Mark Gilroy

Bringing Books to Life!

Note to College Football: Get Rid of the Bowls and Improve the Playoff Model

It's time for college football to kill the bowls and improve the playoff model.

I have always loved the traditions of college football, but many, including the bowl system, are dead anyway!

Note to college football: it is time to get rid of the bowls and improve the playoff model.

My first memory of watching an entire college football game was January 1, 1969, when Rex Kern and a group of “Super Sophs” led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 27-16 win over the USC Trojans and their Heisman star, O.J. Simpson.

The Rose Bowl was the epitome of tradition. A great parade, followed by a matchup between the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions. Sure, there was 1942, when the game was moved to the campus of Duke University due to fears of a Japanese West Coast invasion (or terrorist attack) during World War II. But for more than half a century it was synonymous with the Big Ten and Pac-10. That ship sailed a long time ago with the coming of the BCS Era. I’ve gotten over it.

When it comes to college football I’ve been a traditionalist and have dragged my feet on most changes, including the BCS and the rampant conference realignments. In terms of declaring a national champion, I’ve never felt like we had to have a perfect system, free from any controversy. It never bothered me that many years there were multiple champions crowned. It was never more than two and it wasn’t like boxing where there might be three welterweight champions at one time. But now that we’ve made the first move to a four-team playoff  for the NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision – the only division in college football without a playoff – I want to finish the transition.

Here is how I would to it: [Read more…]

Will Samsung Save the Nook?

The new Galaxy Tab 4 Nook comes with $250 in free downloads.

The new Galaxy Tab 4 Nook comes with $250 in free downloads.

Will Samsung save the Nook?

The good news from Barnes & Noble for the first quarter of Fiscal 2015 that ended August 2, 2014, was that book retailer cut losses from $87m to $28m compared to the same period a year ago. The bad news was that overall revenues had dropped 7% from $1.33b to $1.22b. Worse yet, Nook sales were off a staggering 54%.

Does that signal the end of Nook?

Barnes & Noble launched its first Nook reader in November 2009 to compete with the Kindle. A year later B&N released a color tablet called the Nook HD+. In both releases, sales and performance exceeded all expectations. Consensus was the Nook device would allow B&N to finally challenge Amazon in the digital book distribution world. A few tech journalists were impressed enough to predict the Nook HD+ could compete with the iPad. But that was way back in the day when the tablet was still in its infancy. [Read more…]

You Don’t Always Know What You Need Until You Get It

what do you need in your life right now?

I got invited to a men’s Bible study about four months ago. I didn’t know what I was missing.

You don’t always know what you need until you experience what you’re missing from your life. This point hit me straight in the heart recently.

Four months ago I got invited to start attending a men’s small group Bible Study on Wednesday mornings. How long is it, I asked. About 90 minutes, sometimes two hours. Hmmm. I’m a working man. Do I have that much time?

I’ve gone to church every week for my entire life. I taught teen and then young adult Sunday School for more than 20 years. I’m not a Bible scholar, but I do have a seminary degree, and what with working in Christian publishing most of my adult life … how do I say this without sounding like a jerk … I’ll just say it … I feel like I know the Bible pretty well without adding another study. I always have something to learn, but I often get that through reading or sermons. It’s always felt like enough. [Read more…]