When sportscasters try to be the story instead of report the story, their 15-minutes of fame needs to be over.  Kirk Herbstreit needs to go away.

Kirk was Ohio player of the year in high school and was a quarterback and team captain at Ohio State like his father before him.  He started only his senior year in 1992 and set a team record against their rival Michigan, passing for 271 yards to earn a 13-13 tie.  There was little interest in him from the NFL after his college career.  He eventually landed with ESPN as a color commentator on their Thursday night games and wrote a season column for "The Sporting News".  Enough with the Bio.

Kirk has never liked life out of the spotlight.   The problem is...he is now a commentator.  He is supposed to report the story, not try to be the story himself. 

The day of the SEC Championship game he bragged about his "sources" and proclaimed that Les Miles is leaving LSU and going to Michigan.  This forced Les Miles to proclaim his support for LSU and make a job decision in front of the nation and his players (who are about to play for an SEC title) during a pre-game press conference.  At the same time, he is influencing the coaching prospects of his college rival, Michigan,  and using a National sports network, of which he is an employee, to do it.

The validity of Herbstreit's sources are questionable, his using ESPN as his unwitting ally to screw with his college rival is questionable and his timing of coming out with this just before the SEC championship game was nothing more than an attempt to try to divert attention from the kids on the teams playing the game that deserve it  - onto himself.

He's too biased in his reporting, he obviously has a personal agenda when reporting the games and has very questionable journalistic integrity.  ESPN need to knock him down a few rungs on the ladder and back to the Thursday broadcast until he can learn how a broadcaster is supposed to act.

Jeff Foxworthy once said "You can't give a redneck money because he'll just do something stupid with it like buy a pair of blue stingray boots...and wear them out of the store".  NASCAR's redneck organization owns one of the most successful sports businesses in history.  When it was small and struggling they partnered with the sponsors, teams and drivers, made wise business decisions and built the sport into the financial juggernaut it is today.  But, as soon as it started making big money and reached the height of its popularity, they starting immediately to engage in activities trying to fix what wasn't broken.

1. The Chase - What lame-brain came up with the idea that after a certain point in the season, a driver cannot stage a dramatic comeback and win the championship?  Those are the things of legend in any sport...a down and out team who rises from the ashes to attain glory...no more in NASCAR!  They say it makes it more competitive.  Have you watched the chase with excitement because of all the nail-biting closeness of the competition the last few years?   ...yeah - me neither.

2. The Neutering of the Drivers - People go to the race to see excitement, maybe a crash or two and maybe even see the drivers have it out in the pits after one took the other out.  We liked the trash talk and bravado - it made it fun and interesting.  Now post-win interviews are scripted events.  They probably even employ speech-writers to make sure that they say everything politically correct so NASCAR doesn't fine them or worse - dock them points.  The personalities which made the sport popular have been taken away.

3. The Car of the Future - It isn't gonna change the playing field.  Large teams are still gonna have more money to hire more people to give more input and produce more wins.  Small teams still are gonna be fighting from the back of the pack.  NASCAR is gaining nothing from it except negative exposure.

I could go on and talk about the horrible ABC/ESPN coverage, Brian France's delusion that NASCAR is gonna be a big International sport and other things - but I think these three things are enough to make my point.  Unless they take their hands off and lets these teams work and these drivers be themselves, NASCAR is on the road to being a fringe sport again that is only shown on television sporadically when a big race is happening (aka the 70's).  The sponsors will dry up and the money will stop rolling.

Then the joke will be; "If you can remember a time that watching rednecks go round and round on an oval track was one of the most watched and televised sports in the history of American sports...you might be a NASCAR fan".

FYI...Foxworthy explains that you aren't allowed to call folks one or make fun of a redneck unless you are one.  Of course, being a comedian from Atlanta, he is the recognized authority.  I am originally from Texas and now live in SE Tennessee in the heart of SEC and NASCAR country...I own black ostrich-skin boots...you figure it out.

