Bear Facts
Mahanoy Area High School - Ninth Edition
December 11, 2009
Online VS. Retail Stores:
The Great Holiday Debate
Are Stores Being Outshone by the Convience of Online
Shopping This Holiday Season?
Thanksgiving is over and now the real holiday chaos
ensues. Black Friday marked the start of the holiday
shopping season, and the date usually makes headlines with its share of injuries and deaths caused by
the trampling from the stampedes that come with trying to get the best deals, like last year’s King of Prussia and Wal-Mart incidents. This year marks the start
of something new, and less dangerous. Although
the United States has spent an estimated 16.8 billion
within the first week of the holiday shopping season,
retail stores are being given a proverbial “run for their
money” by last year’s “dark horse” shopping method… e-commerce.
In our struggling economy, financially savvy consumers of every age are turning to the Internet for the best
holiday deals at the click of a mouse. Websites like
e-Bay, Amazon, and even the social networking site
Twitter have become main-stay weapons for shoppers battling for the best possible prices on the hottest gifts of the season, and with good reason. Not
By: Stormie Lee Kapp
only do these sites provide some of the best deals,
but they provide convenience by allowing shoppers to buy right from home, without ever having to
change out of their pajamas. Online shoppers have
mentioned in blogs and new sites that the lack of
having to push and shove to get the last of an item
on the shelf is well worth the small risk of identity
theft that has, in past years, deterred shoppers from
online buying.
Also, that competitiveness that has always been associated with holiday shoppers vying for the last
product on a shelf is almost extinct in e-commerce,
with the exception of auction sites like e-Bay and
OnlineAuction.com. The ability to “Buy It Now” and
peruse the offerings of hundreds of malls in a matter
of minutes makes six out of ten consumers prefer
online shopping to retail stores this year. Looks like
stores should take a page from Scrooge’s book and
change their habits, or else their holiday revenue futures are going to be a bit bleak.
Christmas Break
no school
Dec 24, 2009
return to schoolMon. January 4, 2010
Contributing to this issue of Bear Facts: Amanda Arnold, Candace Fegley, Sarah Hannock,
Shelbey Kane, Stormie Lee Kapp, Katie McCarthy, Maggie Mansell, Gary Perna, Drew Pizzo,
Frank Scicchitano, Tommy Seddon, Justina Strollis, Tanya Styka
Mahanoy Area High School
For
Sale
2010
yearbooks
See Ms. Scic in the
art room
Price of the book is
$60.00
Payment must be made
in full.
Books from the
following years are
also available
2008 - $25.00
2006 - $15.00
2004 - $10.00
2003 - $10.00
2002 -$10.00
1993 - $10.00
1992 - $10.00
1989 - $10
Are you or a
friend...
... Having problems keeping your grades
up?
...No longer feel like hanging out with
friends or family?
...Not enjoying your favorite activities
like you used to?
...Being bullied or harrassed?
...Feeling like you just can’t seem to get
it together?
...Experimenting with or using alcohol or
other drugs?
...Adjusting to a new school?
...Close to someone or have a family
member serving in the military?
...Having thought of hurting yourself or
someone else?
...Feeling emotionally overwhelmed?
...Always worrying?
...Thinking about suicide?
...Dealing with the breakup of a relationship?
...Being hurt physically or emotionally by
someone?
...Dealing with major changes in your
family like your parents’ divorce?
...Dealing with the illness or death of
someone close to you?
The Student Assistance Team is a group
of school and community staff that is
here to help you deal with problems
that are stopping you from doing well
in school or stressing you out. The staff
will respect you and your parent’s/
guardian’s privacy at all times. Members
include Mrs. Blue, Mrs. Stone, Ms. Pollack,
Ms. Scic, Mr. Vavra, Mrs. Bet, Ms. Wetzel,
Mr. DiCasimirro, Mrs. Caufield, Mrs. Henninger, Mr. Wetzel, Mr. Cray, Mrs. Delia and
Mrs. Orsulak.
