Top 5 Confessions of 2012

I've had this little side project in operation now for probably about 15 months, and for those of you who have been regular readers of Confessions of a Sportscaster, I thank you for supporting the fruits of my down time that aren't spent sleeping, eating, or planning a wedding with my wonderful fiancee. So with New Years Eve upon us, I wanted to count down my Top 5 posts from 2012 based on page view as a quick look back on the big storylines from 2012.

5. COAS/SSLYAR Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 5 (October 4)
In August I started regularly playing basketball once a week with my best friend Nathaniel, who around the same time started up an NFL blog called "Someone Still Loves You, Alberto Riveron". It's an entertaining read with thoughtful analysis, smart picks, and awesome jokes and parodies. Around that time I approached him with the idea of doing a joint weekly post alternating between our blogs of picking games against the spread, and it came to be one of the high points of my week. For this edition, I think viewership may have been boosted by a mention of getting followed on Twitter by Green Bay's M.D. Jennings, but probably more so by having a GIF of "IT'S OVER 9000!", mentioning Bane and maybe Nathaniel's fantastic GIF of Eli Manning.

4. COAS/SSLYAR Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 15 (December 13)
Another of the picking posts (I ended up doing all the odd numbered weeks, Nathaniel did the evens. I'd like to do this again next year, in which case we'll switch. Fairness above all else) that turned out pretty well. It was my most read picks post (though not my favorite, that honor goes to my post with the Matt Schaub PSA about getting kicked in the balls) and a fun one as well. I think most of my views were bolstered by the sheer mention of Grumpy Cat (given my most recent set of search results that have led to COAS. You roll with what's popular.)

3. Game Notes: Elgin High School vs. Auburn High School (3/9/12) (March 10)
I started this blog while I was employed as a board operator at WROK up in Rockford, Illinois in the fall of 2011 before starting my current job with Nokia back in April. Before I finished up there, I was given an opportunity to be the third man in a booth (well, top row of the bleachers at Dundee-Crown High School) with a couple long time radio pros for an IHSA sectional title game. This was a fun game to call, and I also got to see one of the best prep players in Illinois in Fred Van Vleet, now a freshman at Wichita State coming off the bench, though I'm sure his role will grow. He's probably the second best prep player I've ever seen in person other than Ryan Boatright, who I coached against as a senior in high school.



2. A Legend Tarnished (July 2)
This was a fun one to write. I had touched on the Penn State scandal a couple times prior to this one, but with continued hearing about just how far the evil on that campus reached, I was reminded of a class I took on leadership my senior year at North Central. Before posting it, I even passed it along to my professor from that course, Stephen Caliendo, to have him look it over before I posted to see what he thought. He said he thought it was "very nicely written", and he was glad that his class had a lasting impact on my thought process. He was also gracious enough to pass this post around, which I think helped greatly.

College Football Non-Conference Power Rankings: Week 12

My old image that I had been using for this feature disappeared, so I had to find a different image. Fortunately that was about all that went wrong this weekend from a football standpoint. Saturday saw chaos atop the B(C)S again, while at the D-III level my North Central Cardinals earned the automatic bid to the playoffs by beating Augustana while Elmhurst knocked off Illinois Wesleyan. I still wait for next year to get back the Bell though.

But this reminder of the glory of D-III football shows once again how great a playoff system could be for the FBS. I think the system would need to be tweaked quite a bit (we're probably looking at trimming down the regular season and a conference realignment would be ideal, though not realistic) before we get it perfect. Based on the system in place though, I think 16 teams would have to be the ideal size so everyone has a chance at a national title and we're not leaving anyone out that deserves a bid.

With just a couple weeks left, here's how the conferences and their scheduling to date shake up.

1. WAC (7.43)- San Jose State hosts BYU and Texas State visits Navy.
2. Sun Belt (7)- No change.
3. Conference-USA (6.75)- No change.
4. MAC (6.62)- No change.
5. Big East (6.5)- South Florida visits Miami (Florida), Temple visits Army, and Syracuse visits Missouri.
6. Mountain West (5.5)- No change.
7. Big Ten (4.58)- No change.
8. ACC (3.92)- Wake Forest visits Notre Dame and Miami hosts South Florida.
9. Pac-12 (3.17)- No change, but a correction was made (see playoff seedings below for the explanation).
10. SEC (2.86)- Missouri hosts Syracuse, but Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Kentucky are all hosting FCS teams.
11. Big XII (2.6)- No change.

That looks a little more like the stereotype we associate with the SEC. With that done, here's how the playoff would appear if the season ended today. Remember, in accordance with Dan Wetzel's Death to the BCS system, the 11 conference champions get automatic berths, and then we add 5 at large teams to fill out the field. The obvious goal is to win your conference, but one loss won't completely trip you up unless every independent runs the table, which will probably never happen. Important factors for seeding and earning an at-large berth include who you beat, who you lost to, what your usual margin of victory is, and your Non-Conference Schedule Score (NCSS), which is averaged into each conference's score above. A higher number means you've played more major conference teams and/or played on the road outside of your conference in more games. Last week's rankings can be found here.

Mission [Not Yet] Accomplished

The poor saps who wrote Death to the BCS said their book is bound for the clearance bin. Yes, the Cartel and Presidential Oversight Committee have finally agreed to a playoff, but we still have a long way to go. I celebrate the initial victory by looking at this new system that has yet to see all the wrinkles ironed out.

