jydawg

It's ok Honey. I didn't start the baseball topic here, merely replied to it. But you're right, this is a football thread.

You should clearly stick with football because you have no clue of the state of the baseball team. McKamey will do well and it's awesome that Gaylors back in. However, Matt Byrd is the worst hire @ the school since Kevin Catlett He'll be lucky to make it to the District Tournament.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Clinton people being pleased with Byrd is the most inaccurate statement ever posted on Coach T.

They're legit. 7-8 College signees. Injuries have hurt them as of late. They certainly don't play a weak schedule. 2AAA is a pretty decent District and the non-district schedule is as tough as they come.

9 college signees, not D1. Osborne Tn Tech, Lingo UT, Conner Carson Newman, Paul Vol State. Silva Cleveland State. That's just naming 5 of them off the top of my head.

How do you leave Sevier Co. out of this conversation? Three D1 arms (one a UT commit) and 9 College signees. They have to get past Farragut to get to state but they are solid.

Clinton vs. Karns Game For all that saw it, the bang-bang play @ 1st. was a judgement call. The field umpire called the runner out. The plate umpire reverses the call. My question is why? Was there irrefutable evidence? IMO, no. The ball didn't get dropped. That being said the umpires are human, mistakes can be made. My problem is the actions of the umpires after the play. Both umpires verbally attacked the Clinton dugout. The field umpire dropped the f-bomb. And I'll quote "This wouldn't have happened if you would have voted for 3 f'in umpires" speaking directly with the Head Coach. Now if this had been a coach talking, as soon as that word came out of his mouth he would have been thrown out. No question, do not pass go, go to the house. Eddie Turpin defends his boys to a fault. There are about 3 of them in the whole association that are good. Mr. Umpire you are not as much a part of the game as you think you are. You should be invisible. Make the call to the best of your ability and that is all. Stop trying to influence the game. I'll say it again, stop trying to influence the game. Eddie, sorry but sometimes you're guys are dead wrong. I'm not talking about the call, I'm talking about the way they conduct themselves. This situation is exactly why things get out of control. The Coalfield incident for example. First of all, the kid was dead wrong. But if the umpire had gotten away from the dugout it wouldn't have happened. Once again an umpire antagonizing an already unstable group of temperamental young men. The players and coaches start in the fall and work til spring just to get their season started. Umpires pass a test and have a meeting and then they are on the field. Players and coaches have a little more invested than the umpires do. Umpires collect their $ and go home and cry and complain how "it's just a game". I agree, it's just a game but if I invested as much time,effort, and energy in checkers as players and coaches do in preparing for a season, I would be a cut throat player to anyone who sat down across from the table to play me at Cracker Barrel. So for the sake of the game stop attacking dugouts, quit trying to influence the outcome of a game, and make the call to the best of your ability. That's all anyone asks.

Hardin Valley Oak Ridge AC (sleeper pick) Powell(new coach) Halls(lost 8 starters) Clinton(new coach) Karns(new coach) Central CC(new coach) I think it's obvious HV and OR are the two top in this district, they definitely have the arms. I like AC, Ben will win with Tackett & Newman. Jays unproven but a good coach that will bring some discipline to a very underachieving team the last two years. Halls lost too many players to be at the top of the district but Coach Polston will always compete. I think Clinton will surprise some people. Collette will rejuvenate the program but the talents not quite there, yet. Karns will be working with anew coach but so are a lot of teams in this district. Central and CC will be in the celler but Lovette will coach his way to some wins, most of his ball players are at other programs. I think 5,6,7 spots are completely up for grabs but remember this is one of the biggest districts in the state. It all changes next year when HV is replaced with Gibbs.

I've been at both public and private schools. Let's be honest most people will tell you they are transferring for the education but that's just a way to hide they're really not happy with the way things are going. Travel ball has a lot to do with it. Most travel ball programs(with exception) are coached by daddy's that are trying to fill some void left in their youth before they discovered Bud light and Mötley Crüe. With all that being said if the child doesn't immediately develop the easiest thing to do is blame the coach,especially at the HS level. I personally know Hoch and Froning, both pitching guys that have developed guys to play at the next level and are both proven and in my humble opinion good coaches. Really no need to transfer. Even at the academic level OR is probably the best public education you can get, I would even go as far as saying its comparable to Grace, minus a bible class. One last point before I go, even though it's Christian and private with it comes the disposable income of private school kids. They are still kids with $ to spend and that can lead to a dangerous situation. Don't make the mistake of thinking b/c it's a Christian school they don't have the same problems as public. And the parents b/c they are paying for an education feel as if they are entitled to have input into how a program is run. Players play. Coaches coach. Parents SHOULD cheer not complain.

As far as E. Tennessee, the team that stands out is Grace Christian Academy. They are coached by Brian Hochever whose son is currently the KC Royals #1. They are coming off a TSSAA suspension that was an infraction on the basketball team, so from what I can tell they will be playing with a chip on their shoulder. They also have a kid by the name of oh, Helton. If hes not related to Todd he should tell everyone he is anyway. As someone who is in the know and have seen both GCA and Harriman play it goes to GCA in this divsion. I believe they are both in the same district and if this is true you will probably see them play it out in the Region.