FanLax Forum Poll

[bearlaxfan]

Sadly no. Too much up in the air on the home front, don't want to commit then fall short.

[calourie]

I'll give it a shot.

[calourie]

Current thinking:

#1 - The POST-ER POLLS be Top Tens. There will also be a "FORUM POLL" which will be an amalgamate of all the POST-ER POLLS. So each of the POST-ER POLLS will be Top Tens but the FORUM POLL (unless every Post-er Poll has the same 10 teams) will be more.
#2 - The polls will be due on Monday night and will be posted on Tuesday by noon.
#3 - We'll be posting the FORUM and POST-ER POLLS within the website with a link to a thread within the relevant Forum. (e.g. D1 Men Forum, D1 Women Forum, D3 Men Forum, etc.) Within the relevant Forum, the Post-ers who submitted Polls will have an opportunity to explain their Poll as well as to add more teams if they felt limited by the Top Ten. And, of course, all post-ers will have an opportunity to offer support, ask questions, deride and ridicule the Poll Post-ers for their weak choices, etc.

That's the thinking for now.

How and/or where does one go about submitting one's poll?

[admin]

It would be my opinion that to have a good top 10, posters would have to provide maybe a top 15.
When one looks at the current coaches poll with points listed:
9 Denver 167 10-5
10 North Carolina 161 8-7
11 Johns Hopkins 149 8-8
12 Ohio State 148 8-4
13 Cornell 139 10-5
There are a lot of teams packed around #10.

May be true. We can always play this by ear. Based on your example, it'll force Post-ers to pick 2 of these five teams. and then, based on these picks, the FORUM (cumulative) TOP 25 would be shaped. But, again, we can always play it by ear. My thought right now is to try and keep it as simple and not arduous as possible. and then turn up the heat if, and only if, we need to.

PS Cooter, join us!

[admin]

How and/or where does one go about submitting one's poll?

I have some thoughts but, currently, TBD. But rest assured that it'll be simple.

[admin]

Currently have 11. This is good and... More'll be even better.

[ICGrad]

I think people should think about it it before committing to it. You have to do it every week all season long, and come up with some good rationales. You have to keep up with teams that you might not be too interested in. Doing a good job of it takes some effort.
To do a top 20, you probably have to look at at least 30 teams.

I'd consider doing it.

I agree, and for this reason think it should be a top 10 only. I tried to do a top 20 on another forum a couple of years ago, and it was too much - it took too much time, and as I got below 15 or so I felt like I was talking out of my ass even more than usual.

That said, I'd be willing to give it a shot.

[calourie]

Here's InsideLacrosse.com's list of all the D1 games from now until forever:

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/league/di/calendar/2020

[faircornell]

I can't commit to doing this, but I will commit to not criticize the hard working pollsters.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

just wanted to share one thought- for whatever it's worth to anyone-

the landscape of division I lacrosse has been- and still is- such that largely the same teams are in the top 15, or least it's predictable to a degree. after that, however, there can sometimes be more parity nearing the bubble. the problem is that those slots can often be filled by teams that are lower profile- back then, not on TV, but now, just get less attention.

for example- maybe 18-23 is... marist, UNC, navy, air force, bryant. enough follow UNC and navy, but the MAAC? SoCon? NEC???

so what im saying is- in a perfect world, it's nice to have an expert for each conference. i know that's too much to ask.

[kramerica.inc]

And then there’s the disproportionate number of Hopkins homers.

[DU-fan]

I would do it. I like the idea.

[Cooter]

As I mention above, one really has to pick more than ten to get a good top 10.
For example,
Lets say there are 7 pollsters, and let's consider two teams near #10, say H and N.
1 guy really likes H and picks them #8 worth 3 points and another picks them #9 worth 2 points. The other 5 don't think so much of team H and would rank them #13 if they could - but we are only ranking out to 10.
Most of the pollsters like team N, 4 guys pick them at #10, worth 4 points total and the other 3 would pick them at #11 if they could.

