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The New \u201cRCN Sports Talk\u201d <\/em>\u00a0Football ANTI-Poll<\/strong><\/p>\n THE TIME HAS COME FOR REBELLION!<\/p>\n For the past several decades, RCN TV has featured a high school football poll on various sports shows.\u00a0 The poll first appeared on “This Week In Sports<\/em>“, and later became a regular feature on “RCN Sports Talk<\/em>“.\u00a0 As Lehigh Valley sports writers and broadcasters are often praised for their outstanding high school football coverage, I have always taken pride in the “RCN Sports Talk<\/em>” poll results.<\/p>\n In the RCN High School Football Poll, RCN TV\u2019s sports announcers\u00a0 vote for the top “big schools” and “small schools” within the Lehigh Valley.\u00a0 In addition, guest voters – athletic directors and football coaches in RCN TV\u2019s extended viewing area \u2013 are invited to participate in the poll.\u00a0 This ensures that the poll yields objective results.<\/p>\n In nine of the eleven years that I have tracked the results, our pre-season “big” and “small” number-one teams have won either a league or district title – or both.<\/p>\n However, before I can give a pat on the back to our collective staff (as I don\u2019t make scholastic predictions), I would like to highlight some of the interesting – and sometimes embarrassing – issues that have surfaced.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n (Curiously, all records of any of RCN TV\u2019s incorrect predictions were burned in a mysterious fire – the same\u00a0one that enveloped all of Joe Craig’s incorrect “Stone Cold Predictions” over the years.)<\/p>\n So what is my point?\u00a0 These ranking polls and their accuracy mean NOTHING.\u00a0 They’re for amusement purposes only and should be taken as such. \u00a0Local media members do an exceptional job bringing local sports to audiences – perhaps better than any scholastic region in the country.\u00a0 The polls are meant to add some flavor to our coverage, and nothing more.\u00a0 The steam that can\u00a0erupt from\u00a0the coaches\u2019 and players’ ears when they learn that their ranking is below their team\u2019s rival would be better served powering a small kitchen appliance than trying to get back at someone for “disrespecting them for their pick.”\u00a0 This brings me to my rebellious decision:<\/p>\n For the first time in the history of RCN TV (including in its previous entities), we will NOT be doing a high school football poll this fall!<\/p>\n Oh, the horror… the nerve!\u00a0 What gives Chris Michael the right to make a solitary decision and destroy decades of polling insights?\u00a0 How will people sleep at night without an\u00a0RCN high school football poll?<\/p>\n Okay, calm down.\u00a0 I’ve spent months coming up with an idea to help\u00a0you cope with this drastic and sacrilegious\u00a0course of action.\u00a0\u00a0My solution is:<\/p>\n\n