Piece of Mind: 12/10

(Illinois Representative Bobby Rush with ex-Governor and convicted felon Rod Blagojevich courtesy of cbsnews.com)

Yesterday, the United State House of Representatives passed a bill that would essentially require the NCAA to move to a playoff system.  The House Energy and Commerce Committee subcomittee (a subcommittee in the House of Representatives) passed a bill by voice vote that would ban the NCAA from promoting Division I game as a national championship unless it was the result of a playoff.  There is currently no version of the bill in the Senate and there will be steep opposition when the bill goes in front of the bull committee.  During the voice vote, there was one clear "No" vote from Representative John Barrow, of Georgia, according to ESPN.com.  Barrow was quoted after the vote as saying:

"With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on."

Subcommittee chairman, Representative Bobby Rush, of Illinois, fired back by saying:

"We can walk and chew gum at the same time."

It's clear to me why a representative from Georgia would be against this (with a team that could be in the running every few years), but I don't really know why Rush is so excited about it (it's not like Illinois will benefit from any of it).  Either way, I must say I can see both sides of the argument.  I am in full support of a playoff system and I think it would be both manageable and extremely profitable for the current bowl sponsors if the playoff was done properly.  On the other hand, I certainly believe there are far more important things for our elected officials to deal with (like say, a health care bill or double-digit unemployment).  I completely believe that we elect our senators and representatives on political platforms and promises, almost all of which do not include pushing for our interests in the sports world.  I am all for a playoff and punishing steroid users, but I think those matters should be left to the powers that be in those respective sports and the bigger issues should be handled by our elected officials.  But who really cares what I think.  We want to know what you think.  Give us a piece of your mind!