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Obama Tackles Football

Justice Dept. scrutinizing college Bowl system.

The White House is looking out for football fans this week, as the Justice department is investigating whether college football's controversial Bowl Championship Series violated federal antitrust laws. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Florida had written the Justice department last October asking them to look at the BCS policy of using computer-rating systems instead of playoffs to determine which schools play in championship bowls. In a letter to Hatch, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich noted Utah and Boise State failed to play for national championships even after undefeated seasons and that the practice "raised questions regarding whether the BCS potentially runs afoul of the nation's antitrust laws.” Obama has personally criticized the system in the past. “I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football. You know, I'm fed up with these computer rankings and this and that and the other,” Obama said in an appearance on Monday Night Football in November 2008.