Putting athletics on the ballot

Hughes Views By EDDIE HUGHES

Election night got me thinking.

Sure, much of the thought was centered on Tuesday’s presidential election. But then it turned to this column.

And, in the spirit of election night, why not mention some of the things in the athletics arena that should be voted on? So here it is—the first sporting election.

•Fresno State athlete of the 2004 year:

Jelena Pandzic, women’s tennis
Richie Robnett, baseball
Jamie Southern, softball
Christina Clark, softball
Laura Leuthke, women’s golf

My vote: Pandzic

Any freshman who advances all the way to the national championship match of the singles tournament deserves high praise. And that’s exactly what Pandzic did, giving her the edge over first-round Oakland Athletics draftee Robnett, the duo of softball superstars and the freshman phenom golfer.

•The Fresno State football MVP to this point of the season is:

James Sanders, junior, strong safety
Logan Mankins, senior, left tackle
Richard Marshall, sophomore, cornerback
Garrett McIntyre, junior, defensive line
My vote: VOID

After struggling to make the right choice, my ballot was ruined when I accidentally punched a hole next to each candidate’s name. It was just too tough to decide.

Each of the four players played a major role in leading Fresno State to a No. 17 ranking early in the season. And each defensive player was helped along by the strong play of one another.

•The newcomer who has made the biggest impact of the fall season:

Christianna Reneau, volleyball
Wendell Mathis, football
Laura Leuthke, women’s golf
Andrea Alires, soccer

My vote: Leuthke

In the inaugural season for Fresno State women’s golf, the freshman Leuthke has played like a veteran star.

In the first four tournaments of her collegiate career, Leuthke won three individual titles. That speaks for itself.

•Measure BCS: What should the NCAA do about college football’s postseason system?

This measure proposes that college football’s national championship be decided by a playoff system instead of the existing computer formula that is used to determine which teams go to which bowl games.

My vote: Yes

It gets tiring hearing the debates about certain schools not having equal access to the BCS and its highly profitable bowl games. And the schools in an uproar over this are right. The so-called elite BCS conferences don’t necessarily have the best teams.

Just look at the Big East and its lack of strong squads. The conference champion will get an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game—likely West Virginia this year.

If Fresno State were to win the Western Athletic Conference, the Bulldogs wouldn’t get an automatic bid to a BCS game, even though the WAC might be better than the Big East (a BCS conference).

But does anyone really believe West Virginia is as good as the WAC’s Boise State or the Mountain West’s Utah? Or even Louisville from Conference USA?

So, to solve the problem, let’s create a playoff system that incorporates the bowl games in the different rounds and seeds the nation’s top 16 teams. My guess is that Boise State, Utah and Louisville would all be seeded in such a playoff bracket. And that way, the last team standing is named the champion.

•Measure IM: This measure calls for a requirement that every able Fresno State student must participate in at least one intramural sport as a part of their general education curriculum at Fresno State.

My vote: Yes

Why not? Intramurals make for fun times and there are divisions that can suit most any level of talent.

Plus, it’s not that big a deal if your team loses. Trust me, I’ve played on a coed softball team the past two years that has a combined one win.

•Measure EH: Should this column be a one-time thing since it is election night and all? Basically, should I ever write I column like this again?

My vote: Probably not.