Daily Dose: Oct. 20 - Power rankings

what are they?

what purpose do they serve?

who cares?

I don't know who came up with this idea and I really don't know why editors felt it was a good enough idea to waste precious newsprint or web space on.

These "power rankings" mean nothing, say nothing, are worth nothing, yet they're continually thought up and churned out and put on the front page of web sites like they're relevant.

As far as I can tell, homefield advantage in pro baseball, football or basketball isn't determined by said power ranking. Pole position at the Daytona 500 isn't determined by a power ranking. Hell - the two sports where rankings matter (NCAA football & basketball) don't use a "power ranking" to determine anything either.

I wish I could come up with a more clever word for these things, but "stupid" pretty much says it all.