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 [log in to unmask]