ESPN's Rick Reilly Begs Obama to Fix BCS
As some blogs have already reported, ESPN columnist Rick Reilly implored President Obama in his Monday column to take direct action against college football's BCS system. Arguing that the BCS is run by a conglomerate of elites representing the power conferences and the bowl games, Reilly pleaded with Obama to work to install a playoff system in college football.
"What a lie this BCS era is," Reilly ranted, demonizing its supporters as "Bowlsheviks" and arguing that undefeated teams from lesser conferences get no shot to play for a national championship. "That's OK," he continued. "There's one guy who can change all this with the stroke of a pen."
This messianic figure is none other than President Obama. "He's a guy who has broken a mountain of promises in the past two years," Reilly said, sounding like a dismayed progressive. But, the president "can make it all right by making good on a promise he did make, the one to look hard into a playoff." The title of Reilly's piece: "Change We Can Believe In."
Shortly after he took office, President Obama told CBS's "60 Minutes" that he would make an effort toward instituting a playoff system in college football. Reilly also claimed that Obama personally promised him action on the matter while on the campaign trail.
"You want to win this re-election, Mr. President?" Reilly asked. "You could do worse than backing something that's already favored by 63 percent of Americans." Reilly added that Republican-leaning states featuring successful mid-major football teams (Texas, Utah, Idaho) would be wildly supportive of the measure.
Two other members of congress, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), have also threatened congressional action against the BCS. Of course, Sen. Hatch hails from Utah, whose state university fields a perennially competitive football team that is from a small conference; mid-major competitor Texas Christian University lies just outside the bounds of Rep. Barton's district.
Perhaps impatient and less-than-optimistic about the congressional reform route, Reilly implored Obama to have the Justice Department sue the BCS for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, accusing the BCS of being "a cartel of the 11 BCS conference presidents, Notre Dame and the five big bowl games who are restraining trade and colluding to hoard the gold."
"They are not exempt from antitrust rules," Reilly insisted, though there seems to be nothing in his background suggesting he is a legal expert.
"It would work," Reilly argued. But someone has to take charge of the matter. "Just do it, Mr. President," he concluded, channeling his inner Nike.
- Matt Hadro's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Given Obama's record on health care reform & the economy,
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 6:37pm.
by the time he's done "fixing" the BCS, college football games will be played by lawyers & lobbyists coached by anti-sports "czars," and officiated by dozens of Federal agencies, as fans take out loans from the Chinese to buy Bowl tickets.
Question
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 8:46pm.
So, if His Majesty The Shahinshah borrows from everyone else BUT China, you approve of a sky-high national debt and deficit spending?
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Whiners
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 6:39pm.
We don't need any redistribution of outcomes in the world of College Football.
Man up, Reilly.
ESPN is nothing but a bunch of women. They fired poor Ron Franklin for calling a sports bimbo "sweet cheeks" (okay, she whined, so he asked her if a**hole was more to her liking). Like we say about FSU, ESPN is a school of women.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
They fired him???? I thought
Submitted by Martin2717 on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 7:44pm.
They fired him???? I thought they just suspended him? Ridiculous.
Yep, Fired
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 9:18pm.
For calling some feminazi "sweet cakes"...and when she whined, he said "okay, a**hole".
OMG, melting, melting, feminazi melting from the mean man!
Sheesh.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Yep, and unfortunately Franklin
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 7:58pm.
Is one of the good play-by-play guys. I am plum sick of Jaws and Gruden, no insight just slobber.
Maybe we'll get lucky & CBS will pick him up
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 9:20pm.
Just think how delightful it may be without Verne.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Oh, For Crying Out Loud
Submitted by justbob223 on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 6:40pm.
There are not enough real issues in the world for the president to address that he now is expected to settle the BCS issue?
But as he has demonstrated in the past . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 6:54pm.
