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MIKE CUMMINGS: Lawsuit may be the answer for fixing that big mess called BCS
Michael CummingsSo, government officials in Utah are thinking about throwing their weight behind an effort to get their beloved Utes crowned the best football team in all the land.
Utah was, after all, 13-0 this season and capped the year with a 31-17 victory over an uninterested Alabama squad in the Sugar Bowl.
So what the heck, let’s all sue the Bowl Championship Series to get Utah its due reward. Nothing like a class action lawsuit to brighten up this overwhelmingly gray January.
Nevermind that none of us really cared about any of this back when Boise State went undefeated in 2006 and beat Oklahoma in what was probably the game of the century so far.
But, really, what does it matter? While we’re here, let’s also include in our demands a clause that splits the 2004 title three ways among USC, Utah and Auburn.
Remember Auburn? Oh, and remember USC, too? Just the other night, their quarterback — not to mention the television analysts and head coach Pete Carrol — claimed nobody in the country could beat the Trojans this year.
(Bringing up Sept. 25 in Corvallis, Ore., is now illegal — didn’t you get the memo?)
So don’t forget to add them to our lawsuit. Plenty of media members have anointed the Trojans as the team with the biggest beef against the BCS.
And don’t forget the Longhorns from Texas, either. On Monday night, after coming back to beat a decidedly average Ohio State team, Longhorns coach Mack Brown announced he’d be voting Texas No. 1 in the coaches’ poll — even if it is technically against the rules.
But hey, that’s exactly what Kyle Whittingham, Utah’s post-Urban Meyer answer to, well Urban Meyer, said after the Utes’ pasting of Alabama.
So, let’s get all of this straight: Utah deserves to win the national championship, and its coach will vote as such, because it was the only undefeated team in the country. And furthermore, the BCS is a big, bad bully because Utah is at a financial disadvantage — forget that $17 million they pocketed for appearing in the Sugar Bowl — since it wasn’t invited to the title game.
Meanwhile, USC also deserves to win the national championship because no one, apparently, can beat the Trojans this season — except, of course, Oregon State, which did so in September.
And yet, Texas also deserves to win the national championship, and its coach, too, will vote as such, because it beat Oklahoma on a neutral site and Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Clearly, none of us want the actual BCS Championship game winner, either Oklahoma or Florida, to be crowned national champion.
Let’s all vote for Vanderbilt.
Madness, I know. But as crazy as the whole lawsuit thing sounds, it might just be exactly what it takes to get people to re-think the lunacy that decides college football’s national champion.
And if it does, I say sign me up for jury duty.
Michael Cummings can be reached by e-mail at michaelc@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 258.
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Top-ranked Bearcats feel same old blues on road in Russellville
Four turnovers. Two missed field goals. Several blown assignments.
Not many teams can survive that many miscues in the playoffs. Top-ranked Cullman found that out Friday night, getting upended 42-14 at No. 5 Russellville in the Class 5A quarterfinals. -
Top-ranked Bearcats feel same old blues on road in Russellville
Four turnovers. Two missed field goals. Several blown assignments.
Not many teams can survive that many miscues in the playoffs. Top-ranked Cullman found that out Friday night, getting upended 42-14 at No. 5 Russellville in the Class 5A quarterfinals. -
PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Eagles hold on, defeat Holly Pond in nailbiter
Late in the fourth quarter Friday night, just before a couple of big free throws, Cold Springs High girls basketball coach Tammy West pulled aside Georgia Myrex for a quick pep talk.
Except for one thing: When West placed both hands on top of her star player’s head, it looked a little more like some kind of crunch-time benediction.
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CULLMAN FOOTBALL: Top-ranked Bearcats return to Russellville looking for revenge — one year later
Behold the power of three.
Heading into its Class 5A quarterfinal tonight at Russellville, Cullman High’s football team has already avenged two of its three losses from the 2008 season.
In week six, the Bearcats beat Erwin 42-16 to avenge a 25-20 loss from last season. And in week eight, Cullman downed Mountain Brook 28-13 to get revenge for last year’s 49-34 defeat.
Guess who the third target is. -
TALKIN' PREPS: Looks like more basketball parity this season
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AUBURN FOOTBALL: Washington may be playing himself into job as kick returner
The road to success has been long for Demond Washington.
Just about as long as his big return last weekend against Georgia.
With his Auburn Tigers trailing 24-17 in the fourth quarter this past Saturday, Washington took a Bulldogs kickoff at his own 1-yard line, weaved in and out of traffic and sped all the way to the end zone for a 99-yard touchdown. -
CULLMAN FOOTBALL: Versatile Adams fills multiple roles in Cats’ offense
Connor Adams has worn several labels over the past 15 months.
Starting running back, injured reserve, H-back, Wildcat quarterback, fill-in running back — those all fit the bill.
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Blessed. -
PREP BASKETBALL: Raiders give Hulsey family bragging rights
Tristan Hulsey didn’t hear a congratulatory yell from his father when he made a layup to give West Point High a one-point advantage heading into halftime.
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