Once when Steve Spurrier was questioned about the inability of Phil Fulmer's UT Vols to beat Florida during a 4 year stretch he quipped "You can't spell Citrus without UT" , referring to the Bowl that usually hosted the SEC #2 team, and added about former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning "I know why Peyton came back for his senior year: he wanted to be a three-time Citrus Bowl MVP".  The irony, of course, is that it was Florida playing Penn State in the Citrus Bowl that year while UT got plastered by Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

 Now the old Citrus Bowl is the new Capital One Bowl, Spurrier has long since left Florida and gone to a South Carolina team who is not bowling this year and TN has found a new bowl that also cannot be spelled without UT...the Outback Bowl.

 Starting the season with an ugly loss to Cal, allowing them to score 45 points and an even uglier loss to Florida 59-20, Tennessee looked to be heading into a very bleak season.  Many fans, still angry about the  2005 campaign, were calling for the firing of coach Fulmer and the general mood of the program wasn't good.

 TN headed back to Neyland to face the then #12 Georgia Bulldogs with a 2-2 record and no one gave them much of a chance to win against the vaunted Georgia team.  I'm not sure what it was that the coaches said or did differently (if anything), but things started to click in the Georgia game and UT pummeled them 35-14 and followed it with another conference win against Miss St.  Suddenly, there was a flicker of hope in Vol nation...that was quickly snuffed.  A Vol team that was looking forward to a meeting with then #16 South Carolina coached by the source of their angst for so many years at Florida, Steve Spurrier, overlooked a struggling Alabama team who tattooed them with a 41-17 whipping that won't be soon forgotten by either side.  Once again, the doubters, complainers and conspirators to have Fulmer fired were given fuel to add to their fire.

 There was a palpable sense of dread on the campus as the South Carolina game approached.  Spurrier had the 7-1 #16 Gamecocks playing great and he had always pulled just the right ropes and pushed just the right buttons to beat Fulmer's team in the past.  The is the same Spurrier that after the 2005 season rubbed salt in the wound by responded to a question of; "Coach, how did we beat Tennessee this year?" at a South Carolina alumni meeting with; "The same way Vanderbilt did."

 It seemed that TN was about to be 4-4, on their way to another campaign like 2005 and Fulmer's tenure at UT was as good as over.  This time though, Fulmer's team had just the right plays at the right time against 7-1 South Carolina to pull off an improbable win by sending the game to OT with a 48 yd field goal with five seconds on the clock and winning it by a  field goal in overtime.  This started a streak of five wins for the Vols to end their regular season 9-3 and a share of the SEC Eastern Division title with Georgia.  This also started South Carolina on a 5-game losing skid to end their season 7-6 and out of the bowl picture; much to the delight of Spurrier detractors everywhere.

 Because UT beat GA head-to-head, they would be representing the east in the SEC Championship game against LSU.

 The SEC Championship game was heart-breaking for UT fans.  TN was one fourth-quarter interception from winning the SEC with a 10-3 record and going to the Sugar Bowl to face Hawaii's Heisman hopeful Colt Brennan.  Both teams played sloppy in a game where the defenses shined.  But it was LSU's defense that showed why it is one of the top units in the country by making the plays to cap a 14-point swing and win the game in the end.

 By nature of the Vols finishing 9-4 and in the Championship game, it seems for now that Fulmer's job is safe and he was given another one year extension and a raise.  It shouldn't surprise anyone as Fulmer has been the consummate survivor in a conference that goes through coaches like Charles Barkley does Snicker bars.

 So...#16 Tennessee will head to the Outback Bowl (Formerly known as the Hall of Fame Bowl) to play a very good  #18 Wisconsin team which also has 9 wins this season.  Fulmer has history here, as it is the site of his first win as head coach in 1993 against Boston College 38-23 behind the arm of quarterback Heath Shuler.

 Tennessee fans now are disappointed that we aren't in the Sugar bowl, but would have been surprised at midseason that we would have made it to a Bowl like the Outback at all.  Were a bunch that's hard to please, huh?

 All-in-all, with the bad start at the beginning and gritty resolve and performance of the players down the stretch, it has been a good year.  It would be fitting to end it with a win at the Outback bowl to secure Fulmer's eighth 10-win season out of 15 at UT.

