RustyO

Thanks for the update silverpie. goblue - A scrum started in front of the Knoxville goalie during the second period. Nothing big, just some pushing, shoving, talking and hugging. Part of the pile fell down and the smallest player on the ice decided he was going to get involved by stomping his skate on the back of the legs of one of the FR players that was laying on the ice. A linesman saw him, grabbed him (after the third or fourth stomp) and attempted to escort him to the penalty box. Once order was restored, the ref sent the kid to the showers. One of the assistant coaches had to escort him from the ice to the locker room because he made an attempt to get at the FR bench. It was not a pretty scene. I haven't heard if there has been any further discipline, but IMHO the kid should be out of organized hockey for at least a year. I am sure if TSSAA was involved, he would be ineligible for all high school sports this year and next (his senior year). I am just glad the skate blade didn't cut into the FR player's leg.

Did they play the consolation game? I haven't been able to find any info about it. I watched the semifinals Friday and was wondering if Knoxville would have enough skaters left to play on Saturday. I personally think the Knoxville kid who stomped on the legs of the Father Ryan player should be banned from all forms of hockey for at least a year, if not longer.

Thanks SJ. I saw the ref give the T then he pointed towards the scoretable. I wasn't sure who got the T with so many people standing in that area. Another factor in my confusion was a guy who had been sitting at the top of the stands was screaming at the top of his lungs, cussing out the refs, while he stood at the railing between the lower and upper stands. I didn't think the refs could T up a fan, but I don't put anything past some of the poor officiating I've seen this year.

Just found this on the Tennessean's web site: 9-AAA Thursday: Girls ??” 7 p.m.: Beech at LaVergne; Hendersonville at Smyrna; Gallatin at Mt. Juliet Friday: Boys ??” 7 p.m.: LaVergne at Gallatin; Smyrna at Wilson Central; Hendersonville at Mt. Juliet at LaVergne Saturday: Girls ??” Wilson Central vs. Beech-LaVergne winner, 4 p.m.; Hendersonville-Smyrna winner vs. Gallatin-Mt. Juliet winner, 7 p.m. Boys ??” Beech vs. LaVergne-Gallatin winner, 5:30 p.m.; Smyrna-Wilson Central winner vs. Hendersonville-Mt. Juliet winner, 8:30 p.m. Feb. 23: Girls ??” Consolation, 6:30 p.m.; championship, 8 p.m. Feb. 24: Boys ??” Consolation, 6:30 p.m.; championship, 8 p.m.

One vote against the shot clock for high schools. This is based on personal opinion, not statistics. I think the kids have a hard enough time trying to remember where they are supposed to be during a play. You add the pressure of making sure they get a shot off within X seconds and the play could get wild. One of the things I took away from Shelbyville in thier game against Wilson was that they were willing to reset thier offense as many times as they needed to in order to get a good shot off (the fact that thier shots didn't fall allowed the game to go to WC). One of best times I had a game was a few years ago at a District game where one team had a 2 or 3 point lead and the coach had thier point guard hold onto the ball for two minutes near midcourt. The losing team didn't come out and guard her for fear of giving up a score. It was a neat chess match to witness.

I waited a day to see if anyone answered the question before I asked as usually happens around here. A WC player pulled down a defensive rebound in the third quarter. No MJ players were under the basket. The ref standing by the scorer's table blew his whistle. After minutes of discussion and an explanation to the WC coach, the ball was given to MJ to inbound under the MJ basket (the coach didn't look pleased, but he was already ticked off at the officiating). No one around me could figure out what call was made and why the ball would be turned over. Anyone out there have clue? The only thing out of the ordinary that I saw was the hands of the player that got the rebound hit the bottom of the net before he got the ball. This didn't affect the ball as the shot was off the mark, but I wondered if there is a "no touching the net" rule in high school ball. If I missed something, please enlighten me. Thanks.

Based on an administrator's explanation to me, all of the items you list are banned by TSSAA at basketball games. BUT... I think it depends on the refs and/or how obnoxious the fans are. I've been to games where students had those mini-megaphones. I also attended a game where the refs refuse to start the game until the mini-megaphones were all confiscated. I can't say that I've seen any of the items in your list at a basketball game. I have heard them at outdoor events (soccer, baseball, softball, etc), but never indoors. Maybe TSSAA decided rather than rule item by item they would ban all "artificial" noise from games. I think it is a shame and takes some of the fun out of the atmosphere. But, there were times I've attended other sporting events and wanted to shove a guys airhorn so far ... because I was suffering temporary deafness.

Thanks for the insight BigG. I appreciate you taking the time to explain the new rule. I'm not sure I really get the controversy though. If I know this rule up front, I can make sure my players know it before they sign up for summer/fall teams. Is there only one summer team in your area? I do think TSSAA's goal is laughable. A coach could still 'pressure' the players to play year round under this rule. He would just have to make sure he split them up onto two or three teams. I saw the benefits of what this rule is trying to enforce with my brothers back in the 80's. The Ohio HSAA had a rule that only 3 players from any one high school could be on a summer team. My brothers played on teams made up of kids from all over the county. It helped them become better players and they brought that back to the school team.

As a casual HS soccer fan, I get to three or four games a season, I was curious about the "new rule" you posted about. I haven't been able to find any info on TSSAA's site. What is the new rule and how will it affect high school soccer as we know it? Thanks in advance.