Well, another college football season is in the books. It's time to watch a couple of all-star games as speculation about the NFL's top prospects begins, and it's also a time to reflect on the 2008 season.

One glaring question comes to my mind, and I don't mean to tear down anyone's team in particular. This is yet another indictment of the Division I-A college football system used to determine a national champion.

I want to know why the top Big Ten teams have once again been consistently rated much too high in the polling process as borne out by the conference's record in the 2008 bowl games. Conversely, I think the college teams residing west of the Rocky Mountains have once again been rated much lower than they should have been. Why is this so? Well first off, the polls are and will continue to be nothing more than a function of tradition driven lip service. In 2008 this lip service almost resulted in a supposedly qualified team making it into the national title game. That team then got to play in a non-championship BcS bowl and was down by over twenty points at half time! The team in the lead that eventually won? The west coast powerhouse some people consider to be the only team playing championship caliber football west of the Rockies. The team being beaten? It was a team that was one play away from the national title game. If you haven't figured it out, it was the 2008 Big Ten champion. Prior to the BcS games being played, both of these Rose Bowl teams were rated higher than the only team in the 2008 Division I-A college football season to eventually run the table going 13-0 while defeating four top rated teams in the process. Those vanquished teams included an SEC West Division team that had held the number one poll ranking for five weeks. Where is this undefeated team from? You got it, west of the Rockies... The 2008 season is by no means the first college football season when the polling process has been exposed by the results of the bowl games.

 

We've all heard the term "East Coast Bias" when it comes to the sports media. Here is a look at what I call "Mid-West Bias" when it comes to big time college football AND the root of it all...

 

Think about this. There are only so many national media outlets that are readily available to the nation's college football fans. You can count them on one hand. Here is a look at many of the individuals who announce the games, give color commentary during the games, or analyze these games both before and after the fact. I think any true fan will recognize a few of these names. Please note their affiliations to the Mid-West and the forums they work for.

 

(Presented Alphabetically)

Barry Alvarez - Former Head Coach - University of Wisconsin - Fox Sports TV Analyst

Todd Blackledge - Penn State University - ESPN color commentator

Thom Brennaman - Ohio University - Fox Sports TV announcer

Paul Burmeister - University of Iowa - NFL Network College Football Analyst

Lee Corso - Former Head Coach - University of Indiana - ESPN College Football Today

Jay Crawford - Bowling Green University - Ohio Native - ESPN First Take Co-Host

Gary Danielson - Detroit Michigan native - CBS Color Commentator

Bob Davie - Former Head Coach - Notre Dame University - PA native - ESPN Color Commentator

Dan Dierdorf - University of Michigan - CBS Color Commentator

Terry Gannon - Illinois native - ESPN Announcer

Eddie George - Ohio State University - Fox Sports Commentator/Analyst

Mike Golic - University of Notre Dame - Ohio native - ESPN Mike and Mike in the Morning Co-Host

Mike Greenberg - Northwestern University - ESPN Mike and Mike in the Morning Co-Host

Bob Griese - Purdue University - ESPN Color Commentator

Kirk Herbstreit - Ohio State University - ESPN College Football Today - ABC Color Commentator

Lou Holtz - Former Head Coach - Notre Dame University - Ohio native - ESPN College Game Day

Desmond Howard - University of Michigan - ESPN College Football Today - Color Commentator

Dana Jacobson - University of Michigan - ESPN First Take Co-Host

Ron Jaworski - Youngstown University - ESPN Color Commentator

Vern Lundquist - Minnesota native - CBS Announcer

Paul Maguire - Ohio native - ESPN Color Commentator

Clay Matvick - Minnesota native - ESPNU Commentator/Analyst

Mark May - Pitt University - ESPN College Game Day Analyst

Brad Nessler - Minnesota State University - ESPN Announcer

Dan Patrick - West Virginia native - ESPN Announcer

Chris Rose - Ohio Native - Fox Sports College Football Host & Host of the Best Damned Sports Show

John Sanders - Western Michigan University - ABC College Game Day Host

Robert Smith - Ohio State University - Ohio native - ESPN Contributor/Analyst

Chris Spielman - Ohio State University - Ohio native - ESPN Color Commentator/Analyst

Michael Wilbon - Illinois native - ESPN Pardon the Interruption Co-Host - Sports Commentator

Others that qualify as Mid-Westerners in my book include...

Tom Hammond - Lexington Kentucky native - NBC Announcer

Mark Jones - Toronto Canada native - ESPN Announcer

Jesse Palmer - Toronto Canada native - ESPN Color Commentator/Analyst

Other Mainstream TV college football personalities...

