Oy…

“Who elected these N.C.A.A. people?” (Neil Abercrombie, Democrat of Hawaii) said at a news conference Thursday on Capitol Hill while gripping a souvenir University of Hawaii football. “Who are they to decide who competes for the championship?”

We give the NCAA and even Miles Brand no shortage of grief, but even they will look downright enlightened next to these people. Any reasonably informed fan could tell Rep. Abercrombie that 1) the member schools “elected” the NCAA and 2) even so, the NCAA does not recognize a 1-A football champion and has nothing at all to do with the college football postseason or the BCS.

The BCS is a contractual arrangement between major conferences, bowls, and television networks, and it is through their grace that schools like Hawaii are even able to participate. Just take your check, say thank you, and resume irrelevance.

One wonders if Rep. Abercrombie in his zeal will go after March Madness where the NCAA actually does have something to do with deciding “who competes for a championship.” But you can kind of forgive him for his ignorance…it’s easy to get disconnected from the college sports mainstream in Hawaii. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia has no such excuse. Shame on him for joining this circus.

The Georgia Dome is in the midst of a $20 million maintenance and repair project that will include replacing the gawd-awful teal-and-plum color scheme with one much closer to our own hearts. The project, which also will have interior improvements and modifications, was already in the works before storm damage last month.

Glad to see them getting the building ready for an early-December Georgia game.