tcs

Swish--once again, I will make my point that Bartlett High is not in the city of Memphis, is not part of Memphis City Schools, does not have open enrollment, does not have the same talent pool as the Memphis schools, gets only players from its district (okay, I'll admit there were some who found loopholes to get into Bartlett, but that's what a good coach will do for you.) And they still won the state championship in 2001. And, anybody who thinks that Terry Tippett at White Station is not a good coach has obviously never seen White Station play. You can't win without coaching; this is why teams like Hamilton don't even make it to Murfreesboro (much less win the state championship) most years.

But what's the point of claiming to be from Memphis when you're actually from Bartlett, home of the 2001 AAA state champs? Oh, BTW, I'm more than a little peeved that both Richmond's (Rick Houston) and Ole Miss's (Jonathan Loe) athletic departments seem to be under the impression that Bartlett High is in Memphis.

It's pretty easy to explain why Cromwell is #6 in the state but #10 in the nation on nbadraft.net. NBADraft.net rates players based on pro potential; Gomab rates them based on college potential. This difference allows a player such as Rousean Cromwell, the #6 college prospect among sophomores in Tennessee, to be the #10 pro prospect among sophomores in the nation. Cromwell's pro potential is based solely on his height at this point. And remember that he has up to six more years (two more in high school, up to four in college) before he will be in the NBA draft, while he only has two years to develop before he plays in college.

Actually, I think what Campbelle was implying is that Stiggers returned to the same home in Memphis. Normally, this would mean that he would be in the same school zone and thus attending the same school... but obviously, thanks to Memphis's open enrollment policy he is not. I like the open enrollment policy from an academic standpoint, but players should not be allowed to enroll at different schools for athletic reasons.

I noticed that also. West Tennessee is loaded in AAA this season.

The reason why female athletes or cheerleaders who become pregnant quit the team/squad, but the male athlete who impregnated her does not, is simple. Even early along in the pregnancy, participating in an athletic competition could present a danger to the baby. It has nothing to do with a question of morality; it has everything to do with the best interests of the mother-to-be and her child. Yes, the male is 50% responsible, but nothing will happen to the baby if something happens to him during an athletic event. In addition... in many cases the father of the child is not known, or there are several possibilities. Being kicked off the team or squad is not punishment; it is in the best interests of the mother, the child, and the team. But I do think it is wrong for girls who become pregnant to be kicked out of Beta club or something like that. That's just ridiculous. [Edited by tcs on 11-11-02 4:50P]

I liked the old system better as well. My main beef with the current system is that it means that only one team from, say, Memphis can make it to the semifinals (in each class.) If Germantown and Houston are the two best teams in the state, why should they have to meet in the quarterfinals rather than the semifinals? I think part of what makes the NCAA Tournament so exciting is that teams can't play other teams from their conference until the Elite Eight, at the earliest. This means that teams are playing teams that are unfamiliar to them. OTOH, when Bartlett went to the semifinals in 1999, we played Kirby, Houston, and Germantown before losing to Glencliff. We had played Kirby and Houston in the regular season, and Germantown is anything but unfamiliar. (True, none of those three are region teams, but that's beside the point.) TSSAA should take a page from the NCAA and mix things up a bit when it comes to the playoffs. It would make things more exciting.

Uhhh... the Falcons took away some of Riverdale's respect? I thought Riverdale was still ranked in the top 5 in the state.

Collierville could beat JCM, and Whitehaven could beat Bolton. But I wouldn't take either one to the bank just yet. JCM may be unproven, but they ARE 10-0. Teams don't go undefeated by accident. And it would be hard for Bolton to sneak up anybody after they beat Houston, but I think they still can beat Whitehaven.

Cordova? Good? Cordova isn't even in the playoffs... And as for Bolton-Whitehaven... if high school football were all about athletes, Whitehaven would not have lost to Germantown 52-12. IMO, the biggest factor in Bolton's turnaround has been coaching. Bolton basically has the same talent pool as the other Shelby County (i.e., not Memphis) football team--the demographics of their district are similar to that of Bartlett--so this is not a question of talent. Collierville over JCM may not happen. Point taken that Collierville cannot seem to defeat the better opponents on its schedule. But I wouldn't rule out an upset. My point is that JCM has rolled through a relatively weak region this season. It's definitely a game to watch.

