That’s what ESPN’s Bracketologist, Joe Lunardi, said three years ago when I emailed him this entry. Gene Wojciechowski and a host of other national scribes are on board as well. I’ve pulled this one out from the back of the freezer, defrosted it, and updated it with teams and scenarios from this year’s tournament...
With the announcement of the brackets for the Division I Men’s basketball tournament comes the annual gnashing of teeth about (and by) teams that weren’t selected. Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, and Illinois State, on the “bubble” for gaining entry to the tourney, weren’t picked. On the other hand, Villanova, Kentucky, and St. Joseph’s made it through the selection process to join the field of 65.
But there are two other schools where folks should be complaining: Coppin State and Mount St. Mary’s. You see a few years ago, the NCAA—in its infinite wisdom—decided to expand the field from 64 teams to 65 (presumably to quell the anger of the bubble teams). Tomorrow night Coppin State plays Mount St. Mary’s in a “play-in” game. The winner joins the big boys in “Bracketville.” The loser goes home, having not actually played in the NCAA tournament.
Granted, these are the two worst teams in the field. Either team would probably get trounced by North Carolina or Memphis. But that’s not the point. These two teams did what the NCAA asked them to do: They won their conference tournament, gaining an automatic bid into the March Madness field. And yet, teams who finished with sub-par records and spent the final weeks of the season on the bubble get to participate, no questions asked. So instead of making the trip to Denver or Anaheim to be part of the festivities of the NCAA Tournament, these two teams catch the red eye to Dayton to play in front of a half-empty stadium.
Just like the other 63 teams in the field, these two teams have great stories to tell about their road to the tournament. But for the team that loses tomorrow night, it will be as if they never even existed, because this game is possibly one of the least-watched sporting events of all time.
No offense to either of the schools involved, but does anyone watch this game? Does anyone care? I’m guessing that It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown attracts more viewers tomorrow night. Heck, more people will probably watch the Family Guy marathon on TBS. Most people don’t even consider these two schools when filling out their brackets. (How many times has someone looked at you with that blank stare when trying to figure out where the 16th seed college named “Play-in” is located?)
If I were the Czar of Sports (which, by the way, I am still submitting my resume for), things would be different: The day after the Super Bowl would be a holiday, there would be a Division I-A college football tournament, and there would be no play-in game for the NCAA Tournament. Instead, there would be three more teams added to the field for a 68-team tourney. There would be four “Bubble Buster” games, two each at different sites, making the match-ups far more intriguing than tomorrow night’s game.
Using Joe Lunardi’s final Bracketology report (a great resource for college hoops junkies) as a guide, along with the teams everyone has been talking about ad nauseam since Selection Sunday, I’ve come up with four potential games we could be looking forward to tomorrow night instead of the play-in game.
Keep in mind that since all of the seeds from 13-16 (except for Cinderella Georgia out of the SEC) are conference tournament champs from lower-tier conferences (i.e., a bunch of schools you may never have heard of), the final “at-large” teams selected by the committee were three of the 11 seeds and one 12 seed. I’ve selected those four teams as well as four teams who just missed out on making the field. Oh, and since the selection committee either loves controversy or can’t avoid it, I’m still not putting Arizona State in the field. Just for kicks.
Without further ado, here are the fourth annual “Bubble Buster” games (as drawn by the Can’s trusty illustrator, Rob). Round 1 of the tournament would go this way in my world:
Virginia Tech can make one of the biggest cases for getting snubbed this year, but in my field of 68, Virginia Tech gets a chance to advance into the field of 64. Their opponent is Kansas State, whose early exit from the Big 12 tournament really impacted their resume. This is the first game of the day, with the winner moving on to face USC in the tournament.
Game 2 of the Dayton Bubble Busters is a doozie. St. Joseph’s clearly had a better resume than Temple, as they ended up with a higher seed. They’ll take on Ohio State, who beat tournament entrants Purdue and Michigan State to finish their season but fell to Michigan State in the Big 12 tournament. One of the biggest arguments against the “Bubble Buster “system is that it would give teams such as Oklanhoma—seeded 6—an advantage since the team they end up playing would lack rest. But I think everyone can agree that Georgia blew a whole in that theory this year, as they won three games in two days against “more rested” opponents.
This game moves out to Denver since Dayton is prominently involved. The Flyers battled in the tough Atlantic-10 conference but fell to Xavier in the conference tournament, while Villanova won a “play-in” game with Syracuse only to fall to Georgetown in the Big East tournament. With Clemson awaiting the winner, this could be the game of the day.
This one could be worth staying up late for. Kentucky, 12-4 in the SEC but firmly on the bubble heading into Selection Sunday, will have to get past Illinois State to make it to Anaheim to face Marquette. The Illinois State Redbirds, out of the Missouri Valley Conference, must have been hurt by their 30-point loss to Drake in their conference tournament, but with Drake receiving a 5 seed, Illinois State must have been close to the cut line.
There you have it. Perfect? No. Better than the current system? Heck yes. A couple of notes: All of the winners of these games would play on Friday and not Thursday (to give them a little breather); the losers could be the top four seeds in the NIT; folks running office pools would have to make the decision of whether or not to include these games in their pools.
Someday, common sense will prevail and the NCAA will put a system such as this one in place. Until then, I’ll keep dreaming about becoming the Czar of Sports (feel free to contact your Congressman and demand action on this). And if you think I’ll be watching Coppin State vs. Mount St. Mary’s tomorrow night, you’re crazy.
Welcome to Inside the Actors Studio. Here’s your host, James Lipton.
James Lipton: In addition to actors, we’ve had directors, screenwriters, and musicians here on Inside the Actors Studio. But now we have something truly unique for you. Tonight my guest is the self-proclaimed “Czar of Sports,” who built his Sports in a Can empire after brokering an agreement for the NCAA to create and televise a true “Bowl Championship Series” playoff system. Please join me in welcoming the Czar of Sports.
Czar: Thank you, James. It’s truly an honor to be here. Even though I don’t know why I’m here.
JL: Well, as you know, I’ve exhausted all of the good actors. I recently had Mark Ruffalo on for crying out loud. And if you just asked, “Who the heck is that?” just imagine how I felt interviewing him. So I’ve resorted to interviewing some of the actors for a second time, which is going pretty well. But I need to do something more. And I’ve interviewed some musicians before, so I thought, why not the world of sports?
Czar: Sounds good to me, James. I have no idea who Mark Ruffalo is either.
JL: Let’s talk a moment about that day that you first appeared on the scene. You testified before Congress on December 9, 2005, at a hearing of the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection subcommittee. How did you get involved in the process that day?
Czar: When I heard that Congress was actually going to get involved in the BCS process, I felt there was no better time to strike than then. At the time there were so many proposals for a true Bowl Championship Series, some from well-known names in sports, some from inside the NCAA, with the major conferences pitted against the smaller conferences. I was able to convince the NCAA that to do it right and get it in place would require someone who wasn’t “in the inner circle” as it were. Timing is everything in life, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
JL: Fantastic. Truly brilliant. So this is year three of your system, yes?
Czar: Yes it is. And what a year it’s been. With the number one and number two teams in the BCS rankings losing seemingly every week, could you imagine if the old system were still in place? I mean, Ohio State would be playing LSU for the national championship while teams like Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and undefeated Hawaii would be on the outside looking in! Meanwhile, think about this: If LSU and Virginia Tech had both lost last week, Georgia might have moved up to #2 in the BCS standings. Which means the old system would have had Georgia—a team that couldn’t even qualify for its conference championship game—playing for the national championship!
JL: Dreadful. That would truly be dreadful. Now last year you made a few tweaks to the manner in which the teams were selected. Talk about that for a moment.
Czar: This will be a constantly evolving process until we get it perfect. Last year we decided to ensure that teams hosting the first round of games would have to be conference champions. It worked out so well that we’ve made another major change this year. The biggest complaint I hear from coaches and fans is that a playoff system makes the regular season meaningless. So we’ve decided that only conference champions—and Notre Dame if they’re ever good again—will be invited into the Bowl Championship Series.
JL: That’s delicious. Tell me more.
Czar: Take this past Saturday. How exciting were those games? But in the old days, some of the results just wouldn’t have mattered. The committee and I sat there watching Missouri-Oklahoma thinking that if we hadn’t changed the rules, both teams would have ended up in our BCS field. And, there was a distinct possibility that they would have ended up playing each other in the first round. That just didn’t seem right. Instead, Missouri and Oklahoma basically played a play-in game for the tournament last weekend. Missouri is out and Oklahoma locked up a first round home game.
JL: So just how are the match-ups determined?
Czar: We take the final BCS standings and seed the top 8 teams according to the top 8 conference champions. The top four seeds host the opening round games, with the winners advancing to two of the major bowls. The winners of those bowl games advance to play in the Allstate BCS Championship Game, which will be held Sunday, January 27.
