Bowl selections are in. The BCS committee has made its selections, and, like everybody predicted, Oregon got screwed. But since sports media seems to have exhausted the “Notre Dame is unworthy” argument, at least for this year, we can concentrate our attention on the loudest chorus in the land: finally, the BCS got one right.
When you look at the USC/Texas Championship Game, it’s hard not to agree with Pat Forde on today’s ESPN.com home page: the BCS system has managed to produce interesting, compelling games with the guarantee of an undisputed national champion.
It’s the same argument put forward by Dennis Dodd at Sportsline, who notes that, just in advance of Wednesday’s congressional hearings on the BCS, the selection committee has gussied itself up nicely. And it’s the same chorus heard in city papers from around the country: finally, the BCS got it right, if only for one year.
We will be curious to note the tone and extent of media coverage of these congressional hearings, especially given the tidal wave of support for the BCS system this particular year. More, obviously, as the week unfolds.
A notable exception to the BCS bandwagon the New York Times, whose editors just couldn’t quite manage to get behind the bandwagon. The headline, one of our better backhanded compliments: “Irish Get Rich, and the BCS Gets Off Easy.”
The Times points out something worth noting: the substantial paycheck earned with a BCS bid is generally divided among conference members. Unaffiliated Notre Dame shares that money with nobody.
On TV, SportsCenter can’t help but remind you that the entire cycle of BCS games will be aired on ESPN and ABC. Likewise, David Barron at the Houston Chronicle caught ESPN anchor Rece Davis calling the Outback Bowl the most prestigious non-BCS bowl. If by “prestigious” he means “the only other bowl game on ABC,” then he’s right. Otherwise, as Barron suggests, he might be a bit underinformed.
Finally, a factoid worth planting: the traditional slate of January 1 Bowls will all occur on January 2. Because of the NFL. It’s good to be King.
We Are Tired of Leading With This Story, So …
On Saturday, The Dallas Morning News ran an interview with Michael Irvin’s “friend,” he to whom the “drug paraphernalia” supposedly belonged. The friend, who remains anonymous, has confirmed Irvin’s story, lending further credibility to Irvin’s side of the story.
In the meantime, ESPN’s suspension of Irvin apparently includes a suspension of Irvin-related news. ESPN has not picked up the Morning News story; as Irvin’s innocence becomes more and more evident, ESPN pushes him further and further away, leading to reasonable speculation that he will never again sit behind a desk at Bristol. This despite today’s report that Monday Night Countdown’s ratings are up dramatically for the year, including last week’s blockbuster broadcast.
So the network just doesn’t feel like stepping up for its employee, even one who has been a significant ratings success. Does Bristol really feel that violated by Irvin’s delay in telling them of the arrest, or do they just not feel like dealing with the (relatiavely minor) PR smear that the arrest left in its wake?
Football? Somebody Say Football?
Lots of big love for the Chiefs, Giants, Bengals, and Panthers today. KC’s win over Denver yesterday earned the lead on ESPN.com this morning, and big-time SportsCenter coverage. Meanwhile, the Giants’ defense has been the subject of raves by Michael Smith, Clark Judge, and both The Times and Newsday.
The Panthers knocked off Atlanta yesterday, and fully contained Michael Vick, earning them lauds on both ESPN and Sportsline, and the strange assertion by Rick Spielman that Atlanta will remain the team to beat given Vick’s level of play. Which was not good. So, your guess is as good as mine.
And everybody loves the Bengals. Yesterday Cincy’s least favorite son clinched a winning record for the first time in … well … maybe Deadspin put it best: “Realize: A baby born the last time the Bengals made the playoffs probably had sex over the weekend.” And we can tell that it’s paining the media execs to have to lead with a Cincy team that hasn’t exactly built up the world’s highest Q-rating over the past decade. Nevertheless, Pasquerelli’s on the story, and the Fox editors lead with it for Adam Schein’s weekly round-up.
One wonders how much more attention they would get if CJ had gotten to do his promised touchdown dance.
Weekend Roundup
Tom Brady is Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. As far as we can tell, this just an excuse for Peter King to produce even more content – maybe the caffeine is getting to him. And it comes despite some notable alternative suggestions, including an excellent piece on Thierry Henry’s stand on racism in soccer, and a truly bizarre case for Drew Rosenhaus.
Chris Berman screwed up the weekly top 10 last night on SportsCenter. Instead of fixing it for the morning’s broadcasts, ESPN just axed the top 10 from today’s reruns. We would love to be able to track, more precisely, just exactly how those late SC’s change from evening to morning; this can’t be the only example.
And so beginneth the countdown to Codebreakers, airing this Saturday after the Heisman ceremony. Which is odd, because ESPN commentators increasingly refer to the Heisman race as a foregone conclusion. So, not exactly doing a good job of selling the broadcast, are we? And if you just need to kill some more time, check out TheFutonCritic’s chart of ESPN Original Movies coming down the pipe.
I suppose I can’t complain, it’s not like I’m not going to watch.
Tomorrow: we countdown to the World Cup Draw on Thursday, and check to see if ESPN cares. |
Daily Digest 