Attention Seniors:
Your senior photo for the yearbook was
due to Ms. Scic by October 13. If a senior
photo is UNAVAILABLE, YOUR SCHOOL PHOTO
WILL BE USED.
December 11, 2009
PREVENT the
FLU
This is a cute, easy to understand
resource site about flu and flu
prevention that is family and kid
friendly - lots of learning activities
and ideas to help promote what
we’ve already been telling our students, staff, and families.
http://www.sayboototheflu.
com/
Help Our
Furry
Friends at
the SPCA
donations of food,
treats, aluminum
bowls, cotton balls,
cotton swabs, clean
stuffed toys and
blankets, cleaning
supplies or cash
are being collected
by Mr. Don, Ms. Scic,
Mrs. Thomas
(elementary)
and Mrs. Titus
(middle school)
candy canes will be
given to everyone
who donates!
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
DEMMERGRAPHICS SPORTSWEAR SINCE 1982
921 W. Centre Street, Mahanoy City, PA 17948
(570) 773-0104
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
‘Tis the Season for Caring
Local Students Remember to Give to the Less Fortunate, of all Shapes and Sizes, This Holiday Season
By: Stormie Lee Kapp
The holidays are here, and between eating, shopping, and spending time with family and friends, it’s
easy to forget about the less fortunate all around
us. Women’s shelters, animal shelters, food drives,
the Salvation Army, and Toys for Tots are all seeking donations at this festive time of year, whether
they be monetary, a can of food, or a few minutes
of our time, all in hopes of making someone’s holiday a bit brighter. Unfortunately, these charities are
often ignored by passers-by or ridiculed for those
they cannot help. Local area students from a variety
of schools have made it their mission not to let that
happen this year.
Students from Nativity BVM contributed by donating
food to the Avenues food drive held in Pottsville. The
food pantry was grateful to have the food this year,
as their normal income of donations had fallen from
years past.
Shenandoah students made it a priority to give back
’
to the four-legged less fortunate this holiday, by donating pet food, blankets, and toys to the Ruth Steinhart ASPCA. The students felt compelled to give back
to those who are most often forgotten in Schuylkill
County, as they wait patiently to be adopted into loving homes.
Last but not least, students involved in the Mahanoy
City chapter of ACTION Youth Group gave back to the
elderly in their community during this most wonderful time of the year. The students, ranging in grades
from 8th to 12th, collected profits from a bake sale to
buy personal care packages for the forty residents
of the White Owl Manor in their annual Teenagers 4
Elders project.
It goes to show the length of area students embracing the spirit of the holidays. These students have
set a fine example of charitableness, one that the rest
of us would be wise to follow.
The Princess
and the Frog
As you might guess by the title, “The Princess and
the Frog” is a fairly familiar story. And because this
animated musical comes from Walt Disney Pictures,
you can expect talking-animal sidekicks, a perilous
journey, a budding romance and a moral to the tale.
What’s new, if you haven’t heard, is the debut of
Disney’s first African-American princess, Tiana. She
adds another dash of color to a nine-member lineup
of ink-and-paint Caucasians, such as Snow White
and Cinderella but also the Arabian Jasmine (“Aladdin”), the Chinese Mulan and American Indian Pocahontas.
By setting “Princess” in the New Orleans of the early
1900s — a briefly seen newspaper headline reads
“Wilson Elected” — Disney gets to focus on Cajun
food, Southern accents and Dixieland jazz rather
than on skin color. In fact, although Tiana (pleasantly
voiced by the Broadway singer Anika Noni
Rose) begins the film
as a hardworking waitress, she spends most
of her screen time as a frog.
That’s the result of her chance meeting with Prince
Naveen (Bruce Campos), a freewheeling playboy
hoodwinked by the local voodoo man, Dr. Facilier
(Keith David, delightfully wicked). The newly green
Naveen manages to charm Tiana into a kiss, but
after that backfires, the two amphibians travel the
bayou to find their voodoo fairy godmother, Mama
Odie (Jenifer Lewis). Along the way, they’ll befriend a
trumpet-playing gator, Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley),
and a gap-toothed Cajun firefly named Raymond (Jim
Cummings).
