Obama Coy on 60 Minutes

Same 'Ol Same 'Ol: President-elect Barack Obama drew the highest ratings in years on Sunday night's telecast on CBS's "60 Minutes." He didn't say much we already haven't heard. The only real news between now and his inauguration Jan. 20 will be announcements of his cabinet. There isn't much he could say although the show's producers afforded him the entire broadcast. He's sticking to his "one president at a time" mantra. But, hold on sports fans. He reiterated what he said during a recent Monday Night Football game that he wanted a playoff series to determine the NCAA football championship. Even as President of the United States, that's a tough call, falling short, perhaps, of solving the nation's economic meltdown. Speaking for the legions of college football fans clamoring for an 8-team playoff system, Barack's beacon will fall on deaf ears. The reason:
Money, Money, Money: The BCS, college presidents, television and the groupie bowl game sponsors of which there were a zillion at last count hold the current post-season format. There's a ton of money spread through all the conferences from the bowl games right down to the worst and oftentimes winless klutz in those leagues. A playoff system would take three weeks to carry out. One way of accomplishing that is to shorten the college regular season to 11 games, ending no later than Thanksgiving Day. Hold the next two weeks for the lesser bowl games with all the runners-up and wannabes playing one game for glory and the dollars that come with it. The next three weeks set aside for the playoffs with the larger bowls such as the Rose, Fiesta and Orange, et. al., for the championship runoffs. Like March Madness in college basketball, the ratings should go through the roof. But, no. College presidents resist the idea for a number of reasons, few of which apply to the academic side of the equation. However, corporate sponsorship could be in jeopardy with the downturn in the economy. Television networks may have problems luring the advertising bucks to pay for their broadcasts. Who knows? Perhaps, Obama's impeccable timing to win the presidency continues with his support for a college football championship series. The guy's on a roll. Maybe his influence as prez will be the stimulus this idea conceived in football fan heaven requires.