legman

Empro, While your identity still escapes me, it's probably for the best. But before you relieve yourself of any attacks, please read your own words on 2-7 "we give up" and on 2-8 "well" on this same thread. If those negative remarks were not directed at me, then who? Who exactly do you think makes these decisions regarding our program? You don't have to say a man's name when it is so obvious to whom you are referring. Like many others, you took your anonymous, cheap shots and now you'll walk away. Imagine that. I'm done with this.

Empro, I generally do not debate with a man who hides behind a false identity. Personally, I find it pointless because there is no responsibility placed on the person and they can more or less be arrogant and confident from the safety of their home, far from accountability. However, let me assure you that I do not need your permission or acceptance on this issue. It is something for which I feel strongly, and no amount of anonymous slander will sway me. The coaching staff at McCallie have been gentlemen toward me throughout this entire ordeal even though we certainly do not agree. The nails in the coffin are being driven in not by them, but by people like you who must, for your own selfish reasons, continue to open old wounds and pour salt in while disguising it as what is best for the sport. The arguments are old and tired, yet widen the gap that exists between us already. You may feel confident and clever from behind your keyboard, but you're doing more damage than you know. As to your seeming accusation of my hypocrisy, I hope that Sly cleared it up for you... 20 years, over 400 different wrestlers in our program and we've had 3 guys move in. Bradley wrestlers are Bradley kids, from Bradley county schools...period. This post will, no doubt open me up for additional attack, but I just couldn't let your arrogant 4TH attempt go by. By the way, my name is Steve Logsdon...didn't catch yours.

Yes. According to Coach Stoika, the Chatt. Central boys could have safely made it, but the Superintendent said that it would not be fair to allow them to go when he had postponed the Region 4 tournament because of weather.

I just got off of the phone with Coach Stoika from McMinn Co. He informed me that the Region 3 tournament has been postponed until Saturday. The Hamilton Co. "snow rule" prevents Chatt. Central from participating. We will weigh in Saturday AM at 9:00 and begin wrestling soon after.

Walkenvol, Thanks for the gesture. Good luck to you and the men of McCallie. Legman

Just wanted to take a minute and thank the wrestling fans of Clarksville. After talking to our fans, parents, cheerleaders etc. as well as my own experience, it seems that these folks did all that they could do to make us feel welcome. Personally, I lost count of the number of times a Clarksville fan, wrestler or parent came to me with a kind word or greeting. From the gate workers to the ladies in the hospitality room to Artie himself, no one could have been any nicer. Thank you for your hospitality during an exciting and stressful weekend. You're great competitors and just nice people. Coach Logsdon, BCHS

Mobee1, Couldn't have said it better myself. You're never going to be too popular if you keep defending us with those silly facts of yours. Keep your head low, my friend. Legman

As Bradleys' coach, I know the people in our program pretty well. Different people, different incomes, different personalities, ...but one wrestling family. These supporters and parents care about these kids and support them unbelievably, both with their time and their resources. One of these folks is Mike Creagan. Without going into detail, let me just say that you would be fortunate to have Mike and his family in your program. They give time and energy to support their sons and this program without ever asking for anything in return. Perhaps as importantly, he creatively finds ways to expose our fine sport to the public and give wrestling the exposure that we all feel it deserves. Thanks, Mike.

Thanks for the continued interest in who Bradley wrestles. However, I must inform you of a few things. Being that the Va. Duals is a Nationally recognized tournament that they are trying to make tougher each year, we feel lucky just to get an invitation. The tournament brings in many of the top teams in the country and in fact, invited most of the top 20 ranked teams this year (although some declined). Several months ago, we sent in seeding info. and a team profile. Without names such as Keller or Blackmon in our lineup, we have a team of good kids, but without national recognition. And let's face it, they're not going to seed us high because we're from Tennessee. They elected to place us in the American division. In all honesty, we're probably exactly where we belong. While some people might like to see Bradley get humbled at this tournament, you have to understand something. We're already humble. While we do o.k. here in our back yard, we have no illusions of National power. Our goals are simple...hard work and improvement every day. The tests we're studying for happen at the end of this season and they take place here in Tn. The Va. duals are just another stepping stone toward our goals. While it would be interesting to wrestle Great Bridge, St. Marks, Camden Catholic etc. as we did two years ago, it isn't going to happen this year. Instead, we'll be exposed to other teams who will, in all likelyhood give us all we want and then some. Until late summer, this trip wasn't in the plan due to finances. However, our boosters came together and scraped together almost $4000 to pay for it. A big thank you to the Bradley fans....you guys are the best. Coach Logsdon

