First, on the Lakers. They\'re tremendous. We know this. A fourth title in five seasons is a mere formality. And you\'re right: the bench, led by Fisher, Grant, Russell, and Medvedenko, is playing well. Oh yeah, the starters are slightly above-average too.
Now on to the BCS. Here\'s how you solve it. Take the top 12 teams in the BCS following the conference championship games and have them play a tournament. Give the top four teams first-round byes and give home-field advantage to the higher seed, with the exception of the championship, which is played at a neutral site on the Sunday during the week off before the Super Bowl. There will be 11 games for this tournament. Give them the same names as the (meaningless) bowl games that precede the current championship. Then take the No. 13 through 24 teams in the BCS and have them play a sort of NIT tournament with the same parameters as the big one. That\'s an additional 11 games. That\'s 22 playoff/bowl games, all of which will be of much greater interest since they\'ll mean something and because it was decided fairly. This format combines the logic of the NFL and NCAA hoops, two much more effective systems. It will never happen. They\'ll eventually do a Final Four thing, which is better than what they do now, but considering that they\'re are about 120 Division I-A college football teams, I think 12 is the perfect number because it incorporates the first-round bye, which will give more motivation to teams that have already clinched their spot, plus motivation to all the decent teams who are just trying to squeak in. The fans win. The players win. The corporate suits win. Everybody wins. It makes sense. That\'s why it will never happen.
For the record, Southern California got rooked. They deserve a shot in the title game. Matt Leinhart deserves serious Heisman consideration. Mike Williams will be a Pro Bowl wide receiver in the NFL. Did anybody see his one-handed catch against Oregon State?
Pitch
Oh yeah, one last thing: They be smiling in Houston today. In the last week, The Astros got themselves a pitcher and the Bronx Bambinos re-signed David Wells, a (lard-infested) belly itcher. Mark my words everybody: the Mets WILL finish in fourth place next season. Mark it down.
Oh Baby!
