lawdog

Talked to someone at East Robertson who was at game and close to situation/administration and my understanding is as follows - some sort of altercation at halftime as Forrest fans confronted McEwen folks. That died down but at some point adminstration removed some Forrest fans from the game. Those fans left but then went around to the pass gate and confronted the McEwen pep bus. Two particular Forrest individuals attempted to board the McEwen pep bus and the bus driver's husband tried to stop them at which point he was attacked by the two Forrest fans, who were joined by between 4-6 other people from Marshall County. He sustained a cut over his head and a black eye. Another juvenile for McEwen was hit and two Forrest people were taken into custody. Would suspect from my information that TSSAA has been/will be contacted and more information trying to be gathered for possible arrests of Forrest associated fans. Also vandalism to a McEwen school van believed to have been committed from one of the inidividuals taken into custody from Forrest. Not present at game but as I wrote, information from pretty good source affiliated with tournament.

NeWbLuE, looks like haha is on you as far as McEwen is concerned. Went to the McEwen-Eagleveille game tonight and McEwen never backed down. Your dislike for McEwen appears to turn you into an idiot that cannot give the proper respect to a pretty good team. McEwen had a good game plan and executed it pretty well. McEwen's big man gave the Eagles fits. The Eagles made a run to start the 4th but McEwen withstood it and hit their free throws to seal it. Looks like the haha was on WHH as the couldn't get past the Forrest Rockets. I suspect Forrest-McEwen will be a good match up Tuesday night. The Academy should handle Cascade. I would think there is a good chance of a 10A region finals. McEwen will have to play well to beat Forrest though.

All District 10A girls play in games scheduled for tonight have been moved to Wednesday @ 7 pm at their original locations.

Wrong area but all District 10A girls games scheduled for tonight @ 7 have been moved to Wednesday @ 7.

I thought NCS had a transfer that was going to help. Having watched NCS play a couple of games with the new transfer and a couple before Christmas, it appears to me that he may not be fitting in so well? NCS was playing well right before Christmas and even a little after that. But suddenly they have lost 4 out of 5 and seems when I have seen them play with him, there is not as much chemistry within the team. Maybe not such a good fit? Don't know but NCS is certainly struggling.

Actually a metro police officer tossed them! Did appear someone affiliated w/ the school did talk to the students & moved them off the court which quited them down the rest of the game.

Also at the game last night. NCS played wery well the first half. However, don't know that I would say NCS was better the whole game except for the last couple of minutes? NCS up by 11 at the half & McEwen outscores them 23-12 in 3rd. NCS had absolutely no answer for McEwen's big kid! Paper had him with 27 and 23 of those in the 2nd half! I don't think the NCS players were affected by the crowd as much as they were by McEwen's defense. Mcewen played unbelieveable defense in the second half. That being said I was really impressed with NCS' defense and as always if they hit their 3's they're tough. NCS hit several 3's in the 1st half but couldn't get it to fall in the 2nd. 2nd half McEwen D stepped up and got in their face. Thought that the referees let it get a little wild on both sides. NCS student section did get in trouble in fact 3 or 4 got tossed for some not so kind language towards the McEwen players. Not so nice for a "Christian School". 10A District Tourney should be a good one though it appears everybody playing for second. Even though Houston County proved anything can happen last year!

Great post jackpot 1255! I was not at both HC games only the 2nd half of the Hampshire games. Officiating is always going to be an issue and I have rarely if ever seen people agree especially at the high school level on officiating. Again only saw the 2nd half of the Hampshire game and that particialur half of basketball was pretty ugly all the way around. But I am giving you credit for not defending the two young men and their behavior. It is difficult to admit when our teams, especially our alma maters, are not acting as they should. But I applaud you on acknowledging that no matter who or what the situation we have to teach these young men that their behavior was inappropriate. As you mentioned there were other players who kept their cool and acted as they should and that is what we need to teach these young men. At least in the Hampshire game I agree the HC coach didn't appear out of line in the least. One of my other posts said the same and all I can think of is that maybe he said something without getting animated and if you use one of the magic words you will get teed up. Anyway again, I applaud you for seeing the issue and I do really hope that the situation is handled and the boys get their focus back because there are a lot of good people in Houston County that I know and like yourself who deserve to be proud of their school. Good luck to HC the rest of the way!

