Sen. Hatch Charges..College Football's Bowl Championship Series Violates Federal Anti-Monopoly Law

CNSNEWS.com ^ | July 8, 2009 | Edwin Mora

[zimfam007]

.....Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chaired the hearing of the antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights subcommittee, said the BCS bowl “regime” is best described as a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act--a law aimed at protecting against monopolies and business arrangements that stifle competition.........

[GreyMountainReagan]

Country going down the freakin tubes and this guy worries about sports????

Did I go to sleep and wake up in Rome in about 350 AD?

If Hatch went after 0bama half as much as he went after the BCS he might be a service to the country. As it is he is worthless.

Can't he see what is happening and what the mood is in the country?

Idiot.

[Boiler Plate]

Wow let’s get right on that one. Meanwhile Rome burns.

[PhiKapMom]

I second that and will add our local sports talking guys who are saying the same thing.

[Rodebrecht]

Because, you know, we’ve got nothing else to be concerned about.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Orrin gets to the heart of what is killing my country.....

[zimfam007]

Exactly what I was thinking....and what was the news coverage all about today????????

[freebilly]

Hatch needs to be kicked in his stupid ass....

[pissant]

Hatch, shut your piehole

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chaired the hearing of the antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights subcommittee, said the BCS bowl “regime” is best described as a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

A new conservative party can't come fast enough. One that doesn't have a place for out-of-touch dolts like Orrin Hatch.

[Noumenon]

“Did I go to sleep and wake up in Rome in about 350 AD?”

More than you know, my friend. More than you know...

[KarlInOhio]

Even the Romans knew to prioritize Bread and Circuses in that order.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Before we worry about college football, we need to go after that company that makes those little round urinal cakes. Talk about a monopoly.

[ConservativeTeen]

He is only bringing this up because Utah went undefeated and did not make it to the BCS Championship Game.

[Political Junkie Too]

Even if Hatch talks tough on cracking down on the BCS, on even this he will fold in the end.

-PJ

[cranked]

Bingo!

[OldDeckHand]

"Country going down the freakin tubes and this guy worries about sports????"

I agree. It's just like the idiotic hearings on the Hill about steroids in baseball. I'm sure Hatch is getting pressure from campaign donors that are also Utah Utes.

Iran and NK build their nuclear arsenals, and congress worries about college football.

[Empireoftheatom48]

Total crap!! My God we have gone totaly crazy!!

[BGHater]

Every country has it’s idols and priorities

America knows more about College Football than the Constitution and Economics.

At lest the Fall of the American Empire is being televised.

[wintertime]

A friend of mine wrote to Hatch about Obama’s natural born status.

Hatch wrote back stating the Hawaiian officials had said that Obama was born in Hawaii.

The man is a completely ignorant idiot or deliberately lying.

[BGHater]

Awesome.

lest=least

[truthguy]

Hatch is ticked off because he thinks Utah got cheated out of a BCS championship game a couple years back. This is the last thing we need to worry about now.

I'm really sick of this type of nonsense. First it was baseball steroids and now this idiocy.

Please Hatch focus on the important stuff.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

How could Hatch be talking about the BCS when Michael Jackson has died.... isn’t he in mourning? (Do I really need the sarc tag?)

[Jim from C-Town]

God we just need term limits.

[zimfam007]

LOL

[cookcounty]

I wonder if Orin Hatch ever thought of doing something important with his life.

[americanophile]

Someone get this man a toga!

[GreyMountainReagan]

"Before we worry about college football, we need to go after that company that makes those little round urinal cakes. Talk about a monopoly/

LOL.

[eekitsagreek]

Before we worry about college football, we need to go after that company that makes those little round urinal cakes. Talk about a monopoly.

Now there is a company with a product that will always be in demand!

[jospehm20]

What an idiotic thing for a Senator to worry about.

[GreyMountainReagan]

"He is only bringing this up because Utah went undefeated and did not make it to the BCS Championship Game."

