President-elect Barack Obama has elected to come out in favor of a college football playoff. Surely, in a madding world, this is a minnow in his frying pan. He has sharks such as the economy, two wars, the environment, health care, crime, drugs, immigration, Rush Limbaugh — well, you know, etc. — sitting on the sink beside his hot stove, waiting to be cleaned.

Let's hope he can take care of those things, because as someone once said, he has three chances of getting a playoff system in place — slim, none and fat. Will we live to see the day when a president is more powerful than the BCS?

But Obama's spot on. And I have no problem with a president who wants to right a wrong. The BCS way of deciding a national champion is terribly elitist. Obama, of course, ran a campaign not exactly favoring the fat cats.

I wonder if he has other sporting changes in mind? If not, let's give him that one, and I'll add 10 others I would insist upon if elected president (you all should get on your knees at night and thank whichever higher authority you prefer that isn't the case):

1. While we're on the subject of college football — college sports, in general — order the elimination of polls. They're put together by people who can't always know, yet have a hand in Obama's complaint. Sportswriters and coaches can't watch every game, yet they affect lives and livelihoods by basically guessing one team is better than the other. We shouldn't have to guess which side is best. This isn't a presidential election.

2. NFL officials should be full-time employees, not hash-slingers, insurance salesmen, astronauts, or whatever it is they do. Obama will become president during the NFL playoffs following what has been the worst year for zebras in my lifetime. A whole lot of The League's people won't say it, but they know. It's been awful. The NFL is terribly concerned about its image, and any hint of an officiating scandal — such as the one that rocked the NBA — could affect gambling, which begat huge TV viewership, which begat zillions for the owners. Mike Pereira, in charge of officials, is a very good hand, but he can't do a loaves-and-fishes thing every Sunday.

3. Sit on ESPN. The cable network controls our games and now has been awarded the BCS bowl package. Some 16 million U.S. homes have no access to ESPN. I realize this will be a boon for sports bars, but what would our Founding Fathers think? ESPN is a great employer. I believe I know three people, myself included, who don't work there, but the network at once has become the best and worst thing to happen to sports. We all know what too much power can do. Next thing you know, ESPN will send troops into Fox.

4. Curb the blogging. In so many cases, bloggers who have no idea what they're talking about cast a huge influence on what's going on around us. It isn't journalism. It often isn't factual. It's throwing manure against the wall to see what sticks. Bloggers are talk-show callers with a forum. Strangely, they can manipulate, because they're far too easy for the lazy to read, far too simple for the simple-minded who can't form an opinion of their own.

5. Eliminate the Olympic Games. They have become a petri dish for scandal. They have become Guessing Games. Is he cheating? Is she cheating? This isn't fun. It's stupid. The purity of the Games is long gone. Every four years they come into our lives. We get to know the players and then forget about all but a few in short order. Cities and countries can put those billions to better use.

6. Make fewer bombs and unnecessary wars and pour some of those billions into education and high school sports. Preps are the foundation of our games, and the more I go along, the more I fear they cannot last forever, because they cost money and don't make much. Educate, educate, educate. To survive as a nation, we must make it our No. 1 priority. Stop the dumbing down of this country.

7. Give baseball back to the children. The major league game is too expensive. Make it affordable for our kids, especially those in the inner city, where the game is dying. The millionaire owners can do something to save baseball, which can't go on at this rate. Only a few teams have the fiscal wherewithal to provide something to watch and even fewer seem to care families can't afford to attend.

8. Give hockey back to Canada. What kind of sport is it that can't be watched on television? (American dentists hate this idea).

9. Force the NCAA to pay college athletes and order institutions to stop overpaying coaches, most of whom aren't the draw. It's the players who bring money into the programs and don't get their share from schools more interested in building facilities to attract players who won't be paid. They should unionize. How about a little something for the effort?

10. Find another Tiger Woods — in any sport. One day, Tiger will fade. We need another one. Forget bailouts. Is it merely a coincidence that the world's economy has collapsed since Woods had knee surgery?

Nick Canepa is a sports columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune. Contact him at nick.canepa@uniontrib.com.

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