Dear RitzFan, Let me first say that I listened to you call the first half on my way to Santa Fe and I thought you did a good job. I too have done some local broadcasts for high school athletics and if that was only your second time to call Houston County then you did particularly well in what I heard. I only pointed out that you were with 105.1 because the first poster about this tried to say that even the Hampshire broadcasters were discussing the officiating and I simply knew that that was not true. As for the Santa Fe-Houston County game I did not see it so I cannot comment on it. I do think some posters are confusing the Santa Fe and Hampshire games because the Hampshire coach never was teed up and rightfully so because everything was going his was for the most part. I was listening to to you discuss the hanging on the rim and even you and your partner discussed the technical for hanging on the rim and disagreed a little. I liked your take because you were defending the team you were calling for. I think that is perfectly fine when you are broadcasting high school for your team. But either way that was a judgment call. Skelton then got 2 more at the end of the game (total 3), Coach Young received one and Hammond received one. It was hard to argue with the ones on Skelton and Hammond. Coach Young's I do not know about because it did not appear that he was saying much so unless he was told to stop or said a magic word I don't know what happened. But overall Houston County got 5 technicals I counted the free throws and the technicals in the official book after the McEwen game. Some folks need to remember that 2 of the technicals had regular fouls associated with them so there were foul shots as well. Either way my whole point was not taking up for the officiating but some folks are losing sight of how a couple of young men acted. They were totally out of line and hopefully the administration sends a message that Houston County will not stand for that because they have had a good program and need to erase that embarassment from last night. We all have to deal with bad calls and adversoty but we cannot be allowed to act like what happened in Santa Fe. Good job in calling the game and good post.

