walkenvol

bob, Its OK. Like xbody, I enjoy the discussion. Besides, they are jumping all around me instead of addressing my stance that there is a perception (valid or not) that it is difficult to have a fairly officiated match against FR or MBA involving the officials that are either related to or close friends of the Simpson coaches. No one has proved me wrong. There is also the perception that McCallie "buys" the top wrestlers on their team. I've got the depleted bank account to refute that perception. Clint stated that these were nice folks and friends of his. Early on I stated that these were good people who had made outstanding contributions to the sport. Their charicter was never questioned. The only issue is that these people may be too close to the participants to remain unbiased. Most companies have nepotism rules for a reason? Doesn't everyone wish the best for their family and friends and it is difficult to "let the chips fall where they may"? I saw Ken Mara officiating in Chattanooga last year so maybe he is a member of both associations. I do know that the McCallie parents were told that we were returning last year because they had added Ken Mara to the officiating. Whether it was coincedence that Ken was there I don't know. I suppose that that still wasn't enough for Red Bank to return. Ask anyone who was at the FR Inv year before last and they will validate that by the end, the entire crowd was united against FR and MBA, not just RB and MC. It was the ugliest I've ever seen. CBG attacks me as a Vandy crybaby and that the McCallie wrestler involved and their team has a 99.9% chance of tanking. Well the record of both refutes his foolish statement. In the wrestler's next match he set the current state record for the fastest pin and went on to win the 2002 state championship and last year McCallie had their strongest team since 1993. Most of all, nobody has address the mythical "watch for blood" match that involved one of the officials in question and changed the winner of the 2001 DII 112lb state championship and whether Phillip would have won OW if he had finished 3rd that year. Did the official "help out his buddy's son" or did he simply make a terrible mistake in an important match that was beneath anyone qualified to officiate the state tourny? Ask the blonde official with the crooked fingers why he did it. If this biased perception didn't exist, everyone would think it an honest mistake no matter how outrageous. As for me, I don't know.

I sure hope not. Chattanooga's loss would be Nashville's gain. Ken was a member of the Chattanooga officials association last year. If you call his Chattanooga home number it still has his voice on the recorder. I know that he has worked for Provident Ins and they seem to restructure about every year so it is now possible that he has been moved to Nashville, but not last season.

takedown42, The dispute was concerning Kyle James of Soddy, not a McCallie wrestler. Coach Henry and the officials conducting the weigh-ins would be the ones to ask what happened and why some coaches were unhappy concerning Kyle's weigh-in.

Luchador, I stand behind my statements. Ken Mara, a longtime Chattanooga official who also has called the NCAA finals the last several years was brought in to officiate the Father Ryan tourny last year as a condition to McCallie attending. Red Bank coach Richard Brown refused to bring his team back last year because of the officiating. Ask him. I'm familiar with the blood rule. The problem is there was no blood. No blood was cleaned from either wrestler or the mat. Ask Coach Simpson, Coach Connell and both officials if you don't believe me. Certainly, if there was blood, the rules are clear that the match would be stopped reguardless of the situation. As an official yourself, surely you would agree that any official worthy of being selected to officiate a state tournament would be positive that there was blood before you stopped the match to let the defending state champion off his back. He had been on his back for almost 1 minute, so it wasn't something that required a fast decision by the official. You can call it sour grapes if you like, but the officials changed who won the state championship that year in DII 112 lbs whether it was an honest mistake as you would contend or was it a case of some Nashville officials being biased towards FR and MBA as many people in Chattanooga think. As for me, I don't know. Water under the bridge. But, it only adds fuel to the fire that some Nashville officials are viewed as biased. How does this relate to OW? Would Patrick been OW if he had finished 3rd as a Junior instead of being a 3 time champion? Maybe if the award is viewed on tournament results only, maybe not if it is more of a career award. Concerning the officiating at Bethlehem, it is different, but consistant. They don't call stalling as much as TN officials and they don't force wrestlers to the center of the mat IMHO. Personally, I like the TN style of officiating better because they tend to award the aggressor. But again, it was the same for everybody. Again, the Simpson boys appear to be fine young men and I wish them the best. My point is about a small number of officials, not the wrestlers.