Skip Bayless - Vanderbilt University - ESPN First Take Commentator

Carter Blackburn - Texas native - CBS Announcer

Bob Costas - New York native - NBC Sports Host

Charles Davis - University of Tennessee - Fox Sports Color Commentator

Chris Fowler - University of Colorado - Colorado native - ESPN College Game Day

Craig James - Southern Methodist University - Texas native - ESPN Color Commentator

Jimmy Johnson - Former Head Coach - University of Miami FL - Fox Sports Commentator/Analyst

Mel Kiper - Maryland native - ESPN Commentator/Analyst

Tony Kornheiser - New York native - ESPN Pardon the Interruption Co-Host - Sports Commentator

Todd McShay - Richmond University - Massachusetts native - ESPN Contributor/Analyst

Joel Meyers - St. Louis Missouri native - Fox Sports Announcer

Brent Musburger - Wyoming native - ABC Announcer

Chris Myers - Florida native - Fox Sports Commentator/Analyst

Steven A. Smith - New York native - ESPN Commentator/Analyst

Kelly Stouffer - Nebraska native - Verses Color Commentator

Barry Switzer - Former Head Coach - University of Oklahoma - Fox Sports Commentator/Analyst

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These people represent a fair share of those that tell college football fans over and over again just who among the nation's Division I-A football teams deserve consideration as top contenders for the title game, that's while leaving out the schools that play in the Mountain West Conference, the Western Athletic Conference, the Mid-America Conference, The Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA. Nice, huh?

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Two Questions...

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Is it any wonder why the Big Ten gets spun up each year?

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On the other hand, can anyone of you name a single nationally broadcast college football announcer, color commentator or sports show personality besides Jim Rome from west of the Rocky Mountains???

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Finally, to all of you who like to point to Utah's schedule (or any other "Non BcS" team who has a legitimate claim to the national title) as evidence that they don't deserve to be the national champion, who does your favorite team play on it's out of conference schedule? Do you think Utah is avoiding your team or vice versa?

Keep on drinkin' the Kool Aid folks... And by the way, congratulations to the University of Florida Gators! Is there any doubt now that Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas when he goes to bed?

 

 

 

I wonder how a Florida - USC game would turn out... We'll never know and that's a problem in my humble opinion.

Short, sweet and to the point...

Using the following assumption: These non-Seniors will opt out of the balance of their college football careers and enter the 2009 NFL Draft next April...

Georgia QB Matt Stafford

Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford

Ohio State RB Chris Wells

Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree

and

Alabama OT Andre Smith

Here we go!

1. Detroit Lions - - - - - - - Needs: QB, OT, OLB, CB, DT - They pick: Georgia QB Matt Stafford

2. St. Louis Rams - - - - -Needs: OT, SS, OLB - They pick: Mississippi OT Michael Oher

3. Kansas City Chiefs - -Needs: QB, OLB, DE, C - They pick: Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford

4. Cincinnati Bengals - -Needs: OT, RB, DE - They pick: Ohio State RB Chris Wells

5. Cleveland Browns - - Needs: CB, OLB, DE, ILB - They pick: Ohio State CB Michael Jenkins

6. Seattle Seahawks - - Needs: WR, QB, FS, CB - They pick: Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree

7. Oakland Raiders - - -Needs: DE, OT, WR, CB - They pick: Georgia Tech DE Michael Johnson

8. Jacksonville Jaguars-Needs: WR, OT, CB, DT, ILB - They pick: Alabama OT Andre Smith

9. Green Bay Packers - -Needs:DE, CB, OT, SS - They pick: Illinois CB Vontae Davis

10. San Francisco 49ers-Needs: DT, QB, S, OT, OLB - They pick: Boston College DT B.J. Raji

And so it goes... One question. How long will it take before the Lions, Chiefs, Bengals, Raiders and 49ers stop getting the top picks?

Have a nice Holiday!

It was just announced today that twenty four of the Major League Baseball franchise owners have decided to withdraw from the association and are forming what is expected to be a much more highly competitive new league. The centerpiece of this new league will be a rebuilt players agreement that will be very similar to the NFL's salary cap system. It is expected to result in fair play with the championship being determined on the field rather than by the current MLB system of who has the most money. Fan interest in the cities where these twenty four teams play is said to be running at an all-time high!

In other baseball related news, the six remaining Major League Baseball franchise owners have agreed to play a round robin without a playoff at the end of their season. With only six teams playing it doesn't make much sense to play it any other way... It is no coincidence that these six teams reside in the three largest market cities in the country. Known as the "haves" of baseball, the owners of the Yankees and Mets of New York City, the Cubs and White Sox of Chicago, and the Dodgers and Angels of Los Angeles, are expected to fight tooth and nail with the pocketbooks to try and buy the best team.

  

In yet another development, all of the nation's sports media, with the exception of the three cities involved in the "haves league", will no longer cover the six teams involved in that endeavor. There's sure to be repurcussions from the afore mentioned "haves" team owners, but who cares?

The Steinbrenner Motto...

Seriously, MLB better clean up their act or the fans disgust with what has happened over the last few weeks will further diminish their importance in the eyes of all fans who expect fair play to be the norm.

Hey Everybody!

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!

And Have a Safe

 

Best Wishes from Dwindy1!

And here's hoping all my football teams beat yours! lol

That would be Wayne Huizenga, owner of the Miami Dolphins...

 

Why?

That would be because he placed his faith in this man and hired him...

Way to go Bill...

And how about those Cowboys?

 

The NFL's version of the Steinbrenners... Jerry, you see what happens when you let a football man run the show?