Posts tagged ‘USC’

This is A First: Our Local Paper Actually Questions Movie Tax Incentives

I find that the local newspaper in most towns is generally a strong supporter of most every business relocation subsidy or tax incentive that comes along -- whether it be for Apple or an NHL team or a movie production, the local paper benefits from having more newsworthy activity in town.

But the AZ Republic actually ran an article this weekend questioning movie tax incentives, perhaps the only government subsidy dumber than buying sports stadiums for billionaires

States, including Arizona, that don't offer movie and television tax breaks usually are smart not to do so, a researcher contends.

Nearly all states have lured Hollywood productions at one time or another with special tax incentives, but a University of Southern California professor says such spending fails to deliver the long-term economic benefits promised by industry lobbyists and lawmakers.

“The subsidies are a bad investment," said Michael Thom, an assistant professor in USC's Price School of Public Policy, in a prepared  statement. "States pour millions of tax dollars into a program that offers little return."

Arizona doesn't currently offer tax incentives for the industry but spent $23.7 million on subsidies between 2005, when the program started, and 2010, when incentives ended amid a state budget crisis.

Thom, who has led two recent studies on the topic, looked at job growth, wage increases, entertainment-industry output and other factors for each state.  "On average, the only benefits were short-term wage gains, mostly to people who already work in the industry," he said. "Job growth was almost non-existent. Market share and industry output didn’t budge.”

Yawning Through the Outrage

There are a lot of things out there that generate tons of outrage that do about zero to work me up.  A good example is the recent kerfuffle over a school district assigning kids a debating assignment to argue both sides of the question "Was there actually a Holocaust?"

Certainly this was a fairly boneheaded topic to choose for such an assignment out of the universe of potential topics.   But I will say that this assignment is the type of thing that should be done a LOT more in schools, both in primary schools and in higher education.  Too often we let students make the case for a particular side of an argument without their even adequately understanding the arguments for the other side.  In some sense this brings us back to the topic of Caplan's intellectual Turing test.

I did cross-x debate all the way from 6th grade to 12th.  There is a lot to be said for the skill of defending one side of a proposition, and then an hour later defending the other (that is, if cross-x debate had not degenerated into a contest simply to see who can talk faster).

I remember a few months ago when a student-producer called me for a radio show that is produced at the Annenberg School at UCLA USC.   She was obviously smart and the nature of her job producing a political talk show demanded she be moderately well-informed.  She had called me as a climate skeptic for balance in a climate story (kudos there, by the way, since that seldom happens any more).  Talking to her, it was clear that she was pretty involved in the climate topic but had never heard the skeptic's argument from an actual skeptic.  Everything she knew about skeptics and their positions she knew from people on the other side of the debate.  The equivalent here are people who only understand the logic behind Democrat positions insofar as they have been explained by Rush Limbaugh -- which happens a lot.   We have created a whole political discourse based on straw men, where the majority of people, to the extent they understand an issue at all, only have heard one side talking about it.

I think the idea of kids debating both sides of key issues, with an emphasis on nudging them into trying to defend positions that oppose their own, is a great process.  It is what I do when I teach economics, giving cases to the class and randomly assigning roles (ie you are the guy with the broken window, he is the glazier, and she is the shoe salesman).  The problem, of course, is that we have a public discourse dominated by the outrage of the minority.  It would take just one religious student asked to defend abortion rights or one feminist asked to defend due process rights for accused rapists to freak out, and the school would probably fold and shut down the program.

Which is too bad.  Such discourse, along with Caplan's intellectual Turing test, would be centerpieces of any university I were to found.  When we debated back in the 1970's, there was never a sense that we were somehow being violated by being asked to defend positions with which we didn't believe.  It was just an excersise, a game.  In fact, it was incredibly healthy for me.  There is about no topic I can defend better than free trade because I spent half a year making protectionist arguments to win tournaments.    I got good at it, reading the judge and amping up populism and stories of the sad American steel workers in my discourse as appropriate.  Knowing the opposing arguments backwards and forwards, I am a better defender of free trade today.

Ideological Turing Tests, Climate, and Minimum Wage

Yesterday I was interviewed for a student radio show, I believe from the USC Annenberg school.  I have no quarrel with the staff I worked with, they were all friendly and intelligent.

