Thought to be one of the biggest potential sticking points, both fighters have apparently agreed to a straight 50/50 split of the money in the fight. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao had argued in the past that they deserved more than half of the pie, based on their own personal conceptions of themselves as the bigger draw. Getting them to agree to 50/50 should not have been hard with the amount of money we’re dealing with in this fight, but with two egos like they have, it’s a small surprise that they both agreed to it so quickly and so easily.

The next possible sticking point was the weight for the fight. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao have avoided the 147 limit in their recent fights, instead fighting at a lower catchweight. It was thought that perhaps Pacquiao would try to get Mayweather to fight at 145 or lower as a bargaining chip, but Mayweather instead tried to apparently bring Pacquiao up to 154 instead. That play by Mayweather might have been the smartest move of this negotiation, as Pacquiao was left with little choice but to “negotiate” Mayweather down to 147, getting the fight to be signed for the actual welterweight limit.

The last point of contention was that Mayweather was reportedly trying to get 10 ounce gloves on both fighters. This was likely due more to Mayweather’s past hand problems than cushioning Pacquiao’s punches, but the fighters will in fact wear eight ounce gloves in the contest. They will both, however, be able to choose what brand of gloves they wear in the fight.

So just like that, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are going to fight on March 13, 2010, with the negotiations apparently going easier than most other marquee fights seem to go.

While a giant pat on the back goes to both fighters for agreeing so promptly to make the fight that the world wants to see, huge kudos also go to Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer, as well as both teams advisers for making this fight get done so quickly.

If only every major fight in boxing could be arranged so easily.

Originally published at BoxingInformer.com

And speaking of the dipshits that run the BCS, among the propaganda websites that they have to “debunk” the playoff theories, is my favorite, Playoff Problem. This is where these geniuses ask us common folk questions like who should get in, how to seed them, blah blah blah, then conclude that there is no good way to make a playoff. Well, on behalf of all of us college football fans with a brain and no financial interest in keeping the big six conferences the richest, here’s your answer.

The bottom line, as it is every year, is that if you want a proper postseason with a proper champion, a playoff is the only way to do it.

So as per usual, here is the playoff brackets for this year, based on the formula that I’ve spent years perfecting. If you’re not familiar with my entire manifesto on an NCAA playoff system, here is a summary of what the tournament will consist of.

REGULAR SEASON FORMAT

• 12 Game Maximum Schedules

• All teams must finish regular season play by the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

• Any conference championship game must be played within this time frame as well, even if that means cutting the regular season schedule to 11. This would be up to each conference. They could also choose to scrap the conference title game and determine a winner through standings.

• To be bowl-eligible, you must have at least six wins vs. I-A opponents

• To be eligible for the National Championship, you must have at least nine wins (can include conference championship, if applicable)

POSTSEASON FORMAT

• 16 teams in playoff to play in National Championship Playoff

• 16 teams in Second Tier Tournament similar to college basketball’s NIT

• 36 teams in 18 Bowl Games to reward players and schools and to keep small bowl-hosting cities in the mix

• Total of 68 teams in postseason (68 in recent years)

• Total of 48 postseason games (34 in recent years)

• Same number of teams in postseason, with 14 additional games.

Teams to play in National Championship Playoff

• Six major conference champions (must be ranked in BCS top 20 or be undefeated)

• Any other conference champions ranked in BCS top 20 or undefeated

• Independents must be ranked in the Top 20 for consideration, top 15 for guaranteed entry

• At-large bids based on BCS standings and an expert committee

• All undefeated teams will play in the playoff, regardless of conference standing (ie. two undefeated Big Ten teams with no conference championship would both get in)

• No more than three teams per conference

• Winner of previous year’s Second Tier Tournament, if in top 20 or ten wins

Teams to play in second tier tournament

• All other conference champions

• At-large bids based on expert committee

Teams to play in Bowl games

• Teams not selected in either tournament will be allowed to accept any invitations they wish from any Bowl. Individual bowls may choose to keep their current affiliations.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF FORMAT

• 16 teams in a single elimination tournament

• Seeding based on final BCS standings

• All first round games are at home field of higher seeded team

• Second round games are at neutral site

• Semi-Final games are at a neutral site

• National Championship game at a neutral site

• Neutral site games are a rotation of major BCS and other bowls

• Total of seven neutral site games to be at currently existing bowl sites

SECOND TIER TOURNAMENT FORMAT

• Winner of tournament can get into National Championship tournament the following year with a top 20 BCS finish, or nine Division-I victories.

