If you paid any attention to college football last weekend then you’re aware that Iowa won at Penn State and Oregon humiliated Cal, 42-3.
These weren’t obscure events.
The voters who participate in the Harris Interactive and USA Today Coaches polls apparently did not pay any attention. Hey, why would they? These are only the people whom the empty suits of the Bowl Championship Series have empowered to determine how the sport’s champion is crowned.
So it made perfect sense that in the polls that make up two-thirds of the BCS formula Penn State is still ahead of Iowa and Cal is still ahead of Oregon. These are among a half-dozen rankings based more on reputation and preseason hype than results. There will be more as the year goes on.
This is the BCS. It’s not a one-time mistake. It’s the all-the-time plan. Ridiculous votes happen when you conduct ridiculous elections.
The suits want something that provides convenient cover for them (hey, don’t blame us, it’s the voters!) while being so flawed it draws attention away from what’s really going on – the operation of a system designed to protect their power and allow their cronies who run bowl games to fleece the sport for tens of millions a year.
Forget what they say. Forget the supposed excuses. That’s all there is here. Protect their power and the bowl games’ money.
If the people who ran the BCS wanted to implement a good way to determine the best teams at the end of the year – even if they stuck with the archaic bowl system – they would have done so years ago.
Instead they continue to prop up a formula where two-thirds is determined by a popularity vote from people who, in many cases, are either incapable or unmotivated to take the job seriously.
There’s decades of evidence and testimony from the 59 head coaches that they 1) don’t have the time to research their ballots and 2) often hand over the duties to administrative staffers, who also have no time.
There’s half a decade of evidence that the commitment of the 114 Harris Poll voters fluctuates wildly. Most of these guys are retired administrators, coaches or players. Some are media.
They’ve proven good for two things, voting based on marketing and reputation, and subscribing to a groupthink mentality that assures their ballot doesn’t stand out and they get criticized for thinking for themselves.
Some voters take their responsibility seriously and in their defense, the two polls purposefully offer no criteria for them to consider. Should they slot teams based on overall record, strength of schedule, who they beat, who they lost to, how they won, how they lost, where the games took place, conference strength or so on?
Last year a number of Harris Poll voters admitted to Yahoo! Sports that they have never bothered to watch Utah play before deciding the postseason fate of 12-0 Utes. This isn’t to say Utah should’ve been ranked No. 1 or No. 25, only that any reputable system would, at the very least, require the voters to at least watch an unbeaten team before dismissing them.
It’s moronic enough to use a beauty contest system to determine athletic competition. It’s even worse when the voters don’t have to watch all the contestants. No one disqualifies Miss Mississippi because she isn’t from California.
They do in the BCS.
What happened to the voters who admitted they didn’t think it was necessary to watch Utah play? Naturally, most of them are back again this year.
The folks who run Harris Interactive were concerned enough about this abomination they recommended that a protective mechanism be established to root out “instability, error or bias associated with unusual ranking patterns.”
Naturally the BCS suits rejected it. They love instability, error and bias.
Of course the suits also employ the final one-third of the system as a safety check – the computers. Six mathematical formulas crank out rankings to supposedly make up for human prejudice.
The problem with the computer formulas is twofold. One, the lack of comparative data makes this exercise impossible, which is why actual mathematicians operate a movement that denounces the BCS and any of their peers who participate.
Second, as baseball numbers whiz Bill James points out, the three times the computers have disagreed with the final human vote, the BCS suits immediately re-rigged the formulas in an effort to prevent it from happening again.
The computers aren’t there to counter the polls. They exist to offer credibility through pre-calculated agreement.
“Computers, like automobiles and airplanes, do only what people tell them to do,” James wrote for Slate.
Absent blowing this atrocity up and going with a 16-team playoff, if the BCS wanted a better system to choose the teams for their antiquated bowl games, they would go with a NCAA men’s basketball tournament-style committee.
That’s a group of about 10 people who spend the season scouting teams, meeting to discuss various scenarios and then eventually getting together to go through a vast checklist of predetermined criteria to select the field.
While not devoid of controversy, it’s orderly and transparent.
That would require courage and accountability though, actual faces to answer for the decision to select team X over team Y. The current system allows the blame to be spread out, even to faceless machines.
While a couple dozen conference commissioners and bowl executives sure do love to count the money, they don’t want to claim ownership of the BCS. In fact, Mountain West Conference attorneys claim that there’s no proof the BCS exists as a legal entity. Six conference commissioners take turns serving as “BCS coordinator” for a two-year term. Then they eagerly pass it off, like it’s a disease.
