Isn't Croce's point fairly simple, in spite of his irritating side remarks?
His poll probably is more indicative of what the playoff results will be
than the TCHCR.
 
Currently, the TCHCR is a victim of the poor connectivity between the
leagues, and several high ranked teams in east lost key games last month.
For the rest of the year, these key games will limit the ability of good
eastern teams to move up, since they won't be playing stronger teams.
 
Before I get accused of various biases, let me state my beliefs regarding
the relative strengths of the conferences.  I think the western conferences
as a whole are stronger than the eastern.  I also think that the eastern
conferences produce top-notch teams which are competitive with the top teams
in the west.  These are purely my subjective judgements.
 
This year's 4-3 OSU-Clarkson game has a big effect on the TCHCR as do
several other key games.  (Hmm..., I wonder if Keith's program could figure
out *the* most pivotal game in terms of TCHCR ranking)?  The number of games
between the east and west has been to small for an accurate statistical
comparison of the conferences.
 
Upsets happen, (for example New England vs. Buffalo in football), and we
rely on other data in order to put upsets in perspective.  Currently, the
TCHCR has insufficient data to "override" these upsets (don't flame me for
this fuzzy statement please).
 
Finally, let me state that I think the TCHCR is a great help in evaluating
the relative strengths of each team.  I believe in it.  But, as Keith oftens
says, WE NEED MORE INTERCONFERENCE GAMES for a better ranking.
 
So let's put Croce in perspective.
--
Craig McGowan
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