Three months ago, I complained about the way the Central Coast
Section girls’ soccer seedings ignored the credentials of a league
championship in relegating Live Oak High’s squad to a lower ranking
than also-ran Gilroy.
Three months ago, I complained about the way the Central Coast Section girls’ soccer seedings ignored the credentials of a league championship in relegating Live Oak High’s squad to a lower ranking than also-ran Gilroy. I said at the time that I believed all league champions should be ranked higher than their counterparts, no matter how many non-league “power points” they racked up.
As it turned out, the Acorns’ talent shone through, as they advanced past the first round and very nearly pulled off an upset over higher seed Santa Teresa, bowing only after overtime and penalty kicks. The Mustangs, who had enjoyed an unusually successful season but gained the higher seed due to Live Oak’s non-league forfeits rather than any noteworthy accomplishments of their own, were knocked out in their CCS opener.
In the interests of fairness, I’m honor-bound to note the instances when the CCS gets it right, as it did with the section baseball and softball playoffs seedings. By rule, all league champions were guaranteed the highest seeds, with those securing automatic berths by finishing second in their leagues and at-large entries filling in the rest of the brackets.
While all three Tri-County Athletic League Division I baseball playoff teams dropped their first-round matchups, the sixth-seeded Live Oak softball team has advanced to the semifinals – legitimizing its seed after capturing second place in league this season. (TCAL champion Notre Dame nabbed the top seed in Division III.)
In fact, it turns out that baseball and softball are the only major sports that actually get the postseason seeding process right, giving league champions and the highest finishers their well-earned due.
According to CCS Commissioner Nancy Lazenby-Blaser, the rest of the marquee team sports – football, soccer, volleyball and basketball – are awarded playoff seeds strictly by points, and league championships are not a specifically mitigating factor.
“It comes down to philosophical differences, whether league finish is more important or non-league (play) is more important,” Lazenby-Blaser said.
As an example, she pointed to football, saying that the theory is that overall, season-long excellence is regarded as more important than league finish because one lucky victory over a league rival could end up clinching a league title. While this is may hold true for football, which plays significantly fewer games than other sports, it certainly doesn’t for volleyball, soccer and basketball teams – all of which have ample opportunity to prove their mettle against league members.
Even in football, I believe league performance should be held above all else, and should be reflected in the postseason seedings. This would allow the non-league portion of the schedule to be used in the manner for which it was originally intended – as a tune-up – and not solely as a quest for “power points.”
The good news is, as Lazenby-Blaser pointed out, that the grand poobahs of the CCS can amend their error, and do it immediately. That’s because all section by-laws are reviewed on an annual basis.
In my estimation, the playoff seeding bylaws are crying out to be reviewed, and changed.
nSpeaking of high school rules that need to be reviewed, is it just me or did the CIF complete miss the boat with its institution of an honor system to deal with the emerging issue of potential high school steroid use? Sign this paper, kids, cross your heart and swear never to use steroids. If this was a big enough issue to discuss at the state level, wasn’t it big enough to require a real solution? Cost be damned. Unless I miss my guess, this is a half measure that will end up costing more in the starkest currency of all – human life – than can be assessed by any bottom line.
nLast Thursday was a dark anniversary in the annals of San Jose sports. Or was it? As of May 19, it was exactly one year since the Sharks had played an NHL match – losing 3-1 at Calgary and being eliminated from the Western Conference finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The big question now is, does anyone really care? Sure, there are the odd hockey fans that live and die with the NHL. But even in the Bay Area, which has fallen on mostly hard times regarding the success of its sports teams, the NHL’s long descent – in terms of time, not distance – into oblivion has been largely met with largesse and ennui.
Note to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the owners and the players: you’re all in danger of becoming irrelevant. If you’re not already.
nFinally, congratulations to the San Jose SaberCats and owner Muni Fry of Morgan Hill. The ‘Cats beat the Georgia Force 54-48 at HP Pavilion on Saturday to make the Arena Football League playoffs for the sixth straight year. After struggling during the regular season, including a three-game losing streak that ended with Saturday’s win, the defending Arena Bowl champions may well be primed for another run deep into the postseason. They certainly seemed to be against the Force, the top seed in the National Conference and owners of an 11-5 record. San Jose, led by quarterback Mike Greib – who set a new AFL single-season record for passing yards and surpassed 80 TDs for the first time in his career this season – looks like the kind of veteran team that needs the adrenaline of the playoffs to play to its potential.
The SaberCats play at the American Conference’s top seed Denver Crush in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday at 12:30pm. San Jose beat the Crush 89-41 earlier this season and has never lost to Denver.
