Opperman

If time and pitching isn't convincing then try this.

 

Ballparks.

 

How many 400', quadplexes with like conditions exist? You just need to watch softball tournaments to understand. Teams can move from field to field after games and not think twice about it. But it's not a big deal since the next field is on the other side of the concession stand.

 

Softball is a different game. It's never been the same.

I agree with you that it's different...I can't stand it. No offense to softball fans.

But again, you're playing the same number of games. The only difference is that instead of a 4x2 tournament, you're playing a pure double-elim. You go from having 13 to 15 games to having 14 or 15. A team that wins all the way through would need four games to do it, just like the current format. A team that loses early would need to play seven, compared to six in the current format.

And just looking at the softball tournament's schedule, I don't really see a big difference between the two schedules. AAA softball only used one field except for Wednesday morning.

And BTW, in this year's softball tournament no team played a doubleheader.

In 2003 USJ went into the championship game undefeated

and lost in 8 innings to Davidson Academy 8-7, DA had

lost earlier in the tournament . At that time the

TSSAA was using the NCAA college world

series format. The NCAA has since changed the

format to double elimination and the TSSAA has not.

Four of the 2005 USJ State Champion players played

for the Bruins in 2003 and entered the 2005 tournament

determined that it would not happen again, and it didn't!

No, the NCAA has not changed the format to double elimination. It's still 4x2, but with a best of three between the winners, not a single game.

Bonds will go down as the Greatest Baseball Player EVER!!! When he retires....Like him or not its the truth....

The unfortunate thing is that all the lynch mob hysteria has gotten to the point that people don't realize how good he was up until 1998.

He's a bit of a jerk, sure, but there's been no shortage of jerks that were in the inner circle of baseball's elite. Including the guy he just passed on the HR list.

Gene Cotton and residents of Williamson County

fought 840 for years. The courts found that the

state had not done proper site studies, etc.

 

Personally, I think 840 is a good idea, but whoever

managed and planned it should have been fired, if

he/she wasn't. Terrible management and planning.

 

Isn't there a big difference between what the state

and federal governments have to do when they

build roads? I think this was a big issue in the 840

debate, especially on the environmental impact.

Well, if a road is built by the federal government, it has to meet certain environmental standards. A state can build a road to whatever environmental standards it wants, and I've heard some people say TDOT liked to cut corners on new highways to try to build them faster and cheaper.

FWIW, once a road is built, if it meets standards of the Interstate system (median widths, lane widths, no way on or off except by the ramps, etc.), it can be assigned as an interstate...which is what TDOT is doing, eventually, with both 840 and part of TN-385 (future I-269) in the Memphis area.

And yes, pretty much everybody involved in the 840 mess at TD(whitearrowinagreencircle)TGo. has been let go, I think. If not, they've been severely reprimanded.

Opperman...how has DeAngelo been doing? Any word?

Haven't really heard anything in a while. I'm sure he's doing well, though.

It is a pretty stretch of country. The new road construction you saw, where you had to go back to two lanes about 10 miles from L'Burg, is part of the same project I was talking about. You were about a 1/2 mile from my house when you entered the L'Burg city limits.

 

Be sure and keep an eye out for my dogs.

Believe me, I was afraid your dogs would show up.

My complaint with all of the road projects is best told in the following example:

 

3 years ago the state bought .15 of an acre (yep, .15 of 1 acre) off the corner of my property for the Hwy 64 bypass. If they do not build the bypass it is not a big problem for me other than I am only 45 feet from the right-of-way at the closest point.

 

The road, however, will go through my neighbor's house so they forced him to move, charged him rent until he did, and he has now built a new house 100 yards from his old one which has sat empty for almost two years now.

 

A half mile away at the intersection of two main roads there now sit 6 more nice empty houses which they removed the front doors from after the occupants moved. The yards are grown up, etc, and the whole area looks like crap.

 

Now they are saying they may not build the bypass because it will require a very tall, very expensive bridge across Shoal Creek. Guess someone forgot to tell the state that that creek was there when they laid out the route.

 

I actually want the road to be built now (1) because of all of the above (2) it will help some minor drainage problems around my property (3) I couldn't sell my property if I had to because no one who is unfamiliar with the area isn't exactly sure what impact the road will have, no matter what I tell them.

 

Once a project gets to this point, or to the point that 840 has, then finish the thing.

BTW, I took the adventurous route to Murfreesboro last week. Highway 64 to Fayetteville, then Highway 231 to Murfreesboro. I didn't realize how pretty the stretch from Waynesboro on would be.

(And no, I haven't gone crazy -- I've gone 40-440-24 a million times and I'd never gone out 64 past Savannah)

The last southern section (I-40 West near Dickson to I-65 South) is supposed to be finished in the near future.

 

The northern loop is still on a map but for all practical purposes is dead.

 

Because it's never going to be completed it's now called simply state route 840. It does not carry an interstate designation anymore (even though that's exactly what it is.

 

Thank goodness we're not going to be Atlanta.

They can call the southern half I-840.

I stopped in Bells on the way up and in Troy on the way back.

Why would anyone stop in Bells?

(Before anyone asks, yes I'm baiting a response from someone)

DC at the OC position baby.

 

Memphis' defensive line dosent matter with that flag football defensive scheme JLD runs.

Yes it does. 3-man front isn't exactly an unheard-of gimmick. 2-man front because you're out of bodies at the position is. They had no ability to stop the run. I don't see why Fulmer didn't just run off-tackle every play. 3-man front can contain that. 2-man front can't.

