A lost decade on the good ship Mariner

The Mariners could be looking up at the rest of the AL West for years.

In my lifetime, I've had very little to cheer about as a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The last time the Bucs won was 1992 and things ended in bitter fashion.

But I can say with solace it's probably worse to be a fan of the Seattle Mariners.

With a payroll trending in the upper-crust of MLB, Seattle should see the right side of .500 nearly every year. That's been the exception, not the rule. And as things played out this year the M's were the only other team, aside from Pittsburgh, to lose 100 games or more.

It's been a downward spiral at Safeco Field this decade.

In 2001, the Mariners won a record 116 games but failed to make it to the World Series. The next two years Seattle would finish with 93 wins, but miss the playoffs.

Skip ahead to 2008, the M's would earn the dubious distinction of becoming the first team in history to lose 100 games with a $100 million payroll. And by season's end in 2010, Seattle was experiencing its second 101-loss season in the past three years.

Expectations were unrealistically high entering this year. After 85 W's developing an identity as a defensive team in 2009, the Mariners went all in trying to stop runs, adding an aging Chone Figgins and trading for pitcher Cliff Lee. What the team failed to address in the 2010 off-season was its offensive.

Ex-manager Don Wakamatsu told ESPN Magazine he was surprised by the Mariners 24-game turnaround in 2009, because they had the worst offense in the American League. It didn't get any better in 2010.

Seattle had the worst offensive in all of baseball: 30th in batting average, slugging and runs. The team actually scored the fewest runs (513) for any AL team in a full season since the designated hitter arrived.

Some other humorous and dysfunctional moments that derailed the 2010 campaign: the report of Ken Griffey Jr. sleeping the clubhouse during a game, Griffey's abrupt retirement in June and a dugout fight between a slumping Figgins and Wakamatsu in late July.

It's hard to put a finger on exactly why Seattle's slumped in the standings this decade. But you can point one of those big foam fingers at the front office.

They haven't been able to recognize good talent when it's in the farm system (Shin-Soo Choo, Rafael Soriano). And for every big free-agent decision that worked out (like Raul Ibanez), there's three or four that failed miserably (Richie Sexson, Jeff Weaver, Miguel Batista, Carlos Silva).

Maybe their biggest blunder in this lost decade, was a five-for-one trade which sent outfielder Adam Jones and pitchers George Sherrill, Tony Butler, Chris Tillman and Kameron Mickolio to Baltimore for Erik Bedard.

Bedard has only started 30 games in three years for the M's, while Jones has developed into a solid everyday outfielder for the O's and at age 25 is likely just coming into his prime.

Seattle has holes everywhere, especially on the field. With limited financial flexibility and very few promising prospects there is little hope in the near future.

The Seattle Mariners are writing its own history of futility and its possible another lost decade is about to begin in 2011.

The call for MLB replay intensifies

Maybe you missed it, but Tim Lincecum pitched a 14 strikeout, two-hit gem for the San Francisco last night. It started the Giants off on the right track for what they hope will be a meaningful October run.

Using Bill James' Game Score formula, Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski says Lincecum's performance was better than Philadelphia pitcher Roy Halladay's no-hitter, just the second postseason no-hitter ever.

But maybe you did miss it, because most of what people have been talking and writing about today are the blown calls by umpires. It's becoming an October sport in its own right.

In the Giants game, catcher Buster Posey was clearly out on replay trying to steal second base in the fourth inning. He ended up scoring the game's only run for San Fran.

In Tampa, first base umpire Jerry Meals missed a check-swing call which gave Texas Ranger Michael Young a chance to keep hitting, which he did. Instead of a strike out, Young smashed a three-run homer to give Texas a commanding five run lead. Rays fans started chanting "replay".

Maybe it would have had an impact, maybe not. We'll never know, since Tampa Bay seems to have forgotten how to hit with just eight in two games in postseason.

And in Minnesota, the Twins had misgivings about balls and strikes too. Same song different verse as New York's Lance Berkman should've been called out on a third strike, and instead struck on the scoreboard with a go-ahead double. Yahoo Sports Jeff Passan wrote home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt's strike zone would've been bad for a Little League game.