Not only did Carter have a program, but in the early 80's, Coach Jackson would take us to the Carter Invitational as our first tournament of the season. They had some tough kids. Hopefully, a few are still around and might lend a hand to get things started up again. It's great to see them cranking it back up. Legman

I don't know.....ever here of Dan Gable? Seems some mighty good Iowa State teams wore robes. Remember the UTC teams from the 70's that we so fondly remember? Robes! Best of all, in a world full of followers, it's refreshing to see a unique idea. Wear 'em proud guys.

Lee, Don't you realize what it does to some of us old guys when a young man gets on here and expresses himself so well? Maybe it opens our eyes just a little wider so that we see things just a little more clearly. Maybe we're not so far apart, huh? I have such respect for your dad. Not only as a coach and a gentleman, but as a competitor as well. It doesn't seem so long ago that the "McCallie Coach" came into my UTC practice room my Freshman year to roll around with us after his season had ended. I quickly gained an understanding that Bradley was not the only "leg school" in town. Your dad threw in his mouthpiece, then threw in his legs and made a believer of me. It seems he knows a little something about raising a son as well. I'm humbled by your honesty and lack of a personal agenda. Thank you for taking the time to let me know how the true McCallie men feel. We don't have to agree on every issue, but only respect each other. Good luck to you, your dad and your team. Coach Logsdon

rcpatriot, I'm sorry, but I can't give you a very complete list right now. This time of season is pretty hectic, so Coach Jackson, our tournament director takes care of most of the "organizational" stuff. Some teams drop while others add and I just kind of sit back and wait. Tomorrow night, however is our seeding meeting and I'll have a complete list by late eve. If I get a chance, I'll throw it on here when I get home. Sorry I can't be more help right now.

Bluewhirly, So many insults.....gee, how original. You've said in your posts what the hundreds of other posts just like yours couldn't quite capture. Now I realize the error of my ways and my true cowardice. Thank you. It seems that you feel some personal grudge with me and my program. You so bravely post it on this board. I was somewhat surprised when you offered to settle it on the mat......ok, I'm in. What time can you be here? ...........or....is that not what you meant? By the way, my name is Steve Logsdon...I didn't catch your name ??? Only your insults. Care to stand behind your post? Touchy?....Panties in a Twist?... No, just bored with everything coming back to our program and what we do with it.

Can't say that I know who you are, bcjeeper, but plan to find out tomorrow at practice. In the meantime, please practice silence. To anyone reading, please allow me to apologize. Our team at Bradley has some potential, but there is much work to be done. We try to teach humility and character, yet sometimes a person with possible good intentions gets caught up in this "platform" and begins to ramble on. Please know that we do not share his attitude, nor any disrespect for our opponents. The beauty of our sport is that each wrestler has 6:00 to convey any "message" that he wants to send. Let's keep it on the mat. Again, my apologies to anyone offended....this is not what Bradley Wrestling is about. Coach Logsdon

Several people have asked about the progress of our Tennessee boys in College programs. Haven't heard much on Simpson this season except that he's Nationally ranked and a beast. I know that Ward is injured, but coming back strong. How about McCarty, McKnight etc..? Rusty Blackmon has had a great couple of weeks since losing a challenge match to #4 ranked Muhammad Lawal. Last weekend, he finished 3rd in the Central Missouri Open. This past weekend, he again finished 3rd, this time at the Kaufman/Brand (Omaha Neb.) Open. Along the way, he took out Lininger (Minn. starter), Bader (Arizona starter), Ryan Fulsass (Iowa starter) and avenged a first round s.d. ot loss to Stender (N. Iowa starter) with a 7-2 win. He won 7 matches total to round out a great weekend. Matt Keller at Nebraska was at the same tournament, wrestling in the 20 yrs. and under division. He won the tournament with 5 straight wins including 3 pins and a major dec. to claim the title at 125 lbs. as well as the O.W. Along the way, he pinned Ok. State's Derrick Fleenor, an undefeated 4X Oklahoma State Champion. Keep making us proud!! [Edited by legman on 11-24-02 10:19P]

