Conference Referee conspiracy

Now that the BCS Championship Game is worth millions to the conference, it is little wonder that conference referees are working the flags to protect their undefeated teams.

Just review the following games from Oct 17:

Texas v Oklahoma

Florida v Arkansas

Alabama v South Carolina

In each of these games, flagrantly inaccurate penalties were called in favor of the undefeated team, resulting in the undefeated team staying undefeated. All three were pass interference calls, although in the Florida/Arkansas game the referees threw in an additional and mystifying unsportsmanlike conduct call.

In the case of Alabama/South Carolina, the referees assistance was probably unnecessary, but at the time of the call the game was still uncertain.

In the case of Texas/Oklahoma and Florida/Arkansas, I believe it fair to say that the calls changed the outcome of the game.

What does this mean? Well, it probably means that at this point in the season, undefeated teams playing in conference will not loose unless their opponents completely dominate them, making it impossible for the referees to "adjust."

LSU National Champions

OK, I just exhaled. LSU beat the pants off Ohio State, in a game that looked a lot like the previous BCS National Championship game in which Florida beat Ohio State.

What did the last two college seasons show us? That the SEC schedule is a better preparation for the big bowl games than the Big Ten. The Big Ten still have great football. Remember, Michigan avenged a dreadful season by beating Florida, but Florida looked like a team that was dialing it in, playing in a lesser bowl after a National Championship the previous year. Michigan, on the other hand, looked inspired. And good for them.

But to prove the earlier point, no SEC team has ever lost in a BCS Championship Game, and the SEC has four of the ten championships. No other conference has such a record.

As for LSU, the Tigers look primed to rip the SEC up again this year. The road schedule is tough, in that the Tigers go to Auburn and Florida. Plus, the Tigers play Georgia, who enters the season ranked #1. But overall, the schedule is fairly soft, with no non-conference games against major conference opponents. The soft schedule makes an eight win season almost inevitable.

But Florida, Georgia and Auburn are so good, that there is probably no team in the country that could run that gauntlet with better than a 2-1 record. If LSU can beat Auburn and either Georgia or Florida, expect LSU to win the SEC again this year.

On the other hand, if LSU looses all three, expect them to in the Peach Bowl with 9-3 record, probably against Clemson.

LSU returns what is arguably the best defensive line in the country, and the best offensive line in the SEC. They have inexperienced, but very solid defensive backs and serviceable linebackers. On the offensive side, they have a stable of talented wide receivers and running backs. Given that, why where they picked second in the SEC West?

Because they have NO experienced quarterback. Nobody has seen any of these guys play college football. With the number one backup kicked off the team, LSU will be starting the guy who was #3, #4 or playing in high school last year. Now that wouldn't be a big deal in some schools. But LSU is fielding one of the best teams in the country. Its like giving your 16 year old with a new learners permit the keys to the Ferrari. You sure hope the kid can drive.

If the quarterback can play, watch out. If he can't, buy your tickets for the Peach Bowl early.

HGH - Baseball - College Football

The Mitchell Report just blew the doors off baseball and steroid use...I guess. Though the players and analysts are still calling their lawyers, the report only gave us what the public has recognized for years. Players will go to great lengths to enhance their performance because the contracts in pro sports are so lucrative.

Consider that THE ROCKET was earning $28,000,000 to pitch for half a season. How many of you will earn that in a year? 10 years? Your lifetime? Would you take a growth hormone for that, plus all the fame and recognition that comes with the enhanced performance? And if you get caught? Maybe a suspension for a month? That's too much incentive to take drugs, and too little incentive to prevent it.

My guess is that all big dollar pro sports and college sports are rampant with drug use. Why wouldn't they be?

LSU v The Ohio State University

Due to BCS Madness, The Ohio State University moon-walked into the championship game against LSU, who performed an erotic leapfrog over Georgia, Virginia Tech and Kansas.

Why LSU and The Ohio State University...

This proves two things. First, the poll during the year is mostly arbitrary, but when the final poll came out, the average result indicated some level of reason. Teams who did not lose generally moved up (The Ohio State University). Teams that did not win a conference title were surpassed by teams the did (Kansas and Georgia).

But at this point, that should have left Virginia Tech in the title game. This is were voters stepped in and said, "Even though we voted Tech a place above LSU last week, we just can't rank a Tech team with the same record as LSU, higher than LSU because: LSU plays in a much tougher conference, won that conference, and beat Tech 48-7.

Does that get the BCS off the hook? No. The BCS is no better than the old system. It just pretends to be better. But the argument that there was no rationale behind the final voting is also false.

Why the BCS Sucks

Well, LSU snuck past Ole Miss, lost on OT to Arkansas (boy does Miles wish that college football allowed for ties after two OT losses), and now faces a tough Tennessee. I can't see LSU beating Tennessee in Atlanta, but who knows.

Still, the miserable part is that the winner is likely to face Hawaii. That is right, Hawaii. Not only is the BCS boring, but it tends to produce bad matchups. A West Virginia verses Missouri game is interesting for the novelty of it, but the rest of the bowl games look dreadful.

LSU #1

It's November and LSU is ranked #1. They do not look substantially better than numbers 2-5, but they have won more tough games than anyone else, which rightly counts for something.

I don't know how likely it is that LSU can win their next three: Ole Miss, Arkansas and the SEC Championship Game. The SEC Championship game is always tough.

Duke Lacrosse Again?

Would the Duke Lacrosse team please return to the obscure reaches of second tier sports they occupied before their party involving strippers and criminal charges launched them into the spotlight. They seem to have taken a page out of the Brittany and Paris' handbook that says, "In order to gain or sustain public attention you must demonstrate your lack of moral compass."

Now the lads at on the Duke Lacrosse team who were forced by Duke to miss last season have been granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA. The request was made by Duke University on behalf of the players. I find the request and granting of the year of eligibility absurd.

Duke University decided to end the season, not the NCAA. So why is the NCAA involved? The NCAA should have responded by saying, we didn't end your season, so we have no power to grant the players another year of eligibility. Had you wanted your players to play that season, you should not have cancelled the season.

The players on the Duke Lacrosse team do not want to be accountable for their actions: having a party with strippers that brought criminal charges, shame on the university and caused the university to cancel the season.

Duke University doesn't want to be accountable for having decided, perhaps before the question of the criminal charges was settled, to cancel the team's season.

So the NCAA gets to play God and absolve the players and university of their poor decisions. In the end, the NCAA will regret their decision, as more universities ask the NCAA to abolve them of their liabilities. Because next time, if the NCAA decides not to absolve the players or school, they will be legally liable for that decision.