Dec. 10
I don't want to get on the soapbox again, because there are plenty of people pounding the BCS, baby ... but isn't it great that in college basketball we line up every March, get the brackets out and decide the championship on the court?

Establish a playoff format with 16 teams. Yes, team No. 17 will complain, but that's much different than having Nos. 3 and 4 left out of the national-title chase.

We chart away and discuss the 65 teams in the hunt for the title. Then they begin to play -- and how beautiful it is! It eliminates all the screaming going on now at Colorado and Oregon. Sure, a few schools complain about being No. 66 or 67 and missing out on the Big Dance. But that's a whole different scenario than the one in football, where there are arguments over the two teams that should play for the national championship.

When are these brilliant college football leaders -- and they are brilliant and they do care -- going to establish a playoff? If the fans don't believe they care, they've never met these guys. The commissioners from the major conferences care. People like Roy Kramer from the SEC, John Swofford of the ACC, Jim Delany of the Big Ten and Mike Tranghese of the Big East are caring individuals who have a passion and love for intercollegiate athletics.

The BCS has been a big improvement over what we used to have. Still, I have said from day one, why not have a playoff system using the bowls. Establish a playoff format with 16 teams, seeding teams from No. 1-16. Yes, team No. 17 will complain, but that's much different than having Nos. 3 and 4 left out of the national-championship chase.

Does Oregon's football team have a gripe this season? Sure, considering the Ducks won the Pac-10 and lost just one game, a heartbreaker against a top-10 team (Stanford). You can say Nebraska dominated 11 opponents and had one bad day. Colorado had a bad moment against Fresno State, and the Buffs avenged their loss to Texas by beating the Longhorns in the Big 12 title game.

Hey, they should all be part of the party. Seed them and let them play. One bowl would ultimately be the championship game and they could be rotated to keep the major bowls happy. Imagine how beautiful that would be!

Please don't cry about academics. Don't tell me it's too much time away for the kids; they go to class in Division I-AA, II and III and all of those divisions have playoffs in place. A playoff should be done because it's the only right way. How unfair it is that Oregon and Colorado will not get to chase the gold trophy.

Computers, statistics, voting ... this year, more than ever, there is no perfect system to determine a participant in the championship game. It's time to get real and let 16 legitimate clubs battle.

If it means reducing the season by a game, so be it. These kids are in great shape physically. If you want to go one step further and reduce the field to an eight-team playoff, fine. It would be three weeks to determine a true No. 1, a champion that can celebrate by winning it all on the field, eliminating any doubt or controversy.