. . . it's not beyond Obama's propensity for taking excurisons into trivial issues that no President should engage. He's already raised the BCS issue once; odds are he'll get back to it.
This ESPN guy is a
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 11:00pm.
This ESPN guy is a queebie-assed wimp, but I DID hear Boy Blunder talk about 'doing something' about the college bowl deal..........as if it matters??? And you're right........Hussein Soetoro is NOT interested in dealing with 'real world' issues, and only seems to do it (half-assedly, too, I must say) when he HAS to!!! I think if he came to some Presidential edict about the BCS system, he'd probably be patting himself on the back and looking more arrogant and vain than he normally does.................
By the way.............does anybody think that Boy Barry would have called up any sports team and congratulate them on giving some WHITE convicted criminal a 'second chance'????? And fir all those thin-skins who might think that is a 'racist' comment...........to me, it wasn't about Michael Vick, it was ALL ABOUT Boy Barry Soetoro Barack Hussein Obama, and his view of the way things OUGHT to be...............
Let him
Submitted by Model850 on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 7:03pm.
I wish he would get involved in "fixing" the BCS system. At least then he wouldn't be busy screwing up the country.
I guess Rick Reilly doesn't think the BCS is screwed up enough
Submitted by Dave. on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 7:16pm.
...so he wants Obama to screw it up even worse.
I can't stand the BCS system, either, but damned if I want the federal government involved in "fixing" it.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Is this for real?
Submitted by retrocon on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 7:36pm.
Huh? Is it? Is this what libtards care about?
is this what they want? Is the "O" the "ruler" or "dictator" that the weak willed pansies on the left want? And is this the kind of "important" decision they want him making? It must be, they are asking for it, seriously!!!!???!?
Really!
Unbelievable!
MORONS!
OMG, it's worse in the MSM than i thought, and i thought it was pretty damn bad.
Abandon all hope! It's worse than anyone on NB could even imagine!
i... can't... take... it... any... more!!!!
Is it what libtards care
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 7:48pm.
Is it what libtards care about? Not particularly. But it apparently is what uber-conservative Joe Barton is absolutely obsessed with--when not groveling to BP.
Jer.
The Socialist is letting his mask continue to fall
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 10:20pm.
Thanks for continuing to unmask your Socialist colors. This time, it is as an ingrate who hates an industry that provides a product at a reasonable price that you could not live without - or at least, would be leading a very different life.
Destroying the petroleum industry (as it seems you want) will only serve to bite you very firmly in the ass.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Rick Reilly is a hack. He
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 12:04am.
Rick Reilly is a hack. He used to be a good columnist, now he's a busy body, over-emotional goof.
This kind of melodrama is right up his alley. Surprised Mitch Albom hasn't done it, too.
Pink Reilly
Submitted by Ed Gregory on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 8:09pm.
If you read Reilly regularly -- I stopped a long time ago because of garbage like this -- you realize what a pink-panty-wearing wuss he is. Typical of liberals, he sees only inequality and unfairness and thinks -- rather, believes, because liberals tend not to think -- that the solution is just to institute or pass something and to heck with the consequences. I'm not a BCS supporter per se, but in light of the current bowl structure, I do think it's a pretty good system for determining 1 vs. 2. In my opinion, instituting a playoff would only multiply the issues of the current system. But, whatever. That Reilly suggests the president get involved is just oh-so typical and predictable of him.
ESPN and Him
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 8:49pm.
I eagerly anticipate ESPN's gushing over Him as He fills out His bracket for the NCAA college basketball tournament in March!
ESPN is getting more than a little nauseating because of their desire to bring Him into every sports topic. Not to mention His own insertion of Himself into every sports topic.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
There's a bowl game for just
Submitted by Rikki_Doxx on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 9:33pm.
There's a bowl game for just about every college out there. Everyone get to go to a bowl. The PC version of "we're all winners" theme.
Well, as a huge fan
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 10:12pm.
