bigwes68

I work in the media relations office and help with stats and notes for the football team. Here is this week's notes package, for anyone interested: SC-Troy notes

I haven't posted on this board in probably two years. But I couldn't stay away when I saw that this thread had more views than the COMBINED populations of Lake and Perry counties. Haven't seen LC play in more than four years. Last LC game I went to was a blowout of Greenfield in '06 (and of course they put me to work doing PA as soon as I walked through the gate). But everything I've heard about this team makes me feel like this could be a special year - and it already has been. I wish I could get to one of these games, but I've got Troy, Clemson and then a rematch with Auburn to take care of first. My prediction: Hays passes for 250+ yards and 3 TDs, runs for another; Tyler has two TD catches and 150+ yards receiving, and the Falcons win 42-34.

Gleason beats Union City and Bruceton in football in the same year. Tennessee's football team is struggling to stay in the Top 25 and their men's basketball team is ranked 7th in the nation and drew nearly 20,000 for an exhibition game tonight. And I'm in Logan, Utah, to cover a friggin' WAC girls' soccer game tomorrow. Folks -- welcome to the Twilight Zone. (And if my 2-13-1 Lady Techsters pull the upset against Utah State tomorrow, look out because the world may be coming to an end soon.)

Nope. I'm done. Tired of getting chewed out for expressing my thoughts on Lake County athletics. I'll read, but I'm done posting.

I've never met the man and don't really know that much about him. I'm just drinking the green kool-aid since apparently that's what I'm supposed to do.

I have no opinion on this matter. Or at least I'm apparently not allowed to. And even if I did, it would most likely be taken completely out of context.

Deleted because apparently people can't handle my opinions. I'll shorten my thoughts to say, I support Coach P in everything he does. I support Lake County Football and its players and coaches. And if anyone has a problem with what I say, take it up with me. My opinions are my own, no one else's. Contrary to popular belief, I am actually capable of forming my own opinions.

Wow. The guy has been on the job for, what, a little over 4 months now, and you're ready to run him off because he wants his team to look like professionals on game day? Maybe if those players that he's "not letting play" had taken care of business in the summer instead of waiting until mid-August to decide they wanted to play, they would be out there right now instead of whining about it on a message board under a not-very-anonymous screen name. Barger was a great coach and did a lot of great things for the Lake County program. But some of y'all are acting like he's the reincarnation of Vince Lombardi or something. At this stage of the game, I don't see how anyone could possibly say that Coach P is any better or any worse than Coach Barger. They have both been great for the program thus far, and that's really all that matters right now.

I disagree with one major point in that post. If it comes down to coaching, I firmly believe LC has the edge in that department. I'm not going to make a prediction on this game because I don't know much about what UC has this year. But I do know that LC will put some points on the board. If they can play a little defense, I like their chances.

The posts by papatj and myself are the correct rule. This is one of several high school rules that is different from the college and NFL rule set. It's very simple....a place kick, a drop kick and a punt are EXACTLY THE SAME THING in high school rules, with the ONLY exception being that a punt cannot score a field goal. Just remember that, and you won't be confused. Any kick (other than a made field goal) that crosses the goal line is a touchback, always, always, always. Any kick that becomes dead before crossing the goal line belongs to the receiving team at the spot it becomes dead, barring a penalty. Once again, this applies to ALL scrimmage kicks (punts, place kicks and drop kicks).

The high school rule is different from the college/NFL rule. In high school, ALL scrimmage kicks are treated EXACTLY the same, except that a punt can't score 3 points if it goes through the uprights. A place kick (or drop kick) from scrimmage is treated the same as a punt. If the ball rolls dead at the 20, it's dead at the 20 and the other team takes over. If the kick crosses the goal line, it's a touchback unless it scores a field goal.

Samburg. End of discussion.

