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So according to the Simon Formula the "Toughest D.III League" is III.5.

I can confirm that, according to the sophisticated and proprietary "hrudey gets shafted into the toughest divisions and has the crappiest cup draws" formula that III.5 also appears to be the strongest III, adjusting for my team's relative impressive level of not-quite-mediocrity.

Wow, III.2 Chuck Norris? I actually thought we are somewhere between the 50 and 75 percentile.

Great conversation. I don't necessarily think that national rankings are the way to go but I like the debate! As a competitor in Div III.16 I can attest to the fact that our league is solid but we have some wildly inconsistent teams, my team being among them.

And the "Easiest D.III League" is III.10.

I should have never left! How do I reserve a spot upon relegation? I do have phat cash. Nice write up God of Gonja.

I think a good gage is total wins.

In III.5, 12 out of the 16 teams have 6 or more wins, and the teams with 6 wins are both in range the fourth playoff spot on both sides.
And even the 7th and 8th place teams on the Big 8 side are in a battle not to get auto relegated.....and they are solid teams in their own right.

Last edited by BarryS at 10/18/2012 3:07:46 PM

What if I promise to bring a small payroll through the All Star break?

Thanks for the shoutout. :-)

Hopefully, the Simon Formula for league toughness isn't totally incomprehensible. It's built on a number of assumptions:

1) What makes a league tough is how its teams compare to other league's teams that are in the same positions vis-a-vis the post-season.
2) CR is twice as important as # of wins and PD in comparing teams.
3) In determining a league's toughness, the toughness of the #1 team is twice as important as the #2, which in turn is twice as important as the #3, which is twice as important as the #4.
4) The relegation games are 1/5 as important as the playoffs for determining toughness.
5) The toughness of the #5 and #8 teams doesn't matter, except in how they position other teams for the post-season.

It's not perfect, but it uses readily available data and directly relates to the post-season and HCA. And like any arbitrary system, provides grist for the mill. (BCS standings, anyone?)