Time for a BCS Shakeup

We've all known it for years, the BCS system is far from perfect. One argument is that while it's not perfect, it is "the best possible system" (assuming you buy into the whole "a playoff isn't realistic" bit--but that's a debate for another day). Well, I'll give the BCS their system. They can keep their computer ratings and everything--all I ask is that everyone capable of realistically competing for a National Championship be included in the equation. How is that not the case? you ask--the Mountain West Conference isn't included, that's how.

Here's a breakdown of the current BCS rankings by conference:

• Big Ten: 4 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 14.75
• Pac 10: 4 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 15.5
• Big East: 4 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 16.5
• SEC: 3 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 3.67
• MWC: 3 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 14
• ACC: 3 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 14
• Big 12: 2 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 11
• Others: 2 ranked teams, average BCS ranking - 10.5

In case you're thinking, well, that's just the current rankings, what about history, tradition? Here's a breakdown of last year's final AP rankings:

• Big 12: 5 ranked teams, average AP ranking - 9.2
  
• SEC: 4 ranked teams, average AP ranking - 8.5
  
• Big Ten: 4 ranked teams, average AP ranking - 15.5
• Pac 10: 3 ranked teams, average AP ranking - 10.33
  
• MWC: 3 ranked teams, average AP ranking - 11.33
• ACC: 3 ranked teams, average AP ranking -19.33
• Big East: 2 ranked teams, average AP ranking - 20
  
• Others: 1 ranked team, average AP ranking - 11
  

I ask again, why is the MWC not included in the automatic BCS bids?

The MWC is consistently the fourth or fifth best football conference in the country, has been for about four years now, is 2-0 in BCS games and boasted last year's only undefeated team in the land.

The BCS got one thing right, while all men were created equal, all college football conferences were not. The current BCS automatic qualifiers (SEC, Pac 10, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and Big East) are indeed in a league of their own when it comes to football, but they're no better than the MWC.

TCU is a legitimate National Title contender this year, yet they'll likely get looked over for the BCS Championship game even if they're the only undefeated team remaining. Why? Because their strength of schedule isn't as high as a one-loss Georgia Tech or a one-loss Texas? Oh, really? Actually TCU is 2-0 against the ACC this year (both games on the road by the way). The Big 12? BYU beat Oklahoma at it's best (and in Dallas, a sooner-dominant crowd) and TCU destroyed BYU in Provo. If the Horned Frogs can beat Utah, finish undefeated, and get some help from someone in the Big 12 to beat Texas, they should play the SEC Champion for the National Title.

So, BCS, wake up! If you're going to monopolize college football and hoard all the money, at least get it right and include all of the elite.

AP Poll Continues to Shadow STB!

I'm not sure how many of you compare my poll to the AP or Coaches Polls for College Football or how many of you notice when I post my poll compared to theirs (I'm generally first). In fact, I don't even know how many people read this blog, but the fact is, the AP Poll seems to see one week what I see a week earlier.

Look at this week's polls for instance. Where is Auburn? Better question, where were they last week? Well, the answer is they were nowhere to be found in the AP Poll yet they were #25 in the STB Poll. The week before that I had the Tigers at #22. This week I have them at #21, right where they should be considering their strength of schedule thus far. The AP finally caught on, after seeing them ranked in the STB Poll 2 weeks in a row, the Tigers are somehow #17 in the latest AP Poll and #19 in the Coaches.

Boise State. Great football team, legitimate BSC team in fact. Not quite worthy of a top 5 billing though. The AP pollsters gave the Broncos that last week, only to take it back after Boise beat UC Davis by 18. Where did they fall to? #6. Who took over the #5 spot? Virginia Tech. Who did I put #5 in the STB Poll even last week? Virginia Tech. #6? Boise State.

Same story with South Florida and South Carolina. I've had them ranked for weeks while the AP Poll gave theirs spots to the likes of Houston, who I left unranked and who the AP dropped entirely from the rankings despite slated them #12 in the country last week! Houston? #12? C'mon!

What I suggest is that either the pollsters follow my blog, or the BCS invite me into their complex formula.