Mahanoy Area High School
Dress Down Day Benefits
Neidlinger Scholarship
On Thursday, November 19th, in conjunction with the Great American
Smoke Out, the annual Dress Down for Andrew Day was held. All monies collected benefited the Andrew Neidlinger Memorial Scholarship
Fund that bestows an annual scholarship to a graduating Golden Bear
football player, or cheerleader if no football players apply or meet eligibility.
Andrew was a 2005 graduate of MAHS, a Golden Bear football player
and team captain, and was an active member of his school and community. Andrew’s dress down days are held in conjunction with Kick Butts
Day in April and the Great American Smoke Out in November because
he was a committed member of the MA Teens Against Tobacco (TAT)
while a student at Mahanoy.
The Andrew Neidlinger Memorial Scholarship is administered through
Schuylkill Area Community Foundation www.sacfoundation.com . All
donations are tax deductible. The Foundation is a collection of philanthropic funds, each created by a different donar for a variety of purposes. Each fund retains its own identity, donor defined objectives and
benefits from pooled investments with other funds. Gifts to the Foundation are invested according to Foundation policy, and grants are then
made from these permanent funds to qualified local charitable organizations as well as in the form of scholarships and awards. Please contact
Eileen Kuperavage, Executive Director at ekuperavage@verizon.net or
Sharon Koszyk at skoszyk@verizon.net if you wish to make a donation
at any time.
Thank you all for your generous and ongoing support of The Andrew
Neidlinger Memorial Scholarship.
Mahanoy Area
Drug and Alcohol
Coalition meeting
Jan. 11th at 3p.m.
in the L.G.I.
December 11, 2009
Please note : Financial Aid Information Night has
been changed to
Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 7
p.m. in the LGI
room of the high
school.
NAC Has
Busy Month
Advisor, Mrs. Pepe, announced
that the Nutrition Advisory Council
worked on two separate projects
in November. They celebrated National Diabetes Awareness month
having a question read on the announcements each morning. Students then placed their guess to
the question in the appropriate
answer box at the NAC information table during lunch. Correct responses were collected each day
and entered into a drawing for a
fruit/goodie basket that was given
away on November 23rd.
The second project included helping with the annual Thanksgiving meal on Thursday, November
18th. Due to a higher membership
this year, only senior members
were invited to help. Members
of NAC prepared and served the
meal, which was free, and cleaned
up afterward.
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
MAHANOY AREA
ANONYMOUS DRUG ACTIVITY TIP LINE
.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Do you know someone who needs help with a drug problem?
Did you witness legal drug activities?
Do you know of drug dealings taking place anywhere in the area?
Do you suspect of drug storage or processing in your neighborhood?
Help us combat drug activity by letting us know it.
Working in partnership, we can make a difference!
The Mahanoy City Police Department ANONYMOUS DRUG ACTIVITY TIP LINE
is for the confidential and anonymous reporting of information and non-emergency
incidents to the Mahanoy City Police Department. The line has been set up so that
members of the community and students of the Mahanoy Area School District can
report information that they may otherwise be reluctant to report. The Tip Line is a
voice mailbox with a recorded message. A caller can leave a message containing
the information that he or she wishes to share with the police department. There is
no way to identify the caller or the line the caller is calling from. A caller is welcome
to identify themselves and leave contact information if they wish and are encouraged to do so if the situation reguires follow-up contact. The information left on the
Tip Line will be checked frequently, and investigated as necessary. The Tip Line is
a non-emergency line. If an incident is an emergency or requires an immediate response, call 911.
Help us take back our community by reporting illegal drug activity on the Tip Line!
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
Mahanoy’s Top Christmas
Gifts
BY: Tanya Styka
Even though receiving gift isn’t
the most important
part of Christmas, most people
do look forward to at least one or
two long anticipated items. When
asked what gift she is hoping for,
Senior Amanda Arnold answered,
“ I expect a lot but sometimes one
thing is good enough.”
Gaming systems have been on
Christmas wish lists for quite a
long time, but which is best? Senior Megan Sullivan thinks the Wii
gaming system is the best one on
the market. “Because you’re not
just sitting playing a video game,
you are physically involved,” she
explained.
