How Come?

Pondering the big questions.

1. How come we applaud March Madness for its flaws but we hate the BCS for its flaws? March Madness creates a worse final than the BCS, and no one disagrees with that.  The phrase we keep hearing is “fair” and “they deserved to play for the championship.” Imagine if we had a football semifinal of Northern Illinois and Troy, because that is what the college basketball tournament gave us.  March Madness does not give us the best team; it gives us the team that was best for 3 weeks.  But the season is 4 months not 3 weeks.  The idea that a team like VCU “played” their way to the semifinals is like saying the Seattle Seahawks “played” their way to the post season.  Just because they are there does not mean they should have been there.  Every team in college football has the chance to play for a championship, just like in college basketball.  The reality is if the majority really believed that Boise State in 2009 or Utah in 2008 should have been playing for a championship then they would have.  However even after they each finished undefeated not a single person (other than their own coach) voted for them.  Sports are completely up to our own judgment.  March Madness simply hides this with the tournament.  Had VCU not even been in the tournament, no one would have complained.  What if they were placed into the finals?  Are we complaining then?  So how come we complain when a two loss LSU wins a national championship but if an 11 loss VCU had won, we’d applaud it?
2. How come a quarterback’s win-loss record means so much but a pitcher’s win-loss is getting downgraded more and more each year? Lets take a step back and look at what each position needs to win a game.  A quarterback needs his defense to play somewhat well, to keep the opponent off the scoreboard.  A QB needs some weapons around him, such as wide receivers and running backs.  Also, a QB is not getting wins without a good o-line, to keep people off of him.  Finally, a QB needs a system designed by their coach that gives them the best chance to succeed.  In baseball a pitcher needs his offense to score runs in order to get a lead, and a chance to win (much like a QB needs defense to prevent scoring).  A pitcher needs a somewhat reasonable defense to help him when a ball is put in play (much like a QB needs WRs and RBs).  Finally a pitcher needs a catcher who is able to catch the ball as well as call a good game (much like a coach in football).  Lets not forget that it is widely considered that a football coach affects the game much more than a baseball manager.  What position truly has a greater impact on what happens?  Imagine a game where a QB plays terribly.  Now imagine a pitcher pitching terribly.  Which team is more likely to lose?  It is the pitcher.  They have a larger impact on the game, and should be held more accountable.  The best example is Ben Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XL vs AJ Burnett in the 2009 World Series game 5.  Roethlisberger had a 22.6 QB rating, throwing 2 INT and no TDs, worst ever.  AJ Burnett pitched 2 innings and gave up 6 runs, the shortest start in WS history.  Who won? The QB. Because they impact the game less.
3. How come Derrick Rose is considered the NBA MVP? Rose is great player, for sure.  He made a big leap from last year to this year, as did his team.  His team has the largest increase in winning percentage from this season to last season, so what changed?  The Bulls added two key pieces, the oft-injured Carlos Boozer and the defensive genius Tom Thibodeau.  The Celtics led the league in defense when he was an assistant coach there, and now the Bulls lead the league in defense.  For Derrick Rose to be considered the MVP he would have to be the key to the reason they are winning, as in he should be the best defensive player on the team.  He is not, nor is he the second best.  He is their best offensive player but the Bulls are 20^th in offense.  If an average point guard replaced him, his team would still be in the playoffs, probably around the 6^th seed.  Because they win with defense and he is not a defensive stud.  He will not make 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd team defense.  Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Rajan Rondo, and Kobe Bryant are all better.  This is not to say Rose is not a great player; this is to say he is not the MVP.  The MVP is Dwight Howard.  Because he is the only player on his team that plays defense (leads the league in blocks, again).  He is the only person on his team that rebounds (he has the highest percentage of his teams’ rebounds).  If he were replaced by an averaged center, the Magic would not make the playoffs.  His team is completely reliant on him for scoring, rebounding and defense.

Cheers,

Dr. Banner