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Let's not BS everyone on this board about JD. If he want's a kid in MBA the kid will get in even if JD has to pay the tuition. MBA had better play nice with JD or they will spend the next 50 years without the home that JD owns across the street which would mean no facilities progress due to the fact that MBA is land locked. If you guys keep screwing with JD he will take his deeppppppppppppppppppppp pocketsssssssssssssssssssssssssssss and move down the street with his classmates (aka Ricky & The Boyz) and laugh when he sticks to old MBA. Don't think for a minute that a meeting about this very topic has not taken place.

The winner of the TSSAA vs BA legal battle will tell everyone what they are going to do and when they are going to do it.

I will say it again, the best way to regulate the problem in Tennessee is to have 4 classifications in football, basketball & baseball. All private schools must play in AA, AAA or AAAA unless they are starting one of the three sports listed above. If small private school X wanted to start a football program they would be allowed to play in class A for one scheduling period to get their feet on the ground and to help them build a program. The schools that offer financial aid must play in AAA or AAAA depending on the number of students they have.

And how many times has this rule been used? With a cost of $30,000.00 per year for boarding students I seriously soubt that kids would transfer to a boarding school for athletic reasons as it would be less expensive to rent an apartment for $750.00 per month.

I have been told that several of the players that were invited turned down the invitation for various reasons. Most of the "big time" D1 kids are already in school working out and others have the fear of injury in a game that they have nothing to gain. Some of the college coaches are advising players not to participate for fear of injury. My guess is that some of the invited players from region 4 or 5 5A decilined the invitation.

Gray is taking a big risk playing football next year. He is one hard tackle away from no baseball in college or the mlb draft. With a Vanderbilt education worth $48,000.00 per year he is risking $192,000.00 just for college not counting what a signing bonus could be. It is simple economics 101.

Just a few thoughts: Do most of the student/athletes that sign with D1 schools for football and basketball not attend public schools? Do most people not claim that the D15A school are better in football & basketball than the D2 schools? Is it not free to attend public schools? Does it not cost big $$$$$$$$$$$ to attend private schools? If the above thoughts are true then why would the public schools not want to play the private schools?

Let's all keep in mind that all decisions or changes must make sound economic sense for the schools and the TSSAA. With that being said, I would promote the following ideas: Go to 4 divisions in football, basketball, and baseball. All financial aid giving schools must play in 3A or 4A depending on the number of students they have. Continue to use the multiplier for the private schools that do not offer financial aid. Play a 10 game football schedule but do not start until the Friday before Labor Day. Football practice starts on the 1st Monday of August. Go back to 7 or 8 team districts and you must finish in the top 2 in order to advance to the football playoffs. All other teams that have 7 wins may attend a bowl game. It does not make sound economic sense to kick anyone out when you are short of funds. The thing to do is reduce the number of divisions and the number of teams going to the playoffs. By allowing civic organizations to have invitational bowl games the TSSAA would receive the same gate % that they now receive for the playoffs and local organizations could also share in the revenue.

Nathan Brown: Hillsboro High School & Trevecca Chris Mercado: John Overton High School & Trevecca Nick Hiter: Hillsboro High School, Trevecca & Professional Baseball Page is in one of the last rual areas of Williamson County, the school is not close to capacity and very little athletic talent is zoned to Page. What these 3 young men did with Page in their first season is just short of amazing. With Page not close to being full it is now open zoned for Willismson County students wishing to provide their own transportation so I look for some very good baseball players to start selecting to attend Page in the furture.

Page High School has the best young staff in Tennessee. Head Coach: Nathan Brown Assistant: Chris Mercado Assistant: Nick Hiter

McGavock like most Metro schools is facing a ton of problems both with academics and athletics. Very few of the old McGavock baseball alumni have kids in the McGavock zone (two of the Liddle brothers had their kids at Franklin and Ezell Harding) as most of them have moved outside of Davidson County or have placed their kids in private schools. Rotary Park does not have the numbers that it once did and the competition is not as tough. Most of the good players from Rotary go to play @ Music City or Donelson Sports Complex after their 10 yr old seasons so that they can travel and play better competition. Between DCA, Goodpasture, Ezell Harding, David Lipscomb, Father Ryan, Pope John Paul II, MBA, Harpeth Hall and Ensworth some of the best student/athletes have decided to select private educaton over the local public school. Let's also not forget that many of the students zoned for McGavock have elected to attend Hume Fogg or Martin Luther King which are great magnet schools.