Cell phones are another item on
Christmas lists of people of all
ages. There are so many on the
market, from very simple trac
phones to mini computers. When
asked which he thinks is best, Mr.
Gerber replied, “The i-phone because it has so many apps and
it’s like a tiny computer in your
hands.”
Some other common items on the
wish lists of Mahanoy students are
Apple laptops, Kodak cameras,
Lil’ Wayne CD, Hollister clothes,
Guitar Hero video games and Nike
sneakers!
A Look At Accounting Courtesy
of Kutztown By: Sarah Hannock
Every person wants to attain a job that is in high demand and interesting. Few people think you could get that being a Certified Public
Accountant (CPA). Every business looks for some sort of accountant.
College grads with accounting degrees are in high demand. This degree could open doors to the FBI, CIA or DEA. The “Passport to Opportunity” event held at Kutztown University recently taught the value of
an accounting degree to Ms. Loy’s Accouting I students. Sponsored by
the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), the
event provided sound information for students interested in the field.
Natalie Brown (CPA), Ann Marie Tyler (IRS), Jason Holland, Director of
Hman Resources at KU and a panel of Kutztown accounting students
were speakers at the event.
National Honor Society
Helping Troops
Being away from home, especially
for the holidays, is not easy, but
there are many Americans who
are willing to do just that as service to their country. The National
Honor Society has adopted an Air
National Guard troop out of Willow
Grove to remember and show their
appreciation for. Members of NHS
are preparing to send packages
filled with items that will hopefully
make their holiday far from home
just a wee bit brighter. NHS advisors are Mrs. Rohart and Ms. Zakrewsky.
National
Honor
Society
Inducts 21
Twenty-one students were recently inducted into the Mahanoy Area
Chapter of the National Honor Society. November 4, 2009 was an
important evening in the lives of
these students. The NHS holds
its members to high standards
regarding character, leadership,
scholarship and service. There
are currently twenty-five senior
members. Officers are President
Mike Wawrzynek, Vice-President
Erin Techentine and Secretary/
Treasurer Bryan Wagner. Advisors are Mrs. Rohart and Ms. Zakrewsky Newly inducted members
include Alexis Bernadyn, Amber
Casserly, Brittany Filiziani, Robert Filiziani, Matthew Flammer,
Ana Granados, Emilee Hanrahan,
Olivia Hower, Molly Joyce, Jennifer Lawrence, Margaret Mansell,
Shanna Messerschmidt, Jenna
Michaels, Jordan Mroczka, Katey
Scheeler, Danielle Sluzis, Peter
Stanakis, Joseph Swartz, Kassandra Troxell, Rebecca Williams
and Maria Yankus
Worried About a
Friend?
There is an anonymous referral
box in the hallway near Mrs. Blue’s
office where students can refer
a friend (or themselves) to the
Student Assistance Program. Brochures are located by the box and
students can use those to make
their referral.
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
BuyCoalregion.com
921 West Centre Street, Mahanoy City, PA 17948
(570) 773-0104
Wednesday 10 am to 7 pm
Thursdays at Shenandoah Farmer's Mkt. 9 to 7
Friday & Saturday 10 am to 7 pm
We are committed to providing superior customer service.
Our friendly staff welcomes your questions
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
The “Howling Sensation Sweeping the
Nation” “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” Even
Bigger Phenomena than Original
Vampires and werewolves and
teenagers, oh my. The best-selling “Twilight” novels from Stephenie Meyer, now turned blockbuster
movie franchise are getting howling reviews, especially the latest
installment of “The Twilight Saga:
New Moon”.
“New Moon” officially opened on
November 20th, just in time for
the Thanksgiving holiday, but true
“Twi-fans” (as devotees have become known as) knew the place
to be was the midnight release the
night before. More than a few Mahanoy Area fans could be found
neck-deep in the pandemonium
that has become associated with
By: Stormie Lee Kapp
the movies’ success, including Seniors Emily Sabol and Erin Techentine. When asked if the crowds,
the noise, the pushing, and the
shoving had all been worth the
movie itself, Sabol gave a simple,
eloquent reply to a question that
would have usually put “Twi-fans”
up in arms. “Of course it was,
“she said, “It’s Twilight.”
