Finally, someone takes on the big problems!

With the economy where it is, multiple wars going on, a Supreme Court seat about to open and the great Swine Flu Panic actively being fanned by every TV station in the USA, you'd think Congress has plenty on their plate right now. Apparently not, as the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will be holding a hearing on the BCS today. This is all being initiated by a congressman out of Texas pandering to constituents angered that the Longhorns were left out of the Big 12 and BCS title games last year even though they beat Oklahoma. Many people will talk at the hearing, nothing will change.

Joe Paterno wants another team in the Big Ten. That won't change either this year, but keep an eye on what's going on with the Big East. Sooner or later that league will split up, and Syracuse already tried to jump ship once. I've always believed Missouri would be the best fit for the Big Ten should they expand by adding a team from another conference, but of the Big East schools I could see Rutgers being the desired team. It's the closest thing possible to adding the New York market, a strong academic school, and they're not good enough to radically change the balance of football power in the conference. Notre Dame could change all this by joining the Big Ten, but they've given no indication at all that it's something they're any more willing to look at than they have been.

Mark Titus is an Ohio State walkon basketball player. He writes an amusing blog called Club Trillion, the title referring to all the zeroes next to his name in the box score since he never plays. Recently, Titus decided to end his career with a bang a year early by declaring for the NBA Draft. They said no. That's right, the league that let kids like Taj MacDavid ruin their careers by declaring for the draft straight out of high school when they had zero chance of being selected told Mark Titus he couldn't put his name in. D'Mond Grismore, whoever that is, on the other hand is fine. Apparently they're worried about Titus not taking their draft process seriously and blogging about it, and thank goodness for that because some things like the NBA Draft are simply too important to be trifled with.

One of my regular yearly traditions is having my friend Chris Fallica on to handicap the Triple Crown races. As ESPN's college research guru, he knows more about NCAA football and basketball than any other human on the planet. Fallica loves horse racing, and applies the same research principles to it. Having said that, it's extraordinarily difficult to get a real fix on the Kentucky Derby because there are too many horses out there who have no business being in the race. For whatever it's worth, here are Fallica's picks for those of you who like to have them: #16 Pioneerof the Nile to win, with #6 Friesan Fire and #15 Dunkirk following and #12 General Quarters fourth. Should it be rainy, move Friesan Fire up and look out for # 19 Desert Party. As is my personal tradition, I will pick a horse based on nothing more than liking the name and thus will go with # 5 Hold Me Back. Best of luck to you if you do wind up wagering tomorrow. Have a good weekend and I'll see you back here Monday.