"I'm going to vomit and I don't have a dog in the fight!" Stuart Scott's reaction to tonight in baseball.
At the beginning of September, the Braves had a 8.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. At the beginning of September, the Red Sox had a 9 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. Going into tonight every lead was gone. Each league came into the final game of the season with a tie for the wild card.
There were four games that would determine the post season. The Braves were playing the Phillies, the best team in the NL, in Atlanta. St. Louis was playing the worst team in the NL, Houston, in Houston. The Cardinals were the first team to finish their game, handling the Astros 8-0 and being the only game that wasn't determined in the 9th inning or later. The Cardinals got to sit back and watch the Braves game to see if they'd have a one game playoff or if they'd take the wild card outright.
The Braves fought against the Phillies, taking a tie into extra innings. Bloop hits and aggressive running powered Philadelphia past the Braves in the 13th inning. The Braves still had a chance. They were the home team, they could respond with one run and take it to the 14th. Chipper Jones struck out swinging at a low LOOOOOW ball. After Uggla walked, Freeman comes to the plate. The tying run is on first; the go-ahead is at bat. Freeman hits a hard grounder to first base. Instead of stepping on first, Ryan Howard throws to Jimmy Rollins, who steps on second then throws the ball back to Howard. Game ending double play. 8.5 game lead. Gone. Playoff hopes. Dashed. Cardinals, all but out on September first, wild card team.
Things are even more insane in the American League. Again, Boston comes in with a 9 game lead over Tampa Bay. After going 8-19 through September, Boston drops to a tie with the Rays. Boston is playing lowly Baltimore in Baltimore. For those of you who have never been to an AL East ball game on the east coast, late season games against Boston and New York in Baltimore are essentially home games for Boston and New York. Baltimore is close enough to both cities that fans from the more successful franchises make the trip. Baltimore is almost always eliminated from contention by September, so Orioles fans don't go to the ballpark. Boston invaded Baltimore tonight. The chants loud enough to reach the announcers and get on television were encouraging the Red Sox to victory, not the Orioles.
Boston jumps out to a one run lead with a home run. Baltimore catches up. Boston goes ahead on a balk with a man on third. Baltimore catches up. Boston scores again. Mother nature intervenes in the bottom of the seventh inning. Rain Delay.
While all that is happening, the Yankees are putting the hurt on Tampa Bay. Home runs, a grand slam, and the Yankees are up 7-0 going into the eighth inning. Things are looking awful for the Rays. They fought back from a deep hole. Boston's lead was just too much.
Back to Boston-Baltimore. Hmm, still raining.
Back to Tampa Bay. What the-How are they only down 7-6 going into the ninth?? The Yankees have been playing garbage time since the fifth inning. Who the heck are these guys? Well, there's Posada, who has played catcher all of one game all season. There's Swisher, he's a sometime starter. Nunez plays when Jeter, Cano, or Rodriguez are hurt. Who the heck is Laird? Seriously? No Yankee pitcher pitched more than two innings? They've used like 11 pitchers? Are they playing Beer League Softball??
Okay, Yankees still have a 7-6 lead, bottom of the ninth, two outs. Huh, home run. 7-7 tie.
Back to Boston-Baltimore. The rain has stopped, here we go. Boston handles Baltimore in the seventh. Ohhh here comes Scutaro from first, they're going to take the lead. DID YOU SEE THAT THROW?? Ahem-Reimold caught the ball off the bounce and made a perfect throw to home to get Scutaro trying to score. Runner on second, foul out to the catcher. End of the top of the inning. Baltimore is up.
Ground out-fly out-fly out. Okay, Baltimore, way to make them sweat.
Lead-off hitter, Jacob Ellsbury gets on base with an error. Oh, he just stole second. Now the insurance run is in scoring position with no outs. Not looking good for Baltimore or Tampa Bay. Next batter, Dustin Pedroia singles. Now the insurance runner is 127 feet from the plate. Good for you Baltimore, you made them sweat, you played a good game. Same for you, Tampa Bay, you had a good season. O-okay, Ortiz just hit into a fielder's choice with an out at second. Runners at the corners for the Sox. One out. Okay, they're walking the next runner to load the bases. Lavarnaway up. Who is this guy? Oh, he's the third catcher. They brought him up this week when the other two catchers were injured. He hit two home runs the other night. And they loaded the bases and are pitching to him. DOUBLE PLAY SHORT TO SECOND TO FIRST HOW AWESOME IS-Ahem, that would be a 6-4-3 double play. Baltimore gets into the bottom of the ninth down by one.
