kangaroo

In case the rest of you haven't noticed, muffin is an instigator only. No thought, just smack all the time. Boring!!!!

The discussion you see on the public private board has comments from coaches who wish to comment. The fact that you are getting locked up here is because this board is for football related discussion only. It is nothing personal. Mods...lock her up! [Edited by kangaroo on 5-2-03 8:12A]

So far the following have been listed: East Z. Gosselin P - Webb W. Hodges ? - Baylor Middle H. Mize OF - Brentwood Academy W. Langlois DH - MBA T. Santi OF - MBA I want to add the following East R. Moore P - McCallie Middle J. Heard P - Brentwood Academy R. Nichting P - Father Ryan B. French P - MBA Any more deserving players for this list? How about West Tennessee?

Who are the top individual performers (pitching, hitting) in DII so far this year in each region?

Bigred, Don't you understand that exposing yourself as a conservative Christian means you can't be taken seriously? You couldn't possibly thinking clearly!

Informative article. Thanks for posting.

BriC and chippermha, List your predictions for an order of finish in your respective regions.

Lazarus I am not sure if your rather biting response was meant for me or not, but I want you to understand where I am coming from just in case. First, you are obviously correct in your assessment of the post made by Realgo. While many of us on this board are saavy to the undercurrents of the discussion, there are visitors that accept the information at face value (scary isn't it?). Since the topic of the thread concerns Brentwood Academy, not Ezell Harding, my response was intended to be a general restatement of the point of I made in my first post for anyone who missed his veiled reference. Second, Realgo's post is is an over simplification of the problem of public's perception of BA and Ezell. As Rollred points out, a few people (softball coaches maybe) really knew or cared much about Ezell athletics until three years ago when they started winning in football. The concerns many have about them will likely fade as the current group of senior football players leave this year. The problem is much more than just winning football games for for BA. It is based on the historical realities of recruiting allegations, lawsuits, unwarranted coaching moves, and academically challenged athletes. I would dare say that the animosity felt by the general public toward BA is far greater than it is for EH. As much as I dislike it, I can understand the reasons for it and I long for it to change. [Edited by kangaroo on 2-4-03 11:07P]

RealgoEagles, I think you misunderstood my post. In no way am I making apologies for BA or the many good people there. There is no need for apology because there is much to be proud of. My frustration is that the average Tennessee citizen's perception of the school is based on the questionable ethics of what can only be described as a self-serving athletics administration. The condescending reply to you from Flyby is indicitive of the attitude of those who have little knowledge of BA outside of athletics and are unaware of the accomplishments of many of our students in academics and comminity service. In spite of what you may think, some people associated with the school do care about how we are perceived since reputation is a key factor in attracting high quality staff members and maintaining a well balanced student body. [Edited by kangaroo on 2-4-03 12:10A]

Stan, I know many alumni, current parents, and students at BA. My impression is that quite a few of them would like very much to see the school begin to develop a solid reputation for excellence in academics and community service as well as athletics. There are indeed some that have a vision of a Brentwood Academy that would someday be considered one of the premier academic institutions in the state. Being labeled as supporters of "The Sports Academy" is becoming an embarrassment to some important people. As for the administration, up to this point they have always appeared to believe that having a reputation for athletic prowess gave them respect with their peers. The school is now old enough to have some mature alumni that understand that to be considered among the elite of independent schools, much more is required. Kurt Masters seems to be a nice guy, but he has yet to show anyone that he is capable of making the changes necessary to reshape the image that currently exists. Unfortunately, the recent football coaching fiasco seems to be an indication that the status quo is still in vogue. As much as I respect Carlton Flatt as a football coach, I am not sure much real change will occur until he retires, or until an administration is put in place that can override his influence and incorporate a new vision. [Edited by kangaroo on 2-3-03 11:36P]

DS2001, Thanks for the info on JT.

Mario has all the physical skills to be a great SEC player. He still needs to work on reducing his turnovers and improving his free throw shooting. Look for him to be on the SEC all freshman team this year.

Is Joe Thompson injured? I haven't seen his name in the box scores lately. [Edited by kangaroo on 1-31-03 8:06A]

Great article. It fairly represents the quality of many of the students I know at BA. It is very sad that the administration and alumni there have let the athletics program's antics tarnish the reputation of an otherwise outstanding school. That one issue, if not resolved, will forever cause them to be seen in the eyes of most people as hypocrites that will do anything to win in sports. I sincerely hope that they will make some changes in their philosophy that will establish credibility with the rest of the schools in Tennessee. Then and only then will they get the universal respect they seek.