Like its undead cast, “New Moon”
refused to let the craze it sparked
die down in a few days. By the end
of the Thanksgiving weekend, the
film had raked in $42.5 million, and
sunk its teeth into the top spot at
the box office, ousting such competitors as “The Blind Side” and
“2012”. Some
critics were
surprised at
the film’s obvious
success rate, since there had been a
change of directors and production companies from the first movie. Apparently, the changes were
for the better, as “New Moon” managed to outdo the revenue brought
in by the “Twilight” release of 2008
by nearly $2 million more. If this
trend continues, we can only look
forward to bigger things from the
third novel adaptation, “Eclipse”,
which is slated for release in June
2010.
Down On The Farm...ville, That Is
A Look At Social Networking
By: Stormie Lee Kapp
The world’s been taken over by social networking the Internet, but being an outsider, I’m probably not
sites! After all, social networking sites are the hot- meant to. In an attempt to understand this phenometest thing this year and not just in America, either. na, I asked several fellow students what they thought
In Iran, The site Twitter has been used to circumvent of social networking sites. I was met with two radigovernment censors and let the world know about cal answers, “It’s life” and “It’s nothing”. How can
presidential election protests. In the U.S. if you don’t such similar people have such different opinions? Is
have a Facebook page, you don’t exist. I am, clearly, it possible that social networking sites are breaking
an outsider. I’m still stuck in the technological Dark us away from the physical world we live in? I don’t
Ages with a Myspace page. No matter where I go, think anyone is qualified to answer that, but if what
whatever class I”m in, I hear about Facebook’s fa- my sources said is true, the social networking fad
mous “Farmville”. I’ve never understood WHY mid- may be left in the dust, just like grunge, off shoulder
dle class suburban teens want to play farmers on sweatshirts, disco and (gasp) Myspace!
French &
German Clubs Visit Elderly
White Owl Manor residents are in for a few treats on
December 18 when members of the French and German clubs visit. Students, advised by Mrs. Rohart,
will sing Christmas carols for the elderly residents.
They have also been working feverishly to make ce-
ramic Christmas ornaments in the art room to give as
gifts, as well as Christmas cookies. The clubs have
been visiting the Manor for many years as part of
their Christmas tradition and the residents love being remembered, especially at this time of year!
Mahanoy Area High School
“FOR LASTING
MEMORIES”
December 11, 2009
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PHOTOGRAPHY
110 West Centre Street
Mahanoy City, PA 17948
570-773-2972
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
NEW DVD RELEASES PERFECTLY TIMED FOR
THE HOLIDAYS
Some video releases seem perfectly timed. Take the
Sherlock Holmes double features “The House of Fear”/
”The Pearl of Death” and “The Spider Woman”/”The
Voice of Terror,” for example. With Robert Downey
Jr. starring as the super sleuth in “Sherlock Holmes”
to be released Christmas Day, what better time than
now for restored versions of four films starring the
actor who defined the role: Basil Rathbone?
The 1942 film “The Voice of Terror” seems particularly timely, dealing with terrorism and a case in which
Holmes and Watson (Nigel Bruce) investigate a series
of radio broadcasts from Nazi Germany that suggest
the possibility of a plot being the work of homegrown
terrorists.
The DVDs are not rated and carry a list price of $19.98
for each double feature.
Noted jazz fan Clint Eastwood is the force behind
“Johnny Mercer: The Dream’s On Me,” a two-disc
special edition commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mercer’s birth. The documentary chronicles the
composer’s life and career and includes interviews
and performances by Mercer himself, along with clips
of Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, Andy Williams, Judy
Garland and others performing his tunes (“Hooray
for Hollywood,” “That Old
Black Magic,” “Skylark,”
“Moon River” and on and
on). The second disc includes performances by such
contemporary singers as Audra McDonald, Michael
Feinstein and Dr. John, plus the featurette “At the
Piano With Clint.” The DVD lists for $29.98.
