I originally was going to write a two page rant on the
continued ridiculousness of the BCS but I’m just not mentally prepared to get
that fired up right now. Instead, I will
comment on a few topics that have me riled up in general, the BCS just being
one of them.
THE BCS
Once again, I think it has come to the point where this
system doesn’t work. It’s not that I
think Alabama is
undeserving. They are deserving. So is Oklahoma
State and Stanford. That these teams don’t get a shot is just
stupid. This is the only sport where the
national champion is crowned on opinion and not on the field of play. If LSU should beat Alabama
again (hopefully this time at least one team can score a touchdown), LSU will
be crowned champ without them having to play either of the other top
teams. That the BCS should take the
coaches’ poll into account in their standings is enough to make their system
illegitimate. Coaches have their own
agendas and they are so busy, how can they have the time to make educated
decisions on the votes. It is a
stupendously stupid system.
The crazy part is that they could use the BCS bowls as the
quarterfinals games. Each bowl would be
guaranteed two premium teams. The NCAA
then could pick a location for the semifinals and final game much like the
Final Four. Think about the money that
would pour in for that spectacular event.
It would be gigantic. One more
thing – use the top eight teams. There
will always be those 9th, 10th, etc. teams that are left
out and that will lead to great discussions every year, much like the NCAA
tournament. This is a win-win situation. Plus, these games would take place during the
winter break and the players wouldn’t even have to miss school. No-brainer!
THE HOT STOVE LEAGUE
I love this week in December because it brings baseball back
into the limelight, even for just a few days.
What I hate though, is the irresponsible spending from some of these
teams. Some of these contracts are
ridiculous. I understand how good Albert
Pujols is. I get it. I do not understand how the Angels, or any
team, can give a player who is going to be 32 years old by Spring Training a
ten year contract. No matter how good he
may be over the first 5 or 6 years, what can they expect as a return for the
last few years, especially from a player who has had a few nagging injuries
accumulating over the last few seasons.
This doesn’t even touch upon the $254 million involved. The market, which may have involved 5 teams,
dictated this amount but that doesn’t make it any less silly.
It also sucks that mainly just two teams, the Marlins and
Angels, have made most of the big splashes this winter. It just shows how far apart the teams are in
baseball. The new CBA will hurt the
small market teams, in my opinion, in the long run and it will make baseball
have an even bigger competitive imbalance.
THE NBA WILL RESUME
SOON
Does anyone really care?
That’s not fair. The NBA has lots
of fans. Just don’t count me in their
number. In my opinion, the NBA is the
worst evolution of the game of basketball.
The court and lane need to be larger and the rim should be higher. The players are so much bigger than they were
even 20 years ago and the bodies are too big for the space, leading to a brutal
style of play I think is unwatchable.
I have an interesting fact.
Since 1980, only 9 teams have won the NBA championship, three of those
only won once. Six teams have won the
other 28. There is no balance in the
NBA. Many perennial losers have only
themselves to blame for their woes because year after year they are lottery
teams and year after year they draft players with potential and leave the
proven and talented players to the already successful franchises. It has been happening for decades now and it
drives me crazy. The young high schoolers
and one-and-done college players that are big impact players are the
exceptions, not the rule. This league
needs a huge make over and the new CBA isn’t the answer. If one sport was in desperate need of
contraction, it is the NBA. I don’t know
exactly which teams should go but there are too many teams.
THE QUARTERBACK
PROBLEM
If every NFL team has three quarterbacks on its roster, this
means there are 96 quarterbacks in the NFL.
If Peyton Manning ever returns, there are 4 elite qbs (Manning, Brady,
Rogers, and Brees). There are about 15
to 16 average or slightly above average qbs and another 12 to 16 or so below
average or pedestrian field generals out there.
You do the math. That leaves
around 60 quarterbacks on rosters that really aren’t good enough to play in the
NFL. Yet the teams have little
choice. Quarterback is easily the
shallowest position in football. Now you
understand why having a good to great quarterback is essential to continued
success in the NFL. There is no real
solution because there just isn’t enough talent to fill the out the
rosters. Teams just have to hope their
starters don’t get hurt and if they do, the back up doesn’t kill their chances
of winning games. Players like Tyler
Palko and Caleb Hanie are forced into service and their teams have little or no
chance of success. This position, so
important to teams’ success, just isn’t deep enough for every team to have one
good quarterback, let alone 2 or 3.
Teams just have to get lucky and strike gold here.
Thanks for reading my rants and letting me vent a little.
Check out my movie and tv review blog at
jawsrecliner.blogspot.coma and get twitter updates @jawsrecliner
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