Maybe he saw or read only about the Xavier game!

I sent him the following:

Mr. Jezierny:

Recently I stumbled across your voting records for the college basketball polls. As a student at Indiana University-Bloomington, I couldn’t help but notice my Hoosiers mysteriously absent from your polls. While I’m sure you are entitled to your opinion, I’ve thrown together a few quick facts to make the case for voting for the Hoosiers in your top 25.

•8-1 Record
•Ranked 13 according to Ken Pomery of basketballprospectus.com
•Ranked 15 according to Jeff Sagarin
•National Player of the Week in DJ White (rivals.com)
•Number 1 Shooting Guard, Eric Gordan (rivals.com)
•Top 25 coach in Kelvin Sampson (rivals.com)

While I could list a litany of more pre-season accolades, I instead chose to focus on what IU has accomplished so far this season. The list could go on and on, but I’m curious as to why IU did not even receive a vote over a team such as Stanford (lost to Siena) or Mississippi (you were one of two voters to vote them into the top 25).

I don’t need to lecture you on the importance of polls when it comes to seeding, but I’m curious as to why you won’t vote for the Hoosiers. If it’s regarding the self-reported violations, I’d like to thank you in advance for stepping outside of your journalistic and voting boundaries and not voting for IU. Thanks, and I look forward to an explanation.

Does anybody really care what a guy from the Idaho Statesman writes about college basketball? I certainly dont. Does Boise State even field a basketball team? Slow day on the basketball front eh?

Obviously I didn't go through all of the voter's reports...but, out of all the ones I did go through I didn't see a report with such low numbers in the "agree" column...

Out of his 25 ranked teams, there were 11 rankings where 2 people at best agreed with him, with 7 team rankings where nobody agreed with him. So, I'm not that upset with the guy as he obviously isn't the brightest of the bunch.

Google his name and see what pops up....it's this blog! Obviously, ITH has more influence than I previously gave you credit for. Even more, apparently, than the largest newspaper in Idaho.

People have votes and they are allowed to vote however they want. Will it always be rational? No. Will you always agree with their votes? No.

And more importantly, who gives a damn what some yahoo in Idaho thinks about Indiana?

I totally agree. It isn't college football, so the polls, especially in the month of December, are irrelevant. But that isn't going to stop me from filling up his inbox and make him hate life. Besides, I bet its hard to get IU games on his 10 inch black and white TV using an antenna in Idaho

Settle down Ryan and David -- no need to criticize these guys for making us aware of all things Hoosier related on the web. And yeah, with 3 cupcakes on schedule before the New Year, of course things are a tad slow.

A similar situation happened a few weeks ago when a sports journalist was giving his predictions on the Big Ten. He said that EJ would have about the same impact on this team as Rod Wilmont. I'm sure I wasn't the only one to email the guy and enlighten him on EJ's Durant-like potential.

idaho...could there be a less relevant state?

South Dakota.

Illinois, in terms of basketball.

I'd say North Dakota is less relevant then South Dakota...at least in South Dakota they have Mt. Rushmore and the Team America headquarters.

As for this guy, he might just be trying to be different from the sake of being different, who knows? It doesn't really matter.

The point isn't if the polls matter or not (which they do, for seeding purposes), but rather the fact that the guy might not vote for us b/c of the self-imposed sanctions. This could (potentially) hurt us down the road.

Is it a stretch to think this will affect our seeding? Yes, but we should still hold him accountable. Imagine if all voters decided not to vote for us based on Sampson's violations...

That's a whole lot of speculation...

And polls don't matter for seeding in the NCAA tournament. I believe it's based more or less on a team's body of work over the season - certainly more so than what goes on in NCAA football.

This is what I posted:

Hello - I will refer you to this link - http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.ph...

I wanted to see how the voters ranked my favorite team, the Indiana Hoosiers. Why do you not have them listed in the top 25? I think that is completely biased and insane. Our only loss is at Xavier, who is a legit top 20 team. We beat Kentucky (they are not good, but we had Gordon and Bassett out) and we won convincingly AT Southern Illinois, who is ranked in the top 25 and had won some insane number in a row at home, 35 games I think and were 80-3 in their last 83. Those are good quality wins. I would like some sort of explanation. You can explain why you have Vanderbilt ranked so high also. Wow, just wow.

Thank you for your consideration,

James from San Diego

The polls have absolutely no affect on seeding or even making the tournament. The polls are independent from the NCAA, and it is the NCAA that makes the bracket. They have said before that the coaches and AP polls do not affect their decision. I remember just a few years back Utah St. finished the season ranked in the top 25, but they did not make the tournament, probably because they did not have any quality wins. Seeding is based entirely on body of work, and the poll is based entirely on biased opinion

and who ever said anything about him doing it because of our recruiting violations? does that even make sense? I can't imagine that there is a single voter that would do that

I just love this page. It is by far the most informed IU page I have ever read on IU, everything from options, facts, corrections, recruiting, topics, polling, on and on we go. Keep it up.