Just thought I'd point out that the rules concerning ties and such are very ambiguous. I don't have my rule book with me, but to paraphrase, something in Rule 3 (Periods, Time Factors, Substitutions), I believe it is 3-1-4, says that a game that is suspended must be resumed and played to completion, UNLESS the coaches mutually agree to terminate the game with the existing score or unless the state association has adopted specific game-ending procedures. Apparently the coaches agreed to terminate the game. And regulations regarding the resolution of a tied game are left up to each individual state association and are not in the NFHS rule book. However, the TSSAA's regulations on tied games are all but non-existent. They say that if a team goes to another state that allows ties and ends up with a tie, the TSSAA will recognize it as a half-game won and a half-game lost. It says that games in Tennessee that end in a tie must be resolved. But it doesn't give a ruling for games suspended because of exceptional circumstances when the coaches agree to call it off. It's not surprising that the officials did not know this "rule" because no such rule actually exists. If the TSSAA is going to make decisions on this sort of thing, they need to make their rules on such matters abundantly clear.

Bigster, Actually, I'm not in Knoxville any more, I graduated in May. I'm in Ruston, La., working at Louisiana Tech in their athletic department, mostly with their soccer and baseball teams. I'll also be working on the stat crews at home football and basketball games, and as of right now it looks like I'll be doing some radio play-by-play of Tech volleyball. But I'll still keep up with my Falcons!

Bigster, If the penalty was as you described it, then it sounds like they enforced it correctly. Unsportsmanlike conduct penalties like that are considered "live ball fouls enforced as dead ball fouls." One of those quirky rules with a lot of gray area. Although, I have to say that in a blowout like that, I'm surprised they let the touchdown stand; they could have called it a clip and just brought it back, which is what most good officials probably would do in that situation. Anyway, sounds like things went about as expected, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Trenton is apparently as advertised and will probably make a lot of noise in their region. I'm with Bigster, if LC can find some defense to go along with what sounds like a pretty potent offense, they will be just fine.

Refer to my above post. First of all, no one has called anyone a loser. And seriously, what's the purpose of these message boards if supporters can't get on here and make objective predictions about their respective teams without getting blasted by so-called "fans" when they don't pick their team to win a particular game? I guess if I don't think the Junior Falcons could beat...oh, let's say, the Titans, then I'm not a true fan. Also, the Banner does not exist to be a cheerleader for the LC football program. That's what sports information departments are for, but they don't exist at the high school level. The Banner provides news, analysis and commentary about Lake County sports. It would be irresponsible journalism if the Banner just blindly picked Lake County to win every week without analyzing the facts and making an informed decision. Of course the Banner wants LC to win, but making a prediction in the newspaper isn't going to affect the outcome of a game. And believe me, everyone that has picked Trenton to win tonight will be MORE than happy to eat crow if LC pulls it out.

It's called being realistic. Just because we don't think LC will win a particular game doesn't mean we're not fans of the program or that we don't believe in the players and the coaches on the team. And no one has ever said that they don't think LC has a chance against Trenton, or anyone else for that matter. But there are a few indisputable facts about this week's game. Trenton has 60+ players; LC has about 30. Trenton will be able to put a different 11 on the field for offense and defense. LC won't be able to do that. LC was completely wiped out after two quarters against OC in the jamboree. And it will be just as hot this Friday night when they have to play four. LC is also fighting through some injuries, and there's a lot of inexperience on our side of the ball. Trenton's got just about everything back from what was a pretty doggone good team last year. When LC plays 1A schools, it will be better. But most good 1A teams are not going to beat most good 2A teams. That's just the way it is in football. That said, it's happened before. We had no business beating Crockett Co. in '99, but we did (thanks in large part to their inability to kick an extra point). There have been numerous LC victories over bigger, stronger Union City and Trenton teams in the past. So it can be done, and there is nothing more that we "true" LC fans would love than to be proven wrong on this one. Now get out there and do it.

Any details, LCFalconfan? Did the new offense appear to be coming together?

The rule is pretty clear. The school's facilities cannot be used AT ALL during the dead period. No one can use them, whether they're athletes, non-athletes, students, non-students, whatever. This rule is fine for people in larger towns/cities where places like a YMCA or other gym facilities are available. In small towns, that luxury does not exist. The school is the only place where any weight equipment or workout facilities exist at all. Yet another TSSAA rule that is good in theory, but in practice gives far more advantages to people in higher populated areas.

