College Football "Playoff" Not an Upgrade

There was an interesting juxtaposition today in the world of college football.

As I watched the Army-Navy game, and parts of the I-AA (FCS) and D-III football playoffs, there were student-athletes playing the game they love for no other reason. Those playoff formats leave absolutely no room to debate who calls themselves champs.

On the flip side, three D-I college football players were in New York for the annual beauty pageant known as the Heisman Trophy ceremony. That celebration serves as a nice segway into the way D-I (FBS) football settles its championships, which is also essentially a beauty pageant.

Fans are stuck with the broken BCS system for this year and next, before we transition to a four-team "playoff." That will only make the pageant mentality worse.

Left in the Lurch, Idaho Must Go On Alone

The days when college conferences were held together by academics and geography are gone.

In this ugly new age, all that matters is perceived football prowess and access to television markets. That means even more universities are changing their conference allegiances.

The latest shake up came on Friday with the expansion of Conference USA. Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana Tech, UNC-Charlotte, North Texas and Florida International all defected from their respective conferences (the WAC, Atlantic-10 and Sun Belt).

That means 31 universities - more than a quarter in all of Division I football - will have switched conferences for various stated reasons such as stability or more prestige. Granted, most college presidents do not have the audacity to freely admit they are moving conferences to chase more money.

With Utah State and San Jose State also finding new conference home in the WAC 2.0, also known as the Mountain West, you can, as Brett McMurphy put it, "start carving the tombstone" for the WAC.

That's a shame considering the WAC is the sixth oldest D-I football conference and will have had 26 members at one time or another when the D-I expands to 125 programs in 2013.

That also means a school near and dear to my heart, the University of Idaho, has been left in the lurch.

The Vandals, despite doing things the right way with student-athlete graduation and leading the WAC Commissioner's Cup, are out of good options. Idaho is in a minuscule television market, it's regional TV footprint is over shadowed by the Smurf Turf to the south and there has not been any consistent success on the Palouse.

What is being widely suggested by many sports writers for the Vandals, a drop back to the I-AA level and the Big Sky Conference, would be a disaster.

Hitting a "Fan's Cycle"

Angels pitcher Jered Weaver reacts to throwing a no-hitter May 2 (Getty Images)

Baseball has always been in my blood. I was attending professional games even before I was born.

For me, no matter how much snow was on the ground, mid-Febraury was a sign that spring was just around the corner. And Major League Baseball's Opening Day has always been one of my most anticipated days of the year.

I consider myself fortunate to have been able to go to so many baseball games.

And I am lucky to have witnessed some amazing feats on the diamond in person, none more impressive than watching Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver throw a complete game no-hitter.

I first took notice Wednesday night that Weaver had given up no hits in the middle of the fourth inning, but thought it was way too early to be watching history.

It wasn't until a perfect sixth inning when Weaver shut down the Minnesota Twins speed batters, Denard Span and Jamey Carroll, both whom did not even show bunt, that I thought we might be on the cusp of a special game.

For the last two innings, Angel fans stood, imploring the umpire to call strikes and for Weaver to finish off the no-hitter. When right fielder Torii Hunter caught Alexi Casilla's fly ball for the last out, the stadium erupted, a crescendo that had been building for the last 30 minutes of the game.

"I couldn't believe it," Weaver said after the game. "I never thought in a million years I'd first of all be in the major leagues pitching and to throw a no-hitter in the big leagues - it was very surreal."

It was a surreal game to watch. As a former work colleague put it, Weaver's no-hitter was the final piece to my fan's cycle. Four stunning baseball feats that rarely happen.

I've also seen then-Baltimore Oriole Aubrey Huff hit for the cycle, former Washington National Dmitri Young smack a grand slam on Fourth of July, and Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini turn an unassisted triple play in 1992, the first such play in 24 years in the majors.

Those types of plays make baseball fun for the fans. You never know what you might see on a random Wednesday night.

