Big 10/12 divisional decision easy and not easy

I wonder what will happen when the Big 10/12 splits into 2 divisions.
Personally, I don't want the conference to divide just to be able to hold a championship game and make millions. Can one thing in this world not be about making an extra buck and preserving history?
But it's inevitable, so in a second I will offer my solution on how to split up into 2 divisions.
But first, no matter what the decision-makers do, it will create slightly unequal divisions because there is one absolute and I'm not talking about vodka ..... Ohio State and Michigan MUST be together.
Why?
Because the last Saturday in the season is sacred ..... it's all about OSU vs. That School Up North. And putting them in separate divisions will take away from The Game because it will create a championship game rerun.
Once Michigan becomes relevant again (as soon as the Wolverines fire Rich Rodriguez it will happen), OSU and Michigan will play two weeks in a row ..... once in the regular season and then the next week in the conference title game. I will be willing to bet that once Michigan recovers from it's Rodriguez-induced stinkyosity, OSU and the Maize and Blue will win their divisions with bran-like regularity.

Fixing the BC-mesS

I wonder if the Big 12 will really be able to stay together. Will it become the Big 10 and will the Big 10 become the Big 12?
I wonder if anyone will read this whole thing because it is kind of long.
Anyway, whenever the carousel stops turning it will be a perfect opportunity for the NCAA and the BCS to fix what’s wrong with college football’s method of determining the national champion.
Like we do in my keeper fantasy football league whenever we have mass ownership turnover or make major rules changes, we throw all the names back into the draft and start over.
It’s time to hit control, alt, delete on the BC-mesS and start over. If I’m not mistaken (and I usually am) the BCS is under contract until 2013, but coaches under contract are fired all the time. So ….. what the heck.
I have two plans that I think will help eliminate all the justified complaining.

Corky Rose?

I wonder what they will uncover next about Pete Rose.
A story on cnnsi.com says that Rose, baseball's hits king, used a corked bat and there is photo proof.
A memorabilia dealer had one of Rose's 1985 Mizuno PR4192 bats (or should I say one of the bats Rose allegedly used) x-rayed and it showed a cork, or at least some foreign object, in the hollowed out bat. The bat in question was first used in a series in Philadelphia, a story on deadspin.com reports.
It may be true. It may not be true.
At first I wondered why Rose would need a corked bat because he was not a power hitter. Of the six players caught with a modified bat since 1970, five were more or less known to hit homers.
My question is why would a corked bat help Rose?
Corked bats help generate more bat speed and to an extent improve timing. Later on in Rose's career, specifically the 1985 season, his magical swing wasn't as swift. A quicker swing would enable him to better catch up to a fastball, say from a Doc Gooden-type pitcher.
So apparently, a corked bat would help him (Charlie) Hustle the game of baseball.

Wait and see on new Buckeye's QB

I wonder who will take this post the wrong way.
Let me preface by saying I am not being critical of the young man.
I am excited about Wayne High School quarterback Braxton Miller verbally committing to play for The Ohio State University.
But excited is as far as I will go. The 6-foot-3, 200 pounder is either the No. 1 or No. 2 quarterback in the Class of 2011, depending on which scouting service you believe. And just as a quick sidebar, if guys from scouts.com and rivals.com know that much, why aren't they working for one of the top college programs?
Anyway, back to Miller.
He apparently has the tools to be a successful major college quarterback. Florida and OSU were his final 2 choices but since Florida signed the other No. 1 quarterback in the nation, and since Miller has an OSU tattoo on his arm, it was pretty obvious. He reportedly didn't even make an official visit to Florida.
But excited is as far as I will go.
Miller has done some great things at Wayne. But he has missed some games due to injury so I have to keep that in the back of my mind.
But the real reason for my tempered optimism is history. Remember Justin Zwick, Buckeye fans? He came to Columbus with all the fanfare and hoopla and stunk worse than the men's room at Papa Joe's on campus.
Remember Ron Powlus, Notre Dame fans?
He was the Parade Magazine prep player of the year in 1992 and the USA Today offensive player of the year. An ESPN analyst predicted Powlus would win three Heismans. He couldn't even win three bowl games.

Wanted: replay in baseball

I wonder if you will believe me or not, but I have wanted instant replay in baseball for a long time.
Forget what happened in Detroit on Wednesday night, when an obvious blown call by respected umpire Jim Joyce caused Armando Galarraga a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians.
Joyce admitted he blew the call. Baseball did the right thing in not overturning the call. Obla Di, Obla Da, Life goes on.
MLB Commissioner Dud Selig, uh, I mean, Bud Selig, has confirmed that he will look into expanding instant replay in some capacity.
Long overdue.
Currently MLB replays questionable homerun calls. It needs to go deeper than that. The game is quicker, the umpires are not. They are older, more out of position (more out of shape too) and slower to react. There needs to be a safeguard in place that will protect the integrity of the game going forward.
I love the human element of officiating in sports. But the camera is quicker than the eye. Tennis has the eagle eye replay. Hockey has replays to make sure the puck did or didn't completely cross the goal line. Football allows coaches and the replay official in the booth to challenge a variety of calls.

Big season for Bengals

I wonder what Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown will do regarding Marvin Lewis.
Lewis is in the last year of his contract as head coach and there some clamoring for Brown to extend Lewis' contract now.
Brown should take the wait-and-see approach before deciding whether to keep Lewis or move on. It has nothing to do with the fact that the 2011 season may or may not happen. And my feelings have nothing to do with all the off-the-field things because a head-coach has very little control over his players when they leave the stadium.
Lewis, a defensive-minded coach, was hired to turn around the beleaguered franchise that was the punch line of many jokes during the 1990s and 2000s.
Has he done it? I don't think so.
Not yet at least.
Lewis' record heading into this season is a paltry 56-55-1. He has 2 division titles and two playoff losses, both in the wild card round, at home. Forget the "Carson Palmer Injury Game." Had Kimo von Oelhoffen not punked QB Carson Palmer early in the game, I really think the Bengals would have won.
But they didn't and life goes on.
Under Lewis, the Bengals have had 2 winning seasons and have finished third in the 4-team AFC North three times. Thank goodness for the Cleveland Browns, huh? Cincinnati is averaging 8 wins a season.
So under Lewis the Bengals typical season is mediocrity.

Can I get a T?

I wonder if this will be the only time there is technical-foul controversy in the NBA that doesn't involve Rasheed Wallace.
OK, all joking aside, what in the world is going on in the NBA? Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins received two technical fouls -- nos. 6 and 7 of the playoffs -- in game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Orlando Magic, meaning an automatic one-game suspension.
The media dropped the hint that the league could review it. And of course, given that the media thinks the NBA needs an LA-Boston finals (which I think is BS), the powers-that-be reviewed the calls and rescinded one technical, meaning Perkins can play in the suddenly important Game 6. Funny thing is that the technical foul that was rescinded was not the accidental elbow slip when he tried to help up teammate Rajon Rondo. The disappearing technical was the one Perkins picked up in the second quarter for complaining about a foul.
This is not your father's NBA.