Two things. First - http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2001/1119/1280603.html Barry Bonds won the MVP. That's the right choice, he clearly deserved it. However Sammy Sosa got two first place votes. Huh? There is no scenario on Earth or any other planet whereby Barry Bonds was <b>NOT</b> the MVP. The two voters who didn't vote for him should have their votes permanently stripped from them for this lunacy. Secondly - http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankings?poll=2 This is the EPN/USA Today Coache poll. There are a number of things that befuddle me about this poll, not the least of which is the number 8 team in this poll. Brigham Young University. I am not going to go into the reasons I think a top ten ranking for this team is a joke, what I will say is that there is abolutely, positively, NO REASON that BYU should EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER be getting a first place vote in a poll this year. What is going on?
I second Puedfor.....but alas I've been guilty of stuffing allstar ballots before for the stros in my youth...three years ago.
Barry Bonds: Sometimes, sports writers do and say things merely to cause controversy, thereby creating something else to talk about (that is, unless you're Jim Rome, who doesn't have an original bone in his body). Case in point: Nolan Ryan should have been a unanimous first-ballot Hall of Famer, yet received only 98% of the sports writers' votes. Huh? What's up with that? Keep in mind, also, that a lot of media folk despise Barry Bonds for his attitude towards them. What better way to get back at him than in the MVP voting. Yes, it is childish and petty, but that's sports today. Besides, Sammy had a decent year. He deserved at least one vote. However, if that first place vote had been cast for, oh, I don't know, say, Derek Bell, I would have gladly joined the angry mob ready to lynch the offending sports writer. Throwing Sammy a bone is fine in my book.
The 2 votes were by Chicago writers, which means it has more to do with kissing Sosa's ass than it does with Barry's ego...
pued you hit the nail on the head Barry Bonds had a remarkable season and does win unaminous MVP, thats crap, those 2 writers should be disbarred and ashamed of themselves As for byu, they are undefeated on virtue of the MWC sucking major a** and do not deserve to be ranked 8th nor ever receive a 1st place vote
The Coaches' poll is a joke, and this is coming from a Miami fan. Nebraska struggles to beat Kansas State in Lincoln 31-21 on the same weekend that Miami beats Boston College 18-7. KSU is mediocre this year and definitely not any better than BC. Yet, in their infinite wisdom, the coaches decide to move Nebraska ahead of Miami. Fast forward to this past weekend...Miami demolishes Syracuse 59-0 and Nebraska is idle. How does Nebraska get penalized for not even playing by moving back down to #2?? That defies all logic..just like moving Nebraska ahead of Miami the week before. Oh well, maybe the coaches think that 2 wrongs make a right in that Miami is back at #1.
Like what should of happened to the voters who left Pedro off their list after he carried the Sox into the playoffs.
The question is: could BYU beat any team in the Top 15? I don't think they could. They struggled against Wyoming and at HOME versus Utah. I hope they get to the BCS though, so I can watch a real team beat them 55-0. And thatway, no mid-major will be considered for years .
It would've read that, in fact, that was the original thread title but this was the <b>Coaches</b> poll. Since they aren't sportswriters, it doesn't make much sense. So I changed it.
What's even stranger is that the 98% Nolan got was either tied for the highest ever or just a tiny bit behind Tom Seaver's percentage. That's means nobody has ever been a unanimous choice. Not Hank Aaron or Willie Mays or Ted Williams or anybody (I'm not sure what they did for the first class with Ruth, Cobb, et al so I don't know if they had the chance to be unanimous). Hell Joe D wasn't even a first ballot Hall of Famer. So go figure sportswriter voting.