Calls this year for more instant replay in baseball have been loud ever since June, when Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga got robbed of a perfect game. In the postseason, so far people seem more focused on bad calls then the great performances.

Call me old school, but I still haven't warmed to the idea of more instant replay.

Back in August, ESPN's Outside the Lines reviewed every call, with the exception of balls and strikes, for two weeks. Of the plays they deemed "close" 20.4 percent were found to be incorrect, 65.7 percent were confirmed as correct and 13.9 percent were too close to call.

That shows even with replay umpires are still needed.

If Major League Baseball decides to expand replay, and unfortunately I think they will, they need to go all in. A lot of the critics calling for more replay argue the objective is to get the call right. The technology exists for electronic balls and strike calls and they should do it, along with fair or foul calls and close plays on the bases.

I think any additions to replay will take the humanity out of the game. Maybe the humanity is already gone, if all people are interested in is their favorite pastime, complaining about the umps.

Baseball losses the 'Big Mo' in October

One week into autumn, we're about to turn the page on September, and yet the "Fall Classic" isn't even close to getting underway.

Major League Baseball, unlike its football counterpart, is a marathon not a sprint. But that marathon is finishing well past the point where anyone can remember summer. People aren't tuning in, and aren't getting excited about the pennant races.

SI.com's Tom Verducci wrote at the beginning of the month "for the second straight September, baseball offers the resistance of a lack of pennant races and national narratives." Verducci thinks there are too few teams competing for a just couple playoff spots come September. Why his fix is interesting, adding a second wild card entrant, there's a problem with his premise.

Baseball is taking too long to play its season.

Yes, most of the pennant races get wrapped up in mid-September (or earlier). But when some of the most meaningful games are being played this weekend, most people will be tuned into a slate of giant college football games (Stanford-Oregon, Alabama-Florida, Texas-Oklahoma those are off the top of my head).

The final weekend of baseball in October isn't buzz worthy enough in to keep sports fans collective conscious off pigskin. But if the League Championship Series' were wrapping up or the World Series starting, that would be another story.

August is prime real estate for baseball's pennant races and they need to capitalize on it. Cutting games, say eight, and playing double-headers could achieve this without taking much away from the rest of the season.

A finale coming in the second week of September means baseball could hold more interest and momentum as they play on the field for title, and compete on the screens for fans.

The ALL-American conference

The days of small college athletic conferences seem numbered. The Pac-10 is becoming 12, the Big Ten (which actually has 11 schools) is expanding.

In the age of conference cannibalism the mid-majors should position themselves for survival, and join forces.

Conference USA is vulnerable. It's already been raided once by the Big East. If the major conferences try for mega-expansion, C-USA looks ripe for the picking again.

Out west, the Western Athletic Conference is a dead conference walking. On the verge of a coup, adding BYU in non-football sports, the Mountain West stole Nevada and Fresno State leaving it for dead.

This week the WAC membership committee will hear from the first of several schools looking to move up from I-AA to I-A. That's one option to survive.

Instead of trying to nurture new I-AA schools the WAC should set sail and push full throttle the radical idea of creating a true ALL-American conference, with teams from the Carolina coast to Hawaii and everywhere in between.

An 18-team mid-major conference would be a power player in the college landscape, able to leverage big TV deals and possibly able to negotiate a seat at the BCS table.

Here's how the true C-USA could work. There would be two separate 9-team divisions, basically a split down the Mississippi River.

The "Pacific Division" would include the Texas schools west: Hawaii, San Jose State, Idaho, Utah State, New Mexico State, UTEP, SMU, Rice, Houston.

The "Atlantic Division" would be every school to the east: Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, Tulane, So. Miss, UAB, Memphis, Marshall, East Carolina, UCF.

Do the math and the farthest schools would have to travel out west is probably Houston to Honolulu. In the east, it's Tulsa to Greenville, NC. That true east-west split will help cut down travel costs, something that hurt the first mega-conference, the 16-team WAC.

