Potentially flawed system?

[Cecil]

So, just watching the BASS blog for the last tourney of the year and KVD has over 15 pounds they say. They show Reese in about 3rd place. Maybe its just me but if Reese doesn't win AOY they really need to look at their scoring system. I understand it makes for an interesting last couple tournaments, but I think it was interesting before this as well. Reese has had the best year I will ever see on a major circuit and has a good chance to not win AOY.

Just my .02

[Craigums]

agreed

[swampbuck]

Yep I like KVD but skeet has been AOY the last two years in my opinion

Flawed system that two events can change the year like that.

[Superduty]

Also agree. Another points championship ruined by ESPN and TV ratings.

[TR21HP]

Maybe it will be different next year when ESPN won't be involved in BASS. They dropped them from their coverage and will devote more time to NASCAR and Soccer. When you think of it, it's not much different than any other sport as you have the regular season champ and the post season champ, which ends up being the overall champ.

[Timmy D]

I thought it sucked that BASS followed Nascar with the post season [PoorWordUsage].

KVD is awesome, but he was not the best angler for the year. He was the best for the month.

For me, the idea of Angler of the year should go to the guy that had the best year, overall, based on performance in all the tourneys.

They already have the Classic which is a one time event, a tournament of champion since you need to qualify to fish it.

Personally, I would like to see BASS go back to the way it was. Fishing the season to crown Angler of the Year and then the Classic to follow for the guys that qualify. Quit trying to be like Nascar.

[Cecil]

Agreed. Heard Skeet say "In my mind I already won AOY"

I think they already have it planned for the same system next year, but maybe they can change it, who knows

[Daze Off]

Have not followed it too closely since it is not on the tube anymore but from the comments above it sounds like the NFL - early records don't mean much - it is the team that is hot coming down the stretch that moves on...isn't that what you're saying is happening in B.A.S.S.? Skeet was hot early but here comes KVD at the end of the season. The Super Bowl winner is not the one who finishes the regular season with the most wins...has to be won on the field.

Right? Wrong?

[Cecil]

Somewhat true, but still different. In the NFL they have playoffs where you are seeded and play one team at a time. BASS took points from throughout the year (not done in nfl) and then re-calculated those numbers to make it closer for the last 2 tournaments. Making Skeets 100+ point lead about 10. I can't know for sure, but if he had finished top 10 in the two that he didn't, would he still probably would of lost. Like I said, best year I will ever see and the guy doesn't get AOY. Not right IMO...

[grab the net]

Bassmaster Classic is the playoffs, you qualify to get there, it is the bass fishing equivalent to the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanely Cup, NBA Finals, Final Four. AOY - is the most consistent angler over the course of the season. Not a points adjustment to make for some drama and tv shows later in the year. Skeet was the most consistent, dominate angler for 2010 BASS season. At the end of he season he had a 350 point lead over the # 12 qualifier and a 106 point lead over # 2. The adjustment for the AOY format shrunk it to 39 points over # 12 to 15 points over # 2. Did it keep me interested, you bet, will I watch the TV show, No. System is all about BASS making some money at the end of year, right or wrong, I don't know. It's a business and the bottom line is what does it take to make a profit. But I know they got this AOY format all wrong.

[Craigums]

Well said Mr. Clunn

------------------------

Four-time Bassmaster Classic winner Rick Clunn recently gave BassFans his take on the U.S. Open cheating incident, and today he called to offer his opinion on the Bassmaster Elite Series post-season. He wishes it'd never been dreamt up.

"Really the thing that's a very sad travesty is what's been done to Skeet Reese the last couple of years," he said of the Californian who led the Angler of the Year (AOY) points list after each of the last 2 regular seasons, but lost the title to Kevin VanDam in the post-season on each occasion. "I'm not trying to pick on Kevin – I'm one of his biggest fans and all he does is goes out and fishes as hard as he can, and he's really a victim in this too with some people claiming it's his fault. But I can't imagine how anybody thinks this is a fair system.

"Skeet had a lead of over a hundred points, and then through somebody's mathematical ignorance it gets reduced down to 15 points. Then (BASS) makes the (4 post-season days spread over two events) more important than the other 32 days the man has fished during the season.

"They want to make it more like NASCAR," he continued, "but NASCAR has never been a fair sport, anyway. People in that sport have always tried to pull shenanigans and I don't think it's something we should be trying to copy. The people who run these tournaments don't understand how important the format is to the integrity, and what they've done is taken away the credibility of the Angler of the Year."

Clunn called Reese's season – which included two wins, two runner-up finishes and two 5ths in eight outings – one of the best he can recall in his 37 years as a tour pro.

"I understand that they want (the AOY race) to be competitive going down to the end, but they've really erased a historical year – they've basically put a lid on it and artificially gutted it. This is a farce and it's embarrassing and it's not fair to anybody.

"Anytime you try to handicap or socialize a performance-based sport, the end result is that you end up diluting it. Maybe it didn't seem so bad last year when the points were closer going in, but this year it's really been exposed."

[Timmy D]

Yep

[NTW]

Exactly right.

[bassfshin24]

Yeah they need to go back to the old ways. What an amazing year Skeet had though...actually amazing 2 years. KVD is my fav but definitely think Skeet deserved it the past 2 years.