Okay, now that we've gotten the first nine weeks out of the way, it's time to delve into the new playoff system.
You noticed I didn't say new and improved.
But before we do that, let's get a couple of other matters out of the way.
* It's do or die. This is the worst cliche' in the history of sports, if not mankind. No one is going to die (hopefully) and the sun will rise the day after the season ends for half the teams in the state next week. Do or die is for surgeons. Or until he did die, Evil Kneivel.
* It's now or never. It's a game. And never is a long time.
* Win and advance. That's all, nothing more. Nothing needs to be said about death or anything else.
So simple.
Unlike the new high school football playoff format in Missouri.
We now have eight-team districts, with teams seeded 1 through, 8, based on a points system for the first nine weeks of the season.
You get 20 points for a win and 10 points for a loss (which in itself makes no sense) and 15 points for an overtime loss.
You earn 13 points or lose 13 points for winning/losing a game by 13 or more.
You get points for playing up in class. Class 6 teams, apparently, have to play a team from the MIAA to earn bonus points.
Then you need to figure out the points for strength of schedule. Here you go, straight from the MSHSAA manual:
Points from opponent's schedule by taking the sum of the win/loss record from each team you have played times the points for a win or loss, 10, 20, minus your contribution to the opponents record, divided by the total number of games played minus the number of games you played.
Got that?
Okay, let's make it even more clear. Say your team is 5-4, so here's a possible equation from the aforementioned formula:
(5x20 + 4x10 = 140)
(81-9 = 72)
(1170 - 130 = 1040)
(1040/72 = 14.44)
Obviously, 14.44 was the answer.
Duh.
"It is what it is," Jefferson City Jays coach Ted LePage said of the new format. "I can't really comment on it at this point in time.
"All I know is we're playing Ft. Zumwalt West on Friday night."
Then, after going through all the scientific equations and logarithms to figure out the 1-8 seeds, there's this:
Two consecutive seeds can appeal if they played head-to-head and the lower seed won.
Then it goes to the panel on the X Factor to decide those seeds.
Okay, not really. It goes to the United Nations.
Okay, it really goes to the other six coaches in the district to vote on it.
But still, really?
"I liked the old way because no matter what, after week 7 everybody started over," Blair Oaks coach Brad Drehle said. "It made that time of year really exciting."
The last few years, teams played in four-team districts the last three weeks of the regular season, and the top two teams advanced to the playoffs.
That made little sense, either. It was like giving teams a ribbon for trying hard.
What was wrong with the format prior to that? Four teams in a district and the district CHAMPION moved on.
No computers or ribbons necessary, thanks.
"I agree," Helias coach Phil Pitts said. "I don't think we've found a better answer the last two times we've tried --- there was nothing wrong with one team coming out of the district.
"Ultimately, the state wanted that extra playoff game."
Which leads us to this ... when are you a playoff team? Logic tells us you have to win a district championship to be in the playoffs.
That would mean, for Classes 1-5, you have to reach the quarterfinals; for Class 6, you have to get to the semifinals.
"The people who were the proponents of two teams advancing to get more teams in the playoffs, well, to me you will have less teams in the playoffs now," Drehle said. "That really doesn't make any sense.
"Fewer teams can hang a banner or put a patch on a jacket, whatever it happened to be. That's what you were after, to help build that program.
"This kind of defeats that purpose.
Stupid is as stupid does.
"Are we a playoff team if we win next Friday? That, I can't answer," LePage said. "I just don't know. There are some bugs I think need to be worked out."
Said Pitts: "I don't know how all of that works; I don't know when you're a playoff team. I know teams want to call themselves something, but we don't really worry about that."
Just win and advance.
And put the calculators away.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKRCG