Add the WCHA commissioner to the gripe list. He said in the Tribune today he hates seeing two WCHA teams face off in the first round of the final four! But, he's glad two WCHA teams are in the final four [-; In USCHO interview by Wodon, Joe Marsh, NCAA selection committee member says the process is an exact science. He says it's all in the numbers but because of flip-flopping teams to avoid intra-conference match ups numbers become irrelevant! Scientific? Gate protection and avoiding first and second round match ups by flip-flopping make the process less than scientific. As far as I was concerned between all the flip-flops there was a whole lot of subjectivity involved. Marsh says fans and media aren't very knowledgeable about how the committee works. Maybe so, but the process is supposed to be all about teams eliminating each other on the basis of numerical comparisons -- across the board. A premise which is subjugated by the intangibles of no intra-conference face offs which nullifies qualification by number or filling seats which cancels out any remaining criteria used in determining the pairings by the committees' five point system. The selection committee and science appear to be at odds with each other. This season, despite being two timed by He and then the NCAA, the Black Bears will get 'BYE' in 97-98 ! Price