Why the BCS Uses a Computer

Jim Kleinpeter, a writer for the Times-Picuyne, was stripped of his right to vote in the AP college football poll. The reason? He "thought" Texas Tech had beaten Oklahoma and, consequently voted Oklahoma lower in the poll. His defense?

[he was in the press box at the Alabama-LSU game] "and I was asking about different teams, thinking about the poll the next day. ... I thought somebody told me that Oklahoma was losing to Texas Tech at some point. And I asked after the LSU game was over, 'Did Oklahoma win?' Somebody said Oklahoma lost.

Note that he was in a press box, probably one overflowing with laptops, maybe even a monitor or two. And instead of looking for a ticker, he decided to lean over and ask one of his buddies for the answer? That's pretty bad in and of itself, but maybe not surprising considering that his normal source is the morning paper in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge newspaper covers his whole world? Maybe that's why he conducts research like it's still 1950. Maybe that's why the sports fans' greatest burden is enduring the media.