HELP! A Dumb Canadian Needs Some Answers

I love American football (note the adjective "American" to eliminate Canadian and soccer from this argument).

I have been an avid follower of the NFL for almost 20 years now - before that, it was all about finger-painting and avoiding the dreaded square block in round hole trick - and have tried mightily to follow the NCAA football season.

I enjoy the game as much as anyone else, and am awed by the sheer number of teams and players involved. If medicine had this kind of funding, I wouldn't have a stuffed nose right now.

But now that the "regular season" is done, and the bowl match-ups are set, I am throughly confused.

Hawaii finished the season at 12-0, the only undefeated team in the country. Yet, because of their "weak" conference and competition, they do not qualify for the national championship game, or anything remotely close.

Instead, the one-loss Ohio State Buckeyes play the two-loss LSU Tigers, although head coach Les Miles would want to add "undefeated in regulation."

The logic (or lack thereof) in picking who plays in which bowl seems preposterous to me. Every league at every level has some sort of playoff system to determine the champion, and the best example of this is in the NCAA itself, with their 64-team basketball tournament.

It seems a simple fix to me: have the top 16 teams (guaranteeing all conference champs a spot regardless of record) play a single-elimination tournament. That would mean 8 games one week, 4 games the next, and so on until a champion is crowned. There aren't any games scheduled in the first three weeks in December anyway, so logistically it would work.

It would also create excitement throughout the month, instead of now, where all other bowl games are meaningless in the big picture.

And, oh yeah, it would create a true national champion based on winning, not on computer formulas and polls.

One of these days, the NCAA will wake up and change their format for determining a winner in college football.

This season proves that day needs to come now.

Random Ramblings

First, when the NHL playoffs are finally set (and now it looks like that won't happen until the last game on the last day of the season), I will formally make my predictions for the playoffs, round by round. But suffice to say, I will be picking the San Jose Sharks to win the Cup. Money can't buy the level of loyalty I bring to the table...

Second, once the season ends, I will present the real final standings, without the 1 point added for a loss in overtime or in a shootout. It'll be interesting to see how drastically the seedings will change.

Third, wasn't the best part of March Madness supposed to be the upsets by the small schools the vast majority of people haven't heard of? So why does this year feature #1 Florida against #2 UCLA, and #1 Ohio State against #2 Georgetown? Something has to change with the selection process, because too many schools with big names in big conferences get in, leaving the lesser ones to gasp for air in the NIT. The only positive: how cool would it be to see Florida against Ohio State in the basketball final too? I'm sure someone will check, but I doubt the same two schools have played for both the football and basketball Division I championships in the same year. I still say Boise State should have gotten a shot at the title...

Fourth, I don't care about spring training. There, I said it. I love baseball (yes, I know what you're thinking, how? and why?) but the season is already 60 games too long. Spring training should be cut in half, and with all this extra time made, let's add more teams to the playoffs already! Every season, in about mid-May, a third of the teams in the league realize they have no shot at October glory. Let's give fans in cities like Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Milwaukee some hope. And heck, some to Chicago too. Cubs fans anyways.

Fifth, call me an optimist, but I think the Blue Jays will make the playoffs this year. Either Boston or New York will falter in August, and there will be an opening for Toronto to at least make the wild card spot. I hope.

Sixth, you want Americans to watch hockey again? Stop putting it on Sunday afternoons at 12:30, and get a real national network to broadcast the weekday games. If you make it an event, they will watch.

That's my ramblings for tonight. NHL picks coming soon...