Big name and not-so-big name basketball colleges are awaiting a decision from a federal judge in Columbus. Judge Edmund Sargus will decide whether the NCAA’s two-and-four rule will be allowed to stand.

The rule allows teams to play in only two exempted tournaments every four years. It is a snag for organizers of exempted tournaments. Andy Katz, of espn.com, cites the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York City and the Guardians Classic as two examples, along with the Great Alaska Shootout, the Maui Classic and the Paradise Jam tournament.

Tournament organizers say the rule means that fewer teams are available for the 2002 and 2003 pre-seasons. As a result, some tournaments could fold.

They filed a lawsuit against the NCAA to get the case into a court. Both sides met with a federal mediating judge in Columbus Tuesday but could not reach a settlement. Judge Sargus said he would issue a ruling “soon” but no one is guessing what “soon” means.

College basketball teams are waiting on the ruling to lock up their schedules for next season. Will they be able to play in an early season tournament or not?

Conference commissioners want to set a maximum number of games for the teams in their conference. Right now, exempted tournaments count as one game on the schedule, even if they involve more than one game through the various rounds.

Katz says the tournament organizers want the teams in the top six (BCS) conferences to be able to play in exempt tournaments every year with the rest of college basketball having the option of playing in them.

If the rule is dropped, expect a rush for the open slots in the exempt tournaments. The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic still does not have a complete four-team field. Likewise the Guardians Classic, which starts with 16 teams on remote sites and ends with four teams playing two games Thanksgiving weekend in New York City. The Great Alaska Shootout and the Paradise Jam tournament still each need one more team.

But, remember, it’s not about sports … it’s about money.

An interesting thing happened during the Grand Prix of Monaco a couple of weeks ago. That’s significant because a lot of times, nothing interesting happens in a Formula One race after the first turn.

David Coulthard, who won the race in his Mercedes powered McLaren, might well have been a DNF except for some new technology called bi-directional telemetry.

For a couple of laps near the mid-point of the race, smoke could be seen coming from the engine during gear changes. That’s usually a sign of impending disaster for an engine. Coulthard said later that he felt the engine begin to tighten up and lose a little power.

Team manager Ron Dennis said that telemetry from the car already was showing the problem, even before the smoke appeared.

Mario Ilien, whose company, Ilmor, builds the engines, explained later that the problem developed in an oil transfer system, causing an intermittent spill. A quick adjustment from the pits corrected the problem on the engine and Coulthard motored on to the win.

Real-time telemetry from the car to the pits is nothing new in open wheeled racing. It is not allowed in NASCAR, except for testing situations.

The technology even exists for the data to be sent from the car back to the engine labs for analysis during the race but that wrinkle has been outlawed.

This is the first year that teams have been able or allowed to send instructions back to the engine.

What it does is keep a competitive car competitive and that can only improve the racing. It also means less for the driver to have to do while he is trying to keep the car between the barriers.

It’s a Good Thing.