Forget Nick Jez...How bout Pat Ridgell and Paul Klee for ranking IU at # 8 & 9. I believer with everyone healthy, good behavior and the return of AJ this is definitely at top 10 team. As for ranking I'll have to concur with the others polls are just for bragging rights.
bc

This is why they have 72 guys voting. So a**holes like this guy get averaged in and it really has little effect.

Here is a cut and paste from an email exchange with Nick:

Dave:

I did vote for the Hoosiers until they lost a game. They are on my radar and likely will re-enter my vote as some other teams I had ranked ahead of them have lost since our last vote.

Thanks,
Nick


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Dave Nuerge [mailto:Dave@IntegroGroup.net]
Sent: Thu 12/13/2007 10:01 AM
To: Jezierny, Nick - Boise
Subject: AP Voting


Why did you exclude the Indiana Hoosiers from the top 25 Men's Basketball AP vote?

You are the ONLY voter who has not included them at all and no other voter placed them below 19. All but 7 voters placed them at 15 or above.

I'd LOVE to hear your explanation.

Dave

haha that guy is clueless. the lost one game, then boom. no more ranking for you. He didn't even give a reason as to why he didn't think they were one of the top 25 teams in the country, he just said they lost. so by his logic ucla shouldn't be ranked, and neither should tennessee or xavier or whomever. i wonder what the criteria are for having a vote in the AP poll

I love this website but this article is weak. Arguing about rankings at this point of the year is a waste of time. So we aren't getting the respect we deserve from some guy in Idaho - WHO CARES??? We'll worry about rankings come March.

Guys,

I love Hoosier hoops too, but there are more important things in the world than Hoosier basketball.

And there is something worse than having somebody underrate the Hoosiers in a poll. One of those things would be if anyone got in trouble for harassing this guy, Mr. Jezierny.

I would suggest that, if you do an article like this again, you anticipate the potential for problems and put in some sort of disclaimer along these lines:

"In the modern world, people can contact other people easily. We do not encourage you to contact Mr. Jesierny or his employer and, in fact suggest that you do not do so, but, if you choose to do so, please be polite and succinct."

"Remember, it would be unfair and inappropriate to flood his e-mail box with comments."

"Beyond that it could be a violation of federal and state law to make any statements that could be conceived of as either threatening him or offering a bribe or other consideration for his vote."

"Remember, although we may disagree with him, he is entitled to his opinion."

"And we who write this blog don't want any liability or responsibility for inciting anyone to do anything they shouldn't do."


======================

I hesitate to mention some of the scenarios that one could imagine, but you have only to look at the headlines on any given day (e.g. Omaha, Nebraska or Boulder, Colorado) and to remember that not everyone is completely sane and some people who are normally sane imbibe various substances that may cause them to be less than sane at some times.

And I suspect that you don't want anyone pointing any fingers at you for incitement. You're just running a blog, right?

West Coast Hoosier

West Coast Hoosier,

That is quite possibly the dumbest post that I have ever read!

(1) Why is it "unfair and inappropriate to flood his e-mail box with comments." This guy has taken on this responsiblity and should take it seriously. If he isnt, then people should let him know.

(2) “In the modern world, people can contact other people easily. We do not encourage you to contact Mr. Jesierny or his employer and, in fact suggest that you do not do so, but, if you choose to do so, please be polite and succinct.” Why? If he doesnt want to read the emails he doesnt have to. But the voters ballots are made public so that there is accountability and people noticing an irresponsible voter is that accountability in action.

(3)“Beyond that it could be a violation of federal and state law to make any statements that could be conceived of as either threatening him or offering a bribe or other consideration for his vote.” Should ITH post this same thing everytime an opposing coach says something negative about IU? Should they just not post negative opinions or comments, because west coast hoosier thinks that crazy people may "violate state and federal law" as a result? Get a clue! If someone harasses this guy, that is on that person, there is nothing her encouraging people to cross the line. No disclaimer is needed.

The only explanation is that you are sometype of first year law student or law-school drop out armed with just enough knowledge to make yourself sound silly. Becuase, if you think that this blog post amounts to incitement, you clearly dont know what incitement is...There is no basis for this blog to get in any trouble by making this post. And in fact, I think that it has been productive as it has caused a lazy AP voter to take his role more seriously.


There is little to do with people like you, except to roll ones eyes and hope that in the future you just keep this dribble to yourself.

Nick

Nick,

You're entitled to your opinion and, on First Amendment grounds, I'd defend your right to have it no matter how ungraciously it is expressed.

And, for whatever it is worth, you're factually wrong on at least one thing. I'm a lawyer with a practice that deals with media affairs.

Because of that, I stand by and reiterate my comments while simultaneously hoping that they reflect concerns that never materialize.

I'm not giving legal advice here, but I would advise folks to govern their behavior on this type of thing carefully. The words "fan" and "fanatic" stem from the same root and I would hate to see anybody take criticism of a voter to an extreme and get in trouble.