Each division crowns its own champion through playing eight other schools. Then the only cross-over between east and west would be for the championship game, which could rotate between favorite bowl locations including Hawaii and Orlando.

That intra-division play, would set up a dynamic title game. Much like the rumors swirling now about C-USA and the Mountain West setting up a championship showdown, the true C-USA would pit two of the best mid-majors against each other on that final weekend.

That meaningful championship would give the schools one last shot to impress voters, which matters.

College football is all about big money and the BCS. And a true USA conference would not only survive but could thrive in today's game.

Parity reigns supreme on college gridiron

Watch the scores rotate on the bottom of our TV screen this college football season, and they will raise some eyebrows.

There's a growing list of BCS schools falling victim to lowly I-AA (or FCS) squads. In just two weeks, six I-AA teams have defeated their higher division opponents, none more shocking than James Madison's 21-16 upset over then No. 13 Virgina Tech at Lane Stadium.

Others are the Ole Miss Rebels home loss to Jacksonville State 49-48 in double overtime, North Dakota State upset at Kansas 6-3, South Dakota trouncing Minnesota 41-38, Gardner-Webb knocking off Akron 38-37 in overtime and Liberty defeating Ball State 27-23. That doesn't including some close calls experienced by Washington State, Purdue and Temple, all who eeked out W's.

Add it up, and after a handful of schools like Alabama's, Oklahoma's and Ohio State's, it's a muddled middle of parity where any school can win on a given Saturday.

And the great equalizer in the college game is television.

Just look at the number of games carried by ESPN on a weekly basis, it's in the dozens, not to mention other cable and network outlets. Prep stars realize if they want to play and move onto the NFL, it can be anywhere, because you'll get five or six games on TV minimum. That phenomenon is starting show in the NFL.

Look back at last NFL Draft results. Sure there were plenty of players from the blue blood schools drafted, especially in the first 10 picks. But two players were taken in the first round from Idaho WAC schools, multiple late-round picks came from I-AA schools like James Madison and a few picks were made from the D-II ranks like Hillsdale and Indiana (Pa.).

After his team's upset, James Madison coach Mickey Matthews said "the dirty little secret is the top six to eight teams at our level (I-AA) can play with anyone." I'm not so sure that's a secret anymore.

With sports, it's still crazy

Admiral Ackbar is back!

Unfortunately, it's not because he's going to be named the official mascot at the University of Mississippi. Lucasfilm killed that idea, disallowing the famed Star Wars General's likeness to be seen on a college football sideline near you.

However, ESPN generally knows a good story when they see one and is telling the Ackbar story in commercial form. What's not to love really?

The Ole Miss mascot search continues, and they will probably settle for mascot likeness such as a bulldog, or tiger, or bear, oh my!

Anyway, here's the extended version of ESPN's Ole Miss/ Ackbar commercial (the shorter version first aired during the Boise State-Virginia Tech game):

NCAA fearless predictions: Version 2k10

I'm ready for the new season of college football. So ready in fact, I'm a week ahead of myself for when games actually kick-off.

Regardless, we can't turn the page on a new season without some fearless and bold predictions. There's a good chance come January, I won't want to look back at these...

Boiler Up! Purdue is going bowling this year especially since its playing a schedule that was a BCS-worst 67-81 in 2009.

UConn will contend for the Big East title, but will come up just short. Also, don't expect Cincinnati, who lost head coach Brian Kelly to Notre Dame, to fall off the wagon.

Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins (16-33 at CU) might just be coaching intramurals by season's end.

Hawkins failures, compounded with Dirk Koetter's snafu at Arizona State (40-34, 2-19 vs. ranked teams) means current Boise State head coach Chris Peterson will be a Bronco for life, despite a disappointing 10-3 season this year for the Smurf turfers.

The Big 12 won't be staying at 10 teams for long. Great seasons by TCU and Houston will fast track them for membership in the new Texas-centric conference.

Nevada's Colin Kaepernick is probably the quarterback you haven't heard of. You'll know about him by the end of the year.

Florida State QB Christian Ponder will pass himself into the Heisman lead by the beginning of October and won't look back.