xbody, I stand corrected on the change since the DI / DII split. I stand firm on my stance that many knowledgable wrestling people from Chattanooga have the perception that many of the Nashville officials are biased towards Father Ryan and MBA wrestlers due to their relationships with the Simpson Connection. There are coaches that will no longer go there to wrestle. Whether this perception is valid or not, many people share it. Can you explain away the 2001 call that has been reference earlier as anything else? If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might just be a duck.

xbody, I know for a fact that Red Bank refused to return to the Father Ryan Inv because of perceived officiating biased toward the Nashville wrestlers and that McCallie only returned when Father Ryan agreed to bring in some Chattanooga officials. I don't see this happening in other cities. I've seen what I considered poor officiating, but it usually went both ways. The officials for the regional tournaments are selected by vote of the high school coaches. Surely you don't think that some officials are above playing favorites to whom they perceive as being the most influential coaches. ###### off one of the big coaches and see where you come out in the voting. There's politics in this sport just like in all walks of life. Do you think it was just coincidence that "watch for blood" call just happened to be in the Father Ryan gym involving one of the Simpsons with a Simpson friendly official? That may well of been the worst call I ever saw in such an important match. I believe that Ronnie Carter attempts to use quality officials who wouldn't make such a terrible call if they were neutral. The best think that the TSSAA has done lately was move the DII tournament to UTC out of the Father Ryan gym. Bobmarley, I would have voted for Phillip as OW in 2000 and 2001, but that is just my opinion as it is just my opinion that there were other champions in 2002 that may have had a more outstanding tournament then Patrick. I wish both these young men the best. Go ARMY!

The Simpson connection would be Coach Simpson - MBA, Coach Simpson - FRA, Coach Dunning (I believe Mrs Dunning's maiden name was Simpson), 2 Simpson officials, and numerous other middle TN officials who appear to be close personal friends. Are all these good people who have made outstanding contributions to the sport and to young people in the Nashville area? ABSOLUTELY! Are they able to be totally unbiased towards their sons, nephews, and children of close personal friends? Can anybody? Is this a big deal? No. But, when is starts influencing the officiating and the outcome of the matches it is a big deal. I don't know the names of the middle TN officials but everyone knows who I am referring to. He is blonde with a mustache and several of his fingers don't appear to be able to straighten. This is easily noticable when he awards points. You also see him at the tournaments buddying up with the Simpson Connection. Several thousand people watched him as the assistant official stop Patrick's 2001 state semis match when Patrick was getting pinned on the mythical "watch for blood" call when there was no blood to be found. To Patrick's credit, he was able to capitalize on that gift to come back in the rest of the match to win and go on to win in the finals. Was that accomplishment tainted? I would say that the booing of the crowd answered that question. Would that have happened at another gym with unbiased officials, stopping a state tournament semis match with the defending champion getting pinned because you might see a small amount of blood? Not in all the years I've been involved with this sport. The two officials would make absolutely sure there was bleeding before they stopped a match like that. Does that taint everything else he has done? No way. By all appearances, he is a fine young man who will do well for himself in the future. OW is usually an afterthought. At most tournaments, the coaches and officials will vote at the end of the tournament. They're all tired and ready to go and the tournament director is scrambling around to collect ballots. Typically, you vote for somebody you know to be a really good wrestler. Simple as that. I don't understand your point about McCallie. Gordon Connell doesn't have any brothers officiating or coaching who would be biased to vote for McCallie wrestlers.

There are clearly two different ways of looking at a tournament OW award. On the TSSAA web page you can view last year's tournament brackets. For some reason, neither Yost's or Keller's semifinal match is posted. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Yost pinned in the semis. His results were rd 32 - pin 3:21, rd 16 - pin 1:49, quarters - pin 1:05, semis - pin ?, finals - pin 1:30. I have a video of the February 15th channel 9 news where they interviewed Keller after his semis match. He states that things weren't going as he planned because he tech falled in his last 2 matches. His results were rd 32 - pin 0:59, rd 16 - pin 4:58, quarters - TF 17-2, semis - TF ?, finals - TF 17-2. Both dominated the tournament and certainly the quality of the competition should weigh heavily in the decision. I can't offer an opinion as to who had the tougher weight class although typically the best wrestlers align themselves into different weight classes. Assuming that their competition was comparable, we would award 5 pins over 2 pins and 3 tech falls. I recall Keller winning the state tourny OW as a freshman when he beat a defending champion in the finals. I'm sure there were other multiple year winners that year with impressive carear records that would have been more deserving based on the way you view the award. Makes for interesting discussion. How many days until the season starts

