uppercumberlandbb

At the end of the year York played tight games with both Livingston and Jackson Co. They lost to LA by 2 and were within a point of Jackson Co. in the 4th quarter before losing by I think 11. York will be there as a top team in the state next year without question.

What a LAZY job the Tennessean did on the Boys' State Tournament page! Is Portland the only team which the Tennessean cares about? They don't even have records for a lot of the teams. A few years ago they had detailed information on EVERY team. Now they have a fluff page with nonsence facts which have almost nothing to do with the tournament.

Next year the AP voters should contact the Herald-Citizen in Cookeville to get an idea who to vote for since this is the only newspaper which voted with any knowledge of AA. In the last 14 years, this district (now 7AA) has won the title SEVEN times. They have come in second FIVE times and in two of those state championship games it was two 7AA teams involved (Jackson Co. vs Livingston and Jackson Co. vs Upperman). No other district in the state comes close to this kind of domination. Next year, just remember that Jackson Co., Livingston and York should be voted #1, #2 and #3 in which ever order their play indicates, but chances are great one will be the 2004 state champion.

I thought The Tennessean had done a better job this year, but today's paper shows they still don't get it. They have amost 3 pages on an average hockey team which 99% of their readers have never gone to see. Then they run a fluff page on spring sports. Couldn't they wait a couple of weeks until the winter sports are finished and give good coverage to the boys' substate games? Email them! tnsports@tennessean.com

I would like to see (after the split) the A tournament, AA tournament, AAA tournament and private school tournament. Each would have a state champion. Then, have a Super State Tournament with the 4 state champions playing...A vs private, and AA vs AAA. The winners then play the super-final for the All Classifcation state championship (or just draw to see who plays who in the first round). This way there is one super state champion, but each of the 4 classifications still has a state champion. And there would be more money for TSSAA.

I have heard this is a team made up of Georgia players. Is this true? If so, the private/public split can't come fast enough.

York got hammered under the basket all night with few being called. Portland had several over the back violations which were never called. I agree with the previous writer about York's missed opportunities, plus when Ledbetter was hurt there were two fouls committed by Portland and neither was called. This game should have gone into overtime. The boys deserved better from the officials. York played a great game as a heavy underdog. They can win Monday!

As for waiter03's comments...perhaps this is true for the 8A part of the district, but certainly not for 7A. Perry Co is #1 in the state. They beat Sante Fe by 4 points. Pickett Co. beat Sante Fe by 9 and Pickett is the #2 team in 7A. Our 7A teams will do just fine.

This was a great game which went back and forth all night and either team could have won. Congratulations RBS and Pickett Co. on a great game! Pickett's biggest lead was 4 and RBS' biggest lead was 5. The lead changed hands 11 times, was tied 7 times. After both teams went to the bench once the game was over, the RBS players went back over to the Pickett bench to shake hands which to me showed a great deal of class by RBS and showed respect for the game Pickett gave them. Both schools' fans had tremendous school spirit tonight! Now, 7A needs to sweep the first round of the region. Good luck Bulldogs, Bobcats, Bulldogs and Buffaloes!

It really wasn't that bad, actually it was mostly great as I saw it, but they should stick to supporting their team and not making fun of their opponent. I hope they do keep supporting their girls like that, just keep it positive. It was nothing like Upperman a few years ago.

The AP voters usually vote for their local teams and there's no one except the Herald Citizen of Cookeville to vote for RBS sine it is so isolated. Plus, tradition is a big factor. RBS has a great team. Pickett played poorly, but that takes nothing away from RBS. Pickett beat a great Clinton Co team by 97-72 tonight and beat Sante Fe by quite a bit at Sante Fe...#1 Perry Co. only beat them by 4...yet Pickett dropped completely out of this week's poll. Don't worry Bulldog fans, you'll show your stuff in Murfreesboro! RBS should have been a top 5 team all year, no question. RBS is as good as Temple or Cosby and better than overrated Perry Co.

eaglemgr...if you go back to the first post, you will clearly see that I said that it was not the officiating which cost Clarkrange the game. It was their play. That does not take away the fact that the officiating was terrible and was for two games in a row. I also watched the Clarkrange/LA game and didn't feel that the officiating was anything like the previous two games. And, the officials there last night are always fair. The problem was not missing a call or two, or bad calls in the Celina or RBS games. Anytime someone questions officiating, someone comes on and dismisses it as complaining because of losing a game. RBS deserved that win. But both teams deserved fair officiating and didn't get it.

1st:19-13 RBS, 2nd 14-10 RBS, 3rd: 16-15 RBS, 4th: 23-19 Clarkrange Game: 68-61 RBS Meador: 19 and Rice 18 RBS Green 19 and Thompson 17 Clarkrange [Edited by uppercumberlandbb on 1-25-03 11:28A]

The score was Red Boiling Springs 68 Clarkrange 61 Someone joked with me saying, "What will they do when Clarkrange plays Pickett Co., the refs nail both teams all the time...who will they go after?" Maybe Clarkrange the first half and Pickett the second half.

Last week after the officiating at Clarkrange, Coach Pile had the guts to speak out about the quality of officiating. Tonight against Red Boiling Springs, Clarkrange had 33-35 fouls against them to 7 against RBS. This was a shameful display by the officials. Nathan Thompson fouled out after stealing the ball and was just about tackled as he headed down court. The foul was called on him! Another time Michael Green was accidently hit in the head but that was overlooked, then when he was fouled again, it was called on him. This may not have changed the outcome of the game as RBS was much more disciplined and the Buffaloes threw a lot of bad passes and forced the ball. Plus RBS has a great team and this post by no means is knocking them. But, both teams deserved better when it comes to officiating.