Back to Tampa. Still tied? Still tied. Back to Baltimore.
Baltimore is up, bottom of the ninth. Sox bring in Papelbon, their closer. As a Yankee fan, I'm familiar with this guy. He's the Sox version of Mariano. He comes in to save. You don't hit Papelbon. Boston is 77-0 when leading going into the 8th. Well, Baltimore, it's been a good game, way to fight back. Strike-out. Strike-out. Well, Tampa, you've got to win against the Yankees to force a one game playo-a double? Of Papelbon? Tying run is on second? Wait a minute, let's not go back to Tampa quite yet. They just put in a speedster as a pinch runner. This could be interesting, but they have to hit Papelbon again. Oh, that looks like it's going to be caught in the field, well good ga-IT'S IN THE GAP HOLY CRAP IT-Ahem, ground rule double to the gap in deep right. We have a tie game. We're going to extra innings! No, no we're not. Next batter hits to left field, he's got a bead on it. IT'S UNDER THE GLOVE HE DIDN'T CATCH IT! REIMOLD, THE GUY WHO GUNNED OUT THE INSURANCE RUN IS GOING TO SCORE! Ahem, screw it. BALTIMORE WINS BALTIMORE WINS BALTIMORE WINS TWO OUTS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH.
Okay, back to Tampa. If the Yankees hold on, then there is a one game playoff between Tampa Bay and Boston. If Tampa comes out ahead, they put the Sox away. 3 minutes after we switch over to the game. 3 minutes after Reimold touches home plate. Longoria gets a hit it is a deep ball. That looks foul. That looks like it's going to hit the wall. IT'S OVER THE WALL!! ITS FAIR!! TAMPA WINS AND IS THE WILD CARD! Seriously, it took 180 seconds for this collapse from the beginning of September to tonight. 180 seconds between one man in Baltimore touches home plate to one man hitting a ball out in Tampa.
Tonight was the greatest night of regular season baseball of all time. Period.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Baseball, Statistics, Records, and Questions of Conscience
Hello, dear Reader. I am in Seattle. The Yankees are in Seattle. This is not coincidence.
Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest closer in Major League Baseball, sits at 599 all-time saves. He already has the record for saves in the postseason.
Right now, the Yankees are beating the snot-wads out of the Mariners, on Free Ichiro T-shirt night. My Free Ichiro T-shirt lies folded on the floor next to the bag of other shirts bought at/before the game. If you have read any of my blogs before, then you know I am a Yankees fan. However, tonight, I am not happy at the Yankee victory. Why am I not happy at the victory?
The Yankees play Seattle tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday. I really only feasibly get to see the Yankees when they come to Seattle, and not often at that. In fact, tonight was my first Yankees/Mariners game ever. Don't get me wrong, I wanted a victory for the Yankees. I just didn't want a 9-3 victory for the Yankees.
Again, Mariano Rivera sits at 599 saves. The all-time saves record is Trevor Hoffman's at 601. Do the math, I'll wait....Yeah. If the Yankees had beaten the Mariners in three close games (fewer than three runs difference), then Mariano Rivera would have pitched in all three games, for just the ninth inning each time. Those three innings, assuming Mo didn't have a blown save (of which he has five this season in 45 opportunities), then tonight I would have witnessed 600. Tomorrow 601, and Wednesday 602. I would have seen the second man to make 600 saves in history, the second man to make 601 saves in history, and the first man to make 602 saves in history. I have no doubt that Mariano will break the all time saves record this season. But now, I won't be there to see it. I hope to see 600, meaning I hope to see a) the Yankees win, and b) the Yankees win small.
Tonight was the best scenario to see Yankee small ball. The Mariners had their ace, Felix Hernendez, on the mound. Felix had beaten the Yankees five of the last six times he faced them. Even the one of those six was a no-decision, not a loss. The Yankees were sending Phil Hughes, who has been shaky all year after having a great 2010. If Felix continued to be the Yankee killer and Hughes continued to struggle with his velocity, then it would be a close game...possibly even a Yankee loss.