Now I can just hope my Pittsburgh Pirates raise another World Series pennant in my lifetime, but I might just settle for a winning season at this point.

Isner Ready to Fill American Void

John Isner celebrates a victory over No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

John Isner was no match for Roger Federer in the finals at the BNP Paribas Open.

But Isner's two weeks in Indian Wells were something special, and for the first time in a long time an America seems poised to challenge tennis' upper echelon.

Isner will become the second U.S. player in the ATP Tour's top 10 rankings, because of his finals appearance, and he became the first American to beat the world No. 1 player since 2008 in an electric three-set victory over Novak Djokovic.

"It was very special when that last ball went by (Djokovic) and I knew I had won the match. I knew it was a very weird feeling, a very nice feeling. It's something that, you know, you don't experience every day," Isner said after the semi-final match.

Roger Defined by Rivalry with Rafa

Roger Federer cracks a smile after downing rival
Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells.

One of the all-time great sports rivalries finally played out in front of the rabid tennis fans in Indian Wells, Calif.

After a rare desert rain delay at the BNP Paribas Open, No. 3 Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal took the court for their 28th meeting.

Watching the two display their skill in person is amazing, and it just adds a new level of appreciation for some of the great matches I've watched on television. Federer makes playing the sport look effortless, while Nadal never gives up on a point and can seemingly run any ball down.

"Obviously conditions were tough today, and against one of my greatest rivals, it's always nice if you come out on top. So I'm very, very happy," Federer said after his straight set 6-3, 6-4 victory.

The win in the California desert was just Federer's 10th against Nadal, which is arguably the biggest flaw when talking about where the Swiss stacks up against all-time tennis greats.

However, if clay courts are taken out of the equation, a surface Nadal just owns, Federer now holds a 8-6 advantage in head-to-head meetings and is a winner of two of the last three.

The 10-18 record can obscure the way Federer dominates sets when they play, as previously detailed by WSJ writer Carl Bialik.

Federer has taken seven 6-0 or 6-1 sets against Nadal, with five of those dominant sets by the Swiss coming in the final set of the match. By comparison, just two of Nadal's wins have ended in such lopsided fashion.

Despite Nadal's sizable advantage in head-to-head matches, it is hard to judge which player is greater. Especially given the way Federer worked over Nadal's backhand in the semis.

Add current No. 1 Novak Djokovic into the mix, who has defeated Nadal in seven consecutive finals, and figuring out the big three gets more complicated.

Tennis is experiencing a reniassance with likely three of the games greats all playing at once. I am just glad I got to see Federer-Nadal rivalry in person.

BNP Paribas Open: Djokovic Takes a Look Back Before Semis

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic opened up about his past before taking the court for the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Open.

"It's hard to say what I felt as a kid," the Serb said. "I just remember I fell in love (with tennis) at the first sight."

Djokovic said it was like destiny he picked up a racquet, because in his family nobody played.

"They were all professional skiers or soccer players or something else, you know," Djokovic said.

Djokovic is trying to win his 11th ATP Masters 1000 tournament and third title in Indian Wells, and said he's still in contact with his old coach Serbian tennis legend Jelena Gencic.

"She has had an incredible effect on my career, and she has learned me all the basics of the tennis," Djokovic said. "I always go back to her and share the success that I had and remembering those moments in the childhood when we were starting to play tennis."

"She was one of the very few people, including my family, that actually believed in me, that believed that I could be the best and I could be, you know, a Grand Slam winner," Djokovic recalled.

Gencic, now in her 70s, is still coaching tennis in Serbia.

Djokovic will face American John Isner in the first of two semi-finals Saturday at 11 a.m. The Serbian holds a 2-0 lifetime advantage over Isner.

Virus Becomes the Talk of the Tournament

The talk of this years BNP Paribas Open has become a two-day stomach bug that's impacting everyone.

It's a nasty virus you would not wish on your own nemesis, but the worst part is it's keeping players off the courts.

