bigbadblue

Smaller schools do not have the depth in pitching to play in a three game series. That is a why we have classifications. Format sounds good limbaugh, but would only benefit larger schools. I'm just happy that they are letting eight teams go instead of four. Four team tournaments are nowhere near as exciting.

Am I the only person who is sick and tired of the rain? We need to move the baseball season to the summer.

Went to Bearden/Farragut this year at Bearden. Big game, big rivalry, but still not as big as a Cleveland/Bradley game. Went to Alcoa/Maryville football game three years ago. Good crowd, but still not as big as Cleveland and Bradley. Cleveland and Bradley's rivalry was so bad that they stopped playing in football throughout the majority of the nineties. Finley Stadium has a play day every year where they invite the rival schools of the chattanooga metro area. They offered Cleveland and Bradley a lump sum of money ($10,000+) to play at Finley Stadium. They declined because they knew they would make at least twice that playing at home. There are some huge rivalries out there, but none can compare to Cleveland and Bradley. They could be shooting marbles and still be playing for blood in front of 200 people. It doesn't matter. Gotta be one of the biggest in the South.

Sorry guys...you are wrong about that. Three visits throgh the duration of the game. They can use all three in the same inning with the same pitcher. Here's a few rule questions that pertain to high school baseball... True or False 1. A runner must slide to avoid contact. 2. A fielder cannot block the base without the ball. 3. One out, runner on third. Batter interferes with the catcher's throw to third base. The runner is declared out for interference. 4. Two outs, runner on third. Batter interferes with the catcher's throw to third base. The runner is declared out for interference. 5. While a pitcher is in his windup, the umpire calls a balk. The pitcher continues his delivery, and the batter hits a homerun. The offensive team has the option to take the resulting play or take the balk. Have fun!!

In high school baseball coaches are allowed three visits per game...they can use all three in the first inning if they choose to do so. Also, when a coach pulls a pitcher, this does not count as a visit. The one visit per pitcher per inning is used in MLB and in college baseball, but not in high school. High school should have the two per inning rule.

Jeff Bunch??? Good baseball player? Tell me more...

Words cannot express the Cleveland Bradley rivalry. They play for blood every year, every sport. Marion County/S. Pittsburg have a nasty rivalry as well.

I prefer a big fat honker Copenhagen...What is everyone's favorite dip?

Farragut, hands down, has the best field in the state...probally one of the best in the south. To put their field into persepctive, comparisons to college and minor league fields must be made...Their field, excluding the bleachers and dugouts, is BETTER than the University of Tennessee's. The grass is as good as Chattanooga Lookouts...

I'm from the old school and haven't seen the "improvements" but will say that Soddy Daisy's field definitely has character, and would put it up agaoinst all the fields I have yet to see in East TN. Farragut, by far, has the BEST field. Their field is better than UT's. Soddy has some character though...sitting on top of the hill, dark dirt...

Cory Davidson, Preston Scoggins, Chris Dorn... They will have some good pitching. Losing Shamblin, Gaston and Casteel is going to hurt their bats.

Funny that you mentioned bad land was bought in Cookeville above market price...Cleveland is going through the same problem with one of their elementary schools. The school board and city council have been at ends for about four years now, and the city council is doing everything within power to make the school board buy and build on land associated with one of the members of city council. The interest of the children has been lost. Crap like this is why I would never suggest anyone moving to Cleveland.

A few things on M'boro and Rutherford County... Everybody and their mother that lives outside of Knoxville and Nashville believes their town and county is the fastest growing in Tennessee. I've read before that Williamson County is the fastest growing... The city planning in M'boro was horrible. That is why the traffic is bad. Not any worse than West Knoxville or 153 in Chattanooga. To be honest, I think the whole situation is a bunch of political hogwash. CHS lost to Walker Valley this year. Bradley dumped Ratledge and went out and got a great coach in Allan. Cleveland is trying to make their move to retain their dominance in Bradley County. Scoring a high profile coach is their answer. Simple as can be. Should Monroe return? No. Rankin is a good candidate, but I would never suggest anyone moving to Cleveland unless they are willing to deal with a lot of BS from people like Alan Jones. There are two social classes in Cleveland, and sadly the minority runs the show (the good ole Cleveland Country Clubbers). It would be hard to adjust. Danny Wilson sounds like a good coach, but it would be a risk. Tipton is a good choice too, but he has been out of football for a while and may not have the pull that he needs to build a strong program. Either way, it is a tough situation. There is not a bad choice.