Through four, it was a close game. At the bottom of the fourth inning it was tied up at 1. I'm thrilled. It is a good ball game, each pitcher is doing well. Hernendez struck out the side in the first inning. The only hiccup in my plan was when I looked at the scoreboard after a first inning Hughes pitch...93 MPH...shit. Hughes wasn't struggling with his velocity. He was throwing strikes and making the Mariners swing and pop up. He was getting outs. It's okay. It's still 1-1.
Then the Yankees batted in the fifth. And batted, and batted, DUCK!!! IT'S A MARK TEXIERA HOMER! DUCK IT'S A DICKERSON HOMER!! Wait, a Dickerson homer??? How often has that happened....oh, cool, I just witnessed Chris Dickerson's first career homer. By the end of the fifth, there was no longer a save opportunity unless the Mariners staged a remarkable comeback.
Hughes continued to stifle the M's hitters. Granderson, Jeter, Cano, and the rest continued to make catches and get outs. The M's didn't stage their remarkable comeback. They didn't get to within three runs of the Yankees. They didn't close to within five runs of the Yankees. Rivera would not be making an appearance. I wouldn't see 600 tonight. I wouldn't be present for 602.
Here's the conflict. I wanted the Yankees to win. They did. For once, I didn't want them to put the game out of reach early. I didn't want to see an old-fashioned curb stomping. Usually I love a good route. One of my favorite games of all time was Jordan's Bulls holding Utah to a record low in points while having every Bull who dressed score. I didn't want the route. I was disappointed with the win.
How can I be disappointed with the win? I saw my favorite team play. I saw Derek Jeter's fielding. I witnessed evidence that makes me further recall an earlier post in which I called for Jeter's retirement. I ate crow all over again as The Captain made a bunch of great plays (one outrunning Ichiro...Ichiro! to second). He fielded a fly ball while running out into left field when it looked certain that it would drop for a base hit. He made an athletic move to his left to snag a ball destined for a centerfield base hit. I witnessed future hall of famer greatness again for the first time since 2007 when I saw Jeter play in The Bronx.
I saw a Texiera home run. I saw the first Chris Dickerson homer. I witnessed a Yankee victory that put them up four games over the cursed Red Sox, putting the Sox closer to third (the Rays only trail Boston by three games) than first. There are only 16 games left in the season. If the Yankees win five and the Red Sox lose four, the Yankees take the division. If the Yankees win nine more games, they win the division no matter what Boston does. Why am I not happy?
The only reason that I am not happy is because I didn't get to see my favorite current Yankee play. I won't be present to see him make history.
But I found myself somehow rooting against my team. The team that I had never rooted against before in my life. That, dear Reader, is what doesn't make me happy.
Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest closer in Major League Baseball, sits at 599 all-time saves. He already has the record for saves in the postseason.
Right now, the Yankees are beating the snot-wads out of the Mariners, on Free Ichiro T-shirt night. My Free Ichiro T-shirt lies folded on the floor next to the bag of other shirts bought at/before the game. If you have read any of my blogs before, then you know I am a Yankees fan. However, tonight, I am not happy at the Yankee victory. Why am I not happy at the victory?
The Yankees play Seattle tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday. I really only feasibly get to see the Yankees when they come to Seattle, and not often at that. In fact, tonight was my first Yankees/Mariners game ever. Don't get me wrong, I wanted a victory for the Yankees. I just didn't want a 9-3 victory for the Yankees.
Again, Mariano Rivera sits at 599 saves. The all-time saves record is Trevor Hoffman's at 601. Do the math, I'll wait....Yeah. If the Yankees had beaten the Mariners in three close games (fewer than three runs difference), then Mariano Rivera would have pitched in all three games, for just the ninth inning each time. Those three innings, assuming Mo didn't have a blown save (of which he has five this season in 45 opportunities), then tonight I would have witnessed 600. Tomorrow 601, and Wednesday 602. I would have seen the second man to make 600 saves in history, the second man to make 601 saves in history, and the first man to make 602 saves in history. I have no doubt that Mariano will break the all time saves record this season. But now, I won't be there to see it. I hope to see 600, meaning I hope to see a) the Yankees win, and b) the Yankees win small.
