Pete Carroll insists he doesn't understand how the Bowl Championship Series system works. He understands enough to know he doesn't like it one bit.

"I think it stinks. I don't think it's the way it should be," Carroll said concerning how college football crowns its champion. "But all we can do is keep talking about it."

And that's what the Southern California coach did yesterday at his weekly meeting with reporters.

Carroll has expressed his displeasure over the years with the system, but things hit a new high for him over the weekend when the Trojans dropped from fifth to seventh in the BCS standings after they blanked Washington, 56-0, for their third shutout in four games.

"I don't understand how the thing works, I don't really know," he said. "Maybe you guys will answer for it one of these days. Maybe you know and I don't. I'm sure you do. What is the criteria of the process? Is it to pick the team that has the best season, that has the season that you like the most and feel best about voting for? Or is it the best team at the end of the year, the team that would win a playoff system if you did have it?"

A freshman wide receiver at Michigan has been charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license. Eighteen-year-old Darryl Stonum will be arraigned Nov. 19. The charges filed in Ann Arbor's 15th District Court stem from a Sept. 28 incident. Stonum was suspended for the Wolverines' game against Illinois Oct. 4 for what head coach Rich Rodriguez called a violation of team rules. Stonum didn't start in Michigan's next contest against Toledo, although he played in that game.

Rafael Nadal has tendinitis in his right knee and could be in doubt for Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina. Medical tests confirmed the tendinitis, and the top-ranked player would undergo treatment through Saturday. Nadal will have more tests Monday to assess the injury. Spain plays Argentina in the final on indoor hard court at Mar del Plata from Nov. 21-23. On Monday, Nadal pulled out of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai citing fatigue.

• Lennart Bergelin, who coached Bjorn Borg for 12 years and captained Sweden to its first Davis Cup title, died. He was 83. Bergelin died from heart failure at a Stockholm, Sweden hospital. As a player, Bergelin won nine Swedish championship singles titles from 1945-55, and the French Open doubles title in 1948. But he became more famous for his work with Borg from 1971-83, helping him win 11 Grand Slam tournaments.

Diego Maradona became Argentina's new soccer coach, taking over the team he led to the World Cup championship in 1986. The 48-year-old Maradona's first game in charge will be a friendly against Scotland Nov. 19 at Glasgow. While Maradona remains a national hero, his appointment has been questioned by local media and fans since it was first announced last week. Many are doubtful he can translate his playing skills into coaching expertise.

Jeff Overton, who played a golf tournament 10 days after an appendectomy to try to secure his job on the PGA Tour, took a painkiller banned by the tour while his request for a waiver was pending. PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said that last week Overton asked for an "emergency TUE" (therapeutic use exemption) for Percocet, which his doctors prescribed for pain after his emergency surgery. Overton said he took one Percocet Sunday to "let the pain go away for a little bit." Votaw said the tour was awaiting Overton's discharge papers from the hospital before processing the TUE.

Two-time world champion Paolo Bettini, who crashed and hit his head during the Six Days of Milan indoor cycling event, was released from a hospital. In the final race of Bettini's career, Ukrainian rider Yaroslav Popovych fell in front of the Italian. Bettini slammed his head into a protective barrier and broke his helmet. A collar was attached to immobilize the neck of Bettini, who remained conscious and could talk. Bettini later walked out of the Sacco hospital in Italy without assistance.