Justice Dept. Looking at Legality of BCS System

Trouble for the BCS? The Justice Department says it's considering opening an investigation into the legality of college football's system of picking a champion. In a letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch—he hates the BCS because he says it gives an unfair advantage, and thus a ton of money, to big conferences—the department says it's reviewing whether to open an antitrust investigation, along with a host of less-drastic options.

Hatch triumphantly released the letter last night, but the BCS says he's blowing it way out of proportion. "This letter is nothing new and if the Justice Department thought there was a case to be made, they likely would have made it already," said its executive director. Lots of fans hate the BCS, including President Obama, and the Hill notes something else that might be sticking in Hatch's craw: His home-state Utah Utes when unbeaten in 2008, without even a sniff at the national title game.
(More Orrin Hatch stories.)