Catmama and lawdog, I assure you the radio peeps were not from Houston County. I wasn't there, but I think OUR radio guys know the difference between Mark Beal and Sam Young!!! They called our assistant coach Mark Beal all thru the Santa Fe game and half way thru the Hampshire game. Only after someone told them who it was did they correct themselves! Mr Beal was at NEITHER game. Coach YOUNG was the one on the bench. I wasn't at the game, but I did listen to it, the radio called it the way he saw it in all of the games. I can assure you he made some very disparaging remarks about the foul ratio, the tech calls and the conduct of BOTH schools. From what I have read on here, the refing was terrible both days, with HC and Hampshires game being the worst. I have read the awful things yall have said about our players, so do not talk about the HC crowd, they may yell at the refs, but they don't talk about kids. I have several friends who went, they have all separately told me about the same things about last nights game. Someone posted about our point guard being all over Hampshires?? Ummm... thats his job on defense, our point guard had 4 fouls at halftime? That only proves OUR point, so to whomever said that.. thanks! I can assure you the Skelton boy is a good boy with a good disposition, and was mightily provoked to react the way he did. The t's against Coach Cox were bull, the t against Darius for hanging on the rim was bull, the t against YOUR coach was bull, as was the t against Coach Young. No one is saying that Darius didn't deserve the t's at the end! Bit there was a reason he reacted the way he did. You all know what it is just like we do. As also was posted earlier..... make a time and place, with decent, not good, just decent refs, and the outcome will be different. basketball4me, who the announcers are doesn't really matter. However, I do know that they were calling the game for 105.1 which carries Houston County basketball, not SF, not Hampshire and not Mcewen. So maybe they were subs however I have heard them call Houston County games before. But like your Houston County brethern justafan09 you seem to be more concerned with the outcome of the game than the actions of players. Who actually won a Christmas Classic game with no bearing on the outcome of the season or district standings makes absolutely no difference whatsoever! Who cares!!!! What does matter is how your players handled the adversity. I do not knnow one soul that lives in Hampshire or Santa Fe so I have no dog in their hunt. I am not affiliated with Houston County or any other team that played in Santa Fe. Furthermore I have not said that the officiating was great. What i did say was that in the 2nd half before the chaos began, the fouls were roughly even. It is amazing that you say the technical fouls against both Houston County coaches were bull and the technical foul against Mr. Skelton for hanging on the rim was bull but you were not at the game. Again I can understand saying a referee overreacted on 1 technical, but Houston County received 7 technical fouls in two games, 7!!!!! There is no way that that can all be officiating. Again, I was at the game and the Hampshire coach did not receive a technical!!!!!!!! He is not my coach as I have never met a person who attended, taught at or coached at Santa Fe or Hampshire other than the people that sold me concessions last night. None of us knows what was said on the court between the players except the players but there can be absolutely nothing that was said that would justify Mr. Skelton's actions at the end of the game. Furthermore #10 whoever that young man is also received a technical for his mouthing that was well deserved. I think Houston County is a much better team 9 out 10 times than Hamphsire, probably 90 times out of 100 no matter where you play it. That does not really matter in this conversation. The point to be looked at is that Houston County had a coach disqualified, a player disqaulified, coaches receiving 3 technicals and players receiving 4 technicals. Though the hanging on the rim thing doesn't bother me too much because that happens and you just move on. As I said in an earlier post, the fact that Mr. Skelton got a technical for slamming the ball didn't bother me too much because he is competitive and was frustrated. The problem was that when he was told to leave the bench area he completely lost control. He did not take his anger out towards the Hampshire players who you claim may have provoked him, but at the officials. To the point that he had to be restrained from going towards them on the court. No matter how good a kid he is that cannot be acceptable nor tolerated by our student athletes. If the response is always "let's play on a neautral court with good refs and we win" then that tells me the behavior by the young men from Houston County is acceptable in your eyes and that spells problems with the basketball program. You and justafan09 will probably respond with some foolishness about the announcers and the officials again but until either one of you can address the actions of the young men and coaches for Houston County, and several of the fans for that matter, as being unacceptable, you will only reinforce the point to everyone else that there is a problem in Houston County right now. I hope it gets squared away as there are a lot of good people in Houston County and in the sports programs. The Barnes boy for example never got caught up in that crap and kept his cool. His father is a fine man. But again last night was an embarassment for Houston County and should not be defended.

