After the Florida Gators took possession of the giant crystal football -- a symbol of their victory over Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game -- I couldn't help thinking about the final episode of "The Sopranos."

After investing countless hours watching a long, compelling drama play out over the regular season and bowl games, the closing moments of the 2008 college football season created a combustible mix of confusion, controversy and consternation. And it led to questions:

Did the dude in the Member's Only jacket wipe out Tony and his family at the diner?

Would Texas or USC have given the Gators a better battle than Oklahoma?

What happened to the Russian guy that Paulie and Christopher left in the woods?

What about Utah?

These questions and others are going to haunt people for awhile and somewhere Sopranos creator David Chase and the overlords of the Bowl Championship Series are smiling on the way to cash fat checks.

Why? Because controversy works. Arguments create interest. Interest creates demand. Demand leads to sales and sales lead to massive revenue.

Now, to test that theory, I'll create a little controversy in this little corner of the sports world.

My advice to fans in Southern Cal, Texas and especially Utah is simple:

Shut the hell up.

I have nothing against you or your teams. To varying degrees, you all got screwed. If you're passing around a petition about the need for a playoff in college football, I'll be happy to sign. I just don't want to hear any whining from fans, bloggers, columnists, attorneys general or even the President-elect. For about a zillion reasons -- most having to do with money, politics, bureaucracy, TV rights and inertia -- a resolution to the current mess isn't going to happen soon, if ever. It definitely won't happen soon enough to ease your current burden.

Did you get that?

There will be no 16-team playoff. There will be no eight-team playoff. And, despite a recent thawing in some circles, there likely won't be a "plus-one" game, which may be a good thing because watching USC and Florida play for all the marbles would have made folks in Utah even more angry.

This year, Utah is at the center of the debate. For those not paying close attention, the Utes capped the only undefeated season in Division 1 this year by whipping Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Thursday night, they settled in with the rest of the country to watch their former coach, Urban Meyer, guide the Gators past the Sooners in a titanic tilt between one-loss teams.

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by skarasin on Jan. 10, 2009 at 6:56 p.m. (report)

Great work OMC, it always shows a lot of courage to publish an inflammatory article in which the author writes about himself in the first person, and then not publish the author's name. Whoever wrote the article, don't think you're "creating controversy" by telling people to shut the hell up. Reporters, fans and experts far smarter than you said it long ago.

Posted by High_Life_Man on Jan. 10, 2009 at 5:56 p.m. (report)

Word on the street is that PJ Hill was told he would NOT be the featured back next year, so that made his decision a lot easier. Good. John Clay is a stud. And Zach Brown looks pretty damn good. If only they had a decent coaching staff and a quaterback to compliment them! And Powell, like many Journal employees, lost the farm with their JC stock. The company won't be around much longer, so I don't blame him for bolting to greener pastures. I met him a couple of times and he couldn't have been a cooler guy. Best of luck!