BCS

WASHINGTON -- NCAA President Mark Emmert told the Justice Department Wednesday that its questions about the lack of a playoff system for college football are best directed to another group -- the Bowl Championship Series.

Other than licensing the postseason bowls, "the NCAA has no role to play in the BCS or the BCS system," Emmert wrote in a letter to the department's antitrust chief, Christine Varney. He added that short of member colleges and universities discontinuing the BCS and proposing an NCAA championship, "there is no directive for the (NCAA) to establish a playoff."

SALT LAKE CITY -- Looking to file a federal lawsuit aimed at disbanding the BCS system, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has put out a request for proposals from national antitrust firms to help with the case.

Shurtleff said Thursday he expects the suit, accusing the BCS of being an illegal monopoly, will be filed this summer. It will seek damages for schools including the University of Utah and Boise State that have lost out on millions of dollars over the years because the existing system keeps non-preferred conferences at a competitive disadvantage, he said.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jake Kirkpatrick watched Monday as Auburn kicked a field goal in the final seconds to defeat Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game, securing the national title for the Tigers, their first since 1957.

Like many TCU fans, he couldn't help but wonder how the Horned Frogs, who finished 13-0 after winning the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, would have fared against Auburn (14-0), the only other undefeated team in the land.

"You always wonder what would happen, but the system is not set up that way," the Frogs' center said. "Auburn got a chance to play in the game and they deserve to be national champions. We took care of the business we had to take care of, so we're fine with that."

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Auburn running back Michael Dyer never heard any whistle, so he just kept running -- past the tackler who thought he had him down and deep into Oregon territory.

Dyer broke stride, then took off on a once-in-a-lifetime run in the final minutes, setting up a field goal on the last play that led No. 1 Auburn over the No. 2 Ducks 22-19 in the BCS championship game Monday night.

The freshman running back upstaged Auburn's Heisman-winning quarterback Cam Newton with a 37-yard run, in which he appeared down but wasn't -- his knee never hit the ground -- as he rolled over Oregon defender Eddie Pleasant to put the Tigers in scoring position.

The glut of bowl games is over except for those special few traditional galas that are always saved for last, "GoDaddy.com" and "Compass" among them.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Oklahoma Sooners don't have to hear about their BCS losing streak anymore. They busted it up in a big way.

Landry Jones threw for a school bowl-record 429 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 9 Oklahoma ended a five-game BCS bowl losing streak with a 48-20 win over Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night.

Oklahoma (12-2) carried plenty of BCS baggage after losing three straight title games and two Fiesta Bowls. The Sooners avoided the setback six pack behind Jones and Ryan Broyles, who had team records of 13 catches and 170 yards to go with the sealing touchdown.

Mark Cuban's not so different from you and me. This is evident from the fact that he has considerable trouble getting people to take his money.

I run into this problem all the time. Just this weekend I had store clerks handing back my credit card and saying, "Sorry, we can't take this."

In Cuban's case, he couldn't get the Chicago Cubs to take his $500 million a couple years ago. He failed to get the Rangers to take his giant check this summer.