Well worth watching UT blow Memphis out!

If you couldn't do that to a Memphis team with no passing game, no defensive line, and without one of the top 5 running backs in the nation, what makes you think you'll do it when Memphis does have a passing game and a defensive line.

Who won tournament MVP for each class?

I don't think they gave out an actual award. But there's no question who the AAA MVP was.

Y'all are far too kind..... Just an old ball coach showing off on the radio....

If this is Ralph, good to meet you today.

Congrats to Farragut.

Catopano is a stud. He was overwhelming today.

Ever wonder why mandatory drug testing isn't sanctioned by TSSAA. Ever ask yourself why an organization as big and powerful as the TSSAA doesn't write a ruling regarding supplements and hold the coaches and AD's of all Tennessee school accountable by random drug screen all year long. Think about it and you will know the answer. Ask the coaches around the state at all levels if they think its a good idea and see what kind of answers you get back. Take a good look at Div I college programs and tell me that supplements aren't being used on a widespread basis all around the country ...this is the unspoken dirty little secret in sports and no one wants to admit it.

Supplements aren't all illegal.

Hey Opp...I`d love to hear your real thoughts!

 

I`d love to hear you broadcast one of your games and this rule comes into play. The commentary would be worth lstening to.

 

I can hear you and Pantherbert going off about it on air.

Me? Go off on something? On the air?

NEVER!

I didn`t hear any airhorns, but several folks had made signs or banners.

At Bartlett, though not my graduation there, one of our TEACHERS brought an air horn.

I heard rumors that the Bartlett graduation today was in an arena (Mid-South Coliseum) with no electricity. Meaning no A/C. They ran emergency lights inside the arena for the stage, and they ran a generator to light a couple of bathrooms.

I'm glad that wasn't mine...I would have been VERY angry.

He'd be referring to Arnold.

That's what I'd figured, but you never know.

You have to respect a guy who tries to help somebody break his records.

AAA has become the big class. So the TSSAA plays their game in ''primetime''.

Um...has become?

I saw Bartlett play earlier this week and they were a very solid team, so ill take bartlett, what time does this game start?

7:00.

This has been an amazing run for Bartlett. A fairly young team overall (sophomores at catcher, short, and third and a soph #3 pitcher), they haven't gotten to the regionals since 2000, haven't gotten to the sectional in I can't even figure out how long. They'd been the last team out in the district tournament two or three years in a row.

First state tournament berth since 1971 and they're in the finals. This has been incredible.

10:00 state championship game is just mean... 1:00 is also marginal

Can't really avoid it if you want to play them all in one day.

Directions to Murfreesboro please...

Take I-40 to I-440 to I-24 east. Murfreesboro is roughly exit 80, give or take 5 miles or so depending what part of town.

I believe the NCAA has gone back to the true double-elimination haven't they? They went to a single game for a few years while CBS was televising the event.

Nope.

It's 2x4, with a three-game series for the title.

aren't there 8 regions?..........i just think if you win your region in a double elimination tournament you deserve to go to the state tourney ............i have spent the whole week watching a four team tournament at Oakland...........the winner will play the winner of another four team tournament tomorrow night for the championship..........i don't think it's a bad thing to have 8 teams in the state playoffs................i do think the one game playoffs for the region and substate are the wrong way to determine the teams...........regional tourneys should be double elimnation and if you must have a sub state round it should be best of three..........one stud pitcher should not be able to carry a team to the state where you have to have a good staff to win.......just my opinion and i am just a dad who loves the game!..........did make it to mtsu to see the first bartlett/frankin game yesterday,,, you guys look tough!...........should be a great game friday night

I disagree with the idea of taking one from every region, period.

Region 8-AA's representative in this would get beat by whatever score the other team wanted both games. There's other weak regions, but 8-AA is the most glaring. They got beat a combined 43-0 in the sectionals.

I'd prefer three-game series in the sectionals.

Or, for 7-AA vs 8-AA, one doubleheader.

Well in this post everyone is going to have their say in which side is best...being from the east i must say that the east is...i just think there is more competition year in and year out with a ton of teams that could go to state if they didn't have to face Farragut, SD, DB, and others...those are just a few powerhouses over here...i don't wnat to rub people the wrong way that is just my personal opinion.

Bring them over for the gauntlet of Bartlett, Germantown, Collierville, and Houston. And Cordova, Bolton, Arlington in a few years, Millington, Munford.

It ain't a cakewalk in the west, except for the first round of the regional for the two of Germantown, Collierville, and Houston that get there.

Again, I believe that a coach will pretty much know the opposing team's ability before they play each other. All you have to do is read the newspaper - it is there for all to see. Put your second or third string in the entire time; do a senior's night thing where the team gets to see how they will be next year without the senior or starters - whatever. It just makes no sense whatsoever to put your first string in in the first place knowing what type of team you are up against, unless, of course, you have all those parents glaring at you wondering why junior, the star player, isn't able to play just because they are up against a lesser team. Hmmm, I suppose that would raise the hackles of a lot of parents who didn't come just to watch their child sit on the sidelines.

OK so what if your second and third string is still 60 points better? If you're winning by this much anyway, it does mean they can't do anything, on either side of the ball, against anyone you have in uniform.

Or what if it's a playoff game?

Sorry, but you have to make sure you win the game.