Paul Daugherty: three dots

Thursday, January 04, 2007

three dots

Notre Dame in a BCS bowl. Right... Andy Furman starts his new job Monday, 4-7, on I think 96.5 FM. Promises to have on Junior Griffey at some point... I wonder if the new boss will allow him unlimited use of the postage meter, the way the old boss did... Bill Walker looked frazzled last night, but the kid's a player. Huggins will get him bulked up and fearless. If he stays 2 years, he's all Big 12... three, he's all-American... New Dylan CD, Modern Times, is surprisingly good, if you can handle the old goat's voice... Favorite TV Show While Waiting for 24's Return: The Unit... is The Shield done? Anybody know? Boise State was a wonderful story, but all the re-clamoring for a playoff on their behalf is wrong... they were ranked 8th, Oklahoma 10th. They were supposed to win. And does anyone really think they'd compete with OSU, Florida or USC? As usual, those bleating for a playoff don't tell me how it would work logistically, beyond the same old fantasy league explanation. Eight teams? Any less would defeat the purpose. If your team plays for the title, that's 3 games. Who goes? How many folks have the time, money, inclination to go to 3 games in 3 weeks? Answer: Not many. Do they play the games in a TV studio? For all the carping about the BCS, it got it right again, it appears.

22 Comments:

at 11:23 AM

Anonymous said...

The BCS knows that, no matter how bad they are, Notre Dame will sell out any bowl they play in and pull great ratings.

at 12:29 PM

Anonymous said...

I'm a little tired of people saying they want a playoff in college football to determine "once and for all" which is the best team. It won't. Take a look at some of the sports that have a playoff. Pittsburgh was probably not the best team in the NFL last year and St. Louis was certainly not the best team in baseball. Even college basketball doesn't often have the highest-rated team winning, or even playing for, the national championship. People want a playoff because they like playoffs. The buildup, the chance for an underdog to win it all is what they want, so why not be honest about it. Even with a playoff some would complain that a team with a few early-season losses that is "playing better than anybody in the country right now" was excluded. Besides, a playoff could lead to something like a Boise State - Rutgers national championship game and who really wants to see that? Let's not kid ourselves. We can say we want a playoff, but suggesting it will better decide which is the best team in the country is a joke.

at 12:49 PM

Anonymous said...

One very cool thing is that uc alum NEVER has to worry about his football team being shafted out of anything :)

And Notre Dame, well...for all the loyal-no-matter-what fans of ND, they're, uh, oh-and-nine (0-9) in their last 9 bowl games.

Why do they even accept invitations?

at 2:46 PM

Anonymous said...

Andy Furman should make an effort to have one of the Bengals post-season awards winners on his show.

I believe the Bengals "Good Guy Award" honoring his cooperation and work with the local media went to TJ Houshmendzadeh.

at 9:20 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul:

Here's how it works:

1. Eight teams make the playoffs. The winner of the six BCS conferences get automatic bids (hence, the regular seasons mean something). The remaining two bids go to wild-cards, either non-BCS undefeated contenders (e.g., Boise St.) or deserving second place finishers (e.g., Michigan).

2. The first round of the playoffs is played the second week of December. This would require the Conference Championships to be scheduled the first week of December, which is easy to do.

3. The top-4 seeds (based on the BCS formula) get HOME playoff games for the first round. Therefore, you have no trouble with attendance, with respect to the first round.

4. The four BCS bowls (Orange, Sugar, Rose, Fiesta) still take place; however, all games are played on January 1st. The "final four" (the winners of the first round of playoff games) play in two of the bowls, starting at 5:00pm and 8:30pm. The four losers of the first round of playoff games play in the other two bowl games, one beginning at 11:00am and the other at 2:30pm.

5. Playing all the games on January 1st would resonate with those, like myself, who miss the days when that day was about nothing but College Football.

6. The bowls can still have all their festivities (e.g., Rose Bowl parade.)

7. Teams that don't make the playoffs can still participate in the non-BCS bowls.

8. One week after the "final four," the two winners play the national championship game on a neutral floor. You pick a neutral place in the country in advance (for example, St. Louis or Indianapolis). That way, people know where it's going to be in advance regardless of the teams that are playing. It will probably be more of a Super Bowl type crowd (e.g., more celebrities, etc.) but it will sell-out easy.

It would work and be very exciting to watch. The biggest problem with College Football is that at the beginning of the year, every team ought to be able to think - if we win all our games, we will be national champions.

at 12:54 AM

Anonymous said...

Dylan CD is great...'Nettie Moore' is a great little tune. Glad to hear you are still listening to the old master. Whenever my team finishes 8-8 I can't help but put on some 'Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat' (from '66's Blonde on Blonde) and try to balance my who-dey hat on my head "just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine..."

at 8:04 AM

Anonymous said...

this is the first time I've seen a writer be forced to remove a blog posting -

now that you've seen the back room buddies from the board of trustees in action - doesn't taste too good, does it.

well - welcome to nancy's world. Hope your performance review isn't affected by this. Censored on a blog site. wow

at 8:36 AM

Anonymous said...

