BCS should mean basic common sense

I didn't watch the Sugar Bowl game Sunday night.

I didn't need to.

I watched USC demolish Michigan on Thursday.

The decisive victory by the Trojans soured the significance of Sunday night's Sugar Bowl, because as long as USC doesn't slip from its No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press poll, it will have a share of the national championship.

That stinks.

No team should have to share a championship. That's why they play these games, because someone has to win and someone has to lose.

I hate ties in sports, especially in football. Even if you're just playing sandlot football, nobody wants to tie. That's worse than losing.

If I break my arm in the sandlot football championship, I want to tell the pretty nurse at the hospital that I went down in a blaze of glory when she asks me who won. I can't tell her that we tied. That's no good.

And that's why the BCS has to go.

I didn't have a problem with it before this year, because it got things right, most of the time. We always had a decisive national champion, anyway.

The NCAA owes it to its football athletes to figure out a more effective means of determining the national champion.

Perhaps the NCAA should consider Mike Williams' version of the BCS, which stands for Basic Common Sense.

Williams, the standout wide receiver for USC, said it best: "I'm not going to watch the Sugar Bowl and I don't care. All we know is that we took care of business. We came in as the No. 1 team in the country and we won our bowl game, so we're still the No. 1 team in the country."

Basic common sense.

Be careful in whatever you compete in, in your week ahead:

Today

Tickets for the Rams' divisional playoff game on Saturday go on sale today. You cannot purchase tickets at the Edward Jones Dome box office. The limited number of tickets are only being released through Ticketmaster outlets. Call (314) 241-1888, or (618 )222-2900 in Illinois or visit ticketmaster.com.

The Blues host that crazy team from Minnesota, the Wild. It's also Pepsi Fan Can Night, so celebrate the fact that the kids are back in school with a trip to the Savvis Center where you can get a free ticket with a Pepsi can when you buy a ticket. 7 p.m.

Tuesday

If you sit close to the court for this one, you might want to bring a helmet. The rivalry between these two teams is alive and well, as we all saw at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament last week. Even the coaches were in each other's faces at one point. Charleston at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

A pair of SEMO Top 15 teams square off, the beginning of a brutal stretch for the Central boys team. Caruthersville, ranked ninth in the weekly poll, visits No. 2 Central at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday

After a tough nonconference schedule, Southeast Missouri State begins league play at home with a double-header against Austin Peay. The women tip off at 5 p.m., with the men to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

The Tiger Shootout always showcases some major talent. And while this year's field isn't completely set, it will feature a few more local schools. Central, Notre Dame, Jackson, Scott City and Oran will all have games against St. Louis area schools at the Tiger Fieldhouse.

David Wilson is a sportswriter for the Southeast Missourian and a student at Central High School. His column appears every Monday.