The Show.

As we close in on this year's MLB playoffs it's important to look back at positive aspects of the year's regular season, and the most notable aspect (to me at least) was the pitching. It has been a while since we've seen such a dominant season from the mound. 5 no-hitters were thrown this year, 2 of which were perfect games. Actually, there were 6 no-hitter's in my book, but unfortunately my book is different from the history books. The last time there were at least 5 no-hitters in a season was all the way back in 1991, and while it's evident that this year was a special year for major league pitching in general, it's the timing of this historic season makes it that that much more significant.

For the past decade the issues of baseball have mostly been a result of players - power hitters in particular - taking steroids. The game's integrity has been, and still is, put into question because of a player's ability to gain an unfair advantage by using illegal substances. The solutions to steroid-related issues have spanned but there is no way to eliminate the statistics a player accumulates whether on steroids or not, and because of this absence of a resolution it has been unclear whether an end could be put to steroids. Its also been unclear, if an end could not be reached, which direction steroids and the players who used them would steer the future of baseball. The past decade has been riddled with many issues stemming from steroid use, but this year has been a major victory for baseball in the sense that what has dominated the media hasn't been steroid use, but rather pitching. The overall statistics of pitchers may or may not be similar to years past, but it's important to recognize that the attention of the baseball community has been somewhat steered away from the presence of illegal substances in the game - a focus which has become the norm for many fans. In fact, when Armando Galarraga was stripped of a perfect game by a bad call it seemed to stir more emotion than when A-Rod hit his 600th home run, a feat that only a few have ever achieved. People were angry that Galarraga didn't get what he deserved, and they simply didn't care when A-Rod hit his 600th because they all knew it was a tainted achievement. To me, this restores my faith in the integrity of baseball and its fans. It's clear that people - the media, fans, etc - want to see players succeed if they deserve to succeed. It's easy to think that steroids will inevitably invade and conquer the record books, but this year has been a refreshing one in the sense that the success has come from the mound rather than the plate where said success has been and is, at times, tainted, as in A-Rod's case with his 600th home run. Now of course pitchers can do steroids as well, and as far as I know the pitcher's who have had success this year may have steroids to credit, but at the moment it seems as if most pitchers - namely those who have thrown no-hitters this year - are clean.

The important part of this year - the part that people should remember, regardless of stats and speculations - is that it was a year not dominated by what has become regular attacks on the integrity of baseball. We, as fans, have become used to instances of cheating in the game, but a victory has been won for baseball and its fans this year as we learned that although cheating may always be part of the game, it doesn't have to define the game.

Roberto Luongo might be giving up his captaincy.

The Canucks goaltender, who was named captain in 2008, has dealt with distractions because of his role as the teams captain, and as a result he may be stepping down as the team's leader. He's still going to take a couple weeks to let the team and management know his decision, but for the sake of a goaltender's right to be a captain I really hope he keeps the job. NHL ruling states that a goaltender can't wear the "C" on his jersey because goalies can't take ceremonial faceoffs or argue with refs after questionable calls. Despite these restrictions, the Canucks still named Luongo the captain - the team ended up not putting a C on anyones jersey, and Luongo has a C on his helmet. The Canucks were right to make Luongo the captain, and though many skeptics will banter on and on about why a goalie shouldn't be a team's captain, I think there are some very good reasons for why goalies should be captains.

Luongo is the first goalie to be a captain of an NHL team in over 60 years, and he's only the 5th goalie to be captain of an NHL team. The instance of having a goalie as a captain is very rare, but also refreshing. Goalies are often under-appreciated in terms of their leadership qualities and overall value to a team. Being a goalie is not like any other position. If you're a forward or defenseman and you make a mistake it doesn't always turn out for the worst. However, if you're a goalie and you make a mistake the puck is in the back of the net. The role of a goaltender is perhaps the most important in all of sports, and with that in mind why wouldn't you want a goalie to be a captain? To be a great goalie you've got to be consistent under pressure - who better to lead a team than someone who demonstrates a value like that?

