Clay Travis has a new book hitting the shelves August 2009. Click here to check out his new book On Rocky Top.
Bag of Mail

Looking At Antitrust and the BCS


Friday, July 10, 2009

Six key points to takeaway from Tuesday's hearing. Read it here. Below is the opening excerpt.

Tuesday afternoon, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing in the U.S. Capitol to examine whether or not the BCS violated antitrust laws. The question, essentially, was whether the BCS functions as a monopoly or a cartel and, if so, whether it violates the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Much of the coverage of Tuesday's hearing focused on the usual arguments for and against a college football playoff rather than actually looking at the question at issue in the hearing: Does the BCS as presently constituted violate United States antitrust laws?

It's a simple question with a complicated answer, but after reviewing the submitted documents, the testimony of those called before the committee, and applying my legal education that set me back almost $150k (that I'm still paying off), I'll give you an answer: Yes.

As a preliminary point, one of the best stories I've ever heard about the value of a legal education goes something like this. Someone takes the stage to speak to the graduating lawyers and begins, "Before you entered law school, if someone asked you a question about the law you could say with true sincerity, 'I have no idea.' Now, three years later, if someone asks you the same question, you can look them directly in the eye and say with great sincerity, 'That depends.'"

The story gets at the complexity of legal analysis and how opinions can govern our own perception of what's just. Even for lawyers, these can be difficult questions. That's why I think so many of the articles that came out of Tuesday's hearing focused on two main points of analysis, the tired arguments for and against a college football playoff and the rationale or lack thereof for Congressional analysis. This was summed up by ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd, "Let sports take care of sports," he eloquently argued.


The rest of the article is here. You may not agree with everything, but I think you'll agree that it's one of the most in-depth looks at Tuesday's hearings.

Labels:

Posted by Clay Travis at 10:27 AM 2 comments


 
Previous Posts

Archives


 
Travis has become enamored of several objects, phrases or events which he frequenly references in the column. Among the most frequent:
 
'Bama Bangs - a term coined by Travis to refer to southern men's hairstyles that feature prominent bangs for no apparent reason. Brodie Croyle and John Parker Wilson are oft-cited violators of 'Bama Bangs rules.
Read More...
 
On Rocky Top When Clay Travis, acclaimed author of Dixieland Delight, decided to spend the 2008 season up close and personal with UT football, he—and every other college football aficionado—thought he was in for a rollicking ride with one of the leading contenders for the national title. After all, when the Vols kicked off the season on September 1, the defending SEC East champions were ranked 18th in the country. As head coach Phillip Fulmer prepared for the game, he reflected upon a coaching career that included an astounding 147 victories, two SEC championships, and a national title. With 34 years at UT under his belt as both a player and coach, the Tennessee native had just signed a contract extension that projected to keep him at the university long enough to become the winningest coach in program history.
Read More...
 
Dixieland Delight There is no college ball more passionate and competitive than football in the Southeastern Conference, where seven of the twelve schools boast stadiums bigger than any in the NFL and 6.5 million fans hit the road every year to hoot and holler their teams to victory.
Read More...
 
Man Book The newly favored man is not really a man at all, but a hairless, effeminate, germ-fearing, non-meat-eating, exfoliating, wristband-wearing woman of the worst order. We as men are told that we must embrace the sacred feminine in ourselves, even if it doesn't actually exist, and become the very quintessence of woman, plus penises. This situation is untenable. This trend must stop.
Read More...
 
Vanderbuilt Law Clay Travis is the only former student manager in the history of college athletics to marry an NFL cheerleader. He managed to pull this off despite an irrational affinity for the television shows Dawson's Creek and My Super Sweet 16. While being raised in Nashville, Tenn., Travis developed a healthy obsession with college sports and Alyssa Milano. As a teenager his greatest accomplishment was taking a doo-rag wearing Luke Duke (balling as Tom Wopat) to the hole at the Nashville YMCA. In the midst of a stellar legal career during which he specialized in rewarding the unjust and punishing the oppressed, Travis began writing for CBS Sports's SPiN section in September 2005...
Read More...
 
 
© Copyright Clay Travis 2009, All Rights Reserved.