In the meantime, a nonsense system rolls on. Don’t be shocked by the controversy, the foolishness or the corruption.
That isn’t a flaw in the system. It is the system.
from yahoo sports
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Showing posts with label College Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College Football. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
3 media groups are protest SEC credential policy
NEW YORK — The presidents of three leading media organizations sent a letter to Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive on Wednesday protesting the league's credential policy for college football.
The letter from the Associated Press Managing Editors, the Associated Press Sports Editors and the American Society of News Editors said the SEC's policy is too restrictive for reporters and photographers.
Among the issues of contention are rights involving video and audio game highlights and photos.
"The SEC and some other big college conferences want to become publishing and broadcasting businesses now," said David Tomlin, The Associated Press' associate general counsel
"They see the pro leagues doing it and they think it's the way to go. So the strategy is to push independent news coverage into a corner to make room for their own information services and programming. That's what these new rules are about. We don't believe they serve the fans or even the real interests of the schools themselves," he said.
The letter asks for further negotiations with the SEC. The college football season starts next week.
"We have received the letter and we are currently reviewing it," SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said, "and we will address the issues of concern with the news organizations involved."
by the associated press
The letter from the Associated Press Managing Editors, the Associated Press Sports Editors and the American Society of News Editors said the SEC's policy is too restrictive for reporters and photographers.
Among the issues of contention are rights involving video and audio game highlights and photos.
"The SEC and some other big college conferences want to become publishing and broadcasting businesses now," said David Tomlin, The Associated Press' associate general counsel
"They see the pro leagues doing it and they think it's the way to go. So the strategy is to push independent news coverage into a corner to make room for their own information services and programming. That's what these new rules are about. We don't believe they serve the fans or even the real interests of the schools themselves," he said.
The letter asks for further negotiations with the SEC. The college football season starts next week.
"We have received the letter and we are currently reviewing it," SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said, "and we will address the issues of concern with the news organizations involved."
by the associated press
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Alabama football program on probation
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The NCAA has placed Alabama's football program and 15 other of the school's athletic teams on three years probation for major violations due to misuse of free textbooks.
The NCAA's Committee on Infractions said Thursday the football team must vacate an unspecified number of wins in which any of seven players took part during 2005-2007. The university identified the seven as "intentional wrongdoers."
The NCAA said that 201 student-athletes in the 16 sports, including men's basketball, obtained "impermissible benefits" by using their scholarships to obtain free textbooks for other students. It also found the university guilty of "failure to monitor."
The university was ordered to pay a $43,900 fine.
by the associated press
The NCAA's Committee on Infractions said Thursday the football team must vacate an unspecified number of wins in which any of seven players took part during 2005-2007. The university identified the seven as "intentional wrongdoers."
The NCAA said that 201 student-athletes in the 16 sports, including men's basketball, obtained "impermissible benefits" by using their scholarships to obtain free textbooks for other students. It also found the university guilty of "failure to monitor."
The university was ordered to pay a $43,900 fine.
by the associated press
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Coaches poll to be confidential
Beginning in 2010, ballots in the final regular-season USA Today coaches' college football poll will be confidential — one of a handful of changes on tap for the poll that helps decide who plays in the BCS national championship game.
The American Football Coaches Association asked Gallup to study its poll and recommend how to make it more accurate and credible. The AFCA's board heard the results in early May and announced them Wednesday in Waco, Texas.
"Gallup said, 'Look, why do you think they have curtains and booths for voting?'" AFCA executive director Grant Teaff said. "They said it's because you get the truest vote from an anonymous vote."
Teaff said Gallup recommended that the organization go back to a policy from decades ago when the coaches themselves weren't identified. But the changes stopped short of that.
"The coaches' poll is just that, it's the coaches' poll," said Monte Lorell, USA Today's managing editor for sports. "They make determinations. Our job is to monitor it, make sure it maintains its integrity. We're pleased that the voting panel is public. We think that's important."
The Associated Press has made all votes in its weekly media poll public since 1990. For the past three seasons, ballots have also been posted online.
Other Gallup recommendations being considered for the future include reducing the number of teams ranked from 25 to 10 or 15, and evaluating the merit of a preseason poll.
Starting this year, the poll will also eliminate bonus voters given to some conferences based on how their teams did the previous year.
The most radical change, however, will be the return to the policy in place before 2005, when coaches didn't have to reveal their final ballots. Coaches will be allowed to release their own ballots if they choose.
