Why College Football BCS Rankings Are So Mysterious
As the new President-elect, Barack Obama faces one of this country’s most vexing problems.
Obama has promised the American public that he will bring change to a stagnant system that is controlled by a few wealthy men that control the millions of dollars at stake. During a Nov. 16 “60 Minutes” interview, Obama elaborated on his plans: “Eight teams. That would be three rounds to determine a national champion. I don’t know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. So, I’m going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it’s the right thing to do.”
That’s right, fixing the college football post-season is on the national agenda.
Prior to 1998, the collective wisdom of football coaches and sportswriters decided the fate of college teams by ranking them in two weekly polls, with the final lists deciding the season’s champion. This led to problems when the media poll did not agree with the coaches poll, and dual champions would have to be named.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was created to finally provide a national championship game so that at least the No. 1 and the No. 2 ranked teams could play each other at the end of the season.
Of course, working backwards, how are we sure that the two teams selected are indeed the No. 1 and No. 2 teams? Should we fall back on the polls or should we use the other four BCS bowl games to provide an eight team playoff, as our next president suggests?
All Sports, All People, All the Time!
Hello everyone! This is the first post for All Sports, All People, All the Time! I am Luke, one of the three contributors to this blog. I, along with Scott and Dalany are writing this blog for three reasons. One, for fun! If you can’t have fun doing it…Don’t do it. Two, to keep movie buffs and video geeks caught up on the happening in sports. Three, to give the sports fans on moviecoupons.com an inside look and three opinions on wide topics from today’s sports headlines to fantasy football starters.
A little about us. We are all huge sports fans and have played just about every sport known to man. At least all of the sports that count. We will not report on cricket, figure skating, or polo. We will however write about intertube water polo. One of the best intramural sports of all time! The only time we will be writing about soccer or Nascar is to make fun of it. If you like those two sports, good for you, let us know why you like them. We will then let you know if you make any sense at all. Please look to us for opinions, insights, and some trash talking for sports. Do not look to us for correct grammar, spelling, or other non important matters for a sports blog. Finally, we are three of the most brilliant people around so we will occasionally help you out with some life issues!
Now that I have introduced us and All Sports, All People, All the Time! Let me get going on my first topic. The BCS released its first poll this weekend. For the MB’s & G’s (Movie Buffs & Geeks) - this is the official college football rankings. The BCS (Bowl Championship Series) is the poll used to determine the top 2 teams at the end of the year who get to play for the national championship. This is an extremely complicated system that involves human polls, computer rankings, scheduling formulas, etc… So far, the BCS has been viewed as the most accurate system for ranking college football teams.
Here is the first top 15: 1) Texas, 2) Alabama, 3) Penn St., 4) Oklahoma, 5) USC, 6) Oklahoma St., 7) Georgia, 
Texas Tech, 9) Ohio St., 10) Florida, 11) Utah, 12) Boise St., 13) LSU, 14) TCU, 15) Missouri
My thoughts on this: There are two conferences FAR ahead of everyone else. The Big 12 (5 teams in the top 15) and the SEC (4 teams in the top 15). Texas is clearly the best team in the country right now. Coming off back to back victories over Oklahoma and Missouri, they look unbeatable. Colt McCoy, Texas QB, is completing 85% of his passes. INSANE! The non BCS conferences are representing well. With three teams in the top 15 and some impressive wins over some big names, either Utah, Boise St., or TCU look to sneak in the national championship hunt. We are looking at an exciting second half of the season. We will keep you updated!
What lies ahead in the NFL: Ten questions to answer in 2008
1. Who winds up with more wins this season, Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers?
It was the NFL’s ugliest divorce since Joe Montana’s breakup with the San Francisco 49ers. Brett Favre, kicked to the curb by the Green Bay Packers … for Aaron Rodgers.
Now everybody must live with the decision.
So you Like Conspiracy Theories - here are some duzies
The Insane Theory :
It wasn’t a great moment if you were a Bulls fans, but Jordan’s first retirement was one of the biggest and most inexplicable stories of the ’90s. He was in his prime and his Bulls were unbeatable. They’d just won their third straight title and showed no signs of slowing down. Jordan is by all accounts one of the most psychotically competitive human beings on the planet and he was in place to challenge the record of eight straight titles. It just made no sense that Jordan would hang up his overpriced sneakers in October of 1993.
Why it Might be True :
Despite his squeaky clean corporate image, Michael Jordan had a few vices. Namely: gambling, gambling, and more gambling (though since retirement he has added ‘underwear commercials that make us uncomfortable’ to that list). Author Richard Esquinas went public with claims that he had won roughly $1.3 million off of MJ during their frequent golf games, officially making His Airness the best person to ever have in your foursome. MJ was also no stranger to casinos, even during the NBA playoffs.
Far more disturbing were the unsubstantiated rumors that his father, who was killed in a shooting, had been murdered in connection to his son’s gambling debts.
Well, unless you believe the theory that it wasn’t exactly a standard retirement. Some folks claim it was an under-the-table suspension imposed by David Stern after word leaked that MJ was losing money by the fistful thanks to a crippling gambling problem. Obviously this would be a nightmare for the NBA, since Jordan was the face of the sport at the time. So the theory goes that something needed to be done to rein Jordan in, but any public suspension would be a PR disaster.
Instead, Stern banished MJ to a super secret, hush-hush year-long suspension and indirectly to an embarrassing stint in Minor League Baseball. After seeing MJ’s swing at the plate, we think it was a pretty fair punishment.
Only days after Jordan’s retirement, the NBA wrapped up its investigation into MJ’s gambling allegations, declaring that Jordan hadn’t done anything wrong. Except for, you know, betting a shitload of money on sports.
When the question was posed as to whether Jordan would ever consider un-retiring, MJ said yes, “If David Stern lets me.” The conspiracy theorists pounced on this peculiar statement, noting that if it were a legit retirement, Stern would be batshit crazy not to let Jordan back in the league.
Since the whole thing could have been arranged in a single meeting between MJ and Stern, we may never know the truth. Of course, they said the same thing about Deep Throat, and that didn’t stay secret forever. We know now that was Linda Lovelace.
Michael Phelps wins his 7th Gold Medal - Breaks World Record
Last night I witnessed Michael Phelps win his 7th Gold Medal and breaking the world record in the 400 meter individual medal. When I say I witnessed it, of course I mean from the comferts of my own home while it was taking place across the other side of the globe. Either way it was a great moment in sports. Micheal is only 24 years of age and if he wins 3 more gold medals he will be the all time career gold medalist in Olympic history.
There is a full article here…