First of all justafan09 if you listened to the game you had to listen to it on 105.1 which is the Houston County radio station. I listened to it on the way to the game as well and they are the Houston County announcers not Santa Fe announcers. That having been said I am not affiliated with any team that was there but got to the Houston County-Hampshire game at half time. The officiating was not that bad. Up until late in the fourth quarter both teams had close to the same number of fouls in the second half. An acquaintance who saw the whole game said that Hampshire just came out and out hustled and out played Houston County in the first half. He said that after Skelton's dunk Hampshire took over. The problem I saw with Houston County in the second half was they totally lost their composure. There were actually 5 technicals on Houston County last night. Their coach got two the night before and has to sit for a couple of games. So 7 total technicals in 2 games, that has to be unacceptable. The first technical was on the Skelton boy for hanging on the rim in the first half after his dunk. The second tech was on number 10 for Houston County who mouthed and whined every time he got a foul called on him. On his fifth he was very demonstrative and got a tech. The girls coach, filling in for the missing boys coach, apparently then said something to the referee and was given a technical as well. At that point Houston County was down by around 20. However they made a run to cut it to 6 with plenty of time left and several of us sitting there said it looked like Houton County was going to pull it out despite how bad they played. At that point the Skelton kid got called for his 5th foul and that's where everything went to pieces. After the call he slammed the ball to the court and was given a tech for slamming the ball, which is legit. The problem then began because that was his second tech and the coaches were told he was ejected not just fouled out and had to leave the bench. Apparently young Mr. Skelton did not take kindly to this because what happened next is best described nicely as chaotic. Mr. Skelton had to be escorted off the court not only by a coach but a couple of other adults because he was extremely agitated. As he was being led off the court he gave the officials the old your number 1 sign and received a second technical. Then as he was at about the Hampshire bench he turned and started pointing at the officials and had to be restrained from going out on the court to them and was saying lord only knows what. The official again blew the whistle and started to give him another tech but refrained. He would have been extremely justified in giving Skelton another tech for his behavior. In fact the Hampshire coach asked about what he thought was a 3rd tech and the official told him I didn't call it. I am not sure what is going on in Houston County but it appears to me that the administration needs to get a handle on the boys basketball program. Your coach is ejected on one night and a player ejected the next. Your fill in coach also gets a t. Again 7 technicals in 2 games is totally unacceptable. It is easy to blame all that on the refs and say they were not going to let us win both games but McEwen beat both teams without incident. Houston County should not hold their heads high for their boys behavior last night. It was an embarrasment to your county and your school. The TSSAA will tell Mr. Skelton he will sit for 2 games but Houston County should send a message and sit him for more than that if not permanently for his behavior. Maybe Mr. Skelton was the recipient of a bad call however that does not allow him to act the way he did. I could have dealt with slamming the ball after the fifth because your competitive but to act like Ron Artest as you are escorted off the court is totally unacceptable. The problem with sports today is that adults allow kids to act like Mr. Skelton with no repercussions because we as adults also disagree with those in charge. If we don't set the example when they are in school they think it's okay to act like that when they become adults. Of course there were some Houston County adults applauding their kids for fouling out and clapping for Mr. Skelton when he acted the way he did. That is the problem. We have to stop this behavior. One particular Houston County fan had to be told to keep quite by the administration in the first half and after the game went directly to the referees as they were walking off the court and made some comments towards them and had to be escorted out by a Sheriff's Deputy. Best I could see there is probably not a kid in the gym last night who is going to make a living playing basketball and maybe not even play at the next level. Thus they need to learn to at least respect those in charge when it doesn't go their way and not be allowed to act a fool because you don't like the result. Again Houston County seems to have an issue with their basketball program on the boy's side and they need to get a handle on it quick. The message might hurt, but one should be sent to the entire team including the coach. jastafan09 I don't disagree that officiating is a problem and there are some guys and gals that just do it for the check. However, we cannot let kids act like hoodlums if they disagree with the officials. We don't always agree with our bossees or others in charge but we can't just lose our minds when it doesn't go our way and we have to get that across to these kids. Officials may be terrible but they are still the officials and we have to learn to deal with it. How we deal with it is a part of sports. I would normally say the same thing but Houston County looked far from solid last night. The way they played except for a 2-3 minute stretch where they cut it to six was pretty bad. They could not have beaten anyone in District 10A with their performance last night. Your comments about officiating are true. I am not sure alot of the officials even know the rules or their application. However, both teams have to deal with it. I hope Houston County gets things on the right track because they can be a solid team but they need to get control of what appears to be a bad situation right now. Well Sir, first of all the announcing was not being done by any Houston County people, it was being fed thru the radio station here so those here could listen to it. I didn't know either announcer. Second of all, there were 8 techinals called last night. Go check. 1 on Hampshire coach, 7 on Houston County. The refereeing was terrible, even some 11A peoples have said it. Houston County came into a hostile situation and paid the price for it apparantly. I wasn't there, only know how the announcers were talking. Have talked to a few people this morning, I do know HC boys got tired of being pushed, elbowed, and laughed at cause the refs wouldn't call on Hampshire. As to foul language it was on both sides. The Skelton boy is usually a mild mannered kid and it would take ALOT to make him act the way he did last night. And maybe none of the boys are capable of playing at the next level in your opinion. But that shows your ignorance. Reckon you don't know much about basketball because a couple of them are being looked at. The game is over and fair or not Hampshire won. Lets play in a neutral gym with decent refs and see what happens. Sir i did not say that you personally knew either announcer I said that they were not Sante Fe announcers but calling the game on behalf of Houston County. They were there for 105.1 and calling the game for Houston County, not Sante Fe or Hampshire. Next, again I was at the game, unlike you, and there were not 8 technical fouls called. There were 3 called on Mr. Skelton, 1 on #10 AND 1 on the Houston County coach. That equals five. There was never one called on the Hampshire coach, otherwise he would have lost the use of the coaching box and been restricted to his seat and that was never the case. Houston County had 7 total in 2 games because their coach received 2 Monday night and was disqualified,often confused with ejected. I was there I do not need to go check sir. As for the rest of your post justafan09 maybe you have answered what is wrong with the Houston County boys basketball program? Since you mention that the radio feed was so those of you here could listen I will assume you are from Houston County. The refereeing may have been terrible but again up until the Houston County boys lost their minds the fouls were about even. You have totally missed the point of my post in your blindless defense of Houston County. The point is that we cannot allow the kind of behavior displayed by Mr. Skelton to take place no matter how bad the officiating is in our own opinion. When adults defend this type of behavior then it is allowed to continue or be accepted. However, that is not acceptable behavior no matter if a kid is from Houston County or Maury County! If the behavior exhibited by Houston County's players was acceptable to you and the rest of the community then we know what the problem is with the program. We have all been upset over officiating but we must not be allowed to flip off the officials and curse at them, if cursing is what he did. As for the players abilities you should read my post and understand it before commenting about how much I may or may not know about basketball. My point was whether they could play or not they have to be taught that there are consequences to your behavior. I said "maybe" not play at the next level I did not say could not. Either way you miss the point in your blind acceptance of a young man's behavior. Again, 7 or 8 tachnical fouls against one team is unacceptable and the sign of a problem but again my guess is your post shows the problem in Houston County. Hopefully someone with a better view of things understands that what happened is unacceptable and doles out the appropriate punishments no matter how it affects the basketball season.

