Thursday, January 8, 2009

Can't Say This Surprises Me

Guess the Tigers were feeling just a bit defensive about having to stoop to accepting a bid to the "Chik Fil A Bowl" this year. Check this out, from one of my favorite writers on politics, current affairs and technology, Gregg Easterbrook, who also writes a great football column on espn.com:

Bad Sportsmanship Watch: Unless you went to LSU as an undergrad and then attended grad school at Georgia Tech, you weren't watching the fourth quarter of the Chick-fil-A Bowl late on New Year's Eve. But leading 38-3 in the fourth quarter, LSU staged a fake punt, trying desperately to run up the score. LSU threw nine passes in the fourth quarter, despite having a 35-point lead, as it frantically tried to humiliate Georgia Tech. Running up the score to impress pollsters bothers TMQ more than the lack of a true national champion in college football. Les Miles knew that if he could push the victory margin just a little higher, that might add one more notch to the school's final ranking in the post-bowl polls. This perverse incentive must be eliminated -- the polls system rewards poor sportsmanship, so poor sportsmanship is what we get.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Entire article linked here.

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