What about last year's Heisman winner Mark Ingram? Ingram will have fewer total yards from scrimmage then Alabama backfield partner Trent Richardson.

The Crimson Tide will still win the SEC, but will be considered this year's biggest disappointment. It's all relative, because anything less than a second straight trip to the BCS title game will be considered a failure. I don't see that happening because...

A non-AQ will play for the national championship. Which brings to the rest of my predictions.

Conference Champions:

ACC: Florida State (Atlantic), Virginia Tech (Coastal)

Big 10: Ohio State

Big 12: Oklahoma (South), Nebraska (North)

Big East: Pittsburgh

Pac-10: Oregon

SEC: Alabama (West), Georgia (East)

C-USA: Houston

MAC: No. Illinois

Mt. West: TCU

Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee

WAC: Boise State, Nevada (tie)

BCS Bowl Predictions

ROSE BOWL: Oregon vs. Texas

FIESTA BOWL: Oklahoma vs. Arizona

ORANGE BOWL: Florida State vs. Pitt

SUGAR BOWL: Alabama vs. Miami

TITLE GAME: Ohio State vs. TCU

Conference alignment: WAC-ky out West

College football conference swamping is quickly becoming a sport all its own.

To quickly recap the off-season, the Pac-10 (home to most of the largest and academically prestigious schools in the West) wanted to form a 16-team super conference and failed.

Still desiring NCAA football's golden goose (a conference title game) they raided the Big-12 (Colorado) and the Mountain West, plucking up by far the most successful mid-major program in the BCS era, Utah. Reaching its magic number of 12, the Pac-10 created a trickle down effect.

The MWC needing a new "power" football member turned to Boise State, who gladly ran from the WAC.

I thought the dust had settled until this past week.

That's when BYU started another round of the blood-sport known as conference alignment, with the rumors the school was going independent in football and joining the WAC in all other sports.

In the midst of trying to obtain an automatic BCS bid for its champion the Mountain West, down two possible members, made a preemptive strike adding Frenso State and Nevada from the WAC.

Also as you could expect, WAC commissioner Karl Benson had some harsh words for the latest schools to bolt.

However, it's not likely those additions could make up for the loss of Utah and BYU when it comes the BCS. It does my heart good to see Boise State fans, who were so excited to join the MWC, now realizing they're joining the WAC-plus.

So the question now is what becomes of the WAC?

In 2012, the conference could be facing extinction, down to only six members: Hawai'i, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and Utah State. It needs two more members.

The maligned WAC will find away to survive.

One possible route is luring a couple old members back into the pack, and three schools jump out: San Diego State, Wyoming and UTEP. All have struggled in football the past several years and could make its alumni very happy by playing a lower conference competition and winning. After all Boise has proven its not all about who you beat, but how often you win.

The other more likely route is adding I-AA (or FCS) schools. The WAC has nurtured several programs to Division I status before. Currently, Texas State is the only I-AA school that would be ready to make a jump in 2011. Others who could decide to move up: Cal Poly, Texas-San Antonio, Sacramento State and UC-Davis.

The good news for the WAC, as Idaho athletic director Rob Spear wrote, pending NCAA legislation may require a school moving from I-AA (FCS) to I-A (FBS) to have conference affiliation.

Who knows what the future holds, and if the major conferences will again try to form super-conferences.

The absolute best case for the WAC in 2012 (and plausibly realistic) would look something like this: Hawai'i, Idaho, New Mexico St., Sacramento St., San Diego St., San Jose St., Utah St., UTEP (with BYU in all other sports). But I know they'll settle for staying alive.

It's a trap! and other sideline mayhem

The countdown to the unofficial kickoff of fall is less than three weeks away. Soon tailgates and the pageantry of football Saturday's will return to college campuses across the country.

Before we get there, two off-season story lines were too bizarre not to write about. I was reminded of the first over the past weekend when I found myself watching a sci-fi flick.

The University of Mississippi ditched its former mascot Colonel Reb (or Colonel Sanders if you're from north of the Mason-Dixon) in 2003. One of his possible replacements, none other than the most famous Mon Calamarian, Admiral Ackbar.