First of all justafan09 if you listened to the game you had to listen to it on 105.1 which is the Houston County radio station. I listened to it on the way to the game as well and they are the Houston County announcers not Santa Fe announcers. That having been said I am not affiliated with any team that was there but got to the Houston County-Hampshire game at half time. The officiating was not that bad. Up until late in the fourth quarter both teams had close to the same number of fouls in the second half. An acquaintance who saw the whole game said that Hampshire just came out and out hustled and out played Houston County in the first half. He said that after Skelton's dunk Hampshire took over. The problem I saw with Houston County in the second half was they totally lost their composure. There were actually 5 technicals on Houston County last night. Their coach got two the night before and has to sit for a couple of games. So 7 total technicals in 2 games, that has to be unacceptable. The first technical was on the Skelton boy for hanging on the rim in the first half after his dunk. The second tech was on number 10 for Houston County who mouthed and whined every time he got a foul called on him. On his fifth he was very demonstrative and got a tech. The girls coach, filling in for the missing boys coach, apparently then said something to the referee and was given a technical as well. At that point Houston County was down by around 20. However they made a run to cut it to 6 with plenty of time left and several of us sitting there said it looked like Houton County was going to pull it out despite how bad they played. At that point the Skelton kid got called for his 5th foul and that's where everything went to pieces. After the call he slammed the ball to the court and was given a tech for slamming the ball, which is legit. The problem then began because that was his second tech and the coaches were told he was ejected not just fouled out and had to leave the bench. Apparently young Mr. Skelton did not take kindly to this because what happened next is best described nicely as chaotic. Mr. Skelton had to be escorted off the court not only by a coach but a couple of other adults because he was extremely agitated. As he was being led off the court he gave the officials the old your number 1 sign and received a second technical. Then as he was at about the Hampshire bench he turned and started pointing at the officials and had to be restrained from going out on the court to them and was saying lord only knows what. The official again blew the whistle and started to give him another tech but refrained. He would have been extremely justified in giving Skelton another tech for his behavior. In fact the Hampshire coach asked about what he thought was a 3rd tech and the official told him I didn't call it. I am not sure what is going on in Houston County but it appears to me that the administration needs to get a handle on the boys basketball program. Your coach is ejected on one night and a player ejected the next. Your fill in coach also gets a t. Again 7 technicals in 2 games is totally unacceptable. It is easy to blame all that on the refs and say they were not going to let us win both games but McEwen beat both teams without incident. Houston County should not hold their heads high for their boys behavior last night. It was an embarrasment to your county and your school. The TSSAA will tell Mr. Skelton he will sit for 2 games but Houston County should send a message and sit him for more than that if not permanently for his behavior. Maybe Mr. Skelton was the recipient of a bad call however that does not allow him to act the way he did. I could have dealt with slamming the ball after the fifth because your competitive but to act like Ron Artest as you are escorted off the court is totally unacceptable. The problem with sports today is that adults allow kids to act like Mr. Skelton with no repercussions because we as adults also disagree with those in charge. If we don't set the example when they are in school they think it's okay to act like that when they become adults. Of course there were some Houston County adults applauding their kids for fouling out and clapping for Mr. Skelton when he acted the way he did. That is the problem. We have to stop this behavior. One particular Houston County fan had to be told to keep quite by the administration in the first half and after the game went directly to the referees as they were walking off the court and made some comments towards them and had to be escorted out by a Sheriff's Deputy. Best I could see there is probably not a kid in the gym last night who is going to make a living playing basketball and maybe not even play at the next level. Thus they need to learn to at least respect those in charge when it doesn't go their way and not be allowed to act a fool because you don't like the result. Again Houston County seems to have an issue with their basketball program on the boy's side and they need to get a handle on it quick. The message might hurt, but one should be sent to the entire team including the coach. jastafan09 I don't disagree that officiating is a problem and there are some guys and gals that just do it for the check. However, we cannot let kids act like hoodlums if they disagree with the officials. We don't always agree with our bossees or others in charge but we can't just lose our minds when it doesn't go our way and we have to get that across to these kids. Officials may be terrible but they are still the officials and we have to learn to deal with it. How we deal with it is a part of sports. I would normally say the same thing but Houston County looked far from solid last night. The way they played except for a 2-3 minute stretch where they cut it to six was pretty bad. They could not have beaten anyone in District 10A with their performance last night. Your comments about officiating are true. I am not sure alot of the officials even know the rules or their application. However, both teams have to deal with it. I hope Houston County gets things on the right track because they can be a solid team but they need to get control of what appears to be a bad situation right now.