• 16 teams in a single elimination tournament

• Seeding done by expert committee

• First and second round games at home field of higher seeded team

• Semi-Final and Championship game at neutral site

• Neutral site games are at currently existing bowl sites

BOWL GAMES

• All bowls to be played as they previously have in the past

• Single game format only

So, without further adeiu, here are your 2009-2010 playoff matchups!

Round One (all games hosted by higher seed)

Game 1
1 Alabama
16 West Virginia

Game 2
2 Texas
15 Miami, FL

Game 3
3 TCU
14 Penn State

Game 4
4 Cincinnati
13 BYU

Game 5
5 Florida
12 Virginia Tech

Game 6
6 Boise State
11 LSU

Game 7
7 Oregon
10 Iowa

Game 8
8 Ohio State
9 Georgia Tech

Round Two (using higher seed as winner for illustration, also top-seed hosts)

Game 9
Games 1 & 8 Winners
Alabama vs. Ohio State (Gator Bowl)

Game 10
Games 2 & 7 Winners
Texas vs. Oregon (Capital One Bowl)

Game 11
Games 3 & 6 Winners
TCU vs. Boise State (Sugar Bowl)

Game 12
Games 4 & 5 Winners
Cincinnati vs. Florida (Orange Bowl)

Round Three – National Semi-Finals (neutral site games)

Game 13
Games 9 & 12 Winners
Alabama vs. Cincinnati (Fiesta Bowl)

Game 14
Games 10 & 11 Winners
Texas vs. TCU (Rose Bowl)

Game 15 – Championship Game
Games 13 & 14 Winners
Alabama vs. Texas (at Sugar Bowl)

Scheduling format for playoff would be as follows:

Round One: Saturday, December 12, 2009
Round Two: Saturday, December 26, 2009
Semi-Finals: Monday, January 4, 2010
Championship: Monday, January 11, 2010

Second Tier Tournament

Tier Two Seeds:

1 – Pittsburgh
2 – Oklahoma State
3 – Oregon State
4 – Arizona
5 – Stanford
6 – Nebraska
7 – Utah
8 – Wisconsin
9 – Central Michigan
10- Troy
11- East Carolina
12- USC
13- Houston
14- Texas Tech
15- Northwestern
16- Clemson

Tier Two Dates:

Round One: Thursday & Friday, December 10 & 11, 2009
Round Two: Thursday & Friday. December 17 & 18, 2009
Semi-Finals: Thursday, December 24, 2009
Championship: Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Tier Two Tournament would follow the exact same game format, including two home game rounds, followed by three neutral site games.

Rounds three and four games would be played at current Bowl Game sites not used in the National Championship Playoff. The Tier Two Tourney would get second choice of bowl tie-ins, before the final bowl games are played under the old bowl standards.

*****

So as you can see, a legitimate playoff is very possible. Not only is it possible, but it could be quite simple. Unfortunately, the powers that run the BCS have one priority — money. They make a boatload of money through the current BCS system, and since it is rigged, they get to keep that money being passed around to the big conferences.

Switching the format to a playoff allows the risk of a team like Boise State, TCU or Utah winning a national championship. Right now, that is their worst nightmare. The day that that happens is the day that the illusion of big conference supremacy is busted.

And until these teams get to prove it on the field, they’ll never get the respect in the polls, which sadly, determine everything.

Considering the fact that three of the voting coaches from the USA Today poll had Oregon ranked ahead of Boise State in the final poll tells you that these coaches (or rather the SIDs who vote for them) are either so biased or so uninformed that the system can’t overcome their stupidity.