I can tell you how it would/should work...
Take the top 16 teams. Only the top 16 BCS ranked teams get an invite. I don't care if Ohio won the MAC. If they aren't ranked in the top 16, no dice. You then play 1 v 16 in the Motor City Bowl or International Bowl or whatever. Tell me the ratings for that would not be 50 times higher than Southern Miss v. Ohio. You now have 4 extra weeks of football for the playoffs. Don't give me the load about the season being too long. Swimmers in all divisions go from August through March. When March is over you start off season practices. If they can handle it, why can't a football player? Each JUNK (and I can't emphasize that word enough) bowl game now gets decent teams and a decent contest. And the best team always wins. They might not have the most talented players or the highest salaries, but they are the best TEAM.

Just a thought...

at 8:55 AM

Paul Daugherty said...

to 8:04 anon... have no idea what you're talking about...i've never had a post removed, for any reason...

at 9:28 AM

Anonymous said...

to 8:36 Anon: Your plan is the worst idea I have heard in a long time. First, you are taking away a great experience from a lot of deserving players by eliminating all your so called "junk" bowls. Maybe there are too many bowls and I may not really be interested in watching Southern Miss vs. OU (especially as a Miami grad), but for everyone who went to those schools the Motor City Bowl might as well be the Super Bowl. When Miami was going to the Independence Bowl with Big Ben, it was great to get together with a bunch of other Miami alums to party and watch the game.

Second, your comparison of swimming to football is completely idiotic. Swimming has absolutely zero contact in the sport. There is a reason why people of all ages swim for exercise, because it doesn't put much strain on your body. On the other hand, football is probably the most violent sport in college athletics (along with hockey and rugby). To have 250-300 pound athletes constantly tackling eachother for 9 months is asking for serious injury and long term damage. And college FB players already go through spring practice and year long weight training and conditioning.

at 10:15 AM

Anonymous said...

My guess is some folks are confusing this blog with the column doc wrote in the paper on THursday.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/COL03/701040382/1082/SPT.

He certainly didn't remove anything and it is still there with the reference to the UC B-Ball Academic story being on the front page.

But Doc, I do have to ask, Lori Kurtzman says you are full of beans (don't take my word on it, check her blog in "Academentia.")

It was all just a coincidence, Doc. For Heaven's sake, it's very disappointing that a nationally respected columnist has to be set straight by a cubby reporter who knows the inside scoop about how The Enquirer REALLY works.

at 10:17 AM

Anonymous said...

Did anon. 8:36 seriously just compare swimming to football?

My grandmother is 92 years old. Every other day, she can be found at Bally's on Werk Rd...swimming.

When's the last time you heard about someone "picking up football" to help stay in shape? Swimming ain't the twisting, turning, violent collision sport that football is.

And I can't believe I'm pointing that out.

signed,
Joe Obvious

at 10:40 AM

Anonymous said...

Copied from Laurie Kurtzman's blog:

Anyway, the story and its timing and placement seem to have caused quite a stir. It even drew a mention from Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty, who wrote this today:

Meanwhile, the University of Cincinnati marked Huggins' return by making available numbers showing that, since 1998, its basketball program was deficient enough academically, the NCAA took away a scholarship as punishment. Hey, coach! Welcome back!

The Enquirer ran the story atop its front page Wednesday morning. A coincidence, no doubt.

at 10:51 AM

Anonymous said...

I have a different alternative...

We retain the bowl games as is. But, instead of the potentially redundant or meaningless conference championship games, we put together a selection committee that meets around the first week of december (much like NCAA basketball) with games a few weeks later. This committee comes up with pairings for, say, 50 teams. The results of those 25 or so games determine the bowl births, including the championship game.

at 11:45 AM

Anonymous said...

I pick up a football and toss it around for fun. I guess thats about the same as your 92 year old grandmother hopping in the pool for her water exercises. Swim 4 miles a day, burn 8000 calories, do this for 8 months, and tell me its not a strain on your body.
I will guarantee that 99.9% of football players can't complete one d3 swim practice (let alone a good texas, aurburn, stanford program practice).
There is a difference between messing around with a sport and playing it.

at 11:53 AM

Anonymous said...

Or of course, we could leave the BCS "as is" so many of us will always have something to hypothesize and complain about. Think of all the fun we'd miss if we were content with how it was set up.

at 11:59 AM

Anonymous said...

I think the Shield is coming back in early April

at 12:07 PM

Anonymous said...

Geez, lighten up man. She's 92 and swimming! That's totally cool! I hope when I am 92, I can still walk, much less swim at a club!

Anyway, word on the street is that she looks really hot in that two-piece!

at 2:40 PM

Anonymous said...

And I bet most swimmers couldn't complete a two-a-day practice in 95 degree heat with pads on while constantly being pounded by 300 pound linemen

at 7:51 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul - The Shield should return in the spring. At least that was the indication of the last year finale. Probably the last go round for this great show however.

at 12:49 PM

Anonymous said...

The Unit is a great show. I've been saying it's one of the best shows on TV for a while. Anything with Dennis Haysbert (President Palmer: 24; Snakedoctor: The Unit; and the Allstate commercials)is going to be a good production. I'd like to see him in some feature films.

at 8:15 AM

Anonymous said...

For some early Dennis Haysbert, check out Major League (1989) in which Haysbert plays the role of Pedro Cerrano, a buddah worshipping slugger who can't hit a curve ball.

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Thursday, January 04, 2007

three dots

22 Comments: