It’s time to get back to the grindstone of bringing my thoughts to a point where others can understand them.

Let the Wallflowers Dance

Late last week, the pairings were announced for this season’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge in men’s college basketball. The deal, which was set-up purely for television purposes in my opinion, is good at heart. However, I don’t think it’s enough.

While these two big boys get to have all the press, the Big 12, Pac-10, Big East and SEC are left in the dust.

Reasons why something like this hasn’t been done range from scheduling of rivalries to preseason tournaments. I’ve even heard some basketball analysts say that other major conferences don’t have the depth of the ACC or Big Ten.

While I understand the implied reasons, I laugh in the analysts’ faces. How are you going to say that the two challenge participants are that much better than any other league of the same status? I don’t believe it for one second.

So the time has come again for me to propose an idea. Just having one conference challenge another isn’t enough for me. I think that if you want to have a challenge, it should involve everyone.

There are basically six power conferences. Teams play about ten games before diving into their conference schedules. So, why not suggest that a team from one conference play one school from four other power leagues.

There is a chance for schools to schedule several “cupcake” teams and still have a bit of meat on the bone for NCAA tourney people to look at come March.

Those teams could also schedule a couple of mid-major teams from conferences like the Atlantic-10 and Mid-American for more quality competition.

I understand that this is a stretch with how games are scheduled, but something like this would give college basketball an even greater interest for enthusiasts of the game.

Absurd Predictions

As of today, most of the teams in Major League Baseball will have reached the halfway point of the season. With the All-Star game coming up, I thought that today I would predict some of the major post-season award winners.

Most Valuable Player

The A.L. has many candidates going into the break. However, looking at the player who means more to their respective team, I will have to take Boston’s Manny Ramirez to win, with Seattle teammates Bret Boone and Ichiro Suzuki to have respectable showings.

The N.L. shows a couple of front-runners in Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez, but don’t rule out Todd Helton. Gonzalez has the edge because of Arizona’s chances to do well come playoff time. He wins a squeaker over Bonds.

Cy Young

Even though he’s hurt right now, there’s no doubt who has the best arm in the game. Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez has no equal when it comes to pressure pitching and carrying a rotation.

So why not pick 11-1 Yankees hurler Roger Clemens? Because old Rog gets more than seven runs to work with per outing, while Pedro can barely muster four from his offensive mates. Martinez wins fairly handily.

There are six National League pitchers with ten or more wins. With so many people to choose from, I have to go with Arizona’s Curt Schilling as the favorite. I give him the nod over teammate Randy Johnson.

Manager of the Year

In the A.L., there are two clear-cut choices. Both coaches are molding success stories out of overachieving ballclubs and have known the success that only occurs by winning a World Series. But I have to go with the smallest market on this one, choosing Twins skipper Tom Kelly over Seattle manager Lou Pinella.

The N.L. has its success stories with the Cubs and Phillies. Even though the Cubs have a stronger overall division, it’ll be tougher to hold off the perennial contenders in Atlanta. As long as the Phils stay in the division race, Larry Bowa will win this distinction over Chicago’s Don Baylor.

Rookie of the Year

Right now, the choice seems simple. I like simplicity, it lets me do less thinking. That’s why I’m picking Suzuki and St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols as the leaders of this year’s pack in their respective leagues.

There you have it, this year’s selections for the MLB awards. I tried to come up with something more ludicrous this week, but it just wasn’t there. Oh, well, I guess we all have our off days.

Jonathan Lowe is a senior in meteorology fromKansas City, Mo.