I have seen both teams play a couple of times this year and have no ties to either school. This should be a "slobberknocker!" It's a shame they have to meet this early. It should be an awesome high school football game. Jo Byrns is a great team and Ashabraner is obviously their primary, not only, weapon. He is one fine running back. Wayne County cannot stop him, as could no one else, they can only hope to slow him down and keep those breakaways to a minimum. Jo Byrns can pass the ball and has targets. They will have to use the passing game more against Wayne County than they have had to in the past. Wayne County's defensive line and backers are pretty good. Wayne County's offense is explosive as well and can definitely move the ball down the field. They have several very good running backs and a very good quarterback who can throw the ball. I do not know that Jo Byrns has faced a team who can pass the ball as well as Wayne County this year so their pass defense will get tested. Neither team has been tested very deep into any of their games and this week I would think they will have to play a full game. Both teams are very capable of winning this game. Turnovers will be huge as you don't want to give either team a short field. Jo Byrns has had the advantage in recent history of having Wayne County travel to them and this year the tables are turned on the travel. As most single A teams have to travel, Jo Byrns does travel well but the long bus trip to Waynesboro could be a factor. The winner of this game has a real chance to make it to the BlueCross Bowl. It won't get any easier next week for the winner as they will take on Union City-Huntingdon winner. But for this week I would suspect one whale of a high school football game in Wayne County. Good luck to both teams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://wdkn1260am.com/ WDKN 1260 AM will carry the Dickson County Cougars and the Dickson Middle School Dragons

All games of both the McEwen Warriors and Waverly Tigers are broadcast on WQMV 1060 AM. There website is http://www.wqmv1060.com/ One game is carried live on the radio. This year both games will stream live.