What depressed me though, as I went through my usual bullet points describing the "lukewarmer" position that is increasingly common among skeptics, was that most of what I said seemed to be new to the interviewer.   It was amazing to see that someone presumably well-exposed to the climate debate would actually not have any real idea what one of the two positions really entailed (see here and here for what I outlined).  This gets me back to the notion I wrote about a while ago about people relying on their allies to tell them everything they need to know about their opponent's position, without ever actually listening to the opponents.

This topic comes up in the blogosphere from time to time, often framed as being able to pass an ideological Touring test.  Can, say, a Republican write a defense of the minimum wage that a reader of the Daily Kos would accept, or will it just come out sounding like a straw man?  I feel like I could do it pretty well, despite being a libertarian opposed to the minimum wage.  For example:

There is a substantial power imbalance between minimum wage workers and employers, such that employers are able to pay such workers far less than their labor is worth, and far less than they would be willing to pay if they had to.  The minimum wage corrects this power imbalance and prevents employers from unfairly exploiting this power imbalance.  It forces employers to pay employees something closer to a living wage, though at $7.25 an hour the minimum wage is still too low to be humane and needs to be raised.  When companies pay below a living wage, they not only exploit workers but taxpayers as well, since they are accepting a form of corporate welfare when taxpayers (through food stamps and Medicare and the like) help sustain their underpaid workers.

Opponents of the minimum wage will sometimes argue that higher minimum wages reduce employment.  However, since in most cases employers of low-skilled workers are paying workers less than they are willing and able to pay, raising the minimum wage has little effect on employment.  Studies of the fast food industry by Card and Walker demonstrated that raising the minimum wage had little effect on employment levels.  And any loss of employment from higher minimum wages would be more than offset by the Keynesian stimulative effect to the economy as a whole of increasing wages among lower income workers, who tend to consume nearly 100% of incremental income.

Despite the fact that I disagree with this position, I feel I understand it pretty well -- far better, I would say, than most global warming alarmists or even media members bother to try to understand the skeptic position.  (I must say that looking back over my argument, it strikes me as more cogent and persuasive than most of the stuff on Daily Kos, so to pass a true Turing test I might have to make it a bit more incoherent).

Back in my consulting days at McKinsey & Company, we had this tradition (in hindsight I would call it almost an affectation) of giving interviewees business cases** to discuss and solve in our job interviews.  If I were running a news outlet, I would require interviewees to take an ideological Touring test - take an issue and give me the argument for each side in the way that each side would present it.

This, by the way, is probably why Paul Krugman is my least favorite person in journalism.  He knows very well that his opponents have a fairly thoughtful and (to them) well intention-ed argument but pretends to his readers that no such position exists.  Which is ironic because in some sense Krugman started the dialog on ideological Turing tests, arguing that liberals can do it easily for conservative positions but conservatives fail at it for liberal positions.

 

** Want an example?  Many of these cases were just strategic choices in some of our consulting work.  But some were more generic, meant to test how one might break down and attack a problem.  One I used from time to time was, "what is the size of the window glass market in Mexico?"  Most applicants were ready for this kind of BS, but I do treasure the look on a few faces of students who had not been warned about such questions.  The point of course was to think it through out loud, ie "well there are different sectors, like buildings and autos.  Each would have both a new and replacement market. Within buildings there is residential and commercial.  Taking one of these, the new residential market would be driven by new home construction times some factor representing windows per house.  One might need to understand if Mexican houses used pre-manufactured windows or constructed them from components on the building site."  etc. etc.

Using the the Criminal Activity that Results from Prohibition to Justify Prohibition

Apparently, Los Angeles has tough anti-ticket scalping laws.  This means that one is able to resell virtually any item one owns but no longer has a use for except tickets.  In this case, government officials yet again don't like someone who places little value on an item selling it to someone who places more value on that item (a concept that is otherwise the basis for our entire economy).  We can see the effect of such laws in London, where stadiums full of empty seats are juxtaposed against thousands who want to attend but can't get tickets, all because for some reason we have decided we don't like the secondary market for tickets.