A total of 10 players have withdrawn with the bug, while former champion Vera Zvonareva withdrew for another virus.

The latest big name to fall ill, Mike Bryan, of the Bryan brothers, means they still have not captured a doubles title in Indian Wells.

It is near impossible to to track where the virus came from, but World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka said she battled a similar illness between her last tournament in Dubai and the start of Indian Wells.

"I heard like a few players right before the tournament had it, and me, the same thing," Azarenka said. "It's very unfortunate, you know. You don't wish anybody that. I wasn't able to practice for two days."

The Indian Wells bug is just the latest in a rash of ailments that have plagued the start to the 2012 WTA season.

Twelve of the top 20 have retired early from a match or withdrawn from a tournament with some kind of injury or illness.

It's unfortunate the bug is taking away from the tennis and what's been a great tournament so far.

BNP Paribas Open: Wozniacki Poses as a Reporter

The defending BNP Paribas Open women's champion Caroline Wozniacki shared a laugh with American Mardy Fish Saturday, March 10.

No. 4 ranked Wozniacki made quick work of Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-0 before she crashed the press conference being held by Fish.

Fish was about to answer a question about the London Olympics, but instead took a surprise question from the Dane.

Looks like Wozniacki could have another career path to fall back on, but her game on the tennis court is doing most of the talking right now.

BNP Paribas Open: Having Fun Off the Courts

Part of the fun of the BNP Paribas Open is that all the top players in the world come to Indian Wells, and they are way more relaxed here than at any of the other big tennis tournaments.

Case in point what has become an annual ritual on the grassy warm-up area just outside the main stadium, pickup soccer games.

Before the action on the courts heats up, No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal showed off some of their soccer skills.

Playing with Serbian Janko Tipsarevic (ranked No. 10) and another Spaniard Feliciano Lopez (No. 15), Nadal fired a shot into the back of the onion bag.

Now, the real games can begin.

Can the U.S. Regain Tennis Prowess at Indian Wells?

American's Sam Querrey (sitting left) and Mardy Fish (sitting right)

rest during a practice session in Indian Wells.

Over the next two weeks, I have the privilege to help cover the 2012 BNP Paribas Open for Palm Desert Patch.com. I always have enjoyed watching the major tennis tournaments over the years, especially when my namesake, Pete Sampras was dominating. But watching the top players in the world in Indian Wells, Calif. brought my appreciation of the game to a whole new level. I hope to show how special the tournament is here on this blog.

One of the things evident by a quick glance at the ATP World Tour's top 10 is tennis has become a global game.

Eight countries are represented by those players, but there's only one American. Really since the aforementioned Sampras fell from the World No. 1 ranking, the U.S. has been largely irrelevant in men's tennis.

A new generation of U.S. player is hoping to break through the top four players strangle hold in the California desert.

MLB Playoff 'Fix' Will Do More Harm

Major League Baseball appears to be tinkering with something that's not broken in the sport, its postseason.

Word is, the league and its players' association are close to announcing a playoff expansion that would give one-third of all teams a berth in October starting this year.

Under the new playoffs, the fourth and fifth place wild-card teams in each league would meet in what will likely be a one-game playoff with the three division winners sitting out awaiting the winner.

Commissioner Bug Selig has pushed hard for an extra wild-card team to 'fix' the perceived problem that game do not matter September off. In fact two years ago, the New York Yankees purposely lost the division to Tampa so they could get extra rest and draw a more favorable matchup with Minnesota.

The new playoff structure would put the onus on winning a division. Wild-card teams will have to throw everything, just to make sure they keep playing. But giving division winners an added October advantage will come at the expense of the regular season.

More mediocre teams will have a chance to get hot at the right time and make a postseason run.

If the five team playoff structure had been in place over the past five years, that fifth place team would have averaged just 88 regular season wins. What baseball does not need is another slightly above .500 team playing in October.