Yes, this Admiral Ackbar.

A Star Wars alien as a mascot!?! Talk about a complete break from the previous imagery of Colonel Reb -- old-white plantations owners, slavery, 19th century South (and KFC). After all the Colonel was dropped because his image was too Old South and might offend minorities.

I'm not sure where the mascot search committee is at this point, but Ackbar's candidacy wasn't taken seriously so we won't be seeing him on a football sideline anytime soon. Too bad really.

A trip to the 'Red Zone', literally

Eastern Washington football is going to bring a entirely new meaning to the term "red zone".

That's because its turf will be bright red.

Former EWU standout and current Tennessee Titan starter, Michael Roos, donated $500,000 to help with the "Red Turf" project.

When the Eagles take the field for the first time Sept. 18 versus Montana, the red artificial turf will be the only of its kind in the entire country.

But why play on red field? Taking after Smurf turf.

"There is no doubt that one of Boise State's claim to fame has been their blue turf and like it or dislike it, it has certainly brought them a tremendous amount of notoriety," EWU athletic director Bill Chaves said in a media release.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. But staring at a red field for three hours can't be any worse than a blue one.

Also, I can quickly see the idea of installing a unique football turf color getting out of hand. Good thing Eastern is out in front of this curve.

Players love playoffs, until they think about it

Playoffs?! We're talking about playoffs?

Yes. BCS or playoffs, the debate will again be a huge theme in major college football, which has a fun (albeit contorted) bowl system. Plus, college football pundits need to something to occupy their talking time since Tim Tebow has graduated to the NFL.

ESPN got the ball rolling on this debate this week, by polling 135 players from across the country, for its ESPN Magazine preview. What they found was that players want a playoff, until they thought about it.

When asked do they want a playoff, an overwhelming majority, 62.2 percent or 84 of the 135, said yes. But things dramatically changed when players were asked about the specifics.

Asked if they'd rather have an I-AA (FCS)-style, 16-team playoff (no bowls) or the current system, 70 percent took the current system. Then asked if they'd rather have a career with three bowl trips or one playoff trip, again more than 70 percent said bowls.

One Big 12 star who voted for a playoff (suggested starting with 16 teams) wavered big time, "if you put it that way, I'd rather have the bowl trips."

As a fan, I'd rather have the bowl trips, except bowls don't mean as much as they once did. But neither does the BCS for that matter.

It's all about scamming the system. Teams use what I call the Texas-model, try to get a high preseason ranking, play one tough game and win, go undefeated and play for the BCS title. That produces a watered down season. Would it really get better if you cut the football season by one game for a coveted 16-team playoff?

I love the idea of a college football playoff, until I start thinking about the reality of it.

Putting the 'F' in Smurf Turf

Smurf Turf No. 5 was recently installed in Boise, and it's as ugly as ever.

Ask the question "Who we do hate?" on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow and you'll get an exuberant response, "Boise State!"

But what's seen as passion by some, is viewed as rancor and ill will by others. And that has a 40-year-old gridiron rivalry between the Idaho Vandals and Boise State Broncos in serious doubt after this season.

In fact it looks like it's dead already, when the Broncos make a proverbial step up and join the Mountain West Conference in 2011.

"I frankly don't care whether we ever play 'em again as long as it goes," BSU president Bob Kustra said this week to the Idaho Statesman editorial board. "It's a culture that is nasty, inebriated and civilly doesn't give our fans the respect that any fan should expect when visiting an away team."

Kustra wasn't done, "for me, this is not about football. For me, this is a cultural issue. ... What bothers me more than anything else, is that the fans are not about denigrating our athletic program. ... What bothers me personally is the denigration of our academic programming."

Boise State's president got one thing right in all of that. It is a cultural issue, just not of the inebriated type.

A lot of this "hate" has do to with geography.

Moscow sits in Idaho's panhandle, which was mistakenly made part of the state. A general culture of contempt has been brewing between the panhandle and the south since 1864, when bandits stole the capital from Lewiston (30 miles from Moscow) and moved it to Boise.

