UMFan83

Dammit I wasted all that time reading about the great Montero/Castillo platoon.

Meaningless update but whatever. From the good 18 year old:

Oh man here comes Lester signing with the Red Sox Hah Anyways he basically said this same thing on the radio just now but this was from a chat earlier:

Jesse Rogers seems to think the Cubs are in the driver's seat too

http://www.overthemonster.com/2014/12/9/7362385/red-sox-jon-lester-free-agent-rumors-cubs Over the Monster is an SB Nation Red Sox blog. Have no idea if they are just rehashing information or if they have legit sources.

Jesse Rodgers on ESPN 1000 seems pretty positive that the Cubs have the highest offer or at least at the same level as Boston. He thinks its Money/Curse Breaking (Chicago) vs. Heartstrings (Boston). He also thinks the Cubs changed course over the last couple of days in acquiring Hammel and Montero to show Lester they are prepared to compete next year.

That would explain the conflict then. Red Sox have the heartstrings...Cubs have the most money, and the Giants are feeling out of it. I'd be shocked if we guaranteed a 7th year #PTR: A 7th year? I'll have relenquished the club in bankruptcy court by then anyways.

Other people thinking the same thing:

I'm not sure why the Giants would come out and say that unless they are just prepping their fans for bad news. Or maybe Lester has indicated he wants to go to SF, but is trying to get them to up their offer to match the Cubs/Red Sox, and Evans is calling their bluff.

Totally an agree to disagree type thing. I don't mind your arguments, I just feel different. Also CFB would still be a sport where one game can change the season, its just different teams that one game can change everything for. Well, not really. With 8 everyone has a mulligan. With 4 you probably have a mulligan, but you'd better play a really good team out of conference (Oregon), dramatically improve following the loss (Oregon and Ohio St) or play in a great conference where you can rack up quality wins (Alabama). Like you said right now you have a mulligan if you lose so its not "one week can change anything". Ohio State looks like one of the best teams in the country and almost didn't make it because their freshman QB was starting his first game against P5 competition and lost. If they beat Wisconsin 38-0 instead of 59-0 they might not have a shot this year. Anyways, we could go on and on forever, agree to disagree :D

Whatever, but I feel like we shouldn't have to give up much of anything in exchange for taking that deal.

Totally an agree to disagree type thing. I don't mind your arguments, I just feel different. Also CFB would still be a sport where one game can change the season, its just different teams that one game can change everything for.

That was mine credit to @Stannis for the scoop, hat tip to @David for posting the tweet, nothing to @minnesotacubfan I'd never make it as an internet sports reporter.

edit: Beaten credit to @minnesotacubfan for the scoop

Whoops I guess he suffered fractures in his back after all. I would say that about does it for the Panthers playoff chances, but this is the NFC South we're talking about.

It's not "making it easier to win a championship", it's "giving them a non-zero chance of winning a championship". Those conferences chose to play FBS football, but I'm sure the NCAA is getting something out of it to otherwise it wouldn't support those schools playing in their subdivision. I don't see how Power 5 conferences and schools would complain about adding 3 new playoff spots (and a 4th in years that a G5 school isnt in the Top 25 or whatever), guaranteeing all P5 conferences are represented, and giving 2 non champions a shot. The whole "making sure the best team is champion" debate is something only college football cares about. In every other major American pro and college sport, teams that are clearly not the best in the regular season have a shot to compete for a championship and in all of those sports, one of those teams has won before. It's not the end of the world to have the not best team win the title. Winning the conference means nothing what are you talking about? Only conference champions got in, the conference with a murky conference championship structure get shut out. If anything, winning the confernece means you have an 80% chance of making the playoff. Now to be replaced by Mississippi State, Michigan State, etc rooting for non-upsets that would take away a wild card berth. There's always going to be late season drama, and its not like its CBB where the drama is between the 38th and 39th best teams in the country. Also, with the abolition of conference championship games with an 8 team playoff, there will still be a 10-2 Big 12 school rooting for the 10-2 Big 12 school that won H2H to lose to win the conference title and secure a playoff spot. Not sure what you are saying here, if anything adding teams brings it more of a national sport. Right now there are like 10 programs that will consistently compete for a title. Teams like Mississippi State don't have a solid shot...even in their dream season they sputtered out and finished short of the playoffs. So guess where the top recruits typically tend to go more often than not? Those 10 schools. You put a school like Mississippi State in the playoffs and maybe you see more recruits go there. Or maybe Iowa has a great season and makes the playoffs. For the first time since the 60s, Iowa has a legit shot at a title. (not to say they haven't had great seasons before but never to the point where they were competing for a shot at the title on the last week of the season - correct me if I'm wrong).

