The single most problematic issue centering on college football is the lack of a consistent playoff in the Division I ranks.  Imagine, if you will, an 8-team, single-elimination tournament consisting of the 8 BCS teams.  1. USC vs. 8. Florida State.  2. Texas vs. 7. West Virginia.  3. Penn State vs. 6. Georgia.  4. Ohio State vs. 5 Notre Dame.  Personally, I think that the semi-finals of that fictional tournament would be two of the best football games you could hope to ever see in college football.  Two teams that are essentially mirror images of one another - a powerful Texas team with an athletic quarterback and a powerful Penn State team with an athletic quarterback.  If Michael Robinson had played full-time QB for the past few years, he might be getting some minor Heisman notice.  As it was, he was far outdone by the likes of Leinert, Bush & Young...and with good reason.  Still, that game could easily be won or lost by either team.  The potential USC/Ohio State or USC/Notre Dame rematch would be as equally terrific.  Ohio State would be out to prove to the world that its two losses to Texas and Penn State were not indicative of their overall season, and of course USC would want to force its way into its third straight national championship.  Should Notre Dame get another crack at USC...  

Alas, its not to be - not yet, anyway - and for the sad downfall of money.  The problem is that the existing bowl system is designed to funnel millions upon millions of dollars back to the schools and their respective conferences.  But, to my way of thinking, the bowl system could still be in place, the school still get their millions upon millions, and even the advertisers would come out (if you'll pardon the pun) smelling like roses.  Imagine, if you will, that each year the playoff system chooses four neutral sites to host the quarterfinals of the championship.  Like the Super Bowl, this would have to be in domed or southern stadiums.   Eliminate the Georgia Dome, Super Dome, Rose Bowl and Tempe Stadium for the quarterfinals because they will host on a rotating basis the semi-finals, consolidation game and the National Championship.  The South game would be in Jacksonville, Tampa Bay or Florida.  The North game could be at the RCA Dome or Ford Field.  The Central game could be at Dallas Stadium or Reliant Stadium.  The West game could be at Qualcomm or the Coliseum (so long as USC didn't get a home game).  Each qualifier would get the usual $11 million or so dollars just for competing.  A smaller bonus would be awarded for the quarterfinal winners - perhaps a million per school - and another million per school for getting into the National Championship. 

The beauty of this is that the remaining quality teams still get to play in their "playoff" game in the various bowls held on or around New Year's Day.  Since this DI playoff would get started and end near New Year's Day, the NFL wouldn't have to worry about competing against the NCAA.  And the television networks that broadcast the various games would still get their money for the other bowls.  It could even work out among the four major broadcasters of college football to host various games.  Fox could get the West game.  CBS gets the South.  ABC gets the North.  And NBC could take the Central.  The four broadcasters get the National Championship once every four years, just like the NFL splits between its three major broadcasters.  It would work.  It would still benefit everybody just like it does now.  And it would generate even more interest in the college game than there already is.

Finally, the selection process would be simple.  The winners of the 6 major conferences (Pac-10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC and Big East) would get automatic bids.  Two at-large bids would be available.  What you'd need to do is continue to have the BCS ranking system (remember, the NCAA basketball tournament relies on ranking systems for bubble teams as well) so that the two at-large teams could be selected.  Controversy would remain - like this year, Oregon got left out of the BCS bowl mix for Notre Dame and Ohio State - but at least the champion would be crowned on the field only, and taken out of the hands of polls, popularity contests and potential 3-ring circuses.

 Now, for the games themselves...

Charlie Weis has done a truly remarkable job in his first year at Notre Dame guiding them back to prominance.  Can he continue to work his magic against Ohio State's terrific defense?  The two teams that beat Ohio State this year had one thing in common - athletic, running quarterbacks.  The Golden Domers rely on the passing accuracy of Brady Quinn with the passing attack designs of Charlie Weis.  Can Notre Dame pass its way against the trio of linebackers sure to cause fits for Notre Dame's running game?  That's the key in this one.  If Notre Dame can figure out the Buckeye's defense, they will probably win this one.  If they cannot, Ohio State figures to score between 17 and 20 points, and that could very well be enough to secure a victory here.

Although most people outside of the state of West Virginia doubt this, I am quite certain that the Georgia Bulldogs are going to have their hands full defending West Virginia's spread power offense.  Rich Rodriguez has developed a power running game from the spread offense, and it drives defenses crazy.  They have a solid offensive line and good talent yet again at running back.  Since they spread the defense out, it makes it hard to crowd the line of scrimmage to defend against the run.  All you have to know about this game is in the first few plays from scrimmage when West Virginia has the ball.  If their stretch-right/stretch-left plays start gaining yards on the Dawgs D, then you'd best hope you didn't bet against the Mountaineers. 

For sentimental reasons, the Orange Bowl is going to be one terrific game.  The two winningest coaches in Division I football square off when Penn State meets Florida State.  Florida State beat both Miami and Virginia Tech this year - meaning you can forget their late season swoon after the ensured a spot in the ACC Championship game.  They have a typical Florida State team in many ways - fast and athletic.  The problem for Florida State is that they are facing an equally fast and athletic team.  They pulled it out against Miami early in the season, but Penn State has a better all-around team on both defense and offense than does Virginia Tech.  Plus Penn State's defense is among the best in the country, and moving the ball against them is hard enough to begin with.  Then, remember this small tidbit:  with a Florida State win, Bobby Bowden can tie Joe Paterno in the one area that he's trailing - bowl game victories.  Bowden owns 19 bowl game victories while Paterno has 20.  Bowden has a better percentage, but no coach in college football has more than Paterno's 20. 