Both the McEwen Warriors and Waverly Tigers are broadcast via radio and streaming on WQMV 1060 AM. The website is http://www.wqmv1060.com. This year they will have both games available via live streaming and of course only 1 will be broadcast via the radio. Not bad coverage for a little country radio station and 2 rural high schools.

It's a shame to hear about McEwen baseball. I saw them play a couple of games this year and it was not very good. It appeared that most of the kids were just out there to have a uniform on and didn't really care a lot about baseball. I don't believe it's coaching there because their current coach, Coach Rachford I believe, was there once before and they were competitive. They have also been competitive under Coach Phil Ross in years past. I think that Coach Rachford has a good knowledge of the game and the other coaches in the District would back that up. It is also my understanding that he has no school ties (not a teacher and doesn't have a child play) and no one does it for the money. The supplement in baseball is so little at a public school that you spend more than you make in time off work and gas money. However, baseball does not appear to be a priority in McEwen, from the administration on down. And until kids care about more than just showing up with a uniform on it doesn't matter what kind of talent you have. Baseball like all other sports takes time, effort and discipline. You cannot pick up the mitt and bat two weeks before the season after having dropped it after your last high school game. You have to work at it to become good. From what I have heard from others in the McEwen area is the kids don't put much into baseball except maybe a weak rec ball schedule and that's all they do. When you play CA and NCS, whose kids are going to work at baseball just like others do football and basketball, you are not going to compete. I have heard around 10A that McEwen had kids not wanting to practice on a regular basis and skipping games/practice to participate in other activities. If that is true then it is no wonder the program is in shambles. Baseball has to be a priority to be competitive! (I'll bet no kids would miss football or basketball for other activities!) My understanding is that McEwen had to drop out of the tournament because they didn't have enough players to play because some players quit/were let go and/or had other things to do. If that's is true then that goes back to the kids and the parents! Either way it is a shame because at the "little league level", McEwen is competitive. But once they get into school ball in recent past the school affiliated programs are not very good and they should be. But if the administration doesn't support the sport it is never going to get any better. You also have to have kids who want to play baseball, just not be on the field. As for NCS and CA, I believe they are both legitimate baseball programs. The CPA team that NCS beat has been on a little roll and is a pretty decent baseball team. I agree that it helps getting the alphabet schools out of 10A, but CA and NCS both play pretty good schedules trying to get ready for postseason. It doesn't appear that as they are currently situated, either of them would back away from competition. Speaking of postseason, because of the rain have they shortened the district tournament to single elimination or is it double elimination?

