San Antonio paper to quit Top 25 polls

www.mysanantonio.com/news/columnists/brichter/stories/MYSA021107.richter.e-n.703cb75c.html

 

Hmmmmm. I wonder if any other papers will follow. I doubt it.

 

First lets start with the obivous. Tim is one of the great guys in all of sports journalism. That being said, the move by Steve Quintanna wasn't ground breaking or Earth shattering. Several papers have adopted the policy.
There is merit on both sides. Personally, I believe the polls became watered down AFTER they began to add more teams. First it was Top 10, Then 15 now it's 25. What's next? Why not go back to the Dunkel rating?

 

I think a lot of major papers are doing this...

 

I can understand that, to an extent.

 

Writers used to view voting in these polls as an honor. Now, it's a colossal pain in the ass...

 

I don't remember the New Orleans thing, but now that the AP isn't figured into the BCS system, it seems like an odd time to pull out.

 

Under John Carroll, the LA Times pulled out of all polls and awards.
I thought I heard Garcia-Ruiz at the Washington Post considering the same.
This goes under the thought of removing a reporter from any instance where he/she can become the news instead of objectively covering it. Frankly, I think it's a good thing.

 

The age-old question: So should this philosophy apply to the post-season awards in various sports voted on by the media? Heisman, etc.

 

Yes. Why not?

 

Because unlike the BCS, on which the media no longer has any influence, postseason awards are determined solely by the media (with the exception of the Heisman, which, I believe, factors in a fan vote). If we bow out, who picks the Heisman winner? 40 crusty, old guys in the DAC?

 

The NO thing involved a reporter (LSU beat writer, I think) who thought Oklahoma lost a game it won and bumped them down accordingly.