CBS Sports BlogPoll: February 2009 Archives

CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 2/23/09

By
Max Univers
on February 23, 2009 12:19 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
It made me very sad to turn in my ballot on Monday morning to the folks at CBS, because this wasn't a good week for Mid-Majors. All of them in my poll dropped save for Siena. Utah State fell out entirely. Of course, that meant I had to place such marginal teams as Texas and Washington at the bottom of my Top 25, something I really hated to do because I just don't think either team is worthy...but at the same time, if I put teams like Utah, Utah State or Creighton into my vote, I'd get my ass kicked.

Someone did vote for the Jays in their poll, believe it or not, but it wasn't me. In fact, I got called out in the weekly "Transparency" article for not being biased ENOUGH. Call me the anti-ESPN, I guess. Of course, my rankings also have the fourth-highest deviation from the actual poll, which just confirms what you already knew about me -- that I march to my own beat.

That said, my promise on the Bluejay Cafe of putting Robert Morris into my poll just because some D-Bag keeps voting for them in the AP Poll didn't come true. In the end, my quest for honest voting outruled my significant temptation for humor. Besides, it would have been one week too late, as the D-Bag stopped voting for Bob Morris this week anyway. Alas.

Complete Top 25 after the jump, including a new number one -- proving that at least in some things, I agree with the crowd. The rest of my top ten shoots that theory to tiny shards of truthiness.
Continue reading CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 2/23/09.

CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 2/16/09

By
Max Univers
on February 16, 2009 5:11 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
I've often looked at the Top 25 polls and thought any lab rat could come up with a better poll. I mean, if my poll from last week was less of a mess than either the AP or the Coaches poll, clearly that's the case! I know, I know. Small sample size. Dr. Fong, or as I affectionately referred to him in Statistics class my sophomore year at CU, "Fong Dogg", would sternly lecture me about the imminent danger of small sample sizes.

Well, Fong Dogg, look at my Top 4 from a week ago, and I look like some kind of one-week wonder. I'm the Spandau Ballet of poll voters. A ha ha, ha ha ha...I know this...much is...TRUE!
Continue reading CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 2/16/09.

CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 2/9/09

By
Max Univers
on February 9, 2009 12:09 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Polls in college basketball, unlike those in football, don't amount to a hill of beans at the end of day -- the champion is crowned on the court at the apex of a tournament where a majority of the best teams battle it out over three weeks. And its never really been apparent that the selection committee uses the AP and/or Coaches Poll to determine seeding.

As near as I can tell, polls in basketball are merely a popularity poll to help fans develop a pecking order for the 314 teams in Division 1. With that many teams, polls are theoretically a handy tool to determine where teams "slot in" -- how good is Team A as opposed to Team B? Well, Team A is rated #8 and Team B is rated #15, so Team A is probably better.

There's a lot of flaws to that general line of thought, although for a large segment of the population the AP and Coaches Polls are still the bible of how good a team is prior to March. Of course, there's a lot of problems with the voting methods, and the voters, in those two mainstream polls. I've always believed the media tends to vote for the brand name teams over more qualified teams with generic names, and that the coaches tend to vote for teams with which they're familiar. Both polls invariably wind up being similar week-to-week.

Why is that? Media and coaches alike watch a lot of ESPN and CBS, the entities with the most skin in the game, and the coverage on those two entities skews towards the teams that will garner them the best ratings. You can't blame them; that's Business 101 stuff. Of course Duke/North Carolina is going to get better ratings than Indiana State/Illinois State. I'd rather watch the latter, but I'm in the minority.

That "human" element was supposed to be eliminated with the RPI, or Ratings Percentage Index, but the cold calculations of the computer programming used to create it have been derisively ripped by the old guard who vote in the AP and Coaches Polls. The RPI essentially died the night Billy Packer and Jim Nantz mocked the Missouri Valley for earning four bids to the NCAA Tournament on CBS's Selection Sunday show, dealing a blow to those of us who prefer cold hard numbers to old men with big conference bias.

So it is that this week CBS, of all places, has launched a BlogPoll with bloggers instead of mainstream media writers voting on their Top 25 each week. 47 of the top college hoops blog writers in the nation have been given votes, and yours truly is one of them. I'm the only one with overt ties to the Missouri Valley -- one other voter identifies himself as a Creighton fan but his blog is more of a general interest basketball site than one that focuses on a single team.

Each week, the poll will launch on Monday alongside the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls. Each week, I'm required to publish my poll here so that the voting process is as transparent as possible. I'm also required to open up the post for comments so that my readers can offer feedback on my votes.

After the jump, my complete poll for the week of February 9-15, 2009, along with my justification for selected teams:
Continue reading CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 2/9/09.
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About the Author

Max Univers (not his real name) is a graphic designer and author of two books, neither of which you’ve probably heard of. A 2001 graduate of Creighton University’s Journalism program, Max takes time out of his busy nightlife to share his thoughts on Jays hoops here during the season.

Why Univers? Its his favorite font, plus it just sounds really cool as a surname.

Why Polyfro? Years and years ago, Max had a giant afro wig that he wore as part of a Halloween costume. Not wishing to retire its giant fro awesomeness after the holiday, he began wearing the wig out in public as part of his everyday ensemble. One night at a dance club, the DJ called out the moniker over the soundsystem. Max thought it sounded cool, and purchased the URL shortly thereafter.

More questions? Send me an email: max-at-polyfro-dot-com. I like jokes, story tips, and generally all correspondence involving Bluejay athletics. Emails that point out how stupid I am and/or where I should go after I die are not encouraged.

About this Archive

This page is a archive of entries in the CBS Sports BlogPoll category from February 2009.

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