STB College Football Rankings - Week 6

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. Virginia Tech
6. Boise State
7. TCU
8. USC
9. Cincinnati
10. Ohio State
11. Miami
12. Oklahoma State
13. Iowa
14. Oregon
    
15. BYU
16. Penn State
    
17. Kansas
18. Mississippi
    
19. South Florida
20. South Carolina
21. Auburn
22. Georgia Tech
23. Wisconsin
24. Stanford
    
25. Boston College

STB College Football Rankings - Week 5

I feel like the AP pollsters could use my help since my rankings seem to consistently prove to be more accurate than theirs. So I'm posting this before theirs comes out, that way if they wanna peak at mine to know who to vote for, they can.

For instance, last week in the AP Poll Mississippi was ranked #4, in STB they were #6. Penn State was #5, what a joke, in STB they were #10. Both those teams lost and will drop in the polls this week. Here's another, Miami was #9 and Virginia Tech #11 in the AP, STB had those teams rankings reversed--guess who won that matchup--yep, Virginia Tech. Not only that, but I had South Florida at #25 and only put Florida State at #23 while the AP bumped the Seminoles all the way to #18 after beating up on BYU and left the Bulls unranked--South Florida won that game and you'll certainly see them in this week's AP Poll. The only blunder I had in last week's rankings was placing Cal at #4--they got absolutely lit up by unranked Oregon.

Without further delay, here are the Week 5 STB College Football Rankings:

1. Florida - defending champs, undefeated, outscored opponents 182-29 so far in '09
   
2. Texas - steamrolling opponents, first big test comes in 3 weeks vs. OU
   
3. Alabama - looking poised to meet the Gators in yet another bigtime SEC Championship
   
4. LSU - not blowing teams out, but not losing
   
5. Virginia Tech - jumped Boise State due to much tougher schedule
   
6. Boise State - quality team in a weak conference, Oregon win looks even better though
   
7. TCU - has beaten two ACC teams on the road
   
8. Oklahoma - stays #8 after a bye week, Bradford should be back for big game next week vs. #19 Miami
   
9. Cincinnati - 4-0 and continuing to steadily climb the rankings
   
10. USC - Barkley back, beat Washington State 27-6
    
11. Ohio State - pitched two straight shutouts after losing to USC
    
12. Oklahoma State - benefited more from having teams ahead of them lose than anything else
    
13. Iowa - beat #10 Penn State on the road, spoiling the Nittany Lions hopes of an undefeated season yet again
    
14. Georgia - next week's matchup with #4 LSU will tell us a lot more about the Bulldogs
    
15. BYU - five teams ahead of them losing helped and they did beat undefeated Colorado State by 19 even when playing below their ability
    
16. Mississippi - proved to be overrated, but then again, so has just about everyone else
    
17. Penn State - allowed Iowa to spoil undefeated season and National Championship hopes two years in a row
    
18. Michigan - already surpassed last year's win total
    
19. Miami - only blemish to Virginia Tech
    
20. Kansas - 4-0 but played no one anywhere near college football's top 50
    
21. California - umm, lost 42-3 to an unranked team
    
22. South Florida - beat #23 Florida State in Tallahassee, outscored opponents 151-27 in '09
    
23. Oregon - destroyed #4 Cal 42-3, only loss was on the road to now #6 Boise State
    
24. South Carolina - beat #6 Mississippi, only loss was on the road to now #14 Georgia by just 4 points
    
25. Auburn - I hate to drop an undefeated team 3 spots after a 24-point win
    

* Dropped from rankings: North Carolina, Florida State, Washington

College Football STB Rankings - Week 4

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. California
5. LSU
6. Mississippi
7. Boise State
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia Tech
10. Penn State
    
11. Miami
12. TCU
13. Cincinnati
14. USC
15. Ohio State
16. Oklahoma State
17. North Carolina
18. Georgia
    
19. BYU
20. Michigan
21. Kansas
22. Auburn
23. Florida State
24. Washington
25. South Florida
    

NCAA Football STB Rankings - Week 3

Week 2 was great. Of course, it's college football, what else is new? Anyway, here's the rankings... they're more accurate than the AP or Coaches Polls (and formed totally independent of those by the way). I've briefly explained my top five.

