Haven't we had enough of the Big East being ripped apart by now?

And what is noticeable, if anyone is noticing, is that none of these “pundits” have a solution.

What’s interesting, is that media outlets like ESPN, those guys who have more contacts than Yamamoto did at Pearl Harbor, act like they just woke up and all of a sudden, the Big East was missing two teams.

How quickly the media has forgotten the ACC culprits.

No mention of a faulty system where certain conferences get automatic major bowl bids. A BCS ranking system that was manipulated into being changed as the result of the opinion polls voting USC No. 1, while LSU had beaten Georgia TWICE then Oklahoma, on top of an SEC schedule.

Now the opinion polls have two-thirds input!

What are the other solutions being thrown around by the BCS behind closed doors? How far would the BCS executives go to make the system fair without allowing a playoff system? Are they even interested in fairness if it still made money?

Instead, what we're getting is the same old rehashed, jump-on-the-bash-bandwagon-because-everyone-else-is-doing-it routine. And, it's easy to do. Doesn't take much work.

This is the kind of stuff we've been fed since back when West Virginia struggled to beat Maryland and didn't deserve a major bowl bid, in the THIRD WEEK OF THE SEASON.

They turned out to be right but that's not the point.

Curiously, there seems to be a lack of an ability to intelligently debate a serious issue where money rules because of obvious, great fan interest. With debate comes solutions. We don't have that. What we get every week are finger-pointing and criticism.

From the Orlando Sentinel (Dec. 2), writer David Whitley tells us the "BCS stinks" then conveniently bashes the Big East. "Can anyone explain why the Big East has an automatic bid?" he asks.

Aren't we past that by now?

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sportline.com has been good at this. Though, he's a bit more clever. "Texas' junior varsity should be in the Bowl Championship Series before the Big East champion." Ho hum.

Fine, Mr. Dodd. Now tell us something we don't know. Tell us something, like a plan maybe that would make the situation better?

The lack of foresight, and even the blatant disregard for hindsight, has gotten annoying. For one, where is the common sense in knowing the Big East would not be very strong in 2004? They lost Miami, Fla. and Virginia Tech. What did everyone expect? Now they act surprised.

Actually, though, it's not surprise that they're feigning, it's the common go-for-the-easy-target that we see so much of in society today.

This isn't so much to criticize other colleagues as much as it is to show how we've become a society of finger-pointers and complainers, but well short on solutions.

We know the BCS is inadequate.

We know the system isn't fair.

We know a group of businessmen are running a tremendously large entity known as college football that generates large amounts of money.

We know the NCAA is corrupt/inept or they wouldn't allow the above.

What is not working, regardless of what anyone thinks of a conference like the Big East, is automatic bids for ANY conference. This may work for basketball but it's not working on the football side.

A few years ago, Florida State made it to the Sugar Bowl with a 9-4 record. And only for the fact that they won the ACC. So one could argue that the problem started well before the ACC raided the Big East. Well, geezy 'O weezy, no wonder they raided it.

And if you look closely, the ACC would be this year's "Big East" if it were't for Miami and Virginia Tech. Because the Seminoles would have gotten one of those BCS bids with an 8-3 record. So who's fooling who?

Once again, I push the TSR system. Just open up the Top Ten as an automatic qualifier for a major bowl berth. You don't finish Top Ten, you don't get a major bowl. End of BCS labels. End of BCS conferences versus non-BCS conferences. End of divisiveness.

That way, the talk would have been, can West Virginia make it to, and finish in the Top Ten? Can Louisville? Utah? Boise State? And yes, can Florida State? I forgot, they have Miami and Virginia Tech for that.

Two former Big East teams who, I might add, will be playing for the ACC championship this Saturday.

Some "Big Least" they were, huh?

Filed by J.D. Long