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The most scrutinized committee in sports has been set. The members say theyll need thick skin, plenty of time and the ability to leave their loyalties behind to pick the four teams that will play for college footballs national title next year. They say they are ready for the pressure. "I think Ive experienced plenty of heat in my life," former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. Rice, former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne and College Football Hall of Fame quarterback Archie Manning are among the 13 people who will be part of the College Football Playoff selection committee in 2014. The committee was officially unveiled Wednesday. The College Football Playoff will replace the Bowl Championship Series. The selection committee will work similarly to the one that picks the teams for the NCAA basketball tournament, though instead of 68 teams it will choose and seed four to play in the semifinals. The winners of those games, played on a rotating basis at six bowl sites, will meet a week later for the national championship. "There will undoubtedly be people who disagree with the outcome," Rice said. Rice was a surprising pick to be part of the committee because she has never worked directly in college athletics, though when she was provost at Stanford the athletic department was under her supervision and she hired Tyrone Willingham as football coach. She called herself a "student of the game." "What I can hopefully bring to this committee is critical judgment and the willingness to work real hard ... to put the best four teams on the field," she said. Rice, who grew up in Alabama, said college football has been trying to come up with a way to crown a champion for years and mentioned how the 1966 championship was muddled when Notre Dame and Michigan State played to a tie. Notre Dame was voted champion by the coaches and AP polls, but Alabama went 11-0. "It enhances head-to-head competition," Rice said about the new system. She said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott approached her about being part of the committee. "Condi definitely earned her spot on this committee," said Bill Hancock, the executive director of the BCS. "Obviously, part of this is going to be the ability to make judgments under scrutiny, and Condi has that." Rice is the only woman on the committee. Some, such as former Auburn coach Pat Dye and former Georgia star and ESPN analyst David Pollack, have said they would prefer only those who have played football to be on the committee. "Ive been in enough positions to respect people who have different views," Rice said. "I will work very hard reviewing film to make good judgments." She added: "I dont feel Im carrying the banner for anyone except those of us who love college football." The panel is made up of five current athletic directors, former players and coaches and college administrators, and a former member of the media. "Our work will be difficult, but rewarding at the same time," Arkansas athletic director and committee chairman Jeff Long said. "We have important judgments to make during that process. We realize we represent all of college football." The rest of the members are: --Barry Alvarez, athletic director, Wisconsin. --Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, former superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy. --Pat Haden, athletic director, Southern California. --Tom Jernstedt, former NCAA executive vice-president. --Oliver Luck, athletic director, West Virginia. --Dan Radakovich, athletic director, Clemson. --Steve Wieberg, former college football reporter, USA Today. --Willingham, former head coach of Notre Dame, Stanford and Washington. --Mike Tranghese, former commissioner of the Big East Conference. Hancock said term limits for committee members will eventually be three years, but that will not be the case for all the current members because they do not want to replace the entire committee at once. "We havent worked out the stagger yet," Hancock said. Committee members will recuse themselves when a team they have a direct relationship with comes up in meetings. "Its imperative for all committee members to check their loyalties and affiliations before entering the meeting room," Jernstedt said. Hancock said the committee members will be allowed to examine whatever data they believe is relevant. "No one single metric will be identified as paramount over all other data," Hancock said. Long said the committee likely will release four or five top 25 rankings during the season, starting around midseason, before the final decisions are made at the end of the regular season. "I know its going to have long hours involved," Alvarez said. "Obviously, criticism will be a part of it." 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Nike Shoes From China . -- A 25-year-old freelance journalist from British Columbia was formally charged on Thursday with a felony, five days after she was arrested in the United States over allegations she threatened to kill her hockey player boyfriend.ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright held the hug with catcher Yadier Molina a few extra seconds, soaking in his latest pressure-packed performance for the St. Louis Cardinals. "Ive got to put it right up there with the most fun and one of the greatest moments of my career so far," Wainwright said. "Those are the kind of moments that starting pitchers live for. I almost didnt want to let go of Yadier." Wainwright went all the way on the mound Wednesday night, pitching the Cardinals past the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 and into the NL championship series for the third straight season. David Freese and Matt Adams each hit a two-run homer, and Wainwright scattered eight hits for his second dominant win of the division series. "I wanted it bad. Its probably the most nervous Ive ever been," Wainwright said. "I dont get a whole lot of nerves when I pitch. Before I pitched today, I was pretty nervous." For three years now, nobody is better than the Cardinals when they cant afford to lose. And after coming through again in a winner-take-all Game 5, St. Louis gets to stay at home to open the NLCS against the well-rested Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. By ending Pittsburghs storybook season, the Cardinals improved to 8-1 when facing post-season elimination the past three years. They also won Game 5 of the NL division series in Washington last year -- even though Wainwright got rocked -- and at Philadelphia in 2011. "Well take him on the mound any day, especially in a big situation," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "I love the fact that everybody kept asking him about Game 5 last year because I knew that was just bringing even more to the table, if you could even do that." Freese homered in the second inning off rookie Gerrit Cole, and Adams connected in the eighth against reliever Mark Melancon to make it 5-1. Pete Kozma added an RBI infield single, and Wainwright finished it off by striking out Pedro Alvarez with two on. "Im just so fired up for this team and this city right now," Wainwright said. "Cardinal fans were rockin today." Alvarez became the first major league player with an RBI in his first six post-season games on a fluke hit that caromed off first base in the seventh. But the Pirates, who stopped a record streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons this year, were held to one run in each of the final two games of their first playoff appearance since 1992. "We were able to take a huge step forward this year in restoring the pride and the passion of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization," manager Clint Hurdle said, "and rebonding our city with a ball team." Despite their charming turnaround and a victory over Cincinnati in the NL wild-card game, the Pirates havent won a post-season series since the 1979 World Series. Wainwright was helped by three double plays -- two when Pirates runners strayed too far on line drives. The right-hander struck out six and walked one in a 107-pitch complete game. "Every time we turned around, Wainwright got in the way tonight," Hurdle said. "The at-bats were better, the approach got better, but he kept making pitches."t; Sidelined with an arm injury when the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series, Wainwright threw seven innings of three-hit ball to beat Pittsburgh 9-1 in the series opener.dddddddddddd He is 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and four saves in 15 career post-season games, including six starts. He even helped the Cardinals to a championship as a rookie closer in 2006. But still, Game 5 last season against the Nationals was fresh in his mind. "Its hard not to think back about what happened in Game 5 last year. I just wanted to prove I could go out there and be a good playoff pitcher," Wainwright said. The 23-year-old Cole beat the Cardinals with an impressive effort in Game 2. They got to him early this time even though his fastball hit 100 mph in the first inning against Matt Holliday. Freese made the kid pay for a full-count walk to Jon Jay with two outs in the second, lining a 1-2 pitch into the visitors bullpen in left. Cole gave up just three hits over five innings, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. Jay made it 3-0 in the bottom half with a two-out RBI single off Justin Wilson. Freese struggled this season to overcome a back injury in spring training and had nine homers and 60 RBIs. But just like teammate Carlos Beltran, hes an October star with seven homers, 29 RBIs and a .325 average in 36 career post-season games. Adams power hitting helped the Cardinals overcame a mid-foot sprain to cleanup man Allen Craig in early September. And on this night, Adams hammered a first-pitch fastball from Melancon well over the right-field wall for his first RBIs of the series. The Pirates scratched out their lone run on two infield hits and the single by Alvarez that looked to be a harmless inning-ending groundout before it hit the bag. Freese was a hometown hero in 2011, both the NLCS and World Series MVP. He singlehandedly got the Cardinals to Game 7 of that World Series against Texas with a two-run triple with two outs and two strikes in the ninth and then ended Game 6 with a leadoff homer in the 11th. "Hes a stud. Hes a big-time player at big-time moments," Wainwright said. "And thats what we expect of him and thats what he continues to deliver." At 23 years, 31 days, Cole was the youngest NL pitcher to start Game 5 of a division series and the fifth-youngest NL pitcher to start a winner-take-all post-season game, according to STATS. Counting the post-season, Cole didnt allow a homer in six straight starts. That ended when Freese connected for a 2-0 lead in the second. Neil Walker drew a one-out walk in the first from Wainwright, who issued just 35 free passes during the regular season and none in Game 1. Walker went no further. After a leadoff single by Marlon Byrd in the second, Matt Carpenter was perfectly positioned at second base to snare Alvarezs liner and flip to first for a double play. NOTES: Lou Brock, clad in a red sport coat worn by all the Cardinals Hall of Famers, bounced the ceremonial first pitch, with pitcher Joe Kelly making a nice scoop. ... Josh Young, in town for the musical Evita, sang the national anthem. ... It was the 24th meeting between the teams this season, with each team winning 12 times. ' ' '