Unfortunately, I think your right on Dunning in DII. Don't take me wrong, he's an outstanding wrestler and may well prove himself the most outstanding at the state tourny next year. It just seems that in DII, the Simpson connection is assured of this award even if someone else does a better job in a particular tournament. I was glad to see Yost get it in DI last year based on the tournament results only. Kellar would have certainly got it if it were based on a carear. Most of the DII champions pinned their way into the finals. Simpson beat a sophmore on points in his finals last year. His younger brother might have had a more impressive tournament based on his final's match. Leen beat Silberman, either one of which would have dominated the DI tourny. Manley, a somphmore, dominated a 3 time finalist in Berry. Dunning had a 1st period pin althouth it was against a freshman. Simpson had an outstanding carear, but did he truthfully have the best state tournament?

Cody applied and was accepted last year to McCallie but changed his mind just before school started so this is not something new. Tullahoma school systems are facing some serious budget cuts and are looking at releasing numerous teachers. Cody is an excellent student and this concerns him and his family. Cody's family has stated that Cody is going to McCallie reguardless of his athletic eligability. If an accomplished wrestler like Cody is willing to potentially sacrifice a year of high school competition then his priority for attending private school should not be in question. As for McCallie "buying" another wrestler, ask his father David how much he enjoyed writing the tuition check. They're paying Cody's way just like I pay my son's way there, actually more since he will be a border student

Cheap shot. I've watched both Clint and Pete officiate for 25 years. They both have complete understanding of the rules of the sport and enforce those rules consistently and calmly nor do they appear to have bias for or against any particular schools. Neither of these guys run around the mat alot, but good officials anticipate the action and are able to avoid playing catch up to the action. At the state tournament this year, the worst officiating mistake was in the DII 215 lb finals when the official sent the match into overtime on a scoring error. Both coaches knew the score was incorrect, but the official would not allow them to the head table to question the misapplication. The match continued for almost the entire overtime before the official at the head table discovered the error. I don't believe this would have happened with Clint or Pete.

What legal fees are you talking about?

What's wrong with Father Ryan? The PA system / no match board. Each year it takes about 3 days for my headache to go away after the Father Ryan Invitational. The PA system causes the nice lady who calls out the upcoming matches and match results each year to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. 2 straight days of that makes you question your interest in the sport. I will be the 1st to pledge $20.00 toward the purchase of a match board if they will commit to not announce the individual results or the upcoming matches. I'll save at least that much on advil. Tell me where to send my check.

I agree. Although Clarksville did a fine job of running the tournament, their facility was extremely spectator unfriendly except for the finals. It would add to the tournament to have bleachers on both sides of the wrestling mat and to designate one side as "home" and the other as "visitor". In the tournament draw, the teams could be preassigned as either home or visitor. This way the fans would sit on opposite sides of the gym. I witnessed some fan confrontation that would have been avoided if they were not sitting 10' apart.

I hear through the grape vine that Yost and both Keefe brothers are going to UTC along with Raines. Intermatwrestling has Simpson as an Army commitment. Congrats to each one.

Doug Newman certainly continues to contribute to the sport through his son, McCallie coach Mike Newman. Both of the Newmans are great supporters of Tennessee wrestling.

Another one was Ron Mitchell (Mike Craft's brother-in-law) East Ridge (1979) 155 lbs. That had to be the toughest weight class I can remember. There were 4 outstanding guys from the same region. I can't remember all the names (where's Danny Gilbert when you need him) but there was Mitchell from East Ridge, Humphries from Central, the guy from Red Bank, and I think the eventual state champion from Baylor. Those guys spent the whole year swapping place finishes it every tournament in town. Mitchell and Humphries wrestled to a draw in the state semis (before sudden death) the criteria came down to referee decision and they chose Humphries. That was still the worst call I ever saw since Mitchell was the aggressor the entire match. I think the guy that won came in 4th in the region. All 4 guys were state champion quality.

Adam Levitt