No series in B.C.S., no championship either

The "C.S." in B.C.S. ought to stand for "convoluted system" instead of "championship series" because the combination computer program and popularity poll leads neither to a series nor a true champion. Whether Nebraska gets to play in the Granddaddy of all the bowl games -- the Rose Bowl -- and Oregon's Ducks wind up in a baby bowl is not the question, rather why any championship should be decided off the field of play. Between the regular season's end and the beginning of January, there's plenty of time for the football equivalent of basketball's March Madness to yield the demonstrably best team.
As Vindicator sportswriter Brian Richesson observed in a column last Friday, what's good for the game takes a back seat to perceived financial rewards for already wealthy schools.
The joy of play-offs: One of the joys of the NCAA basketball playoffs is that many teams get a chance to play, including some whose colleges aren't big enough for the big leagues. And a number of cities around the countries get to host the play-offs.
Between Dec. 18, 2001, and Jan. 3, 2002, 25 bowl games will be played by 50 different teams, but most of the games are bunched from Dec. 28 to Jan 1. If play-offs were started the first week of December with seedings similar to the NCAA basketball tournament, a full football tourney could be played, with major bowl games held on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day for quarter- and semi-finals, with one final championship game.
If the Rose Bowl, which was always played on Jan. 1 unless New Year's Day was a Sunday, can be moved to Jan. 3, a work day and a school day, there is nothing sacrosanct about which games are played and when and where they take place.