Your Mizzou 25 Coaches Champion is...

by Bill C. on May 28, 2008 7:46 AM CDT

UPDATED, 2:02pm.

Well, it's been an interesting five days in the polling for RMN's Mizzou 25 Coaches Champion. Brian Smith kissed the babies and hit the stump hard early...jumping out to a 50-70 vote lead early on, but Norm kept chipping away at the lead, and after a series of "THIS. CAN. NOT. HAPPEN." posts in various places, Norm had finished the comeback. After over 650 votes and ballot-stuffing links on both sides, there is only one solution:

...and your Mizzou 25 Coaches Champion is...

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Shenanigans. Yep, I said it.

Smith had a substantial lead at a point when you guys would have closed the poll for any other race. That’s not cool, guys. And this is coming from someone who voted multiple times for Norm.

Shenanigans.

"Boy, that is a gutless, 6-foot-7, .200-hitting formerly good player. What a joke." -Tom Grieve RE: Richie Sexson

by ghtd36 on May 28, 2008 12:01 PM CDT reply actions

I was wondering how long that would take. nm

http://www.RockMNation.com
Chance McDanielson for Heisman

by RPT on May 28, 2008 12:47 PM CDT up reply actions

He does have a good point (nm)

by The Beef on May 28, 2008 12:49 PM CDT reply actions

Officially, according to SBN, I'm a manager and you're an editor..

... and even we smell the shenanigans.

And, by the way ghtd36, you can’t declare shenanigans without using the first four seconds of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsczbJhuO1A

http://www.RockMNation.com
Chance McDanielson for Heisman

by RPT on May 28, 2008 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Well then manager...

help me get my bio picture loaded…as editor I cannot get it on there for some reason

"Write a wise saying and your name will love forever." - Anonymous

by The Beef on May 28, 2008 1:11 PM CDT up reply actions

I don't know what to tell you, man...

My best guess is that it’s too large or something.

How’s that for expertise?

http://www.RockMNation.com
Chance McDanielson for Heisman

by RPT on May 28, 2008 1:45 PM CDT up reply actions

not impressed with the expertise...

will try it from home I guess

"Write a wise saying and your name will love forever." - Anonymous

by The Beef on May 28, 2008 2:31 PM CDT up reply actions

I was thinking the same thing

If you wanted to crown Norm, than you shouldn’t have left it up for a vote. The Askren vote was not left open for nearly as long. Also, in other polls, when it was close, you left it open. Last night, I checked it, and Smith was still up by 5%. When I checked this morning, Stewart was crowned the winner. As I am a Chicago gal, I’m used to shady elections, but I expect better from Tigers.

by chitowntiger on May 28, 2008 1:01 PM CDT reply actions

I thought there may have been a 'shenanigans' called...

...honestly, I wanted to see a good race, and every time I decided it was over, there was a new “vote for Norm” post on Tigerboard or something, and the margin had shrunk some more, so I’d leave it open a bit longer…I still didn’t expect to see him leading when I pulled it up this morning. And in my defense, I left the Askren-Daniel poll open quite a long time too, even though it was a blowout, just to see how many votes we could get…of course, I called it too early, as another 100 people voted after I closed it…

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Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on May 28, 2008 1:07 PM CDT reply actions

So, it is shenanigans?

You were swayed by people who said vote for Norm, and him pulling from behind? That’s rather questionable. I’ll say it again – you got what you wanted, just next time, don’t go through the charade of calling it a vote, and I won’t go all over the place posting links to this site.

by chitowntiger on May 28, 2008 1:11 PM CDT reply actions

Besides...you would not want to meet a wrestler in the back alley

you have a much better shot at beating a basketball player in a fight…unless it is Kalen Grimes I guess….

What? Too soon?

"Write a wise saying and your name will love forever." - Anonymous

by The Beef on May 28, 2008 1:16 PM CDT up reply actions

TOO SOON!

Bottom line: as long as it seemed like a race, I had no problem keeping it open. At most, it was open a day later than Askren-Daniel. As long as shenanigans were minor (“the poll was open a long time”), I’m not as bothered as I would be by a “the same person voted 185 times” problem. As far as I know, that wasn’t a problem here. The “ballot stuffing” was people sharing the link, not “voting early and voting often”. And in the end, the poll was basically legitimate, as it was (I assume) mostly individual voters making the difference. The changeover to the new software apparently reset some folks’ votes on Tuesday (which was unintended, as I didn’t even think the changeover was supposed to happen until late Tuesday evening, and I was half-figuring the software changeover would kill the poll entirely), so technically you could have voted twice, but as far as internet polls go, I’m okay with that. I did vote for Norm, but as a “manager” of the site, my main goal was for as many people as possible to visit and vote, and as long as the votes kept coming in, I was okay with keeping it open.

Trust me…I want to keep you and the wrestling folks happy. :-) I’m already trying to figure out the best way to include wrestling in the next tournament (which will probably be Best Games…or Best Matches, I guess).

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http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on May 28, 2008 1:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Norm winning by three votes is still close

so by your logic, it should still be open. You closed it as soon as he pulled ahead. This wrestling person is not happy – but it’s your site to do with it as you choose. Just be a little bit more honest with your vote parameters in the future.

I’m not so annoyed that Norm won – if he won, he won – but that this site, which I have recommended to lots of people, was less than transparent in the way they ran this.

by chitowntiger on May 28, 2008 1:55 PM CDT reply actions

I'm updating the post now. (nm)

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http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on May 28, 2008 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Now...

...either everybody will be happy or everybody will be pissed. That’s the way this should work. :-)

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http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on May 28, 2008 2:12 PM CDT reply actions

Kinda shitty, but you can't get po'd about it. It's a BLOG!!

Norm v Brian Smith is like arguing “Who’s hotter; Elisha Cuthbert or Pam Anderson?” One is a little older, but would you really say ‘no’ if you got either?

http://www.Mizzourah.net

by Big Head on May 28, 2008 3:00 PM CDT reply actions

Ooh, don't mention Elisha Cuthbert around The Beef...

...he’ll start drooling all over his 24 DVDs..

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http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on May 28, 2008 3:36 PM CDT up reply actions

It's fair.

I guess I just am always a little sensitive when basketball is assumed to be the best, and when people say “This cannot happen” when Brian has accomplished some amazing things.

by chitowntiger on May 28, 2008 3:51 PM CDT reply actions

They're actually very similar...

...in that they both started with completely nothing and built a brand name. The only differences in my eyes (and the reason I voted for Norm) were a) longevity and b) he certainly had the ‘favorite son’ bonus by being a small-town Missourian and such a big contributor in baseball and basketball as a player. Granted, that’s as a player and not a coach, but it certainly added to his being the ‘face’ of the program. That said (as I mentioned the other day), Brian Smith didn’t get Mizzou put on probation, and finishing #3 in the country is like making the Final Four in basketball…something Norm never did. And it was very clear very quickly that a contingent of folks was going to end up pissed off with the result…so I’ve now chosen a result that nobody can like! That’s leadership!

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http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!

by Bill C. on May 28, 2008 4:08 PM CDT up reply actions