My Ideas for a College Football Playoff System

The argument is being shouted by a lot of people. Switch from the current Bowl Championship Series to an 8-team single elimination tournament. So instead of having a bunch of 1-loss teams complaining about being left out in the cold because they are not in the SEC or Big 12 (defense not included) conferences, have 8 teams fight it out.

Well, I read an argument against a playoff, and it was actually a good argument. Here is the link: http://www.fanblogs.com/ncaa/007562.php

If we have 6 automatic bids for making the playoffs, that leaves only 2 at-large bids. The blogger is right, the tv people would not sign off unless there were provisions for Notre Dame to get in. That leaves just one at-large bid if Notre Dame was involved.

So here are my ideas.

1. The six BCS conferences get an automatic bid as long as said team is in the top 12. Any lower, and sorry. There's no point denying a top 5 team a spot because we had to invite a Big East or ACC team ranked in the 20s.
2. If Notre Dame is ranked in the top 12, they get a spot in the brackets.
3. No more than two teams from a single conference.
4. Additional spots not provided for conference champs or Notre Dame are selected strictly by the polls, starting from the highest rank and going on down. No allowing the BCS (or BPS) to pick and choose the biggest cash cows from an available pool.
5. Rankings are based on a system similar to the BCS, with two human polls and a strength of schedule (or victory) rank. No more computer polls created by people and we don't know how they got that number.
   

Based on this system, here are the teams (based on the current BCS rankings):

#1 Alabama (SEC Champ*)
#2 Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ*)
#3 Texas (at-large)
#4 Florida (at-large)
#5 USC (Pac-10 champ*)
#6 Utah (at-large)
#7 Penn State (Big Ten Champ)
#8 Boise State (at-large)

Not Invited: Texas Tech (3rd team in Big 12, ranked #7), Cincinnati (Big East champ, ranked #13), Boston College (ACC champ, ranked #17)

First Round Matchups
#1 Alabama vs. #8 Boise State
#2 Oklahoma vs. #7 Penn State
#3 Texas at #6 Utah
#4 Florida vs. #5 USC

*Yeah, I know these teams aren't conference champs yet. I'm basing this on the highest rated team theoretically winning the conference championship.

Game Day!

This has been one of the more entertaining presidential elections in memory. I'm both excited and saddened to see it come to an end. This time tomorrow, we should know who is going to run the country for the next four years. Will it be Obama-Biden, or McCain-Bush...err...I mean, McCain-Palin.

Total Medal What?!

Former New York Giants running back, turned NBC newscaster, Tiki Barber is in the news after he might have used a profane sexual name in reference to co-newscaster Jenna Wolfe. The two were having an argument on MSNBC's Olympic coverage regarding what was more important: gold medals or total medal count. Tiki argued for gold medals, while Wolfe said total medal count.

So Tiki suddenly turns to her and says "Total Medal C***." He claims he said "count" and MSNBC was quick to deny that Tiki said the bad word. But it really doesn't sound like "count." The word "count" has a distinct /ow/ sound, yet the word he used had a distinct short-u sound.

Some people think that Tiki said the word to retaliate against Jenna's Super Bowl dig. Previously, Wolfe said she's been wearing Tiki's Super Bowl ring all week, and when he said he didn't have a Super Bowl ring, she said, "Oh, you don't?" Tiki replied, "You are such a ..." and stops there. Maybe he was continuing his sentence in the "total medla count", clip.

Anyway, the clip is available below. Listen at the 28-second mark to Tiki's attempt to say "count."

News from Labor and Delivery

Heated Sprinkles is happy to announce the following, as relayed by proud parents Sam and Nicole Basile.

"Alisa Nicole Basile joins us at 7:04 am, weighing in at 6 pounds, 7 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing just fine but a bit tired."

Congratulations Sam and Nicole!

"Good afternoon everybody! How are you today?"

How did I miss this? On Thursday night, WFAN (the nation's first all-sports talk radio station) announced the Mike and the Mad Dog show is breaking up. Apparently Chris "Mad Dog" Russo is bolting for Sirius radio, leaving Mike Francesa as the lone voice on the station.

Apparentlly there was a big fight between the two of them earlier this year, but both insist they were on much better terms and this split is not at all related.

Russo called in on Friday's show, and Francesa and Russo cried on the radio.

I remember going to a Yankee game with my dad and my godfather back in the very early 90s. Francesa and Russo must have just started up, and they were doing their show from outside the Stadium.

Wonder what Bill Simmons thinks about this? He's claimed to basically idolize their show, although ESPN wouldn't allow him to go on a non-ESPN show.

Radio Alert: It’s Now Mike Minus Mad Dog

Russo, late of WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog, calls in

What does James Bond think of this?

In the glorious year of 1996, Penn State football went 11-2, despite having Wally Richardson as the quarterback. Wally was a terrible quarterback who would frequently throw the ball 10 feet over the receiver's head. Thank God for Curtis Enis and a solid defense, apparently.

Even more amazing is that he made it to the NFL. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the seventh round, and played two years with the Ravens and one with the Atlanta Falcons. He threw two passes in an NFL game, completing one for a whopping one yard.

Meanwhile...

Tomorrow, the 20th edition of Madden NFL football will be released. In recognition, IGN.com has written various stories about Madden history, one of them being "The Ten Worst Quarterbacks in Madden History." Topping the list is No. 14 himself.

1. Wally Richardson (Madden '00, Baltimore, 41 overall, and Madden '02, Free Agent, 38 overall)



We chose Wally Richardson for this job because he managed to stay in Madden for four years, getting worse each time, despite any evidence that he was a NFL quarterback with any hope of getting into a game. Richardson was most well-known for his time as a starter at Penn State, but in 1997, the Ravens drafted him in the seventh round. He didn't play in his rookie year, but in his second season, he got in and threw two passes. One was complete. It gained a yard.



Richardson never threw a pass in the NFL again. Despite this, he remained in Madden through the 2002 version (2001 NFL season), getting progressively worse, going down to a rank 38 overall rating. That bizarre mix of dire performance and staying power makes Richardson the worst quarterback in Madden history.

As for the James Bond comment, this is because when an article slamming Wally appeared in the HighAcres Collegian in the fall of '96, a angry student who identified him or himself as "James Bond" emailed the author and threatened bodily harm, if I remember correctly.

William Yurasko, the author of said article still owes his Wally jersey, which leads to the question, which jersey purchase was stupider: The Wally jersey owed by Will, or the Austin Scott jerseys purchased by Sam Basile and I. Bash Wally for his ineptitude on the football field, but at least he was never accused of raping anyone.

...

Yet.

Spot the Ridiculous Part I

This was released by the NFL today. Can anyone spot the ridiculous part (aside from the fact the Eagles will apparently be playing their home games in an empty stadium)?

The NFL announced today that it will implement a new fan code of conduct, and that fans who break the rules can be ejected from stadiums and barred from returning.

Fortunately, there’s nothing in the new rules that bans standing.

The league says it is attempting to crack down on behavior that “detracts from the gameday experience,” including:

– Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal.

– Drunkenness and signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behavior.

– Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.

– Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.

– Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.

– Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team.

There will no doubt be some fans who object to these rules, and some of them will be hard to enforce, overall, these guidelines seem reasonable. Assuming that stadium personnel use good judgment in enforcing the rules, this new code of conduct should make life more pleasant for the 10 million or so people who fill NFL stadiums each Sunday.