starman

I tried to tell people that Unaka girls played very well at Oliver Springs in the substate game. I have been an East Tennessee sportswriter and followed high school basketball for a quiet some time and Kayla Christopher is one of the best girls basketball players that I've ever seen at that age. Kudos to Oliver Springs for reaching the championship game. As for the nice lady that sits behind the bench and keeps the stats, someone tell her I'm sorry I wasn't there to get you behind the bench. And to Miss Bartger whom I sit beside of at the Oliver Springs and Unaka game, I wish your daughter and her teammates and you a ton of luck. As a parent I watched my son play in the state championship game in 2004 and nothing I could say or write could ever describe that moment. TC

You could do my job a whole lot better than I do it. You have sportswriters then you have me. I don't have a clue what I'm doing but whatever it is I enjoy it. Have 23 sink a three for me in the Boro.

Congragulations to a wonderful group of young ladies who happen to be a very good basketball team. Best of luck to you in Murfeesboro along with Coach Birchfield, staff and fans. I hope to be down there on Wednesday covering your game. Starman

Blueeagle, The freshmen are not ready to play yet although one day they should be. It's up to them, they know what they must do in the offseason. I can't speak for nobody but myself but I'm thankful for the coaches taking the time to work with my son. He's got a long way to go but so did many others who went though that program. Most young kids are projects and must learn. I'm sure they would like to get into a game just like anyone else but that just normal. And I agree with Landshark, now is not the time to start developing players. The best part about all of this is if somehow Unaka could find a way to win the next two games, all this might be forgotten. I'm hoping to see a different Ranger team take the floor Saturday night at Hancock County. Best of luck to all the Carter County teams in the Regionals. As for Unaka, the seed has been planted and the crops will start to grow in the near future. Teams better enjoy them being down at the present. I've got a gut feeling they'll be back on top sooner than a lot of folks think.

They didn't have enough players to play Junior Varsity and Varsity. 10 total for both teams. I think they only have nine dressing tonight due to one being sick.

Unaka 51 Johnson County 32 JC led 24-19 at the half. Unaka held JC to 2 points in the second half until 3 minutes to go in the game. They scored 6 against the second unit.

Cloudland 43 Chuckey-Doak 40 overtime

He did show love for Hampton and Cloudland but his loyalty is for the team he led to that gold ball. "And you better be good to him King, or Dad and Sis will tan your hide."

This is sad.

I deleted it by accident. I meant to hit the edit key and instead hit the delete.

You might have these people buffaloed, but I know that on the inside old king is a dang good fellow. You should be proud of your sports progams at Cloudland. I encountered nothing but great kids and some fine men coaching them. The same can be said about Unaka. That's what makes this such a great rival. It's all about community bragging rights. Nothing's any better than watching Cloudland, Unaka and Hampton play against each other. My youngest is a freshman and I think he's going to be four or five inches taller than Rusty. He's 6'1, 240. Hopefully he'll be much stronger than the king. He loves the weight room. You can tell it's a slow day and I'm stuck in the office.

We still have time to convert you over to maroon before it's too late. Don't worry about your dad, he's one of those Highlander icons from the 1968 state tournament team. I've been told by several people that it was the best basketball team ever at Cloudland High School. My first cousin was all state at Hampton and I remember going to watch him against Sam Rogers and he was only a sophomore then. Sam was one of the best players I've ever saw play at the high school level. Going back and reading the archives about that 1968 team, I would have to agree. Be proud of your dad, he's one of the finest Christian men that I've met in this lifetime. By the way, after you convert over, I'll personally buy you a stock of maroon t-shirts. We might even let you be in charge of shinning that gold ball

Rusty says he will play the King one on one inside of Sonny Smith Gymnasium for charity. He didn't win many games up there during his career so this would be a chance from redemption. He said your dad could referee because he would get all the breaks. I appreciate him and your sister for the way they supported Rusty during his playing days. They are super people. By the way you need to get Mark to fix that old piece of junk computer of yours. He's the one that's going to school to be the computer guru. As for all that money, new cars and fancy clothes you have, enjoy it until June. If you're getting married, you'll be in the poor house after a couple of months. And Little "D" will be the one taking care of the money!