Colombia’s official submission for the 2009 Academy
Award in the foreign-language film category — “Perro come perro (Dog Eat Dog)” — also will be released
Tuesday. Oscar Borda and Marlon Moreno star in this
violent, Tarantino-esque gangster drama in which
two low-level street soldiers develop dangerous ambitions. The film is not rated and is in Spanish with
English subtitles. It lists for $19.98.
(c) 2009, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).
Visit The Sacramento Bee online at http://www.
sacbee.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Bloomsburg Math Contest
BY: Candace Fegley
On November 17th, the Mahanoy Area math team
went to Bloomsburg University to compete in a math
contest. We left the school at 7:00 a.m. and returned
at 2:30. The math coach for our team was Mr. K. Bet.
Members of his AP Calc class and juniors and/or seniors recommended by Mr. A. Bet and Mr. Scheeler
also attended. This year’s team included Ian Leahy,
Matt Rupert, Emily Sabol, Erin Techentine, Candace
Fegley, Eric Moucheron, Joseph Swartz, and Maria
Yankus. Some teams we competed against were Parkland, North Schuylkill, and Selinsgrove. Brain teasers
were handed out in the beginning of the competition
and were to be completed throughout the day as part
of the contest. The first activity that took place was a
quiz bowl. The quiz bowl was a minute round of questions against another schools; each correct answer
earned one point. The winner of the round advanced
to the game “24”, which took place after lunch. For
this game, four cards are dealt, any combination must
be found to make “24” the answer. The first contestant to find a combination wins. When asked about
the contest, Emily Sabol said, “It was fun to see the
campus, and try something new.” Every contestant
received a shirt that day and awards were given to
the winning teams. This year was the 12th annual.
The contest is held every year in November.
Chorus Concert Performed
BY: Gary Perna
It began to feel a lot like Christmas when the Mahanoy
Area chorus performed their annual Christmas concert on December 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium.
Members performed songs such as “I Need A Silent
Night” and “Bring Them Home”, among many others.
When asked about the preparation for the concert,
Senior Katie McCarthy replied, “The hardest song to
learn was’We Need a Little Christmas’ because the
words go so fast and there are a lot of them.” Solos
were performed by Eric Moucheron, Jackie Roberts,
Katie McCarthy and Kristy McCarthy. The chorus will
perform again in the spring.
Mahanoy Area High School
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B e i n g
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National
Champion is the premier goal for
every college football team in the country.
Should we let the current computer system decide
who is the best, or let the teams play for the right to
be the top college football team in the United States?
This has been a debate swirling around the sports
world for more than fifteen years. Experts and analysts have come up with their own solutions, but until
the speculation is set aside and someone decides to
take further action, this unfair system will continue to
be prominent in the college football season.
In the beginning of the 1998 season, college football
adopted a new system to decide a National Champion. The Bowl Championship Series, or BCS, was
originally a four game postseason series, but has
since been improved to a five game series. The four
BCS Bowl Games are the Rose Bowl, Nokia Sugar
Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl, and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
These games are all equally exciting and important
to the teams that participate in them. Being given the
opportunity to compete in one of these games is the
ultimate prize for any team in college football.
Although these bowl games existed before 1998, it
was not until then that the participants in them were
decided by the BCS system. Even before the BCS,
each of these four games had the opportunity to be
considered the National Championship Game, creating the opportunity for each game to reel in an
enormous amount of money through ticket sales
and television marketing. Before 2007, the National
Championship Game was rotated between the four
major bowls, giving each of them the chance to host
the biggest game of the year. For example, in 1998,
the Fiesta Bowl was the National Championship
Game. The following year the Sugar Bowl hosted the
game, followed by the Orange Bowl, and the Rose
Bowl.
