1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

National prep FB rankings

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by HejiraHenry, Aug 24, 2007.

  1. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    ESPN.com rolled out a top 25 today, compiled by Christopher Lawlor.

    USA Today's Super 25 debuted earlier this week ... also compiled by Christopher Lawlor.

    But the rankings have some significant differences, and the ESPN bio says Lawlor "has covered high school sports for more than 20 years, most recently with USA TODAY, where he was the head preps writer responsible for national high school rankings in football, baseball and boys and girls basketball."

    Did Lawlor bail on USAT as the season began?
     
  2. In Cold Blood

    In Cold Blood Member

    From the Cincinnati Enquirer prep blog:

    St. Xavier is No. 4 and Colerain is No. 23 nationally in the USA Today Super 25 high school football poll published today.

    St. Xavier is rated No. 1 by PrepNation.com and Rise magazine's preseason poll, with Colerain No. 20 in those ratings. St. Xavier is No. 3 in the Sports Illustrated ratings and also No. 3 in the Rivals.com Fab 50.

    Chris Lawlor, who has compiled the USA Today poll for seven years, said he completed the 2007 poll before leaving for a new job at ESPN.

    "Part of my obligation to USA Today was to launch the (2007) ratings)," Lawlor said Monday. "What I submitted was that St. X is No. 4 and Colerain is No. 24. If they tinker with it at this point, I would be stunned."

    They apparently tinkered a little, as Colerain actually is No. 23.

    St. Xavier is rated No. 1 nationally in the PrepNation.com and Rise magazine ratings, with Colerain at No. 20.

    "I'm not sure about No. 1, but if St. X runs the table with that schedule, then they would probably deserve to be No. 1 and Steve Specht would have to be coach of the year," Lawlor said.

    Lawlor said he recently agreed to take a job at ESPN, which he said is "ramping up" its high school coverage this season. Included will be a game on ESPN between St. Xavier and DeMatha (Md.) on Sept. 2 at noon at UC's Nippert Stadium, as part of the Burger King Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge. DeMatha is No. 5 in the preseason USA Today poll.


    http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/preps/


    so apparently, yes, he bailed for a new job at ESPN right as the season started, but did compile both polls (with some apparent tinkering of his USAT version)
     
  3. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    What did USAT do to keep him?
     
  4. national HS rankings are a fucking disgrace
     
  5. MCbamr

    MCbamr Member

    amen
     
  6. Sxysprtswrtr

    Sxysprtswrtr Active Member

    I like them for contextual purposes. If you have a team that has gone 60-1 in five seasons, then, it's worth pointing out that school. Is it the coach? Is it the kids? Is it that area of the country? Etc.
     
  7. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    Yes, they are. You can't quantify high school rankings, since most, if not all those teams will never play each other. Not true in college, where teams, for the most part, can prove it on the field.
     
  8. I agree. St. Xavier should be No. 3 and Colerain should be at least No. 18.
     
  9. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    Hmmm. It was a fun thing at one time, it seems to me. It really helped us put USA Today on the map back in the day.

    But then it became part of the high school hype machinery. Which led to games on TV and now to "big event" matchups between teams from different states.
     
  10. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    I like coverage of high school sports on a national scale. Knowing who's won 60 in a row, who has an offensive line averaging 337 pounds, etc.

    But rankings are an affront on the reading public, because these comparisons simply cannot be made. Nobody has any idea whether Permian on a given year can play with Lakeland. No frame of reference.
     
  11. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    Tough situation for USAT, though, losing Lawlor right before the start of the season.

    I picked up and ran with the girls hoops rankings after they dumped the guy who had been doing them, and I was really lost at first. After a year, I got my feet under me.

    Doug Huff, who has the chops for this kind of thing, is at SI.com.

    USAT dumped the guy who took over after me on the girls hoops and, I think, eventually may have worked on some of the other sports rankings.
     
  12. blondebomber

    blondebomber Member

    I love prep rankings. It's all for fun, and that's what sports is about. And there's zero harm.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page