"When I was a voter, I liked every coach putting it out there to see where it stands," Mississippi coach Houston Nutt said. "I liked being accountable."
But revealing the ballots has made for some awkward situations. Former Florida coaches Steve Spurrier (now at South Carolina) and Ron Zook (Illinois), for instance, took some heat last year when they ranked the Gators second behind Oklahoma in last year's final regular-season poll.
Zook, meanwhile, was criticized two years previously when he picked the Gators No. 1 over Ohio State, which is in the Big Ten with Illinois.
Confidential or not, Zook said his method remains the same for voting.
"To me, I was always going to vote how I felt," he said. "I think that's why you have a poll. That's why more than one person is involved. So what I try to do is rank the teams where I really feel they should be. I'm not real into the political stuff."
The AFCA also decided to continue allowing coaches to vote for their own teams and to select voters on a random basis beginning this year.
The coaches' poll counts for one-third of the BCS rankings. The Harris Interactive poll — a survey of media, former coaches, players and administrators — is another third and a compilation of six computer rankings, which take into account factors like strength of schedule, makes up the rest.
"By keeping things confidential, I think there will be less hidden agendas," said Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who is on the AFCA's board.
Georgia coach Mark Richt and LSU coach Les Miles said they were never afraid of their ballots going public.
"But some coaches who I respect chose not to vote," Miles said. "They felt it was a competitive disadvantage to their team when they voted against a team, and then they had to line up and play that team. If this allows responsible members of the coaches association to vote, it's great."
by the associated press
The American Football Coaches Association asked Gallup to study its poll and recommend how to make it more accurate and credible. The AFCA's board heard the results in early May and announced them Wednesday in Waco, Texas.
"Gallup said, 'Look, why do you think they have curtains and booths for voting?'" AFCA executive director Grant Teaff said. "They said it's because you get the truest vote from an anonymous vote."
Teaff said Gallup recommended that the organization go back to a policy from decades ago when the coaches themselves weren't identified. But the changes stopped short of that.
"The coaches' poll is just that, it's the coaches' poll," said Monte Lorell, USA Today's managing editor for sports. "They make determinations. Our job is to monitor it, make sure it maintains its integrity. We're pleased that the voting panel is public. We think that's important."
The Associated Press has made all votes in its weekly media poll public since 1990. For the past three seasons, ballots have also been posted online.
Other Gallup recommendations being considered for the future include reducing the number of teams ranked from 25 to 10 or 15, and evaluating the merit of a preseason poll.
Starting this year, the poll will also eliminate bonus voters given to some conferences based on how their teams did the previous year.
The most radical change, however, will be the return to the policy in place before 2005, when coaches didn't have to reveal their final ballots. Coaches will be allowed to release their own ballots if they choose.
"When I was a voter, I liked every coach putting it out there to see where it stands," Mississippi coach Houston Nutt said. "I liked being accountable."
But revealing the ballots has made for some awkward situations. Former Florida coaches Steve Spurrier (now at South Carolina) and Ron Zook (Illinois), for instance, took some heat last year when they ranked the Gators second behind Oklahoma in last year's final regular-season poll.
Zook, meanwhile, was criticized two years previously when he picked the Gators No. 1 over Ohio State, which is in the Big Ten with Illinois.
Confidential or not, Zook said his method remains the same for voting.
"To me, I was always going to vote how I felt," he said. "I think that's why you have a poll. That's why more than one person is involved. So what I try to do is rank the teams where I really feel they should be. I'm not real into the political stuff."
The AFCA also decided to continue allowing coaches to vote for their own teams and to select voters on a random basis beginning this year.
The coaches' poll counts for one-third of the BCS rankings. The Harris Interactive poll — a survey of media, former coaches, players and administrators — is another third and a compilation of six computer rankings, which take into account factors like strength of schedule, makes up the rest.
"By keeping things confidential, I think there will be less hidden agendas," said Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who is on the AFCA's board.
Georgia coach Mark Richt and LSU coach Les Miles said they were never afraid of their ballots going public.
"But some coaches who I respect chose not to vote," Miles said. "They felt it was a competitive disadvantage to their team when they voted against a team, and then they had to line up and play that team. If this allows responsible members of the coaches association to vote, it's great."
by the associated press
Monday, April 06, 2009
Texas Longhorns claim the Big 12 Football Championship
Trying to defuse a controversy over claiming a Big 12 championship they didn’t win, the Texas Longhorns removed “2008*” from a wall listing their Big 12 titles, the Austin American-Statesman reported Monday.
