Most Extreme AP Voters

[Hoopie 6]

The attached link lists the most extreme AP voters. Taylor Zarzour won the prize. Voted AU as unranked and Bama as #23..........um.........what is his alma mater?

http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalk...mp;t2=0&v=0

[aubiescottie 1]

His poll is a complete disaster but he ranked bama 23

He can be reached at taylor@curtismedia.com <taylor@curtismedia.com>

I'd be interested to know if he has a little explanation for his poll, someone post it if they find it.

[rebdawg 5]

Taylor used to do talk radio in Mobile. My guess is he knew voting like this would get the attention of half a million Alabamians. This will get him invited on every radio station in the state.

[RVTiger 0]

He also had Tennessee and West Virginia unranked!! What was he smoking?

BTW, he is the sports director at WPTF-AM in Raleigh, NC. I sent him an email. The following are my exact words (I'll post his response to me verbatim if he sends one):

Mr. Zarzour:

One of the Auburn football websites I read regularly (AUNation) had reports about your recent AP vote. For some reason, you were the only AP voter (out of 65) that had Auburn unranked. What planet have you been visiting lately? You also had Tennessee and West Virginia unranked. Your AP peers have Auburn and West Virginia ranked in the Top 10 and Tennesse ranked in the Top 20. You see, Auburn has 17 starters returning to a team that had the 6th best defense in the country last year as well as arguably the best offensive line, backfield and kicking game in the SEC. And, the media guys that follow the SEC the closest, those at SEC Media days recently, voted Auburn to win the SEC West. I can understand how you voted our biggest rival (Alabama) #23, as they finished #24 in the initial AP poll, but to not rank Auburn at all tells me that you have absolutely no knowledge of college football. I guess it doesn't surprise me that someone located in the heart of one of the weaker conferences (ACC) in college football would want to try and make the SEC (the undisputed best conference in the country) look bad. Just for the record sir, would you kindly provide me with your credentials to be a sports reporter, I'm looking for you college alma mater and degree. I will report verbatim on AUNation so that all can see that you are really qualified to be a bonafide sports reporter.

[RVTiger 0]

I got a very quick reply from Mr. Zarzour. The following is his response:

All of my info can be found here: http://wptf.com/showdj.asp?DJID=38954. I went to Huntingdon in Montgomery.

I am picking Auburn to go 8-4. They are more talented than that, but I worry about having so many new parts (OC, DC, and QB's). The SEC is so ridiculous that its hard to make that many changes.

They certainly could prove me wrong, and if so I will gladly rank them where they deserve to be (Top 10 to 15). As you know surprising things happen every year.

Good luck this season,

TZ

[rtftiger 40]

Taylor used to do talk radio in Mobile. My guess is he knew voting like this would get the attention of half a million Alabamians. This will get him invited on every radio station in the state.

Bingo

[townhallsavoy 2]

So he's basing his preseason polls on how he thinks the season will turn out.

He has Ohio St at 13, which means he thinks they'll lose two games.

California at 6 - so Cal will lose one game to #1 USC.

Boise St at 11 - meaning they're probably undefeated.

And if Auburn can't crack the top 25 with four losses, that means Notre Dame only loses 3 (a year after only winning 3) in order to take that last spot.

What a tool.

Hey guys, while you're at your real jobs busting your ass to support your life, this guy is getting paid for this.

[aubiescottie 1]

we'll just keep an eye out for him...

His theory is that coaching is significantly more important than the talent on the field, not having WVU on there clears that up.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

He's my least favorite kind of voter. RANKINGS are NOT the same as PREDICTIONS! If you think Team A would beat Team B... that's the damn order you rank them in the pre-season. I don't care if UGA has a tougher schedule. I don't care if you think OSU plays one difficult game. I don't care if Clemson has a cake walk in the ACC. If you think UGA is better than OSU or Clemson is no better than the tenth team in the nation... that's the way you rank them. You write prediciton columns. You vote based on how good teams actually are. Your impression of the teams should change as the teams prove or disprove (by winning and losing) what you think of them, but it should not EVER be based on what you PREDICT down the line in the schedule.

[JohnDeere 0]

Just some FYI......Zarzour is a Middle Eastern sir name with roots from Lebanon and Syria.

This guy's daddy is probably from Syria. What does he know about football besides kicking it into a net for one point?

[weagle251 1]

He's my least favorite kind of voter. RANKINGS are NOT the same as PREDICTIONS! If you think Team A would beat Team B... that's the damn order you rank them in the pre-season. I don't care if UGA has a tougher schedule. I don't care if you think OSU plays one difficult game. I don't care if Clemson has a cake walk in the ACC. If you think UGA is better than OSU or Clemson is no better than the tenth team in the nation... that's the way you rank them. You write prediciton columns. You vote based on how good teams actually are. Your impression of the teams should change as the teams prove or disprove (by winning and losing) what you think of them, but it should not EVER be based on what you PREDICT down the line in the schedule.

I disagree. Rankings are entirely subjective, and preseason rankings are most definitely predictions. Otherwise, you wouldn't have a team or two in the preseason top 10 dropping like a stone out of the polls year in and year out. How exactly are you supposed to vote on how good a team actually is when you have no data about how they've played? The only objective ranking you've got is divisional record and the eventual winner of your conference championship game. Everything beyond that is opinion subject to coverage and regional biases.

That being said, Zarzour seems pretty far off. His point about having all our changes come back to bite us could have some validity, but I'm convinced he's wrong. Zarzour grew up a fan of the Tarheels and the Tahd.

[SKCAUB 0]

Taylor used to do talk radio in Mobile. My guess is he knew voting like this would get the attention of half a million Alabamians. This will get him invited on every radio station in the state.

ALABAMANS...just sayin'....

[TigerHeat 9]

Just some FYI......Zarzour is a Middle Eastern sir name with roots from Lebanon and Syria.

This guy's daddy is probably from Syria. What does he know about football besides kicking it into a net for one point?

I don't know. Why don't you tell us when you get back from getting your sheets drycleaned for the rally and cross burning. Tuberville's a French name....what's he know about football?

That was a stupid thing to say.

[rtftiger 40]

I don't know. Why don't you tell us when you get back from getting your sheets drycleaned for the rally and cross burning. Tuberville's a French name....what's he know about football?

That was a stupid thing to say.

Thank you.

[bellefay1 1]

I got a kick out his explanations for his rankings. Auburn has a hard schedule b/c they play LSU, UT and UGA at home though Alabama plays all three of those teams on the road and are slated to win a few of the games.

It's great that he has opinion and can voice it however he wants, it's disturbing that things like the AP and Coaches Vote factor into how we select our "champion" in college football.

Anyone ever think of the dynamics of the Coaches Poll? Despite spending their Saturday doing little things like coaching a football game for their job, the coaches are supposed to accurately judge all 100 something teams and formulate a top 25 in roughly 8 hours after their game?

cough *playoff* cough

[AURainman 6]

On ITAT radio yesterday, Jason Caldwell made the following observations...

Things Zarzour was not afraid to admit.

1. He is an avid Alabama fan.

2. He grew up worshiping the Tide.

Zarzour pulled the following off of his online bio after his picks became public...

1. Favorite sports moment #1...Bama over Miami in 1993. (Not a big deal)

2. Favorite sports moment #2...Whenever UT or AU lose.

THIS GUY VOTES IN THE FRICKIN' AP POLL! IT COUNTS!! HIS VOTE DECIDES WHO WILL OR WILL NOT PLAY FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP! THIS GUY IS TOTALLY UNFIT TO BE VOTING!

[MDM4AU 336]

This guy has allegedly gotten some really nasty emails threatening his life and children. That is just not acceptable as Auburn people. If any of you are part of the group that has done this, you really need to take a break and really evaluate what is important in your life.

I don't agree with this guy and I firmly believe his allegiance to UAT shaped his opinion to some extent. But he is entitled to his opinion and the best way to prove him wrong and put him in his place is to win on the field. And none of us has any bearing on that.

[WAR-MATT 2]

This guy has allegedly gotten some really nasty emails threatening his life and children. That is just not acceptable as Auburn people. If any of you are part of the group that has done this, you really need to take a break and really evaluate what is inportant in your life.

