Football Articles
Joe Barton wants a D-1 college football playoff.
Unlike most others who feel that way, Barton thinks he can do something about it. Barton, who went to A&M, is a representative in the U.S. House, and he has introduced three bills aimed at doing away with the BCS.
Barton is also the ranking Republican on the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee. Earlier this month Derrick Fox, the executive director of the Alamo Bowl represented all 34 bowl games, testifying that local charities receive tens of millions of dollars from bowl games every year.
According to Yahoo! Sports, however, the 23 bowl games that have tax exempt status gave $3.2 million to charities out of a total of $186.3 million in revenue, based on their latest federal tax report.
Barton thinks that Fox’s testimony bordered on perjury and is threatening to have him investigated for contempt of Congress.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford and Alamo Bowl Director Derrick Fox testified in favor of the BCS bowl system earlier this month.
Atlantic Coast Commissioner John Swofford was also on hand to defend the BCS system. Both Swofford and Fox pointed to two main reasons for keeping things as they are.
1. Donations to local charities
2. The economic impact that bowls have on host cities.
Of the 34 bowls, 23 enjoy non-profit status with the IRS. Ten bowls are privately owned and one is run by a branch of a local government. ESPN owns six bowls, and Derrick Fox thinks that the WWL qualifies as a “charitable group.”
Derrick Fox testified before Congress that ESPN is “involved in charitable activities.”
Out of the $3.2 million that the 23 bowls donated to charity, half of that amount (1.6 million) came from just two bowls — the Orange Bowl and the Chick-fil-A-Bowl.
As for the argument that the bowl games pump money into the host cities, more than a third of last season’s bowl games (12 of 34) invited a local team –either from the host city or less than two hours away — to play in their game. A study by the Alamo Bowl reports that spending by local residents is considered to be “displaced spending” and has zero economic impact.
Even BCS proponents acknowledge that a playoff system would generate more revenue than the current system.
It really comes down to the Golden Rule:
The six BCS conferences received 87.4% of the BCS revenue based on the latest report. Those same six conferences took home 61% of the revenue realized from the NCAA basketball tournament.
While a football playoff might bring in more money, it probably means ceding power to the NCAA to run it, and that means a revenue sharing program more like basketball. And that is what the BCS conferences want to avoid at all costs.
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Activity
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ursa major commented on the blog post Why The 1994 Goodwill Games Might Be A Sign of Things To Come ago
I’d like to think that Ken Starr is Hans, the benevolent hockey shop owner.
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James commented on the blog post Sending Aggies to the NFL ago
JJ is listed in most people’s Top 5 quarterbacks for the 2011 Draft. Ideal size, mobile. His accuracy has also improved dramatically. While Sherman runs a ton out of the shotgun, it is still a semblance of a pro offense.
Hell, McGee got drafted after a couple years of being a running back
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Huckleberry commented on the blog post That Silly Away Goals Rule ago
That’s quite a stretch to view the away goals rule as a harkening to the territorial origins of the game. The game is now split between matches taking place entirely in one town or the other.
The rule is a bad one, IMO. You don’t even have to take it to its logical extreme
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Roscoe wrote a new blog post: Why The 1994 Goodwill Games Might Be A Sign of Things To Come ago
There is no question as to why Baylor is favored to beat Texas tonight – they are two teams on completely different paths since January, and Baylor is coming off perhaps its most impressive win of the year, the dunk-filled dismantling of Texas on Saturday. A Baylor fan should feel confident about tonight’s game, how
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Real Humiliation: Los Galacticos Ousted 7 minutes ago
Ronaldo = Johnny Weir.
Nothing pleases me more than watching Real Madrid lose. Except watching Chelsea lose. But whatever, I won’t quibble. I loved it.
Truth is truth. You can’t just flat-out buy an entire team of super-stars. There is only one ball to go around.
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ursa major wrote a new blog post: Baylor v. Texas – Preview 33 minutes ago
Baylor hasn’t beaten Texas three times in the same season since 1981-82. Can we break that streak tonight?