Oh, and to Steve Spurrier:  "How did UT beat South Carolina"?  The same way Vanderbilt did.   -And-   You can't spell "Watching the Bowls from your sectional sofa" without S-O-U-T-H  C-A-R-O-L-I-N-A!  

Ohio State vs USC, LSU vs Oklahoma, Virginia Tech vs Georgia, West Virginia vs Hawaii or Kansas.  Who wouldn't want to watch THESE bowl games and then decide a National Champion on the field?

If these were the match-ups, then try to convince me that television ratings for these bowls wouldn't go through the roof.  I would get carpel-tunnel from clicking back and forth on my remote so often to try to catch them all. 

If one of the college presidents are concerned that adding an additional two games to their team's schedule in order to claim a national title is too much, he can withdraw their name from the Tournament and someone else can be chosen to take their place in the Championship game (yeah, right?!?)

This plan is fair to everyone and makes perfect sense...which, of course, is why it will be totally ignored by those making decisions about such things.  
AFTER READING...LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

What this would accomplish:
1. The bowls still retain their history and as well as regain classic matchups (Big Ten vs Pac 10 in the Rose , etc)
2. The Bowls become even more pertinent because each of them has two teams with a legitimate National Title shot playing each other.
3. The smaller conferences have a chance to get in the mix if a bowl committee thinks that they deserve a shot.
4. Makes winning your conference really mean something.
5. Keeps teams like Hawaii this year or Auburn a couple of years ago from being robbed of a chance to claim the title.
6. Takes away the advantage from those not having to play a conference championship game.  They still have to play their way in.
7. The eventual National Champion is decided ON THE FIELD!

An explanation of the team selection for the Bowls:

ROSE BOWL - The Rose Bowl will play either the Big Ten winner or the Independent 2nd pick vs the Pac 10 winner or Sunbelt winner.  The classic match-up on Jan 1st as it should be.
This year would be Ohio State (11-1) vs USC (10-2)

SUGAR BOWL - The Sugar Bowl will pit either the winner of the SEC or the ACC pick #2 vs the winner of the Big 12 or the winner of the Mid-America conference.  Another classic match-up as it should be. 
This year would be LSU (11-2) vs Oklahoma (11-2)

ORANGE BOWL - It will get either the winner of the ACC or the Big Ten pick #2 vs the  first pick from the Independent teams, the winner of the Mountain West, or the second pick from the SEC.  This pays homage to the fact that Miami Univ has been both Independent and in the ACC.   It allows for a possible classic Miami vs Notre Dame matchup if either of them can get their programs in gear again. 
This year would be Virginia Tech (11-1)  vs Georgia (10-2)

FIESTA BOWL
The Fiesta Bowl will get the either the Big East winner or Conf USA winner vs  the winner of the WAC winner, pick # 2 from the Pac 10, pick #2 from the Big 12. 
This year would be West Virginia (10-2) vs Hawaii (12-0) or Kansas (11-1)

**A few additional rules (or few hundred, after administrators get ahold of it) will be needed.  One would be that if ANY Bowl fails to choose the winner of a conference in lieu of another team, ANY of the other Bowls may invite them to replace any other selection.  ------

THE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The winners of these four bowls will be seeded 1-4.  How they are seeded doesn't matter, but if this were to happen then it would be debated.  So, to throw the BCS guys a bone, we will use their computer model to seed the four remaining teams.  Play 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3.

The winners of these games play for the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

See, I told you that it made sense. 

 Here is a summary of how it would look:

Rose Bowl:
Big Ten - #1 / Ind #2
Pac 10 - #1 / Sunbelt #1
Ohio State (11-1) vs USC (10-2)

Sugar Bowl:
SEC- #1 / ACC #2
Big 12 - #1 / Mid-America #1
LSU (11-2) vs Oklahoma (11-2)

Orange Bowl:
ACC - #1 / Big Ten #2
Ind #1 / Mountain West #1 /  SEC #2
Virginia Tech (11-1)  vs Georgia (10-2)

Fiesta Bowl:
Big East - #1 / Conf USA #1
WAC #1  / Pac 10 #2 / Big 12 #2
West Virginia (10-2) vs Hawaii (12-0) or Kansas (11-1)

National Championship Tournament:
Seed the winners of the four bowls:
Seed #1 vs. Seed #4
Seed #2 vs. Seed #3

Winners play for the National Championship

Embattled Tennessee Coach Fulmer Deserves a Break.