Was the Jackson Co.,TN/Clinton Co., KY game postponed or did they play? This should have or will be a great game.

This committment to the team is made before the season. If players would rather be with family, that is terrific. More should be. But, the games were played on Friday and Saturday. Thanksgiving is on Thursday. Most people work or shop on Friday, and neither day is an official holiday. If College Heights couldn't field a team they never should have committed to the tournament and let a school which does honor its word play instead. They should NEVER be invited again.

College Heights didn't show so Celina won the forfeit. It was a shame because a good crowd came out to see this game. Celina is playing great ball. Pickett Co.'s first 8 players rolled to a 66-26 lead over Silverdale Baptist. The Seahawks stayed with Celina last night for 2 1/2 quarters, but Pickett Co. just has too much again. They won 92-58 with everyone playing. The starters played about a half, while the Silverdale starters played the whole game so the final score wasn't as bad as it may have been. Silverdale also had 2 technicals and an intentional foul called on them. Pickett was led by sophomore Joseph Bailey with 22 points playing half the game. Dustin Mitchell had 6 blocked shots. Pickett is playing great team ball.

Celina girls 88-Silverdale Baptist 18...Celina starters saw little playing time. ..50-10 at the half! Celina boys 88-Silverdale Baptist 60...Celina looked very very good! They'll be in the thick of the district race if they keep playing like this. Pickett Co. girls 46-Grundy Co. 35-Ashley Cook scored 22 for the Lady Bobcats (2-1) Pickett Co. boys 81-College Heights 57...did someone forget to tell Pickett Co. they were supposed to be down this year? It was 51-11 at the half! Starters played less then a half. 7A looks tough again.

Celina could easily return to the state championship game. Holly Wright should be a Miss Basketball finalist. Clarkrange beat Jackson Co. in overtime in the opener. They also could easily be in the state finals. Michelle Snow should be a Miss Basketball finalist. Livingston lost heavily to graduation but they will still be very good as always. Jackson Co. was surprised at Clarkrange. They had taken I believe an early 13 point lead but the Lady Buffaloes fought back and had at least a 5 point lead near the end of the game before Jackson Co. caught them. They lost it by 2 in overtime. They have 3 starters back and will again be a top AA team. Winning one state championship is tough. Two in a row is quite an accomplishment. Three in a row is amazing...in addition to having to have great talent, it takes some luck, and being at the top of your game every night. 4 in a row has only been done by Pickett Co. and maybe Shelbyville...I need to check on that one. But, I wouldn't put it past Jackson Co. to make it 4 in a row!

Celina could easily return to the state championship game. Holly Wright should be a Miss Basketball finalist. Clarkrange beat Jackson Co. in overtime in the opener. They also could easily be in the state finals. Michelle Snow should be a Miss Basketball finalist. Livingston lost heavily to graduation but they will still be very good as always. Jackson Co. was surprised at Clarkrange. They had taken I believe an early 13 point lead but the Lady Buffaloes fought back and had at least a 5 point lead near the end of the game before Jackson Co. caught them. They lost it by 2 in overtime. They have 3 starters back and will again be a top AA team. Winning one state championship is tough. Two in a row is quite an accomplishment. Three in a row is amazing...in addition to having to have great talent, it takes some luck, and being at the top of your game every night. 4 in a row has only been done by Pickett Co. and maybe Shelbyville...I need to check on that one. But, I wouldn't put it past Jackson Co. to make it 4 in a row!

I hope Clarkrange will be ready for these refs and adjust to the officiating there quickly...it always gives Oneida a huge advantage which isn't right. I've seen opposing players get tackled there w/o a call! This is a good game for the Buffaloes though as they will run into this again during the season and playoffs and they can learn from it ...which still doesn't make it right!

Pickett Co. came back from 18-9 to tie it at the half 21-21 and then went up 31-25 after 3. Smith Co. was up 38-34 with time running out but Danelle Smalling scored at the buzzer with Smith Co. all over her for the 39-38 win. Smith Co. looked very good as did the Lady Bobcats. This makes 7A 2-0 over 7AA in two barnburners. 7AA is not down, 7A is just up this year in my opionion.

Tnanks Ross55. I try to cover the games in 7A &7AA and give stats and scores...the opinions are a mix of my obervations and from fans, coaches and players, so sometimes the comments are from me and other times from someone else. The column is meant to be everyone's. It runs in many of the area newspapers including the ones you mentioned and Celina and Monetery I saw Clarkrange and this will be my 8th year here and the is the best Clarkrange team I have seen, and they have all been great teams. I don't put rankings in the column until the season has been underway for a few weeks, but so far 7A is 2-0 against nationally recognized 7AA! I see 7AA as good as ever but 7A as being better than last year. I saw Pickett Co. last night beat a very good Smith team. They came back from 18-9, to outscore the Owelettes 18-5 and were up 31-25 after 3. They won at the buzzer 39-38. Pickett is much improved. I haven't seen Celina yet but know they'll be tough again. Don't overlook Monterey in 7A. I haven't seen Livingston or York yet, or any of the other teams in 7A &7AA...but know there will be some great teams here again this year...the best in the state again.

Awesome game! This is the best Lady Buffalo team I've seen...after the first quarter they looked playoff ready...in the first game of the season! I hope they make room for another banner in the gym!