Rather than some esoteric discussion of the relative merits of each team, I think it’s relevant to do a quick look at the stats from our first two matchups.
Baylor 80, @Texas 77 (OT)
Baylor: 28-64 (43.8% FG), 3-12SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });
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James wrote a new blog post: Sending Aggies to the NFL 48 minutes ago
A&M had its pro day this week and it was a damning reminder of where the exiled regime left this program. Not one A&M football player was invited to the 2010 NFL Combine. Pro day featured a depressing cluster of Fran recruits clinging to the dream of earning a living in the NFL.
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ursa major commented on the blog post Colt McCoy: Smarter Than An Apostle, Dumber Than An Okie 1 hour, 27 minutes ago
I got a 50. Thanks Larry Sager!
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P.Drez commented on the blog post Real Humiliation: Los Galacticos Ousted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
His hair really is getting ridiculous… he’s having a case of the Beckhams.
As far as his play, he just couldn’t take over the match like we’ve seen him do, but his supply was weak as well, with Higuain missing his late runs to the far post multiple times. He found space, but wasn’t
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BatesHorn commented on the blog post Colt McCoy: Smarter Than An Apostle, Dumber Than An Okie 2 hours, 12 minutes ago
35 while ignoring a conference call with some corporate types in Delaware.
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J Rog wrote a new blog post: Stretch Run 2 hours, 21 minutes ago
If the season ended today, the Spurs would be in a tie for the 7th seed in the Western Conference with the Portland Trailblazers. With the Grizzlies only 3.5 games back, there is not much room for error down the stretch. And unfortunately, there are a lot of land mines ahead.
The Spurs have 20 games left
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P.Drez wrote a new blog post: Real Humiliation: Los Galacticos Ousted 2 hours, 27 minutes ago
Over $300 million spent, zero improvement. Real Madrid brought in two world players of the year to usher in a new Galactico era and win the European title, but it was Lyon’s committed teamwork and diligent defending that sees the French champions through to the quarterfinals.
Not sure what Ronaldo’s doing here, but we do know
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Quick Preview of Today’s Big East Tournament Action 3 hours, 18 minutes ago
Georgetown vs. Syracuse.
The battle of bitter Big Beast rivals. Ronnie Seikaly vs. Patrick Ewing. Stevie Thompson vs. Reggie Williams. Pearl Washington vs. Michael Jackson. Now Wes Johnson vs. Greg Monroe.Syracuse is coming off of an embarrassing loss at Louisville and solidify its claim to a national 1 seed. Georgetown is
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czarcw commented on the blog post If A Stopwatch Clicks In The Woods… 3 hours, 20 minutes ago
I’ll comment on that game. The Ags didn’t quit because, unlike their customary curb-stomping against K-State and OU, they actually had some early success where they scored on a broken coverage. Secondly, no doubt, Jerrod Johnson was on fire. If he plays like that every game next year, the Ags are going to be tough
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James commented on the blog post Big XII Day 2 – Preview 3 hours, 32 minutes ago
Page is actually a Smurf
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Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Our long national nightmare is over 3 hours, 38 minutes ago
“Man, it’s really just a dream come true to commit to Texas,” Diggs told Hamilton. “I’ve grown up watching the Texas Longhorns and have loved those guys my whole life. Of course, my brother is a Texas Longhorn playing in the NFL and I love being around all the guys that have played at Texas
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Drew Dunlevie commented on the blog post Top 8 Seed Round Robin: The One Seeds 3 hours, 56 minutes ago
Was talking with Kevin yesterday and I think he likes Kansas the best of the 1’s but has a different favorite to cut down the nets in Indy…
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hodad commented on the blog post Mack’s practice thoughts 4 hours, 16 minutes ago
“The impending lack of depth at corner along with an ability to cover a slot receiver could earn him a spot next year as the starting nickel when Aaron Williams leaves us for a huge payday after stomping through the Big 12 next year like Sasquatch through the mosh pit of a Green Day show.”