Nice job with your first post ever. [/sarcasm] First of all, NSA and ASA have nothing to do with high school softball. Nothing at all. High school plays by NFHS rules. The only relationship between ASA and high school softball is that all bats must meet the 2004 ASA Standard. Second, "I have heard of....." is about as unreliable as it gets. Where, pray tell, have you "heard" of umpires doing this? I "heard" that Bigfoot was roaming northwest Tennessee and had a hut somewhere out on Reelfoot Lake, but that doesn't mean I believe it. Did you SEE this happen? If so, where? What game? What was the exact situation? Perhaps the runner was obstructed by a defender at some point before reaching home and the umpire had awarded her home plate as a result of the obstruction call. Since, by rule, a runner can never be put out between the bases where she is obstructed, it is possible for the runner to be tagged before reaching home, yet still called safe because of the obstruction. Ever think about that? But since you just HEARD about it and apparently didn't actually SEE it, maybe you don't know exactly what happened. And third, 10 out of 10 times, the base umpire has a better angle to tell if a batter offered at the ball (or, as you so eloquently put it, "swinged" at it...I seriously hope you got your education in a state other than Tennessee) on a check swing. The plate umpire, if he was doing his job correctly, was focused on tracking the ball all the way from the pitcher's hand to the catcher's mitt. And due to the lack of ability for the human eye to focus on those two separate items simultaneously, sometimes the plate umpire simply cannot tell whether the batter went around or not -- particularly on a pitch in the dirt. If the umpire is focused on the position of the bat, then he's going to miss the pitch EVERY TIME. Same for people that like to complain about a batter stepping out of the box. If the umpire's focus is where it should be -- on the PITCH -- then he's probably not going to see all those little things that everyone likes to complain about. As for what it takes to be an umpire.....sorry, I'm not going to go through that long spiel again. I've done it enough, and I'm tired of it. But as I always like to say...if you think you can do better, PLEASE contact the TSSAA. Scholarly research (including some I have conducted myself) indicates a severe shortage of officials across the country at the high school level, and state high school associations -- the TSSAA included -- need all the help they can get.

In a two-man system, that's just the way it is. You can be in perfect position to see one play, then a snap throw to another base and you're completely straight-lined. It's not a perfect system, but it is what it is. With a limited number of umpires, it's just not feasible to go to a three-man system in regular-season or district tournament play. In district play, there's just not enough umpires to go around to have three-man crews at every site. When you pare it down to just a few teams at the regional level, then you can go with three.

I was also at TBA and just got back home after some mild "celebrating". My dad was sending me text messages about both games....I was excited as could be when I heard UC lost....but when he sent me the text message about the Falcons losing, it was kinda hard for me to get too upset because the Vols were up by 25 at the time. I really hate to see that neither of the two best teams in the state will be in Murfreesboro, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Congratulations to the Falcons on a great season!

They really should have this tournament somewhere like UTM. There isn't a high school gym in Tennessee that could hold all the fans that want to come to these games.

According to the 2006-07 NFHS Basketball Rule Book, 84 feet is the recommended length for a high school court. It cannot be any longer than 94 feet and should not be shorter than 74 feet. If it is shorter than 74 feet, it should be divided by two lines, each 40 feet from the farther end line.

Oh jeez. Here we go again. For at least the 6,478th time, I will say this: If you don't like the officiating and think you can do better, GET OUT THERE AND DO IT. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut! But you know what? All you whiners and complainers won't do it because you know you couldn't do any better. You know that you'd crack under the pressure of having upwards of 2,000 people critique your every move for 3 hours a night, 2-3 nights a week. Like the old adage says, officiating is the only profession in which you're expected to be perfect on your first day and improve every day after that. It's people like you complainers, who sit in the stands and yell at officials all night and then get on the message boards and dog them some more, that are keeping new people from getting into officiating. Eventually, you're not going to have enough officials to cover all the games. They are already running into this problem in Florida with football -- many schools down there are being forced to play on Wednesday or Thursday night just so there are enough officials to cover the games. Guess what? If there aren't any officials, there aren't any games. PERIOD. And it's all the idiots that don't know the rules, don't know what officials go through and don't seem to understand officiating at all that are making people who could be good officials not get into the profession. And that just hurts the game that much worse.