1. Florida - blowing out a bunch of nobody's, but giving no reason to drop
   
2. Texas - shaky start in Laramie, but finished strong winning 41-10
   
3. USC - went into horseshoe and won, with true freshman starting QB
4. Alabama - schedule looks good til Oct. 10 when Bama goes to Mississippi
   
5. BYU - showed upsetting Oklahoma wasn't fluke, beat Tulane 54-3
   
6. California
7. LSU
8. Boise State
9. Mississippi
   
10. Penn State
11. Oklahoma
12. TCU
13. Virginia Tech
14. Oklahoma State
15. Georgia Tech
16. Georgia
17. Utah
18. Ohio State
19. Cincinnati
20. North Carolina
21. Texas Tech
22. Michigan
23. Miami
24. West Virginia
25. Nebraska

The Hall of Fame Just Took on New Meaning

Today Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the history of the game, will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. There really is no need whatsoever for discussion on this topic--Michael Jordan is hands down the absolute greatest basketball player, and quite possibly, athlete, of all-time.

Just in case some of you either ignorant, or too-young-to-know folks read this, here's a brief list of Jordan's accomplishments:

• 6 NBA Championships
• 6 NBA Finals MVP Awards
• 5 NBA MVP Awards
• 14-time NBA All-Star
• 3 All-Star game MVP Awards
• No. 1 All-time in career scoring average (let's face it, once a guy has played at least 10 seasons, career scoring average becomes far more important than who scored the most total points by staying years after their prime had passed them by and thus putting up a few more points along the way)
• NBA Rookie of the Year
• NBA Defensive Player of the Year
• 10-time All NBA First Team
• 9-time All-Defensive First Team
• 2 Slam Dunk Titles
• 2 Olympic Gold Medals

I could go on, but that should more than end any argument that anyone else even holds a candle to His Airness. Sure, I've heard the arguments for Wilt or Kareem or Russell or even Oscar Robertson, but let's be realistic, while those guys were great for their time, they would get steam-rolled by Jordan. In fact, they'd get steam-rolled by guys Jordan steam-rolled i.e. Hakeem, Ewing, Barkley, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I know those players were all great, but Jordan not only racked up the stats like Wilt or the Big O, but he also won the Championships like Russell and Kareem. Beyond that, he did it each and every time as the clear leader, best player, and go-to guy on his team-something NO ONE else can say.

As for the young guys, i.e. Kobe and LeBron--Kobe is talented and competitive, plays tough defense, has four championships and is actually a better outside shooter than MJ--but he's not MJ. Jordan NEVER lost in the Finals. Never. 6-0. Kobe is 4-2, pretty darn good, but it's not 6-0. Not only that, but three of Kobe's were won when Shaq was Finals MVP and the best player on the team. So from a winning standpoint, Kobe isn't there. And guess what, his stats aren't as good either. And LeBron has no championships. Here's how the three stack up stat-wise.

Kobe: 25.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.5 spg
LeBron: 27.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.8 spg
Jordan: 30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.3 apg, 2.4 spg

Anyway, I'm gonna stop now. I'd love to hear your thoughts/comments, especially if you're dumb enough to disagree! I just want to wish His Airness my congratulations on a special day. The Hall of Fame is a big deal, but it will be even bigger for those who get inducted from here on out because the greatest to ever lace 'em up will be there.

NCAA Football STB Top 25 - Week 2

Wow! What an opening week in college football--especially for non-BCS conferences! Boise State took down Oregon in a big win for the WAC against another ranked BCS conference school. The Utes extended their win streak, beating Utah State 35-17. Then of course came Saturday and the whole country enjoyed a gift from the Mountain West when BYU shocked the world in defeating last year's runner-up Oklahoma 14-13 in Cowboy stadium. The BCS should have more problems this year than ever. Just look at the new STB rankings!

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma State
6. California
7. Mississippi
8. BYU
9. LSU
   
10. Ohio State
11. Boise State
12. Oklahoma
13. Penn State
14. TCU
15. Virginia Tech
16. Utah
17. Georgia Tech
18. Notre Dame
    
19. North Carolina
20. Georgia
21. Oregon State
22. Miami
    
23. West Virginia
24. Cincinnati
25. Texas Tech

* Dropped from rankings: Oregon, Florida State, Iowa

Tiger or Roger?