Baseball's last postseason change came in 1995, when the field doubled from four to eight teams. That's the number baseball should stick with. It rewards good teams for the 162 games the slug it out, and means every so often a good team stays home.

Less is way more, and adding more playoffs teams will just water down one of the most special postseasons.

Bobcats Winning at Losing

It's been that kind of season
for Bobcats coach Paul Silas (AP Photo).

The Charlotte Bobcats are working on a historic season, but for all the wrong reasons.

Owner Michael Jordan might want to consider renaming the franchise the Bob-Kitties, because Charlotte's failures are reaching epic proportions.

With a 15-point loss on Leap Day, the Bobcats now only trail the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers for worst win-loss percentage in a single season. The Sixers historic 9-73 season (.110 winning percentage) is in jeopardy of falling.

That only tells a part of how bad Charlotte has been. This team has not been competitive at all.

The Bobcats have lost 10 game by at least 20 points, and just one team, 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks, had a worse margin of victory.

Charlotte has the second to worst defense in the league, and its offense is worse, averaging just 86 points per game. Its three leading point scorers have a total two full NBA seasons under their belts. That offers a glimmer of hope for the future, but not the present.

In the meantime, this team does not have to try hard to go for the gold and become the worst team ever. At least that would be something.

Once you hit rock bottom, there is certainly no place to go but up.

Caps, Ovechkin Need to Soul Search

During the past three seasons at the NHL trade deadline, the Washington Capitals were looking to add depth for a Stanley Cup playoff  push.

But this year, the Caps were in the strange position looking to make a move just to secure a playoff spot.

Inside of pulling the trigger on a big move, Caps GM George McPhee pulled a surprise by making no notable trades at all.

The four-time Southeast Division champs, expected to contend for Lord Stanley's Cup, would not make the hockey's postseason if it started today. Washington sits in ninth place. 

There is not just one reason for the Capitals fall, they've been hit hard by injuries. But captain Alex Ovechkin has a big role in their fall from top.

Ovie is having a career-worst season and his poor attitude on ice is affecting the team's chemistry. Ovechkin's struggles started early and was benched at the end of a game by former coach Bruce Boudreau.

The captain's 'C' generally goes to a team's best player, who also happens to be a leader in the locker room. Face it, Ovechkin has not lived up to leadership role and should probably lose his captaincy.

Unfortunately, the man most likely to take that 'C,' Nicklas Backstrom is out long-term with a concussion.

There's a good chance Washington will sneak into the playoffs, but the team has serious discrepancies that won't easily get fixed without a serious roster shakeup.

For the SEC, the BCS is a Media Birthright

The Southeastern Conference just cannot help itself.

The SEC released a new T-shirt this week highlighting its superiority on the football field and six consecutive BCS championships its teams have won.

It's just a blue shirt with the SEC logo and the words, "Home of  5  6 consecutive national champions."

The conference is so arrogant it does not name its championship teams, because they are the magnificent SEC and you should just know. Just to recap: Florida won in 2006 and 2008, LSU grabbed the title in 2007, Alabama won in 2009 and 2011, with Auburn winning in between in 2010.

While the SEC continues to rub in its dominant run, it should be noted they never would have achieved six straight titles without exploiting one of the BCS' biggest flaws. They fooled the voters who are often fools themselves.

In the 2010 book “Death To The BCS,” sports writers Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter and Jeff Passan lay out an incriminating indictment of the Bowl Championship Series. While they dedicate an entire chapter to the fuzzy math used by the computers in the BCS formula, the authors also focus on the flaws of the human voters.

Starting in 2006 when the SEC's title run began, the conference fully committed to winning the public relations fight. As Wetzel and Co. point out in their book, at halftime of '06 SEC championship game commissioner Mike Slive held at halftime press conference claiming if Florida won, they deserved a BCS-title bid. Again that was at halftime!

A year later the BCS completely changed into a political contest. The reason, LSU coach Les Miles used a line his wife told him, and a full on media blitz convinced the pollsters his two-loss Tigers deserved a spot in the BCS title. That line, “we're undefeated in regulation.”

