[BCS] The D-News brings us this story of how our beloved AG Mark Shurtleff is really starting to roll his sleeves up and get to work investigating the Bowl Championship Series for antitrust violations. Shurtleff thinks a criminal conspiracy may be in the works and is planning a powow with some attorneys and ivnestigators next week to consider options.
OK, I'm gonna take a deep breath here before my head explodes and concede the obvious: the BCS setup is a sham and it disadvantages great teams like our own fair Utes.
Now, does this mean this deserves an investigation? The marshaling of taxpayer dollars and AG resources? For those of you militant sports fans who are vigorously shaking your heads right now, let me say this: does it deserve attention if it means siphoning resources from any other investigation?
Face it folks, organizational resources are zero-sum. We only got so much to work with and if any one should know that, it's our very own AG who is now mulling over an investigation into a sporting organization. Like we don't have enough Ponzi-scheme con artists, child pornographers, pedophiles and tax dodgers in this state already to contend with we're now looking at shifting resources into an antitrust case against the BCS?
Well here's to hoping its just some sabre-rattling goin' on. Maybe this is what happens when Attorney Generals get into a sports argument. (Eric S. Peterson)
OK, I'm gonna take a deep breath here before my head explodes and concede the obvious: the BCS setup is a sham and it disadvantages great teams like our own fair Utes.
Now, does this mean this deserves an investigation? The marshaling of taxpayer dollars and AG resources? For those of you militant sports fans who are vigorously shaking your heads right now, let me say this: does it deserve attention if it means siphoning resources from any other investigation?
Face it folks, organizational resources are zero-sum. We only got so much to work with and if any one should know that, it's our very own AG who is now mulling over an investigation into a sporting organization. Like we don't have enough Ponzi-scheme con artists, child pornographers, pedophiles and tax dodgers in this state already to contend with we're now looking at shifting resources into an antitrust case against the BCS?
Well here's to hoping its just some sabre-rattling goin' on. Maybe this is what happens when Attorney Generals get into a sports argument. (Eric S. Peterson)
I guess his leg must be feeling better...
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing is a gamble, and probably a losing one. On one hand, it is a huge waste of time for something that likely won't pay out. On the other hand, it would be nice if The U, BYU, USU and all the other dredges were to receive more funding that could be used for the universities.
ReplyDeleteDunno what to side on with this, really.
This topic isn't new to Utah's AG. None other than the President-elect, Barack Obama, has spoken up on the unfairness of the current BCS set-up for college football championships.
ReplyDeleteSee the current issue (January 7) of ESPN Magazine, which states, in part:
"Call Myles Brand, president of the asleep-at-the-wheel NCAA, and ask him if he and his greedy presidents are going to stand in defiance of president-elect Barack Obama, who wants a playoff and
wants it yesterday. Ask Brand what he's going to do if Obama starts asking the Justice Department to look into anti-trust hearings against the BCS. The Utah attorney general has already launched an investigation into that very thing. Or ask him what he'll do if Obama asks the Department of Education to consider withholding federal funds from these schools that have entered into this secret club called the BCS. You don't think playing in the title game means millions in general-fund donations for a school? That's as unfair as anything Title IX fought against."
FYI
ReplyDeleteThe current BCS is designed to keep hundreds of millions of dollars in certain conferences illegally.
If the AG is successful, that would equate into millions of dollars in additional state revenue, as well as millions more for our state universities.
So yes, this investigation is worth our AG's time, regardless of how you feel about sports. Unless of course you'd rather not have all that money for our state and schools?