BBall_Fan

Isn't it odd that some of the comments made about this weeks Whitwell vs. South Pittsburg game were in reference to this situation? Maybe this was just a ploy by Whitwell to intimidate all the teams they play... It never ceases to amaze me how so many people can make excuses for such "neanderthal actions" by an upset parent/fan. And it'd be a safe bet that most (if not all) of those excuses are from Whitwell fans. There aren't any excuses for what this guy did. The coaches, players, and refs are the ONLY people who are supposed to be on the court. What makes this instance even worse is that this guy is supposed to be an upstanding citizen, a government employee, and even more, he should be setting an example for our kids to follow. What a FINE EXAMPLE of our tax dollars at work. Maybe he needs to take some of those "anger management courses" that I'm sure he recommends to the very people he works with. Any other parent (with the least bit of common courtesy AND sense) would have pulled the coach aside (away from the crowd) and asked him about it. But this guy just has to make a scene and ruin it for both teams. I'm sure in his eyes, he's a super-hero to the Whitwell fans. Afterall, he got some payback on the old coach by jumping him in a crowd of people. Woohoo!! What he failed to realize, was that to the rest of the world he's just another idiot.

OBVIOUSLY, Hats off to BOTH teams and coaches for a game well played last night. From what I've heard, it was a hard-fought match and neither team ever gave up or gave in. I understand everyone's entitled to an opinion but I don't understand how any school official can allow fans to attack coaches, players, or anyone else associated with a sporting event or school activity and NOT ban them from attendance. How many times, in recent years, have we read about people asssociated with sporting events being hurt or even killed by an irate parent or fan? In my eyes, they're all just condoning such behavior when they try to overlook it or make excuses for it (for ANY reason). I honestly can't see why the home-team school officials didn't have the guy escorted out immediately and banned from school property. Would they look at it the same if a coach went up into the stands and attacked a fan? I'd venture to say he'd be looking for a new job today (and have a hard time finding one). Players, coaches, other fans, or anybody else for that matter, could get hurt in an altercation and open up a whole batch of lawsuits against a school system and/or their officials. Every fan should be required to act in a dignified manner at all times. Let the people know you won't tolerate such behavior from anyone and let the kids be proud of their schools and their fans and enjoy their sports. The school officials are just as guilty by not punishing the people who behave in such a manner. By making excuses or overlooking it, they give the appearance that they approve of it and only help to promote more of it in the future. Once again, just my opinion

Another post said some redneck idiot from Whitwell came out of the stands on the MC coach after the game. What a hoot! I'm sure the people of Whitwell is proud of hims for standing up for dem and there teem and doin' that . If you think about it, their final score of the game was probably higher than this guy's IQ anyway. Personally, I think he should be banned from any future school events and he should be sitting in jail today too. Too many coaches and Officials have been injured by irate or just plain idiotic parents and fans. Coaches and officials should be protected from irate fans and if some idiot decides to take out his frustrations or show his lack of common sense and SPORTSMANSHIP, he should be eligible for time to sit in a jail cell and figure out what "NOT TO DO" if they ever allow him into any kind of sporting event again.

I've seen some similar incidents that you speak of but unless you've just got some blatantly "one-sided" refs, all the so-called "bad calls" usually even out over the course of the game. I have to agree that it's one of the most unfulfilling jobs to have and I know I wouldn't do it. What makes it even less desirable is that they've always got the stands full of critics and self-made refs who think they know the game better than the officials on the floor. Those people need to be out there doing the job if they actually know every rule and think they can see every call. Amazingly, even they (the self-made refs) only seem to see the fouls and such from the opposing team and never their own. One thing that irks me is when the fans are always screaming "WALK!" as soon as an opposing player takes a step with the ball. Maybe the refs should just go over the rules with the fans before each game so some of these people might actually know what they are. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's a Thankless Job but somebody's got to do it. You have to give these people a break from time to time. When you have a close game and the stands are full of screaming fans, they're gonna miss a few every once in a while.

With the Kilgore girl scoring as much as she has as of late, it'll be interesting to see how Whitwell handles this one. Any predictions?

I don't totally agree that JV should only be freshman and sophomores. My opinion has always been that the varsity squad is the more experienced and higher caliber players on the team. In a rare instance, you may have a junior or senior suddenly decide they want to play a sport even though they have limited (or no) experience, but by the same token, you may have an excellent freshman who is a natural and has lived and breathed sports all his life and deserves to be on varsity. I've just always looked at JV being the newer or lesser experienced players (no matter what grade they're in). Personally, I feel that the only time a varsity player should EVER be allowed to play on JV is if they're 2nd or 3rd string. I don't think coaches should ever be allowed put their varsity starters in and should even be penalized if they're caught doing so.

This applies to ALL sports, not just basketball and not only the boys teams. What's this with all the Varsity players being allowed to play on Junior Varsity whenever the coach wants? This is just personal opinion, but I feel that coaches should have a JV and Varsity roster and varsity players shouldn't be able to "play down" just so the team can get a win. It's obvious they're not JV players since they are playing on the Varsity squad already. For one thing, it's not fair to the other players and teams, but what's the point in having JV if the lesser skilled players can't get the experience on the court, field, etc.. It just seems that coaches are only interested in winning at any cost, no matter what level they're coaching at. It seems like nobody wants to think of tomorrow and developing a team for next year. Whatever happened to fair play and sportsmanship? Do none of these teams/coaches have a conscience anymore? Enough of my "venting"...now we feel all better

How'd the game go against Notre Dame tonight?

How are they gonna stack up against the competition this year? I understand both squads (boys and girls) have new coaching staffs. I'm not certain about returning players on either, but I understand the boy's coach is fairly new to coaching. How have they faired so far?