So, Nick, if you or someone else sends something to this guy that is construed as threatening, or if he complains that he is getting inundated with rude and threatening e-mails arising from an article published here and says that he fears for his safety, and if the FBI shows up at your doorstep, I'll be happy to compliment you on the legal advice that you've given yourself and wish you good luck!

West Coast Hoosier

west coast hoosier,

relax.

i like what west coast hoosier has mentioned...everyone is entitled to their opinion. who is to say that this isn't a biased opinion, but rather, what he truly believes to be the top 25 teams in the country. in some ways, perhaps it's good to have someone coming in from another angle. i can't stand the fact that so many teams are given the benefit of the doubt based on past performance. i disagree with this guy whole-heartedly on not voting for iu (and i've not even bothered to look at who he did vote for), but even those who are expected to vote every week can't possibly view every division one game across the country every week...and looking at box scores and watching highlights doesn't always give a clear picture of how good a team is. take the huge upsets that happen every year during march madness as an example...most of these "upsetters" aren't breaking into the top 25 all year, yet some of them continue upsetting top 25 teams deep into the madness. remember too, this kentucky team that everyone is claiming is so terrible...they were in everyone's top 25 to start the season. again, this goes to show that past performance is not a true measure of one's future success...and as a number of you have already mentioned, polls don't mean squat. if you are good enough to win the tournament, then it shouldn't matter what seed you are. due to match-up problems, some teams would have better luck playing against a top ten team than they would against a "lesser" opponent. in the end, all that matters is that you make the tournament by playing well all year...and a few favorable match-ups certainly don't hurt.

West Coast Hoosier-

You can't possibly be an attorny with that First Amendment dribble. I would guess first-year law student. If you are an attorney, it is unfortunate that you would stand by this absurd premise! In order for you to better serve your clients, I would suggest you review certain concepts in conjunction with incitement, such as (1) intent (2) immenence of lawless action and (3) the difference between "triggers to action" and "keys of persuasion."

Once you get those down, let me know, and I can explain to you why the rest of arguments are similarly flawed.

Nick

West Coast Hoosier,

I don't know if you should argue with nick. What if somebody (inexplicably) believes that you're right and decides to attack nick as a result. YOU WOULD BE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE!! THE FBI WOULD PROBABLY COME TO YOUR DOOR!

Actually, nothing would happen. Get a grip man.

Hooooosier,

Thanks for your comment.

Remember, the original article says, and I quote:

"For those of you who have steam coming out of your ears, you can email our buddy Nick at njezierny@idahostatesman.com. Just don’t tell him I sent you."

This is the paragraph that concerned me.

Notice several things about that paragraph.

First, it clearly suggests that people e-mail Mr. Jezierny.

Second, note that Mr. Jezierny can be located at his workplace and probably given the size of Boise, Idaho, at his residence.

Third, it includes the reference to "steam coming out of ears," a way to describe anger.

And, let me add that, in fairness, as a Hoosier fan myself, Jezierny's act in ignoring the Hoosiers made me angry too, so I'm not describing an emotion that I can't feel myself, although I'm way far removed from the fanatics and know better than to do anything I shouldn't.

Fourth, the statement (I know intended to be funny) "Just don't tell him I sent you."

Now, I hope that folks are sensible enough to read all that as humor and hyperbole, but, as I said in my original post, some people aren't so rational.

Blogger Nick (the poster on this blog, not Nick Jezierny), though he disagrees with me, strikes me as a rational enough fellow. I'm not worried about him doing anything to Jezierny or anyone else. In fact, I note that his second post is only about half as rude as his first post. Who knows? By the next one, we may get to have a little polite and friendly dialogue! He's probably a nice fellow when one gets to know him.

Re: your suggestion that I could be inciting folks to do something to blogger Nick, excuse me? Note that I have no idea who blogger Nick is, where he is, what his e-mail is, his address, or anything else about him, nor do I want to know.

Beyond that, I never suggested that anyone do anything to or towards him and I never would.

And I certainly couldn't motivate outraged Indiana fans to do anything to him, even if I wanted to and I don't. His "crime" is strong support for the Hoosiers and I agree with that.

In fact, I actually enjoy folks who think differently than me, although politeness, even on blogs is a virtue that blogger Nick might want to cultivate.

By the way, interestingly, I note that Sagarin has also had Indiana lower than the consensus all year long. I saw today that he moved IU to 19th, but before that, I believe he had them at 21st for several days, which is pretty close to being out of the top 25.

And Sagarin's computer based formulation precludes the sort of bias that Mr. Jezierny might show and is, I think, reflective of the fact that IU has had a schedule less difficult than many other teams. Kentucky, for example, is not Kentucky this year. Southern Illinois has had other losses after the loss to the Hoosiers and has suffered a decline in their RPI. Even Xavier, which beat Indiana, has lost since then, which doesn't help Indiana computer-wise.

Should we all write to Mr. Sagain's computers and complain that they're crunching the numbers wrong?

West Coast Hoosier