Fact: When you go undefeated and shit on a team who ends the year with a 10-2 record, you have absolutely no justification for the 10-2 team to be ranked higher. No first downs for nearly three quarters for Oregon’s offense against Boise, and there’s coaches that have the gall to vote them higher? And you wonder why college football is the most corrupt system in American sports.

So until there is a major change (I’m looking at you Congress!), we’re stuck with this. It’s a money grabbing, old-boys network game and the fans, the athletes and the students at these schools all pay for it. The conference commissioners, meanwhile, laugh all the way to the bank.

Courtesy of TVG, here is a montage of all 14 of Zenyatta’s career wins. Absolutely amazing to watch a horse with a move as strong as her closing kick.

Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, has apparently advised Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer on the Mayweather camp’s wishes, and Schaefer will negotiate on their behalf with Top Rank’s Bob Arum. Ellerbe was willing to step aside from the negotiations due to his past rocky history with Arum, allowing the terms to be worked out without personal differences getting in the way.

While the fight will more than likely land at one of the existing venues in Las Vegas, there has also been talk at staging this mega-event at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, the new Yankee Stadium or perhaps even a brand new venue built specifically for this fight by Steve Wynn in Las Vegas.

Mayweather’s camp appears confident that a deal can be made, and feel that Mayweather’s pay-per-view track record will allow him to have the upper hand in negotiations, allowing a deal to be reached more easily.

If a deal can’t be reached for their respective next fights, both fighters have some very big name “backup plans.” Ellerbe says that Mayweather has his sights set on the winner of the upcoming Shane Mosley – Andre Berto fight as his backup option, while Pacquiao is interested in making a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Originally published at BoxingInformer.com

The conference was trying to get changes made to the BCS system, going as far as the United States Congress to try to get changes made. Sen. Arlen Hatch (R-Utah) has said that he thinks the BCS clearly violates antitrust laws, and is leading hearings into the BCS practices in the House of Representatives.

The agreement with the BCS means that the conference will be much more quiet in the coming years when it comes to fighting for equality in college football’s postseason, but they vow that they are not giving up the fight.

Clearly the Mountain West wasn’t thrilled about having to sign the deal, saying:

“… The Mountain West believes it has no choice at this time but to sign the agreements. If a conference wishes to compete at the highest levels of college football, and the only postseason system in place for that is the BCS, no one conference can afford to drop out and penalize its football programs and student-athletes.”

This, to me, is the definition of anti-trust and monopoly. The Mountain West Conference is basically being forced to sign an agreement that they don’t agree with and know could be detrimental to them, but are left with no other options, so they must enter into an undesirable deal.

And there is no other option. To not sign the deal would be to risk subjecting all of the teams in the Mountain West to financial disaster. Not being a part of the BCS, when there is no other option, means that you are not in position to get your piece of the pie when the money is spread at the end of the season. Right now, there are no other options, so the Mountain West was forced to sign a deal they don’t agree with. If you can find a better definition of a monopoly, more power to you.

With this deal being signed, it is not necessarily the end of the battle. There are far more of us that want things changed, and clearly the legal system is on our side. The BCS thinks that since they are simply a college football postseason system that the law won’t bother with them, but they couldn’t be more wrong. The BCS controls the finances of major educational institutions. Once the effects of their unfair practices are explained to the lay non-sports fan, more people will be on board with the government doing something about this.

At the end of the day, there is far too much money at stake, and the money is essentially for legitimate educational institutions. I’m pretty confident that once legitimate hearings take place, the BCS will be broken up.

As for the Mountain West, they say that their fight will continue, despite being a part of it for a few more years:

“The Mountain West will continue its efforts for change, including a request for dialogue with representatives of the BCS. Our goal is to ensure the eventual outcome of these endeavors is what our universities and student-athletes need, what the vast majority of American sports fans want, and what is long overdue: an equitable system.”

Bottom line: The Mountain West is right, the BCS is wrong. It’s just a matter of time before the right people get involved in this.

With only one weekly football game, no baseball, and no basketball, how has NBC Sports managed to become the worst national broadcaster of sports in the country?