Tonight was the best scenario to see Yankee small ball. The Mariners had their ace, Felix Hernendez, on the mound. Felix had beaten the Yankees five of the last six times he faced them. Even the one of those six was a no-decision, not a loss. The Yankees were sending Phil Hughes, who has been shaky all year after having a great 2010. If Felix continued to be the Yankee killer and Hughes continued to struggle with his velocity, then it would be a close game...possibly even a Yankee loss.
Through four, it was a close game. At the bottom of the fourth inning it was tied up at 1. I'm thrilled. It is a good ball game, each pitcher is doing well. Hernendez struck out the side in the first inning. The only hiccup in my plan was when I looked at the scoreboard after a first inning Hughes pitch...93 MPH...shit. Hughes wasn't struggling with his velocity. He was throwing strikes and making the Mariners swing and pop up. He was getting outs. It's okay. It's still 1-1.
Then the Yankees batted in the fifth. And batted, and batted, DUCK!!! IT'S A MARK TEXIERA HOMER! DUCK IT'S A DICKERSON HOMER!! Wait, a Dickerson homer??? How often has that happened....oh, cool, I just witnessed Chris Dickerson's first career homer. By the end of the fifth, there was no longer a save opportunity unless the Mariners staged a remarkable comeback.
Hughes continued to stifle the M's hitters. Granderson, Jeter, Cano, and the rest continued to make catches and get outs. The M's didn't stage their remarkable comeback. They didn't get to within three runs of the Yankees. They didn't close to within five runs of the Yankees. Rivera would not be making an appearance. I wouldn't see 600 tonight. I wouldn't be present for 602.
Here's the conflict. I wanted the Yankees to win. They did. For once, I didn't want them to put the game out of reach early. I didn't want to see an old-fashioned curb stomping. Usually I love a good route. One of my favorite games of all time was Jordan's Bulls holding Utah to a record low in points while having every Bull who dressed score. I didn't want the route. I was disappointed with the win.
How can I be disappointed with the win? I saw my favorite team play. I saw Derek Jeter's fielding. I witnessed evidence that makes me further recall an earlier post in which I called for Jeter's retirement. I ate crow all over again as The Captain made a bunch of great plays (one outrunning Ichiro...Ichiro! to second). He fielded a fly ball while running out into left field when it looked certain that it would drop for a base hit. He made an athletic move to his left to snag a ball destined for a centerfield base hit. I witnessed future hall of famer greatness again for the first time since 2007 when I saw Jeter play in The Bronx.
I saw a Texiera home run. I saw the first Chris Dickerson homer. I witnessed a Yankee victory that put them up four games over the cursed Red Sox, putting the Sox closer to third (the Rays only trail Boston by three games) than first. There are only 16 games left in the season. If the Yankees win five and the Red Sox lose four, the Yankees take the division. If the Yankees win nine more games, they win the division no matter what Boston does. Why am I not happy?
The only reason that I am not happy is because I didn't get to see my favorite current Yankee play. I won't be present to see him make history.
But I found myself somehow rooting against my team. The team that I had never rooted against before in my life. That, dear Reader, is what doesn't make me happy.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
BCS and the Ruination of the Conferences
Okay, so I only got a couple of my NFL previews out before the season started. You are entitled to your money back.
Yay, football is back, even if it hasn't yet returned to Kansas City after their drumming at the hands of the Buffalo Bills.
What I would like to talk to you tonight, dear reader, is the landscape of college football. I am no fan of the BSC system. It is amusing, to be sure. It was supposedly designed to calm the debate over who is the "true" national champion. In that, it might be a little bit better than the popularity contest that it replaced. However, it is in the process of now destroying conferences in the NCAA.
This past summer we watched a whole lot of teams changing conferences. Oklahoma and Texas eyed joining the Pac 10 (now the Pac 12), even though both schools are thousands of miles away from the Pacific Ocean. Colorado did join the Pac 12, as did Utah. BYU told the WAC to piss off and went independant. Boise State also left the WAC for the Mountain West to try to get into a better conference in order to play Texas Christian, so that they wouldn't really be at the Kiddie Table Bowl. TCU subsequently announced that they are leaving the Mountain West to join the Big East to get an automatic bowl bid and consideration for a national championship. Now, Texas A & M is trying to leave the 10 team Big 12 for the South Eastern Conference, but is being threatened with lawsuit by Baylor to make sure that Oklahoma does stay in the Big 12. Got all that? No? Good, cause there's more. Nebraska left the 10 member Big 12 for the 12 member Big 10.