So what's really driving this college rivalry apart? Napoleon's complex.

Boise didn't open its doors until 1932, and started as a junior college. Since then it has battled against the establishment, to move up.

It's widely rumored (because these things are not published) that BSU has repeatedly struggled to earn accreditation for several of its academic programs. That's why Vandals "denigrate" Boise's academics, making them the butt of some pretty funny jokes.

But now on the Smurf Turf, the Broncos have its one area that it can beat Idaho. Football is Boise State's way to compensate for its "F's" in the classroom.

Before the Broncos bolt for the MWC, they want to stick it to their "big brother" one last time and then permanently shut the door, cutting off any risk of enduring another 12-game rivalry losing streak.

If this is indeed the end of the Idaho-BSU rivalry, it doesn't change a thing for me. I'll still hate Boise State.

Update - Friday, July 30, 2010

It now appears this column, “Can't hide Vandal pride,” is what started this rivalry brouhaha.

Part of this professional response was included in the Idaho Statesman article, but here's the full statement from U of I president Duane Nellis on the rivalry situation.

Some people are starting to take notice of what I've known all along, there's an arrogance growing in Boise. SI.com writer Andy Staples says Boise State is becoming a big-time program in all the wrong ways.

And some people are just having fun with the whole thing. “Nasty Inebriated” T-shirts are starting to sell in Moscow.

Bidding adieu to cycling

The Lance Armstrong era is over, again.

At age 38, Armstrong crossed the finish line in 23rd place Sunday at the Tour de France, nearly 40 minutes behind champion Alberto Contador.

Some will say Lance tainted his legacy by hanging on to competitive cycling for too long. Others will wait to write their final comments about Armstrong as a federal doping investigation circles in.

Ultimately, I think Armstrong will be revered for captivating our hearts in winning seven consecutive Tours (1999-2005).

He'll also be remembered as a cancer survivor and advocate. Which is why Armstrong's RadioShack team tried to wear black jerseys with "28" on the back. The figure honoring the 28 million people fighting cancer.

But the curmudgeons at International Cycling Union forced the team to wear its normal red jerseys and said Monday the team will be investigated for breaching clothing regulations.

Really?

It's bad enough that you can race for three grueling weeks and end up with a result everyone predicted would happen.

Cycling is sport that's been soured by doping, ruled by Europeans who groused excessively when a Texan won their top prize and will now take the time investigate a uniform breach.

Without an American serving as underdog in the Tour, I don't really care to watch a drama-less .

Armstrong bid adieu to the Tour de France on Sunday. I'll bid cycling and the Tour adieu too.

LBJ not the heir to "His Airness"

There's "The Shot," "The Drive," "The Fumble" and now "The Decision" or is it "The Betrayal"?

Cleveland sports fans probably feel betrayed since Akron's own LeBron James announced he's moving to South Beach during a ridiculous TV spectacle Thursday.

In joining fellow stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, LeBron creates a mega-buzz. But his move to Miami removes the doubt in my mind that LeBron will never measure up to his idol, Michael Jordan.

The NBA above all other professional leagues measures greatness by rings. Russell, Jordan, Magic all greats, all won multiple titles. But they were also unquestionably the guy.

Which is why LeBron's move is a head scratcher.

James said "it's the best opportunity to win and to win now and to win in the future also. Winning is a huge thing for me." But he's going to Wade's town, where Dwayne Wade is the guy. Basically, James is choosing to play the role of second fiddle, a Scottie Pippen type to Wade's Jordan.

"The Decision" to join the Heat, is why I hesitate to even including him in the same breath as "His Airness".

Jordan was super-competitive. He had to be the guy. And in this situation, I think Jordan would have wanted to go head-to-head with Wade and run him out of the gym, not share the gym.

Killer instinct. Jordan had it, Kobe Bryant has it, and LeBron... well it's not clear it's there.

Without a doubt, LeBron is one of the premiere players in the NBA and his legacy depends on rings.

He had a great chance to win in Jordan's town, and be embraced by Bulls fans after years of losing.

He could have stayed home and become an immortal hero in Cleveland, but instead he chose to share the spotlight.

