gobigred

Wes, BA's finishing position in the MR tourney will have no bearing on the other reams that will get to go. The top two finishing teams, other than BA, will round out the MR representation to the DII State.

BigRed3, You pitching tomprrow?

Wes, I'm guessing you guys will throw Compton tomorrow. Think about it...

ELA, I'm not sure that is true any more. Think back to the ineligible basketball player incident at St. Bonnaventure where former Vandy coach Jan VanBredakolff was fired. The President of the University was also forced out as a part of the house cleaning as well. As time goes on and it becomes increasingly difficult to hide immoral and unethical behavior, I believe you will see the Boards of Trust at the University level hold all parties involved responsible for their actions. College athletics are so heavily dependent on fundraising that continued loss of trust by the fan base will spell eventual financial disaster for programs with repeated violations and PR gaffes.

Does anyone know the result of the Father Ryan - USN game today?

Sophomore Brian Harris pitched all 5 innings and threw very well. I think SAS only got 1 hit.

cuda44069, I agree 4 classifications in a consolidated system with multipliers would be ideal for Tennessee IMO. No more than 5 under any circumstances.

My choices are: Duo - Mantle and Maris (Sorry I'm old!) Best athlete - Cross country skiier - Uses all muscle groups and requires massive aerobic conditioning. Most skill - Golf - No matter how many lessons I take I seldom break 90. Movie - Gettysburg.

I participated in this discusion on a sports talk radio show the other night. Since things are a bit slow on the board, I thought it might be fun. Answer the four questions, and give a very brief (10 words or less preferably) "why" if you wish. Who is your favorite sports duo? Which performer is the best athlete? 1. NASCAR driver 2. Marathon runner 3. Jockey 4. Competitive swimmer 5. Cross country skiier Which sport requires the greatest level of pure skill? 1. Golf 2. Tennis 3. Baseball / Softball 4. Football 5. Basketball 6. Soccer 7. Wrestling What is your all time favorite movie?

yellowdog, silverpie, I think we agree to a great extent on this point. The financial aid factor is way overblown as an excuse to support separate classifications for public and private split in athletics. Yellowdog you are right on target about the real focus of the original decision to split being football. In no way can any logical person make a case for the split in basketball, baseball, etc. Even more specifically, we can trace its origin back to the folks at Riversale getting their feelings hurt when BA beat them for the 5A championship. They had great influence on the TSSAA, and precipitated the debate that eventually led to the formation of DII. The fact is, the large public schools that have the funding and booster club support to emphasize athletics can without question compete with any private school in the state in any sport, including football, on a year in year out basis. There is no doubt that the 1A classification needs to be revamped. The vast majority of public school programs in 1A are severly underfunded and have to deal with limited numbers of students that are willing or able to participate in athletics. That situation can be corrected by applying an appropriate multiplier system to the current 1A and 2A privates. Why not implement a fair multiplier system that affects open zoned public schools and private schools and let 'em all play together again? I would truly love to see some of the old rivalries rekindled.

yellowdog, I hear what you are saying, and I know that financial aid was the reason given for the formation of DII, but I'm not sure that concern is valid. Here is the reason why. The unlimited financial aid Super 7 has been in existence since 1997. Theoretically, they have had six years to "build" their programs by giving financial aid to students of their choice. My questions to you are as follows: Do you sincerely believe that Maryville, Brentwood, or Riverdale would be overmatched and have no chance to win the state football championship against MBA, BA etc.? Do you think BA (DII champ) could have beaten White Station (5A champ) in basketball? How about baseball, Farragut is nationally ranked, and is clearly the best team in the state. Do you think they would struggle to win the state tournament if it included a DII school or two?

