> I cannot understand why hockey pollsters continue to hurt the promotion
> of hockey playing institutions by only listing Top 10 in their polls.
 
OK, I've ordered these paragraphs by relevance.  ;-)
 
First, the issue of whether the poll is top 10 or top 15 or top 20 takes
cares of itself.  Everybody just counts the "also receiving votes" teams as
11, 12, etc...  And on those weeks in which there are not enough teams also
receiving votes to fill out a top 20, that is because there was *nobody*
who thought any other teams deserved inclusion in the poll.  In other
words, the poll actually adjusts from week to week to reflect the depth of
quality of the entire field.  It's perfect as top 10.
 
Now, one could also ask, why do we still have a poll at all?  Who cares for
the subjective opinions of people who never see most of them teams they
opine about?  But I guess the answer is that they're fun and it's another
chance to stroke off seeing your favorite team in the paper.  And a fine
answer that is, and I'm all for it.  ;-)
 
Finally: warning Will Robinson, this is the mandatory "lone voice for
sanity and perspective in college sports" paragraph.  If you have read this
paragraph in one of its previous lives you are excused from the remainder
of this post...  Please folks, bigger is not always better. Promotion is
the difference between the comfortable corner used book store and the
carbon copy chain at the mall.  A few more commercial units are moved and a
few insider types have their little egos stroked, but quality and integrity
go down the tubes.  You only need look at the big money NC$$ sports and all
the crap that comes with them to see where that road leads.
 
Now, raise your right hand and repeat after me, "I am the Lorax..."
 
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