Latest news with #SelectionCommittee
New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
SEC needs to do the right thing and send Big Ten and its automatic bids packing
DESTIN, Fla. — It's been fun this week to wonder, speculate and argue about the next iteration of the College Football Playoff model, sort of like it would be fun to reimagine your family room after a house fire turned everything to ash. Really, though the arguing is enjoyable, and it's what people in and around college football have been doing since the days of leather helmets and presidential commissions that had purpose (see: Teddy Roosevelt, 1905, forward pass). 'Who did you play?' and 'Your coach cheats!' and 'We have academic standards' hold this bizarre tapestry together as much as marching bands and tailgating and absurdly high coaching contract buyouts. Advertisement Which is one more reason to reject the 4-4-2-2-1 playoff model (also known as FFTTO, which stands for Football Fans, Turn To Opera) that Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti is trying to ram through with support from the SEC. I'm not sure we need more reasons. It's contrary to the idea of competition, it rewards status over achievement, and it's embarrassing to say out loud. Are those enough? Here's one more anyway: We must save the College Football Playoff selection committee. We must keep our Tuesday nights in the fall. We must preserve the opportunity to speculate about what those 13 lucky souls will do. We must retain the right to get angry at them when they inevitably do the wrong thing. We must keep that cherished college football tradition — arguing — alive and robust. Could the SEC be getting led astray by the Big 10? @joerexrode worries that may be the case… — Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 27, 2025 I know some of you recoiled at first mention of the selection committee, and I realize framing a CFP format made up mostly of at-large selections as a way to maintain the power of that committee is a good way to get people to dislike that format. But everything in college sports these days is lesser-of-two-evils, so let's play out the greater of two evils known as the FFTTO. That's four automatic bids for the Big Ten and the SEC, two apiece for the ACC and Big 12 and one for the highest-ranked conference champion outside the Power 4. In a 14-team format, that leaves one bid for either Notre Dame if it's ranked in the top 14, or for an at-large selection. In a 16-team format, you would have two or three at-large selections, depending on Notre Dame. (And don't ask why we must move on from the 12-team format that worked quite well last season and will complete an era of two years after the 2025 season. Just chalk everything up in this industry to greed, arrogance and incompetence, and you're probably in the neighborhood.) Advertisement The selection committee in the FFTTO model picks a team or two at the bottom of the field and seeds them at the end. This is not enough to make Tuesday evenings interesting, and 'Laverne & Shirley' isn't walking through that door. Of much more importance, this means conference standings will dictate the field. That makes sense in the NFL, with a limited number of teams, with parity, with all games against comparable teams and with divisional foes playing each other twice a year. In college football, with 18 teams in the Big Ten, 17 in the ACC and 16 in the Big 12 and SEC — with teams in the same leagues often playing schedules that are vastly different in overall rigor — it's a joke. So is the concept of 'play-in' games during championship weekend, the Big Ten and SEC having 3 versus 6 and 4 versus 5 games for automatic bids. So is the idea that the SEC needs this format or compares with the Big Ten in terms of depth of quality programs. Yes, the Big Ten has won the last two national titles. And yes, these leagues have a tremendous rivalry when it comes to fan bases and resources. But the SEC can fill those four automatic bids with quality and go way past, and it would suffer in some years under this format. Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn … the ingredients are there for championship football, and most of those schools have it in their recent history. The Big Ten has Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State, and then other programs have had surges, but nothing suggesting the ability to win a national championship. Indiana was a great story last season, but I'm struggling to get excited for Indiana-Minnesota and Iowa-Illinois on 'Play-In-Game Weekend Brought To You By Zalinsky's Auto Parts.' Keep the five automatic bids and fill the rest of the field out with nine or 11 at-large selections, depending on whether it goes to 14 or 16. Keep playing conference championship games, with Playoff byes as the primary rewards. That's not exciting, but that's why it's not advisable to go full bloat on your leagues and Playoff field while killing the Pac-12. There are consequences. Advertisement Keep playing major nonleague games, because