This
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hodad commented on the blog post Our long national nightmare is over 4 hours, 22 minutes ago
Mike Davis and Darius White play a position that Texas has up to five of on the field on any given play. Malcolm Brown and Hershel Sims play a position That UT that hasn’t had more than one of on the field since the early 80’s.
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Top 8 Seed Round Robin: The One Seeds 4 hours, 36 minutes ago
So it looks like you’re leaning Kansas. I like where your head’s at.
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hodad commented on the blog post Our long national nightmare is over 4 hours, 56 minutes ago
Even with the great class we’ve already signed I’m going to be really worried if Malcolm Brown doesn’t come to the 40 acres. Expecting more than one of the elite four in the state is just hubris. Why would a kid come and compete with another one of the elite four when he
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Blues commented on the blog post Colt McCoy: Smarter Than An Apostle, Dumber Than An Okie 5 hours, 7 minutes ago
“Bradford was able to do so well by having one eye concerned with the question he was currently answering while having his other eye pre-read the next one.”
If they ever do a movie of Richard Pryor’s “Mudbone” stories, Bradford can play “Cockeyed Junior.”
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Our long national nightmare is over 5 hours, 7 minutes ago
I vote we now increase our concern about landing a stud running back?
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Ag_in_TX wrote a new blog post: Big XII Day 2 – Preview 5 hours, 13 minutes ago
So – one for four yesterday is about par for me. In fact, it reminds me of the time my wife was taking note of my picks for a given weekend. I told her I had studied trends, noted injuries, and done all my research. She told me: “Perhaps you should keep
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Blues commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Iowa State: Post-Mortem 5 hours, 15 minutes ago
I watched this game out of the corner of my eye and avoided live threads. I think I helped the team and my blood pressure. Thanks for re-capping the finer points I missed by letting go.
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Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big XII Tourney: Day One 5 hours, 21 minutes ago
Agreed. I think people forget that to be a 6 seed you have to be one of the best 24 teams in the country. That’s not Missouri.
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Blues commented on the blog post Mack’s practice thoughts 5 hours, 28 minutes ago
Nice thoughts, Rover.
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James commented on the blog post Big XII Tourney: Day Two 5 hours, 33 minutes ago
Good previews.
I think you guys coast to a double digit win over Tech.
We should be able to guard Corn better than Mizzou did thus giving them tougher shots.
The evening games should be good viewing. I like Okie Lite in the upset over K-State. I also think the Baylor guards guide the Bears to
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Magnificent Bastard commented on the blog post Our long national nightmare is over 5 hours, 37 minutes ago
sizzle’s hands are permanently chapped and raw.
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BatesHorn commented on the blog post Our long national nightmare is over 5 hours, 38 minutes ago
Well, the San Francisco connection is strong here, so…….
If I had to guess, they wanted to take one more look at the numbers, expected attrition, etc, and make sure they had all their numbers locked down before they offered, which the first week of Spring Practice would help them suss out, and they probably told
CrazyJoeDavola66 said:
May 27th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Joe Barton versus The BCS?
I guess this is where I root for the strategically placed meteorite.
Black Scholes said:
May 27th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
My initial reaction is I’m less-concerned with the greed of the BCS schools/conferences than I am with the greed of the NCAA. I can’t see anything good coming out of giving those asshats greater access to the $ and as such the power.
OldtimeHorn said:
May 27th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Ye gods! Our economy is drowning in government debt and this Aggie Republican is fretting over the BCS. That’s BS.
The General said:
May 27th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Does anyone think that Fox’s face in that photo says, “If I don’t raise my hand all the way, they can’t throw me in jail for contempt of congress. Besides, they don’t even know my fingers are crossed on my left hand pants pocket.”
Contempt of Congress has to be the second least prosecuted crime in America behind skipping jury duty. Is their any literate human in America that doesn’t have contempt of congress.
Steve Nebraska said:
May 27th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Not sure what the ACC or the Alamo Bowl have I say on the subject. Each are about as significant a BCS player as Texas Tech.
maninblack said:
May 27th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Honestly if it brings us a playoff then I’m all for it.