Other than the fact that they expanded to some sort of playoff, I'm not a huge fan of this new system in terms of how it's implemented. With the system as is currently envisioned I think it is a decent Band-Aid. With 4 teams I can live with the semifinals being played within the context of the current BCS bowls but for the future plan I still want the higher seeded teams in the playoffs to host the games up through the title game.

I'm for a selection committee as well, at least in theory. The scenario I fear has several big conference big wigs on the committee and their potential to be biased towards the power conference schools as opposed to the mid majors who have long threatened the money grab. Everyone deserves an equal shot at these playoffs and the committee needs to take this into account. By design strength of schedule will (unfortunately) tilt towards the bigger schools, but we can't see unbeaten schools get left out without a VERY GOOD reason.

The reason I critique this proposed revamp is because there are still too many holes. I have long been and continue to be for a 16 team playoff. I agree that of those 16, probably only 4 a year would have a realistic shot at a title.

That argument from people in favor of the status quo or the revamp continues to be a big thorn in the side of playoff pundits like me, but their continued argument about the "sanctity "of the regular season baffles me. This past season already ruined the "sanctity" of the regular season. Regardless of whether or not LSU and Alabama were the best two teams (in a vacuum, makes sense), Bama got a shot in the regular season and couldn't take advantage... and because they were so close (plus a tough road double overtime loss by Oklahoma State) they got a rematch.

And that's part of why a playoff is so important. I don't mind a rematch for a national title... as long as the participants earn their way there by playing some of the best teams that season. Take the 11 conference champions and fill the bracket with other deserving teams. Every undefeated team will automatically get in by virtue of the conference champions provision except the Notre Dame's of the FBS, but would get in on my watch regardless for running the table. Most, if not all the at large bids will likely be big conference teams anyway, though not always.

There will be debate and bitterness, sure. But primarily using conference champions means the regular season matters- for everyone. Right now a mid major could go 11-1 and they'd get left out for not beating anyone of significance and for their one loss. In the current system, "Every game counts", except it really doesn't. Even out of conference games will retain importance as they can really help with seeding. And since my ideal system rewards the best teams with home field for one or two or even three weeks, what incentive would teams have for not running the table? Say Ohio State is 11-0 going into its last game against Michigan and no other team has fewer than 2 losses. OSU is pretty much assured of a berth in the B1G title game, but they're playing Michigan. Why throw that game? Why would LSU or Alabama rest guys against each other? Or Texas and Oklahoma? I don't see the NFL pattern of resting guys happening. If you can leave no doubt that you're a #1 seed, take advantage of that opening and guarantee games at your campus for as long as you're in the playoffs until the title game, not to mention likely facing the Sun Belt (or similar conference) champion right away, all but a guaranteed early win.

The revolution is not yet done. We have a rough concept of what we want, but it will take time before it fully takes shape. Support your teams, but yearn for a day when we finally have a fair system to determine a battle tested champion.

Paper Champions

I know, I'm a day late to the party. Yes, Alabama won a football game yesterday. Yes, they embarrassed LSU on the field yesterday. Are they national champions? Absolutely not.

I did not watch any of the "national championship" game yesterday. I didn't even watch any highlights. Any information I got out of it was gleaned from Twitter or Facebook pretty much. I had no interest in watching the game, and some people were the same way, with the ratings going down 8 percent from a year ago. There were still a large number of TV's tuned into the game, but I do have to wonder if the people who chose to tune it out had the same reasoning as I did.

About half an hour to an hour before kickoff, I was checking my Twitter and saw a number of tweets about the upcoming game, and that prompted me to tweet, "Too many tweets about the BCS Championship Game." I was a little more detailed on Facebook.

"LSU-Alabama is not a national title game. It's an exhibition rematch between two SEC teams decided by greedy conference commissioners, biased coaches' polls, and poorly written computer formulas. Call me when there's a playoff to decide that these two teams should play for a real title as opposed to this sham of a paper championship. Death to the BCS!"

Shortly after, I was asked by a friend who I thought belonged in that game. Don't get me wrong. Based on the current system, LSU deserved to be here. Alabama had a case, but so did teams like Oklahoma State or Oregon. I know both teams lost a game as well, but both won their conferences. Alabama didn't even play for the conference title. Yes, their one loss was to LSU in overtime. But I can't support a championship game decided the way it is.

I noticed last night that the NCAA and the BCS were in talks about possible changes to the postseason format. I thought I saw something earlier today about the committee deciding against even a plus-one. Big mistake. Even a plus-one is an improvement over the current system. Here's my favorite quote from BCS executive director Bill Hancock:

"Whatever we do, we have to protect the regular season. I think the larger the playoff field, the more damage to the regular season."

So, let me get this straight. You want to preserve the regular season, yet totally disregard it with your decisions for the national champion? They BCS wants to claim that "Every game counts", except LSU-Bama I didn't seem to count because they got a rematch. Rick Reilly argued, "How does winning 1 of 2 make you a champion?" and "They're going to play a rubber game of this best-of-3 LSU-Ala thing, right?"

As far as I'm concerned, the Tide won a glorified exhibition game. By all indications, they looked impressive in doing it. They might be the best team in the nation. I don't know that for sure though. Had they gone through a gauntlet of teams like this one or this one, then beat LSU or whoever, yes, you could call them a champion.

Simply put, if you want to have the best two teams play for the real national title, you need a playoff. Include the teams that win their conferences, and add in deserving "at-large" teams that usually will end up only losing a game or 2 all year. Have them go at each other for four weeks until only one is left standing. If it brings two SEC teams together again, fine. They will have earned it. But don't crown a "national champion" based on the current system.