The Life of the BCS: Indifference, Outrage, and Change

Nate Matusick — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:47:17 -0500

Recently Rick Reilly focused his ESPN.com column on Utah's credentials as College Football's national champion and lamented the fact that, due to the current system, Utah will not be able to compete for one.

Reilly's article was as much about the shortcomings of the BCS as it was about Utah's case for the national championship. His criticism is not new: The BCS systematically reduces the chance of non-BCS schools to achieve bids to BCS bowl games, and systematically excludes those same schools for competing in a national championship game.

Unfortunately for Reilly, he misses the real consequence of this situation. Reilly's tone suggests (like many others, I concede) that the travesty of the BCS is that teams like Utah do not get a shot at the national championship they deserve. In reality, the disgust with the BCS reveals that it very rarely has been able to achieve what it was meant to—providing an undisputed national champion.

Indifference, not outrage, is a more appropriate response to this year's college football situation—not because Utah is the "true" national champ, or because the winner of Thursday's game will be, but because, to most people, the national championship will once again be an unresolved matter.

Reilly does suggest an outcome of the BCS system that should engender outrage. The difficulty of non-BCS schools to earn major bowl bids unfairly perpetuates a system that excludes those schools from reaping the money and media attention they deserve while maintaining a status quo for the SEC, Big Ten, Big XII, Big East, and Pac-10.

The system of the status quo is being challenged, however. In many instances non-BCS schools are faring well when they get the chance, with Utah providing the most recent example. The excitement inspired by Boise State and Utah are the biggest reasons for speculation as to what a true national championship would and could be.

Giambi Returns Hope and Excitement To Oakland

Nate Matusick — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:33:44 -0500

In the early part of the decade each new season for A’s was a step of progress, despite seemingly debilitating offseason losses. Jason Giambi, now seven years removed from an Oakland A’s uniform, was the first major piece of an exciting A’s team that continually transformed itself while continuing to make great strides culminating in a run to the ALCS in 2006.

Since then Oakland has slowed, and each successive spring prospects for a playoff run have dwindled. This offseason was a markedly different one, however. Despite all the national media attention on Mark Texiera, the A’s quietly traded for a big time player in OF Matt Holliday, just a year off a season where he led his team to a World Series and earned him serious MVP consideration.

Now Jason Giambi returns after leaving in the prime of his career for the New York Yankees where he was greeted with a shroud of controversy, often devastated by individual and fan disappointment, and eventually relegated to minor role on a team full of stars.

The negativity that followed Giambi out of Oakland provoked by his own words, and the fans’ hard feelings, are all but dead and gone now. Giambi’s return to Oakland will be a triumphant one, not just because of his past heroics as an A, but because, along with Holiday, he will make a huge difference. For a team that last year finished dead last in runs, Giambi infuses 32 HRs and a .500 SP.

Not only can you count on Giambi’s production, which has been fairly steady in his Yankee years, but you shouldn't underestimate the resurgence factor. It’s no secret Oakland has had a knack for reviving declining careers, most recently with future hall-of-famer Frank Thomas; it might even be considered surprising if Giambi’s effectiveness didn’t jump with the A’s.

Lastly Oakland provides a haven for Giambi that he really didn't know in New York. The pressure of the New York media is no longer a burden and he won’t be overshadowed by anyone either, even considering Holliday’s presence.

The A’s, whose surprising first half show the talent of an up and coming team, provide a perfect synthesis of comfort, familiarity and opportunity that Giambi needs to produce to his potential; and similarly Giambi offers Oakland star power and Money Ball-offensive production that is the missing link to generate excitement, attention, and the substantial talent that might equate into a 2009 playoff push.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Nate Matusick

The Life of the BCS: Indifference, Outrage, and Change

Giambi Returns Hope and Excitement To Oakland