House panel passes college football playoff bill

[yorgatron]

Source: Yahoo News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091209/ap_on_sp_ot/us_bcs_congress

WASHINGTON – Dismissing complaints from some members that Congress had more pressing matters, a House subcommittee approved legislation Wednesday aimed at forcing college football to switch to a playoff system to determine its national champion.

"We can walk across the street and chew gum at the same time," said the subcommittee chairman, Illinois Democrat Bobby Rush, one of the bill's co-sponsors. "We can do a number of things at the same time."

The legislation, which still faces steep odds, would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision game as a national championship unless it results from a playoff. The measure passed by voice vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee's commerce, trade and consumer protection subcommittee, with one audible "no," from Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga.

"With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on," Barrow said before the vote, although he stressed he didn't like the current Bowl Championship Series, either.


Read more: House panel passes college football playoff bill

---

:eyes:

[Drunken Irishman]

1. It doesn't matter. It won't go anywhere.

Which sucks.

[catzies]

4. I'd like the House to begin an inquiry into NBA ref Tim Donaghy's allegations

And retroactively strip the '98 Bulls of their rings and award them to the Jazz.

with profuse apologies.

;)

I can dream, can't I?

[jus_the_facts]

36. I wholeheartedly concur...

*dreams on...* :applause:

[NightWatcher]

2. it takes THIS to wake Barrow up?

what a waste of space

-signed A former Barrow constituent.

[mac56]

8. you got that right

signed, another former Barrow constituent

[virgogal]

3. What the helll are they messing around with this for? No wonder

people are disgusted.

[MNDemNY]

5. Great! finally something is done!!!

This was, after all the centerpiece of the Obama Campaign, . Truly a huge victory for the President. Now all that pressure to get a "win" on health care is gone.gobama!!!!!!;) :P The Nation is again safe.

[Newsjock]

6. Do the Democrats really *want* to lose Congress next year?

With comparatively trivial stuff like this, I can't help but wonder.

[Kievan Rus]

26. I'll be stunned if we still have it next year, IMHO.

I hate to be a Chicken Little, but we are all but certainly going to lose some seats next year. I'm especially worried that we're going to lose our local seat of Sen. Arlen Specter to the far-right Pat Toomey.

[classysassy]

51. The american voters

the voters,most of us are damn stupid,but not stupid enough to put the republicans in charge,as if things are bag enough now just think how much more shit we'd be in with those fuckers in charge?.

[Ian David]

7. I dare the Republicans to try and obstruct football. n/t

[SnakeEyes]

9. Do something useful

If they are going to get into sports they have no business dictating to, can they please do something useful? Like force MLS to a single table?

[enlightenment]

10. oooh, wouldn't that be nice!

This cup-style conference stuff is annoying.

[SnakeEyes]

12. Yep, sure is.

Made even worse this year by a sub .500 team winning it all, beating the best two teams on PKs in the semi-finals.

[WriteDown]

11. Please let this end the BCS forever!!!!!!

Obama said he wanted to change college football. Please promote this bill.

[HopeHoops]

13. OBVIOUSLY the most IMPORTANT issue to deal with.

Good fucking grief.

[swilton]

14. Well I'm glad they're taking care of this important issue

Meanwhile Rome is burning!:grr:

[harmonicon]

15. JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!

[bejamin wood]

20. FUCK YOU MORE!!!

Whoohoo! All caps baby.

On a serious note - You have no idea what this is about and how much money is involved keeping the elite, well, elite.

[harmonicon]

22. Oh, I know, I just don't fucking care.

This has - or should have - NOTHING to do with the federal government. The fact that it does shows how completely out-of-touch these stupid motherfuckers in congress are.

[joeglow3]

30. So, you oppose anti-trust legislation?

[harmonicon]

33. no, I oppose the idea that this is a business and/or should have anything to do with the govt.

If it's such a fucking problem, the stupid-ass fans don't have to go to the games or buy the stupid shit affiliated with them. I just don't give a fuck what happens in sports, whether it's baseball players doping, football players shooting themselves, or some stupid league that's supposed to have some educational affiliation being "unfair". I just don't give a shit. Banks are fucking people over, two wars are going on that we started, the economy is worse than it's been since the Great Depression, the US has tacitly supported a coup in our hemisphere, war criminals and terrorists are being given safe haven in our borders, privatized prisons are locking up a historically massive percentage of the population, schools are underfunded, we lack a first-world healthcare system, steps toward saving the environment are not being taken, energy policy is a joke, and THIS is what congress spends its time on. Those fucking bastards would be better serving their country if they went home and shot themselves in the fucking head instead of turning up for this "work".

[joeglow3]

34. So, do we also ignore Microsoft, Walmart and Google?

How many business do we ignore and allow them to continue?

And, I agree that all of those are more pressing issues and need to be addressed. However, we still have other laws that need to be upheld in our country.

[harmonicon]

35. I do ignore Microsoft and Walmart

I don't ignore Google, because I like the service they provide. You can't fix stupid, but if we didn't have stupid people in government, at least the stupid population wouldn't be robbed and slowly killed by corporate interests.

[joeglow3]

41. Well, you may want to watch Google a bit more

They are turning into the Microsoft on the 2000's. And many people in rural America don't have the luxury to avoid Walmart.

[harmonicon]

47. do they have the luxury of ignoring college football?

I went to a Big 10 school and managed to ignore it for 4 years, so I'm pretty sure it's possible.

[WriteDown]

49. That is just sad...

Going to a Big 10 school and ignoring football. Like like going to Peter Luger's and avoiding steak.

