I've gotten to the point that watching the economic reports and checking to see which newspaper colleagues have lost their jobs have become part of my daily ritual.
I won't repeat any of them here, because you've probably been getting pounded with all the negative reports as well.
Wednesday afternoon, though, an item that interests me came across the wires, that the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights will examine antitrust issues involving college football's Bowl Championship 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 subcommittee said in a statement.
Pushing for the hearings is the subcommittee's top Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who will introduce legislation "to rectify this situation," but offered no details as of yet.
Of course, people in Utah are upset that the BCS title game paired No. 1 Florida (12-1) against No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1), but the outcry really didn't begin until after the Utes upset Alabama without its best player in the Sugar Bowl.
Some of you may know I wrote a book about how football national champions are determined, "Who's No. 1? 100-Plus Years of Controversial National Champions in College Football" which came out two years ago. I even sent a copy to President Barack Obama after he openly said he believes there needs to be a playoff system to determine country's major-college football champion.
"If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles," the President-elect said at the time, after Florida won the title. "That's why we need a playoff."
But even though this is an issue that affects me many ways, personally and professionally, I can't help but feel the timing may not be right for this debate.
Here's what was on the docket for the Senate Judiciary committee for March hearings:
3/25/2009 Full Committee "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation "
3/24/2009 Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts "Abusive Credit Card Practices and Bankruptcy "
3/18/2009 Full Committee "The Need to Strengthen Forensic Science in the United States: The National Academy of Science's Report on a Path Forward "
3/17/2009 Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs "Law Enforcement Responses to Mexican Drug Cartels "
3/11/2009 Subcommittee on the Constitution "S.J. Res. 7 and H.J. Res. 21: A Constitutional Amendment Concerning Senate Vacancies "
3/10/2009 Full Committee "Executive Nominations "
3/10/2009 Full Committee "Patent Reform in the 111th Congress: Legislation and Recent Court Decisions "
3/4/2009 Full Committee "Getting to the Truth Through a Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry "
Hatch said in a statement that the BCS system "has proven itself to be inadequate, not only for those of us who are fans of college football, but for anyone who believes that competition and fair play should have a role in collegiate sports."
Meanwhile, in the House, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, has sponsored legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a football game a "national championship" unless the game culminates from a playoff system.
It's a worthwhile discussion to be held, at least at some level, but for now my attention will remain focussed on the economy.
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