Another round of Musical Chairs has begun in NCAA college football's conference playground. I recently tweeted about the fact that the Western Athletic Conference, with 16 teams for a few seasons, was the first Super Conference. Things definitely seem to be moving in that direction. For right now, the race seems to be on to see which of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences can successfully make it to 12 or 14 teams. The Big Boys at major college football's training table (that's the SEC, the ACC, and the PAC-12) are taking theirs, leaving the other conferences to fight amongst each other for the scraps and try to survive. Here's what's happened, lately:
The Southeastern Conference has taken Texas A&M from the Big 12. The Aggie community had tired of the "One Big Cowboy, nine Little Indians" mentality of the Big 12, where everything favors the University of Texas. So, they took their football and left. The Aggies are a good fit in the SEC, but the moves leaves the SEC with an unwieldy 13 members. Seeing this situation as its opportunity, Missouri has given its chancellor the authority to find a new home for its athletics. The Tigers are expected to apply for SEC membership within days.
The Big 12 had hoped to solve its membership problem by hijacking Texas Christian University. TCU had already made the move from the Mountain West Conference to the Big East, with play to start next season. But, the Big 12, down to nine schools after the departure of Texas A&M, snapped its fingers and the Horned Frogs jumped at the chance to rejoin Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor for conference play. If Missouri leaves for the SEC, the Big 12 will once again be down to nine teams. It might need to go back to 12 teams, just for the sake of survival. The question is whether the top schools the Big 12 might target will still be available.
The Big 12 could get back to actually having 12 members if it added Houston, SMU, and BYU or Boise State, but those same schools are also on the radar of the Big East Conference. The Big East was recently raided (again) for two of its remaining crown jewels, with Pittsburgh and Syracuse bolting for the Atlantic Coast Conference, bringing ACC membership up to 14 teams. That left the Big East with only six football-playing members and there is plenty of gnashing of teeth going on. It's no secret that Connecticut also wants to join the ACC and is dismayed at being left behind. In fact, its women's basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, came right out and blamed Notre Dame for the Big East's woes, stating that if the Fighting Irish had joined the conference for football, Boston College, Virginia Tech, and the University of Miami would never have left!
The Big East is expected to soon add Central Florida and has an application in its hip pocket from East Carolina. After that, it's fair game, with Houston, SMU, Boise State, Army, Navy, and Air Force all being considered for membership. The Big East would also accept Notre Dame for football in a heartbeat. Notre Dame is a Big East member in all other sports.
Many of the schools being talked about as candidates to change conference, now reside in either the Mountain West or in Conference USA. After losing Utah to the PAC-12 and BYU to independence this year, the Mountain West had to add Boise State just to get back to eight members. The departure of Boise State would be another major blow to the conference's hopes of earning an automatic bid for its champion in football's Bowl Championship Series. Comparing its plight with that of C-USA, which has already lost Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida to the Big East (and TCU to the MWC), the Mountain West went into discussions with C-USA about a championship game between the two conferences. What they agreed on is a football-only alliance, including inter-league play.
While it is hoped that the MWC/C-USA champion might be extended a BCS bowl berth, the real reason for this mini-merger is survival. If Boise State and Air Force join the Big East, the MWC would be down to six schools. If Houston, SMU, Central Florida, and East Carolina also went to the Big East, that would restore the BEC to 12 members, but C-USA would only have eight schools left. If that were to take place, Conference USA and the Mountain West might just as well go ahead with a full merger and stand as one 14-team conference. Even if this new league lost a couple of other schools, there would still be 12 remaining members, which would be enough to stage a championship game in football.
This game of conference musical chairs might not stop until the Big Six conferences all have 16 members. That would make a total of 96 schools being big winners, with a chance to play for a national championship in football. Everybody else outside of that group, would be out of luck.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Opening The Door For Bias
You saw the play late in the fourth quarter of last week's NFL game between the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals. Giants QB Eli Manning threw a short completion to WR Victor Cruz in the left flat. Cruz stumbled, put his hand on the ground to steady his balance, then headed upfield to gain yardage.
But, Cruz again lost his footage. In the attempt to advance the ball and move the chains, he slipped and went to the ground. Not touched, Cruz let go of the ball, whereupon the Cardinals defense promptly scooped the ball up, which should have resulted in a victory for the Cardinals.
But, wait... The officials in the game ruled that Cruz had given himself up when he went to the ground, the play was dead at that point, and, with the ruling being a judgment call on the part of the officials, that ruling could not be challenged by Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt.
This was a bad application of a bad rule. I understand that, desiring to keep the league's quarterbacks in serviceable condition, the NFL instituted the "slide rule" so that passers who take off running can give themselves up, without being landed on by a 350-pound defensive lineman. I get that. Also, any player has the right to give himself up. The usual ways this is done are by taking a knee, by calling for a fair catch, or covering a loose ball and not making any attempt to rise.
None of those situations applied to Victor Cruz. If he'd been giving himself up, he could have slid to the ground and covered up when he first stumbled, but he did not give up. He used his hand to re-balance himself. He was fighting to stay upright so that he could gain yardage. When he slipped and went to the ground, he should have covered the football and stayed still until he was touched by a defender or the whistle blew, ending the play. Instead, Cruz immediately rose, letting go of the pigskin. That should have made it the Cardinals' ball. If the officials were blowing their whistles as Cruz was rising, they shouldn't have been. He did not fall because he was giving himself up. He fell because he slipped trying to gain yardage. He may have made the decision to give himself up once he was on the ground, but that was not his intention in going to the ground.