After the 2006 season, the BCS National Championship Game was added to this series, thus creating
even more controversy in the world of college football. With the addition of this fifth game, the BCS
also added the “double-hosting” method. This had
a similar purpose as the four-year rotation that was
used every year prior to 2006, exposing the cities
that these games are played in to the moneymaking
opportunity that is the National Championship. With
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December 11, 2009
the double hosting format, the BCS National Championship game rotates between the cities where the
bowl games are played. For example, if Pasadena,
California, where the Rose Bowl is played annually,
is the double hosting city, both the Rose Bowl and
the BCS National Championship Game are played in
Pasadena.
The BCS is essentially a gold mine for these cities. In
Pasadena, the average attendance in the Rose Bowl
Stadium tops 95,000. By allowing this stadium to host
both the Rose Bowl and the BCS National Championship game, the BCS is bringing close to 200,000 people to the city of Pasadena. Who benefits from this?
Not just the BCS from ticket sales, but the stadium
itself from concessions, and the restaurants, stores,
and hotels in and around Pasadena. Not to mention
the national exposure the young men competing in
this game receive. The 2006 Rose Bowl had 35.6 million people glued to their televisions, making it the
most watched U.S. television program of the 20052006 season. Even though the Rose Bowl is among
the most watched sports programs in the history of
televised sports, this is still an impressive feat.
The BCS rankings are made up of three different polls.
The Harris Interactive poll, the USA Today Coaches’
Poll, and the computer rankings all decide a team’s
spot in the BCS standings. During the season, teams
are ranked from 1 to 25 in each of these polls based
on their weekly performance. The first BCS standings are released in the third week of October, while
the other three polls are used from the beginning of
the season. BCS averages are formed based on a
team’s ranking in the three aforementioned polls. If
a team is ranked number one in a poll, they receive a
1.000 average. For example:
Miami is ranked:
A. Number 1 in the Harris Poll
(1.000 BCS Average)
B. Number 1 in the Coaches’ Poll
(1.000 BCS Average)
C. Number 3 in Computer rankings
(.920 BCS Average)
Result: (A+B+C)/3 = Overall BCS
Average of .973
The above is based on a situation where a team receives two first place votes and one third place vote.
The overall BCS averages are what determine a
team’s standing in the BCS polls.
BCS ranking alone does not determine whether or
not a team plays in one of the four BCS bowl games.
There are six major conferences in college football.
Mahanoy Area High School
Scicc’s Sports Spot cont’d
The champions of those conferences receive an automatic bid to play in one of the four BCS bowls. The
champions of the Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, Pacific
10 (Pac 10), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and
South Eastern Conference (SEC) all are automatically in one of the four major bowl games. Certain conferences have contracts with different bowl games.
For example, the winners of the Pac 10 and Big Ten
annually meet in the Rose Bowl, leaving no opportunity for any other team from any other conference to
participate in this game. The champion of the ACC
automatically plays in the FedEx Orange Bowl in Orlando. If a conference champion is ranked first or
second in the final BCS standings, they will play in
the BCS National Championship Game and the runner up in that conference will receive the automatic
bid. For example, if Michigan finishes the season
first in the Big Ten Conference and Penn State finishes second, but Michigan is ranked number one in the
BCS, Michigan will play in the National Championship Game and Penn State will play in the Rose Bowl.
A team does not have to finish ranked in the top ten
of the BCS standings to receive an automatic bid and
a team can finish in the top ten and not receive an
automatic bid.
There are a total of eleven major conferences in college football. In addition to the six previously mentioned BCS automatic qualifying conferences are
five non-automatic qualifying conferences. They are
the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), Conference
USA, Mid American Conference (MAC), Sun Belt, and
the Mountain West. All of these conferences are eligible for at-large bids, under a few select stipulations.
An at-large bid is a BCS berth given to a team who did
not win their conference, but is still deserving of participating in a BCS bowl game by judgment of a panel
of BCS voters. For a BCS non-automatic qualifying
conference team to receive an at large bid they must
win their conference and be ranked in the top twelve
of the final BCS standings or in the top sixteen of the
final standings and have a ranking higher than that
of a champion of an automatic qualifying conference.
So if Utah has an undefeated season, wins the Mountain West, and finishes the season ranked fifth in the
BCS, they qualify to be selected as an at-large bid to
a BCS bowl game.
