[BrendanB]

I have no problem with the rules as is. What I find interesting about the analogy of being invited to a party you know the host doesn't want you at is exactly the opposite in the scorched earth strategy. Its not that the host doesn't want you, its that the party goer doesn't want the invitation.

I think we rarely see the scorched earth strategy played out like we think it is. Most of the time it is genuinely a team that has seeded high and they are just going down their pick list of top teams until they get a yes. That is them doing their job. Anyone in their shoes would do the exact same thing, pick the top teams.

In the cases where it really is scorched earth, it is still playing smart. FIRST will never come up with a ranking system that is completely fair and ranks teams properly. More qualification matches or grading different metrics will fix that. Until then there will still be teams who sneak into the top 8 or powerful teams who don't perform on their game and seed low.