Why Does the BCS Have to Act So High School?

The start of the NCAA's men's basketball tournament - the billion dollar television property known as "March Madness" - with its 68-team field that includes universities like Wofford and Belmont, is the perfect opportunity to once again bring up the organization's hypocrisy when it comes to deciding a football champion. While the egalitarian basketball tournaments - what the heck, we can throw the women's side in here as well - are open to a variety of team's, the big and the small, the public and the private, the well-funded and the shoestring budgets, the domain of college football is a study in elitism.

The so-called Bowl Championship Series conferences (SEC, Big 10, Pac 10, Big 12, Big East and ACC...along with a special exemption for Notre Dame) call all of the shots in college football and if someone doesn't like it, they're more than happy to take their ball and go home. The conferences, all of whom make millions of dollars for their member schools with television contracts, like to be an exclusive club. A college football country club if you will. Working with the out-dated bowl system, which is fought for (justly in a lot of cases) by the local officials that are afraid of being shut out of the tourism money train, the NCAA has become a hostage to the big money football programs that make up those six conferences and Notre Dame.

In the football set-up, there are rules in place to minimize the number of teams from outside of the power conferences that have an opportunity to play in a big-money bowl game. Never mind the actual championship game. That is decided by a Byzantine formula that seems to factor in television ratings and bankrolls of boosters as much as it does anything involved in the playing of the sport. At most, there are two teams from outside of the major conferences that take part in the bowls that are designated as the BCS. (We'll save the complete waste of time that the series of lesser bowls have become over the years for a December post, while I'm watching the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.)

The argument that the NCAA trots out for doing things the way that they do, and not replacing it with the sort of playoff system that is used for college basketball is that it would be academically detrimental to the football players. The governing body, of course, has never explained why it's not detrimental to the studies of football players at every other level of college football, which do participate in a playoff, or why it's ok for the basketball teams to miss large chunks of classes during the month of March. So, while you're remembering back to last season, when a tiny school in Indianapolis named Butler almost upset ACC powerhouse Duke, take a moment to remember that you would never see that kind of story in college football.

Nor will you ever see something like this year's upset of traditional basketball power Louisville by Morehead State during the early rounds of the men's basketball tournament. The college football powers- that-be would have you believe that such a thing would be bad for business. Faced with the fact that such upsets actually enhance the public's interest in their men's basketball tournament, college football shrugs its shoulders and issues a collective, "Yeah, well that's basketball." Yes, it is basketball and I'll sit back and enjoy the bracket-busting little guys as they fight to play games for another two weeks. In the end, the schools with the marquee names and the big money will still, if history is any indication, come out on top in the end.

But no one can ever say that everyone didn't have a chance. Meanwhile, most of college football's 120 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams have already been eliminated from championship contention...and their season doesn't start for another five months. Time for the BCS to graduate from High School already!

Dr. Rick writes about moronic and high school behavior around the world. You can find his blog at http://www.ThatisSoHighSchool.com

How To Mount A Fish Finder

One of the most common jobs would be mounting marine electronics. Almost all boats have a fish finder installed or will have one installed at some point in their service life. Fish finders or other electronics like a GPS will come with the standard instructions for mounting and it's up to the individual to take care of it. The directions will usually emphasize mounting in the correct location and insuring all electrical connections are sound. Remember, as with anything electronic a fish finder or GPS is can be sensitive to electrical noise and routing wires and such should take this into consideration.

Now the actual installation, you are given screws to mount with and maybe a template. You have your drill ready and well, you're still hesitate to drill. I can't say that I blame you just remember you have one shot at getting the location correct or you'll be left with blank holes.

Drilling fiberglass is not hard to do and good prep work will make a big difference. A few words of advice here always go slow. The fiberglass on a boat hull will have gel coat and you can damage the finish if you're not careful. Also, it sometimes helps to place a piece of masking tape over the area to be drilled. If the gel coat attempts to chip from the edge the tape will act as a good barrier providing a clean edge. Always try to drill into the gel coat first but if you have to you can drill from the fiberglass side just understand that a risk of chipping is increased by drilling that direction. If drilling from the back side, always tape the finish to protect it.