Now, fans have to put up with unabashed, political campaigns for schools to play for a title.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy made a mistake this past season, saying that Alabama deserved a spot in the title game. Clearly, he should have said the Cowboys were the only team undefeated in regulation and overtime.

Obviously in "Death To The BCS" book, Wetzel's gang come to the conclusion college football needs a playoff. And why that may not have saved most of us from sitting through four SEC schools raising the last six crystal balls, a playoff would give fans a more satisfactory end to the season.

However, the writers make a mistake pushing for a 16 team playoff, with all 11 conference winners getting a seat at the table.

If Division I football were to ever go to a true playoff, not the four team plus-one that is being discussed, the minimum number of teams would have to start at 20.

That would give the 11 conference champions a guaranteed spot with another nine at-large spots up for grabs among the major conferences.

Doing a quick look at last year, we would have been arguing whether the ninth at-large spot should go to South Carolina, Virginia Tech or Houston. There would be no reason to get excited if any of those teams were excluded from a playoff pipe dream.

It is tough to fathom that the SEC will relinquish its spot atop the BCS, especially with the Worldwide Leader in its corner. But we can dream of a day where an SEC team's title game berth was earned and was not a media birthright.

Signing Day Cap Can Even Playing Field

Another National Signing Day has passed and once again the SEC is on top.

For the fourth time in the past five years, Rivals.com gave Alabama and coach Nick Saban a national recruiting title, inking three five-star prospects. SEC schools also made up five of the top 15 recruiting classes according to ESPN's experts.

It's no doubt that the SEC's success on signing day has helped translate to six consecutive national titles on field. But there's a seldom talked about factor helping those southern schools.

SEC members are notorious for oversigning, where a school signs more recruits than available scholarships. That allows SEC coaches to take more gambles and erase mistakes by revoking scholarships.

During the SEC's title dominance, four of its six champions signed at least 14 more players than their opponent in the four years leading up to the game.

Auburn signed 19 more than Oregon, Alabama signed 18 more than Texas, LSU signed 14 more than Ohio State while Florida signed 16 more than the Buckeyes. The only exception was Oklahoma, who signed three more recruits than Florida.

But the playing field is starting to level, and that's great for college football as a whole.

The SEC passed a soft cap limiting the number of signees between Dec. 1 and May 31 to 25 to comply with the NCAA. What that does is limit a coach's ability to manage their roster and possibly replace athletes who may not qualify to play in the Fall.

"You used to always have that buffer to cover yourself for guys who won't make it (academically) if you oversigned by two or three. Now, not only would you lose the guy who may not make it, but you also lose the guy who may fill that place," ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill explained to AL.com.

Another move that could level the recruiting field and make college football better is offering multi-year scholarships.

Several blue-chip programs including Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan in the Big 10 reportedly offered those scholarships this year. In the SEC, only Auburn and Florida said they gave extended scholarships.

Again, this will limit a head coach's ability to replace players who may not live up the hype with new "top" recruits.

It remains to be seen if that could become a recruiting advantage, but the rule gives student-athletes some protection from losing their scholarships due to how they play or if they get hurt.

The SEC still has the upper hand with huge fan bases, bigger budgets and a football-crazed culture in the South. But for fans who wish the conference would stop dominating BCS title games, these signing day changes could be a small chink in the armor.

Star Power Is Alive on the NHL Ice

There's growing chatter from many sports columnists that the NHL is suffering from a star crisis.

They believe the NHL lacks true superstars.

But it certainly didn't seem that way at Sunday's All-Star game in Ottawa.

From Evgeni Malkin to Pavel Datsyuk to Marian Hossa, the game's top talent showcased amazing skills and athleticism. All three of players were vying for the league's scoring title at the break.

Sidney Crosby has been wearing
a different type of suit this year.

