One wonders whether the Swift radio ads might prompt the anti-immigration loonies - Tom Tancredo, Peter Boyles, Lou Dobbs, Pat Buchanan, etc., etc., etc... - to finally sniff the coffee? Now that they've chased off the Mexicans, who will butcher the livestock, pick the lettuce, harvest the potatoes, etc., etc., etc...? In all their windy bloviations, Boyles, et al. failed to disclose their intent to drive American citizens down to a point of desperation where they'd be thankful to spend 40+ hours every week toiling in slaughterhouses.
When will we fine tune our hearing to the point of recognizing in Peter Boyles the dulcet tones of the Destroyer? He will, capriciously, turn the Arkansas Valley into a wasteland if he gets his way. If he is so sure that people like my bone idle Irish-American neighbor will gleefully pick the produce, he should start pledging his acolytes now for next year's harvest and take them down to Alamosa in September. That will be worth a few illuminating giggles.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Sports under Moral Hazard
Every March, my insurance agent runs a pool for the NCAA basketball tournament. I always submit two brackets. With the first, I submit a risk-averse "control" bracket, selecting favorites all the way through the tournament. With the second, I let fancy roam, picking several big upsets along the way. Last year, I was in the money with my "control" bracket. There weren't any real upsets. The sports pundits praised the omniscience of the Selection Committee. I should praise them, also. After all, craven obedience to their seedings put money in my pocket. Who cares if the tournament was less memorable than in years past?
The Selection Committee, last year, chose seventh and eight place schools from the big conferences over second and third place schools from the mid-majors. Thus, there were fewer chances that a little-known school might spring a shocking upset.
Hmmm! I wonder whether money played any part in that preference for number 7 from a major over a number 2 from a mid-major conference? How populous is the alumni base for the University of Illinois compared to Siena College? How widespread, geographically, are those two alumni bases? Which school is more likely to draw a crowd of partisans to Boise, Idaho in early March? Hmmm! Who do you suppose the merchants of Boise would rather see in the tournament - Illinois or Siena College? Far be it from me to suggest that the Selection Committee's pursuit of cold hard cash risks destroying the charm of the tournament with all those Davids beating Goliaths.
College football, of course, is an even bigger mess. In basketball, at least there is a tournament. The championship is earned over the course of a month. College football must revolutionize itself to produce a credible champion. Here is my suggestion:
First of all, the illustrious ones who precipitate this revolution must remember that colleges are supposed to educate young adults. Sometimes, providing an education is inconsistent with maximizing profits. The illustrious ones - the philosopher-kings of college football will have to settle for reasonable profits over maximum profits.
The Ivy League has it just about right. Nine regular season games is plenty for the regular season. These football players are supposed to be students first. The season should begin on the Saturday following Labor Day. All regular season games should be concluded the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the traditional day of the Army-Navy game. Conference champions should be decided that same Saturday. The following Saturday, a tournament of no more than 16 teams would commence. The 16 teams would be the nine conference champions (Big East, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac 10, WAC, MAC, and Mountain West) plus seven at-large bids. The at-large bids should be picked in order from the final poll rankings, skipping third place teams from conferences. Seedings in the tournament should be determined from the poll rankings. The national championship would be played on the first Saturday in January. The site for that game would alternate between Pasadena, New Orleans, Miami, and Glendale, Arizona. The teams in the Championship would wind up playing 13 games. That's plenty.
The Selection Committee, last year, chose seventh and eight place schools from the big conferences over second and third place schools from the mid-majors. Thus, there were fewer chances that a little-known school might spring a shocking upset.
Hmmm! I wonder whether money played any part in that preference for number 7 from a major over a number 2 from a mid-major conference? How populous is the alumni base for the University of Illinois compared to Siena College? How widespread, geographically, are those two alumni bases? Which school is more likely to draw a crowd of partisans to Boise, Idaho in early March? Hmmm! Who do you suppose the merchants of Boise would rather see in the tournament - Illinois or Siena College? Far be it from me to suggest that the Selection Committee's pursuit of cold hard cash risks destroying the charm of the tournament with all those Davids beating Goliaths.
College football, of course, is an even bigger mess. In basketball, at least there is a tournament. The championship is earned over the course of a month. College football must revolutionize itself to produce a credible champion. Here is my suggestion:
First of all, the illustrious ones who precipitate this revolution must remember that colleges are supposed to educate young adults. Sometimes, providing an education is inconsistent with maximizing profits. The illustrious ones - the philosopher-kings of college football will have to settle for reasonable profits over maximum profits.
The Ivy League has it just about right. Nine regular season games is plenty for the regular season. These football players are supposed to be students first. The season should begin on the Saturday following Labor Day. All regular season games should be concluded the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the traditional day of the Army-Navy game. Conference champions should be decided that same Saturday. The following Saturday, a tournament of no more than 16 teams would commence. The 16 teams would be the nine conference champions (Big East, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac 10, WAC, MAC, and Mountain West) plus seven at-large bids. The at-large bids should be picked in order from the final poll rankings, skipping third place teams from conferences. Seedings in the tournament should be determined from the poll rankings. The national championship would be played on the first Saturday in January. The site for that game would alternate between Pasadena, New Orleans, Miami, and Glendale, Arizona. The teams in the Championship would wind up playing 13 games. That's plenty.
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