Now all the holes are drilled and you are ready to mount. You've talked to a few people on what sealant to use but still are not sure. Based on my own experience most will use 3M 5200 which would be a huge mistake. That product is designed for a below the waterline application and extremely difficult to remove meaning it is intended to be permanent. Keep in mind it has strong adhesive properties and you'd literally be gluing the bracket to your boat. If you attempted to remove, you could possibly remove the finish causing a bigger problem. A good alternative would be a bedding compound or another marine sealant. Never use straight silicone to avoid future problems. If you ever need to reseal or mount something else adhesion to existing silicone surfaces is virtually impossible. I also understand that most boat owners will change out electronics over time so it is advisable to using something serviceable. Never use household caulking or other products even though they are cheaper. They will not survive for very long and are not designed for marine use.

Now as you insert the screws coat the screws themselves and only apply a small spot of sealant over the hole. It will not seal any better by using large amounts and will not look good either. The fiberglass should be the only surface to seal here so if you did not chip the gel coat finish too much you should be good. Tighten only enough to serve the purpose and allow sufficient time for the sealant to dry before using.

The last item for a successful installation is the hardware. Don't cut corners here thinking you can purchase cheaper hardware for the job. All hardware must be a suitable grade to withstand the environment. It is natural for boats to get wet so if using anything which water will damage it will surely fail. Stainless steel will be the best choice while brass is also resistant but does not work as well. If necessary, purchase extra hardware to insure your installation is done well.

So now the job is completed and your new fish finder is installed correctly. All the holes are sealed and drilled as required and the hardware is sufficient for the installation. It doesn't seem so scary and now a little more peace of mind to help you along. You can do it!

I prefer to purchase all my Boat Parts and Outboard Parts on the internet.

Where To Get A Custom Hard Hat?

A hard hat has been used to protect workers from impact of falling objects, debris, and electric shocks. Hard hats are used for a variety of purposes and ranges from the mining, construction industry, sports like baseball and even by defense personnel. The manufacturers design custom hard hats to meet the requirements of each industry and try and keep the costs low. A few companies even ask manufacturers to design the hard hats that have logos, particular colors etc. or accessories attached to the hard hat to serve better when on the job.

A number of accessories that are used quite commonly are ratchet style headgear, bracket adapters, Goggle Retainers, reflective decals, chin straps, etc. Each of these accessories improve the safety performance of the helmet and improves the workers protection when on the job. If a company is look to design custom hard hats for their employees there are plenty of places where they can be availed online. These offers are quite tempting, a few websites even have online wizard that allows the customizations to be made as per to the company requirements.

One website promotes manufacturing of custom hard hats in the shape of cowboy hats in various colors. All that needs to be done is go the order page, pick the hat style required, select the color, quantity and provide the artwork you want on the hard hat. Similarly another website offers hard hat prints that are also called the "freedom Series". They advertise these custom hard hat designs to be a way for hard hat wearers to show their patriotism. Each of the hard hats are have excellent finish and and meet the requirements of ANSI Z89.1 2003 for a Class E helmet (Type 1).

Each of the custom hard hat manufacturers have years of experience in designing hard hats which meet the MSA safety specifications. The most popular custom hard hats which are ordered online are ratchet suspension, squeeze and slide lock suspension, vented with ratchet suspension, full brim hard hat along with ratchet suspension and blank hard hats.

An advantage of getting a custom hard hat ordered online is that they once the payments are made they are delivered within 5 working days. Since worker safety if the priority of the company when making custom hard hats, its better important to ensure that the customizations do not affect the performance. At times, workers are known to use self-adhesive stickers, prints on the skull of the hard hat without considering the fact that they would be sacrificing on their safety. It is important to remember that when making a custom hard hat always consult with the experts or the manufacturers.

Are you looking to buy a hard hat or just looking for more information on hard hats going to this site will give you a better idea on which hard hat is the best suited for your job at hand More information on Custom Hard Hat [http://www.yhardhats.com/Custom-Hard-Hat/Custom-Hard-Hat.php]