Just for the record... Catlett wrestled Blankenship in the semis of the Huntsville Inv. last season. He was up 7-1 in the 2nd p. when he pinned Blankenship. [Edited by legman on 11-20-02 7:33P]

Not only is Rusty healthy, he's doing great at OSU. He recently however, lost a challenge match for the starting spot at 197. He was beaten by 2X DII National Champ, Muhammad Lawal who transferred in for what I think is his Senior year (currently ranked #4 in the country, DI). Only a redshirt freshman, Rusty is improving and learning, just as he did in high school. When he chose to go to one of the most elite programs in the country, he also accepted the challenges he would face. I have no doubt that his hard work will pay off. He's just that kind of guy.

Clearly, I can see that we are just going to have to agree to disagree about this movie, and that's fine with me. However if there were an award for the usage of adjectives and adverbs in one post,......WOW! You are the man! If you've never thought of a career in movie review, you might be missing your calling. Happy viewing.

Karelin, I couldn't agree more. I actually watched the "extra" tape first which showed the movie trailer, interviews, the making of it, etc. When I saw all of the big names endorsing the movie, I had high hopes for it. Besides, not being a huge Chertow fan, I hoped that he was way off base. However, after watching the movie, I felt much the same as you. It just left me with a bad feeling. I had hoped to show this movie to my team, but there's no way. Besides the things that you pointed out, I couldn't help but notice the constant inclusion of cigarettes and alcohol into the characters and the storyline. Yes, I know that this movie is supposedly based on a true story, but in my mind, it just didn't do our great sport justice. Where is Loudon Swain when you need him? Legman

ta23, Does this mean that you're going to be helping out with the CBHS program this season? We had hoped to see you at the Cleve. Duals last year, but were told you were now an exclusive baseball man. Sure makes an old Papa Bear proud to see one of the cubs grow up and stay around the sport. Sure enjoyed coaching you and would love to watch you coach others. Best of luck...come see the new building when you're in town. Coach Legman

There are some interesting ideas being mentioned. Wish that I could add some wisdom, but I really don't have an answer. Here's what I do know.... Several years ago, a Freshman of mine wrestled a young lady in a JV tournament at Boyd Buchanan. To make a long story short, he lost a close match. Although I did my best, what words would have made this young wrestler feel better? While we as adults can attempt to make this "ok", can we remember back to fourteen or fifteen years old. Already among the smallest of his peers, not physically developed and trying to find a place to fit in, he now had to anticipate returning to school on Monday morning to face the verbal butt-kicking from those who already had heard about the "little guy who got his butt kicked by a girl". I gave him a while before trying to talk to him again still searching for the right words. Found him later in his parents' car in the dark parking lot. Of course, he was devastated and crying. And although I stumbled through it, I still didn't have the right words..What are the right words? I don't know the answers on this topic, but I feel that girls vs. guys is a no-win.

Are you saying that this will be a true "open" tournament with all ages competing, or do you mean only that H.S. athletes will be coming in from all over the country? Just wondering.

Commoner, Can't say that I have a clue who you are, but thanks for the kind words. It suddenly feels a little less lonely in this particular foxhole. (Would have e-mailed you personally, but like I said....) Legman

Sorry if I wasn't clear before.....I am done with this particular subject. (but thanks for the words, Dr Evil) If I do ever want to schedule McCallie, I will be sure to contact a member of their coaching staff rather than a parent, but thanks just the same. I have a great deal of respect for Coach Connell, Coach Newman, Coach Blair and Coach Killian. Even with our disagreements, they have never been anything less than gentlemen toward our program. Outside of the recruiting, financial aid issue, I have only positive things to say about these coaches and their program. This is not and never has been personal. McCallie has a right to be very proud of this wrestling staff.