The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Podcast: I Feel Snitty Episode 201: Can You Hear Me Now? Part 5 Premiere Date: 6/28/2022 Length: 8:26 (1,290 words) Link: https://ifeelsnitty.podbean.com/e/can-you-hear-me-now-part-5/ Transcript:  Welcome to I Feel Snitty , episode 201, entitled, “Can You Hear Me Now? Part 5.” I’m your host, Craig Rozniecki.   Well, if session #4 was the most emotional of the hearings thus far, session #5 was the most informative. Former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, his deputy Richard Donoghue, and former leader of the DOJ’s (Department of Justice) Office of Legal Counsel – Steven Engel, never held back in their testimonies. They were thorough and blunt, which was honestly kind of refreshing.   Here are my takeaways from the hearing: 1)     We Don’t Need No Reputation : For as much as Donald Trump talked about wanting to make America great again, he sure as hell never cared about its reputation. No matter the institution, the history, or the level of t...

The latest episode of my podcast ("I Feel Snitty"), entitled, "Can You Hear Me Now? Part 5," is now available! Here's a brief description of it: Here's my snarky analysis on session #5 of the January 6th hearings. The show can be heard here. - https://ifeelsnitty.podbean.com/e/can-you-hear-me-now-part-5/

The College Football Playoff Committee's job was easier than normal this year. The top three selections were easy ones to make: Undefeated SEC Champion Alabama, undefeated ACC Champion Clemson, and undefeated Notre Dame. I haven't heard anyone complain about Alabama or Clemson making the field of four. There have been occasional gripes made about Notre Dame making the field, but come on. As one of only four undefeated teams in all of college football, a team who defeated the likes of Michigan, Northwestern, and Syracuse, among others, deserves to be in the playoff. So the real debate centers around the #4 spot between Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State, and Central Florida. It seems as though the college football world is divided on what the main criteria for being playoff-selected should be. Roughly 50% think it should be based on which four teams have most earned a spot and the other 50% think, regardless of whether or not they earned it, the four best teams should be selected....

While there's always a critique here and there when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee announces the 68-team field, the criticism was bumped up a notch this year, especially from yours truly. After the field was set, most college basketball analysts rightfully complained that there was no good reason to invite Arizona State and UCLA over USC or Oklahoma over Oklahoma State. USC finished 2nd in the Pac-12, lost in the conference title game to top seeded Arizona, and both Arizona State and UCLA finished near the middle of the pack in the conference standings. Meanwhile Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma twice during the course of the season and the Sooners struggled more during the tail end of the season than a drunk blind man struggles at the urinal. So when it comes to these gripes, I completely agree with the ESPN commentators, but that's where the agreements ended. Two teams who were fully deserving of earning a spot in the field of 68 were Middle Tennessee State and S...

It seems that every year I have a gripe with one of the college football playoff committee's four selections. This year it's Alabama. I don't know anyone who has any problem with the committee's three other picks: The ACC and defending national champion 1-loss Clemson Tigers; the Big XII champion 1-loss Oklahoma Sooners; and the SEC champion 1-loss Georgia Bulldogs. That leaves one spot to be filled. While ESPN and other media outlets seemed to make the debate a black-and-white argument between Alabama and Ohio State, I'm going to add two teams to the mix: Central Florida and USC. Let's first look at the committee's documented protocol for selecting the four playoff teams. Here's what they allegedly look at when comparing teams: "1) Championships won 2) Strength of schedule 3) Head-to-head competition (if it occurred) 4) Comparative outcomes of common opponents" Based on that criteria, let's compare the four teams, starting with...

We're still about a week away from knowing which four teams will be going to the college football playoff, but I'm already beginning to hear murmurs of Ohio State being able to sneak its way back into the 4-team format, but unless complete and total chaos ensues on Saturday, I don't think that should happen. Living near Columbus, Ohio, hopefully this blog doesn't get me into any trouble, but whether we're looking at resumés or the eye-test, I don't think Ohio State has proven itself to be one of the four best teams in the country. First off, let's look over Ohio State's resumé. The first ranked team the Buckeyes played since the national championship game last year was in game #11 of this season, a loss to visiting Michigan State. Their only win against a ranked team this season came in their final game against Michigan. In the Buckeye's 11 wins this season, only four have come against teams with winning records (8-4 Northern Illinois, 7-5 Wester...

In light of the new college football playoff rankings, ESPN staff writer Heather Dinich wrote an interesting article today, entitled, "College Football Playoff contenders judged differently according to committee's 'eye test'" (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14101809/college-football-playoff-selection-committee-making-clear-distinctions-teams-using-own-eye-test). In this article, Ms. Dinich contends that while the playoff committee still takes strength of schedule and quality wins into consideration while ranking teams, it appears as if the "eye test" may be the most important component of all, and I tend to agree with her. The problem with this is, though, as Brad Pitt said in the film Burn After Reading , "Appearances can be deceptive." While I've been on board with a playoff in college football for a number of years, I've tended to favor computers deciding the most deserving teams rather than people. The reason for ...

For as excited as I was (and still am) about a college football playoff, I'm having a difficult time fully defending the playoff committee's final decision on the "final four." As was noted yesterday around 12:30 pm EST, the committee's final rankings went as follows: 1. Alabama (12-1) 2. Oregon (12-1) 3. Florida State (13-0) 4. Ohio State (12-1) 5. Baylor (11-1) 6. TCU (11-1) Here's how I would have ranked the teams: 1. Florida State (13-0) 2. Oregon (12-1) 3. Alabama (12-1) 4. Baylor (11-1) 5. TCU (11-1) 6. Ohio State (12-1) I'm really amazed that the committee sees Florida State as worthy of only the #3 spot. Granted, they've won several tight ball games, but they're the only undefeated team left in the country. They won the national title last year, and after their ACC Championship game win against Georgia Tech on Saturday, have won 29 consecutive games. Not only that, but of their 13 opponents this year, 9 are bo...