What is this expansion thing you speak of?

Let’s see… expansion of the BCS is a good thing for the Mountain West Conference.

Expansion of the BCS conferences is a bad thing for the Mountain West Conference.

… If the Mountain West lost one of its top two teams [to expansion], it could probably add Boise State and still have enough juice to warrant an automatic bid. But if it lost two of the current top three teams hopes for an automatic bid would be dashed. The bottom half of the conference isn’t good enough to balance out the loss even if Boise State joined the league. And honestly, if the Mountain West lost two of its three top teams, Boise State would be better served staying in the WAC for better television exposure and more money.

What I can’t figure out is where Orrin Hatch would come out on this if, say, Utah went to the Pac-10 and TCU went to the Big XII.  That would leave his state with one school in an AQ conference and one out.  Tough spot.

You think the BCS powers-that-be are sneaky enough to have planned this?

Paging Brian Cook… paging Brian Cook.

Oversigning’s not just an (the University of) Alabama thing, it’s an (state of) Alabama thing, at least according to the stats that Chip Towers has unearthed:

Do you get the feeling there is a different set of NCAA rules in the state of Alabama than there is in Georgia? Over the last four years, Alabama has signed 11o football players to letters-of-intent. Auburn has signed 119. Over the same period, Georgia has signed 86 and Georgia Tech 79. The difference therein is equal to more than an entire year’s recruiting class. [Emphasis added.] NCAA rules stipulate that you can never bring in more than 25 players on scholarship in a single year and you can never have more than 85 players on scholarship at one time. This is something I’m just beginning to look into but there are only a few ways to get away with this. One, some signees you never expect to enroll; two, some end up on medical hardship; and, three, you run off those that can’t compete…

The discrepancy can be explained no doubt as being the result of more medical problems cropping up to the west of us – another reason we need national health care reform.  (That’s a joke, conservatives, a joke.)

More why Georgia is doomed in 2010, or Chris Low, you ignorant slut.

Over at the excellent Team Speed Kills, Year2 offers an interesting rebuttal to Chris Low’s placement of Georgia in his pre-spring SEC power rankings.   It’s interesting because it attempts to analyze the upcoming season through the prism of 2006, the last time a Mark Richt-coached team entered a season with almost zero experience at the quarterback position.  (That team, remember, wound up winning nine games.)

One thing about his conclusion…

From where I sit today, I have no trouble seeing Georgia match its 2006 win total of nine. That ’06 team even dropped a couple of winnable games by losing to Kentucky 24-20 and Vanderbilt 24-22, so its record could have been better at essentially the same production level.

A big reason those two games were “winnable” instead of “won” was the injury to Coutu.  Andy Bailey missed a makeable field goal attempt in the Vandy game that would have forced the Commodores to go for a touchdown in the end to win.  In the Kentucky game, Bailey had an extra point blocked and whiffed on two field goal attempts.  Assuming Blair Walsh stays healthy, it’s reasonable to expect that Georgia avoids those sorts of hiccups along the way in 2010.

Pretzel logic

Thanks to T. Kyle, I came across this entry from the usually useless Gregg Doyel, who in turn sent me to this bit of comedy gold from the WaPo’s Tracee Hamilton that I’m ashamed to admit I missed when it first appeared.  Discussing the possible expansion of the NCAA basketball tourney to 96 teams, Hamilton offers this observation:

In other words, this is the worst idea in the history of ideas. Well, Jay Leno at 10 p.m. was the worst idea in the history of ideas. This is the worst idea in the history of sports ideas, and that includes the Bowl Championship Series, the previous leader in the category.

Why so bad?  Let her count the ways.

… What is it about corporate greed that, when a company is making a kabillion dollars, it immediately begins wondering, “How can I make a kabillion and one dollars?” Capitalism is great, as long as you don’t screw up the product. The expanded field would definitely screw up the product.

Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, has there ever been a year when you watched the Selection Show and thought, “Man, 31 teams got hosed.” No. There have never been 31 teams who deserved to make the field but didn’t. One or two, maybe. Not 31.

The NCAA would have us believe that more mid-majors would make it, but a more likely scenario is that virtually the entire ACC, Big East, SEC and Big 12 would be chosen. Or maybe one team from each will be left out, for appearance’s sake. So you’ll end up with conference foes playing each other as early as the first round. And won’t that be scintillating? Everyone needs to see a third meeting each March between, say, Nebraska and Iowa State. Or a fourth, depending on the conference tournaments.

The expanded field would eliminate the goal of winning 20 games; that bar would probably be dropped to 17 or 18. And if 18 wins is good enough, a team would no longer need a “signature” win to make it. That could dramatically alter a team’s nonconference schedule. There’d be little reason to load up on tough nonconference foes, which would make college hoops in November and December less interesting.

If the top 32 seeds get first-round byes, that also dilutes the championship itself…

She apparently wrote that without the slightest bit of self-parody in mind.  I don’t know how people like Hamilton are able to keep a straight face.

Note to Paul Finebaum

As you prepare to genuflect in the nude to the soon-to-be-erected statue of the most brilliant man to ever coach a down in college football, perhaps you consider that he’s the same genius who opted for Duante Culpepper over Drew Brees when he had the choice.

Hey, you players – get off my lawn!

So, they’re really gonna do it.  The NCAA and something galactically stupid, that is.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee endorsed a proposal Wednesday that penalizes unsportsmanlike conduct as a live-ball foul beginning in the 2011 season.

The change would mean, for example, that if a player makes a taunting gesture to an opponent on the way to scoring a touchdown, the flag would nullify the score and penalize the offending team from the spot of the foul.

Penalties for dead-ball misconduct fouls (for example, unsportsmanlike behavior after the player crosses the goal line) would continue to be assessed on the ensuing kickoff or the extra point/two point conversion attempt.

The proposal to penalize unsportsmanlike acts as live-ball fouls received near-majority support in the committee’s annual rules survey and during discussions at the American Football Coaches Association convention in January.

“Our committee firmly believes in the team concept of college football,” said Mike Bellotti, chair of the committee and athletics director at Oregon. “Taunting and prolonged individual acts have no place in our game, and our officials have generally handled these rules well. This is just another step in maintaining our game’s image and reflecting the ideals of the NCAA overall.”

Skipping past the oxymoronic last sentence there, who expects this to work out well?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.  Nothing like giving Penn Wagers another arrow for his quiver, right?

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UPDATE: The Wiz caught this change, too.

Requiring players who wear “eye black” to use solid black with no words, logos, numbers or other symbols. That will be effective next season.

Where’s all that “maintaining our game’s image and reflecting the ideals of the NCAA overall” stuff?   What a joke.  Can’t wait for the first freedom of expression suit, either.