3 Sports Image


POLLSPEAK

Pollspeak is a watchdog organization dedicated to keeping college sports polls (and computer-rankings) honest, or at least questioning those that seem to be flawed, uneducated or have an unreasonable bias.  Why?  Because polls affect teams' TV exposure, finances, recruiting and national championship hopes. 

Voters and pollsters must be held accountable.

 

Advertisement

        


 

NewsPollspeak News

3 Polls LogoSpecial(ly Long) Report:  Ranking The Polls         (posted 8/28/08)

Ever wonder how voters are chosen and what they’re instructed to do?  Here is your chance to find out.  We contacted officials at the Associated Press (AP), USA Today, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Harris Interactive to find out how they conduct their polls and compare them to each other.  In typical Pollspeak fashion, we even rank their answers in each category.  Let’s see how they like it!  Read the full article on the FOOTBALL Page.

Harris InteractiveFirst Harris Interactive Poll - Sept. 28th  (posted 8/26/08)

Here's a quick update direct from Harris Interactive:  "The first Harris Interactive College Football Poll (HICFP) results are slated to be released on September 28, 2008." 

So a full month of games will be played before we see their first rankings, and, yes, the ballots will once again be secret except the last poll of the season.  If you want to see public ballots in the future, which would allow Pollstalker to work with the Harris Interactive and Coaches' polls, please sign the PETITION.

AP LogoAP Poll:  Does It Need More Voters?  Also, Herbstreit:  A National Fugitive Hiding Somewhere in Ohio?  (posted 8/24/08)

Today we turn to the AP Poll in part two of our series covering voter changes and demographics in the polls.  See Pollspeak’s previous article on the Coaches’ Poll below.  It’s more difficult to spot regional bias in the AP Poll than in the Coaches’ Poll.  We’re not saying that bias doesn’t exist, but the potential for it is just much less transparent.  Read the full article on the FOOTBALL page.

Coache's WhistleBig 10 Has The Edge In Coaches' Poll (posted 8/22/08)

As part of our preseason analysis of the polls, we look at who's doing the voting.  We compare the voters from last year to this year and point out who's left and who's new.  We’ll also look at potential regional or conference biases.  We’ll begin the series with the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.  Read the full article on the FOOTBALL page.

Taylor ZarzourInterview with Taylor Zarzour (posted 8/19/08)

The Associated Press pre-season poll was just released three days ago, but one AP voter in particular is already causing quite a stir.  Taylor Zarzour represents WPTF-AM (Radio) in Raleigh, NC, but his official title is Sports Director for the Curtis Media Group. With 12 extreme votes, Pollstalker singled him out of the pack of 65 voters.  You'll also notice that he is leading the "Bad Voter" poll by a landslide.  He has nearly 1900 votes as of this writing, which is a new Pollspeak record.  We e-mailed some questions to Zarzour.  See the FOOTBALL page to read his responses.

NewsPre-Season AP Poll Released (posted 8/16/08)

The Associated Press pre-season poll was released as planned on August 16th, and as planned, the ballots were also made public.  Like last season, you can analyze the ballots using Pollstalker here.  This season you can also use the new BCS + AP Compiled Report in Pollstalker, to compare all of the polls to each other.  Right now only the Coaches' Poll and the AP Poll have been released, but all of the BCS Polls and computer rankings will be added to this report when they are released so that you can easily compare rankings in each poll.

Pollspeak will not begin officially critiquing the ballots until a few weeks into the season.  Much like the computer polls, there is no point in trying until enough games have been played to make informed decisions.  However, Pollstalker will continue to be updated with each new poll, and you are welcome to use Pollstalker to analyze the ballots and vote for your favorite and least favorite.  You can also use the FORUMS to speak your mind.  We will be reporting what the public thinks.

NewsAP Poll News (posted 8/7/08)

First some news direct from the AP:  The AP Pre-Season Poll will be released on August 16th, all voter ballots will once again be made public, and the format will remain the same as last year.  Kudos once again to the AP for their public ballots.

Next, AP voter Jon Wilner has posted the new guidelines for 2008 AP Voters in his College Sports Hotline:
  • "Base your vote on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation.
  • Avoid regional bias, for or against. Your local team does not deserve any special handling when it comes to your ballot.
  • Pay attention to head-to-head results, and
  • Don’t hesitate to make significant changes in your ballot from week to week. There’s no rule against jumping the 16th-ranked team over the eighth-ranked team, if No. 16 is coming off a big victory and No. 8 just lost 52-6 to a so-so team."