You don't think Adam LaRoche or Adam Eaton are good hitters? The divison is pretty good, but then again the Tigers seem to half ass it in the regular season every year. There is a chance for the Sox IMO. Plus they might still have some money to spend this year. Not for a premier guy, but someone that can help them.

So did Nightengale I am starting to hate SF as much as hate the Cards. I just hate their fans. I lived in NorCal a long time and that fan base is just as obnoxious as Cardinals fans. Actually, I visited SF for the first time in my life this summer and went to a Giants game, I was stunned at how obnoxious their fans were. I pictured them all being either super hipsters or rich but geeky tech guys.

So did Nightengale I am starting to hate SF as much as hate the Cards. Let's not go that far [expletive] Will Clark, reason enough to hate the Giants.

You just put a team that played one Power 5 school (and got bludgeoned by them) into a playoff, then called the regular season 'more important' under such a scenario. Auto-bids for conferences is a fantastic way to remove any real incentive to schedule up during the regular season you just claimed would be more important. Why risk removing yourself from wild-card contention with a loss when the only games that really matter are in conference? It's about balancing 3 things, rewarding conference champions, making sure everyone has a legitimate chance at a winning the title, and keeping the importance of the regular season, which makes college football great. I think making sure everyone has a legit shot at winning is most important. I know not everyone will agree, but what is the point of having 128 teams in your league when only half of them (64 Power 5 teams + ND) have a chance at being a champion. Isn't that the main point, to win the championship? I don't mind an alternative scenario where The Power 5 form their own league, and the rest create a new subdivision, but if there are going to be 128 teams, I want every one of them to have a shot. You can argue that the little schools should beef up their schedule, but as we've seen with Boise State and other schools, teams don't want to play you when you start consistently winning. Bottom line is that its impossible for a Sun Belt school to win a championship, so they should either be given a (small) chance to win one or form their own subdivision with other teams. 1 school out of 63 (1.5%) gets a bid from the smaller conferences while 7 out of 65 (10.8%) Power 5 schools get bids. And I think there should be importance to winning your conference, but I would argue that by giving 5 of the 7 bids to conference champions, it makes the regular season more important. It's not like there is no importance to scheduling tough games, as the competition for the 2 Wild Cards will depend on you having a strong OOC schedule. Furthermore, the way the playoff selection committee sets things up now, you pretty much have to win your conference to get a shot at the playoffs (hence why the Big 12 hastily declared Baylor and TCU co-champions), so this doesn't change it...if anything it ensures all Power 5 conferences are represented and it gives 2 additional teams a chance to enter the playoff. If you want to increase your chances of making it, win your conference. If not, prove your worthy by losing 2 or less games with a difficult schedule.

So umm...Madison Bumgarner once dated a girl named....Madison Bumgarner. http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/12/9/7360277/madison-bumgarner-madison-bumgarner

http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls14/story/_/id/12003942/picturing-year-college-football-playoff-eight-teams Man an 8 teamer would have been awesome this year. If we moved to 8 teams there is actually a legit chance for an underdog to play a favorite instead of 4 juggernauts playing each other. MSU would be a clear underdog against Alabama, but I don't think anyone would be shocked if MSU pulled off the upset in that one. I still say go to 8 teams and do: 5 power conference champs, the top ranked "Group of 5" champion, and 2 wild cards. This season's matchups you'd get this: 1 Alabama (SEC) vs. 8 Boise State (G5) 2 Oregon (P12) vs. 7 Mississippi State (WC2) 3 Florida State (ACC) vs. 6 TCU (WC1) 4 Ohio State (B1G) vs. 5 Baylor (B12) Would Boise State get killed by Alabama? Probably, but at least it gives every team in CFB a shot to win a title, as well as an advantage for the team that finishes #1, making the regular season more important. And if there was ever an upset, it would be awesome. If you are worried about a significantly worse G5 team making it one year, you can stipulate that the G5 team has to be in the Top 25 of the ranking, otherwise you add a 3rd WC. As for Notre Dame? They can join a conference if they want to have a better shot of making the playoff.

Who is Tom Loxas anyway? Is he a blog writer or something? Not that he has much credibility, but what makes him different than anyone else throwing up random rumors?