Ahhhh, not even winter yet and we're talking about polls. Makes summer just
a bit cooler just thinking about the ice though, don't it?
 
Charles Bell writes about the recent Hockey-L poll:
 
>The winners for each conference were:
>
>CCHA - Michigan State
>ECAC - Rensselaer
>Hockey East - Maine
>WCHA - North Dakota
 
[snip]
 
>P.S.  To the person who voted for Mankato State as the best team in the
>WCHA and Minnesota as the worst, your ballot did not count.  However, if
>this turns out to be the case next season, everyone is entitled to a free
>round of drinks from me.
 
Not to be a whining nit-picker here (okay, I am), but why shouldn't that
vote for Mankato State -- and against Minnesota -- count? IMHO, that's just
as valid as a Spartan or Engineer fan voting for their team. The whole
point of polls is that is judges the fan's opinions, no?
 
For that matter, I'm sure that there have been more than a few occasions
where a bitter coach or member of the media has voted an obviously
top-notch team as the "last place" or "worst" team in a poll. This is one
of the key reasons that polls are anonymous. Think of it this way: two
arch-rival schools are both at the top of the same conference. Voters from
each school will naturally vote for the home team. However, will *all* the
voters from each school give respect to their rivals in giving them the
second place vote? Not likely.
 
While I agree it is *highly* unlikely that Mankato State will end up first
and Minnesota last, it is someone's opinion nonetheless, and whether right
or wrong should be counted. Besides, were this persons selections for the
other three conferences left out?
 
Maybe I should run a poll and only count the voters who decide that MSU,
UVM, BU and DU will win their conferences.
 
:-)
 
 
greenie
 
S P O O N  ! !
   (go BU)
 
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