Utah Attorney General Investigating Antitrust Lawsuit Against BCS : It’s About Time!
January 08, 2009 by Aly Adair

BCS Creates Unfair Competition and Financial Benefit to College Football Programs

The University of Utah Utes deserve to be crowned the 2008 National Champions of college football. It is about time that the entire college football playoff system is restructured, so they say every year when one or two college football progams get screwed out of the National Championship title because they are not in the select few conferences that belong to the BCS. The college football playoff system might finally change if the Utah Attorney General gets his way.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is setting out to challenge the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and other state attorneys general are backing his investigation into antitrust law violations by the BCS. President Elect Barack Obama has already said he would like to do what he can to influence a change in the unpopular BCS conference college football ranking system. While most sports enthusiasts agree that a national championship playoff series should be created for all national college football teams, none have legally challenged the BCS financial awards and the unfair competitive advantage they create, until now.

The University of Utah Utes finished the 2008 college football season at 13-0, the only undefeated college football team in the nation. The Utah Utes are the first non-BCS conference college football team since the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) started in 1998, to have two undefeated seasons and win two BCS bowl games. The Utah Utes beat Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.

In 2008, the Utah Utes beat Alabama, BYU, TCU, and Oregon State, all of which were top 25 ranked teams when the Utes beat them. The Utah Utes beat bowl eligible teams Air Force, Colorado State, Alabama, BYU, TCU, and Oregon State, but under the current BCS system, cannot be considered for the National Championship.

Tonight was

Gifts Delivered on Twelfth Night…Shandon Style

First of 52 Week “Sprints” Begins Tomorrow

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on New Year’s Day, The University of South Carolina had the nation’s full attention as it was playing in the first New Years Day bowl game of 2009. What the country watched was a terrible football effort that was so bad, it turned into a public relations debacle for the states flagship university…not to mention the SEC.

Not only was the game over after USC’s first couple of offensive plays (interception and fumble), the team continued on with five turnovers, 100 penalty yards and body language that looked…well, like it did against Clemson.

Beyond the terrible effort on the field, the announcers made it even worse. The guys in the booth wouldn’t stop talking about our last two debacles (UF & Clemson). Further, they kept talking about the offensive legend, that can’t do anything with the Gamecocks offense.

The guys in the booth told the nation that one of our coaches said that USC is probably the most underachieving program in the country. Even the fact that after 100 years of football, Carolina has lost exactly as many games as it’s won was mentioned. No more. For 100+ years, Carolina is below .500 again.

I don’t blame the guys in the booth for saying what they did, as it’s true. I’m only saying that it’s awful to know that the country is hearing all of this negativity, while watching a USC beatdown.

To make matters worse, two juniors told The State that they would not be returning.

I hate to pile it on here, but it doesn’t help the shame that Spurrier gets a $100,000 bonus check because of the bowl bonus in his contract. I’m not saying he shouldn’t get it, because he’s being rewarded for getting the team to a bowl. But dern. It’s a little bit of a pill to swallow after such a embarrassment.

I feel sorry for the good fans that went to Tampa. Everyone should have stayed at home, including the team.

New York Times Uses Columbia as National Model

On Monday, The New York Times used Columbia, SC as the perfect microcosm for the U.S. economy. >>The article is not good, and the headline is worse.

It’s intent may or may not be true, but the timing and manner the article was written was absolutely unfair. There are numerous examples of sensationalism, and even more examples of clever writing. Here are a few.

1. “A Reeling South Carolina City.” – Of course Columbia isn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t think we’re “REELING.” Not only is this not flattering in a world that needs some positive thinking, but The Times put this as it’s HEADLINE. Not just a headline mind you, but this is what America saw on the front page and Above The Fold! Some of us in Columbia may not think this is a big deal, but this is arguably the most read newspaper on earth. Just think of seeing this on every little wooden shelf in EVERY Starbucks in America…just to start. Oooooooooof.

2. “This is now an unfortunate distinction. Some 533,000 jobs disappeared from the economy in November, the worst month since 1974.” – The way this reads to the average American, is that Columbia lost 533,000 jobs. You have to read the paragraph a few times to realize that the writer (Peter Goodman) is talking about U.S. numbers. If you know Columbia, you know this isn’t possible…but this is the way it reads and it’s wreckless writing at best.

3. The first project Mr. Goodman cites is the “redevelopment of N. Main St., a bedraggled corridor of hard-luck retailers that lacks sidewalks in many spots, with exposed power lines dipping down to cracked pavement.” – I’m shaking my head right now. Everyone knows that as N. Main St. is part of Columbia, it is not “Columbia, SC”. Although Mr. Goodman has some positive thoughts later on, to lead off with this example is irresponsible.

I’m fine with The Times using Columbia as a snapshot of the U.S. economy. What I’m not fine with is the fact that he writes how crappy the U.S. economy is, then uses the most challenged parts of our city as its examples.

If you read the rather long article, it basically paints a picture of him in line at a job fair at the State Fairgrounds and in the back seat of a car, as he rides down North Main Street.

We’ll see if anyone steps up and defends our Columbia, or if we let the New York Times describe us with this “drive by” reporting.

I happen to believe that if Columbia, South Carolina is the perfect microcosm of the U.S. as a whole, we’re gonna be o.k.

Below is a piece written on Facebook by a friend of mine, who’s a lender at Wachovia. He pretty much hits what I’ve been telling people all week, right on the head.

I’ve been telling people all week that they need to call their lender and “lock in.” Even if you don’t refinance or buy a house, at least lock in (because rates are in the 4%’s for Pete sakes) and evaluate what’s best for you after you study your situation. I’ve learned from my lender friends that if you have the opportunity to reduce your rate about 2%, then you need to look hard into refinancing your mortgage.

Oddly, interest rates have become a competition among our friends. You shouldn’t look at it like this. Just because someone has a rate .o2% better than you, don’t feel like a loser. If it saves you money, you’re the winner either way. Don’t act like a Day Trader and obsess about it every hour, so you can beat your friends rate. This is not the goal. The goal is for you to save money every month, or over time.

As you shop, remember too that you probably won’t be in your house for 30 years. You have to inject this into your cost/benefit analysis.

Email or text me if you need a list of lenders. I have a great group of lender partners that can help you.

Read below. It’s good advice… FJ

From Nathan Ballentine:
Many of you have called for advice and I figured for everyone that’s called there may be several sitting at home unaware of what they can do right now to help them and their family in these uncertain times.

What’s amazing is that some folks are now “upset” that they can “ONLY” get 4.875%! Worse yet, some folks are even breaking locks and leaving lenders high-and-dry because they can get .125% lower at another lender because rates moved lower after they locked. Don’t get me started on that.

If you’re sitting on 6% fixed or higher, give a lender a call. If you have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage, give a lender a call. Sure, you can call me – it’s my paying job at Wachovia Mortgage. If you don’t call me, call SOMEONE.

Today alone, here’s what some folks DID (and are doing at several places across the country):
(a) saving $100 – $300 a month
(b) dropping their rate but sending in the same payment and paying off loan 7 years earlier
(c) paying no money out of their pocket (rolling costs into new loan)

My advice:
1. Know approximate balance of what you owe, what your home is worth, and your credit score.
2. Be patient for a return call from your lender.
3. Have in mind “the rate” you want or “the payment savings” you want…and take action when you get that figure.
4. Don’t spend all day shopping around. Every lender is busy and rates change frequently throughout the day. While you’re shopping for that extra .125%, rates may go up.
5. Forget about it after you lock. Sure, rates may drop lower than your lock but my gosh…don’t let a bird in the hand get away while you sit around waiting for two in the bush