Try making a NE Tenn all-star team and you will understand why programs like Riverdale and Maryville are so successful. If you move to Knoxville and your son plays football, you are going to send him to Maryville. Same with Nashville and Riverdale.

Why travel 100+ miles when you can play a tradition rich team like TN High School or Cleveland close to home??? Besides that, when you play a brutal conference schedule, why make it worse? Look at major college football..Is TN or Alabama going to play USC or Oklahoma in week 1 or 2? No. Why? Because they don't need those games, which they very well may lose, to prove themselves as a quality team. They can save those games for the postseason. If Ooltewah wants to play DB, or vice versa, do it in the playoffs. End of story.

One of the best posts I have seen in a long time. You should consider a career in some sort of public writing. Melrose and Maryville will he the best matchup in all of TN football this year. It is very hard to predict the best team amongst east, middle and west teams. Three different worlds we are talking about. I do believe, however, athletes are more abundant in metro areas...more talent in memphis schools than in east tn schools. Coaching makes the difference. If metro schools had the coaching they would dominate our athletics. Someone stated earlier that maryville would have to make junk plays if they were down. In better words, they would have to be coached a win. I definitely agree with this idea. My predictions are based on tradition: Maryville vs. Melrose Maryville wins it all. Melrose, however, has a better team. Kicking and coaching, as someone said before, are the difference makers. Sorry TN High and White House. The "rudy" factor does not play a part in 4A football this year. I will still pull for you though; it is time for someone to break tradition. I would also like to note that Oak Ridge, from a fan's point, is worthy of a state championship. It is hard to compete against a program like Riverdale, however, and it will take a "rudy" factor to win this won. I have a hard time conforming to programs like Germantown and, to some extent, Franklin. The money and politics that feed these programs do not make it fair for other public schools. Of course, this goes beyond high school athletics. I would like to see more emphasis placed on smaller classes because I believe that it is much harder to take talent from a small pool and turn it into success. Smaller programs like these, in my opinion, signify far more success than larger programs in the fact that they can take grassroot talent and turn it into gold. The talent in larger schools is always high, it is a matter of coaching, wher there is too much emphasis. Think and debate these thoughts. More to come. Happy Thanksgiving.

A little too quick to cry racism, allnet. Talk to someone who was around the program during the change. It's not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact. There were equally and better qualified applicants who also were within the system. Notably, Mark Tipton and Danny Carson. Mike Connelly, Donnie Yates, etc. Who would you have picked? Brown did not get the position because he was the best candidate. There is a thing called demographics that applies to employment. Affirmative action plays a role. One of the main reasons Grant became head coach was because of Vincent and Del. The same reason he became an assistant coach at UT. The same reason why he is no longer coaching at either school. Race was not an issue in the case of Coach Grant; the deciding factors were Vincent and Del. It was a great gesture on CHS's part to hire Coach Brown. The city needed, and still does need, more black leadership. The numbers did not, and still do not, match up with the city's demographics. However, as I said before, there were better qualified applicants who should have been chosen before Coach Brown. On the contrary, the school saw the need for a black leader and acted accordingly. I do not want to see him go. That was one of my main points. My other point was that it is wrong for a local bussiness man to have an influence on the termination of a high school coach. If the rumors are true, this is a great injustice to the Leon Brown, the players, the school, and the community.

Has anyone heard anything new about the coaching situation at Cleveand High School? Anything on Coach Monroe?

You should be careful what links you post on this site...When someone finds your spring break pictures you might get yourself in a little trouble.

...Monroe won a state championship at Maryville.

