They Did It Again

Not one to pile on the downtrodden, the headline is not meant to draw from Britney. It’s meant to drawn attention to the dramatic differences that exist between the NYSSWA sportswriters poll and the USHSHO computerized rankings for the state’s Division II teams.

Granted, both have their faults…don’t we all. The NYSSWA poll is voted on by knowledgeable journalists from across this great state. Knowing how the business works, I doubt if there is one of the voters who has seen every one of their polls top ten teams in play this season. That means these guys are ranking clubs sight unseen. I could do that and it’d be as good as me advising you what numbers to play in tonight’s Mega Millions. The USHSHO rankings must pass two tests of legitimacy. First, do you agree with their formula for rating teams. Then, there is the fact that the data put into the formula is gathered on a volunteer basis. Are they getting all of the info and is what they get legit? An example, Central Square is still shown to have a 1-11-0 record. But, they’ve been 2-17-1 for a week. That’s eight games unaccounted for.

Ok, so what’s the difference? The NYSSWA poll of Feb. 6th has Queensbury on top. They’re second in the USHSHO ranking from Feb. 7th. The computer says the number one team in the state is Webster Thomas. The sportswriters, who ignored this team for most of the season, rates Webster Thomas number three. USHSHO jumbles its numbers and says Skaneateles is the number three team in the state’s Division II. The sportswriters have dropped the Lakers to fifth. Whitesboro is second in the NYSSWA poll and fourth on the computer. Clinton is ranked eighth by the sportswriters and sixth by the computer.

My favorite discrepancy is Solvay. The sportswriters say that Solvay, at 13-9-1, is the tenth best Division II team in the state. The computer, using the same record, ranks Solvay at number twenty-five.