On the road again ...

There’s nothing quite like the CIF Playoffs, whether it’s football

or tennis, water polo or volleyball, hearts beat a little faster,

coaches seem a little more intent and everybody, God bless ‘em, wants

an edge.

It’s the edge which is the subject here, and I continue to wonder

when someone will take a look at the playoffs system and realize

there is a limit to the “balanced” field, as in home teams.

The system is such that once you get past the first round,

champions are given no preference in terms of home sites, it’s just a

matter of who was home in the first round, or if both teams were

home, or away, a coin flip determines the host school.

One can argue that if you’re good enough, you should be able to

play anywhere and win. And that’s true.

Here’s the basic scenario. Each league’s No. 1 entry is assured a

home game in the first round, and No. 2 entries are pitted against

one another with a coin flip determining the home team, and the No. 3

entries are on the road against those No. 1 teams. After that, home

teams are determined either by who has been on the road the least, or

by coin flip if all things are equal.

And this is the rub, the following rounds: Teams who managed to

get into the playoffs through the back door, as in an at-large team

(No. 16 to round out the bracket, or a “third-place” team) are given

preference over a champion, and it’s faithful, which deserves

recognition for its accomplishments.

Case(s) in point:

Newport Harbor’s Sea View League champion girls volleyball team,

the Division II-AA’s No. 1 seed, was on the road Saturday night, at

Cathedral City, a team which was second in its league and slipped

into the second round with a five-game win at La Mirada.

Corona del Mar High’s girls tennis team, seeded No. 3 in Division

I, was at the No. 3 team from the Sea View League, Aliso Niguel

Saturday morning. Aliso, 8-11 in the regular season, was a winner at

Claremont in the first round, thus was an automatic home team against

the powerful CdM contingent.

Sage Hill, third-seeded in Division V girls tennis, was at Azusa,

another team which gained a berth in the playoffs with a wild-card

win after finishing third in the Montview League.

What I’m getting at here, is that seeded teams, as in the top

four, deserve a preference in terms of game sites. And so do their

fans, who usually outnumber the opposition by a considerable margin.

In many instances, coin flips and consideration of how many home

matches one has had are valid, but when it comes to a seeding

process, it should take preference depending on how deep the bracket

is seeded.

Seeding 1 through 32 is probably not feasible, but aside from the

seeded preference of 1-2-3-4, wouldn’t a No. 1 entry from any league

deserve preference over a No. 2 or 3 entry?

Wouldn’t coin flips, or the home-away equation be more equitable

within the groups of 1s, 2s and 3s? No third-place team deserves to

be the home team when playing a champion. But that’s the system which

has been used now for a long time, all in the name of so-called

fairness.

Years ago this was not a problem, because virtually only champions

were invited to the playoffs.

Expansion of the playoffs, which is good in every sense, brings on

this dilemma.

Third-place teams have already been granted all the fairness in

the world by just being invited to the dance.

Can you imagine the NFL using the same sort of rules? If you were

home in the first round and your opponent was away in the first

round, then regardless of the of records or finish in your division,

you’re away this week?

Try and sell that one to Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Bill Cowher.

The state playoffs are indeed already determined as the brackets

are put together. If it has been determined that you are the No. 4

seed, than any foe below that must travel. And if you’re up against

No. 3 or above, than you travel.

These are almost always within an eight-team bracket for the

North, and another for the South.

Distance is one of the factors in the state philosophy. You know

immediately whether you’re home or away and are able to make advance

plans.

Often when the playoffs get past the first round, coaches are

hoping they lose the coin flip for the second-round match, because

the system gives them the better possibility of having a home match

in the quarterfinals, or semifinals, depending on the depth of the

bracket.

If it is right for the state playoffs, then why is it not right

for playoffs at a lower level, as in section playoffs?

Several years ago one parent threatened a lawsuit because his

son’s school was a champion and was on the road in the second round.

I’m not suggesting anything remotely as stupid as that, but I am

suggesting coaches and administrators within the CIF Southern

Section’s governing body take a look and see if they’ve got it right.