An Idea - Boycott the BCS

I love college football but I hate the BCS.

It is around this time of year that the best college football teams in the country finish their season with bowl games. Yes, bowl games. Not a tournament but bowl games with most of them being absolutely meaningless. Why are they meaningless? Well if you win at least 6 games in a 12 game season you are eligible for a bowl game. Not a very high standard if you ask me. So if you are a college football team with a 6-6 record you can play in a meaningless game against a team with an 8-4 record. Why play these meaningless games? Profit. Profit? Yes, it's all about money. Surprised? I bet not. TV endorsements, promotions, ticket sales, vacation sales, merchandise and blah blah blah... are all very alluring.

There are many people across the country that believe college football would be better served with a tournament. I am not going to argue for or against a football tournament. Side note - get a dam tournament! Please!

The BCS believes that the system in place is the best system for the game, the students athletes and the participating universities. With the current system in place, some question whether or not the bowl system determines the best game or even the best team as the National Champion. With only bowl games remaining, five teams have an undefeated record. Four of the remaining undefeated teams will compete against one another in bowl games; Texas vs. Alabama in the national championship game and TCU vs. Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Undefeated Cincinnati will face one loss Florida. When the final whistle blows on all the bowl games, there will be the chance that 3 teams remain undefeated but only one will be named the BCS national champion; Alabama or Texas.

Is that fair? Umm, No. Does anybody care? Yes. Will this bogus system ever change or adopt a playoff to the right the wrong? Things are not looking up. Here is my suggestion to TCU, Boise State and Cincinnati... BOYCOTT THE BCS Bowl games.

What? Woah!

Yes! Boycott the games. Sure you might lose the millions of dollars from company sponsors and the national publicity that not only helps your football program but those interested in your academic institution. If you are going to be cheated so easily and casually without remorse then why not make a statement by boycotting a biased and unfair system. How huge of a statement would that be? I am sure you would get plenty of publicity from a well established and managed boycott of the games in which your argument for a playoff can be placed front and center. If the three undefeated teams not playing for a national championship decided that the system is unjust and not worthy of partaking in then I would not only laugh my rear off but I would also cheer and respect the guts it would take to make that stand.

It might seem rash and it could only work if TCU, Boise State and Cincinnati stood united and choose not to participate in the bowl games. One cannot stand alone but if all three should stand together in an attempt to fight the system then this could be straw that broke the camel's back.

Boycott the BCS - Cincinnati, Boise State, TCU. You can do it!

monk - a love story?

Tonight I spent my evening watching the series finale of Monk. The show premiered in 2002 and after eight seasons with over 120 episodes the crime solving comedy solved its last and most important case.

Monk stars Tony Shalhoub as a detective that suffers from extreme obsessive compulsive disorder and an array of phobias. His mental illness is exacerbated by the murder of his wife. Every episode he would come face to face with an unsolvable crime and due to his mental condition, was able to discover and uncover clues ignored by others.

I don't really want to recap the episodes or anything. In truth the show was nothing more than easy entertainment. the show in some ways capitalized on exaggerating his illness. Much of the crime investigations weren't all that difficult and in some ways many of the episodes were modeled after another pretty good crime show, Columbo. I was not a die hard fan. In fact, there are probably two or three seasons worth of episodes that I have missed but I hope that does not diminish my gratitude.

I guess all that I care to say is goodbye. Goodbye to a television show. Tony Shalhoub has been one of the best actors on television for the past 20 years and he was nothing short of brilliant on Monk. It was a sweet and charming show. A show I could watch with my father or mother. a show with a central character that was easy to like, applaud and so I did. It gave me hundreds of chuckles while sharing an endearing quality that many shows lack.

We, I rooted for Monk not simply because of his profession or his illness but because of the tragic events which escalated his illness; the murder of his wife along with his incapability at solving the crime. The affection for his wife was not told verbally at every turn but an effect we, the viewer saw in every episode as he struggled to shake hands with strangers or fight dirt, avoid undercooked food or keep his clothing wrinkle free. In the end, Monk was not a show about solving crimes but a show displaying the effect love has on the body, heart and mind and the lengths one will go to prevent that love from dying.

thank Tony Shalhoub, USA Network and those who kept the show going.