LeBron may have worn No. 23, but he's no "Airness." Not even close at this point.

Now as we move forward, the question becomes can you even make the Finals with LeBron, Wade, Bosh and a bunch of minimum-salary guys?

________________________________________________________

More LeBron Coverage:

James Inflicts Endless Pain - Terry Pluto, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Easy Come, Easy for LeBron - Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

LeBron Better Win Titles - Jay Mariotti, Fanhouse

Decision Disastrous for Knicks - Chris Sheridan, ESPN.com NY

Measuring the NBA post-"Decision" - DJ Gallo, ESPN Page 2

A Midsummer blunder

There's no rhyme or reason when it comes to picking MLB's All-Stars, as seen by the selections announced Sunday.

Just consider this blind test... Who's a more deserving All-Star?

Player A: 99.2 IP, 9 Wins, 91 Ks, 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP
Player B: 109.2 IP, 8 Wins, 121 Ks, 3.28 ERA, 1.30 WHIP

It's a tough call.

Mat Latos is Player A, the ace of San Diego's 1st place pitching staff and is not an All-Star. Player B is Tim Lincecum ace of the 4th place San Francisco Giants and is an All-Star.

This exercise just proves that All-Star selections are largely arbitrary. And saying that Player X got snubbed, is rather futile.

Now if I were making the selections I would have found a spot for Reds 1B Joey Votto, Nats phenom Stephen Strasburg and a few more Angels since the game is being played in Orange County. But, I just want to see the best players and watch entertaining baseball. The managers who made this year's reserve All-Star selections must play to win.

And there's the disconnect.

As a fan I don't have a say in the 162 games my team plays, nor in the postseason should they make it. But here comes the Midsummer Classic, which determines a big advantage in the World Series, and suddenly the fans gets a say.

If Bug Selig and MLB want the All-Star game to truly matter, fans shouldn't get a vote at all. The entire roster should be selected by the managers and the league office. And if that were the case, it would make complete sense for Braves utility man Omar Infante to be an All-Star.

But this is one game that shouldn't matter.

All-Stars are meant to be fun exhibitions, where the fan experience matters most. Where we the fans get to vote on everything from the starting lineup to that last player on the roster and even who pitches in the 5th inning of the game.

It's a pipe dream, but one I hope is realized.

The Pac-1?

If you happen to glance at any March Madness bracket projections, you're sure to notice at least one thing. The premiere basketball conference in the West is absent.

The Pac-10 is dreadful this year.

Entering Saturday's games there was a glut of teams boasting a 6-4 record, all tied for first place. So is it possible the Pac-10 could have just one entry in the field of 64?

It's possible, but not probable.

I can't see the Pac-10 receiving fewer bids than the WCC (likely Gonzaga, St. Mary's), especially since the trend has been away from mid-majors getting at-large bids. Middling power teams like Arizona and Minnesota grabbed the final spots last year.

Currently, Cal is the clear favorite, Arizona's surge gives them life (having made 25 straight NCAA tournaments they could get a sympathy bid) and Washington, who briefly cracked the top-10, is sneaking back into consideration.

Rather than breakdown who could make the dance, the better question is why is the conference so down?

The answer is clear if you look at the last few NBA drafts. The league has been decimated by early entries into the pro-ranks.

The past two seasons, eight athletes from Pac-10 teams have been lottery picks. That's likely unprecedented.

USC's O.J. Mayo lead the 2008 class which also saw UCLA's Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love be selected in the top five. Arizona State's James Harden headed the '09 group which saw another five early entrants get drafted.

It's hard to recover when a league loses 21 players to the NBA in two years, 14 of whom left school early.

Imagine if Stanford still had the Lopez brothers; UCLA was starting the likes of Love, Westbrook and Jrue Holiday; USC still had Mayo, Taj Gibson and DeMar DeRozan and Arizona had Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill for their senior years?

The conference would be the deepest in the country, while devouring itself in league play.

That's happening again this year, but teams are being consumed by mediocracy. I don't expect that to last for long.