A great example is embedded in this line in today's LA Times about crackdowns on scalping:

Jose Eskenazi, an associate athletic director at USC, said the university distributed football and basketball tickets free to several children's community groups but that scalpers obtained those tickets and sold them "at enormous profits."

I like the coy use of "obtained" in this sentence.  Absent a more direct accusation, I have to assume that this means that scalpers bought the tickets from the community groups.  Which likely means that strapped for cash to maintain their operations, these groups valued cash from the tickets more that the ability to send kids to a USC football game  (in fact, taking them to a USC football game would involve extra costs to the community group of transportation, security, and feeding the kids at inflated stadium prices).  It was probably entirely rational for the community groups to sell the tickets -- this is in fact a positive story.  Selling the tickets likely got them out of an expensive obligation they could not afford and generated resources for the agency.  Sure, USC was deprived of the PR boost, but if they really want the kids to come to the game, they can do it a different way (e.g. by organizing the entire trip).  This is not a reason for curtailing my right to sell my tickets for a profit.

Anyway, I have ranted about this before.  Sports team owners and music promoters have out-sized political influence (particularly in LA) and have enlisted governments to clamp down on the secondary markets for their products.

What I thought was new and interesting in this LA Times story was the evolving justification for banning ticket scalpers.  Those who have followed the war on drugs or prostitution will recognize the argument immediately:

Lee Zeidman, general manager of Staples Center/Nokia Theatre and L.A. Live, said in a separate declaration that scalpers "frequently adopt aggressive and oftentimes intimidating tactics.... To the extent that ticket scalpers are allowed to create an environment that makes guests of ours feel uncomfortable, harassed or threatened, that jeopardizes our ability to attract those guests to our property."

In court papers, prosecutors accuse scalpers of endangering citizens, creating traffic hazards and diverting scarce police resources.

"Defendants personally act as magnets for theft, robbery, and crimes of violence," the filing states. "Areas with high levels of illegal ticket sales have disproportionately high levels of theft, robbery, crimes of violence and narcotics sales and use."

Wow, you mean that if we criminalize a routine type of transaction, then criminals will tend to dominate those who engage in this transaction?  Who would have thought?  If this were true, we might expect activities that normally are run by normal, honest participants -- say, for example, alcohol distribution -- to be replaced with gangs and violent criminals if the activity is prohibited.

It's amazing to me that people can still use the the criminal activity that results from prohibition to justify prohibition.

Update:  John Stossel has an article on the London ticket scalping ban

CoyoteBlog Readers' Tournament Pick Count

I am a glutton for stats, so I always love to post this analysis.  Of the 125 brackets we have in the tournament, this is how many picked each team in each game  (teams in red are those already knocked out)

By the way, how about that buzzer-beater in overtime by Western Kentucky!

