Sports Fallout

As predicted, I finished the baseball playoffs at 0 and 7. But, I'm quite happy with having the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series. I'm sure my grandfather was quite happy that night.

On the football front, things are still a bit murky in Cincinnati. The Bengals lost to the Falcons showing that they still have problems with the O line and the secondary is still missing one or two players. But, the Bengals are still in the hunt for the #6 seed. Right now the AFC playoffs will include Indianapolis, New England, Denver, Baltimore, and San Diego. I see very little to change this in the coming weeks. There are realistically, two teams vying for that last spot: Cincinnati and Jacksonville. Some might argue that the Jets and Chiefs should be considered as well, but the Jets are bad and I don't think any division will send three teams and the AFC West is already going to contribute Denver and San Diego. Jacksonville has an easier schedule but they've been very inconsistent as of late. I think this race will remain murky for a while yet.

On the NFC side, its a bit fuzzier. Chicago, the NY Giants, and Seattle are all in good positions, although if Seattle suffers any more injuries, they will be in a world of hurt. Atlanta is looking good and I'm not quite ready to give up on New Orleans yet. There is also Minnesota and St. Louis to consider as well as what happens with Dallas and Philly, although I'm less worried about these two. As far as the NFC goes, the only thing I'm reasonably comfortable with right now is the idea that Chicago will get the #1 seed.

On the college front, USC lost a little earlier than anyone was expecting, although a lot of the people that follow college football closely were expecting USC to stumble at some point. This sets up Ohio St. and Michigan as the clear #1 and #2. I could even see people within the two schools proclaiming that this will be the true national championship game. One might find that hard to argue with given the way the standings could shake out. Right now, West Virginia is #3 and they will solidify that ranking a bit more firmly if they beat #6 Louisville on Thursday. If West Virgina remains unbeaten, the Fiesta Bowl will be the Ohio St. - Michigan winner vs. West Virginia and I think some people would grumble about that due to a lack of respect for the Big East. Actually, the Big East is better than the ACC this year but very few people want to admit that. I personally don't have a problem with this matchup, but I think a lot of people would rather see the Ohio St. - Michigan winner face off against the SEC winner, especially if it's a strong 1 loss team like Florida. They might not be as stringent about it if Arkansas ends up coming out of the scrum that is the SEC.

The gigantic fear of the BCS folks is if both West Virginia and Louisville get beaten at some point in the season. This will probably mean that Rutgers will have emerged as the unbeaten champion. Unlikely, but possible. Or, if West Virgina or Louisville emerge as the Big East champion with 1 loss. Then you'll have Ohio St. or Michigan waiting for someone with one loss while some minor unbeaten team shrieks about not getting credit. Some folks are even proposing that if Ohio St. - Michigan is a very close game that the two schools rematch in the Fiesta Bowl. There are scenarios where that is possible. But at the moment, the road we are on now is geared toward a Ohio St. vs. West Virgina national chamionship. You also have Boise St. and Notre Dame lurking around to spar for those two at large bowl spots. Imagine the cry from some corners of the realm if Boise St. and Notre Dame get to play in BCS bowls and a 1 loss Michigan team gets left out. Such as this:

Fiesta - Ohio St. vs. West Virgina
Rose - Notre Dame vs. Boise St.
Orange - Texas vs. Florida
Sugar - Boston College vs. Cal