otherwise, the selection committee is going to be light on data to compare the conferences. And take those nonleague games seriously, because the field is mostly at-large selections and winning those games will mean a lot. In the world of automatic bids, in the world of league standings meaning everything, some coaches might view and approach those games like NFL preseason games. It would be nice to see the SEC go to nine conference games, too, but if that's going to happen only with four automatic bids? Stay at eight. Shoot, go to seven if we can avoid FFTTO. It would be better for the Power 4 leagues to play the same number of league games, but again, that does not get us to apples for apples. And then let's make sure the selection committee understands the importance of schedule strength and is armed with the best and most transparent way possible to value it. That the SEC would even consider propping up the Big Ten with the automatic bids is an overreaction to last season, when Indiana and SMU got in over Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina. As seen and heard this week at the SEC spring meetings, the whining over that has not ceased. I think the committee got it right. You might not. We should all be able to agree that it was very close and that both sides had arguments. That's how we should like it. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin told reporters this week that a committee 'is not ideal to choose a postseason,' but he didn't have a better idea. That's because there isn't one, not with this many teams of such varying quality and circumstance. The SEC can make this right. Commissioner Greg Sankey, sensitive to 'good for the game' jabs from other commissioners and questions from media, can lead the way on something that would warrant those four words. Advertisement It was good to learn this week that SEC coaches favor sticking with five automatic bids and going at-large for the rest. They should feel that way. It's better for them. They might complain a lot for millionaires and might overstate the quality of the SEC a bit — you're not playing the Kansas City Chiefs every week, guys — but they're not dumb. As for their bosses, this is a stickier issue. I've talked to athletic directors in the Big Ten and SEC about the FFTTO, and I can paraphrase the view of the AD as such: 'Yes, I'd prefer competition to earn bids, but knowing that Playoff money will be in the budget every year no matter what is a big deal.' That's understandable. These jobs are not easy. Every dollar matters. Revenue sharing is coming. Nonrevenue sports are up for review. But that doesn't mean you make your main revenue driver look like pro wrestling. As the SEC spring meetings wrap up, those of us who still think college football has a lot to offer and has not been burned to the ground have more hope than a few days ago. Sankey handed out info packets to reporters Thursday detailing the SEC's schedule strength superiority over the past decade. This is a bit obnoxious. But the data is relevant. We should keep it in mind. And Sankey and his athletic directors should leave in the Gulf of Mexico the especially flammable pile of kindling that Petitti has been trying to sell them. (Photo of Greg Sankey: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
India.com
6 days ago
- Sport
- India.com
Gautam Gambhir's stern reply on Shreyas Iyer's absence from Test squad for series vs England, says 'I am not a selector'
Shreyas Iyer. New Delhi: The Indian national men's team will undertake a five-Test series in England, beginning in June. The event will take place at Headingley, Birmingham, Lord's, Manchester and The Oval between June 20 and August 4. The BCCI announced on May 24 that India would include 18 players for the series, but did not include Shreyas Iyer. Mumbai's top scorer, the all-rounder aged 30 who helped Punjab reach the top of this season's IPL, was unexpectedly not chosen for the squad. Shreyas Iyer, who topped Punjab Kings' IPL 2025 scoring with 514 runs from 14 matches, was surprisingly not chosen for India's Test team by the Selection Committee. Gautam Gambhir's concise, five-word response to a question about Shreyas Iyer's omission from the India-England tour squad has quickly spread online. 'I am not a selector,' was Gautam's stern reply when he was inquired out Iyer. In his Test debut for India against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 2021, Iyer scored a century. His most recent Test match for India was against England in Visakhapatnam the following year. In his Test career, Iyer has scored 811 runs, including one hundred and five scores of fifty or more. The Indian Test team has called up Karun Nair after eight years away. For the first time, B Sai Sudharsan and left-arm bowler Arshdeep Singh have been included in the Test line-up, with Iyer not included. Shubman Gill will now lead India's Test team, taking over from Rohit Sharma. His appointment means he is the 37th Test captain for India. In 32 Tests, Gill has gathered 1893 runs in his career.
