let the whining commence

now that the bcs bowls have finally taken shape, the complaints have started up right on time.

probably the most illogical argument is the one against tressel’s refusal to vote in the coaches’ poll:

Here’s something else we learned this weekend: When the going gets tough, voting is optional. Buckeyes boss Jim Tressel flat refused to vote in the final USA Today coaches’ poll and got away with it.

Tress was OK with voting every other week of the year. But now it’s time to cast the final ballot – which, coincidentally, will be made public – he suddenly bails out?

Nice precedent there. How many coaches made a mental note of that maneuver and will try to employ it next year? What if 10 coaches decide that propriety demands an abstention on the critical (and public) final ballot?

Tressel will say he didn’t want to influence the outcome of a vote that decided who his team will face for the title. But if he voted in August, September, October and November, he damn well ought to vote in December, too.

first of all, it’s the coaches poll, not a list of communists. take it easy. and if the entire ranking system can be swayed by one human vote, then clearly the issue lies with the system itself, not the voters. why should he be forced to vote for something that would undoubtedly be claimed as a selfish act?

now, tressel is a shrewd tactician. but he’s also a classy guy. if he says something, he means it – from what we’ve seen of his public image, integrity and honor count much more than winning in his book. so why question his motives? would you rather have a guy vote in his own self-interest, or do the right thing by letting his peers decide his fate?

whether or not you agree with tressel’s political-correctness, it would’ve been a lose-lose scenario had he actually voted. vote for michigan? there’d be an uproar about how he was snubbing florida and the sec would cry foul yet again. vote for florida? michigan fans would be talking for years about how tressel was afraid of a rematch.