PUSH-ME POLL JANUARY 2005

[Guest DeputyHawk]

just a little bit

 

up on the main site now.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Looking over your methology, I think you need to add more weight to the WWE guys. No number of indy wins is going to give an indy wrestler more recognition than a WWE guy (John Cena) who's in line for a Wrestlemania title shot. Otherwise, I find these entertaining. I think it'd be cool if you did graphs once in a while, charting the top 10 over the last six months, to see how its changed, if at all.

[Guest DeputyHawk]

Thanks for the feedback. I can see where you're coming from with awarding more points for the WWE guys, in particular as regards John Cena this month (who's only no.23). At the same time, I've also had criticism that it favours whoever may be headlining in WWE at the time TOO MUCH due to the sheer number of shows they promote, so it's swings and roundabouts.

 

The problem with Cena in January is that the Poll's structured to reward the guys at the top of the card over the period of the whole month - in championship programs and main events. And although Cena finished runner-up at the Royal Rumble (for which he got the majority of his points this month), he'd been nowhere near the Smackdown main event all month before that, either on TV or at house shows. The TV altercation he got into with JBL was the first show AFTER the Rumble, which was already into February. If his current push continues, he'll for sure be higher than (23) next month.

 

In saying that, there's still tweaking to be done and I'll maybe try to figure out some sort of grading scale for the Indys so that, for example, headlining in ROH brings more points than headlining in FIP or IWA Mid-South. Any suggestions as always are more than welcome.

 

I like your idea about some kind of graphics charting movement in the Top 10 over the last six monts a lot and will have a think to see what I can come up with.

 

Cheers,

DH

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

I actually find the poll decent...

 

As for the indy guys, its like ranking college football/basketball.

 

HHH = Duke, Illinois

 

Super Dragon Samoa Joe, etc. = Boston College, Northwestern, Gonzaga

 

"You can only play who is on the schedule".

[iggymcfly 0]

I actually find the poll decent...

 

As for the indy guys, its like ranking college football/basketball.

 

HHH = Duke, Illinois

 

Super Dragon Samoa Joe, etc. = Boston College, Northwestern, Gonzaga

 

"You can only play who is on the schedule".

Actually, I'm pretty sure that Northwestern plays Illinois since they're in the same damn conference. If you're going to do a sports analogy, at least do a decent one.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

You know, I think I meant another team.

 

Shit, Marshall was who I was thinking of. They have similar colors if I'm not mistaken. Dunno why I said NW.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Northwestern is purple, Marshall is green :/

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

WHY DONT I KNOW ANYTHING

[iggymcfly 0]

Because rubbing salt in the wound is fun, here's a result from yesterday:

 

Illinois 84 Northwestern 48

 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Dee Brown said draining 3-pointers against Northwestern on Wednesday night was like playing a game of "H-O-R-S-E."

 

"I hit my first two and that confidence just kept building. I felt like I could shoot anywhere," Brown said after he dropped six 3s and finished with 20 points to lead top-ranked and unbeaten Illinois to an 84-48 win that clinched a share of the Big Ten title.

 

One of his five first-half 3-pointers was shot midway between the circles, about 28 feet from the basket.

 

"When he stands still, it's automatic," Northwestern's T.J. Parker said.

 

The Illini never trailed en route to their 24th straight Big Ten win and their 20th in a row at Assembly Hall.

 

Brown was 6-of-8 from 3-point range. The barrage included consecutive baskets that started a 16-6 run that gave Illinois a 28-13 lead with 9:37 left in the first half. A 4:46 drought later in the half sealed Northwestern's fate and the Illini led 45-22 at halftime.

 

Illinois (28-0, 14-0) clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for the second consecutive season. They can win the championship outright with a victory in either of their last two games -- Purdue and Ohio State -- or a loss by second-place Michigan State.

