The annual idiocy known as the BCS claimed another couple of victims this season. The Auburn Tigers, despite winning all twelve of their games, will not have a chance to play for a championship. Meanwhile, the Calfornia Bears lost their spot in the Rose Bowl because they won by only ten points on the road in their final game of the season. Auburn, USC and Oklahoma all finished the season undefeated but only two of the three can play for a title because the NCAA has so far refused to add even one extra game to decide a true champion. All three teams have a legitimate argument for being in the BCS Championship Game. The situation was going to be unfair, no matter which team was left out. What happened to the Cal Bears was even more of a travesty. Texas jumped Cal in the final BCS standings and grabbed the Rose Bowl spot because Cal did not beat Southern Mississippi by enough on Saturday night according to the BCS computers and the coaches who voted in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford had a chance to extend the final margin of victory from 10 points to 17 points with 20 seconds left in Saturday's game. He did the classy thing and asked his quarterback to take a knee and run out the clock. Tedford's classy move may have cost his school a trip to the Rose Bowl and several million dollars. It's not that Texas is any less worthy than Cal. Both teams were 10-1 and only lost to a team in the BCS Championship Game so Texas has no less of a reason to claim the spot than Cal. The problem is that the margin of victory in Cal's game with Southern Miss mattered as much as it did. The BCS dodged another bullet when Pittsburgh beat South Florida to take the Big East's automatic bid and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. At 8-3, Pittsburgh doesn't really deserve a BCS spot but at least they are in the top 25. Had Pitt lost the season finale, 6-5 Syracuse (a team ranked 90th in the nation in total defense and 104th in passing offense) would have been in the Fiesta Bowl.

It's time again for my NCAA Football Playoff Proposal. When I put together my first NCAA playoff proposal in 1999, I really believed that college football was on the path to adopting a playoff system. I could not have been more wrong. The NCAA, the men in the funny-colored sportcoats adorned with their bowl's logo and the university presidents of the top dozen or so power football schools will never allow such a sensible thing as a Division 1-A college football playoff to take place. The aforementioned groups who control college football are like activist judges. They make decisions that suit their own needs even though those decisions run contrary to the desires of 90% of the people involved. Anyway, if college football was in fact like every other sports league on the planet (including all other NCAA football levels, beer league softball, The World Series of Poker and even the WNBA), the playoffs might look a little something like this: 2004 College Football Playoff Proposal.

The Patriots won again this week to improve their record to 11-1. The Pats never cease to amaze me. Even with the injuries at cornerback they have continued to win rather easily. Here are some of the most amazing numbers:

• The Patriots are 26-1 in their last 27 games.
• Since losing to the Rams in their tenth game of 2001, the Patriots are 46-10 overall and 25-3 at home.
• The Pats are 25-2 over the past three years after November 20th.
• Tom Brady is 51-13 in his career as a starter. He is 7-0 in overtime games and 6-0 in the playoffs.
• The Patriots have scored first in 20 consecutive games (17 in regular season).

I don't think I have ever witnessed a bigger gap between the best team in an NFL conference and the rest of the pack as I have this year in the NFC. The Packers, arguably the second best team in the NFC, lost to the Eagles 47-17 on Sunday and the game really wasn't as close as the score indicates. Meanwhile, the Falcons, the team with the second best record in the NFC, lost to the 4-7 Bucs by a score of 27-0. Minnesota you say? They lost by 10 to the Chad Hutchinson-led Bears on Sunday. They may have to airlift Andy Reid and the coaching staff right out of Lincoln Financial Field if the Eagles lose in the NFC playoffs this year.

The AFC playoffs could be very interesting. If Law and Poole return and if the rest of the team can stay relatively healthy, the Patriots will be the favorites to return to the Superbowl but the Steelers and Colts will make things very interesting. New England has contained Indy in the past, but Manning and Company have taken the offense to a level over the past couple of months that I have not seen in a long time, if ever. Whether or not Pittsburgh maintains the #1 seed in the AFC is the bigger story for the Patriots (Pittsburgh wins the tiebreaker with New England). If the Patriots can move back into the #1 spot, not only would Pittsburgh have to play in Foxboro should the teams meet in the AFC Championship Game but New England would likely play San Diego or a wild card team in the Divisional Playoff round. San Diego visits Indy on December 26th with the winner almost certainly becoming the #3 seed in the AFC. Clearly, the Colts will be a fairly heavy favorite in that game.

First Barry Pepper played Roger Maris in "61*". Now he's going to be portraying Dale Earnhardt in the ESPN movie "3". I fully expect to see "99, the Wayne Gretzky Story" starring Barry Pepper by the end of next year. If he plays Jackie Robinson in a movie called "42", we will know for sure that Pepper has been typecast.

I am disappointed that the Red Sox actually increased their offer to Pedro after he visited with Steinbrenner. I would have reduced the offer by a million a year just for entertaining the thought of playing for the Yankees. I am grateful for everything that Pedro Martinez has done for the Sox and he will always be one of my all time favorites. However, a part of me wants Pedro to sign with the Mets. I can't imagine that tying up $40 million over three years for a guy whose arm could go at any time is a good investment for the Red Sox. Even if Pedro's arm does not fall apart, he is becoming less durable by the day. He's about a 100 pitch per game guy now. I can't imagine him being effective for more than 85-90 pitches by the time the proposed contract ends in 2007. At the same time, I am sickened by the prospect of Pedro pitching for the Yankees. It seemed fitting for Boggs and Clemens. I'd hate to see Pedro in pinstripes.

The negotiations with Jason Varitek have also been more difficult than I expected. It would be very difficult for the Red Sox to pull the trigger on a five year big money contract for a catcher who will be 33 years old next April. Varitek is approaching the age where the abilities of most catchers start to diminish. Signing Varitek for five years is an enormous risk but so is letting him go. Hopefully, the two sides can work out a compromise because the Red Sox would simply not be the Red Sox without their spiritual leader.