Of college FB, I think it's great that the kids get a reward at the end of the season. B-ball and Baseball both start with 64 team tournaments, So I dont see much harm in sending 40 or so teams.
""What a lie this BCS era
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 10:12pm.
Obama doesn't care about this..............
Submitted by djwolf12 on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 10:19pm.
He cares about picking his NCAA brackets, going on vacation, and oh yeah, DESTROYING THIS COUNTRY!!!!
Hey Matt!
Submitted by MightyMouth on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 11:12pm.
How about telling us poor dumb bastards who aren't sports nuts what 'BCS' means? I had to google if for crying out loud!
It really isn't the gov't's business.
Submitted by Phryj1 on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 12:03am.
Yes, there are problems with the bowl system. As long as there are teams who are completely ineligible for a championship no matter how well they do, the system is broken, BUT it's not something the government should be shoving it's nose in. What is it with people who think more government is the answer to every problem?
Progressives seem to be completely averse to facts and logic. Apparently, reality has a conservative bias.
Sure, take over everything!
Submitted by neutron on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 12:37am.
Rick Reilly want Teh One to take over College Basketball.
Obama took overtwo car companies (giving 1/3 the stock to the UAW), many banks (but not giving 1/3 ownership to the SEIU? They were robbed!), propped 100s of foreign banks, took over the allotment of car dealerships, took over healthcare, Through Porkulus took over funding most universities, and through monetarizing the debt, allowed China to take over our banking system.
Sure, Ricky-boy! Let's go the Full Baracky... let's have Teh One take over everything, and abolish elections, and we can all live in an American version of The Cuban Dream for the rest of forever, or until we run out of money in about another 6 months.
Ricky-boy, why don't you leave the thinking to us men (and women) and you can go play cutesy with your sweetcakes in the ESPN locker-room (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Government involvement in the BCS = Redistribute $$$$
Submitted by Blonde on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 12:58am.
Don't be fooled, it's all about the money.
Every single bowl game is about the money. For the "lesser" bowls, it's more about which team will fill the stadium. Furthermore, they drag out the bowl "season" in order to make the travelling easier, fill hotels, sell meals, etc.
The BCS bowl games have the mega payouts. And, not surprisingly, the schools that usually make these games have the megabuck programs.
Here's an article from this year, about how much money the major football programs spend each year on their programs. This is how they attract top quality coaching talent with serious two comma money. I can't say for certain, but I suspect our new offensive coordinator, the coach who brought the NFL Chiefs from worst to first in their league last year, Charlie Weis, will be the first assistant in college ball to get two comma money as well.
It's an interesting article.
Orrin Hatch (and others) have been making noise for a while about the BCS....they want to get their mitts on the big bucks for the schools who can't afford to get there on their own. It's about the $$$$. It always is. As for this ESPN idiot, he's obviously in love with The One, and thinks this would be a dandy way to hand him some sort of "success". Obama would be an idiot to touch the BCS with a ten foot pole, but we all know he's not too bright. He'll stick his nose in the next time his approval rating falls a few points. Book it.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
I recommend anyone to read
Submitted by Martin2717 on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 1:23am.
I recommend anyone to read the book, "Death to the BCS". It's really good. As you read it, you pretty much can make the exact comparison of how these clowns are running the BCS to how the government is running the country.
Did I just read this correctly?
Submitted by Iron Tigers Vet on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 8:02am.
This so-called POTUS can't fix the economy, the jobs loss, the housing crisis... and now you think he should "fix" the BCS? I have seen and heard it all now!
I don't get it. Why should
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 1:05pm.
I don't get it. Why should the President fix a private enterprise system. This is absolute madness. The nation has devolved into absolute chaos. It seems to be all about the money.
One ridiculous sports
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 01/06/2011 - 5:16pm.
One ridiculous sports columnist wants Obama to fix the BCS system, and from that you jump to "the nation has devolved into absolute chaos"?
Sloooooow your roll.