Several fans and teams have made their voices heard regarding the timing of the announcement. Chris Olsen, the coach of the Stripling Warriors, tweeted this after noon, "It would have been nice to know about this format earlier. Now we have to buckle down and win two games. Had we known sooner, we may have played a little differently." These frustrations have been shared by the players and fans of teams that may not make the playoffs.
Steve Harper, the Ward Athletic Director for the Hillsiders, had this to say regarding those who are frustrated with the playoff structure, "If you came into this season expecting yourself to get into the playoffs with one or two wins, you are crazy! Everyone in any league must realize that to be rewarded you must win ball games. This format is going to reward those who win! It is plain and simple. We still have some work to do, but we are not complaining. Our focus is on making sure we do our part to close the season out right."
After the public announcement, Jason Cann was asked by 700 Bullseye Sports about the frustrations that have been vocalized. Jason addressed those by saying, " I realize that we could have made this known sooner. This is a new league that is going to thrive and succeed, and we all need to realize that there are growing pains. We feel that it is very fair to give the best 8 teams a chance to compete for the championship! That does mean that 4 teams won't be able to continue after the season. I realize that is the challenge that we are facing. In the interest of our fans and the ZBA community, we feel that extending a post-season invitation to 8 teams is really the best scenario! It will help keep the post-season thrilling all the way through! We look forward to the playoffs!"
One of the positives aboutthis format is that it creates a greater opportunity for the best two teams to play in the title game. Too often, we have seen the two best teams face off in a Division Title game instead of the championship game. If one division were to have the two best teams, this format would give them a chance to meet in the end.
This format seems to follow many of the other region tournaments that we have seen in the church.
Is it playoff time yet?
1 comment:
Hey Jason,
This is Colby. I liked reading about the breaking news about the playoffs. I like the playoff system you've chosen. I creates added importance to the regular season as well as the incentive to get a higher ranking. It looks like the Mormons and the Pioneers are fighting for the last playoff spot as well as the bottom half of the Ancient Day Division. If the playoffs were today it would look like this.
Saints(6-1)
Hillsiders(1-5)
Iron Rods(5-2)
Angels(4-3)
Liahonas(7-0)
Mormons(3-4)
Missionaries(5-2)
Nephites(4-3)
As of today the bottom half of the bracket is the more powerful side. The 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in both divisions are comparable but the 1st and 4th ranked teams have the greatest variation. No matter how you do the brackets its almost impossible to make both sides balanced. Anyway, looks good. We'll have to see if any of the teams are going to step up their game now that the playoff structure is determined.
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