So in the end, team H would have 5 points and team N would have 4 points, even though 5 of 7 pollsters would have ranked team N higher. It's fair to note that N's average would be a higher ranking than H's also.

- the point being that in order to fine tune the selection of #10, perhaps also #9, one needs to know how far from #10 in the backwards direction some pollsters would rank them.

Another thing to consider as an advantage to ranking 15, is that the NCAA tmt takes 16 teams, which usually involves having the top 12-13 teams - along with some AQs. This would increase the relevance of doing such a poll. Of course, picking 20 teams would be even better.

[a fan]

Cooter was a fixture on the LP poll. Gotta have him.

Cooter was/is the best lax fan on the forum for over a decade. Follows the Terps, but also follows anyone who plays the Terps. Don't know anyone with a better knowledge of multiple teams. Most of us just follow one team.....

[Cooter]

Cooter was a fixture on the LP poll. Gotta have him.

Cooter was/is the best lax fan on the forum for over a decade. Follows the Terps, but also follows anyone who plays the Terps. Don't know anyone with a better knowledge of multiple teams. Most of us just follow one team.....

Thank you, but I have some definite limitations. I follow the Big Ten fairly close. I keep tabs on the ACC. After that I am not very good at all.

I tend to feel I can cobble together a decent pre-season ranking, based on last year's results and changes in personnel. Then as the season goes on, the rankings become more and more result driven.

[admin]

I think people should think about it it before committing to it. You have to do it every week all season long, and come up with some good rationales. You have to keep up with teams that you might not be too interested in. Doing a good job of it takes some effort.
To do a top 20, you probably have to look at at least 30 teams.

I'd consider doing it.

I agree, and for this reason think it should be a top 10 only. I tried to do a top 20 on another forum a couple of years ago, and it was too much - it took too much time, and as I got below 15 or so I felt like I was talking out of my ass even more than usual.

That said, I'd be willing to give it a shot.

ICGrad... In. Cooter... In? As IC is saying, our goal is to make this enjoyable for all involved. Thus, Top 10. Writing rationales is optional. etc. In? Here, I'll help you do your first Poll: #1-UMD. See, now you only need to do 9 more...

[44WeWantMore]

I can't commit to doing this, but I will commit to not criticize the hard working pollsters.

Not only do I share this commitment, I encourage the Moderator to brutally suppress any such criticism.
While I prefer FL's lighter moderation touch in general over the old LP model, IIRC, criticism of the pollsters killed the old LP poll.
We want to encourage pollsters, especially those who post their rationales, even if only "thud".

[Wheels]

Currently have 11. This is good and... More'll be even better.

Count me in.

[HopFan16]

I'm out if we're only ranking 10. I don't think that makes sense. Back in if it's 15-20. If providing rationales is optional—the most arduous task of the whole thing—then I don't see why having to rank 15 or 20 is such a burden. Usually the top 10 is pretty obvious each week give or take a few spots. The more interesting stuff happens when you start moving past 10 into the teens, IMO. I feel like if someone takes the time to rank a top 10, it shouldn't be too cumbersome to rank a few more after that. And the rankings will be more discussion-worthy for it.

[NElaxtalent]

I'm out if we're only ranking 10. I don't think that makes sense. Back in if it's 15-20. If providing rationales is optional—the most arduous task of the whole thing—then I don't see why having to rank 15 or 20 is such a burden. Usually the top 10 is pretty obvious each week give or take a few spots. The more interesting stuff happens when you start moving past 10 into the teens, IMO. I feel like if someone takes the time to rank a top 10, it shouldn't be too cumbersome to rank a few more after that. And the rankings will be more discussion-worthy for it.

This are EXACTLY my thoughts. The Top 10 is typically "almost boilerplate" if you follow events. The fun/interesting/subjective nuances (that matter, for NCAA purposes) occur between 12 - 20.

Fwiw I would commit to follow the BE, Patriot & SoCon more closely than I usually do.