would be for anyone but us. We are thrilled and kind of humbled to have been proven wrong."

Crazy ACC

Another wild week in the ACC. Here is the update, with the list of division teams they have beaten:

ATLANTIC
Wake Forest (4-2): W: Florida State, Clemson. L: Maryland
Florida State (4-2): W: Clemson, NC State. L: Wake Forest
Maryland (3-2): W: Wake Forest, Clemson, NC State
Boston College (2-3): W: NC State. L: Clemson
Clemson (2-4): W: Boston College, NC State. L: Maryland, Wake Forest
NC State (1-4): L: Maryland, Clemson, Boston College

COASTAL
Virginia Tech (3-2): W: Ga Tech, North Carolina
North Carolina (3-2): W: Ga Tech, Miami. L: Virginia, Virginia Tech
Miami (3-2): W: Virginia, Duke. L: North Carolina
Georgia Tech (4-3): W: Duke. L: Virginia, Virginia Tech
Virginia (3-3): W: Ga Tech, North Carolina. L: Miami, Duke
Duke (1-4). W: Duke. L: Ga Tech, Miami

NEXT WEEK
Virginia Tech at Miami: Huge game in the Coastal Division. A Hokies win puts them as the favorite to win it.
North Carolina at Maryland: Big game for both surprise teams. It is pretty much a must-win for both teams.
Boston College at Florida State: The Noles are in a dogfight with Wake for the Atlantic Division lead. BC needs a win or they are done.
Wake Forest at NC State: Wake cannot fall asleep against the Atlantic Division doormat.
Duke at Clemson: Both teams are out of the conference race

Sportz' BCS Update - 11/9

A few upsets and some confidence building wins (well, my confidence) and here is how my BSC playoffs look now. Two conferences dominate the top five seeds:

#1-Alabama (SEC Champ)
#2-Texas Tech (Big XII Champ)
#3-Texas
#4-Florida

#12-Pitt (Big East Champ) at #5-Oklahoma 3p
#11-Florida State (ACC Champ) at #6-USC (Pac10 Champ) 6p
#10-Boise State at #7-Penn State (Big Ten Champ) 12p
#9-Ohio State at #8-Utah (Top ranked non-BCS Champ) 9p

First round - 12/20
Second round - 12/27
Semifinals - 1/3
Championship - 1/10

Realigning the NFL Won't Solve Anything

Mike Florio of PFT and SportingNews wrote about radically re-aligning the NFL back to something like we had prior to 2002. Move back to three divisions in each conference.

I understand why he'd want to do this. We could have a bad Denver/San Diego team in the postseason but the Bills/Jets/Patriots/Colts/Ravens missing the playoffs.

Still, that is just the way it is. In baseball we see it all the time. With the realignment in the NBA, we have had bad teams with a lofty seeding. The NFL can't shake that either.

Even the old "three-team" format can't prevent this. In 1999, the Seahawks were 9-7 and won the AFC West. The three wildcard teams that year (Bills, Dolphins, Titans) were better. In 1990, the Bengals won the AFC Central with a 9-7 record. The Seahawks had the same record and missed the postseason. The 1988 Seahawks won the AFC West at 9-7 while the Colts and Pats sat home with the same mark.

But the best example was in 1985. The Cleveland Browns won the AFC Central with an 8-8 record. The Denver Broncos were 11-5 and missed the postseason.

See, it happened with three-divisions, too. Sure, the liklihood of is greater in a four-division format but that's just the way it is.

IF for some reason we did realign back to three divisions ... here we go:

AFC EAST: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, Ravens
AFC CENTRAL: Browns, Bengals, Steelers, Colts, Titans, Jaguars

AFC WEST: Chiefs, Broncos, Raiders, Chargers, Texans

NFC EAST: Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, Giants, Panthers

NFC CENTRAL: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings, Buccaneers, Falcons

NFC WEST: Cardinals, Rams, Niners, Seahawks, Saints

Don't worry about why I did any of it. It will never, ever, ever happen.

Sportz' BSC Update - 11/6

I hate the BCS and no problem saying so. So, as I do every year, I'm delving into my yearly "BSC" playoff picture.

I have 12 teams make the BSC: the champion from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, SEC and Pac10. I also make it mandatory that the highest rated non-BCS school gets a playoff spot. The remaining five spots go to at-large teams ... with the cutoff point at three schools from one conference.

There are seeds and the games are played at the higher seed's home. The top four seeds get a first round bye. Obviously, I'm guessing on who would win the conference championship games.

#1-Alabama (SEC Champ)
#2-Texas Tech (Big XII Champ)
#3-Penn State (Big Ten Champ)
#4-Texas

#12-Maryland (ACC Champ) at #5-Florida noon
#11-West Virginia (Big East Champ) at #6-Oklahoma 3p
#10-Boise State at #7-USC (Pac10 Champ) 6p
#9-Ohio State at #8-Utah (Top ranked non-BCS Champ) 9p

I used the BCS standings to seed the teams. I did flip-flop Ohio State and Boise State since the Buckeyes have already played at USC this year.

Despite Not Being Elite, the Race For the ACC Championship Will Be Fun

No ACC team will be in the hunt for the National Championship. No ACC deserves to go to a BCS game.

But one will.

So the 2008 ACC football season is meaningful for one program who is in the guts of one of the wildest conference seasons ever.

No one outside the area cares, I'm sure, but pretty much every team enters November with a chance at a BCS bid. What other league can say that?

In the ATLANTIC DIVISION, the freaking Maryland Terrapins lead with a 3-1 mark. This team lost to Middle Tennessee earlier this year! In the COASTAL DIVISION, Georgia Tech already owns a 4-2 record and the lead. Here are the standings along with their tiebreakers within their divisions:

ATLANTIC

Maryland (3-1): W: Wake Forest, Clemson, NC State

Wake Forest (3-2): W: Florida State, Clemson. L: Maryland

Florida State (3-2): W: NC State. L: Wake Forest

Clemson (2-3): W: Boston College, NC State. L: Maryland, Wake Forest

Boston College (2-3): W: NC State. L: Clemson

NC State (0-4): L: Maryland, Clemson, Boston College

COASTAL

Georgia Tech (4-2): W: Duke. L: Virginia, Virginia Tech

Miami (3-2): W: Virginia, Duke. L: North Carolina

Virginia (3-2): W: Ga Tech, North Carolina. L: Miami, Duke

Virginia Tech (2-2): W: Ga Tech, North Carolina

North Carolina (2-2): W: Miami. L: Virginia, Virginia Tech

Duke (1-3). W: Duke. L: Ga Tech, Miami

As you can see, it is up in the air. In the ATLANTIC DIVISION, only 1.5 separate first from fourth (and 4th place BC still gets a crack at 1st place Maryland). In the COASTAL DIVISION, Georgia Tech lead but the only team they've topped within the division is last place Duke. The Jackets have a huge game at North Carolina this Saturday before hosting Miami.

Only NC State and Duke are really out of a shot at a BCS bid. Everyone else kind of controls their own destinies.

I'm sure Tampa is gripping for a Georgia Tech-Maryland title tilt.