I don't agree with this guy and I firmly believe his allegiance to UAT shaped his opinion to some extent. But he is entitled to his opinion and the best way to prove him wrong and put him in his place is to win on the field. And none of us has any bearing on that.

I totally agree with you. But I do think the AP needs to do a little better job selecting their voters.

[JohnDeere 0]

I don't know. Why don't you tell us when you get back from getting your sheets drycleaned for the rally and cross burning. Tuberville's a French name....what's he know about football?

That was a stupid thing to say.

Thank you.

Just go ahead and slap the bammer on the ass and give him an "ataboy" for trashing Auburn.

[AURainman 6]

Just go ahead and slap the bammer on the ass and give him an "ataboy" for trashing Auburn.

You totally missed the point. Instead of attacking this dude's ability to reason football you chose to take the following approach...

1. State his namesake nationality.

2. Immediately dump him into a category based on said name.

3. Rip him for something completely unrelated.

It was a blatantly racist thing to do. If that's how you see the world, you suck at life.

With ANY amount of intelligent thought, you could've deduced that he actually was a football fan. Sad for you.

[JohnDeere 0]

Just go ahead and slap the bammer on the ass and give him an "ataboy" for trashing Auburn.

You totally missed the point. Instead of attacking this dude's ability to reason football you chose to take the following approach...

1. State his namesake nationality.

2. Immediately dump him into a category based on said name.

3. Rip him for something completely unrelated.

It was a blatantly racist thing to do. If that's how you see the world, you suck at life.

With ANY amount of intelligent thought, you could've deduced that he actually was a football fan. Sad for you.

1. State his namesake nationality.

2. Immediately dump him into a category based on said name.

You are exactly right. I hate all Syrians, due to a work related incident in which I witnessed a Jordanian company with Syrian employees defraud the U.S. government to the tone of about 250,000 U.S. dollars.

You are correct, I suck at life dealing with the Ali Zarzour's of the world while the the rest of you bitch and moan about some idiot in Mobile who is an AP Football poll voter, then bash me for bashing the said idiot.

I think I'll take another six month break from this board.

[weagle251 1]

Wow. Just... wow.

Don't do anybody any favors.

[Bama My Heart 5]

This guy has allegedly gotten some really nasty emails threatening his life and children. That is just not acceptable as Auburn people. If any of you are part of the group that has done this, you really need to take a break and really evaluate what is important in your life.

I don't agree with this guy and I firmly believe his allegiance to UAT shaped his opinion to some extent. But he is entitled to his opinion and the best way to prove him wrong and put him in his place is to win on the field. And none of us has any bearing on that.

I am just glad that ya'll have some redneck fans just like we do. This is what happens when you are winning. Fans come out of the woodwork, and maybe the kind that you want. I think that we all take our football seriously, but some people just want to go crazy. Nothing is more important than human life, and the feeling of security, and no one should threaten this. It's one thing to say whatever you want on a sports board, but to call or send an email to some guy threatening his life and children is just sick. I am not knocking your fans, because believe me, I know that we have some that would do this, and I'd like to just slap them around for being so stupid.

[autiger4life 3]

What I don't understand is that he predicts Auburn to be 8-4 at the end of the year. That means we would beat either UT, LSU, UGA, UA, or WVU, plus all the other games. I believe with that record we would be ranked. That is where I don't understand him.

[autiger4life 3]

You are exactly right. I hate all Syrians, due to a work related incident in which I witnessed a Jordanian company with Syrian employees defraud the U.S. government to the tone of about 250,000 U.S. dollars.

You are correct, I suck at life dealing with the Ali Zarzour's of the world while the the rest of you bitch and moan about some idiot in Mobile who is an AP Football poll voter, then bash me for bashing the said idiot.

Yea, I understand that. I mean a close family member of mine lost his job because Richard Scrushy defrauded investors and we lost a lot of money and retirement because of that. That is why I hate all Americans and most white people in general.

Oh wait, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Because I realize that while Scrushy is a white American that doesn't mean anything negative about other white americans. It means he sucks.