Published: 8:50am

Iowa AD Gary Barta recently said the Big Ten will take a closer look at doing away with divisions and look at a schedule where teams have a few natural rivals and then a rotation of opponents. The biggest reason the Big Ten is considering this is because there has been a big imbalance of the two divisions. The east side is loaded with Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State versus a weaker west and in the playoff era conferences want their two best teams playing in a title game, regardless of a regular season rematch, to ensure the conference is protecting a spot in the playoffs whether there's four or 12 teams in the tournament.

The ACC did away with divisions and even the new AAC (after UCF and company leave) with their 14 teams are open to dumping divisions to protect its better teams with the hope of not having a 8-4 team beat a 12-0 team and cost the American a chance to make the playoffs.

I get all that but...In a 12 team playoff model, why are we trying to derail teams that may get hot and healthy and make a run in the second half of the season. Let's say Miami lost three games before October. They dropped two close P5 non-conference games and, with several starters out with injuries, they drop a conference game against a decent team. They sit with a 2-3 record and then battle through injuries and a tough schedule and find their way to an 8-4 record with a few good road conference wins. They win a division tiebreaker with a 6-2 AAC mark and advance to the conference title game against an unbeaten Clemson team and win. At 9-4, the Canes would have overcome early season losses and won seven of their final eight with a healthy roster. 

In the division format, Miami would have played and earned their way to an automatic berth in the 12-team playoff, assuming the P5s had guaranteed spots for their champs. But in a format without divisions, there will be no chance for a team to rally after a slow, injury riddled start to make a run and get into the playoff and stay hot.

In the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals won their division with a 10-7 record. They went on to win two playoff games and are now one game from advancing to the Super Bowl. What's the difference? In the NFL, there is a system where all teams know how to make the playoffs. In college football, we will still have a committee choosing teams. In the NFL, we've had teams with a losing record make the playoffs. A 9-4 college football likely will never make the playoffs if we do away with divisions and there are no automatic bids for winning your league championship. A 9-4 record is a win percentage of .692. In the NFL you need to go 12-5 to have a win percentage better than that. 

I get why some want to drop divisions and if the Big Ten follows the ACC (and all conferences need the NCAA to grant a waiver to current rule that requires divisions with leagues that have 12 or more teams) maybe other leagues will follow. I am still not sure the SEC and Pac-12 will drop divisions and the same for the new-look Big XII but I don't want to eliminate the ability of a team to overcome early struggles and rally to have a strong finish and get a chance to make a deep run in the playoffs...

Impossible for the NFL to match last week's divisional round where all four games were decided on the final play. The hype for this week's games are not the same. One reason is the all west matchup in the NFC. That's not the fault of the Rams and Niners. The game, which is the earliest of the two games, does not feature Brady and Rodgers and that is ratings gold. The Chiefs have become a national draw but no offense to Joe Burrow and the Bengals, but it's not the same as Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. But let's see what Burrow does this Sunday...

NBA All-Stars were named last night. The Magic have no one on the team. Do you know how many Magic players have made an all-star team? Eight players have represented the Magic in the game. Dwight Howard has the most appearances while wearing the Magic colors with six. Shaq, Penny and Tracy McGrady made four appearances representing Orlando. Grant Hill and Nic Vucevic had two and Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson appeared once. Grant Hill was voted to the team in 2001 despite only playing four games the entire season. Hill did not play in the game. He did play in the 2005 game in what was his first healthy season with the Magic...

My friend Mike Bianchi recently wrote a column about Orlando making a run at the Tampa Bay Rays, who are once again looking for a new stadium after efforts to play a split-season in Tampa and Montreal were nixed by MLB. I love baseball and I love Orlando. I think Orlando has one of the biggest pro sports mayors in Buddy Dyer. If there was a way to make a stadium happen that didn't cost $2B, Buddy would be all over it. But there is not a way to find $2B and the land to build a stadium. There are other issues as well that would make it hard to see the Rays move east. I would be all for it as a fan, but I am not sure it would ever happen because of the lack of support in Miami and Tampa. The attendance issues of those markets would be held against any effort in Orlando to bring a team here. It's why other regions would have an advantage because there would be no past to hold against. It's why Las Vegas will likely get the A's and Nashville and Charlotte would likely be favored over another Florida city getting a team where two markets have not shown a willingness to consistently support a team...

Final thought: Guacamole remains the most popular condiment in the world. In France, mayonnaise is the top condiment.