ELA, you wrote: In recent weeks, there have been several passionate discussions about "who was the best football team in the state" in 2002. Many posters from Maryville HS and Brentwood HS provided excellent points about the quality of their programs last fall as did the MBA supporters. My point is this, if the big public schools want to stake a legitimate claim to "being the best of the best" in any sport then they will have to prove it in competition. The coaches and principals at a certain few of these large public schools (we all know who they are) would do well to forget the disagreements of the past and consider moving back to a consolidated classification. I find it somewhat interesting and amusing that a certain Middle Tennessee 5A public school has for the past several years made it point to schedule football scrimmages on a regular basis with Super 7 members. Ironically, the complaining from the big publics you refer to could be construed as an admission of inferiority to the Super 7 privates. Does anyone really believe that a private school would win the 4A or 5A football championship every year if everyone played together? How about basketball or baseball? I for one don't believe it for a minute!

What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of the proposals? Here is my assessment of the plans as I understand them. Am I close, halfway close, or lost in space? Plan I - Status Quo Not a viable option because all agree that change is needed. Plan II - Multipliers Pros 1. Reasonanbly easy to administrate. 2. Realigns 1A sports to better fit the rural programs. 3. Creates a system that can ensure fair classification for all open zoned schools (public and private). 4. Sends the message to our kids that high school athletics transcends the ugly attitude that is class warfare by allowing them to compete together for "the big prize" in their respective classification. 5. Puts an end to the annual debate on whose team is better, the public champ, or the private champ? The answer to the question of who is best will will be clearly decided on the field, court, track...etc. 6. Strengthens the reputation of Tennessee high school athletics by crowning a reasonable number of state championships in each sport. Each champ will have proven their mettle against the best of the best. Cons 1. Big boys in the public ranks will complain about having to beat the big boys in the private ranks to determine who is best. 2. Some smaller privates will have to decide if a traditional football program is a viable option for their school. The TSSAA probably needs to look at developing an eight man program anyway for our friends like Lighthouse IMO. 3. Does not resolve the issue for those folk who dislike private schools in general. Plan III - Total Public / Private Split Pros 1. Reasonanbly easy to administrate. 2. Removes all private schools from the problematic 1A classification. 3. "Levels the playing field" in the minds of those who believe private schools either enjoy exclusive, insurmountable advantages or cheat to succeed. Cons 1. Does not address the issue of open zoned public schools (which will be an issue in the near future if not resolved this time around) 2. Maintains the notion that public and private schools cannot compete together for championships because the privates have better programs for whatever reason. 3. Perpetuates the never ending debate of which champ is better, public or private? The answer will never be decided on the field, court, track...etc. 4. We will still have too many state champions. The national reputation of Tennessee high school sports will still be less than ideal. Plan IV - Demographic Classification Has many advantages of Plan II, but it appears that most consider it to be too difficult to administrate year in and year out.

Are we trying to "get out of the debate" or are we trying to create a system that is as fair and challenging as possible for all of our student athletes? Consider this: Plan II Pros 1. Reasonanbly easy to administrate. 2. Realigns 1A sports to better fit the rural programs. 3. Creates a system that can ensure fair classification for all open zoned schools (public and private). 4. Sends the message to our kids that high school athletics transcends the ugly attitude that is class warfare by allowing them to compete together for "the big prize" in their respective classification. 5. Puts an end to the annual debate on whose team is better, the public champ, or the private champ? The answer to the question of who is best will will be clearly decided on the field, court, track...etc. 6. Strengthens the reputation of Tennessee high school athletics by crowning a reasonable number of state championships in each sport. Each champ will have proven their mettle against the best of the best. Con 1. Big boys in the public ranks will complain about having to beat the big boys in the private ranks to determine who is best. 2. Some smaller privates will have to decide if a traditional football program is a viable option for their school. The TSSAA probably needs to look at developing an eight man program anyway for our friends like Lighthouse IMO. 3. Does not resolve the issue for those folk who dislike private schools in general. Plan III Pros 1. Reasonanbly easy to administrate. 2. Removes all private schools from the problematic 1A classification. 3. "Levels the playing field" in the minds of those who believe private schools either enjoy exclusive, insurmountable advantages or cheat to succeed. Cons 1. Does not address the issue of open zoned public schools (which will be an issue in the near future if not resolved this time around) 2. Maintains the notion that public and private schools cannot compete together for championships because the privates have better programs for whatever reason. 3. Perpetuates the never ending debate of which champ is better, public or private? The answer will never be decided on the field, court, track...etc. 4. We will still have too many state champions. The national reputation of Tennessee high school sports will still be less than ideal. Plan IV has many advantages of Plan II, but it appears to me that most consider it to be too difficult to administrate year in and year out.

