[Alsfastball] Re: The Rankings - Response to Dave Spring

Wed Jun 30 22:36:36 EDT 2004

The subject of identifying members of the ISC Team Ranking Committee is not 
a new topic.  Anonymity has been approved the ISC Executive Committee, the 
ISC Board of Directors and the Ranking Committee members themselves.

The first year of team rankings, I was forced to divulge the names to then 
Executive Director, Milt Stark and the Executive Committee.  Predictably, 
once the committee knew their names had been divulged within the ISC (not 
public), I had 3 resignations.

If Team Rankings are to continue, anonymity is a must.

To publicly identify the individuals accomplishes nothing but opening each 
of them up for public criticism and/or attempts to influence.  They are 
performing this service as volunteers and I think collectively, they have 
done an excellent job.  I don't want to jeopardize a good thing by 
satisfying someone's curiosity or skepticism of their qualifications.  Just 
look at their record the past three years.

I guess any critics or skeptics are just going to have to accept my word 
that the members are qualified, they do make maximum effort to follow 
results and take valuable time from their other responsibilities to perform 
this service.

As I have said several times, if someone can come up with 12 qualified 
individuals to serve this roll with their names made public, let me 
know.  I can't find any willing to serve under those conditions.

Ken Hackmeister
mailto:KLSPORTS at aol.com

>Further to Al's posting of the June ISC rankings, I have a proposal: How
>about disclosing the names of the twelve experts whose estimations make up
>the rankings? I for one am unwilling any longer to accept unreservedly  the
>statement that the Ranking Committee is composed of  "very
>qualified...knowledgeable individuals...who follow the sport religiously".
>It seems to me conceivable that, given the eccentric numbers assigned by
>more than one ranker, some of these individuals might just possibly be
>following the sport only in their own localities  to the exclusion of all
>others, or are "homers," or are flakes, or are striving to achieve some
>personal agenda or are simply indulging themselves for the sheer unmitigated
>hell of it.
>
>No need, I think, to tie the names to the numbers (that's going a bit far),
>but I would like to suggest that those of us who do follow the game have a
>legitimate interest in seeing just who the  twelve knights (and their two
>surrogates, however the hell that works) of this particular Round Table are,
>in order to satisfy ourselves that there is at least some minimal degree of
>legitimacy to the rankings, especially in light of their importance in the
>seeding process. No?
>
>Respectfully (and without the slightest intention of slurring either the
>process or the participants) I am
>
>Dave Spring
><http://by8fd.bay8.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=MSG1088386626.33&start=90075&len=3482&src=&type=x&to=gspring%40sympatico%2eca&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=F000000001&a=5080dfead941f39d4891261d34570b54>mailto:gspring at sympatico.ca 
>

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