First, I'm still not understanding exactly why Brown resigned. I wasn't a huge fan myself, but I must admit that he did a decent job. Noteably, his wins over Bradley, win against Knox Central in 2002, and win at Rhea County in 2003 to top a 9-1 season. On the contrary, there were some miserable losses. It seemed he could never beat McMinn Co and Mullinax. (I think) This was the only season in his tenure that CHS defeated McMinn. The loss to Powell this year was embarrassing (Powell is, however, a very good football team and I don't think that any coach could have "saved" CHS from a loss). CHS was definitely a state contender last season. They had the talent to beat Maryville, Mo West, Hillsboro, etc. They lost in the first round, at home, to Knox West (5-5). In my opinion, the worst loss CHS has had since losing to Anderson County in 1997. Sure, CHS had a few players gone that game, but they still should have beaten West by at least two TD's. To top things off, a loss to Walker Valley. I'm not going to attempt to share my opinions on this. Reguardless, Brown did a decent job at CHS. Benny Monroe had his share of losses. No one mentions Anderson County when they talk about Monroe. No one mentions all the years before Monroe's magical run in the nineties. No one mentions the fact that Ken Wiley could have taken the CHS teams in the nineties and done the same. The only thing they mention is 54-0 and three state championships. How many years did it take him to get to that point? Fifteen? In Monroe's defense, people wanted to play for him and the community support was outstanding. He was a good coach too...I think it was him that incorporated the Wing-T into CHS's offense. He kept his teams motivated, and for the most part, kept his players out of trouble... I'm finding it very hard to understand why Brown resigned. As I said before, I'm not a huge fan of Brown. He should have never gotten the job in the first place. Mark Tipton should have gotten the job. Brown got the job because he was black. Either way, he got the position and did a good job under the spotlight. Coaches resign after they have losing seasons. Coaches resign after they lose consistently to lesser teams. They don't lose their jobs after being successful. Now, why in the sam heck did Leon Brown leave CHS? The Cleveland Banner and News Channel Nine both cited Brown saying "I want to continue coaching". He didn't retire from the field. Based on this, I come to two conclusions: He wanted to leave CHS for his own personal reasons or he was asked to resign. Rumor has it that a prominent businessman offered a substantial financial incentive to CHS contingent on the release of Leon Brown and the hiring of Benny Monroe. If this is the case, I will never support the program again. High School football is not a business. High school football is not for the parents and alumni. High school football is for the players and students to play and enjoy. Throw out your state championships and win/loss records. The game teaches the players about hard work, teamwork, and life. It boosts the moral of the student body and supports the unity of the community's youth. The ethics behind high school football are simple-It is all about the kids. Money does not buy friends and popularity. Someone pass that on to the powers that be. I hate to see Coach Brown go...I strongly support his future as a high school football coach. I wish Monroe the best of luck in his return to high school football.

Tennessee did recruit them, they did not want to come to Tennessee. The talent in Tennessee the last couple years has been bad. The good players, with the exception of the Bullocks, are playing for UT.

Name one player from the state who has gone to another school and been successful... UT recruits students from all 50 states. In particular, Virginia and Georgia. Atlanta is one of their largest alumni chapters. It's not 1950 anymore; UT is under the national spotlight in both academics and athletics. They are there for a reason, and it's not because they got a Rhode Scholar from Marshall County or a football All American from Tellico Plains. Fulmer does an excellent job recruiting. Ask anyone who played for UT in 1997. Ask anyone who plays in the SEC. I'd pick Gerald Riggs, Cedric Houston, Ja'Kouri Williams, Corey Larkins, etc over Carl Stewart ANY DAY. I'd pick Dustin Colquitt over any punter in the nation. Tell your boyfriends that played for your little high school that they can quit their job on the farm and come join our waterboy staff. Maybe you could do the same.

No one cares.

Galilee, I don't feel sorry for you and Mitchell High School. Your darn head basketball coach told Buzz Peterson that I told a couple of his basketball players that they shouldnt go to UT because black people are not welcome in East Tenn. This was in the middle of a basketball camp at UT, which I'm sure that someone else paid for them to attend. The team quit after the first day and went back home because "the players were told they were not welcome in East Tenn". A boldfaced lie. I have experienced nothing but RACISM AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE from "inner city" Memphis. I'm with NWTenn...We should give Memphis (including the suburbs) to Mississippii. We'll keep Graceland and Beale ST though.