Kneejerk reactionary said:
May 27th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Since this is covered by ESPN and not CSPAN, my position is that congress has more important things to do than worry about the bcs. In my bubble, I believe that it’s a good idea that all congressman spend all their time dreaming up spitball ideas to fix the economy and attain world peace. In my fantasyland, i believe the bcs is a shining example of the free market.
Facebook User said:
May 27th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
If this useless bunch of jerkwaters could produce a college football playoff, I would happily return to the Tory party.
Bob in Houston said:
May 28th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Dan Wetzel, for whom I don’t have a ton of respect as a writer, nonetheless made a good point on local squawk yesterday:
D-I college football is the only sport in the country that hands over its postseason to contractors. Can you imagine someone who runs a bowl game offering to hold an NFL playoff game in a neutral city for the low, low price of 40 percent of the gate?
Ricky said:
May 28th, 2009 at 6:29 am
I love the idea that people can’t multitask, especially those in a large organization. I applaud Barton for his efforts in this area. As Republican Congressman he has little to do anyway. In the current position of his party he isn’t going to be able to expend much effort on fixing the economy, since he spent the previous 8 years helping to bring it down.
What this sideshow does reveal is that the bowls need to start throwing some of that ‘charity’ in the direction of Congress if they don’t want to get called out on their fraud and corruption. That said, they must be spending a lot of money on ‘PR’, since sportwriters seem to be mostly in favor of keeping this horrible system in place even though the public at large is in favor of a playoff, bowls be damned.
Uncle Bevo said:
May 28th, 2009 at 7:20 am
One thing you will never hear the BCS whores discuss is what the actual football players want. After all, they only sweat through summer workouts, struggle with a normal student’s classwork (at least at UT), and have their bodies torn apart for our entertainment each Saturday. The vast majority have no hope of playing in the NFL.
To have their fates determined by computer geeks or, worse, corporate weasles must seem like a cheat compared to proving their worth like men on the field of battle.
The only person I’ve ever heard even remotely address this issue is Joe Pa, who commented on how the BCS was “not fair” to the players.
No that ESPN is suckling at the BCS teat, you won’t even hear the word “playoff” much less a serious discussion of the needs and wants of the players who actually play the game.
Hook ‘em.
REBEL REBEL REPUBLICAN said:
May 28th, 2009 at 8:38 am
I agree with you, Taylor, its all “smoke and mirrors”. ESPN-CHARITABLE>>>HUH!But the IRS needs to also start investigating many Christian and Muslim “religious” organisations. They are essentially businesses in disguise. They continue 2 churn out all kinds of excuses as to why they should remain tax-exempt. No way, sorry. That’s the price you pay 4 civilisation. I think some local college games have a minimal economic impact, however. There are those ppl. who are willing to travel to see their college team play. I don’t have the data to back this up, I just know some of my friends from college do this to see the PU Tigers play-and they live in Cupertino,California.
Kafka said:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I am philosophically opposed to congress getting involved in college football and yet…wouldn’t it be great to finally get (for example) an 8 team playoff?
Raven as Partridge (family) said:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Its long overdo, Kafka. Tebow would agree!
Bob in Houston said:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Kafka, I’ll take it however I can get it.
HenryJames said:
May 29th, 2009 at 10:53 am
No politics.
Black Scholes said:
May 29th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Thank you.
Huckleberry said:
May 29th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
You’re an idiot. If you think the posters here are all or even mostly liberal-leaning, you’re an ignorant moron. And I bet you wouldn’t know what real conservative ideology was if it bit you in your worthless ass.
Stoops said:
May 29th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Did someone say cocksicle?
Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin said:
May 29th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Huck only operates full cocked.
No scritti politti.
the Bobs said:
May 30th, 2009 at 9:27 am
and not to skirt the edges of political commentary, but when I look at Congress, I think we’re all going to be better off if they quit trying to work on truly important things and concentrate on stuff like the BCS…
Let’s face it, the odds of them doing great and lasting damage to whatever they put their minds to are about 1:1. And let’s also face it, even THEY cannot screw up the BCS/College Football “MNC” process very much worse than the nimrods who are in charge of that process right now…