Well, that’s a pretty simple answer: When you screw up the Olympics as badly as they did, and when you consistently mangle your tennis coverage, you end up with a well-earned reputation at being failures at your job. The main problem: NBC refuses to show major sporting events live, insisting instead on putting them in “prime time,” showered with analysis and features. Just show us the damn game/match/event.

There isn’t a lot that NBC Sports is trusted with. But when they are trusted with covering an event, we expect them to do it well. I can put up with glitches in broadcasts and even technical problems — they happen, but what I can’t put up with is not showing the events you are supposed to be showing.

NBC ruined the Olympics in 2008 by insisting on showing the “marquee” events in prime time, even if that meant a long tape delay prior to airing. In today’s world of the Internet and instant news, it is impossible to keep any suspense until the taped coverage begins. So those of us on the West Coast particularly, knew the results of everything that was going to be aired on NBC on the night of Olympic coverage. So what did we do? We didn’t watch it.

Of course, when we really wanted to watch something, NBC forced us to do so on their Web site. Occasionally things were on another channel, which was nice, but too often we were forced to watch these great sporting events in inferior quality on the web. The Olympics was a massive failure for viewers all over the country due to NBC.

This week, they were at it again, as they chose to air a taped Wimbledon match that they damn sure knew was a three set drubbing, rather than show the only American man left in the tournament in the best match of the tournament so far. Viewers in the United States were forced to watch Andy Roddick play Lleyton Hewitt on the Internet (NBCSports.com again), once again in inferior quality, while the television showed a taped, three-hour old Roger Federer drubbing.

Even the New York Times says it is time for NBC to walk away.

The problem is, NBC is convinced that us viewers want to watch a giant production, in prime time, with analysis, of every major sporting event. We don’t. We want to watch the sports, live, as they happen.

NBC screwed up the French Open as well, and they have certainly done this to us sports fans many other times in the past. For that matter, we went through this at Wimbledon last year, too.

ESPN gets it. For all of the things that I don’t like about the Worldwide Leader, at least they show things live. If a big soccer match starts at 3am, ESPN will show it live. Same with tennis and baseball. Now if only they would learn that when they do show things on tape (sometimes it’s necessary), they remove the final score of what they are showing from their ticker. But baby steps…

In fact, ESPN’s coverage of the first week of Wimbledon was fantastic. DIRECTV even provided a mix channel that let me pick what match I wanted to watch — live, at 4am. It wasn’t until the second week, when NBC played their exclusivity card that all of a sudden I couldn’t watch tennis anymore.

While we’re at it, let’s throw in the story that NBC wouldn’t allow the Pittsburgh Penguins to show a playoff game on a big screen outside of their arena, something that the Pens had done throughout the playoffs. They continued to air any games broadcast on FSN, but NBC put the kibosh on their broadcast being used.

Yeah, I get it — it’s all about advertising. NBC wants more people watching their broadcasts of games at the times they want them too to maximize revenue. But at what cost to the actual broadcast? Sports don’t work in tape delays, and sports broadcasts don’t work when the top priority is the advertisers and not the fans.

Say what you will about ESPN, but at least they put the game first.

NBC, on the other hand, could apparently care less about the sports it is broadcasting. When that is the case, then they need to get out.

When it comes to ranking the sports broadcasters in the United States, the only thing that is clear is the NBC is dead last. The day that NBC is outbid for the Olympics and tennis coverage is going to be a great day for sports fans who actually want to watch sports when they happen. Until then, I’ll just continue to not watch sports on NBC, since I already know the results of what they are showing.

So since I first wrote that piece, here are the updates.

Good:
• Home and away feeds are now available (since 2008 season) when possible. Big upgrade.
• Games now in HD (point goes to Fox Sports affiliates for upgrading, not DIRECTV or Major League Baseball for doing anything.
• Mix channel now comes with HD package (at least – may come with regular package). You used to have to pay extra for this. Great channel.

Bad:
• Still ridiculous home markets. Here in Las Vegas, I am still blacked out from Diamondbacks, Padres, Angels, Dodgers, Giants and A’s games quite often.

