Perhaps I shouldn't open up something here, but I just have to ask (as I was off GatorTalk for a few months after I moved back to FL, and just got back on recently) - what happened to drive Woody off GT? I only ask because I'm sorry to hear that.
Sandy On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 2:08 PM, Scott Lucas <[email protected]>wrote: > While I appreciate the sentiment and agree with what you said, please don't > address it to me. I didn't make the comments that ran him off. Those who > did may want to express similar sentiments. > > I know he is still lurking, and I am sure he still cares, but I don't blame > him for his actions/reactions/decisions. Sometimes it is VERY hard to have > an opinion counter to the majority and swim against the stream. It became > almost a mob mentality with many attacking the few. > > Unfortunately, it appears that more and more people here are starting to > agree with what we were saying all along, but when Woody first brought it up > they were just not ready to hear it. Being right won't bring him back... > doing what is right just might. > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Jerry Belloit <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Thu, October 14, 2010 9:05:40 AM > *Subject:* RE: [gatortalk] FW: [gatornews] AJC.com: Would you vote for a > 16-team playoff? > > Scott, > > > > Perhaps Woody’s absence should remind us all that we should be a little > more courteous and civil in our discourse with each other. After all we are > family here on GatorNet and we should be more considerate of each other. We > are “entitled” to be a great gator family! > > > > Jerry > > > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > Behalf Of *Scott Lucas > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 13, 2010 6:00 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [gatortalk] FW: [gatornews] AJC.com <http://ajc.com/>: > Would you vote for a 16-team playoff? > > > > The commenter was Woody... I guess he found an outlet since he doesn't post > on GT anymore. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* Oliver Barry <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Wed, October 13, 2010 4:03:23 PM > *Subject:* [gatortalk] FW: [gatornews] AJC.com: Would you vote for a > 16-team playoff? > > This is all good and well to debate, but really, who here thinks a playoff > will happen in the next 10 years? 20 years? > > Maybe, maybe it could happen the way Tony Barnhart says here with the first > 4 team playoff. That would be the humble beginning. That’s coming right > along, in say 30 years? > > I like the commenter’s remark at the end. Any team could be great one day. > If Boise St hadn’t beaten Oklahoma in 2006 the discussion would be less > further along than it is. Boise St couldn’t hang in the SEC, probably not > even in the ACC, like they’re doing. They had the opportunity to move > conferences. Where did they go? They left the WAC and went to the Mountain > West! Don’t even tell me they want to be competitive with Oklahoma . It’s > absurd. > > > > Oliver Barry CRS,GRI > > Real Estate Broker > > Bob Parks Realty > > 1517 Hunt Club Blvd > > Gallatin TN 37066 > > Phone: 615-826-4040 > > Fax: 615-822-2027 > > Mobile: 615-972-4239 > > > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > Behalf Of *Woody > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 13, 2010 10:10 AM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* [gatornews] AJC.com <http://ajc.com/>: Would you vote for a > 16-team playoff? > > > > (ridiculous) > Would you vote for a 16-team playoff? > > 7:51 am October 13, 2010, by Tony Barnhart > > I promised myself I would read the book with an open mind and I did. There > is a lot I don’t agree with in the book but Dan Wetzel’s “Death to the BCS” > is required reading for college football fans. > > Wetzel’s book, which hits the store shelves on Thursday, makes the case > through exhaustive interviews and research that many of the accepted truths > about the BCS are simply not true and have been perpetuated by the major > conferences who want to remain in complete control of post-season football. > > Example: That the BCS is “lucrative” because it receives about $125 million > per year from ESPN to show the games. Wetzel points out through numerous > interviews that the a 16-team playoff would generate well over $750 million > per year. So conservatively, he argues, the power structure is willing to > leave $500 million on the table per year in order to stay in power. > > Another example: If the BCS goes away, then the conferences will go back to > the old bowl system: Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany has suggested that if > the BCS is forced out of business, the major conferences will simply go back > to the system of conference tie ins (SEC to Sugar, Big 12 to Fiesta, Big Ten > to Rose, etc). The Big Ten might be able to afford to do that, but few > others could. They could not go back to the pre-1998 bowl system because > they don’t have pre-1998 budgets any more. They need more money. > > Wetzel says that while the entrenched power structure of the six major > conferences and the bowls looks like an immovable object, the inevitability > of a playoff is an irresistible force being created by a new, > better-informed, internet savvy, generation of college football fans. These > fans have grown up with more information and more exposure