But the league's two "household" names did not play. Sidney Crosby's career has been derailed by concussions, while Alex Ovechkin is having his worst season in his career and sat home amid a suspension.

Often the only measuring stick used when gauging greatness is titles, and that's where today's stars come up short.

The salary cap put into place in 2005 to help hockey leveled the playing field. In the six years of the post-NHL lockout, 10 different teams have played for Lord Stanley's Cup and there have been six champions.

That's a far cry from the dominance of the Montreal Canadiens in the 70's, the New York Islanders and Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers in the 80's and the Detroit Red Wings in the 90's.

This topic probably would not even being discussed if the NHL got even a smidgen of coverage from ESPN, the 800-pound gorilla of sports media.

From the week of Jan. 7-16, ESPN covered the NHL less than Major League Baseball which is in the deep doldrums of the off-season. And all of most mentioned athletes were from either the NFL and NBA.

ESPN just ignores hockey and its stars, it is as simple as that. Without the Worldwide Leader constantly promoting its athletes, causal fans don't have a player and team to tune in for.

The NHL is a niche league, and for its diehard fans there is no star shortage.

Thanks for the Memories, Igloo

In this modern day of sports arenas, anything that's been around a decade is old. Any building five decades old is essentially the equivalent of the Egyptian Pyramids.

That's why the iconic Civic Arena, more affectionately known as the Igloo, is coming down piece by piece in Pittsburgh.

The arena opened in 1961 and the Penguins took ownership of the dome when they joined the NHL six years later.

Demolition of Civic Arena has been ongoing for sometime, but with the insides gutted, crews took a bigger step on Saturday. One of the many roof panels was demolished.



If the weather holds up, KDKA in Pittsburgh reports the remaining steel structure will come down in a month.

The Igloo was really the house Mario Lemieux built. In fact it's address was 66 Mario Lemieux Place. Now as owner, Lemieux helped orchestrate the building of the Pen's new home, the Consol Energy Center.

Three championship banners were raised in the building, but the only time the Stanley Cup was lifted, it was when Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom hoisted it above his head.

It's sad to see an icon fall, but thanks for all the memories.

Humana, Clinton Bring New Life to the 'Hope'

A year ago, I walked the Palmer Private course at PGA West during the Bob Hope Classic and the atmosphere was stale. The crowd was old and there was no buzz on the course.

Greg Norman and President Bill Clinton joke
around (Jim Edwards/Patch.com)

Something had to change and it did.

The PGA commissioner and a man from Hope, Ark. stepped in and save to the Hope.

Former President Bill Clinton lent his personality to the La Quinta golf tournament made famous by an even bigger personality, the aforementioned comedian Bob Hope.

In walking around the same course this weekend at the new Humana Challenge the buzz was back. The crowd was bigger and a bit younger.

President Clinton helped bring in a Hall of Famer, Greg Norman, one of the biggest names on the Tour, Phil Mickelson, and even a top 10 player, Dustin Johnson, come to a Tour stop that was normally skipped over.

Before gusty winds stopped play on Saturday, there was a massive gallery following Mickelson around the course, while the former President and Norman had an even larger following.

The Humana Challenge still has work to do to make this the must see Tour stop it once was, but President Clinton laid a strong foundation.

Tebow Takes Media Mantle from Favre

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is the new Brett Favre of the NFL.

Favre was either loved or hated, much like Tebow is now. And No. 4 was also unconventional, choosing to throw into triple coverage over the easy target, making the big plays and big mistakes.

Favre used to be the go-to name in pro-sports, there was even an entire summer ESPN camped out in Hattiesburg, Miss., but now its Tebow's turn.

It's hard to explain the Tim Tebow phenomenon, but a scene from the television show "Friday Night Lights" comes to mind.

In the pilot episode Taylor Kitsch's character toasts his best friend by saying, "Here's to God. And Football. And in 10 years good friends living large in Texas." Replace Florida, and equally football crazed state, with Texas and that's a taste of the mindset that elevated Tebow from high school star to college star.