Texas spokesman John Bianco told the Statesman that Longhorns coach Mack Brown was unaware 2008 with an asterisk had been posted on a wall inside the Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility.
"Obviously there was a lot of discussion about the two teams playing for the Big 12 title being two teams we'd beaten," Bianco said Monday. "The kidding around became a misunderstanding as an instruction to post it on the wall (of the meeting room). It was clearly not the intent of Mack to post it."
Following Monday’s spring practice, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was asked what he thought about Texas claiming the 2008 Big 12 championship on its wall with an asterisk.
“It doesn’t much matter to me at all, I don’t much care,” Stoops said. “I know there isn’t (an asterisk) on ours. And I know where the trophy is. I’m not worried about anyone else and what they’ve got.”
Last season, OU edged out Texas and Texas Tech for the South title in a tiebreaker determined by the BCS Standings, despite ardent protests from Brown and the Texas fan base.
The Longhorns claimed that because they defeated OU head-to-head, they deserved to go to the Big 12 title game — despite the fact they also lost to Texas Tech, which created the three-way tie among the one-loss Big 12 teams.
On the last week of the regular season, Texas fans even paid for a flyover in Stillwater before the Bedlam game to remind voters of Texas’ 45-35 win over OU in the Cotton Bowl.
Nevertheless, the Sooners ended up ranked higher than Texas and Texas Tech in the BCS and went on to beat Missouri in Kansas City, Mo., to win their third-consecutive Big 12 championship.
That victory, however, is still not being acknowledged by some in Austin, apparently.
Said one school official to the Statesman when asked about the asterisk, “We beat both (OU and North Division winner Missouri). I thought that (championship game in Kansas City) was for the runner-up spot.”
Moreover, even though OU officially won the Big 12, Texas president William Powers Jr. announced Monday his university would pay out $44,000 total to its assistant coaches in bonuses that are called for when the Longhorns win the Big 12 championship.
The team's two coordinators, strength coach and director of football operations will each receive $5,000. The others will each get a payment $3,000.
"I think this was the right decision," Powers told the Statesman. "A flip of a coin basically deprived them of the ability to earn that part of their compensation."
Brown, however, did not receive a South title or Big 12 championship bonus, which together would’ve totaled $150,000.
Red River football: Texas claims Big 12 championship with an *
By Jake Trotter
Published: April 5, 2009
Texas spokesman John Bianco told the Statesman that Longhorns coach Mack Brown was unaware 2008 with an asterisk had been posted on a wall inside the Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility.
"Obviously there was a lot of discussion about the two teams playing for the Big 12 title being two teams we'd beaten," Bianco said Monday. "The kidding around became a misunderstanding as an instruction to post it on the wall (of the meeting room). It was clearly not the intent of Mack to post it."
Following Monday’s spring practice, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was asked what he thought about Texas claiming the 2008 Big 12 championship on its wall with an asterisk.
“It doesn’t much matter to me at all, I don’t much care,” Stoops said. “I know there isn’t (an asterisk) on ours. And I know where the trophy is. I’m not worried about anyone else and what they’ve got.”
Last season, OU edged out Texas and Texas Tech for the South title in a tiebreaker determined by the BCS Standings, despite ardent protests from Brown and the Texas fan base.
The Longhorns claimed that because they defeated OU head-to-head, they deserved to go to the Big 12 title game — despite the fact they also lost to Texas Tech, which created the three-way tie among the one-loss Big 12 teams.
On the last week of the regular season, Texas fans even paid for a flyover in Stillwater before the Bedlam game to remind voters of Texas’ 45-35 win over OU in the Cotton Bowl.
Nevertheless, the Sooners ended up ranked higher than Texas and Texas Tech in the BCS and went on to beat Missouri in Kansas City, Mo., to win their third-consecutive Big 12 championship.
That victory, however, is still not being acknowledged by some in Austin, apparently.
Said one school official to the Statesman when asked about the asterisk, “We beat both (OU and North Division winner Missouri). I thought that (championship game in Kansas City) was for the runner-up spot.”
Moreover, even though OU officially won the Big 12, Texas president William Powers Jr. announced Monday his university would pay out $44,000 total to its assistant coaches in bonuses that are called for when the Longhorns win the Big 12 championship.
The team's two coordinators, strength coach and director of football operations will each receive $5,000. The others will each get a payment $3,000.
"I think this was the right decision," Powers told the Statesman. "A flip of a coin basically deprived them of the ability to earn that part of their compensation."