Let's hear what everyone thinks about the first round in 5A. Here's my take on Memphis. Collierville(7-3) at Central-Merry(10-0): JCM is undefeated, but their opponents were a combined 40-59. Take out Bolton (who they played in Week 2) and Haywood County (Week 3), who are both better (IMO) now than they were than at that point, and JCM's opponents were 24-55. Collierville's three losses came against Germantown, Houston, and Whitehaven. This will be one of the better games of the week in 5A, and I'm looking for an upset. The pick: Collierville 21, Central-Merry 17 Overton(5-5) at Houston(8-2): Even if Abe Felix isn't playing, Houston will win. Houston always seems to play better in the postseason. The pick: Houston 34, Overton 14 Whitehaven(5-5) at Bolton(8-2): I'm still in shock that Bolton has rolled to an 8-2 record and has made the playoffs. This is a team that won seven games COMBINED in the previous four years. Whitehaven goes into this game as the favorite despite their deceptive record. But Bolton's win over Houston proves that they are for real. This is another game to keep an eye on; I'm picking Bolton to win in a mild upset. The pick: Bolton 14, Whitehaven 10 Bartlett(3-7) at Germantown(10-0): Germantown killed Bartlett 46-0 in the season opener. Germantown has gotten better since then; Bartlett has been shut out in each of its four non-region games. This game won't be much different from the teams' first matchup. The pick: Germantown 49, Bartlett 0 I'd like to hear some people's thoughts on these games and the others this week across the state.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Collierville beat JCM in 5A. JCM is 10-0, but they play in what may have been the weakest region in 5A this season. Besides that, Region 8 has typically dominated 7 in the playoffs in the past. This should be a good game.

Being a Bartlett grad, I'm not going to pick us to upset Germantown given their 46-0 shellacking of us earlier this season. Heck, we haven't even scored a point outside of our region games.

Tha Big House? Are you talking about Michigan Stadium? Because I'd heard that Ben wanted to play football...

For the record, it was Kirby that was built first, then Houston, then Cordova. To my best recollection, Kirby was built in 1980, Houston around 1989 or so, and Cordova opened in 1997. I don't doubt that Germantown is one of the best teams in the state, and they should make it at least to the semifinals. JCM is also undefeated, but they play in a significantly weaker region (Bartlett, at 3-6, is likely to be playoff-bound.)

I don't think JCM will make it to the quarterfinals. While they are 9-0, they haven't really played anybody. I'm looking at a strong possibility for a Germantown-Houston rematch in the quarterfinals.

Like TJ said, it's laughable that somebody actually thinks Ben will be working at McDonald's for the rest of his life simply because of this incident. Anybody who thinks that obviously doesn't know Ben. I don't think that what Ben did would in any way warrant going to a correctional facility. Ben has already been punished for this incident; why don't we just give it up?

I'm going to have to debate your selections for the playoff picture in 7-5A. The current standings go: Central-Merry (4-0, 8-0) Memphis Overton (3-2, 4-4) Bartlett (3-2, 3-5) Bolton (2-2, 6-2) Cordova (2-2, 3-5) Millington (1-3, 1-7) Memphis Central (0-4, 2-6) Now, you predicted that the order of finish for the playoffs would be JCM, Bartlett, Overton, and Cordova. It's highly unlikely that Bartlett would finish second--for Bartlett to finish second, Overton would have to lose to Central (Overton would win a tiebreaker over Bartlett based on head-to-head.) Cordova's status is shaky given that they need to either beat JCM or for Bartlett to beat Bolton (which isn't a given.) Since Bolton beat Houston last Friday (Houston's first loss of the season) I think they're for real. My prediction for Region 7 is JCM, Bolton, Overton, and Bartlett.

Was at the game with a friend (I'm not partial to either team)... #87 (Beasley) had some good catches, including one for a touchdown; #32 dominated running the ball. It didn't look like Milan was having much trouble against Huntingdon's defense.

The open enrollment policy is only for Memphis City schools. Thus schools in suburban Shelby County such as Bartlett, Bolton, and Germantown, cannot get any player they want (from what I understand, it is VERY difficult to obtain a transfer between the two school systems; for example, it would be difficult for a student who lives in Memphis to attend Bartlett High.) Shelby County schools have standard school zoning (it is possible to get a transfer, but it's more difficult than in the city school system.) Thus you must exclude county teams like Bartlett from any argument about Memphis teams dominating because of open enrollment. I don't think open enrollment helps Memphis teams a whole lot. You could make a case of it if one or two teams dominated the state every year, but there are generally at least 6-10 good teams in Memphis who have the potential to win a state championship. For example, this year you have White Station, East, Raleigh-Egypt, and Hamilton in AAA, and Ridgeway and BTW in AA, not to mention I'm probably leaving out a few state contenders. It has more to do with Memphis having a deep talent pool than open enrollment. True, teams like Manassas and South Side are hurt by open enrollment since they rarely have enough talent to field a good team, but it's hard to say that any Memphis team is helped a lot by it since there are so many good teams in Memphis. Tom