Lacrosse 2011 polls [5/2 #2 all polls]

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

We're #1 in the computer rankings...

http://www.laxpower.com/update11/binmen/rating01.php

We've been 1, 2, or 3 in that all season.  And unlike PWR, I'm pretty sure that ranking bears no resemblance to the actual seedings.

[Greenberg '97]

(snip) ...the deciding factor for the home field for the playoffs is the head to head record?

If so, we've clinched home-field for the tournament.  Can someone confirm?

I haven't read through the forums in a while, so forgive me if this has been covered.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

(snip) ...the deciding factor for the home field for the playoffs is the head to head record?

If so, we've clinched home-field for the tournament.  Can someone confirm?

I haven't read through the forums in a while, so forgive me if this has been covered.

I don't think we've clinched it yet.  In theory, if we lose to both Brown and Princeton and one of those two runs the table, then that team would have the tie-breaker with us.  Not sure how 3-way ties would work - possibly a coin flip.

[kingpin248]

We're #1 in the computer rankings...

http://www.laxpower.com/update11/binmen/rating01.php

We've been 1, 2, or 3 in that all season.  And unlike PWR, I'm pretty sure that ranking bears no resemblance to the actual seedings.

I was thinking the same thing. Also bearing no resemblance to seedings is the Bradley-Terry, in which Cornell is ranked fourth. ("dummy" games presently weighted at .02)

I don't think we've clinched it yet. In theory, if we lose to both Brown and Princeton and one of those two runs the table, then that team would have the tie-breaker with us. Not sure how 3-way ties would work - possibly a coin flip.

We'd lose a three-way tie with Brown and Princeton (we'd be 0-2; Princeton wins based on its victory over Brown). If we finish tied with Princeton and say, Yale, then those three would have all gone 1-1 against each other.

This article from Princeton athletics from last year seems to indicate that if head-to-head fails to resolve, the next step is to compare results against each team not involved in the tie, starting with the highest placed.

[Josh '99]

I don't think we've clinched it yet. In theory, if we lose to both Brown and Princeton and one of those two runs the table, then that team would have the tie-breaker with us. Not sure how 3-way ties would work - possibly a coin flip.

We'd lose a three-way tie with Brown and Princeton (we'd be 0-2; Princeton wins based on its victory over Brown). If we finish tied with Princeton and say, Yale, then those three would have all gone 1-1 against each other.

This article from Princeton athletics from last year seems to indicate that if head-to-head fails to resolve, the next step is to compare results against each team not involved in the tie, starting with the highest placed.

Given that Brown is 4-6 and Princeton is 3-6, I sincerely hope we win at least one of those games and prevent this from becoming a relevant issue.  I'm going to go out on a limb and predict Princeton loses to Harvard next Saturday and gets put out of their misery (at least as far as an at-large bid is concerned) before they even come up to Schoellkopf.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I'm just being careful not to anger the woofing gods.

[KenP]

Elie,

Laxpower has a different ranking system which tries to emulate the NCAA selection criteria.  In that we're #3, behind Syracuse and Notre Dame:

http://www.laxpower.com/update11/binmen/rpit01.php

[Chris '03]

I remain amazed that SOS is its own category in the NCAA criteria and is held in equal weight to RPI, which fifty percent SOS. Just make SOS 90% of RPI, slot JHU and the four ACC schools in for a first round home game each year, and be done with it...

[Ben]

How about we just win (at least) one of the two remaining games and make this a non-issue?

Also, I saw some #21 jerseys (current style) in the Cornell Store a few days ago. I know the history behind it, so it seemed slightly distasteful at best to put jerseys with that number out for sale. Can anyone shed some light onto why they're doing this?

[Jim Hyla]

How about we just win (at least) one of the two remaining games and make this a non-issue?

Also, I saw some #21 jerseys (current style) in the Cornell Store a few days ago. I know the history behind it, so it seemed slightly distasteful at best to put jerseys with that number out for sale. Can anyone shed some light onto why they're doing this?

I don't know the particulars, but if it was my son, I'd be very happy to see people wearing his jersey. What better way to carry on his memory, and think about going to a game and seeing multiple #21 jerseys. Would you be sad, sure, but proud at the same time. Considering how involved with the program the family still seems to be, it makes some sense.

[billhoward]

How about we just win (at least) one of the two remaining games and make this a non-issue?

Also, I saw some #21 jerseys (current style) in the Cornell Store a few days ago. I know the history behind it, so it seemed slightly distasteful at best to put jerseys with that number out for sale. Can anyone shed some light onto why they're doing this?

Why distasteful? Maybe someone wants to wear the jersey to help remember George Boiardi and honor the player and the Cornell tradition. It's not as if the jersey comes with a lock of hair. Sometimes we fall into fall into a trap of trying to outdo one another in saying what's the one proper way to honor a dead person. Say a young man's widow and his parents didn't get along. She wants white at the service to remember youth; parents want black from tradition and want him buried in their family plot because 'you were only married such a short time, I'm sure you'll understand.' It becomes about control and figuring out indirect ways to say they can't stand each other. The deceased is just a way to carry on the feud.

In the case of George Boiardi, maybe someone says, "Don't sell the jersey of an athlete who died tragically." Someone else says, "Make the jerseys available to keep his memory alive." A third person says, "Sell the jerseys but only if the jersey company donates 10% of proceeds to charity."

When I see someone wearing a #10 lax jersey in the stands, it's touching that a Cornellian keeps alive the memory of the best and toughest athlete, pound for pound, who ever set foot on a Cornell athletic field in Eamon McEneaney. Actually I'm sure someone better will or has come along because athletic performances improve in every sport where you can measure with a stopwatch or tape measure. [drift] And we're likely to have the argument soon about who's the true points leader in Cornell lax history when Rob Pannell in four years outdoes the 296 points Mike French put up in three.

[Ben]

The part that bothered me most was that there was no explanation of whose jersey it was, and I suspect very few current students (and even fewer pre-frosh, who have been all around campus the last few weeks) have any idea about who George Boiardi was or what happened to him. I would be okay with it if they had attached a card that gave the history of that jersey number, and I'd probably buy one if some of the money goes to charity, but instead they were just put out with price tags and nothing else.

[Robb]

The part that bothered me most was that there was no explanation of whose jersey it was, and I suspect very few current students (and even fewer pre-frosh, who have been all around campus the last few weeks) have any idea about who George Boiardi was or what happened to him. I would be okay with it if they had attached a card that gave the history of that jersey number, and I'd probably buy one if some of the money goes to charity, but instead they were just put out with price tags and nothing else.

I definitely get your point - it does seem that the sale of a #21 jersey should get special treatment of some kind rather than just being stuck in a pile of other jerseys.

[Ronald '09]

St. Johns is up 5-2 on Notre Dame at the half.  There is a free webcast on Notre Dame all access at http://www.und.com/allaccess/?media=238266

Also, Maryland-Hopkins is on ESPNU at 8.

I think depending on the results of these two games, we could be either number 1, 2, or 3 in next week's polls.  That's just my guess though.

EDIT: Irish tie it at 6 with around 6 to go in the third.
Maryland up 2-0 just under 5 minutes into game.

Now tied at 7 after 3.
Maryland up 2-1 just under 4 to go in first.

[scoop85]

St. Johns is up 5-2 on Notre Dame at the half.  There is a free webcast on Notre Dame all access at http://www.und.com/allaccess/?media=238266

Also, Maryland-Hopkins is on ESPNU at 8.

I think depending on the results of these two games, we could be either number 1, 2, or 3 in next week's polls.  That's just my guess though.

EDIT: Irish tie it at 6 with around 6 to go in the third.
Maryland up 2-0 just under 5 minutes into game.

Now tied at 7 after 3.
Maryland up 2-1 just under 4 to go in first.

Iris win 10-7.  MD schooling Hop 7-2 with 4:00 left in the half