BCS for BSU?

The Boise State Broncos made their case for a BCS bid last night by drubbing rival Fresno St. 61-10 on the blue turf in Boise. The win sealed the Broncos' second perfect regular season in three years by running their record to 12-0. But is an undefeated season enough to get the Broncos a BCS invite?

Probably not. Well, not if you play in a non-BCS conference such as the WAC.

The Broncos are currently ranked 9th in the BCS poll. The problem for BSU is that the University of Utah is also undefeated, also plays in a non-BCS conference, and is ranked 6th in the BCS. What are the chances that the BCS would select two non-BCS teams for BCS bowl games?

Highly unlikely.

And BSU fans would certainly cry foul play if the Broncos are snubbed by the BCS. But if the Broncos want to know why they are left out of the BCS party, they need look no further than their schedule.

The WAC conference is weak. Hawaii is down, Fresno St. had a bad year, and Nevada was inconsistent. And the bottom feeders of the WAC, Utah St., New Mexico St., and Idaho, are among the worst teams in major college football. So voters are forced to look at BSU's non-conference schedule. This year the Broncos played Idaho St., Bowling Green, Oregon, and Southern Mississippi, with Oregon being the only ranked team the Broncos faced all year. While BSU has no control over their conference foes, they do have the ability to strengthen their non-confernce schedule. And if the Broncos want BCS consideration, year in and year out, they have to start playing a tougher non-conference schedule. Sure, by playing, and beating, other mid-major schools, BSU increases their likelihood of going undeafeted. But BSU is an excellent program. And they need to start playing tougher competition, even if it puts a perfect season at risk.

The Broncos may feel like they are being cheated out of a BCS bowl by the BCS poll, or the coaches poll, or the AP poll. But perhaps they are cheating themselves by not challenging themselves.

Major League?

Most people will agree that, in baseball, pitching is everything. Teams try to stock pile arms; starters, closers, doesn't matter. Want to trade for another teams player? The first thing they'll ask for is your young pitching. What's the value of a good arm? Just look at the deal the Yankees are reportedly offering this year's free agent darling, C.C. Sabathia. And every team is scouring the globe looking for the next potential Cy Young winner.

But the Pittsburgh Pirates have taken their search for good young pitching to another level. On Monday the Pirates signed Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel to free agent contracts. What's interesting about the signing is not that Singh and Patel are the first Indians to sign professional contracts. But Singh and Patel have never played organized baseball--at any level. The duo were part of an Indian reality television show called, "Million Dollar Arm." The goal of the show was to find athletes, in a country with a population topping one billion, who could throw Major League fastballs. Singh and Patel ended up as the top hurlers and came to the United States to audition for major league scouts. Singh's heat was clocked at 84 mph and Patel's at 90 mph. And while the Pirates acknowledge that the two pitchers are raw, they must see something in the two. Otherwise, this is a publicity stunt usually relegated to AA baseball clubs.

And this is why the whole thing reeks. The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball team, one with a rich history. They have won the World Series five times, the last one coming in 1979 and they were one out away from winning the NL pennant in 1992.

But their recent history has shown that this is not a good ball club. The 2008 campaign found the Pirates ending the season with a 67-95 record and 30.5 games back of the division winning Chicago Cubs. The last time the Pirates finished a season above .500 was in 1992. That's a lot of years with a lot of losing. And the future looks pretty bleak for Pittsburgh fans. The team traded their two best players last year (Jason Bay and Xavier Nady).

Now they are signing reality show contestants to contracts. I understand that smaller market teams are not going to be signing the top tier free agents. They will need to develop their talent in the farm system. But this signing is, at best, a terrible PR stunt. Is this what you are going to sell your fans who are sick and tired of losing? Is this the talent that their scouts are finding: two guys who throw (sort of) hard, although they've never played a game of baseball in their lives? Do you really expect fans to show up to your games?

While most of the Pirate players don't seem to be ready for the big leagues, Pirate management certainly has shown that they aren't either; sixteen straight losing years and countless more to come. Which leads me to question the validity of the Pittsburgh Pirates' major league status. Are they a major league ball club or simply a AAAA team?

OU Romps!

College football's game of the week turned out to be the beat-down of the year as the Oklahoma Sooners absolutely destroyed the second ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech on Saturday night in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners won the game 65-21.

Oklahoma dominated the game. QB Sam Bradford threw for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns and the Sooners ran for 299 yards. The Sooner defense held the vaunted Red Raider offense in check and forced three turnovers.

But was it good enough to put the Sooners into the national championship picture? It is premature conversation considering that the Sooners still have to play a tough Oklahoma St. team. But, where should the Sooners be in the BCS standings?

Obviously, Alabama will stay at the top spot. But the big question is who is number two? Three teams will lay claim to the spot, and all have a right to that claim. Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma. Florida is a one-loss team in the tough SEC. Texas is a one-loss team in the tough Big 12, and perhaps hold the trump card with a victory over Oklahoma earlier in the year. Oklahoma is a one-loss team in the tough Big 12, but trounced the team that gave Texas their only loss.

So, who should get that second ranking?

Florida is probably the hottest team in the country. And Texas does have that defeat over Oklahoma. But the way the Sooners demolished Texas Tech last night (the previous number 2 team), I have to give it OU. Sam Bradford probably put himself at the top of the Heisman list. DeMarco Murray is a stud. And the defense showed it's mettle by shutting down Texas Tech. The way I see it: 1. Alabama 2. Oklahoma 3. Texas 4. Florida.

BUT...

There is still a lot of football left to play this year.

Pedroia Wins A.L. MVP

Dustin Pedroia added some more hardware to his collection of post-season awards today. The Boston Red Sox second baseman won the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player. The 2007 AL Rookie of the Year adds the '08 MVP to his 2008 Gold Glove award and Silver Slugger award. But the MVP award tops the list of what was a break-out season for Pedroia.

The diminutive (5'9" 180lb) slugger put up huge offensive numbers for the Red Sox. He ranked first in the American League in runs (118) and doubles (54) and was second in the league in batting average (.326). He also socked 17 home runs, drove in 83 runs, and had a .376 on base percentage. Pedroia also played stellar defense at second base.

With 16 first place votes and 317 points overall, Pedroia comfortably defeated Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau (257) and Boston's first baseman Kevin Youkilis (201). Pedroia is also the first second baseman to win the American League's MVP since the Chicago White Sox Nellie Fox won the award in 1959.

The award was well deserved for Pedroia. He's a hard-nosed, tough player who goes all out on every play. Have you ever seen the guy not run out a routine ground ball? He provides a spark at the top of the Red Sox lineup, batting in the second position. In fact, manager Terry Francona moved Pedroia all over the lineup, even batting him clean-up for a period of time while Youkilis, David Ortiz, and Mike Lowell were injured. He's a grinder at the plate, taking pitches, fouling off pitches--he never gives away an at-bat. And not only does he have the offensive statistics and solid glove in the middle of the infield to merit the award, but Pedroia, in only his second year, has emerged as one of the leaders of a veteran ball club. Pedroia's presence in the clubhouse, dugout, and on the field, was, in a word, invaluable. That makes Dustin Pedroia deserving of the MVP award.