K, put away the maps and the markers, because that's all for the geography lesson. The problems with these moves is that they are motivated in trying to get to a stronger conference instead of making a current conference stronger. Everyone wants to go to the SEC because in terms of strength of schedule, the SEC is Goliath among Davids. The last five National Champions, Auburn, Alabama, LSU (twice) and Florida are SEC teams. It is a tough conference in which to win, but if you can, then you can beat anyone.
The problem with this is that teams from conferences that already have automatic bowl bids (Big 10, Big 12) are jumping ship to get harder schedules to be considered for the national championship. Successful conferences are getting stripped down. Baylor is trying to keep Oklahoma in the conference because if Oklahoma goes, and Texas is pretty much already going, and Texas A&M goes, then the conference will basically be the Kansas teams, Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Missouri, and Oklahoma State. OSU and Missouri are perennially ranked in the top 25, as is K State. However, none of these teams stays in the top 10 very long. This is an automatic bid conference! Whoever takes it, plays in a fairly major bowl. That means money for the school who plays in the bowl. However, if it becomes a minor conference, or is thought of as somehow lesser, then less people tune in and they don't get as much money! Follow the bouncing dollar in college football.
Boise State is kind of screwed. They just made a lateral move from one non-BCS conference to another one. One question-why-is easily answered. Boise State wanted to move out of the WAC where Hawaii and recently Nevada (chortle, how's them field goals comin along, Broncos?) were the only competition on the regular season schedule. Hawaii and Nevada are never ranked very high in the top 25 if they are ranked at all. So BSU jumps over to the Mountain West to try to start a rivalry with Texas Christian, the team they've been facing a lot in the post season because neither has an automatic bid from a BCS conference, but both are usually undefeated. Welcome to the aforementioned Kiddie Table Bowl. TCU is jumping to the Big East. Once again Boise State will be a big time program in an itty bitty little conference. Why didn't Boise State jump to an automatic bid conference like TCU will do in 2012? The answer has little to do with football. TCU has a higher academic standard than BSU. You don't exactly have to burn through the ACTs to get into BSU. TCU (and just about any major university in the big conferences) has a little more stringent guidelines and acceptance rules. BSU can't get into any of the major conferences. Until they make it more difficult to get into BSU (which isn't really likely to happen anytime soon, since Idaho and Idaho State already are pickier on who gets to be an incoming freshman), they will always be a piranha in a fishbowl, chewing up the kibble that floats down.
I know that people have been pushing for a playoff. Just think of that for a minute. A playoff system in college football. March Madness in December/January. Brackets for Christmas. The minor bowls that are already played early in the post season can just be first round games. We already have late bowl game meaning more anyway. Why not go to a playoff? We could even keep all the bowls! Including the Still Looking for a Corporate Sponsor to Pony Up the Money Bowl! Some people are calling for an 8 team playoff. That would be 4 bowls, then 2 bowls, then 1 bowl. 7 Bowls. That would suck and not allow us to keep all the bowls. A 16 team playoff would be 8 bowls, 4, 2, 1, for 15 bowls. Better, closer to the number we have now. I propose we go the full shitangi! We take March Madness and go whole hog. 64 teams (not this half-assed expansion of this year). That is 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 bowls...let's see...carry the...2...OH HELL YES! 63 bowls!!! Each with a corporate sponsor dumping millions. Each with television coverage and commercial deals. Each with free advertising for the playing schools! WHY HAVE WE NOT DONE THIS YET??? Is it because of the issue of the end of the semester/finals/beginning of the next semester? Football players don't go to class or take finals....ask Miami.
Yay, football is back, even if it hasn't yet returned to Kansas City after their drumming at the hands of the Buffalo Bills.
What I would like to talk to you tonight, dear reader, is the landscape of college football. I am no fan of the BSC system. It is amusing, to be sure. It was supposedly designed to calm the debate over who is the "true" national champion. In that, it might be a little bit better than the popularity contest that it replaced. However, it is in the process of now destroying conferences in the NCAA.
