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So this story is already a week old, but apparently the Obama administration really is looking into reviewing the legality of the BCS Championship.  I only bring it up a week later because we’ve written about it a few times before.

And also because, when we shared the link above with a friend of ours (who’s a little more politically oriented than we are), he had an interesting reaction:

“I’m trying to imagine going back in time and asking the Federalists, ‘Now, if we ratify this thing, will it give the federal government the power to regulate tournament rules for collegiate sporting events?’”

You can find more of his thoughts on the topic at his blog.  Being a football blog, Zoneblitz does not necessarily agree or disagree with a lot of the topics covered on his blog–but we do agree with him that, if the NCAA wants their BCS solution to look good, getting the government involved might be the best thing for them.

The folks over at Despair.com have probably summed it up best:

“Government: If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.”

Regular Zoneblitz commenter Tony Parslow dropped us a note last night, saying he heard a great discussion topic on ESPN–is Sunday’s match-up between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees the best quarterback matchup in Super Bowl history?

A few other matchups jump to my mind as possibilities–Montana vs. Marino in Super Bowl XIX, Montana vs. Elway in Super Bowl XXIV, and Elway vs. Favre in Super Bowl XXXII–but I’m not sure if any of those match-ups would have been considered those QBs facing each other in their prime.

And of course, my Super Bowl history really only dates back to the Montana vs. Ken Anderson game of Super Bowl XVI…so maybe some research is warranted:

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Following the Baltimore Ravens 20-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, Ed Reed revealed that he is considering retiring after another difficult season that saw him miss time due to injuries.

Reed’s name has come up in conversations surrounding Pro Football Hall of Fame worthiness on Zoneblitz before, with opinions ranging from “Will get in if he continues at the same level” to “Already has a stamped ticket.”

But what do people think now that he’s considering retirement?  Five Pro Bowls, four All-Pros, two time NFL leader in interceptions, 46 career interceptions, 8 career touchdowns (6 on interceptions, 2 on fumble recoveries), at least two interceptions returned for TD of over 100 yards…but also only 8 seasons played, a couple of which he missed time due to injuries.

While I don’t really think that 2009 will be Reed’s last year, let’s say for a minute that he does hang up the cleats–does he make it to Canton or not?

The finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 were announced on Friday, with three first-year eligible players heading the group:

Jerry Rice – Wide Receiver – 1985-2000 San Francisco 49ers, 2001-04 Oakland Raiders, 2004 Seattle Seahawks

Emmitt Smith – Running Back – 1990-2002 Dallas Cowboys, 2003-04 Arizona Cardinals

Tim Brown – Wide Receiver/Kick Returner – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has come out and said that the NFL will consider offering incentives to teams playing late-season games to discourage them from resting their starters for the playoffs, after the Indianapolis Colts were widely criticized by fans and media for pulling many starters with a 15-10 lead in the 3rd quarter of a game against the Jets in Week 16.

The Colts were 14-0 at the time, and the Jets scored 19 unanswered points to win the game, including a backup QB Curtis Painter fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

One of the options likely to be considered would be awarding teams that play their starters draft choices.

Personally, I think I’ve got a better idea–how about you get the labor negotiations solved, and make sure to preserve some of the ideas that have kept the league competitive (revenue sharing & salary cap) in place, so that the likelihood that teams will have the opportunity to rest players in 2-3 games remains on the low end?

Realistically, I would think that rewarding teams for playing their “starters” seems more likely to cause problems–I’m guessing that some teams would find some loopholes, and manage to get some backups declared as starters so they could rest their stars and get the extra picks too.

Additionally, unless the picks were earlier picks–probably 2nd or 3rd round selections–I really wonder if teams would consider it worth the extra risk.

Another alternative, raised by a friend of ours over drinks this evening, would be to reward teams not with extra picks, but possibly with moving them up in draft position–and not just for playing starters, but for actually winning–by coming up with a point system for determining draft order rather than pure record, and figuring out some way to reward teams with extra points when they win games that they don’t need to win late in the season.

(Admittedly the details we have on this idea are slim, but I’m guessing that the league has some PhDs in an office somewhere that could fine tune things).

That way, at least teams are being rewarded for performance rather than just participating–and it wouldn’t add picks to the draft–which the NFLPA should and probably would be against in the first place, since it would reduce the amount of the rookie pool available for players, possibly cost more veterans spots, and reduce the number of guys that could negotiate where they go if not drafted late.

Anyone have any other thoughts on how the league could encourage teams to compete in late season games, without making a mockery of the game?