Magic Eight Ball, Grant Wahl, SI.com Power Rankings, Week 13, Kevin Lidstrom, 3rddegree Kevin's moved us up to first again. Has to be killing him.
Not really he's infactuated w/ you guys... How can he rank you guys ahead of FCD? I use to never question his judgement... now I treat his Power Rankings w/ the same fervor as pre-season football rankings... 16JUL05 will be a big day fellas.
Can you blame him? Unfortunately, and I've made this comment here a few times ... both of our matchups this year will not be with the full teams on either side, which is too bad. I guess we'll just have to take it to ya in Frisco on Nov 13th.
Hmmmm....I'll try a couple. Winning percentage? Points-per-game? Goal differential? (big one) Strength of schedule? Again, the big thing isn't that the Revs have looked invincible or even dominating, just that FCD has played a lot of bad/mediocre teams. Just my opinion.
Shut up, you. () Seriously - you guys better keep up. The margin between 1 and 2 is slim. Dallas fell out because of a poor WIN v. Chivas. Don't go tying LA in LA on Monday. :evil:
I say this w/ caution because he might read it and believe it... but I can see the error of his way. He's blinded by objectivity and minor details such as strength factor of the Eastern division... and regarding player call up for National duty... That has been one of our greatest strengths this year... Who would have thought that we would be as good w/o EJ, El Pescadito & Mulrooney. Good times !
The biggest thing? The Pace. If you take out the six points Dallas got for winning in LA against Chivas and once in Utah, NE has a +3 to Dallas' +2. The winning percentage is bollocks - a difference without a distinction. Somewhat the same on goal differential. And I do account some for strength of schedule, but you can't discount all of Dallas' games - and in fact, NE has played some weak teams, too. The Crew aren't exactly Monsters of the Midway. The Rev have played Chivas (at home, and only beat them, 1-0, iirc....) So let's not get all excited that NE is above Dallas now and forever. This is a weekly ranking, and this week, NE deserves to be on top. But the Rev better t.c.o.b. in LA if Dallas t.c.o.b. against San Jose, otherwise we will have ourselves another switch.
Too bad for fans. But don't get the idea that the Rev won't be penalized if they lose on the road or get tied (or even lose) at home. Part of my putting Dallas so high is their ability to overcome adversity - and yes, your string of ties without your big guns hurt you. No excuses.
Is USA playing at the razor on the 16th OF JULY? If so... is it possible that some of the revs that don't take the field during that match will hit the pitch for the revs?
Oh lord god, can we please stop with the effing Pace already. If you're feeling the Pace and it helps you out, great. But please don't refer to it as justification for anything when it ignores things like strength of schedule. Every team would accept a win at home and a tie on the road as a good season, and it seems to be a roadmap for success in a small round robin like the Hex, but it really provides no special insight over the course of a 32 game season. This is esspecially true in an evenly talented league like MLS where most any team can win any given game. Because there's so little content out there, one fan's thoughts posted on 3rd Degree's get treated like a Grant Wahl expose. As a result, the silly Pace gets trotted around too and I'm tired of it.
This is not the BCS. Stregnth of schedule is a bogus argument. FCD does what it must and that is to play and win the scheduled devised by MLS and thus by that alone FCD should be number one on the power rankings. Kevin is just confused. If NE & FCD takes care of biz. this week end We will find out soon enough come 16JUL05.
Bullcrap. If you're talking about the Supporters' Shield at the end of the season, then you've got a case. But this is a subjective "Which team is better?" poll. It's not FCD's fault they play in the suck-ass West, but it's something which is perfectly valid to take into account when comparing the teams.
True Which is why we could both argue until we are blue in the face and it will not matter until the boys hit the pitch. Y'all can have Kevin and his rankings... FCD is far a better team !
Did you READ my post? You idiot - I used it to show why the Rev are the better team *BY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE EXPANSION TEAMS*. I tell you this - I've put more time and effort into my rankings than Grant Wahl did, and I've been doing them three times as long as he has, and I'm telling you that between the PPG, the Pace and actual matchups, my ranking system is more thorough than anything out there for MLS (the one done for the A-League for a while was more detailed and probably better). And having done it for pretty much the entirety of the history of MLS, I can tell you it is darn accurate and that the Pace is one of the better indicators. But hey, if you want to bash my rankings just because I happen to be from Texas and not a "professional" - esp. without actually reading what I've *actually written* - then you go on right ahead. But pardon me if I don't take your opnion into much account.
Defend your stance, fine. The personal attacks are completely unnecessary. Particualarly on another team's board.
I suggest that you do not talk to a Rev poster on the Rev Board that way or you will be "Neg Rep-ed". We respect your right to post here but I STRONGLY suggest you walk softy and be on your best behavior.
Well, let's look at it this way - I didn't put myself on your board, Monty did. And considering what he ignored, I don't think challenging either his reading comprehension or his attention to detail that out of line when he is basically completely misrepresenting the rankings. For crying out loud, I was supporting the position HE TOOK! Sorry, but that was just a bit confusing. Hey, I'll take constructive criticism all day long. I know these rankings are subjective, and I'll listen to factors peolpe suggest. But making it sound like I'm (A) an amateur, (B) who is biased, (C) without any facts to back either of those statements up, (D) WHEN I'M ACTUALLY SUPPORTING NE AS THE BETTER TEAM is unacceptable, and will garner a response. Seriously - throw numbers at me all day. Factors. Things to consider. Let's go with it. I'll do that with respect until hell freezes over. But bash me, my formula, my rankings, because you're not smart enough (or too lazy to) comprehend them, and I'm going to point that out. This guy fell into that category. Lookit - I'm not here to stir things up. I didn't even want to be here. And until that guy decided to mouth off, this seemed to be an interesting discussion about a pretty interesting topic in MLS this year. I'd love for it to get back to that. But I'm not going to sit here and put up with crap like that - and frankly, how personal did I get? I didn't go off on him with a bunch of momma jokes or whatever like you see on the DC board. Bottom line - I would have loved to have actually talked about the substantive points he was making (there is something to the fact that The Pace isn't the end-all, be-all, although it also isn't a useless stat), but that wasn't the direction he went. I just followed him down that road. If you want that to stop, start with him.
I know you're not here to stir things up. I appreciate the work you do on the rankings. I enjoy them, and I agree with a lot of what you said. All I was saying is that calling someone an idiot is unnecessary. And doing it on another team's board (regardless of who put you here first) is even more so. But please continue with the discussion. It's a good one. It just doesn't need to deteriorate to that level.
Excuse me, but what's not to get? Was he or was he not wrong about what I was saying? Was he or was he not flippant and negative about the way he did it? My response was not out of order. I thought you guys had thicker skin than that. Monty sure does - at least, when I talk to him about this stuff. Again, I'm not painting all of Rev-fandom with that brush - just him. He said something stupid and I called him on it. Again, what is not to get here? It isn't like I called him something vulgar.
I fail to understand how someone can force you to post on the Rev Board confused: Even my grandchildren wouldn't try to sell that one. You are stirring things up with the tone of your posts, trying to justify your combative responses and in general being an impolite guest in our discussion. I suggest you go away.
He is the source of the discussion, and as the originator of said discussion his comments are of first source w/o his comments it is speculation. Relax.
Hm. Well, I felt his attitude was unnecessary, and all I was trying to do was point that out in a similarly direct fashion. I certainly didn't mean to get off on this particular tangent (which, frankly, was what I was trying to do - end that train of thought - on the assumption that others would see my point and move on.) I will admit, I haven't spent a lot of time on the NE boards, so maybe I don't know the "local rules" well enough to have a good feel for things. (I've spent a decent bit of time mixing it up with people on the DC and Chicago boards due to recent games - trying to be civil with some of them is quite a challenge.) Hopefully I've clarified what I was trying to say enough now, and I certainly don't want to get any more personal than is necessary. If I stepped over that line, I apologize.
Maybe a little clarification might help. I'm Kevin Lindstrom, the author of the rankings. Until that post, my tone was just fine, thank you very much. I was making points, based on my rankings and the information I use to create them. Just because I don't use kid gloves doesn't mean I was being impolite. (The others from Dallas - basically giving me a hard time for putting NE on top - is a different story.) Hey, let's acknowledge that this is probably one of *the* arguments to have in MLS right now, and enjoy it. If you don't want to actually have a discussion and just want to hear nice things, then just say so. Doesn't seem like much fun, though, and you don't learn much. But that is your call.