Play, Ryan has a good team, but so do the others in the Middle region. I look for it to be a dogfight that may go down to the wire. How about some of you East and West region guys. What do you think the outlook is in your area? [Edited by kangaroo on 1-31-03 8:05A]

Here are my picks going into the season. I admittedly know more about the East and Middle regions than I do the West. East 1. Baylor - Strong last year - good pitching 2. Webb - Many returning starters 3. McCallie - Is Ryan Moore enough to carry the team? Middle 1. Father Ryan - Defending champs until dethroned. 2. MBA - Final four last year. Good returning talent. 3. Brentwood Academy - Maybe one of their better teams 4. BGA - Will be improved over last year West 1. Christian Bros. - Always tough. Probably the favorite for State Champs. 2. ECS - Traditionally strong. 3. Briarcrest - ? 4. MUS - ? It is going to be a very competitive year in DII baseball. Post your ideas on an order of finish with brief comments.

I understand your position itzme, and I agree to some degree with your point on the value of options for education. I do think, however, that it is unrealistic to to believe that the creation of charter schools with their corporate management wrinkle will not add yet another dimension to the athletics debate. What ideas and opinions do some of the rest of you regulars on this board have this question?

The city of Memphis has just approved the formation of a Charter School. It is interesting to note that while these schools will be subject to public school guidelines for educational matters, they will be overseen and managed by the sponsoring corporation. See the link: http://www.tennessean.com/education/archiv...ent_ID=28188697 The article also states that there are several other Charters in various stages of approval in Tennessee. I imagine Ronnie Carter is wondering what else could happen to complicate matters! What effect, if any, do you all think the emergence of this new entity will have on the outcome of the current issues of recruiting, reclassification, and the role of the TSSAA?

BigRed3, You are modest. I expect you to be one of the top five when the year is over. Hiwassee, Baylor will certainly be good. Do you have any other picks from around the league?

Who will be the top five pitchers in DII this season and who do they play for?

Dingo, Thanks for taking time for such a thorough response to my question. I agree with you completely in your conclusion that a purely statistical solution will not resolve the current dilemma. All of the sterile logic in the universe is not going to heal old wounds and eliminate the demons of mistrust that exist in the minds of our coaches and administrators. For some strange reason though, I am still not ready to acquiesce in the notion that a complete split is the only answer! I have some ideas of my own (not a full blown plan) about reclassification that rely heavily on the reality that Tennessee schools are very different in terms of physical setting, demographics, financial resources, and primary mission. Unfortunately, my schedule does not afford me the opportunity to expand these ideas into a formal proposal at this time. I look forward to the revelation of your plan whenever you decide the time is right. I have a hunch we may be thinking along the same lines. May you be blessed with wisdom and good fortune in your continued endeavors on behalf of our student athletes. [Edited by kangaroo on 12-16-02 12:20A]

Dingo, After spending some time reading older posts, I have discovered that you have consumed quite a lot of time creating some carefully composed, if not eloquent epistles to CoachT's readers. Your contributions have been for the most part neutral, challenging, and encouraging to posters on both sides of the debate. Only recently has your negative bias toward the Super 7 independent schools been revealed. I picked up early on your ability to answer difficult posters with sharp challenges followed by strategic diplomacy, philisophical monologue, or literary allusion. Nice touch! You have also been very successful avioding questions from others that you are not willing to answer by shuffling the order the original questions or points in your reply, yet another skillful tactic. My guess is that you have debate training beyond the dinner table episodes that you describe above! With that said, despite your keen interest and obvious hours spent in the debate aspects of the board, you have never offered any detailed ideas as to what your specific recommendations are for a solution to the current classification problems in the TSSAA. Some of your posts back in early November suggested that you intended to do so, but the plan never materialized. Do you have anything tangible to offer in this realm or do you intend to contribute from a debate perspective only? [Edited by kangaroo on 12-15-02 11:32P]

Starsnbars, Understand that the talk about your open zone policy at Maryville is happening because of the upcoming classification changes in the TSSAA. Many people that support a public and private split are convinced that private schools have a huge advantage because thay can accept students without regard to a specific school zone. Consequently, public schools that have open zoning/tuition like Maryville are perceived by many other public schools to have an advantage as well. Your winning probably makes you the poster child for this argument, but the root of the discussion is open zoning and any advantages that it brings, not your success. Other open zone schools will be affected as well if any classification changes happen based on this issue.

Pujo, I can understand your frustration with the BA lawsuit, I feel the same way. My point to you is that none of the other schools you sarcastically tied to BA have anything to do them at all. None of them has sued anyone either as far as I know. I don't support any of the schools you mentioned, but my personal sense of fairness is upset when someone (regardless of their p/p status)chooses to try to belittle others with needless sarcasm and false innuendo. Argue your points, but keep it fair and honest. P.S. Note the post above that even Chakra from Ezell agrees that 1A private schools are going to need to move up. Who is it that you think disagrees that there are problems in D1-1A? [Edited by kangaroo on 12-13-02 12:21A]

Pujo, what is the purpose of this post? Why all the sarcasm? As I have pointed out to you before, most people on the board, including me, believe that your school and others like it need some relief, so why do you feel the constant need to lash out at other schools? You are one of the very few regular posters on the p/p board that continues to clutter the threads with this kind of junk from time to time. Legitimate opinions and suggestions are what this board is about. Your sarcasm and personal vendettas are a waste of time and server space.