Pick counts for all PickHoops

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6
East
1 North Carolina 123
16 PlayinWinner 2
1 North Carolina 117
8 Indiana 6
16 PlayinWinner 2
9 Arkansas 0
1 North Carolina 107
4 Washington St 7
5 Notre Dame 5
8 Indiana 4
13 Winthrop 1
16 PlayinWinner 1
9 Arkansas 0
12 George Mason 0
1 North Carolina 79
2 Tennessee 23
3 Louisville 15
5 Notre Dame 2
8 Indiana 2
6 Oklahoma 1
13 Winthrop 1
4 Washington St 1
16 PlayinWinner 1
15 American U. 0
10 South Alabama 0
7 Butler 0
14 Boise State 0
12 George Mason 0
11 St. Josephs 0
9 Arkansas 0
1 North Carolina 53
1 Kansas 27
2 Tennessee 13
3 Louisville 10
2 Georgetown 7
3 Wisconsin 5
5 Clemson 2
4 Vanderbilt 2
13 Winthrop 1
16 PlayinWinner 1
6 Oklahoma 1
5 Notre Dame 1
10 Davidson 1
7 Gonzaga 1
13 Siena 0
12 Villanova 0
14 CS Fullerton 0
15 Maryland-Balt. 0
11 Kansas St. 0
6 USC 0
15 American U. 0
4 Washington St 0
12 George Mason 0
9 Arkansas 0
8 Indiana 0
11 St. Josephs 0
14 Boise State 0
8 UNLV 0
16 Portland State 0
10 South Alabama 0
7 Butler 0
9 Kent State 0
1 North Carolina 32
1 UCLA 22
1 Kansas 20
1 Memphis 17
2 Texas 6
2 Tennessee 6
2 Georgetown 5
4 Pittsburgh 3
3 Louisville 3
2 Duke 3
3 Wisconsin 2
5 Clemson 1
16 PlayinWinner 1
3 Stanford 1
15 Belmont 1
4 Connecticut 1
10 Davidson 1
6 Marquette 0
10 St. Marys CA 0
13 Oral Roberts 0
7 Miami Fla. 0
11 Kentucky 0
14 Cornell 0
8 BYU 0
3 Xavier 0
11 Baylor 0
14 Georgia 0
7 West Virginia 0
10 Arizona 0
6 Purdue 0
13 San Diego 0
12 Temple 0
16 MississipValSt 0
9 Texas A&M 0
5 Drake 0
12 W. Kentucky 0
15 Austin Peay 0
15 Maryland-Balt. 0
14 Boise State 0
11 St. Josephs 0
7 Butler 0
10 South Alabama 0
15 American U. 0
6 Oklahoma 0
13 Winthrop 0
9 Arkansas 0
8 Indiana 0
5 Notre Dame 0
12 George Mason 0
4 Washington St 0
16 Portland State 0
8 UNLV 0
7 Gonzaga 0
14 CS Fullerton 0
16 TexasArlington 0
8 Mississippi St 0
9 Oregon 0
11 Kansas St. 0
6 USC 0
9 Kent State 0
12 Villanova 0
4 Vanderbilt 0
13 Siena 0
5 Michigan St. 0
8 Indiana 63
9 Arkansas 62
5 Notre Dame 89
12 George Mason 36
4 Washington St 59
5 Notre Dame 49
12 George Mason 12
13 Winthrop 5
4 Washington St 101
13 Winthrop 24
6 Oklahoma 72
11 St. Josephs 53
3 Louisville 96
6 Oklahoma 19
11 St. Josephs 6
14 Boise State 4
2 Tennessee 62
3 Louisville 44
7 Butler 8
6 Oklahoma 8
15 American U. 1
14 Boise State 1
10 South Alabama 1
11 St. Josephs 0
3 Louisville 117
14 Boise State 8
7 Butler 96
10 South Alabama 29
2 Tennessee 101
7 Butler 20
15 American U. 2
10 South Alabama 2
2 Tennessee 122
15 American U. 3
Midwest
1 Kansas 123
16 Portland State 2
1 Kansas 117
8 UNLV 3
9 Kent State 3
16 Portland State 2
1 Kansas 94
5 Clemson 15
4 Vanderbilt 10
8 UNLV 2
16 Portland State 2
13 Siena 1
12 Villanova 1
9 Kent State 0
1 Kansas 60
2 Georgetown 29
3 Wisconsin 13
5 Clemson 9
4 Vanderbilt 5
6 USC 3
7 Gonzaga 2
16 Portland State 2
8 UNLV 1
10 Davidson 1
15 Maryland-Balt. 0