Besides, a smart football player would never have taken a chance like that, jumping up and letting go of the ball without being touched, with the game on the line. You can bet that Cruz heard about his decision to not cover the football from Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin.
Again, I understand the NFL's desire to protect players and prevent injuries, but what happened in this game, really, was silly. Cruz needed to be touched by a defender, for the play to be considered over. He didn't have to be crushed by the defense. That's what unnecessary roughness penalties are for.
The most troubling aspect of of the whole play, to me, is the knowledge that if the situation were entirely reversed and it was a Cardinals player who let the ball go under the same circumstances, the Giants would have been awarded the football. The referee on the field that day would made an announcement that the Cardinals player had been trying to advance the ball in falling to the turf, hadn't been touched, and the ball was still live and recoverable by the Giants.
There really is an East Coast bias in the world of sports and in its coverage by the national media. Can you just imagine the furor that would have arose if the Giants had lost the football on the same type of call? Can you imagine the number of complaints the NFL's league office would have been flooded with? The sports bloggers in the Big Apple would have made out the NFL to be a laughing stock! You would have heard a mid-week announcement this week, that the officials had erred. The rule book would be changed after the season.
The NFL is on a very slippery slope, here. Leaving game-changing calls to the whims of the officials' collective judgment, opens the door for bias to make its presence felt. Ask yourself honestly if there is any way a call like this would have gone against the Giants or the New England Patriots, with a team like the Cardinals or the Jacksonville Jaguars getting the benefit of the doubt. In the NFL, that just doesn't happen.
The bottom line is that the Arizona Cardinals got jobbed in this game. Ken Whisenhunt may have taken the high road and said it shouldn't have come down to that play, but his team should have had the chance to run at least three more plays, run the clock down, and perhaps get a first down and win the game without the New York Giants seeing the ball again. As it was, the Giants wound up winning the football game. They should have had to earn it.
But, Cruz again lost his footage. In the attempt to advance the ball and move the chains, he slipped and went to the ground. Not touched, Cruz let go of the ball, whereupon the Cardinals defense promptly scooped the ball up, which should have resulted in a victory for the Cardinals.
But, wait... The officials in the game ruled that Cruz had given himself up when he went to the ground, the play was dead at that point, and, with the ruling being a judgment call on the part of the officials, that ruling could not be challenged by Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt.
This was a bad application of a bad rule. I understand that, desiring to keep the league's quarterbacks in serviceable condition, the NFL instituted the "slide rule" so that passers who take off running can give themselves up, without being landed on by a 350-pound defensive lineman. I get that. Also, any player has the right to give himself up. The usual ways this is done are by taking a knee, by calling for a fair catch, or covering a loose ball and not making any attempt to rise.
None of those situations applied to Victor Cruz. If he'd been giving himself up, he could have slid to the ground and covered up when he first stumbled, but he did not give up. He used his hand to re-balance himself. He was fighting to stay upright so that he could gain yardage. When he slipped and went to the ground, he should have covered the football and stayed still until he was touched by a defender or the whistle blew, ending the play. Instead, Cruz immediately rose, letting go of the pigskin. That should have made it the Cardinals' ball. If the officials were blowing their whistles as Cruz was rising, they shouldn't have been. He did not fall because he was giving himself up. He fell because he slipped trying to gain yardage. He may have made the decision to give himself up once he was on the ground, but that was not his intention in going to the ground.
Besides, a smart football player would never have taken a chance like that, jumping up and letting go of the ball without being touched, with the game on the line. You can bet that Cruz heard about his decision to not cover the football from Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin.
Again, I understand the NFL's desire to protect players and prevent injuries, but what happened in this game, really, was silly. Cruz needed to be touched by a defender, for the play to be considered over. He didn't have to be crushed by the defense. That's what unnecessary roughness penalties are for.
The most troubling aspect of of the whole play, to me, is the knowledge that if the situation were entirely reversed and it was a Cardinals player who let the ball go under the same circumstances, the Giants would have been awarded the football. The referee on the field that day would made an announcement that the Cardinals player had been trying to advance the ball in falling to the turf, hadn't been touched, and the ball was still live and recoverable by the Giants.
There really is an East Coast bias in the world of sports and in its coverage by the national media. Can you just imagine the furor that would have arose if the Giants had lost the football on the same type of call? Can you imagine the number of complaints the NFL's league office would have been flooded with? The sports bloggers in the Big Apple would have made out the NFL to be a laughing stock! You would have heard a mid-week announcement this week, that the officials had erred. The rule book would be changed after the season.
The NFL is on a very slippery slope, here. Leaving game-changing calls to the whims of the officials' collective judgment, opens the door for bias to make its presence felt. Ask yourself honestly if there is any way a call like this would have gone against the Giants or the New England Patriots, with a team like the Cardinals or the Jacksonville Jaguars getting the benefit of the doubt. In the NFL, that just doesn't happen.
The bottom line is that the Arizona Cardinals got jobbed in this game. Ken Whisenhunt may have taken the high road and said it shouldn't have come down to that play, but his team should have had the chance to run at least three more plays, run the clock down, and perhaps get a first down and win the game without the New York Giants seeing the ball again. As it was, the Giants wound up winning the football game. They should have had to earn it.
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