to college > football than ever before. Wetzel makes the case these fans see every > institution around them evolving at warp speed while college football stays > in a system that was created before 24-hour news and sports was available on > a handheld device. They want more from college football and are empowered to > demand it. > > Wetzel proposes a 16-team playoff to determine the national championship > with all 11 winners of the Division I-A conferences getting an automatic > berth with five at-large teams. > > Here are his first-round pairings if the tournament had been in place in > 2009: > > No. 16 Troy (Sun Belt) at No. 1 Alabama (SEC) > > No. 15 East Carolina (C-USA) at No. 2 Texas (Big 12) > > No. 14 Central Michigan (MAC) at No. 3 Cincinnati (Big East) > > No. 13 LSU (at-large) at No. 4 TCU (Mountain West) > > No. 12 Penn State (at-large) at No. 5 Florida (at-large) > > No. 11 Virginia Tech (at-large) at No. 6 Boise State (WAC) > > No. 10 Iowa (at-large) at No. 7 Oregon (Pac-10) > > No. 9 Georgia Tech (ACC) at No. 8 Ohio State (Big Ten) > > A selection committee, not the BCS Standings made up of poll voters and > computers, would pick the five at-large teams. And Wetzel makes the point > that the competition for and the speculation about those five at-large slots > would be riveting in the final month of the season. > > The first three rounds of the tournament would be played in the home > stadium of the highest seed. The championship would be on a neutral site. So > the competition to be one of the top four seeds, and thus be guaranteed at > least two home games, would be enormous, Wetzel argues. > > Wetzel’s position is that the value of having all of the conference > champions included outweighs the exclusion of a third or fourth team from > one of the power conferences. It wouldn’t cheapen the regular season, he > argues, because seeding would become so important. Having the little guy > playing the big guy in his home stadium (Appalachian State at Michigan ) > would add drama of the first two rounds of the football playoffs similar to > the NCAA basketball tournament. > > Again, it’s compelling reading. But here is my rebuttal to just a few of > these points: > > **–I have been involved in college athletics long enough to know that we > can’t get from where we are right now (a two team playoff) to a 16-team > playoff in just one step. College athletics does not do radical change. The > NCAA basketball tournament started with eight teams in 1939 and grew in > increments to its current 68. That is why the next step in the evolution of > post-season college football in Division I-A will be a four-team playoff. > > **–I remain unconvinced that enough presidents want something like this. > Georgia president Michael Adams put an eight-team playoff on the table in > 2007 and wasn’t able to get a whole lot of support. The presidents I talk to > just don’t want to open up this can of worms. Wetzel, however, believes that > when the economic reality of a playoff and its value hits schools that are > already strapped for cash, the presidents will change their minds. He also > believes that the current power structure keeps the presidents from being > completely informed on this issue. I don’t know about that. There are > some pretty smart guys and ladies sitting in these president’s offices. > > **–Using this 16-team format that includes all 11 conference championships, > teams like Troy (No. 69 in Jeff Sagarin’s rankings), East Carolina (No. 51), > and Central Michigan (No. 42) would have gotten in the tournament. Teams > like No. 14 Nebraska, No. 15 BYU, No. 16 Pittsburgh, and No. 17 Oklahoma > would have been left out. > > **–College football and basketball are so different. It’s one thing to let > the MAC champion into a 65-team basketball tournament. It’s another thing > entirely to tell a 10-2 SEC team that it didn’t get into a 16-team playoff > because Central Michigan beat Ohio U. on a Friday night in Detroit before > 23,714 people. The economic difference between Duke and Butler basketball, > who met for the NCAA championship last April, is not that great. The > economic difference between Georgia football and football at Central > Michigan has to be measured in light years. > > If you put the best 16 teams in a playoff, some of the big conferences > might listen. But I can’t see them going for a system like this. I could be > wrong. > > So what do you think? Do you like Wetzel’s 16-team playoff? If you were a > college president, would you vote for it? > > > > Woody Bass > > October 13th, 2010 > 11:07 am > > Oh please. WE DO NOT NEED A PLAYOFF. A playoff doesnt solve the problem > anymore than the current BCS system does. The PROBLEM is > the pre-season polls… > the fact that strength of schedule is determined too early.. > the fact that every conference SHOULD have a championship game (stupid NCAA > rule)… > > The BCS has gotten it right more often than not. And dont give me this crap > about Boise State … yes.. they are impressive.. but as South Carolina has > shown… any team can be great on any given day… but can they do so > consistently? > > - > Link<http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2010/10/13/would-you-vote-for-a-16-team-playoff/comment-page-3/#comment-99293> > - Report this > comment<http://www.ajc.com/services/content/services/help/blogs/removal.html> > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
