First - McGwire not voted in to the Hall. Eh. Ok. Probably deserved a few more votes, but not really a story unless, 15 years from now, he’s still not in. Then me and the BWWAA will have words. (BTW, is there a more ridiculous acronym out there?) There are known cheaters, racists, and liars in the Hall, but because they contributed so much to the history, lore, and fun (that horrible, horrible f-word) to the game there’s little debate about the propriety of that. McGwire made the game fun for casual fans, and helped bring it back from the brink after the Players’ Strike in the early 90’s. Plus he’s got the numbers to satisfy the guys who never bother watching a game but count every hair on the head of Cal Ripken and determine the statistical significance of that number to his success as a player. Mark should be in, eventually. Like it or not, he is a significant contributor to the history of the game.
More interesting: Canseco only got, what, 5 or 6 votes? Out of 578 or so cast! Not even enough for 1%, much less the 5% required to stay on the ballot. This one fills me with mirth. And disgust with the 5 or 6 writers who actually cast a vote on the most ridiculous of the Bash Brothers (ball bouncing off head for home-run, anyone?)
Second - Florida crushing Ohio State for the "championship." If you need more evidence that the "experts" know less about predicting football than I know about advanced theoretical physics, I give you USC trouncing Michigan. And Boise State beating Oklahoma.
More interesting: Speaking of Boise State, it’s great that this team that I’ve rooted for for years is being mentioned as a participant in "possibly the greatest game ever played," or at least "the greatest ending ever," and at very least "the best bowl game this year." Also, it’s a shame that only one voter in the AP poll had the cohones to vote Boise State #1. C’mon, guys, you know BSU wasn’t going to overtake Florida, so couldn’t a few more of you have thrown a bone to the ONLY undefeated team out of 119 D-1A schools? Equal tragedy: the polls not voting BSU #2.
I say: if you win every game AND a BCS game, and no other team wins every game, you’re my national champion, because no one will ever objectively prove to me that this Boise State team would lose, while I can point to at least one instance of (a) superior strategy, (b) superior play, or (c) superior luck going to the other team for every team in the country not called Boise State. OK - I’ll accept for the moment that there’s a BCS, and the BCS champion probably deserves to be #1 under this system. Solution? Boise State should be #2. Good job, "experts" (not counting, of course, the coaches that let their ball-boys cast their votes in the Coach’s poll - keep it up boys!)
