Word: playoffs
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson cruised into the history books. With his fifth-place finish in the Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Johnson clinched the top spot in The Chase, NASCAR's ten-race playoff season that crowns the overall Sprint Cup champion. Johnson, 34, became the first racer in NASCAR history to win four straight titles in its top circuit, a feat that fuels the inevitable question: is this guy the greatest racer of all-time? Johnson took a victory lap in New York City, and sat down with TIME to talk about his training regimen...
...this point, nearly everyone is fed up with the BCS, and is clamoring for a college football playoff tournament, along the lines of the insanely popular March Madness event for college hoops. Coaches, players, fans, the media and politicians - including President Obama - have barked for change. And in his new position, Hancock becomes the public face of the current despised setup, perhaps the last man standing against the playoff. Si.com's Andy Staples wrote that Hancock's job "is only slightly easier" than being a "Ringling Brothers elephant cage cleaner" or "Jon Gosselin's publicist." On his Twitter page, Yahoo...
...take his hits, but laughs off the idea that his new position is a burden. He's a believer. "I love college football," says Hancock, who returned my phone call after attending a Thanksgiving potluck at his grandson's grade school. "I believe in the BCS because a playoff would be equally contentious. For example, if you had a four-team playoff today, which two undefeated teams would you leave out? What eight teams would you put in a playoff? Which one-loss or two-loss teams would you leave out?" (See the top 10 Heisman trophy winners...
...certainly pick apart Hancock's arguments for keeping the BCS. For example, he says that since playoff games would most likely take place through December, the event would cut into the players' study time during finals. But it's not like players are burying themselves in the library under the current set-up: they are still practicing for bowl games, which take place later in the month and after the New Year, through much of December. Hancock points out that in the current bowl set-up, 68 schools and their fans get the chance to enjoy post-season play...
...Friday, Nov. 20, soccer's international governing body, FIFA, rejected Ireland's demands that its controversial World Cup qualifying playoff match against France Wednesday night be replayed in light of the clearly illegal play by French striker Thierry Henry that set up the goal securing France's ticket to South Africa next June. The reasoning went along with FIFA's established habit of focusing on the letter rather than spirit of its rules: if referee Martin Hansson failed to spot Henry's use of his left hand to rein in the ball - and let the ensuing goal by teammate William...