Brown, however, did not receive a South title or Big 12 championship bonus, which together would’ve totaled $150,000.
Red River football: Texas claims Big 12 championship with an *
By Jake Trotter
Published: April 5, 2009
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Kansas State upsets Texas 45 to 42
#4 Texas falls to unranked Kansas State 45. K-State put up 45 points to Texas’s 42.
Both teams fought hard all night long till the end of the game, however, Kansas State came up on top.
Oklahoma 34 Texas Tech 24
The Oklahoma Sooner’s scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to beat Texas Tech. The final score was Oklahoma 34 Texas Tech 24. Oklahoma has shown that they should be in top 5 ranked by the BCS poll. With #3 Louisville, #8 California and #5 Auburn. Now lets see if the BCS places The Sooner’s in the top five.
Another upset in College Football Arizona 34 to California 20
The another College upset with unranked Arizona takes down number (8) ranked California.
The Final Arizona 24 to California 20
Spurrier's South Carolina team loses to his old team the Flordia Gators
Steve Spurrier almost pulled the upset to number (6) ranked Florida. Spurrier who was Florida Head Coach for years and held a winning record with the Florida’s Gators, however, Spurrier left to Coach in The NFL with Washington Redskins. Spurrier was fired from Washington and landed at as the Head Coach for South Carolina. So this homecoming was bitter sweet for Coach Spurrier with this lose. S Carolina’s could have with two chances to take the game with a game with two field goal, however, both tries where blocked by the Gators. Final South Carolina to 16 Florida 17.
Georgia over Number fifth ranked Auburn
Tra Battle (25) doing his Superman thing after intercepting the ball from Auburn's QuarterBack Brandon Cox. The game in all aspects was a blowout.Unranked Georgia upsets Auburn ranked (5) in the nation. The Final was Georgia 37 Auburn 15. This is the second top 5 team to fall this week. Louisville lost Rutgers last Thursday Night 28 to 25. This is shaking up in the BSC ranking system for this year and turning out to be one of the best College Football seasons in a very long time. The Bowl series is going to be interesting in late December into January. It is hard to say which teams will be playing for the Championship.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Louisville Ranked number 3 falls to Rutguers(15)
Louisville ranked number 3 in the country was defeated by Rutguers 3.
Rutguers missed a game winning field goal, however, Louisville was off side so the rekick was good to win the game. Rutguers 28 Louisville 25. This was the best game that I have seen this year.
Monday, November 06, 2006
A win is a win for Oklahoma Soones
The Sooners and Texas A&M was just trying to out play each other, however, man was they hitting each other. Och I feel the hits, it was a train wreck.
Oklahoma wins a hard fought game Saturday Night against Texas A&M. At the end of the game the score was Oklahoma 17 Texas A&m 16. Stoops went for it on 4 down with just seconds left on clock, to keep the drive alive and for the win. One brave move for Coach Stoops.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Longhorns, come back in second half
Longhorns, come back in the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners, was very impresive. Texas, came in the second half down by 10 to 7, the Longhorns, scored three touchdowns, and they stopped the Sooners, cold in the second half. At the end of the game, the Texas Longhorns, won by 28 to 10. Now the Sooners, can kiss any chance to play in a Championship game goodbye. Texas, has pretty muched looked up the Big 12 south, however, Okaloma, just might be able to get in the BCS bowl serices, only if Texas, losses to a top racked team. That is a longshot, yet stranger things have happen this season.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Will Texas beat Oklahoma, without Vince Young
Will Texas, beat Oklahoma, without Vince Young? Last season Texas, with Vince Young, run all over OU. Now this season, Texas, is without Young, and the balance of power football swings back to Oklahoma. On Saturday, will show the who win the Big 12 south. Now Texas is coming 4 to 1, and Oklahoma 3 and 1. One thing for sure it will be one hell of a game, both teams can rack points in a quick. Saturday, the battle for the Red River.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Oklahoma football team was given the shaft
If anyone saw the game, between the Sooners and the Ducks, on 09-16-06. Could say Oklahoma was screwed. Now if you are a Duck fan you you might believe the game was called just right. You may even say that the game was called right. The game was called and over please move on to the next game. Keep playing teams loss everyday, and teams win everyday. Yes the refs screwed the soones, but let the NCAA review the game and calls that refs made. Let them play again, now there is idea. Just take that win off the record and play the game again. There problem solved, or instate a playoff system for college football. Take the best 4 teams, and let them play. They can make BCS bowl games into a three step system. So sports fans out there drink your coffee, and wake up.
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