We at Pollspeak are very happy to see these guidelines published.  Thank you Mr. Wilner.  We have not yet been able to obtain a copy of the 2007 guidelines, but we have received conflicting information, with more than one AP voter saying they don't remember seeing them last year and one saying that the guidelines are the same with the exception of the first one "Base your vote on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation," which is a new addition.  We were also told the guidelines state that voters "can't be in the booster club of any school." If anybody can provide Pollspeak with an actual copy of the guidelines, please send them to admin@pollspeak.com Meanwhile a request has been sent to the AP.

We at Pollspeak would like to think that our reporting has had some influence on the AP guidelines, but we will continue our investigation.  One suggestion we will make to the AP in the future is that all voters should be required to acknowledge receipt and understanding of the guidelines in writing.

NewsPre-Season Coaches' Poll Released (posted 8/1/08)

Pollspeak will kick off the official start of the 2008 football season with an update on any changes in the BCS polling process and explanations of the new features added to our site and Pollstalker.  In the meantime, it is noteworthy that the first poll of the '08 season has been released -- the Pre-Season USA Today Coaches' Poll.  Click the link to see results for the 55 ranked teams.  As new pre-season polls are added (i.e. AP and Harris Interactive), you will be able to compare them all.  In the meantime, note that the Coaches' Poll ballots are still concealed.  If you would like to help make them public (or remove blind polls from the BCS formula) please be sure to sign the Free The Ballots Petition.

One quick hit from the Coaches' Poll:  South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is infamous for perennially casting a vote for Duke in his pre-season ballot.  It seems he has finally decided to abandon the practice.

NewsPollspeak Seeking Writers, Researchers, Marketing Help (posted 4/7/08)

Pollspeak.com is now interviewing interns and volunteers to work on our site during the '08 football season.  We would like to expand our coverage and visibility, and we will need additional writers, researchers and marketing help to do so.  If you are interested in applying, write:  admin@pollspeak.com.

NewsPollstalker Now Supports Baseball (posted 3/5/08)

Pollspeak's coverage of NCAA Baseball begins with the regular season polls.  Like any poll, you can visit Pollstalker and choose "NCAA Baseball 08" from the Pollstalker drop-down menu on the left. 

Unfortunately there is no NCAA baseball poll with public ballots.  First, if that upsets you, be sure to sign the Free the Ballots Petition to help make all ballots public.  Second, this means Pollstalker will handle baseball polls a bit differently.  Instead of listing individual voters by name, it will list each poll as a "voter":  Baseball America Poll, Collegiate Baseball Poll, USA Today Coaches' Poll and Massey Computer Rankings.

You may use Pollstalker for baseball just like the other sports, but most people will probably use it to quickly compare how their favorite team(s) are ranked in every poll.  Simply click on your favorite team names or choose them from Team drop-down menus on the left.  The only poll currently missing is Massey, which hasn't released its results for the 2008 season yet.  If you would like other reputable baseball polls to be included, please contact us.

Any pertinent baseball poll news will be posted on the Baseball page, and please discuss baseball topics on the baseball forums.

NewsPollspeak Reports to the AP, USA Today, Harris Interactive and BCS Released (posted 1/22/08)

The following reports may be freely downloaded.  The AP report was sent to the Associated Press on 1/18/08.  The USA Today and Harris Interactive reports were sent on 1/20/08 and the BCS Report was sent on 1/22/08.  They cover the entire 2007 season as reported on Pollspeak.com.  They also make recommendations on removing bad voters, setting basic rules and improving each Poll's perception.  Download the files here: 

- Pollspeak Report to the Associated Press - College Football 2007
- Pollspeak Report to the USA Today - College Football 2007
- Pollspeak Report to Harris Interactive - College Football 2007
- Pollspeak Report to The BCS - College Football 2007

Harris InteractiveThe Harris Interactive Poll - What You Don’t Know(posted 12/19/07)

We’re going to shy away from the typical Bad/Good Voter premise with the Harris Interactive Poll. Most of our readers have gotten comfortable with Pollstalker by now and can tell for themselves who the most extreme voter is, etc. (Okay, it’s Bobby Aillet). Instead, we’ll point out some of the differences between this poll and the others. We can’t guarantee that you don’t know these things already, but if you do know, please tell us what happened to the missing ballots....READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE FOOTBALL PAGE (week 15). 


The Coaches' PerspectiveThe Coaches' Perspective (posted 12/12/07)

Since this is the first time we get to see the Coaches' ballots all season, this column will be a bit different. The Coaches' Perspective is part analysis and a large part opinion and guess-work. It is generally accepted that coaches are going to be biased when they fill out their ballots. After all, they have a vested interest in how the polls turn out. Besides, the polls are secret for all but the last week, so who would ever know? In fact, if coaches aren't biased, fans could argue that they aren't doing their job as coach. A better argument is: why would you let the most inherently biased group of people vote in a poll with so much at stake...let alone secretly? It's like having the prisoners run the parole board....  READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE FOOTBALL PAGE (week 15).  


News


Advertisement