As I sit down to watch the artificial College Football Championship tonight, I can't help but think of how worthless the whole BCS system really is.  I've talked about it ad nauseam with friends and written about it in previous posts, so I won't rehash old arguments. I will, however, point you to a great article on the subject written by Bill James, the godfather of modern sports statistical analysis.  If you are a sports stat geek or just someone who enjoys when the BCS people look stupid, take the time to read James' article.  His main arguments against the BCS are:

1. That there is a profound lack of conceptual clarity about the goals of the method
2. That there is no genuine interest here in using statistical analysis to figure out how the teams compare with one another. The real purpose is to create some gobbledygook math to endorse the coaches' and sportswriters' vote;
3. That the ground rules of the calculations are irrational and prevent the statisticians from making any meaningful contribution; and
4. That the existence of this system has the purpose of justifying a few rich conferences in hijacking the search for a national title, avoiding a post season tournament that would be preferred by the overwhelming majority of fans.

The article is interesting throughout, but one of my favorites is the fact that the architects of the BCS love to "blame the computer" - as if computers have a mind of their own.  An excerpt:

"Computers, like automobiles and airplanes, do only what people tell them to do. If you're driving to Cleveland and you get lost and wind up in Youngstown, you don't blame your car. If you're doing a ranking system and you wind up with Murray State in western Kentucky as the national football champion, you don't blame the computer."

Utah, USC, and Texas - you all deserve to win or lose it on the field.  BCS commissioners, you should be ashamed of yourselves.