• Sexy soccer WAG Danielle Lloyd gets laid out in a bloody nightclub brawl.

• The real big racing news from this weekend: Danica Patrick’s new GoDaddy commercial, complete with a cop who keeps losing her clothes.

• Quite a memorable Memorial Day - Jose Canseco gets mauled in his MMA debut, while Mr. T mauls “Take Me Out To The Ballgame“.

• Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter is in “extremely critical condition” after accidentally strangling herself on a treadmill cable.

• Maybe new Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor can clean up baseball’s current mess. She has taken on MLB before.

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College football fans don’t agree on much. You’ve got your Michigans versus your Ohio States, your Floridas versus your Georgias, and your Notre Dames versus, well, everyone. One thing pretty much everybody agrees on, though, is that the BCS in its current format is a woefully corrupt system that needs revamping in some way shape or form.

The problem, of course, is the money involved - big schools, TV networks, and sponsors all make a killing out of the postseason farce that is the BCS. Not that they’d admit it, though. At congressional hearings this month, the BCS representatives in attendance claimed (under oath and with a straight face, no less) that the money in the college bowl scam goes to charity. YAHOO! SPORTS called BS and the results are pretty damning, as in, criminally damning.

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A few months ago, we learned that ESPN is taking over the television rights for all of the BCS games starting in 2011 (the games at the end of the 2010 season). And Brooks has theorized that ESPN’s acquisition of the games will actually help make a college football playoff a reality.

(Is the Brennaman-Tebow love affair coming to a premature end?)

Now, FOX — the lame-duck broadcaster for the games with one year left on its contract — is reportedly prepared to let ESPN take over a year early for the right price. Because the “national championship” game is going to be played at the Rose Bowl, ESPN already owns the rights to the game in addition the regular Rose Bowl game. So that means FOX would be stuck with two OK games and then a ratings-killer along the lines of Virginia Tech-Cincinnati. And unless Florida misses out on the title game, we wouldn’t get to hear Thom Brennaman gush about his bromance with Tim Tebow anyway.

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Remember how Barack Obama promised he would use some of the resources and goodwill of the Office of the President to work towards a college football playoff system?  Remember how he reiterated it on “60 Minutes”? Remember how those that make their money at the teat of the college bowl system giggled like snide schoolgirls at the notion that anyone, including the leader of the free world, could upset their golden apple cart?

ESPN has entered the fray and would like everyone to remember just who keeps the warm bathing green-like-money-tinted lights on around this here BCS now and they don’t mind that bowl system at all. Dave Bowen, the VP of programming at ESPN, told the MOBILE PRESS-REGISTER that “… the next four-year cycle is done, so a playoff is not a consideration at this point.” Hmmm … how long is a term of office for the President?
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Florida Congressman Cliff Stearns has a big problem. The representative of the Gainsville district is, appropriately, a die-hard Florida fan who is desperate to watch Thursday night’s BCS Championship Game between his beloved Gators and Oklahoma. Like most people, he usually would be able to … except that his job is getting in the way: Congress is certifying the results of the Electoral College’s official vote on the presidential election right about the time the game kicks off in Miami.

(Not pictured: Stearns’ “I Heart Tebow” t-shirt)

According to the ASSOCIATED PRESS, via THE SPORTING BLOG, Stearns has come up with a solution: Just delay the vote for everyone! Stears has officially sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi requesting a night recess and rescheduling of the vote to allow members to , “attend this historic game.” Here’s your spoiler alert: Stearns was the only congressman to sign the petition.

That’s right folks, Cliff Stearns thinks that college football is more important than certifying the leader of the free world … after arguably as significant election as this country has ever had … in the middle of a massive recession. Take note Barack Obama: This is the man that the state of Florida trusts with defining its priorities?

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We know that universities spend an inordinate amount of money on their revenue athletic programs, on things like ridiculous salaries for football coaches, stadium renovations, and state-of-the-art practice facilities. But now schools are dumping more and more money into tutoring and other “academic services” for athletes. Many programs are spending well over $1 million per year on such things, further calling into question the “student” part of student-athlete.

In other words, not only are you now getting a free education, but you’re also getting free help to accomplish what normal students are expected to do on their own. And tutoring means different things to different people. At the University of Minnesota, it once meant actually writing papers for players. At many public universities now, your tax money is going to fund elaborate facilities solely designed to help athletes with their classwork. Are BCS athletic departments turning into diploma mills?

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• Why tune in to the Las Vegas Bowl this Saturday? I got six words for ya: David Hasselhoff sings the national anthem.

Any chance to elect Gary Coleman as Grand Marshal of the Las Vegas Bowl parade?

• Stephon Marbury shows up courtside for the Knicks-Lakers game, after all - not on the bench, but in some pricey seats.

• Brian Giles is slapped with a $10 million domestic abuse lawsuit. Is it true? Let’s go to the videotape.

• Tony Dorsett’s nephew can score you some coke stronger than anything Mean Joe Greene tosses.

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I mourn the loss of another wonderful college football season, which was full of so many compelling games and storylines this year. But the season is now over for me, as the BCS bowl system has turned all postseason games save one into a meaningless, laughable endeavor.

(DUMBASS: Coaches Assoc. Pres. “laughed out loud” at Obama’s playoff suggestion)

That wouldn’t be true for all of us if there was some semblance of a playoff system, which has been resisted by power drunk dinosaurs like Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delany and Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen all these years. And even though every single coach in college football has said he wants a playoff, the man who leads their coaches association, the rapidly-fossilizing Grant Teaff, says he still opposes a playoff and “laughed out loud” when he heard Barack Obama suggest that a playoff was a good idea.

Now with ESPN committing to a five-year deal to broadcast BCS Bowl Games beginning in 2011, the chance of a playoff system being implemented looks, on the surface, even dimmer. But don’t be fooled, things are going to change. And soon.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the economic meltdown and subsequent government bailouts in the past month, laws, rules and contracts are made to be broken - as long as there’s the perception that it’s in the public’s best interest. When I see, hear and read about the college football playoff debate, the details always bog down the discussion. Those details mainly being TV contracts held by the BCS game rights holder.

Obama speaking out about a playoff changed the rules though, and all bets could be off if he and/or Congress got involved. Between that and politically adroit sports media behemoth ESPN soon taking over the rights,  I think we will see the NCAA adopt an 8-team playoff for college football beginning in 2011. Read more…

• Before he begins his senior season, should Tim Tebow follow God’s work in the Philippines, or stay a god in Gainesville?

• All 34 bowl games are now squared away. I was really worried about who would get invites to the PapaJohns.Com Bowl.

• One ESPN.com contestant’s Streak for the Cash reaches 25 games - and $1 million dollars!

• Blimey! Could we really see a U.S. pro team in London within 3 years?

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ESPN’s master plan to slowly take over every televised sporting event is meeting some resistance in the form of the National Association of Broadcasters. It wasn’t such a big deal when ESPN announced it would show the entire British Open from now on, but the NAB is a bit concerned about ESPN’s deal with the BCS, which starts next season.

The NAB is saying that ESPN’s deal with the BCS disenfranchises about 20 million mostly poor and/or elderly TV viewers who don’t have cable or satellite service. And I guess the poor shouldn’t have to decide between paying the rent and watching Tim Tebow.

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