13 Siena 0
9 Kent State 0
12 Villanova 0
11 Kansas St. 0
14 CS Fullerton 0
8 UNLV 65
9 Kent State 60
5 Clemson 90
12 Villanova 35
5 Clemson 58
4 Vanderbilt 51
12 Villanova 10
13 Siena 6
4 Vanderbilt 109
13 Siena 16
6 USC 74
11 Kansas St. 51
3 Wisconsin 76
6 USC 36
11 Kansas St. 11
14 CS Fullerton 2
2 Georgetown 65
3 Wisconsin 41
6 USC 10
7 Gonzaga 4
15 Maryland-Balt. 2
10 Davidson 2
11 Kansas St. 1
14 CS Fullerton 0
3 Wisconsin 120
14 CS Fullerton 5
7 Gonzaga 70
10 Davidson 55
2 Georgetown 106
10 Davidson 9
7 Gonzaga 8
15 Maryland-Balt. 2
2 Georgetown 123
15 Maryland-Balt. 2
South
1 Memphis 121
16 TexasArlington 4
1 Memphis 118
8 Mississippi St 3
16 TexasArlington 3
9 Oregon 1
1 Memphis 76
4 Pittsburgh 31
5 Michigan St. 15
16 TexasArlington 2
8 Mississippi St 1
13 Oral Roberts 0
9 Oregon 0
12 Temple 0
1 Memphis 46
2 Texas 46
3 Stanford 13
4 Pittsburgh 10
5 Michigan St. 5
11 Kentucky 2
16 TexasArlington 2
6 Marquette 1
10 St. Marys CA 0
15 Austin Peay 0
7 Miami Fla. 0
13 Oral Roberts 0
8 Mississippi St 0
9 Oregon 0
12 Temple 0
14 Cornell 0
1 UCLA 49
1 Memphis 28
2 Texas 22
2 Duke 12
4 Pittsburgh 4
3 Stanford 3
4 Connecticut 3
3 Xavier 1
16 MississipValSt 1
5 Michigan St. 1
15 Belmont 1
12 W. Kentucky 0
11 Baylor 0
7 West Virginia 0
10 Arizona 0
14 Georgia 0
5 Drake 0
6 Purdue 0
13 San Diego 0
15 Austin Peay 0
12 Temple 0
13 Oral Roberts 0
9 Oregon 0
8 Mississippi St 0
16 TexasArlington 0
6 Marquette 0
11 Kentucky 0
8 BYU 0
10 St. Marys CA 0
7 Miami Fla. 0
14 Cornell 0
9 Texas A&M 0
8 Mississippi St 64
9 Oregon 61
5 Michigan St. 89
12 Temple 36
4 Pittsburgh 82
5 Michigan St. 36
13 Oral Roberts 4
12 Temple 3
4 Pittsburgh 119
13 Oral Roberts 6
6 Marquette 79
11 Kentucky 46
3 Stanford 68
6 Marquette 41
11 Kentucky 14
14 Cornell 2
2 Texas 80
3 Stanford 25
6 Marquette 12
11 Kentucky 4
15 Austin Peay 2
7 Miami Fla. 2
14 Cornell 0
10 St. Marys CA 0
3 Stanford 118
14 Cornell 7
10 St. Marys CA 63
7 Miami Fla. 62
2 Texas 115
7 Miami Fla. 6
15 Austin Peay 3
10 St. Marys CA 1
2 Texas 122
15 Austin Peay 3
West
1 UCLA 123
16 MississipValSt 2
1 UCLA 120
8 BYU 2
16 MississipValSt 2
9 Texas A&M 1
1 UCLA 101
4 Connecticut 13
5 Drake 8
13 San Diego 1
9 Texas A&M 1
16 MississipValSt 1
8 BYU 0
12 W. Kentucky 0
1 UCLA 68
2 Duke 27
3 Xavier 12
4 Connecticut 8
5 Drake 3
14 Georgia 1
6 Purdue 1
11 Baylor 1
10 Arizona 1
16 MississipValSt 1
15 Belmont 1
7 West Virginia 1
13 San Diego 0
8 BYU 0
9 Texas A&M 0
12 W. Kentucky 0
9 Texas A&M 79
8 BYU 46
5 Drake 97
12 W. Kentucky 28
4 Connecticut 67
5 Drake 50
13 San Diego 6
12 W. Kentucky 2
4 Connecticut 117
13 San Diego 8
6 Purdue 79
11 Baylor 46
3 Xavier 82
6 Purdue 20
14 Georgia 14
11 Baylor 9
2 Duke 66
3 Xavier 40
7 West Virginia 10
15 Belmont 2
10 Arizona 2
14 Georgia 2
11 Baylor 2
6 Purdue 1
3 Xavier 105
14 Georgia 20
7 West Virginia 78
10 Arizona 47
2 Duke 98
7 West Virginia 18
10 Arizona 7
15 Belmont 2
2 Duke 122
15 Belmont 3