Lets start with a short history of University of Tennessee football.  The program started in 1891 and was known as being a perrenial loser.  In 1926 a young aide to General Douglas MacArthur at Westpoint took the TN coaching position...Robert Neyland.  In his first years his teams were 8-1, 8-0-1 and 9-0-1, including an upset of top-ranked Alabama.  This put Tennessee on the football map and Neyland went on coaching TN through 1952 amassing a .829 winning percentage and a record of 173-31-12; his best season being 1938 in which the team was 11-0 and won a National Championship. He took 5 years off to go to WWII, attaining the rank of Brigadier General.  During this time John Barnhill coached the team to an .846 winning percentage  with a record of 32-5-2.  This, incidentally, is the same John Barnhill who, after Neylands return from war,  left TN to become the coach and athletic director at Arkansas. He built their program and eventually hired legendary coach Frank Broyles as his replacement, .

Since Neyland, Tennessee football has had seven different coaches.  The most successful of them, by far, has been Phillip Fulmer with a record of 146-44.  He has been to four  SEC championship games (including this year - five), winning two and has an undefeated National Championship team to his credit in 1998.  His teams have finished in the top 10 in the year-end polls six times, the top 15 ten times and the top 25 thirteen times.  This year's team is currently #14.

Fulmer paid his dues as both a winning player under Doug Dickey at TN and as an assistant coach under Johnny Majors for 13 years, who he eventually replaced in 1992 when Majors' health was in question.  He has a reputation as an ace recruiter, leading many opposing coaches  and analysts to label him as one of college football's top recruiters.

He has lost to TN in-state rival Vanderbilt only once and has only once not taken the team to a bowl game...both in 2005 - his only losing season during his tenure posting a 5-6 record.  Despite that bad year, his winning percentage is still among the elite in the country for coaches with over 10 years experience.  Yet, since that year, many  fans have been campaigning for his removal and have taken their cause to fanatical extremes - even to the point of publically stating that they hope TN loses this season so that Fulmer will be replaced.

What if the fans in Neyland's era called for his removal during the seasons following his return from war in 1947 and 1948 his teams posted 5-5 and 4-4 records respectively?  What if they said, this is not the same coach who left to go to war...he's out of step and is losing to these younger coaches who are more innovative?  TN would have missed out on back to back National Championship years in 1950 and 1951 under Neyland, just before his retirement as coach and promotion to AD.

Let's compare Fulmer's numbers to other top coaches shall we:

He has a better winning percentage than Joe Paterno (.748), who has also faced his share of naysayers in his down years.  Joe has five losing seasons while at Penn State, but also two National Championships. He is the second winningest coach in history.  Who would argue that Paterno isn't one of football's great coaches. 

Fulmer has a better winning Percentage than Bobby Bowden(.762), who has one losing season to his credit at Florida State and two National Championships.  He is the winningest coach in history.  Who would argue that Bowden isn't a great football coach?

Let's compare his numbers to one of his similar-aged contemporaries in the same conference.  He has a better record than Steve Spurrier, who has one losing season and one National Championship under his belt with a .756 winning percentage.   Is Spurrier not considered a great coach?

Bottom line - Fulmer is a top notch coach, who has consistently kept Tennessee as one of the top teams in the country. He has helped to rally a team that was down early in this season to an improbable SEC Eastern Division Championship.  If the Vols win today, he will have led this same team to a BCS bowl.  TN has a great recruiting class coming in that want to play for him and by all accounts will keep TN in the National Picture for years to come.

Change for the sake of change is no good.  All teams are going to have an off year or two.  Noone is exempt from the occasional bad year and quality coaches are too hard to find - ask Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska and dozens of other schools about that.  The naysayers need only to compare the coaching records of others in their conference and around the country to begin to fully appreciate how good Fulmer has been and realize that their argument for his removal has no merit.