No, it's not a conflict of interest because it has such a strong field. The only complaint that I have heard about yours is that it's not true pool play or true double elimination.

What is the strongest high school tournament in Tennessee and why is it strong? Listed below are a few ideas: USA Classic, McCallie, Riverdale, Sports Belle

When you volunteer to be a part of an organization you have to do what is best for the organization as a whole and not one team or one classification.

Congratulations to Brandon Wright (Houston) , Kelly Felix (Franklin) & John Michael Simpson (Montgomery Bell Academy) who were all ranked 12th in their weight classification and announced as All-Americans. When Amateur Wrestling News considers you an All-American it is a very big honor.

You may have it figured out but here is another idea. Most of the small private schools are located in large urban communities and those public schools have gone to heck in a hand basket and everyone that lives in those communities knows that is true. The parents in Davidson County have two good public schools and those are MLK & Hume Fogg and both of those are magnet schools that require not only great academics but you must also be selected through a lottery process. If your child is not chosen in the lottery most of the parents then turn to private schools or move to Williamson, Rutherford or Wilson counties (look at the athletics & the recent championships won in those counties and how fast they are growing with young families) where the public schools are good. When people leave Davidson or Shelby County schools it's not only for academics it's also due to their fear that the schools are not safe. The gangs are running the public schools in all large metropolitian areas (police officers will tell you this) and just look at what took place at the Whites Creek graduation last evening where they had two gun fights with one 15 year old child being shot in the arm. Would you want to teach in that enviroment or have your child attend one of those schools? Yes, MP will have it's problems but it will not have the safety problems of the urban schools.

Yes, it could be that a large group of athletes are were born to wealthy families but neither one of us feel that is true. Please MPHS answer all of the questons with honest answers or just ignore the post and move onto something else.

Let me ask a couple of questions: 1. Back in the 60's, 70's, 80's and part of the 90's the TSSAA had no D1 & D2 and only had two or three classifications for the most part. Why did the private schools not dominate during those years? I understand that many of the small private schools were established in the late 60's & early 70's. 2. What are we teaching our youth if we don't compete against the private or public schools? 3. Could you take the good private school coaching staffs and place them in a rual public school and would they be successful? Why would they be successful or why would they not be successful?

Ask yourself a few questions and you will have your answer: What schools do the editors children attend? The large businesses that purchase the advertising have children and what schools do they attend?

By going to a best 2 out of 3 series in the sectionals it would prove which team has the best staff and not the best #1 pitcher. There is no doubt that David's plan would have a positive result in two different areas: 1. Teams would work to have a staff and not try to schedule their district games where their #1 & #2 would throw all of their games. 2. The TSSAA & participating schools would receive more money due to the extra games. This would be playoff baseball and the crowds would be huge which means larger gates, parking and concessions.

How many of the SD players played with those great Knoxville Stars teams?

David, Your plan is great and it would result in the TSSAA making more money so they may consider it.

Is Benjie Fesmire related to Dr. Robert Fesmire who was a kicker for BGA & Mississippi State or Ryan Fesmire that played baseball for Mississippi State?

Some things never change, look what they did with the Catipano kid last season the D's son played on the same team with him. Until you guy's in Knoxville start screaming at Mike Hamilton nothing is going to change. What could Corbin do at Tennessee where the admission standards are not as high and the tuition is much more reasonable?

This is the problem with the TBCA selection process. The coaches volunteer their time and efforts but many have little if any experience conducting showcase events. The chief problems are D1 vs D2 vs AAA vs A vs AA plus some of the players are in the state tournament and their coach is not going to allow them to tryout for fear of injury. When a player only get's 10 pitches to hit (some of the BP pitchers are poor @ best) and a few ground balls or fly balls and are allowed to run the 60 yard dash it's difficult for anyone to select a team if they don't know the players. This is why most of the coaches select their own players or players that they have seen play. Is this process fair? No, but what would be a better process? Down here is South Florida the players coach recomends the player for the team and the head coach makes all of the decisions. Is this any more fair than what you do in Tennessee? I don't feel that it is.