Has anyone got any ideas about how Gordo's setup could have been so far off at Richmond? I find it pretty amazing since his teammate Nemecek was dialed in perfectly and won the race.

Good post Stan. I spend far more time reading on this site than I do reading the sports page in the newspaper. CoachT is the best bargain around for us high school sports addicts!

Congrats to BA on winning the regular season. Heard has been a warrior on the mound for the Eagles all year, and he came through again Saturday. I was able to watch most of the game, and I must say the Wildcats sure came to play. When I had to leave it was 5-4 BGA so I had to wait until today to get the final. Good luck to all in the region tournment.

StanTrott, I agree with you. Give me Allison Krauss, Patty Loveless, or Nickel Creek any time over the Ditsy Chicks (who look like Charlie's angles, but have the intelligence of The Three Stooges)!

Hardball, There are no substate games this year. My understanding is that three teams from the Middle region will be in the state tournament with the regular season champ getting an automatic berth. The other two teams will be decided by the order of finish in the region tournament.

I am and have always been supporter of a reasonable multiplier along with a reunification of all schools (including the Super 7) into the fold. The only real equity issue that exists at this time IMO is in the realm of the 1A rural programs. I think everyone agrees that they need some help. Perhaps restricting the 1A classification to those programs would solve the problem. All of the other complainers from the 2A and up ranks either don't want to meet the challenge or as you said have some personal dislike for private schools that they need to get over.

For months all we have heard is that the playing field is uneven because some schools (read private) can attract athletes from a zone that is far larger than the average public school. If this is indeed the reason a split is needed, then it is patently hypocritical for public coaches to ignore their open zoned brethren in this debate. The more I read, the more I believe VG is right. The public school split proponents have a vendetta against private schools! How sad. There has to be a better way.<P>[Edited by gobigred on 5-1-03 3:20P]<P>

ELA, I have not posted on the p/p board for a long while because of the redundency of the opinions and the intransigence of the participants, but you have piqued my interest here. I appreciate all of the work you have done recently to post information about the proposals before the TSSAA. You are a reasonable and thoughtful individual, but I must say your last post surprises me. I hate to sound like a clone of VG, but your attempt explain away the effect of the open zoned schools to support a split is weak. Maryville, who is a perennial football powerhouse, is open zoned. The open zoned schools you mentioned in Memphis dominate basketball almost every year. You are correct is saying that the majority of public schools are zone restricted. The facts are, however, most of the public schools that have open zones have had great success in athletics for years. I encourage you not to support your preferred position by attempting to minimize the facts. Is this split agenda really nothing more than a vendetta against private schools?

Well said hardball. This year has been exciting for the fans and players of the DII Middle region. The rivalries that exist between these four teams have made for great crowds and close, hard fought games. The fact that many of these guys have played with and against each other since they were kids makes it even more fun. Best of luck to all and keep up the good work!

No offense meant by that comment. If you think back, there has been more than one game where errors have hurt the Eagles. Notice that I still gave BA the edge in the race. The bottom line is all four of the teams are pretty evenly matched if you look at hitting, pitching, and defense. [Edited by gobigred on 4-29-03 10:58A]

The season is playing out just like we thought it would at the beginning. There isn't really a dominating pitcher in the league, so every game can legitimately go either way. The #1 seed may not be decided until the final contest. BA probably has a slight edge, being a senior dominated team, but they are having defensive problems at times so who knows?