Afternoon Baseball

Reacting to a snow-filled, sports-filled weekend:

1. The BCS got it as right as it could possibly be. Look, two or three weeks ago (or maybe just a week?), when I mentioned to my friend the possibility of a two-loss national championship entrant, it was a huge long-shot. Yet, something seemed realistic about it. It's not that nobody's good -- although every #2 may be a huge choke artist. Rather, it's the deepest collegiate football field ever seen.
That, and this merry-go-round of whoever has fewer losses is automatically better created this mess. BC, South Florida, Kansas, Missouri? These were not top 2 teams -- they just had the second-fewest losses at the time.
Ohio State may be overrated, but they had one loss, and, being Ohio State, were penalized severely for it (although, after last year's championship debacle, perhaps deservingly).
LSU lost in overtime twice, so one may wonder aloud how much of clutch this team lacks, but they seem to be the only two-loss team that didn't embarrass themselves at some point, nor, as is the case with Georgia, did they fail to win divisions and conferences.
Sorry, Kansas. Sorry, Hawaii. You're just not that good. Although, Hawaii should still be ranked higher -- you jet-lag the hell out of schools to win, but you still win.
Just in case there's any doubt -- the BCS is stupid, still. But this scenario is actually better for it than say, the year with three undefeated teams. No two-loss or Cinderella team can bitch as legitimately as a team that's pillaged a top-tier conference.

2. Eli Manning saved a lot of things Sunday by leading a comeback, perhaps even his own job. He also saved us from more sanctimony by Joe Buck (surprise, surprise!) and Troy Aikman, who spent three quarters relating how no one has ever struggled in a profession the world over like Eli Manning the last two weeks.
To be fair, I like Aikman, and his analysis was helpful and insightful on numerous occasions (the Amani Toomer TD catch being one of them). And I'm not an Eli fan, remember.
But hey, he's putting the team toward the playoffs. And while this isn't the most audacious endorsement, it is acknowledging stability, a precious NFL commodity:

However, I don't see him being a Pro Bowl type quarterback that I thought he would become anymore. Does that mean the Giants should draft another quarterback and start over again, I'm not sure. ... All this said, I don't see a reason to force him out
of town because it's not a sure bet you'll get someone better.

3. The U.S. finally won the Davis Cup. For non-tennis aficionados, it's like the Ryder Cup but with the U.S. not really caring much and every country getting a team. It's not an exact comparison. But at least the Yanks finally get their best players to play -- Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers -- and be enthused about it.

4. We all feel for the Washington Redskins over the death of Sean Taylor (though the Bills didn't feel bad enough to lose), but let's not forget to get rid of Joe Gibbs at the end of the year. Believe me, I'd love to see the Giants not having to worry about the Skins, but Gibbs is the worst type of NFL leech -- the guy hanging on too long for his own personal glory and on his outdated credentials that he's forgotten how to apply today. See: Brett Favre the last two years and when the Pack inevitably lose at home in January. Not see: Drew Bledsoe, of all people, who had sense to quit when no one wanted him to start (at least, not by choice)