BCS always gives a chance to whine

There are few things more therapeutic than whining. I'm a huge fan of it and generally do it whenever possible. In fact, when things are all great and good and there's no complaining to do, I really don't have anything to say.

This is part of what makes the end of the college football season so much fun, as there is now so much to whine about. Of course, it's always been this way in December, but the issue used to be that there wasn't enough snow to build an ice fort or that Santa Claus, for the third year in a row, ignored my earnest request for a pet tiger.

Now that I'm more mature and realize the futility of being mad at old St. Nick, I — and every other sports fan in America — instead choose to whine about the BCS.

Fortunately, as many of us have long since recognized, there's enough wrong with the Bowl Championship Series to keep the bickering going well into 2007.

Controversy once again surrounds the entire process. After USC's embarrassing loss to UCLA on Saturday, Florida, with its win over Arkansas in the SEC Championship, leapfrogged Michigan and landed in the No. 2 spot, securing a date with Ohio State in the national championship game.

The ridiculous part is not that Michigan lost its spot without even playing a game, or the fact that its lone three-point loss on the road to the No. 1 Buckeyes is apparently more detrimental than Florida's 10-point loss to No. 9 Auburn, but instead that we are once again facing such a problem.

There is no easy answer to who should have the right to play Ohio State, and I won't bother throwing my thoughts into the mix. The truth is that any way you slice it, the only way to decide is to have them play for it.

We all know this, and we all want it. BCS coordinator Mike Slive — who, curiously, is also the commissioner of the SEC — says he's willing to discuss changes. Even Florida head coach Urban Meyer [no relation], who should be holding hands with the BCS, admits that there are problems.

"We're beyond the fact of do we need a playoff. It's an imperfect system," Meyer said Sunday. "If you want a true national championship, the only way to do it is on the field."

So can someone please just step up and put an end to this nonsense? A playoff system could be difficult to organize, this is true, but it cannot possibly be more complicated or controversial than the BCS.

There is certainly much more to complain about than just the "BCS or playoff" issue, however. For example, every Sunday evening when I fill out my weekly planner, I write "COLLEGE FOOTBALL" in big letters in the box labeled "Saturday."

I can't do that for next week, though, nor the week after that, or the week after that. This is because, for some reason, the powers that be think December should be void of college football. Thus, with so much left to be decided, there is not a single important football game until the first of January, a full 27 days from now.

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I truly don't understand the point of this prolonged delay. You wouldn't hold "Master's Sunday" four weeks after "Master's Saturday", so why make players, coaches and fans wait this long?

If the purpose is to ensure that the student-athletes have time to focus on their first-semester finals, then the commissioners in charge really need to get their priorities in order. I'm sure Troy Smith is far more concerned with the upcoming bowl game than his upcoming "Communications" final and something tells me that Dwayne Jarrett isn't too worried about the outcome of his "Recreational Activities I" class.

Granted we only have to wait until Dec. 19 for the TCU-Northern Illinois contest in the "San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl," the first bowl of the season, but the Horned Frogs versus the Huskies is a long way from the Gators versus the Buckeyes. Thus, I won't be watching — despite my loyalty to the San Diego County Credit Union.

Of course, regardless of the annoying delay, I — along with everyone else — will still be watching the national championship game. I don't even like Florida but I'll be rooting strongly for them and encourage others to do the same. I absolutely loathe Ohio State. While Jim Tressell clearly knows how to coach and looks like a class act in his ever-present tie and sweater vest, I'm pretty sure he's one of the biggest scumbags in collegiate athletics.

I, of course, have no evidence to back up such an accusation, but apparently Maurice Clarett does, and I want to hear about it. He's obviously a highly credible source and has plenty of free time, so I hope he writes a bestseller about it.

Despite my dislike of the Buckeyes, however, I will admit that they deserve to be called the best team in the country and have certainly earned their spot in the title game in Glendale, Ariz. It's a shame that because of the BCS, we can't guarantee that the second-best team will be meeting them there.