The Most Important College Football Poll of the Year

The most important college football poll of the year is out, and the top five are as follows  (rank, team, #1 votes record so far, total points):

1. USC (45)  0-0 1,481
2. LSU (4)  0-0 1,372
3. Florida (9)  0-0 1,278
4. Texas 0-0 1,231
5. Michigan (2)  0-0 1,218

The rest of the list is here.

Many of you might notice that all of these teams have a record of 0-0.  So you might ask, "Coyote, are you crazy, why did you call this the most important poll of the year?"  Well, since I answered that last year, I will go back a year ago and quote myself:

In theory, voters in the college football polls each week come up
with their current ranking of teams, which in theory could be very
different from how they ranked things the previous week.  In practice,
however, voters start with their rankings of the previous week and then
make adjustments up and down for individual teams based on that week's
game results....

In effect, the college football rankings are a bit like a tennis ladder. Each
week, losers drop down 3-8 spots and all the winners and no-plays move up to
fill in the vacated spots. Sometimes a team will leapfrog another, but that is
rare and it is extremely rare to leapfrog more than 1 or 2 spots. In this sense, the
initial football poll is the most critical, since only those in the top 10-15
have any chance of moving up the ladder to #1.

In
effect, the pre-season poll is the baseline off which all future polls
start.  I haven't done the research, but you could probably refine my
statement in the previous paragraph to a set of rules such as:

  • A three-loss team can never win the championship
  • A two-loss team can win but only if they start in the top 5 of the pre-season poll
  • A one-loss team can win but only if they start in the top 15
  • An undefeated team can win even if they were left out of the
    initial top 25, but only if they play in a major conference.  A minor
    conference team, even undefeated, will not ever end up #1 unless they
    started the season in the top 25.

Again, the numbers in these rules may not be exactly right, but I
think they are directionally correct.  This is what I call my theory of
College Football Calvinism (the religion, not the cartoon character)
since one's ultimate fate is in large part pre-ordained by the polls
even before the season is born.  So, if your alma mater has any shot at
the title, you should hope your AD is out there in the summer lobbying
the writers like hell to up their pre-season poll standings. Every spot
you gain in the pre-season poll is one you don't have to win on the
playing field.

Summarizing The Brackets

Here is the pick distributions for out 91 brackets.  The number to the right of the schools name is the number of players who picked that team to win that round/game:

