BigDawg09

There are plenty of ways to get around living in the school district, trust me. Knox County schools have plenty that attend from another school zone.

I believe The Irishmen are actually Catholic coaches. They need to realize they lost quite a bit from last years team due to graduation and suffered an even bigger loss with the injury (probably due to overuse) to Anders. Shut up and play. One district title doesn't give you room to brag. Please follow footballs'lead.

Ballisticswizard- You're about to fall into my category with all the "mean things" you're saying about the Irish. Recruiting is probably a wash if gatalife wants to evaluate. Pretty much nailed it for AC but the Irish's top 4 players should be at Karns, AC, Carter and Bearden with an infusion of younger players that didn't go to one of the feeder schools. Just like the AC players all were brought in as freshmen with the exception of the Bearden player who is probably kicking himself about now. Recruiting edge should shift to Catholic given the strengths of the football program and the loss of Guinn. All is done within the rules on both sides before that battle starts up. I agree with some of the points both sides seem to have taken. 1. Tend to agree with your statements(BW) but the players at Catholic are really no different than the players I've seen at Farragut, Bearden, Webb and CAK. It is what it is! AND I wouldn't say that MANY go to school at Catholic for free and if they do, I sure hope the TSSAA doesn't look into the ones that are athletes-that's illegal. Care to elaborate Irish Legacy? 2. All agree Catholic has what may be the best field in the state. I don't think the Catholic Church kicked in anything for the field but the family of a current player made a very large contribuition to get it started and to help with the fieldhouse later. Also 2 parents have done the bulk of the work on the fieldhouse and cage. Don't forget all the hours that parents put in on the green monster itself. Let's not forget the hours of field work that were REQUIRED in order to even try out! And to think a lot of those kids were cut after being forced to work on the field for 20+ hours for the right to try out in the summer. I don't guess the coaches teach any social studies classes or the terms slave labor and/or indentured servitude would have sprung to mind. 3. Both teams have been pretty well hand picked based on earlier facts stated above for both. gatalife- Before you start trashing people and slamming their education level, you may want to start with a spelling lesson followed by a session regarding grammar, capitalization and punctuation! See, my private school education at least paid off. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> Irish Legacy- I'll address your question about me in a lot longer post/expose in about 12 months when there can be no repercussions to several people involved in the situation. To quote from the movie Next of Kin, "You ain't seen bad yet....but it's comin"

Didn't see the legit point. Was it saying that without Byrge, Pack, Stooksbury and the Guinns AC isn't near the team. Brilliant observation there with the 5 players heading to college to play. Short of Farragut who wouldn't suffer with the loss of 5 players of that caliber? Was it that Seymour killed AC without near the players I think Kyle Koeneman who's been a National Player of the Week at Walter State may have had something to do with the loss. Was it that the umps didn't know the rules and caused the Irish to lose? I just hate people blaming umps when there are generally several other plays that had more of an influence on the outcome. Only pointless jabber was the statement about the map which was intended to show that the other teams have actually made that trip not just talked about it. Certainly no harsher or hateful than Mr. Fan saying that AC has choked coming out of the district or Ballistics saying that they lacked mental toughness. Granted maybe a little harsh with that but everything else certainly seemed educated. Maybe my private school education is overrated?

New players for both but the same story. Isn't the Sullivan regime 0-fer against Loudon and 1-fer vs. AC? No wonder they're hungry. Any team is going to change when they lose 5 players that are/will play at the next level. IF the Irish happen to make it out of the district, maybe the coaches from Loudon and AC will give the munchkin a map to Murfreesboro since they've both been. Catholic has lost several key players also but none at the level of the 5 you just named. Since you are obviously an ump, maybe you can explain your logic in saying that a proper ruling from the Men in Blue would have given you the win? After the rulebook was busted out by Coach D it became very apparent Sullivan isn't quite as sharp as he thinks regarding the rulebook. Instead of blaming the umps which ended up getting the call right why don't we take off our green tinted glasses. A simple 20 foot toss to the plate....and you sir are right-we're not having this discussion How about fielding a couple of routine grounders at 2nd....and you sir are right-we're not having ths discussion. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

Even...........?????? AC 3-1 in these games Loudon 2-2 Irish 1-3 .750, .500, .250 yes sir it looks to be pretty evenly matched - NOT!