The National Championship is (thankfully) the game that everyone wanted to see.  Talk about momentum.  34 straight victories and 2 straight national championships (plus likely two straight Heisman winners in a row) versus a 17-game winning streak.  These two teams were on a collision course from the starting gate, and they moved ever closer week-by-week to this match up.  Don't worry so much about strategy and tactics here.  This should be a close and wonderful game - the kind that the BCS dreamed about from the word go to begin with.  If you're a fan of college football in general, you'll be watching this game with avid interest.  If there is one team in the nation that capable of beating USC at their own game (scoring a ton of points), it's Texas.  Then again, Texas has not faced an offense with the firepower that Southern Cal brings into this one.  For certain, Texas has not faced a running back tandem with as much skill as USC.  When the Trojans lock horns with the Longhorns, college football fans across the nation will be in for a real treat.

As usual, the Hot Stove is heating up in baseball right around the time of the Owner's Meetings in Dallas, TX.  In years past, this was the time of mega-signings and collective hand-wringing by the small market clubs.  But if you look at some of the trades and moves made so far this season, it seems that a few things are different at least on the surface. 

First, it is rather obvious that this year's fire sale has already occurred in Miami, as the Florida Marlins have gotten rid of all but two of their big names.  What an unfortunate event to see happen in Florida.  They were building some momentum with young arms and young talent.  While it was not enough to continue their 2003 winning ways, you would have thought that at least they would have a competitive team on the field.  Alas, it was not to be, and the Marlins have purged salaries totalling (already) $45 million.  What's unfortunate about that, however, is that the $45 million dollar purge is still more than some small-market teams are willing to spend...

A traditional do-nothing-until-its-time-to-pick-through-the-leftovers team is my hometown Pittsburgh Pirates.  Now, the seemingly sealed move to bring Sean Casey home (he's a Pittsburgher...leading the local Upper St. Clair baseball team to the state AAAA title a few years ago) provides a needed shot in the arm for the club, but what real difference will it make?  Pittsburgh's strength is centered around a few budding fielding/hitting stars in Jason Bay and Jack Wilson, and a lineup of lefties that should they pan out will make life exceedingly difficult on the rest of the National League.  Should Oliver Perez, Paul Mahohm and Zach Duke pitch well in the next years, then the rest of the NL is going to be in some trouble.  This is the kind of young rotation that the Oakland A's sported from 2000-2003, and that the Atlanta Braves used to start their 14-year run of division titles.  Considering that the Braves got their start by ripping out the hearts of local fans here in Pittsburgh, it's no surprise that the rotation of John Smoltz, Greg Maddox and Tom Glavine are names we still hate to hear. 

One surprise is the relative calm coming from the Bronx as compared to the relative chaos coming from Queens.  The Mets are movers and shakers, buying and selling, dangling players and looking to pick up more talent.  The Bronx Bombers haven't done much, but maybe that's because the team lost between $50 and $85 million dollars in 2005, and could potentially lose more if MLB decides their contract with the YES television network was undervalued.  It seems that even Mr. George Steinbrenner has some limits.  Perhaps.  As with everything regarding the Yankees, nothing is over until George says it is, and he hasn't said much lately.  What's really hurting the Yankees is that they've bled out their farm system.  It makes it hard to trade for young talent when your system is devoid of it in the first place.  Perhaps, for old times' sake, the Yanks will bring Roger Clemens back to town for another farewell year.

Did the White Sox get...better?  Importing Jim Thome from Philly, and resigning Paul Konerko suggests that the Sox are going to keep their lineup mostly intact.  And notice...not one pitcher has moved.  Jon Garland is eligible for arbitration, and Orlando Herdandez is in no-man's-land, so it seems, but Chicago powered their stretch run with fantastic pitching as much as anything else.  Their starting five should remain mostly intact, and that will make unseating the Sox as the World Series Champs a tall order. 

 Have the Blue Jays' moves impressed you?  In a way, they have improved their pitching, adding B.J. Ryan as the closer and A. J. Burnett to their starting lineup to go with the likes of Roy Halliday and the rest of a tough starting five.  The trouble with the AL East is that the 800-pound gorillas are still in the way, and despite no movement, the Yankees are going to win more than they lose, and the same can be said for the Red Sox.  Unless somehow those two teams completely fall apart, it will be a long shot for the Jays to win the division.

St. Louis has lost twice so far in going after big name players.  They lost A. J. Burnett to Toronto, and Brian Giles decided to re-up in San Diego.  They have more possible losses than gains thus far, and they were swept aside rather easily by the Houston Astros last year.  In an improving NL Central, not making any improvements allows the others to catch up.

 Okay, so it's probably far too early to really begin digging into baseball, considering that football is entering its last quarter of the season, and there are huge stories to discuss there.  But, baseball is a sport that captures this country's attention, because off-season moves might be the one thing that brings your team into glory...or prevents it from occurring yet again.