JL: That’s the week before the Super Bowl?
Czar: Correct. The spotlight will be solely on the championship game.
JL: I see you have brought some lovely charts with you that showcase this year’s brackets. Who draws these for you?
Czar: That would be Rob, the official Sports in a Can illustrator.
JL: He’s the man. These are gorgeous. Let’s talk about the match-ups you’ve got for the tournament this year. Czar: In the first game of the tournament we’ll have the undefeated Warriors against an LSU team whose two losses both came in triple overtime. This game will also feature one of our two David vs. Goliath match-ups, as Hawaii hails from the non-super power WAC. The winner of this game advances to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to take on the winner of Virginia Tech and West Virginia. The Mountaineers of West Virginia missed out on a golden opportunity to host a first round game. But their loss dropped them down to the #6 seed. Meanwhile, I’m really happy for Virginia Tech. Their players and students are still dealing with the effects of the shooting earlier this year. So what a way for them to end the year—by hosting a first round BCS game.
JL: That is just beautiful. I think I might cry. Talk some more. Czar: Game 3 of the first round pits #1 seed Ohio State against the biggest underdog we have in the tournament: BYU. The champion of the Mountain West conference was ranked 17th in the final BCS standings, but with our new “champions only” field, BYU gets to crash the party. They’ll have their hands full traveling to Columbus to take on the new #1 team in the country. And the final game of round 1 features two teams many feel are playing the best football in the country right now: Oklahoma and USC. The winners of these two games square off in the Fed Ex Orange Bowl.
JL: That’s fantastic. I can’t wait. Now let me ask you: Why you? Why of all of the people who could have developed this system, why were you the man for the job?
Czar: I’m the perfect person for this job, James. I’m not a college football fan, per se. I’m more of NFL guy. But give me a reason to watch and I’m there. I love March Madness. I’m not watching college basketball for four months ad nauseum, but come March I’m glued to the television. Why? The brackets, the upsets, the drama, and the fact that all of those teams are in the field with a chance to win on the court. In college football, why should I care about the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl or the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl or the Papajohns.com Bowl? I just don’t. But put eight teams in a bracket and give them all a chance to win the title and I’m there. And I think the average fan agrees with me.
JL: I know you had some major upsets last year in the tournament. Are you expecting any surprises this year?
Czar: I don’t like to predict what’s going to happen, James. I don’t want there to be any suggestion of impropriety on my part. Plus everyone tells me I’m not very good at picking NFL games, so I won’t speculate on these college games. But last year was very exciting, as Boise State knocked off both Ohio State and Florida, the top two teams in the field, on their way to the national championship game. They ended up losing to USC, but remember how they ran the Statue of Liberty play in the Orange Bowl—the 2nd round of the tournament—and then that player proposed to his girlfriend?
JL: How could I forget? That was truly a moment of Hollywood-esque magnitude.
Czar: Well, could you imagine if that happened at the end of some meaningless bowl game instead of during the tournament? Who would have watched? Who would have cared?
JL: I’ll ask the questions here, Czar.
Czar: Sorry about that.
JL: What is your favorite word?
Czar: I’m not sure what this has to do with anything, but I’d lean toward flummoxed, vermouth, or gunky.
JL: If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Czar: Good job on fixing that BCS thing. If I had to listen to all of you complaining about something that was so easy to fix for one more year, there might have been another flood.Week 14 NFL Picks
Chicago (+3) over WASHINGTON JACKSONVILLE (-10½) over Carolina Dallas (-10½) over DETROIT BUFFALO (-7) over Miami NY Giants (+2½) over PHILADELPHIA GREEN BAY (-10½) over Oakland San Diego (E) over TENNESSEE St. Louis (+6½) over CINCINNATI Tampa Bay (-3) over HOUSTON SEATTLE (-7) over Arizona Minnesota (-8½) over SAN FRANCISCO Cleveland (-3½) over NY JETS DENVER (-6½) over Kansas City NEW ENGLAND (-10½) over Pittsburgh Indianapolis (-9) over BALTIMORE New Orleans (-4½) over ATLANTA
Darren Kelly got tired of waiting for his ship to come in. A lifelong sports fan, he wants nothing more than for his full-time job to involve watching and writing about sports. To this end, he launched Sports in a Can. There's no money in it...yet. More of his fine writing is available on the Patriots Insider website: http://patrio ts.scout.com.