I think Ballisticswizard has this one pretty much nailed. If CAK burns Kolinski to get to AC they are pretty much done. Can they juggle their pitching rotation to get Kolinski to face AC? Loudon seems to own the Irish and have taken their mojo. AC has the pitching depth for tournament time if they can find the strike zone. They can't afford to go through 3 of their better pitchers in one game like they had to at Catholic. The Irish need to avoid their normal butterfingeredness and leave the soccer shoes in the closet to make it out of the district. Glad to see Coach Sullivan finally doled out some punishment to his party boys even if it was after getting through the AC games. Justice is now served in his usual hypocritical fashion. Better late than never I guess. Maybe he'll start playing the players that deserve to play instead of his favorites with the start of the tournament. Be nice to maybe see some of the guys that are actually hitting the ball get to see what the game looks like from the field instead of DHing or pinch hitting.

Game was pretty good thru 5 innings then the Catholic soccer team showed up and helped the Irish snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Nothing like kicking the ball around the infield. /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> Basic t-ball errors on routine plays led to the loss. 2 big errors at 2nd and a comical throw from the pitcher to the catcher on an easy ground ball that led to a couple of runs instead of a double play. Irwin pitched pretty well but it seemed like Sullivan threw him about 150 pitches with most of the last 50 being curveballs. Bet his arm will feel great for a few days. Speaking of Sullivan, can someone buy the man a rule book to prevent further game delays????

We were rained out at Smokies Stadium.

I see that you disagree with the "held to higher standards" part. But guess what....it was the coach (in his holier than thou attitude) that issued that decree. I guess that's how you define LIP SERVICE. It sounds great in the preseason meetings with the players and parents. I guess now that some of his starters have fallen short he must be backing up on his standards. It would have been much easier to handle had the kids not been starters. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> I don't think they should have been kicked off either but certainly suspended for a couple of games. That may have been tough with the next game coming against your biggest rival and the next 2 against the first place team in the district. What would ole coach Richie have to say? /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> No comments The Irishmen?

What else is there.....Oh wait Catholic is a much stronger bunting team than AC. And they run the bases alot better except for when they're getting picked off. /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> How many college coaches and scouts are coming to watch the Irish? The AC games have been pretty crowded with those guys. With the exception of Lindsey I don't see many college prospects on the Irish roster. Irwin can/could hit but that's about it. Anders has the potential but needs to stay out of trouble. AC has White, Farmer, Rorex, Price, Bynum, York. Edge to AC. The Irish consider 3rd place their spot and are only concerned with holding CAK and Kingston off. The Irish think AC is overrated and they have a definite coaching edge. I mean really who losses to Kingston? AC to sweep if they can find the strike zone and avoid switching pitchers early.

I agree with you. I don't think they should all be thrown off the team for 1 mistake but should certainly be punished. The school handbook addresses these issues also. BUT Coach Sullivan has made it very clear that his baseball players are to be held to much higher standards than the average student. Preached it to the players and the parents. One of the players has been constant problem for the past fews years and is very well acquainted with the principals office having been suspended before. I guess his discipline approach is similar to Fulmers. The discipline lessens depending on your importance to the lineup. The players and parents would have probably expected/accepted a short term suspension given the nature of the offense. Now all that we have listened to for 2 years from the coach appears to be just lip service. Maybe the discipline will be handed out to avoid missing the big Anderson County games at the start of next week. Like Fulmer, he'll need to get all sides of the story before making any moves regarding the handling off the matter and they may not happen until after the 2 big games next week. Will he "do the right thing" as he has preached or expose his hypocratic nature and continue to play these guys like he did last night?

They have several people that can play but have been very up and down. In spite of a record that looks good they have dodged several potential losses. Dalton Irwin was their top hitter last year but is struggling this year after hitting a bunch of home runs last year. 2 losses to Loudon could very well be followed up with a sweep by AC. The problem they have had on offense is that they can't seem to get several people hot at one time. Pitching has been shaky with John Anders and Irwin being the top 2. Untimely errors have hurt the pitching. Everybody else has struggled on the hill. Be interesting to see how Sullivan handles a big discipline problem that has popped up after Sundown in the City and 2 starters getting in trouble sippin the brewskis and getting a visit from the men in blue. Will Sullivan do the right thing and suspend/discipline these guys (as he is always preaching) or ignore it in order to try and get the Ws????????

Agree completely with the Coach Thompson part. He's been there done that. Maybe he can give the munchkin from Catholic some pointers when he retires. Maybe he's got some drills to help minimize the Irish errors. Errors played a big part in both games. Does Loudon really have keys to the field at Cedar Bluff-they seem to own that field. Has the Irish train run off the tracks???? It doesn't get any easier with AC looming on the horizon. Are they ready for another 3rd place finish behind AC and Loudon?