A Sonics victory 2 years too late

From the files of under-reported stories, Seattle SuperSonic fans scored a minor victory last week.

The robber baron owners of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Clay Bennett & Co., agreed to pay former Sonics season-ticket holders $1.6 million to essentially go away.

It's now awaiting approval from a federal judge.

Basically, 1,000 former Sonic ticket-holders filed a class-action lawsuit alleging when the team was ripped from the Emerald City and moved to Oklahoma, they reneged a deal to let them renew their tickets at 2006-07 prices through 2010.

The fans argued if they were allowed to transfer tickets to OKC's Ford Center, they could have resold them at higher prices.

Two years after the Sonic fans had their collective hearts crushed, they finally got something. But that's going to be the last basketball-related win for a while.

Even with five or six potential NBA franchises available for sale (Memphis with prior Northwest ties included) Seattle doesn't show up as a blip for a new franchise.

It's a simple reason why. Seattle does not have a modernized arena paid for by taxpayers, and there is no political will to devote public money to such a project.

Enjoy the tiny win Seattle, and get ready, Spring Training starts soon.

Always a ruse for The Blue

Curiosity took over last week when I spotted this University of Idaho Athletics tweet.

I wanted to know which Idaho athletes earned all-WAC academic honors? And why more Vandals didn't make it?

As I scrolled through the list of student-athletes who had at least 3.0 GPA and took part in half of their team's contests, I was shocked to find more Boise State Broncos show up than any other WAC school. That was especially true for football.

It was a surprise because Boise State University has a academic reputation on par with Greendale Community College in many of its programs.

So how did the Broncos get 14 more all-WAC academic players than Idaho (a school with a solid classroom reputation)? Something wasn't right.

After a few minutes of digging it was clear this was just another Boise State gimmick, like the trick plays they use to score against BCS opponents.

Of their 22 academic performers only four Broncos had declared majors, two of which could qualify as tough (accounting and psychology). It's not hard to make the dean's list when you're taking 'rock's for jocks,' weightlifting and basket-weaving.

On the flip side, only one of Idaho's six academic players was an undeclared major, one was pre-med and yet another was earning a master's in accounting.

At first glance, things may appear in order on the Smurf Turf, but there's always another dimension when you look.

Rather than challenging its athletes to go for a Heisman in the classroom, Boise State is content having its athletes pose like Lady Liberty.

Boise State All-WAC Academic Honors

Accounting: Richard Brockel; Communication: Jeron Johnson, Kyle Wilson; Psychology: Michael Choate

Undeclared: Michael Adams, Michael Atkinson, Kyle Efaw, Zach Gholson, Byron Hout, Joseph Kellogg, Chandler Koch, Darren Koontz, Kellen Moore, Hazen Moss, Daniel Paul, James Percy, Christopher Potter, Nathaniel Potter, Tyler Shoemaker, Matthew Slater, Tommy Smith, Aaron Tevis

Idaho All-WAC Academic Honors

Accounting: Aaron Lavarias, Adam Juratovac (Masters); Business: Robert Cowan; Chemistry/Pre-Med: Nathan Enderle; Finance: Peter Bjorvik; Undeclared: Preston Davis

In USC v USC, the real SC Wins

When I first moved to the South (from Washington state) and heard people talking about USC, I was pumped.

Finally, I had found some worldly sports fans who actually discussed college conferences outside their own geographic area. Boy was that wrong.

In the Carolinas, USC meant the University of South Carolina (a member of the SEC) not the University of Southern California (crown jewel of the Pac-10).

But now, thanks to a lawsuit the real SC has been established.

South Carolina wanted to put an interlocking “SC” logo on its baseball uniforms. That logo was similar enough to the “SC” Trojans, so Southern Cal sued.

A federal appellate court ruling came down on Jan. 19 in favor of the Left Coast school. In the decision the court noted that South Carolina's mark was “legally identical” to Southern Cal's and could potentially create confusion.

So even though South Carolina was established 75 years before Southern Cal, the Trojans are the real “SC”. And justice is served.

Now if only the NCAA would only clamp down those extras passed out to the Trojans top running backs over the years.