Senate panel to tackle BCS hearings

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2009/03/26/senate_panel_to_tackle_bcs_hearings/

President Obama and many others have criticized how college football determines its top team. Now senators are getting off the sidelines to examine antitrust issues involving the Bowl Championship Series. The current system "leaves nearly half of all the teams in college football at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to qualifying for the millions of dollars paid out every year," the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy, and consumer rights said in a statement yesterday announcing the hearings. Under the BCS, some conferences get automatic bids to participate in series, while others do not. Many favor a playoff-type system to determine the national champion. The BCS features a championship game between the top teams in the BCS standings, based on polls and computer ratings . . . Connecticut's Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher, showed off some of his skills in front of representatives of 21 NFL teams, including Patriots coach Bill Belichick and San Diego general manger A.J. Smith, at UConn's practice facility in Storrs. Brown was one of a dozen Huskies taking part in the school's largest pro scouting day . . . The New York Jets signed free agent cornerback Donald Strickland . . . The Chicago Bears and offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer, who started 47 games for the Cleveland Browns the past three seasons, agreed to terms on a three-year contract . . . Charles Rogers, the second pick overall in the 2003 draft, went to jail in Pontiac, Mich., choosing to be locked up for 30 days, with credit for 15 days served, instead of staying in an intensive drug counseling program after violating probation in a domestic violence case . . . The US Department of Labor filed complaints accusing suspended NFL star Michael Vick of illegally spending about $1.3 million in pension plan funds for his own benefit, including paying restitution ordered in his dogfighting conspiracy case. Vick attorney Mark Lichtenstein declined comment.