Catholic's lack of pitching finally caught up with them. Dalton is a thrower not a pitcher. How else do you explain balking in a run with a fake pickoff move to first???? After watching irate Sullivan storm the mound to blast him for such a stupid move maybe he agrees. Game shouldn't have been close except for a ton of errors in the Loudon infield. The Irish were lucky not to split with CAK since CAK gave up several unearned runs with 2 out Es to let the Irish tie it up.

Catholic won big but I thought I was at a soccer game the way they kicked it around. Irwin looked good at the plate but made several Es and gave up a bomb!

Wrong. Not the same person. Which player have I bashed? Telling the truth isn't bashing. It's just the facts that he struggles in the field. If you've watched games there is no denying what I've said. I said that DI could hit and wasn't being sarcastic. How can you say I don't know him? Wrong again. Just was making fun of that long early morning drive when he could have stayed at AC and had 2 titles with more coming under his belt. And you sir....are no Natural. We'll see who comes out the winner in the end and I doubt they will be wearing green.

Does everything that is legal....and then some. Sullivan follows his DADDY Pharr's routine. Was instructing on the field during the fall while the old asst coach threw BP legal? Certainly had more than 5 at a time on the field working together. At least they didn't have scrimmages in uniform with umpires during the fall like Farragut did. And I guess if you call everybody a pitcher, workouts can start alot earlier than practice. I talked to some of them and they said they were taking full advantage of those 60-70 degree days a few weeks ago. I guess the asst coach can hit them grounders at short if they're doing pitching workouts legally, right? I guess at a Catholic school you can talk about doing it right then break the rule and do some of those Hail Maries for forgiveness. How does that work with the TSSAA? /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

Who should make All-District? My picks look like this. First Team Rorex Gasper Walden Eller Sherrill Second Team White ? Except for time on the IR would be first team Fox Hood Conaty Colvin

Nah, you know he coulda DH'd. The boy can hit! Coach G was at least smart enough to keep him off the field. Every play he has at first is an adventure and the outfield is a comedy show. When he fields a bunt everybody better be ready- the first baseman, the right fielder, second baseman, the guy in the parking lot, windshield repair guy probably loves him with all those cars parked over there. Bet he coulda hit the gym if he'd stayed up here. He does have a gun it just don't have a sight /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

Good Point. The Catholic basketball fans started cheering "Lets play football" then switched to "Lets play baseball" after AC took the lead. Have they ever beaten AC? Maybe the munchkin has them all drinking the Sullivan-ade at Catholic. Nice field though. Maybe all the illegal practices will help. HeyDI- I bet you love getting up and drving an hour and a half in the dark to throw BPs huh?????? At least you could have played in a state tournament game if you'd a stayed home.

That's really going out on a limb since Catholic only averages in the 50's. Catholic must do a job in the post both offensively and defensively. AC had trouble defending in the post against Stone and they're much bigger than Catholic. Walden and Hood need to have big games for the Irish to pull off the upset. Stone with the win unless Catholic plays team ball. Need some other people to step up like they did against AC.

And usually goes home with a loss /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

Carter has the POTENTIAL/TALENT to be the top team in either district. Carter also beat AC before 3 or 4 of their starters were back from football or had just a few days of practice. AC helped Carter get an earlier jump on them by sending them home in the first round of the football playoffs. How could a team as physically loaded as Carter lose to a bad Alcoa team??? Could Carter win this district....absolutely but could they not make it into regional play....absolutely. AC, Stone, Loudon and Catholic could reasonably finish ahead of Carter. These are the same teams that have beaten AE and lost to Fulton and Powell in the final seconds. Walden is a very unselfish player that is playing the game the right way but he does need to step it up from a scoring standpoint for the Irish to finish strong. He's scoring better lately with games of 23 and 20. He's been doing a good job on the boards, defensively, and assists. Part of the scoring increase comes from taking shots now that he was giving to other players earlier. There have been several games where he wasn't getting the ball when he had open looks and others were forcing shots. Poor FT shooting has cost the Irish 3 games.

Catholic didn't get much out of their big guys where they had a huge advantage. It will take the football guys a while to get going. I thought Hood would be unstoppable because CAK didn't have anybody that big. The offense wasn't getting it done and Conaty needs to learn how to pass instead of jacking up so many shots.