[boppers]

53. Google turning into Microsoft?

Google's paying people to not make other search engines available?

What's your contention here, is it just that they're a successful company in a computer field, or do you have specific anti-trust violations you can point to?

[boppers]

52. Do we ignore the Oscars?

Why aren't the Oscars regulated by the federal government?

Maybe because government regulation of silly entertainment awards such as "playoffs" is a stupid waste of time.

[24601]

16. And what provision in the Constitution gives Congress over this?

The founders/framers seem to have left determining who is #1 out of Article I. That would make it up to the States or the People - according to the 10th Amendment anyway.

[marasinghe]

19. i think that would be in the 'bill of rights' ...

... # 1. the inalienable right to make stupid fucking asses of themselves, while real people are dying in the streets.

[Romulox]

37. The Interstate Commerce Clause gives the Congress virtually plenary jurisdiction over every aspect

of American life. The excepts are too few (and too specific) to be meaningful.

[tomm2thumbs]

17. You gotta love their priorities - god forbid they do anything about crime,poverty, jobs so fast

it would be an outrage

[OhioChick]

18. Guess there are no pressing issues at hand. n/t

[daleo]

21. Outlaw the designated hitter too

And bring back the two line offside.

[PfcHammer]

23. Prolly cuz the way Texas got jammed up last year

this tells you how much game Texas got. hook 'em ;)

[tammywammy]

32. Barton takes this up b/c TCU gets the shaft n/t

[Telly Savalas]

24. THANK GOD IT PASSED!!!!

[JonLP24]

25. It goes after promotion, marketing, and advertising

Basically what they are saying is they can't call it a "Championship or National Championship" unless it is the final game "of a single elimination post-season playoff system for which all NCAA Division I FBS conferences and unaffiliated Division I FBS teams are eligible." Rush also added an amendment to avoid the loophole of calling it the "Big Game" or something like that.

However a single elimination post-season could be interpreted as they already have one but it involves just two teams. Even if interpreted differently it doesn't end playoffs. It just says they can't call it a 'championship game'.

With money involved then that makes the BCS a business which this subcommittee has every right and should get involved. This originally passed by a voice vote in the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection which is a subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. However I don't think this bill is as effective as some think it is.

[ProudDad]

27. Payoff???

Oh, I thought you said Payoff bill...

I thought, "Shit, isn't it enough that the damn taxpayer has to pay for the fucking NFL's minor leagues?"

[bamacrat]

28. Congress does have more important things to deal with.

First of all there has never been a CFB playoff, though it would be awesome and would generate shit loads of money for the corporate masters. But, this isnt like baseball or basketball where these STUDENTS can play a game every other night, once a week is about it and sometimes thats a stretch. I like the bowls and think they could be incorporated into the playoffs.
The top 6 conferences champions would get automatic bids and there would be two at large. But people would still bitch and moan.
SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10, Big East, ACC would all get auto bids then the other two could have your TCUs and Boise St. or Cincinnati. But this isnt going to happen in the next five years. Eventually but not soon.

[New Dawn]

29. Meanwhile, 45,000 Americans are killed by our private "health care" system each year.

[WriteDown]

31. This thread is hilarious...

People complaining that Congress cannot do multiple things at once while they are wasting time posting on the internet. Shouldn't everyone be writing their congreesman with EVERY free moment? :rofl:

[Romulox]

38. It's something that they have no business being involved with.

:hi:

[WriteDown]

40. I consider it anti-trust legislation...

Especially since we're talking about huge sums of money that are used to keep certain schools in power. But its always an interesting discussion.

[Romulox]

42. What is the anti-competitive issue at play? The BCS is stupid, but how is it a scam, in other words

A playoff system would probably result in more stratification of NCAA football, not less--there just isn't anything approaching parity throughout the various programs around the country.

So one playoff wouldn't really work--you need multiple playoffs, multiple champs, perhaps an "inter league" champ, etc. etc. But all of this misses the point--this is really none of Congress' concern.

[WriteDown]

43. Let's go to ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3814472

And how the playoff could work

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-playoff112707

[Romulox]

45. Thanks for the link. The lawsuit has no merit.

The playoff system described is pretty crappy. By automatically forwarding the "champions" of all 11 conferences doesn't do a think to end complaints like the one in the first link--what it means is that the #2 team in the most competitive conference in the league sits home while the "champion" of the weakest conference gets a playoff run.

[WriteDown]

46. I would argue the opposite...

that the lawsuit has merit, but its opinion. There are tons of other ideas out there. The problem is that part of the reason the best conference is the best is due to the BCS and getting lucrative bowls year after year.

[Ignis]

39. "Rome's burning? Get my fiddle!"

Bold, bold legislation over this important issue, delivered just in time for a populace that is truly suffering and in need of aid from their elected representatives.

[mvd]

44. I agree with a 16-team playoff, because then..

maybe teams like Boise State would get a chance to prove themselves. Not the most important issue, however.

[24601]

48. Hey Congress - since you're on a roll on this crap that's none of your

fucking business, who not go all the way? Let's trash the 1st Amendment in the process. Why don't you

- prohibit peacefully assembling to watch any game Congress doesn't sanction?
- outlawing praying that your team wins?
- prohibit the press from reporting any scores Congress hasn't approved in advance?

Quit worrying about this shit and do your jobs! There may be some pockets left for you to pick or some liberties to curtail.

[kestrel91316]

50. Wasting their time on B fricking S.

[marshall]

54. There's nothing more important than football to most people

Especially this time of year.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

55. 2 to tango.

W/o a corresponding Senate bill it's pointless to post these stories.