Cornell Hockey in the NY Times

A brief shout-out to our perfect season (no mention of Dryden, thank goodness) in yesterday's column about the Breeder's Cup:

[therail.blogs.nytimes.com]

He went to BC, so I guess he knows something about hockey. He also wrote a history of Suffolk Downs, so history matters to him? Anyway nice to see.

"the quest for perfection in college football is subject not only to opinions in the form of human voters, but also to the formulas implemented by six computers. Boise State was 14-0 last year, too, but the Broncos didn’t have a national championship trophy to show for it."

Wow, I didn't realize that computers actually chose what formulas to implement. Who are these six computers who dare to make our decisions for us based on their own criteria?

Aside from his incorrect phrasing of the issue, the often-repeated implication that those darn computers chose the wrong BCS champ is really annoying.

Roy 82

"the quest for perfection in college football is subject not only to opinions in the form of human voters, but also to the formulas implemented by six computers. Boise State was 14-0 last year, too, but the Broncos didn’t have a national championship trophy to show for it."

Wow, I didn't realize that computers actually chose what formulas to implement. Who are these six computers who dare to make our decisions for us based on their own criteria?

Aside from his incorrect phrasing of the issue, the often-repeated implication that those darn computers chose the wrong BCS champ is really annoying.

Even though it may be true? No one can say the right champ was crowned unless there is a playoff, which I don't favor.

Roy 82

"the quest for perfection in college football is subject not only to opinions in the form of human voters, but also to the formulas implemented by six computers. Boise State was 14-0 last year, too, but the Broncos didn’t have a national championship trophy to show for it."

Wow, I didn't realize that computers actually chose what formulas to implement. Who are these six computers who dare to make our decisions for us based on their own criteria?

I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords.

Jim Hyla

Roy 82

"the quest for perfection in college football is subject not only to opinions in the form of human voters, but also to the formulas implemented by six computers. Boise State was 14-0 last year, too, but the Broncos didn’t have a national championship trophy to show for it."

Wow, I didn't realize that computers actually chose what formulas to implement. Who are these six computers who dare to make our decisions for us based on their own criteria?

Aside from his incorrect phrasing of the issue, the often-repeated implication that those darn computers chose the wrong BCS champ is really annoying.

Even though it may be true? No one can say the right champ was crowned unless there is a playoff, which I don't favor.

It is not true. Computers just crunched some numbers. You could have used an abacus or slide rule. Human beings selected the winner by selecting the criteria. It was a human choice to implement the criteria and not to allow deviation based on the whims of voters (unlike what happens in the NCAA smoke-filled rooms come basketball and hockey tournament time). It is this choice that should be debated and not the Luddite implications of computers taking over (although I too welcome our new computer overlords. All hail the cloud!).

Actually, although you doubtless went to Cornell, you are wrong about the phrasing being wrong. To implement is to carry out, execute, put to use as well as to provision.

So some hominids implemented computers with formulas which were implemented (executed) by the computers realising a national champion in football -- subject of course to your acceptance of the result. I myself wait for that blue fielded Broncos to come crashing down to earth by the low lifes of the SEC.

Old Red
So some hominids implemented computers with formulas which were implemented (executed) by the computers realising a national champion in football -- subject of course to your acceptance of the result.

My sacred text says computers were a gift from pan-dimensional gophers in pink stretch leggings, and I don't care for your parochial anthropoid assumptions, mister.

Old Red
Actually, although you doubtless went to Cornell, you are wrong about the phrasing being wrong. To implement is to carry out, execute, put to use as well as to provision.

That's very much not how the word "implemented" is used with respect to computers in my experience. Someone comes up with an algorithm and the programmer implements it in code. Then the computer runs the code. But hey, the puck has been dropped so we don't need to argue over nomenclature and semantics anymore! (Who am I kidding?)