Today is Day One of the U.S. Open, one of tennis’ most prestigious tournaments. Roger Federer looks to defend his title and win his third straight Grand Slam, which made me wonder--is any current athlete more dominant than Fed? The only one that could challenge him is Tiger Woods. So here we go.

Roger Federer has been winning Grand Slams with consistency since 2003, pulling down 15 in all, leaving him alone atop the leader-board of most Grand Slam titles of all-time. Tiger Woods has arguably, single-handedly redefined golf in the past 12 years, winning 14 Major Championships, leaving him four shy of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18.

Tiger is 33, in a sport where it isn't too abnormal for a 40-something-year-old to win a tournament. Federer is 28, but playing in a sport that simply doesn't allow for the longevity of golf. Both will almost certainly retire holding the all-time championship records and be considered the best ever for the their respective sports. So they both dominate, we got that, the question remains however--who is more dominant?

For all you Tiger lovers out there, hate to break your hearts, but Roger Federer is the correct answer. Sorry.

Federer is one of only six players in the history of men's tennis to complete the Career Slam and win all four Grand Slams at least once--a much bigger deal than winning each of the four Major Championships in golf because it entails dominating the best of the best on three entirely different surfaces (concrete, grass and clay). Fed has been to the championship match of each of the last six Grand Slams (winning three) and 16 of the last 17! Unbelievable! Think about that, of the last 17 Slams, we’ve seen the same guy either win or be runner-up in all but one! Incredible. Oh, by the way, he won 11 of those 16. The guy is unreal.

This year he finally exorcised the French Open demons that had plagued him for so long (he’d never won, but been runner-up the last three years). That was really the only thing hanging over his head. Well, for the most part. There is that one guy they call Rafa. He’s pretty good too. Facing and defeating Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam championship match would really put the icing on the cake for Federer. Nadal is the one remaining thorn in Fed’s side.

They’ve faced each other seven times in Slam championships--Nadal has taken five of those, including each of the last three. And while Roger pulled down this year’s French and Wimbledon, everyone knows a healthy Rafa would’ve at least made things more interesting. That’s why the 2009 U.S. Open is such a big deal--both are healthy. Not only that, but Andy Murray is at the top of his game and hometown favorite, Andy Roddick is playing his best tennis in years. Those are the four to watch.

It’s no disrespect to Tiger. If you’d asked me this five years ago, I would’ve had a different answer, but not now. Not after watching Fed break records while Tiger went 0-4 in ’09 Majors.

One thing we all can agree on is, good work Gillette and Nike--you got 'em both.

NCAA Football Preseason Top 25

Ahh, fall is nearly here. While the sunshine of summer is always missed and the back-to-school dread is upon many, there's one thing that always brightens up my post-summer days--College Football! So, to get us started, here's the 2009 STB Preseason Top 25:

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Virginia Tech
8. California
9. Mississippi
10. Oklahoma State
11. LSU
12. Georgia
13. TCU
    
14. Boise State
15. Penn State
    
16. Oregon
17. BYU
18. Utah
19. Georgia Tech
20. Florida State
21. Iowa
22. Oregon State
    
23. Texas Tech
    
24. West Virginia
25. Notre Dame

*Notes: Florida, Texas and Oklahoma return their star quarterbacks... Utah, while coming off a spectacular season (one that left them with a legitimate argument for title of National Champs) lost quite a few key players at key positions... USC lost Mark Sanchez, but they're USC, they'll be more than fine.

Key Games to Watch in Week One:

• 16 Oregon @ 14 Boise St. (Thursday, Sept. 3 @ 10:15pm ET on ESPN)
• 12 Georgia @ 10 Oklahoma St. (Saturday, Sept. 5 @ 3:30pm ET on ABC)
• 17 BYU vs. 4 Oklahoma (Saturday, Sept. 5 @ 7:00pm ET on ESPN)
• 6 Alabama vs. 7 Virginia Tech (Saturday, Sept. 5 @ 8:00pm ET on ABC)