College Football Playoff: Will they get it right?

      2014 marks the first year in which a selection committee determines the four college football teams that will vie for the national championship. The committee is made up of Athletic Directors, Vice Presidents, and of course, Condoleezza Rice. These twelve members are faced with the task of selecting the best four programs in the nation to compete for the title. After more than a decade with the horrid BCS deciding who to put in the national championship, the NCAA grew a brain and made it right. Or did they? Let me be transparent in saying that I have no horse in the race, so my analysis is 99% unbiased, only because I attend a Big 12 school.

It's almost a certainty at this point that three of the four teams are already spoken for in the playoff. Alabama, having won the SEC championship with their only loss coming to a very good Ole Miss team, ran through the best conference in the nation in the SEC. They are ranked number one at the moment and deservedly so. Oregon, having won the Pac 12 title and whooping a good Arizona team to avenge their lone loss earlier in the season, is ranked second in the nation. Florida State, winning the ACC championship and having won fifty games in a row, at least it seems like that many, is the only Power 5 conference team to remain undefeated. While FSU has struggled against mediocre competition throughout the year, their conference is underrated and you have to give them the nod for remaining unbeaten.

With these three teams almost a lock, who gets the remaining spot? Most analysts are suggesting that the final ticket will be punched by one of three teams: TCU, Ohio State, or Baylor. Let's take a look at each team's resume:

TCU- The Horned Frogs lone loss came at Baylor, 58-61. Throughout the year, TCU collected wins against K-state, OSU, Oklahoma, Minnesota and against a rising Texas team late in the year. In the loss to Baylor, TCU was up by as much as 17 in the second half before folding and eventually giving the game away.

Ohio State- The Buckeyes lone loss came against a bad Virginia Tech team at home, 35-21. While they did lose a preseason Heisman candidate in Braxton Miller, Ohio State pushed through and eventually claimed three quality wins against Michigan State, Minnesota, and most recently, pummeling Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game 59-0. Yes, they beat #13 ranked Wisconsin like Michael Jackson told them to.

Baylor- The Bears lone loss on the year came at West Virginia, losing 41-27. They racked up quality wins against K-State, Oklahoma, TCU, and Texas. Of the three teams, they do have the weakest non-conference schedule, which the committee will look at closely. However, they are also the only one of these three teams to beat one of the others (TCU).

So what does it all come down to? What deciding factor will make the committee choose one team over the others for the final spot? Well, no one really knows. The committee probably doesn't even know. They have to make the best choice to fill the final spot in the playoff bracket. Whichever team they choose, there is going to be serious backlash from the other schools and fan bases. How can we fix this? I have a solution and it makes sense! Stop laughing, I'm serious.

When they announced that there would be four teams in the first playoff, I thought finally, they got it right. But wait. That's going to be tough deciding the top four teams in the nation. Only four? Why only four? In most years, this year being the most obvious, there are at least four or more teams that are capable of winning the national championship given a chance to compete. This year, teams ranked four through eight include: Baylor, Ohio State, TCU, Michigan State, and Arizona. Now, do I think Michigan State or Arizona can win the national title this year given a chance in a playoff? We're better off believing in a Ryan Leaf comeback. But I do believe that there are six teams capable of winning the title: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, TCU, Baylor and Ohio State, in no particular order. This is why it needs to be eight teams! Some analysts say if you make it eight, you might as well make it sixteen. Negative. There is no way to justify that many teams having a legitimate chance of winning it all. With eight teams, you can capture the teams that have a realistic chance at winning the title and give them their ticket to the dance!

So the million dollar question: Who makes the cut? I'll give you two scenarios. My picks, who I think should be in the playoff, and who I think the committee will choose. Because of course they are different, or this article would be pointless.

My picks:  Florida State, Alabama, TCU, Oregon.  In that order.
Committee Picks: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, Ohio State. In that order.

Here's why the committee picks Ohio State over TCU and Baylor. The Buckeyes just got away with murder in what they did to Wisconsin in the title game. They easily beat down a top 15 team in the nation, in style the night before the selection is to be made. But most importantly, it has nothing to do with what Ohio State did and everything to do with the Big 12. Yes, the Big 12 cost themselves a spot in the annual college playoff. How? By naming TCU and Baylor Co-Champions of the conference. All of the other teams have conference champion on their resume, neither TCU or Baylor can say that. I whole-heartedly believe that if they would have crowned ONE of them a distinct champion, that team would make the playoff. With Ohio State's big win in the conference title game and the vague perception of who the best team in the  Big 12 is, the committee has an out in choosing the Buckeyes. TCU and Baylor are deserving of a chance at the championship, but thanks to a limited playoff and an unexplainable act by the Big 12 conference, they'll have to settle for a bowl game. One year, the NCAA will get it right.. 2014 is not that year.