 

But the Illini did no celebrating Wednesday night, even though they locked up at least a share of the league championship for the fourth time in five seasons. They want to win a second consecutive outright title before throwing any parties.

 

"Now we're down to a week," Illini coach Bruce Weber said. "We win two more games we go undefeated in the regular season, which only one other team has done in the Big Ten. Another outright title, first back-to-back titles (for Illinois) since 1951-52. There's a lot of things on the line and I hope it keeps them motivated."

 

Motivation was no problem for the Illini on Wednesday night. They took advantage of two Northwestern turnovers early to take a 7-0 lead that had Wildcats coach Bill Carmody throwing up his hands.

 

"So 7-0 and we haven't even gotten a shot off," Carmody said. "And from there it got worse."

 

The Wildcats (13-13, 5-8) did hit six of their first seven shots, but by then Illinois had rolled to a 23-13 lead.

 

Brown's second 3 came after a flurry of 11 consecutive passes that crossed the court, went into the lane and back out again before he was open from long range.

 

"That was the best ball movement I ever saw in my life because by the time that ball got to me, me and the Northwestern defender looked at each other and he was like, 'I ain't coming out there,'" Brown said. "I was basically shooting H-O-R-S-E shots."

 

Brown also finished the decisive first-half run with a 28-footer and a fast-break layup off Rich McBride's steal. He also had two steals and five assists, including a nifty alley-oop toss to Roger Powell Jr. for a rim-rattling dunk that gave the Illini a 66-28 lead with 13:38 to go.

 

Powell finished with 18 points, Luther Head scored 14 and Deron Williams had 13 points and six assists for Illinois, which had a 36-21 rebounding advantage.

 

The Wildcats played their sixth straight game without forward Michael Thompson, who averages 10 points per game. He hurt his foot on Feb. 2 and did not dress for the game.

 

Mohamed Hachad scored 15 points to lead the Wildcats, while Vedran Vukusic had 14.

 

Northwestern was just 1-of-17 from 3-point range and finished the night 22-of-54 from the field (41 percent).

[Guest DeputyHawk]

Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thankyou.

[iggymcfly 0]

Well, since I ripped on you so much, I might as well give you some feedback on your column too. I like the idea and the presentation a lot, but I do think you give a little too much credit to TNA and the Indys.

 

I think the big problem is treating the "supercards" and "major shows" the same, regardless of where they're run. When someone like ROH runs a PPV, the fact is they're not just getting less exposure than a WWE PPV, they're getting less exposure than Raw, and in all honesty, they're getting less exposure than Impact.

 

I like how you count an appearance on Impact as being half as important as an appearance on Raw or Smackdown, but I also think you should apply the same principle to all the shows. For example, a TNA PPV should only count half as much as a WWE PPV. And if ROH runs two big shows a month, then those should probably count about 1/4 as much as a TNA PPV.

 

You don't need to completely cut the lower level guys out of the Top 25, but when Samoa Joe and CM Punk are seen as being pushed stronger than Kurt Angle and Undertaker over the course of the year, it's a little too slanted.

 

If you had Jeff Jarrett down around the level of Shawn Michaels, and you had Samoa Joe down where he was maybe between the Big Show and Rey Mysterio for the course of the year, I think that would be a lot more fair and balanced.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

ROH draws more fans than TNA.

[Jingus 0]

They did when TNA papered Nashville for a year and a half, anyway. Only the people who were sitting in chairs on the floor actually paid to get into the show. (And a few of them got in free too.) I have no idea exactly what numbers TNA is drawing today in its Universal TV studio.

[iggymcfly 0]

TNA has a national TV deal. Hence, people see who they are. I bet at least 5-10% of people have caught a little bit of Impact and would recognize the TNA brand name if they heard it, but you'd have a hard time finding 1 in 100 people that have heard of Ring of Honor.

 

ROH has a loyal, small, fanbase that makes sure they draw decent crowds, but that doesn't mean that they're necessarily more recognized than TNA.