India Gazette
27-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Lakshay Sheoran, Neeru Dhanda finish on top in second Shotgun National Trials
New Delhi [India], May 27 (ANI): Lakshay Sheoran and Neeru Dhanda finished on top in the men's and women's category respectively in the trap finals of the Second Shotgun National Trails, held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Lakshay, who qualified for the finals with a score of 120 in qualification, shot 43 in the finals, a two shot difference over Jaswinder Singh who finished second with a score of 41. In the Women's finals, Nationals Games gold medalist Neeru edged Aashima Ahlawat 40-39 to secure the top spot. Olympian Rajeshwari Kumari secured third place with a score of 31 while Bhowneesh Mendiratta finished third in the men's category with a score of 33, a release said. Earlier, in the qualification round, Jungsher S. Virk shot 119 to qualify for the finals behind Lakshay. National Champion Shardul Vihan, Jaswinder Singh, Bhowneesh and Rayyan Rizvi completed the top six with scores of 118, 117, 116 and 116 respectively. Olympians Kynan Chenai (114) and Prithviraj Tondaiman (112) and World Cup finals Silver medalist Vivaan Kapoor (113) failed to reach the finals. In the women's category, Neeru topped the qualification also with a score of 115 followed by Preeti Rajak with 114, Aashima Ahlawat with 113, Rajeshwari Kumari with 110, Pragati Dubey with 109 and Addya Katyal finished in the top six places. A separate selection trial was not conducted for junior athletes; as a result, Bakhtyaruddin Malek who shot 114 and Addya Katyal with 108 were placed first in the junior men's and women's category respectively. Tarvez Singh Sandhu who shot 111 and Udhav Singh Rathore with 110 were placed second and third while Ananya Yaduvanshi with 101 and Tanisska Senthilkumar with 98 took the second and third sports in the junior women's, the release said. The Selection Committee will consider the scores from the recently concluded ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, for junior athletes who participated in that event, as Selection Trials 2 coincided with it. Scores of such shooters will not be marked as 'zero.'(ANI)
India Gazette
24-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Ganemat Sekhon top Second Shotgun National Trials
New Delhi [India], May 24 (ANI): Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Ganemat Sekhon finished on top in the skeet finals of the Second Shotgun National Trials, held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Mairaj shot 55 in the finals, edging out Paris Olympian Anantjeet Singh Naruka, who shot 54, by a single shot. Ganemat also secured victory by a one-shot margin, finishing with 53 ahead of Maheshwari Chauhan's 52. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Parinaaz Dhaliwal finished third in the men's and women's categories, respectively. In the final two rounds of qualification, Bhavtegh Singh Gill shot 22 and 24 to add to his 73 from yesterday, qualifying in first place. Mairaj totaled 118, while Smit Singh with 117, Angad with 116, and Anantjeet with 115 completed the top six qualifiers. In the women's category, Ganemat topped the qualification round with 114 shots, followed closely by Maheshwari with 113. Parinaaz also shot 113, while Oshmi Shrivas, Darshana Rathore, and Mansi Raghuwanshi rounded out the top six with scores of 108, 107 (SO-3), and 107 (SO-2), respectively. A separate selection trial was not conducted for junior athletes; as a result, Oshmi and Mansi were also placed first and second in the junior category with the same scores. Agrima Kanwar placed third with a score of 104. In the Men's Junior category, Yuvaan finished on top with a score of 110, while Yashwardhan Singh Rajawat and Anjaneya Singh Mandawa finished second and third with scores of 108 and 106, respectively. The Selection Committee will consider the scores from the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, for junior athletes participating in that event, as Selection Trials 2 coincides with it. Scores of such shooters will not be marked as 'zero.'(ANI)
Bahrain News Gazette
04-04-2025
- Automotive
- Bahrain News Gazette
1000 Miglia 2025, Official List of Accepted Cars
1000 Miglia 2024 1000 Miglia 2024 BRESCIA, Italy, April 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The wait is over: the list of cars that will participate in the 1000 Miglia 2025 has been drawn up by the Selection Committee that, year after year, has the task of choosing the cars that will take part in the ' most unique travelling museum in the world' , as Enzo Ferrari defined it. The over 400 crews selected will be from 29 countries : Italy is the most represented country, closely followed by Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States. As for the cars, 127 pre-war models will take part in the 43rd re-enactment of the Red Arrow. 78 , on the other hand, are those that raced in the historic speed competition between 1927 and 1957. In the exclusive parterre of cars, together with the prestigious collections of Ferrari (17), Bugatti (10) and Bentley (8), there are an impressive 18 pre-war Alfa Romeos . Not to be missed is a unique specimen such as the Biondetti Ferrari-Jaguar Special . On the subject of models, an Aston Martin DB 3 and two fascinating Porsche 550 Spyder RS deserve a special mention. Awaiting the drivers of the next edition of the Most Beautiful Race in the World , scheduled from Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 June , is a route of about 1900 kilometres divided into 5 days of competition , along an 'figure-or-eight' route inspired by the first 12 editions of the 1000 Miglia speed race. The cities on the route are San Lazzaro di Savena , Rome , Cervia-Milano Marittima and Parma . Andrea Vesco and Fabio Salvinelli, in pursuit of their fifth consecutive victory at the wheel of the splendid Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Zagato from 1929 , will have to watch their backs against expert crews such as Fontanella-Covelli, Aliverti-Polini, Turelli, Tonconogy-Ruffini and Erejomovich-Llnanos, just to name a few. Among the famous faces this year will be Joe Bastianich and Carlo Cracco, who for the occasion will be competing far from the kitchen: one at the wheel of a 1954 Porsche 356 1000 Speedster, the other as navigator in a 1927 Bugatti T40. As per the regulations, each car participating in the race must have been previously certified by the Registro 1000 Miglia in order to guarantee its authenticity, as well as a standard of excellence worthy of the Most Beautiful Race in the World . Press Office +39 3316133162 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1001078293
