Is the AP poll bias?

[coachrus]

In looking at the locations of the AP voters, East TN has 9 voters, Middle TN 6 and West TN 5. (This adds up to 20 although there are 21 voters. I'm not sure why.) It seems like there should be more parity in the regions.

 

Also, when you see some of the regional bias of the sports writers who vote (i.e. Sullivan North getting two first place votes this week in 3A over CAK and Alcoa.), it really makes you wonder how bias these polls are.

 

It looks like there is one sports writer from East TN who voted for Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett over Maryville and Riverdale in 6A, Knoxville West over Beech in 5A, Knoxville Fulton over Giles and Covington in 4A; and as mentioned, Sullivan North over CAK and Alcoa in 3A. I guess one of his criteria in voting is how close the school is to the Tri-Cities.

 

This sports writer is making a joke out of his/her profession and out of the AP organization. I think I'm going to focus on the computer ratings instead of the sports writers.

[EHSTrack06]

At the end of the day, the top 10 are fairly accurate,the teams that deserve to be #1 and #2 are at #1 and #2, a few stray first place votes doesn't bother me. On top of it all, I don't put much into Top 10's, I prefer to let the teams prove their rankings on the field.

Edited September 12, 2012 by EHSTrack06

[AlcoasPaintedBridge]

I will go ahead and point a finger, because I know who these guys are...its been the same for some time.

Doug Fritz and Ivan Sanders.

Those two homers will vote for anyone before they will give a vote to the F5 or CAKe.

And there is your daily dose of the troof.

[alcoachoochoo]

I will go ahead and point a finger, because I know who these guys are...its been the same for some time.

Doug Fritz and Ivan Sanders.

Those two homers will vote for anyone before they will give a vote to the F5 or CAKe.

And there is your daily dose of the troof.

 

Just shows how smart they really are. It dont bother me what number they give us. Keep us as the under dog always helps motivate some kids to really wanna show up some know it all sports writer.

[JuniorsDad]

I guess these Polls are "nice", but in the end, it all comes down to who raises the trophy!!!!

[coachrus]

I guess these Polls are "nice", but in the end, it all comes down to who raises the trophy!!!!

 

I agree that what happens on the field is the ultimate arbitrator; however, if we are going to go through all the trouble to have this poll and if the media is going to print it in every newspaper in the state, then the sports writers who vote should take it upon themselves to research the teams instead of just voting for the home team.

[coachrus]

Let me give you another hmmmm.

 

The two computer rankings in the state (which use strength of schedule in their formulas) have Sullivan North at the 14th and 23rd best team in 3A. Maybe they have, but I can not recall in recent history where Sullivan North has made it out of their region in the playoffs. CAK and Alcoa have clearly proven that they are way superior to Sullivan North. For that matter so have other 3A teams such as Milan and CPA. I am pretty sure if Sullivan North played Camden or Cheatham County that it would be an ugly loss for SN.

 

Not to knock SN, they are a good team. Just not deserving of a #1 vote.

[Swipes]

Let me give you another hmmmm.

 

The two computer rankings in the state (which use strength of schedule in their formulas) have Sullivan North at the 14th and 23rd best team in 3A. Maybe they have, but I can not recall in recent history where Sullivan North has made it out of their region in the playoffs. CAK and Alcoa have clearly proven that they are way superior to Sullivan North. For that matter so have other 3A teams such as Milan and CPA. I am pretty sure if Sullivan North played Camden or Cheatham County that it would be an ugly loss for SN.

 

Not to knock SN, they are a good team. Just not deserving of a #1 vote.

I agree SN isn't as good as Alcoa or CAK (and shouldn't have a first place vote) but they also return almost their whole team from last year that got beat by 6 by a pretty good AE team. AE the next week lost by a TD to CAK who we all know throttled Milan in the Championship game. So i wouldnt say Camden, Cheatham, Milan or CPA would give SN an ugly loss or even a loss for that matter

Edited September 12, 2012 by Swipes

[Indian]

"It is what is is"..If sportswriters or officials' votes mattered in playoff qualifiers and seedings there might be reason to get upset but it's just entertainment. They even have an unofficial NFL "power poll" ranking the teams 1-32 on sites like ESPN. That said, the differences even in the computer polls show how if at all possible such methods should never be used in playoff determination. Even strength of schedule can be misleading, just because a team may not have beaten high quality teams, doesn't mean they couldn't, and that's often proven come playoff time.

[lancer10]

Let me give you another hmmmm.

 

The two computer rankings in the state (which use strength of schedule in their formulas) have Sullivan North at the 14th and 23rd best team in 3A. Maybe they have, but I can not recall in recent history where Sullivan North has made it out of their region in the playoffs. CAK and Alcoa have clearly proven that they are way superior to Sullivan North. For that matter so have other 3A teams such as Milan and CPA. I am pretty sure if Sullivan North played Camden or Cheatham County that it would be an ugly loss for SN.

 

Not to knock SN, they are a good team. Just not deserving of a #1 vote.

Who cares it all works out in the end.......Rankings before and during the season does not matter only the rankings at the end of the season counts......

[Abijah]

ESPN hates us!

 

 

[CHARGERFAN]

Well, the polls are basically people's opinions. And the old saying is that "opinions are like rear ends, everybody has one".

 

Sure, the polls are biased. The voters are asked to vote their convictions on which teams are the best. Naturally the voters come at this from different viewpoints. Some try to do a balanced evaluation. I also imagine that some do whatever is easiest for them, such as just voting for teams that they know or have heard about.

 

I think that a few feel obligated to push their local team by voting for it.

 

So, as several other posters have already stated, it is a good thing that the playoffs will decide the issue on the field. Otherwise, you could never trust the results if the polls were the deciding factor.

Edited September 13, 2012 by CHARGERFAN