Of course I'm not saying that all goalies should be captains, but what I am saying is that goalies, for whatever reason, seem to be overlooked when it comes to leadership roles on a team when in fact they're nearly always the backbone of every team. Games are won and lost with defense and there's no role more important to a team's defensive capabilities than that of a goaltender. So for the previously stated arguments I hope Luongo keeps his role as captain. It's good for the Canucks if he's their leader, it's good for hockey to have some diversity, and it's good for goalies when people see that they're capable, and oftentimes deserving leaders.

The current BCS system is such a problem, not only because of what it is, but because of what it could be. Fans are deprived year in and year out of what they really want - a playoff. We've seen what a playoff can do for a sport, and for a school. Just look at March Madness. Everyone loves it, even if they're not basketball fans. It's one of, if not the, most exciting event in sports. With that in mind, it's easy to see why football fans would want the same type of system in college football. There would be excitement, upsets, pride, and best of all, the political aspect of the BCS' current selection process - in which Boise State can go undefeated and not get a sniff at the title game - would be eliminated.

Of course, with the bowl system there is somewhat of a postseason for most teams, but honestly, does anyone care at all about the papajohns.com bowl? How about the AdvoCare V100 Independence bowl? From a fan's standpoint, these games are meaningless. Yes, a team will win, but what does it really mean if you win the papajohns.com bowl? That's not what teams want, and no fan wants to represent their team by saying, "we won the papajohns.com bowl in 2008! Remember??" No one remembers. But what people will remember is a team that upsets a #1 seed on its way to football's Final Four. If you're a sports fan you'll never forget the name George Mason. Now let's imagine if basketball had a bowl system in 2006. George Mason would've gotten stuck in something like the JG Wentworth 877-CASH-NOW bowl or something dumb like that. If this happened, whether they won or lost, would anyone remember that today? The answer is no, but that's not what happened, and because of basketball's postseason system, we will always remember a team like George Mason.

It works in basketball and it would work in football. Make a 16 or 32-team field and seed each team. Teams outside the 32-team field can compete in bowl games, which would be somewhat of an equivalent to the NIT. Have a playoff where teams who deserve a shot at the National Championship will get that shot. Then we'll see if they're really good enough to make it. There won't be any "what if's" which are so prevalent in college football these days.

When you take a look at the current postseason system in college football it's clear that its major flaw is inequality. How many seasons does Boise State have to go undefeated until they can get in the Nation Championship game? I'm not a Boise State fan, but it's the principal I'm getting at here. Teams that deserve a shot at the title should get that shot. No more policits, reputations or TV ratings on the line. Give the schools and their fans what they really want - a legitimate, fair chance at being the undisputed best team in college football.

Today is a day that will go down in football history as two of the greatest players in the game are inducted into the Hall of Fame:

22 - Emmitt Smith

- All-time leading rusher (18.355 yards)

- All-time rushing touchdowns leader (164)

- 3-time Super Bowl champion

- Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP and regular season MVP in 1993

- 8-time Pro Bowler





80 - Jerry Rice

- All-time leader in touchdowns (208)

- All-time leader in reception touchdowns (197)

- All-time leader in receptions (1,549)

- All-time leader in total yards (23,540)

- 3-time Super Bowl champion






It's worth noticing that the numbers these players accumulated and the records they broke clearly set them apart from anyone else who ever played the game. However, something that the modern era sports fan can appreciate, perhaps more than said numbers, is the way these two players played the game. These are two guys who played the game the right way. They kept their mouths shut and played hard. They played for their teams and cared about winning. They were honest with themselves, their teams and their fans. They stayed true to the integrity of the game. Today, we're surrounded by players who reach monumental achievements, but the means by which they achieve these feats are questionable, and when we're not hearing about cheaters, we're hearing about egomaniacs. Smith and Rice were two players that set the record straight about what a professional is. There are players today - whose heads are nearly too big to fit in a stadium - that will never come close to what these now hall-of-famers achieved.

So on a day where numbers speak for themselves, records are acknowledged and careers are remembered, know that the way these men played the game is what truly sets them apart from others, and hope that today's athletes can take a page or two from the examples laid out by two of the greatest players football has ever seen.