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6
Midwest
1 Florida 91
16 Jackson State 0
1 Florida 88
8 Arizona 2
9 Purdue 1
16 Jackson State 0
1 Florida 76
4 Maryland 12
5 Butler 3
13 Davidson 0
12 Old Dominion 0
9 Purdue 0
16 Jackson State 0
8 Arizona 0
1 Florida 52
2 Wisconsin 20
3 Oregon 12
4 Maryland 6
6 Notre Dame 1
7 UNLV 0
15 Tex A&M CC 0
10 Georgia Tech 0
14 Miami Ohio 0
13 Davidson 0
8 Arizona 0
16 Jackson State 0
9 Purdue 0
5 Butler 0
12 Old Dominion 0
11 Winthrop 0
1 Florida 29
1 Kansas 21
2 UCLA 20
2 Wisconsin 9
6 Duke 3
3 Oregon 3
3 Pittsburgh 3
4 Maryland 2
7 Indiana 1
12 Illinois 0
4 S. Illinois 0
5 Virginia Tech 0
11 VCU 0
15 Weber St. 0
10 Gonzaga 0
14 Wright State 0
9 Villanova 0
13 Holy Cross 0
15 Tex A&M CC 0
5 Butler 0
12 Old Dominion 0
9 Purdue 0
8 Arizona 0
16 Jackson State 0
13 Davidson 0
6 Notre Dame 0
10 Georgia Tech 0
16 PlayinWinner 0
7 UNLV 0
14 Miami Ohio 0
11 Winthrop 0
8 Kentucky 0
1 Florida 17
1 Ohio St. 16
1 North Carolina 11
2 Georgetown 9
1 Kansas 8
2 Wisconsin 7
2 UCLA 6
3 Texas A&M 6
2 Memphis 5
3 Pittsburgh 2
4 Texas 2
3 Oregon 1
6 Louisville 1
7 Boston College 0
12 Arkansas 0
10 Texas Tech 0
14 Oral Roberts 0
11 George Wash. 0
13 New Mexico St. 0
3 Washington St 0
6 Vanderbilt 0
8 BYU 0
14 Pennsylvania 0
11 Stanford 0
7 Nevada 0
10 Creighton 0
15 North Texas 0
13 Albany, NY 0
4 Virginia 0
5 USC 0
16 CentralConnct 0
9 Xavier 0
5 Tennessee 0
12 Long Beach St 0
15 Belmont 0
15 Weber St. 0
11 Winthrop 0
6 Notre Dame 0
14 Miami Ohio 0
7 UNLV 0
15 Tex A&M CC 0
10 Georgia Tech 0
13 Davidson 0
4 Maryland 0
8 Arizona 0
16 Jackson State 0
9 Purdue 0
5 Butler 0
12 Old Dominion 0
16 PlayinWinner 0
8 Kentucky 0
7 Indiana 0
14 Wright State 0
10 Gonzaga 0
16 E. Kentucky 0
8 Marquette 0
11 VCU 0
6 Duke 0
5 Virginia Tech 0
9 Villanova 0
12 Illinois 0
4 S. Illinois 0
13 Holy Cross 0
9 Michigan St. 0
8 Arizona 49
9 Purdue 42
5 Butler 55
12 Old Dominion 36
4 Maryland 59
5 Butler 21
12 Old Dominion 7
13 Davidson 4
4 Maryland 78
13 Davidson 13
6 Notre Dame 49
11 Winthrop 42
3 Oregon 62
6 Notre Dame 15
11 Winthrop 13
14 Miami Ohio 1
2 Wisconsin 40
3 Oregon 38
6 Notre Dame 6
7 UNLV 3
10 Georgia Tech 2
11 Winthrop 1
15 Tex A&M CC 1
14 Miami Ohio 0
3 Oregon 87
14 Miami Ohio 4
10 Georgia Tech 54
7 UNLV 37
2 Wisconsin 75
7 UNLV 9
10 Georgia Tech 6
15 Tex A&M CC 1
2 Wisconsin 90
15 Tex A&M CC 1
West
1 Kansas 91
16 PlayinWinner 0
1 Kansas 82
9 Villanova 8
8 Kentucky 1
16 PlayinWinner 0
1 Kansas 70
4 S. Illinois 10
5 Virginia Tech 5
9 Villanova 4
8 Kentucky 1
12 Illinois 1
13 Holy Cross 0
16 PlayinWinner 0
2 UCLA 40
1 Kansas 32
3 Pittsburgh 10
6 Duke 3
4 S. Illinois 3
7 Indiana 1
12 Illinois 1
9 Villanova 1
15 Weber St. 0
10 Gonzaga 0
14 Wright State 0
13 Holy Cross 0
16 PlayinWinner 0
8 Kentucky 0
5 Virginia Tech 0
11 VCU 0
9 Villanova 64
8 Kentucky 27
5 Virginia Tech 69
12 Illinois 22
4 S. Illinois 46
5 Virginia Tech 34
12 Illinois 9
13 Holy Cross 2
4 S. Illinois 78
13 Holy Cross 13
6 Duke 60
11 VCU 31
3 Pittsburgh 57
6 Duke 25
11 VCU 7
14 Wright State 2
2 UCLA 59
3 Pittsburgh 19
6 Duke 6
7 Indiana 4
10 Gonzaga 2
11 VCU 1
15 Weber St. 0
14 Wright State 0
3 Pittsburgh 83
14 Wright State 8
10 Gonzaga 56
7 Indiana 35
2 UCLA 81
7 Indiana 6
10 Gonzaga 4
15 Weber St. 0
2 UCLA 90
15 Weber St. 1