Think about how ridiculous that is. I live in a market that has no MLB team. The closest team is several hundred miles away. Only the occasional game from any of these teams is on the local cable (still not on satellite). Yet I am still subjected to the caveman style maps that baseball drew up way too long ago to determine where “local markets” are.

I can’t emphasize this enough: Until the blackout rules are changed and the local markets redrawn, baseball on television will be a failing equation. Yes, I get to watch almost every game that I want to. For that, I thank the powers of technology. But missing just one game because of these absolutely insane rules is beyond explanation.

So in summary, yes Extra Innings is improving, but they still haven’t cured the cancer at the root of it. Basically, they have taken a sick body and given it a makeover and new shoes, but failed to address the disease.

Just add DIRECTV to the list of things that make Bud Selig a terrible commissioner (if you have any room left on that piece of paper).

Quick summary: Texas beat Boston College 3-2 in 25 innings Saturday/Sunday, setting a new NCAA record for the longest game played.

The real story: Texas reliever Austin Wood threw 13 innings of relief ball, including 12 1/3 innings of no-hit ball, while throwing 169 pitches. That’s right, 169 pitches of pure domination, and this isn’t the top story?

BC reliever Mike Belfiore went 9 2/3 innings in the same game and was relegated to the eighth paragraph.

And amazingly, neither pitcher’s arm has fallen off yet. When these two are still healthy in a week, this should be a lesson to the big league coaches who think that if a professional athlete throws more than 100 pitches in a game that his career will end. Blah, blah, protect your investment, blah — it can be done.

I’m not saying that pitchers should routinely be throwing 169 pitches a game, I’m saying that when a guy goes eight scoreless and is at 110 pitches, you don’t have to lift him for a much, much shittier pitcher who you have arbitrarily labeled your “closer.”

Yes, a 25-inning game is the headline, but every single column written about this game should have been about Wood’s amazing performance. And the ridiculousness that is pitch counts.

Well done, sir, Nolan Ryan would be proud (and everyone in baseball history prior to 1980).

After Manny Pacquiao’s amazing beatdown of Ricky Hatton on May 2, here is the Street Fighter II version of that fight. I’m a sucker for cheap entertainment like this.

In a recent Gator Club appearance, Meyer took issue with comments in the last year by former players, specifically but not officially former Gator quarterback Shane Matthews. While Matthews wasn’t called out by name, it was apparent to most that he is who Meyer was referring to.

You see, Matthews had the audacity as a radio host to question some of the decisions made in Florida’s embarrassing 31-30 loss to Mississippi last year.

At the time, Matthews said, “When I watched the Ole Miss game and Ole Miss played our wide receivers about 90 percent man-to-man, it was a slap in the face to our wide receivers and passing game. I can’t understand why we didn’t take advantage of that.”

Apparently, Meyer didn’t like that. And while Matthews has absolutely nothing to be sorry for and no need to explain himself, he still cleared the air with Meyer and made nice.

Now, with Matthews in mind, Meyer sent out a clear message to former players:

“If you want to be critical of a player on our team or a coach on our team you can buy a ticket for seat 37F, you’re not welcome back in the football office. You’re either a Gator or you’re not a Gator.”

So get it straight, former Gators. If you want to take a job in television, radio, or in coaching (not at Florida), you are likely forfeiting your Gatorhood.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if Matthews was right. All that matters is that you don’t dare question Sir Urban and the Mighty Gators, else Lord Tebow will strike down upon you.

I mean really, come on. Criticism is part of the game. Let’s face the facts. Urban Meyer cost his team the game against Mississippi in 2008 with terrible play calling. You are not being anti-Gator to point that out, you are being mildly educated in football. When down by one, in field goal range and facing a 4th and 1, you don’t call a shotgun quarterback sneak. Simple as that. If all Matthews said was what is quoted here, he was being soft on Florida and Meyer.

But hey, Meyer’s got himself two national championships, so he calls the shots. Let’s see what happens when Tebow himself criticizes Florida in four years if Meyer is still there. How do you banish the football Messiah to seat 37F?

It is just unreal the power that college football coaches (think they) have. It’s this mentality that keeps most of them from succeeding in the NFL.