It is getting down to crunch time. The BCS "process" is about to kick in and deliver to us a National Championship Game. And there is no way that the selected game will meet with uniform approval this year. Save the adrenaline; that's the way it is this year; just deal with it.

At the moment, there is a whole lot of debate as to whether or not undefeated Rutgers deserves consideration as the opponent for the winner of the Michigan/Ohio State game. Here's what I haven't heard yet:

If West Virginia happens to beat Rutgers later on this season and Boise State wins out and is undefeated, does Boise State merit consideration as the opponent for the winner of the Michigan/Ohio State game?

Remember, if Rutgers loses and Boise State wins out, Boise State will be the only undefeated team in the country for the Michigan/Ohio State winner to face. If Rutgers can go to the head of the class because of its undefeated status, why not Boise State? I'll tell you why; it's called strength of schedule. And Boise State hasn't played a strong schedule no matter how you slice it. Neither has Rutgers, frankly, but their schedule is stronger than Boise State; if you doubt that assertion, just go and look at whom both schools have played.

I think there is an element involved in the final BCS rankings that has not been acknowledged openly. Television networks will have a lot to say about perceptions here and that could influence poll voters. For example, NBC televises Notre Dame games. If it becomes important to select a "one-loss-team" and Notre Dame wins out, do you think there will be proselytizing from the NBC folks about the subject? A similar situation applies to CBS who has a contract to televise a bunch of SEC games; you might just hear some promotional statements coming from the CBS folks about the SEC champion. None of this should be a surprise, but I'm not sure that everyone has focused on the fact that the opinions and the analysis emanating from these networks may have an agenda of their own behind the words themselves. What about ESPN? They televise games from just about everywhere - except any hype they apply to the BCS games will be promotion for FOX TV events. My guess is that ESPN will just be "over the top" about all of this the way they are about every issue in sports more controversial than shoelace technology.

Since I mentioned the Michigan/Ohio State game obliquely, you may want to know that tickets can be had for this game on various Internet sites. A reader suggested I check out "TicketsNow.com" to see how crazy the ticket market for this game had become. As of last evening, the cheapest single ticket available on that site for the game was $600. The most expensive one I saw was $3000. You can be sure that I will be checking out the Michigan/Ohio State game on TV and keeping those portraits of Benjamin Franklin in my pocket. By the way, the only reason I went to that site was because a reader suggested it to me; I know nothing about the site with regard to its reliability or the reasonableness of its prices.

I see where the Cubs re-signed Aramis Ramirez to a five-year contract worth $73M. All I can say is good luck to them with that contract. Even in the bloated figures of baseball salaries and free agency bidding, I think that one is high by about $7-8M per year. Here's a guy who did not come through when the Cubs needed him to be their big man early last year and padded his "contract year" stats after the Cubs were comfortably in last place. I wonder how motivated he will be now that he has that big fat wallet in his hip pocket?

The signs are that this will be a hot stove league of big contracts even though there really aren't any superstars out there to be signed. One datum for that supposition is that JD Drew opted out of his contract with the Dodgers; he had 3 years left to go on that contract and it was worth $33M. The Dodgers have to be ecstatic about that. Two years ago when they agreed to overpay JD Drew by a huge amount, he insisted on a clause that would allow him to void the contract after two years "in case he and his wife did not like living in southern California". The Dodgers gave it to him and he just exercised it anticipating that his agent - Scott "Nuclear Winter" Boras - will get some other GM to overpay him even more this time around. Said Boras:

"The demand for a five-tool defender, a 25-homer guy, a guy who can drive in 100 runs is pretty clear in today's marketplace."

What Boras did not say is that Drew is probably one of the great underachievers of this day given his physical skills. He's always hurt; he doesn't play with pain; he doesn't play with any great enthusiasm or energy. And he does have a reputation of being an annoyance in the clubhouse. Last year, he played in 146 games which is good - - and which is surprising because it is the most he's ever played in during one season.

Here is what Dwight Perry had to say about this situation in the Seattle Times:

"Outfielder JD Drew - who has been on the disabled list six times and has sat out more than 300 games in his eight full big-league seasons - has opted out of his Dodgers contract that would have paid him a guaranteed $33M the next three years.

"Veteran observers fear the oft-injured Drew might have pulled a brain muscle this time."

During the telecast of the Redskins/Eagles game last Sunday, play-by-play announcer Dick Stockton talked about an on-screen graphic in the third quarter of the game noting that Skins' QB, Mark Brunell, had not thrown a TD pass in the third quarter of a game all season long. Moose Johnson did not react to that statement probably because he recognized it as meaningless drivel that did not deserve any commentary. On the next play, Brunell threw a pass that was intercepted by the Eagles' CB, Sheldon Brown, who returned it for a TD. That was the perfect time for one of these guys to say that Brunell has now thrown a TD pass in the third quarter but that perhaps the next one should be to a teammate. Sadly, neither of them decided to go there… Too bad.

Finally, a note from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald regarding another baseball free agent:

"Sammy Sosa sat out this past season but, at 37 and needing only 12 homers to reach 600, wants to play again in 2007. Some are glad he wants to resume his career, while others are advising him to put a cork in it."

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

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