East
1 North Carolina 91
16 E. Kentucky 0
1 North Carolina 84
9 Michigan St. 6
8 Marquette 1
16 E. Kentucky 0
1 North Carolina 44
4 Texas 42
5 USC 4
8 Marquette 1
13 New Mexico St. 0
9 Michigan St. 0
16 E. Kentucky 0
12 Arkansas 0
2 Georgetown 38
1 North Carolina 25
4 Texas 17
3 Washington St 6
7 Boston College 2
5 USC 1
10 Texas Tech 1
8 Marquette 1
14 Oral Roberts 0
15 Belmont 0
13 New Mexico St. 0
16 E. Kentucky 0
9 Michigan St. 0
12 Arkansas 0
6 Vanderbilt 0
11 George Wash. 0
1 Ohio St. 25
2 Georgetown 22
1 North Carolina 14
3 Texas A&M 13
4 Texas 8
2 Memphis 5
3 Washington St 2
6 Louisville 1
8 Marquette 1
4 Virginia 0
12 Long Beach St 0
5 Tennessee 0
11 Stanford 0
10 Creighton 0
15 North Texas 0
7 Nevada 0
14 Pennsylvania 0
9 Xavier 0
13 Albany, NY 0
15 Belmont 0
12 Arkansas 0
13 New Mexico St. 0
5 USC 0
9 Michigan St. 0
16 E. Kentucky 0
6 Vanderbilt 0
11 George Wash. 0
16 CentralConnct 0
10 Texas Tech 0
7 Boston College 0
14 Oral Roberts 0
8 BYU 0
9 Michigan St. 52
8 Marquette 39
5 USC 57
12 Arkansas 34
4 Texas 70
5 USC 14
12 Arkansas 5
13 New Mexico St. 2
4 Texas 86
13 New Mexico St. 5
6 Vanderbilt 55
11 George Wash. 36
3 Washington St 44
6 Vanderbilt 27
11 George Wash. 11
14 Oral Roberts 9
2 Georgetown 69
3 Washington St 15
10 Texas Tech 4
7 Boston College 3
15 Belmont 0
14 Oral Roberts 0
11 George Wash. 0
6 Vanderbilt 0
3 Washington St 67
14 Oral Roberts 24
10 Texas Tech 49
7 Boston College 42
2 Georgetown 80
10 Texas Tech 6
7 Boston College 5
15 Belmont 0
2 Georgetown 90
15 Belmont 1
South
1 Ohio St. 91
16 CentralConnct 0
1 Ohio St. 90
9 Xavier 1
16 CentralConnct 0
8 BYU 0
1 Ohio St. 79
5 Tennessee 6
4 Virginia 5
9 Xavier 1
13 Albany, NY 0
16 CentralConnct 0
12 Long Beach St 0
8 BYU 0
1 Ohio St. 41
3 Texas A&M 27
2 Memphis 15
6 Louisville 4
5 Tennessee 2
4 Virginia 1
9 Xavier 1
7 Nevada 0
10 Creighton 0
15 North Texas 0
14 Pennsylvania 0
13 Albany, NY 0
16 CentralConnct 0
8 BYU 0
12 Long Beach St 0
11 Stanford 0
9 Xavier 63
8 BYU 28
5 Tennessee 68
12 Long Beach St 23
5 Tennessee 42
4 Virginia 39
12 Long Beach St 7
13 Albany, NY 3
4 Virginia 76
13 Albany, NY 15
6 Louisville 64
11 Stanford 27
3 Texas A&M 61
6 Louisville 24
11 Stanford 4
14 Pennsylvania 2
3 Texas A&M 45
2 Memphis 27
6 Louisville 14
11 Stanford 2
7 Nevada 2
10 Creighton 1
15 North Texas 0
14 Pennsylvania 0
3 Texas A&M 85
14 Pennsylvania 6
10 Creighton 46
7 Nevada 45
2 Memphis 68
7 Nevada 15
10 Creighton 8
15 North Texas 0
2 Memphis 89
15 North Texas 2

OK, Can We Please Not Send OU to the BCS Championship Again?

Two years in a row, voters had to choose two out of three very good teams to send to the BCS championship game.  And, for the second straight year, the team left out (USC, Auburn) has looked a lot better than OU, who got blown out for the second straight year in the Championship game.  I thought the Big 12 was way overrated at the beginning of the season and I have not changed my mind.  Maybe it is some flaw in the distribution of the AP's voting ballots, with a disproportionate number going to Big 12 States.  Certainly it seemed that way when Texas slipped by Cal in the last poll of the season as a number of voters seemed to "reevaluate" their rankings to slip Texas in.

UPDATE:  Same goes double for Ashlee Simpson