You Think the BCS is Messed Up

For all the flaws of the BCS and whether you agree that Ohio State should play Florida (as opposed to Michigan) in the title game, most would agree that whoever wins that game is entitled to be called national champion. Imagine, if you will, a 32-team tournament, in which the traditional power and pre-tournament favorite lost in the quarterfinals, with another old power winning the title. One would think that said traditional power would not finish the season ranked number one. But, you'd be wrong, at least if you expect FIFA, soccer's international governing body, to make any kind of sense. In spite of losing to France in the quarterfinals of this summer's World Cup, Brazil finished the year ranked #1 in the FIFA rankings. Cup winners Italy are second (the US finished up 31st).

I'd be somewhat sympathetic to the argument that these rankings reflect the state of play at the end of the year, whereas the World Cup wrapped up during the summer, but that would require overlooking the fact that Brazil never dropped from the #1 spot. Talk about pre-season bias!