And he thinks it is crucial to our country's survival. Absolutely crucial.

[ActrFshr]

Hatch is another RINO.

If Republicans ever want to win back American support they must STOP legislation that increases government authority and START legislation that increases private authority.

The country is bankrupting itself with more and more rules and instead of realizing how unpopular it is, Republicans are demanding more rules be made?!?! EARTH TO REPUBLICANS! THIS WAY OF THINKING WILL LOSE YOU EVEN MORE SEATS IN 2010!!!

Besides...
All this does is stick government’s nose into more private issues. BCS is unpopular yes, but it’s existence is due to the fact that the previous system was broken. A playoff system would be more problematic with students’ studies, injuries, social lives, economic situations (for walk-ons with jobs), professional lives (for the 99%+ not going to the NFL), and you know what? The top teams will play that many more games than the non-top teams widening the payout discrepancy even further!! Then we’ll have more calls for student athletes to get paid. Then we’ll have even more corruption in the system...

[Nextrush]

My rudimentary knowledge of college football and Orrin Hatch makes me think he is running interference for a certain school from his home state.

A school that gets left out in the cold with this system.

[FreepShop1]

Orrin...please STFU and just stop the damned Cap ‘n Tax bill!

[Porterville]

Good for him- ‘bout time

[SuperLuminal]

Sports enhancing drugs redux!

Let's kill a couple more years with stupid photo ops and hearings...

[dr_lew]

iam strident ignes, iam follibus atque caminus ardet adiratum populo caput et crepat ingens Seianus - Juvenal

... and now the flames are hissing, and amid the roar of furnace and of bellows the head of the mighty Sejanus, the darling of the mob, is burning and crackling

[The Duke]

Orrin probably ought to throw in the perennial “Flag Burning Amendment” for good measure.

[Zack Attack]

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)...said the BCS bowl “regime” is best described as a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act--a law aimed at protecting against monopolies and business arrangements that stifle competition.

BCS bowl “regime”? Are you sure he didn't mean to say the Obama “regime”? That seems to involve business arrangements stifling competition more than any BCS game.

[muawiyah]

Obviously Hatch is going after the antitrust laws. It's clear that most of us LIKE the results of the semi-monopolistic behavior related to college athletic conferences ~ and we would probably not be happy with the results of a "bowl selection process" created by government regulators.

If antitrust laws interfere in the pleasures of watching "Bowls" then it's time to rewrite those laws ~ not regulate the college teams.

BTW, a rewrite of antitrust legislation would necessarily slop over into some other stuff!

[Sig Sauer P220]

The dumb bass turd should be concerned about the cap and trade fiasco that is about to destroy the country. Sheeesh!

[Sig Sauer P220]

Before we worry about college football, we need to go after that company that makes those little round urinal cakes. Talk about a monopoly.

Urinal cakes. Sounds like something queers eat after taking a golden shower.

[truthguy]

Besides... All this does is stick government’s nose into more private issues. BCS is unpopular yes, but it’s existence is due to the fact that the previous system was broken. A playoff system would be more problematic with students’ studies, injuries, social lives, economic situations (for walk-ons with jobs), professional lives (for the 99%+ not going to the NFL), and you know what? The top teams will play that many more games than the non-top teams widening the payout discrepancy even further!! Then we’ll have more calls for student athletes to get paid. Then we’ll have even more corruption in the system...

Yes, an excellent analysis. I could not agree more and I don't think it's the end of the world if on occasion we have a controversy about who's the football national champion. BFD.

Occasionally I listen to the sports talk radio call in shows. You get moron after moron insisting that a playoff system is absolutely necessary. These idiots think that the purpose of college athletics is to be a minor league system for the pros (mostly football & basketball). They don't have a clue as to how disruptive a playoff system would be. They are the types who are dangerous in that they have a little knowledge. And we know that's a dangerous thing. I'd be willing to bet a large number of these folks have never sit foot on a college campus (at least not as a student). They don't know what college sports are supposed to be about.