This past summer we watched a whole lot of teams changing conferences. Oklahoma and Texas eyed joining the Pac 10 (now the Pac 12), even though both schools are thousands of miles away from the Pacific Ocean. Colorado did join the Pac 12, as did Utah. BYU told the WAC to piss off and went independant. Boise State also left the WAC for the Mountain West to try to get into a better conference in order to play Texas Christian, so that they wouldn't really be at the Kiddie Table Bowl. TCU subsequently announced that they are leaving the Mountain West to join the Big East to get an automatic bowl bid and consideration for a national championship. Now, Texas A & M is trying to leave the 10 team Big 12 for the South Eastern Conference, but is being threatened with lawsuit by Baylor to make sure that Oklahoma does stay in the Big 12. Got all that? No? Good, cause there's more. Nebraska left the 10 member Big 12 for the 12 member Big 10.
K, put away the maps and the markers, because that's all for the geography lesson. The problems with these moves is that they are motivated in trying to get to a stronger conference instead of making a current conference stronger. Everyone wants to go to the SEC because in terms of strength of schedule, the SEC is Goliath among Davids. The last five National Champions, Auburn, Alabama, LSU (twice) and Florida are SEC teams. It is a tough conference in which to win, but if you can, then you can beat anyone.
The problem with this is that teams from conferences that already have automatic bowl bids (Big 10, Big 12) are jumping ship to get harder schedules to be considered for the national championship. Successful conferences are getting stripped down. Baylor is trying to keep Oklahoma in the conference because if Oklahoma goes, and Texas is pretty much already going, and Texas A&M goes, then the conference will basically be the Kansas teams, Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Missouri, and Oklahoma State. OSU and Missouri are perennially ranked in the top 25, as is K State. However, none of these teams stays in the top 10 very long. This is an automatic bid conference! Whoever takes it, plays in a fairly major bowl. That means money for the school who plays in the bowl. However, if it becomes a minor conference, or is thought of as somehow lesser, then less people tune in and they don't get as much money! Follow the bouncing dollar in college football.
Boise State is kind of screwed. They just made a lateral move from one non-BCS conference to another one. One question-why-is easily answered. Boise State wanted to move out of the WAC where Hawaii and recently Nevada (chortle, how's them field goals comin along, Broncos?) were the only competition on the regular season schedule. Hawaii and Nevada are never ranked very high in the top 25 if they are ranked at all. So BSU jumps over to the Mountain West to try to start a rivalry with Texas Christian, the team they've been facing a lot in the post season because neither has an automatic bid from a BCS conference, but both are usually undefeated. Welcome to the aforementioned Kiddie Table Bowl. TCU is jumping to the Big East. Once again Boise State will be a big time program in an itty bitty little conference. Why didn't Boise State jump to an automatic bid conference like TCU will do in 2012? The answer has little to do with football. TCU has a higher academic standard than BSU. You don't exactly have to burn through the ACTs to get into BSU. TCU (and just about any major university in the big conferences) has a little more stringent guidelines and acceptance rules. BSU can't get into any of the major conferences. Until they make it more difficult to get into BSU (which isn't really likely to happen anytime soon, since Idaho and Idaho State already are pickier on who gets to be an incoming freshman), they will always be a piranha in a fishbowl, chewing up the kibble that floats down.
I know that people have been pushing for a playoff. Just think of that for a minute. A playoff system in college football. March Madness in December/January. Brackets for Christmas. The minor bowls that are already played early in the post season can just be first round games. We already have late bowl game meaning more anyway. Why not go to a playoff? We could even keep all the bowls! Including the Still Looking for a Corporate Sponsor to Pony Up the Money Bowl! Some people are calling for an 8 team playoff. That would be 4 bowls, then 2 bowls, then 1 bowl. 7 Bowls. That would suck and not allow us to keep all the bowls. A 16 team playoff would be 8 bowls, 4, 2, 1, for 15 bowls. Better, closer to the number we have now. I propose we go the full shitangi! We take March Madness and go whole hog. 64 teams (not this half-assed expansion of this year). That is 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 bowls...let's see...carry the...2...OH HELL YES! 63 bowls!!! Each with a corporate sponsor dumping millions. Each with television coverage and commercial deals. Each with free advertising for the playing schools! WHY HAVE WE NOT DONE THIS YET??? Is it because of the issue of the end of the semester/finals/beginning of the next semester? Football players don't go to class or take finals....ask Miami.
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