Add the fact that Tebow makes many of us believe in the age old sports cliches like "staying positive" and "never giving up" can lead to victories, with good looks and his overt religious belief, and there's the formula for the most popular athlete in sports.

It should be no surprise that when Tebow does something the experts say cannot happen, like beat the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers defense with one throw in overtime, the Internet explodes.

Helping his legend status, the fact that in the Steelers game Tebow passed for 316 yards, averaging 31.6 yards per pass. That lead to an explosion of people looking up "John 3:16" on Google, because it's one of Tebow's favorite Bible verses and he wore it on his eye black in the '09 BCS Championship game.

Tebow got too much credit for the playoff win, like all football quarterbacks. To borrow from Mark Kiszla, unless MVP means most visible player, Tebow wasn't all that for Denver.

Running back Willis McGahee meant way more to Denver's rise to the playoffs.

Tebow is still very young, with less than 20 NFL starts. There's room to improve and to continue to silence the critics.

Just know we'll hear, tweet and Facebook about every step of that journey, just like Brett Favre.

Tim Tebow is fairly popular. Especially when his passing yards = Bible verses. 

NHL Star Catching Flap for 'Pancakegate'

Professional athletes hurt themselves in a lot of bizarre ways. Like when pitcher John Smoltz scalded himself while ironing a shirt - while he was wearing it.

But a hockey player sat out a game this week may take the cake, the pancake that is.

Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Penner suffered back spasms while taking a bite of "delicious pancakes." Of course Penner has been the joke of the NHL, even earning a Twitter hashtag: #pennercakes.

Penner wrote a letter about what happened, which was printed in Kings blog Mayors Manor.

"They were vegetarian pancakes," Penner wrote. "The injury happened as I was sitting down to eat, not mid-bite. And yes. I did finish them."

Penner seems to be taking it all in stride. He's actually going to sponsor a 'Pancakes with Penner' charity fundraiser.

Guess in this case, the flapjacks are off the hook.

Tide Swells for a Playoff

Alabama's Trent Richardson celebrates the BCS title (AP Photo)

The Bowl Championship Series has its flaws, but for the first time the system truly failed.

In most years, the BCS has benefited from an undisputed champion winning like in 2001 when Miami beat a Nebraska team who did not win their own conference and jumped two other deserving schools.

The BCS did not get that luxury on Monday.

Despite all the talk of the tough, grueling SEC schedule, the SEC was not great this year. Alabama's path to the championship was untested and despite the dominating effort Monday night they don't have a championship resume.

The Tide played just three games (with just two wins) over teams that finished ranked in the final AP poll. No other BCS champ has played fewer than four games against teams in the final polls.

People took notice of the rematch.

The TV ratings for the LSU-Alabama championship game drew a 13.8 overnight rating, among the worst in the history of BCS title games. It ties the Miami-Nebraska game, previously mentioned for also having a questionable participant.

The one possible benefit to a boring SEC title game, it could be the catalyst for change.

The LSU-Alabama debacle may open the door for a four team playoff, that not only fits into the old bowl system but gives fans a "true" champion.

Honestly, four teams is the ideal number for a playoff. With few exceptions since the BCS started, there haven't been more than four schools with a legitimate case to play for college football's ultimate prize. 

And take this year's I-AA playoffs for instance. The I-AA, or FCS division, actually expanded its playoffs from the "perfect" 16 team field to 20 teams, but it was all about four schools.

The top seeded Sam Houston State, North Dakota State, Georgia Southern and Montana made up your semi-finalists, with the Bisons taking home the prize. To get there, they just had to play two superfluous games.

A four team playoff would likely mean higher quality championship game. This year, LSU had a 37-day layoff and Alabama had 44. Even larger, Ohio State had a 51-day break before it played for the 2006 title, which it badly lost.

Momentum is building for a playoff, albeit a small one. It would be a much needed remedy for a system that's starting to really fail.