LeBron - World Cup

We all have that feeling of nostalgia at some point in our lives. We wish for the days of yesteryear not realizing how good the present really is. For LeBron, that moment came this past week. James decided to take his talents back home, to Cleveland. If you're like me, your first thought was "thank God that's over, now let's get back to some Rangers baseball." (Kidding about the Rangers, they are terrible this year. But I will still support them cause you can't be great every year, right Spurs fans? Oh.)

Going back to Cleveland and signing a two year deal for $42 million dollars, or just over what you would make in 25 lifetimes working at a Lowe's, seemed strange at first. However, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the players and the NBA expires in two summers and there are already talks of an impending lockout. By only signing a two year deal, LeKing can put his signature on a max contract under the new CBA. Oh by the way, he can opt out of his current two year contract next summer, so don't be shocked if we hear all about this again in 345 days. However, he has stated that he is committed to staying long term with the Cavs, which is great, because who doesn't want to spend their adult years raising their kids in Cleveland? Oh right, the rest of America. But Cleveland is home for LeBron, no matter how pathetic the streets or industrial industry. He is finally trying to do the right thing by bringing home a championship to Cleveland. Over forty years have passed since the city claimed a title. That's quite a few seasons, just horrible if you ask me. At what point do Cleveland sports fans say 'Ok, we get it. We suck at sports. Let's just stick to rock and roll.' 

            To wrap up free agency in the NBA so far, let's recap: LeBron goes to Cleveland and leaves Bosh and Wade in Miami where they think they actually have a chance without him, stay tuned for the shocking disappointment. Carmelo Anthony stays in New York where he gets the most money, I mean, has the greatest fans in the world. Luol Deng, who is underrated and a really good player, goes to Miami and says I can replace LePrince. Except he can't and Miami gets bounced in round two next year, also stay tuned. Chandler Parsons goes to the Mavericks, where he likes playing with washed up talent and talent that hasn't matured yet. The Rockets sign Trevor Ariza, who will replace Parsons and is actually a great role player for their offense. They won't miss a beat. Of course, everyone had to wait on LeBron to make his 'decision' before they  knew where they were going. A lot of this has been blown out of proportion by ESPN and twitter hashtags, but it sure does make for an interesting summer when your favorite baseball team couldn't beat the Sandlot squad.

Every four years countries from around the world compete in a soccer tournament to claim the title of greatest futbol country in the world.What brings people together more than the World Cup? Religious debate. Just kidding, it's politics, really. So as most of you know, whether you want to or not, the U.S. made it out of the "group of death", only to be bounced out in the opening round of the knockout stage of the tournament. First of all, let's get real America. We were never going to win the World Cup. We love the other kind of football here in the States. While most kids grow up playing in youth soccer leagues, yours truly included, there is not much development of the sport past that age. The sport isn't as easily funded or respected at high schools like basketball or football. We should just go ahead and lower our expectations for 2018, just a thought. But it was a great achievement to make it out of group play, let's give the team that much at least.

   The tournament was the best that I could remember in my lifetime, with great games that included amazing goals and superb passing and ball control. While the games were entertaining, we haven't seen that much flopping since the Spurs and Heat went fishing together. I mean, seriously. I thought Brazil was haunted by ghosts that just wandered onto the field and tripped, punched, and kicked people. You're killing me, Smalls! There was more diving than in the last Olympics. I personally don't follow the sport enough to know why players go to such drastic effort to make it look like they were shot with a .50 cal from a hundred yards out, but whatever helps them win, right? Or does it even help? Who knows? Moving on. Germany beat Argentina in the final, one to zero. The most shocking thing since Jason Collins announced he was gay. We knew. Now we're just waiting on you, Bosh. Argentina had no realistic chance to win. Messi is perhaps the best player in the world, but then who was going to help him? Di Maria was on the bench injured. Germany had their way with Brazil, 7-0, and it wasn't just because Neymar was out. Germany is a great team. Possibly the best team since the Sandlot squad of '93. Well no, Germany didn't have Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez.