Busy, busy, busy

The Justice Department doesn't have enough to do without messing around with college football?

The U.S. Justice Department wants to know why the NCAA doesn't have a college football playoff system and says there are "serious questions" about whether the current format to determine a national champion complies with antitrust laws.

Critics who have urged the department to investigate the Bowl Championship Series contend it unfairly gives some schools preferential access to the title championship game and top-tier end-of-the-season bowl contents.

In a letter this week, the department's antitrust chief, Christine Varney, asked NCAA President Mark Emmert why a playoff system isn't used in football, unlike in other sports; what steps the Indianapolis-based NCAA has taken to create one; and whether Emmert thinks there are aspects of the BCS system that don't serve the interest of fans, schools and players.

A Senate committee, meanwhile, is going to hold a hearing on how the use of Geronimo as the code name for the bin Laden mission is an example of the "inappropriate use of Native American icons and cultures." Tell me again why a temporary government shutdown would be so bad.