ESPN: Congress to probe BCS antitrust issues (guess they are allowed to multitask)

[Bleacher Creature]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4015667

Congress to probe BCS antitrust issuesComment Email Print Share Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Everyone from President Barack Obama on down to fans has criticized how college football determines its top team. Now senators are getting off the sidelines to examine antitrust issues involving the Bowl Champion Series.

The current system "leaves nearly half of all the teams in college football at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to qualifying for the millions of dollars paid out every year," the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights said in a statement Wednesday announcing the hearings.

Under the BCS, some conferences get automatic bids to participate in series, while others do not.

Obama and some members of Congress favor a playoff-type system to determine the national champion. The BCS features a championship game between the two top teams in the BCS standings, based on two polls and six computer ratings.

Behind the push for the hearings is the subcommittee's top Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. People there were furious that Utah was bypassed for the national championship despite going undefeated in the regular season.

The title game pitted No. 1 Florida (12-1) against No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1); Florida won 24-14 and claimed the title.

(SNIP)

So let me get this straight. President Obama "takes time away from the economy" to focus on stem cell research and health care, and that's a distraction (as if they aren't all interrelated), but Orrin Hatch and Joe Barton can do this.