Now, after reading all of those confusing stipulations
and rules, one might think “Well what’s wrong with
the BCS?” It’s just that, the confusion. Over the
years, the BCS has gained the reputation as the most
confusing championship system in the sports world.
Most people have asked why we can’t just throw the
December 11, 2009
BCS out the window and let the teams play to see
who the real champion is. Well, the most obvious
answer would be that the BCS has a contract with
college football through the 2013 season. But what
happens after 2013? Does college football re-sign
the contract? Do they try to “improve” this already
appalling method of finding the “best” team in college football? Why can’t we just see a playoff, as in
all other levels of college athletics?
There have been multiple tribulations with the BCS
system in recent years. The top three teams in the
final BCS standings in 2008 were number three Texas, number two Oklahoma, and number one Florida.
According to the rules, Florida played Oklahoma in
the BCS national championship game. This seems
correct, all except for one problem; Texas defeated
Oklahoma earlier in the regular season. All three of
these teams had only one loss, Florida losing to Ole
Miss, Oklahoma to Texas, and Texas to Texas Tech.
Fans and experts alike all agreed that the National
Championship game should have featured Texas and
Florida, but because Oklahoma received a different
amount of votes, they finished the season ranked
ahead of Texas. This was seen as unfair by any college football fan’s standards because Texas beat
Oklahoma and they deserved to be ranked higher and
play for the National Championship. The BCS was by
no means able to correctly decide who should play
in the title game in this instance. This all could have
been avoided with a simple playoff bracket.
There have been multiple models of a playoff system
proposed by everyone from common college football fans, to expert analysts, to the President of the
United States, Barack Obama. In an interview with
ESPN’s Chris Berman, then President-Elect Barack
Obama had this to say about the BCS:
“I think it is about time we have playoffs in college
football! I am fed up with these computer rankings…
get eight teams, top eight teams right at the end. You
play off, and decide on a National Champion.”
There have been multiple reports regarding this
statement that say Barack Obama has not yet decided whether or not the government will implement
change in the BCS and college football, but it remains
a possibility. President Obama is an avid sports fan
and he could use his presidential power to give the
people what they want to see; a college football playoff.
Now, I believe it is true that the government has better
things to do than tamper with American sports, but at
this point, it seems like the only way things could
become fair and the BCS mess would get cleaned up
once and for all. As for other experts’ opinions, the
commissioner of the South Eastern Conference, Mike
Mahanoy Area High School
December 11, 2009
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Slive, went before the BCS committee and proposed
a playoff model that seemed logical. His idea was
to have the number one BCS team play the number
four team, and the number two team play the number
three team, with the two winners facing each other
in the BCS National Championship Game. Though
Slive’s idea seemed rational, it was denied by the BCS
committee. Their argument was that a playoff would
cheapen the regular season competition. I believe
the regular season is already cheapened enough,
as was the case in 2007, when top programs such
as Texas Tech and Oklahoma both played cupcake,
or easily defeated teams, winning by more than 65
points. It is understood that top tier teams annually
play games like these, where they may win 75-3 in
the first week of the season, to warm up and build
confidence. However, when teams play three or four
of these games a year, it gets old. Not to mention the
blow to the self-confidence of the team on the losing
end of these blowouts.
Most experts have suggested four, eight, or sixteen
team playoff tournaments. The only problem is that
the participants need to be chosen somehow. Keeping the BCS ranking system and then just taking the
top teams still presents the possibility of unfairness.
My opinion of how a playoff in college football should
be conducted is to have a sixteen-team bracket. The
eleven conference champions would make up the
top eleven seeds. Then the final five teams would be
decided by a fan vote and would be considered “at
large” teams. However, I don’t believe a change in the
college football postseason should be determined by
a fifteen year old, but by experts and officials in the
college football spectrum. So the question remains,
when will they stop testing,speculating, whining, and
defending the ridiculous BCS system, and fix the college football championship series once and for all?
Min
Scicc’s Sports Spot cont’d
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© 2009 MCT