Ranking these teams reminds me of a soup I once ate. I had no ideal what was in it but the soup sure was good. Ranking these teams can be fun but the only way you can have a "TRUE #!" is to play the games. You have a lot of good teams in the stew, but which one stands out. I can give you several reasons as to why they should play one another but to some, it goes through one ear and out the other. It's like beating a dead horse, "some of you posters remember that." And I don't buy that old theory, "nothing to gain, everything to lose." If you were to ask the kids if they wanted to play, every competitior would say yes. As a sportswriter, I can assure you that every player at Elizabethton would love to play "ALL" the county teams and vice-versa. I refuse to rank teams in my articles until they play one another. Without head to head competiton, it's no more than speculation. As for the state polls, lets's just say old starman is good to "All" the deserving Carter County teams with his vote.

Ranger87 I not 100% sure but I think they won it seven time and shared it on three others. Unaka seems to be at it's best when people write them off. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see them make a run deep into the tournament providing they shoot well. Ranger 87 we can't let go of that gold ball. It's worth it weight in "GOLD" just to see the look on "THE KING"S" face when he steps inside of the Ranger barn. As for the kids at Unaka, those boys that remain on the team are special. Most would have tossed in the towel and quit after all they've been through but each night they go out and play their fannies off. For that, they're winners regardless of what the scoreboard says. Who knows what will happen? Luke Sparks and the Roan Mountain Express showed me they're is a sports God last season.

Ranger 87, Great post but they have not shared the conference title every year. 2004-05 Won it outright 8-0 2003-04 Won it out right 7-1, Cloudland runner-up 6-2 2002-03 Won it outright, Cloudland runner-up 6-2 2001-02 Shared it with Cloudland 7-1 2000-01 Won it outright, Hampton runner-up I stand corrected BC, Had to go digging a bit. I am almost positive they won it outright in 2000-01. I sure they did in 1999-2000

Ranger 87, Great post but they have not shared the conference title every year. 2004-05 Won it outright 8-0 2003-04 Won it out right 7-1, Cloudland runner-up 6-2 2002-03 Won it outright, Cloudland runner-up 6-2 2001-02 Shared it with Cloudland 7-1 2000-01 Won it outright, Hampton runner-up I stand corrected, Had to go digging a bit.

Cody only had 5 Beecher Holtsclaw had 10 first half points. I don't know what happen other than the guy that covered it told me NG could have easily won. I had them up at Unaka and they didn't play very well I was shocked at the final score.

Cloudland 68 North Greene 63 Brett Stocton 38 points North Greene led 63-60 but Cloudland outscored them 8-0 down the stretch.

I think now that the sound system is fixed at Unaka, thanks to my good buddy Freddie, the Rangers need to find a copy of the song "Time is on my side" by the Rolling Stones and play it when the clock dips down under one minute during the opposing team's timeouts. I want to thank Patty for taking the time to run the clock. She took on the job after the previous one walked away. She knew someone had to do the job and she volunteered to do it because that't the type of people they are. The Taylor's are a good honest family who have two oustanding athletes at Unaka. But more important, they're much better kids and that's saying a lot. I see them at church all the time, including many of the Hampton players as well. All of them are involved in our youth group which to me is far more important than any athletic event. I only know of one person who was here on earth that didn't make a mistake. "He's that big "TIMEKEEPER, in the sky." Great game by both teams. This has been my favorite one to cover thus far. Good luck to both and all the other county teams. Great win by Cloudland over South Greene. Elizabethton is playing well with a good man and great coach on the bench. Happy Valley is struggling but showed early in the season against Science Hill that they can hang with anyone. Coach Godsey will turn it around. Unaka, Cloudland and Hampton have outstanding basketball coaches who's don't have to take a back seat to anyone. (Except for Unaka's JV coach) Best of luck to all the county teams on a great season. The 2006-07 Class A regional should be a great one.

Any info on Unaka boys game vs. Wartburg in the Harriman tournament.

Need info about the Owls. If anyone gives a hoot, can you help me out?

Can anyone tell me if Julian Goins is back playing basketball? I knew he was got hurt in the Hampton football playoff game but didn't know what the extent of his injury was. Can someone please advise. I'm doing a preview of the Climate Controllers tournament and would love to know if he's playing.

Maybe we should just cut the local coverage out all together. Then people like you can buy a copy of "Grit" and get all your sports info. You people ar lucky to have a local paper that covers "ALL' the county basketball teams.

http://www.starhq.com/html/sports/articles...akaboysnep.html