Two for Tuesday

Two points to discuss with you on this Tuesday, both being football-related. One professional, one college - both very controversial.

1. First things first. Reported first on profootballtalk.com, Broncos offensive lineman Tom Nalen performed a cut block on Chargers defensive tackle Igor Olshansky during a stop clock play late in the AFC West showdown. Olshansky retaliated and was not only penalized with a personal foul but also ejected. With that said, the Broncos have forevermore utilized cut- (legal) and chop-blocking (illegal) schemes to gain the upperhand. As a result, a few defensive linemen have suffered season-ending and/or career-threatening injuries.

For a league that is all about protecting quarterbacks, why are defensive linemen not afforded similar protection of their knees? While critics may be on the side of "letting them play" from whistle to whistle, I firmly believe that cut blocking should be made illegal because it endangers the long-term health of a certain set of players. On the Tom Nalen front, he should be fined. There's no reason to do such a thing, legal or illegal, on a play when everyone in the stadium knows that the quarterback is downing the ball. If the NFL league office has any backbone, they'll scrutinize the teams who utilize this unfair advantage and heavily consider banning cut blocking. And while they're at it, they can reinstate team celebrations because football is a team sport.

2. Let's move onto college football. Who's #2? Currently, it's Michigan by a hair. However, if USC defeats Notre Dame and UCLA, then they're a shoe-in to play in the BCS Championship Bowl sometime not on January 1st when the top bowls should take place. SEC backers have a legitimate belief that since they have the best conference, they should have a representative in the BCS Championship Bowl, should either Florida or Arkansas sweep its final two games.

Nevertheless, this argument, which has been taking place on sports talk shows across America, states that fans, coaches, and teams do not want Ohio State and Michigan to play again. As a fan of neither squad, I believe this is ludicrous. If Michigan is the second-best team after all of the games have been played, then they should get to play Ohio State on a neutral field for the National Championship. Moreover, I believe that coaches who go on record stating they do not want a rematch in the National Championship should be stripped of their vote for the rest of the season.

I know that I come off sounding as an autocrat, but coaches need to start being responsible and not picking the game they want to see. It was only a couple of years ago when Mack Brown was canvassing for votes in order for Texas to leap over Cal and be in a BCS bowl. This is irresponsible, and so is the act of coaches ranking the third- or fourth-ranked team at #2 in order to avoid a repeat game in the BCS Championship Bowl.