Size absolutely matters! The larger your enrollment plainly the more talent you should have to pick your team from. That doesn't mean that all larger schools have good teams because we know that is not true and there are obviously some small schools with great programs. Now, claiming that a private school, DI or DII, with a good baseball program and a small enrollment proves size of your school does not matter is not comparing apples to apples. NCS and CA, for example, do not have to necessarily take what they can get as far as athletics are concerned. Those kids go to those schools because their parents choose to send them there and can afford the tuition. Some kids even go to a certain school because of their sports! Hard to believe isn't it! I don't know if that is the case at NCS and CA or not. Here again, not all private schools have good sports programs, but most private schools have smaller enrollments and percentage wise their sports programs are going to be better than small single A schools such as McEwen, Houston County, etc. I take nothing away from Coach Fruechtemmeyer and his players because they work hard and they do a great job. They work hard at baseball and it shows. The coaches do a good job of geting them prepared for the post-season. But a lot of what your programs are is how much support your program gets both from the adminstration and the local community. If baseball is not an emphasis to the kids and the community then you don't have much of a chance of having a good program. In McEwen, for example, your baseball field is the practice football field. Furthermore, the administration gives you absolutely no money. You have to beg for uniforms and are lucky to get the 1 uniform you have and come time to work on the field you have to count on the booster club for money for improvements because the school board or administration won't put mix or lights on the field. As a player you have to fight through all that. That does not mean you can't have a good team it just means you have to love the game and work hard. But again all of those factors help determine how good your program is going to be year to year. Those kids at those small country schools work as hard as they can and don't make excuses. That doesn't mean that you have to classify them as no "talent" and never being anything "...... more than a chocolate iced cup cake." Although technically not unsportsmanlike it certainly is not a very classy comment. My experience shows that most good players, assuming you are one or at least a former player, would have simply said that McEwen would struggle this year and maybe say that traditionally they have not been one of the top teams in the district. Although years ago under Coach Phil Ross McEwen was a pretty good team and competed well in 10-A. But there was no need in the comment you made. I digress from the forum topic and this subtopic. Size can make a difference and it's not really fair to compare NCS and their enrollment to McEwen. That being said, NCS and CA should be the cream of the crop in 10-A. I would think the rest of the district will be pretty even with no other teams really challenging those top two. McEwen has some newcomers and they should be better than they were last year. Good lake to everyone.

The last several years WB (a channel available to all local markets and satellite subscribers who get local channels) carried the TSSAA championship games. However, this year the high bid must have gone to CSS, a sports channel owned by Comcast/Charter. Thus unless you have Comcast/Charter or your local cable system carries CSS you will not see the games. CSS is not available to any satellite subscribers. Thus if you have a satellite you get zilch! Unfortunately for those of us who live in rural areas, like most people in Trousdale County and Jo Byrns, you very well may not get to see the game on television. I personally do not have cable available at my home thus a satellite. It appears to be a decision by the TSSAA that, like most they make, is not very well thought out and made in the interest of a few instead of the high school fan as a whole!

The score is listed on this site on the scoreboard

Or try this live audio http://www.wqmv1060.com/index.html Click the jukebox to listen. Pregame about 6:45 pm

Try www.wqmv1060.com then click on the jukebox to listen. Broadcast should start about 15 minutes before kickoff, at least Waverly's did last night

Thank you allregionpatriot! I appreciate your honesty in the response. Haven't seen McEwen play but keep up with their stats and it looks like McEwen anybody left, right or middle worked pretty good against WHH and everyone else they have played this year. Comments like that from Mr. KingofthePatriots give WHH a tough time and that stinks especially if he is not from Heritage. JB vs. McEwen could be one of the better matchups in 1A this Friday. Which teams were better last year or the year before makes no difference. You must play the game with the players and schedule you have in front of you.

Ethan Tummins from McEwen should at least be a finalist. Stats: 162-1326, 21 TDs rushing (8.2 yds/att, 165.8 yds/game) 3-8, 64 yds passing 4 receptions, 64 yards. Unsure of how many tackles and interceptions he has but close to team leader in those stats as well. All of this with an offensive line that, although tough as nails, no one probably any bigger than 6'0" 215. Also he plays every down of most every game. He plays offense, defense, kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt coverage and punt return. Plus he has good grades and is a good kid. Unbiased opinion as I am not from McEwen and have no relation to the team. But I have seen him play and hard to think there are many better at the 1A level.

Tennessee high school baseball ended in May. However, several northern states play high school baseball into the summer because of weather. Over the 4th of July the States of Iowa and Illinois still had some high school baseball and softball going I know. Although only a couple of players from north of the Mason Dixon line made AFLAC's team, summer time is still baseball time, and it would not hurt an athlete of Sonny Gray's caliber to miss a couple of practices to participate in such a great event. Again, the bottom line is Tennessee is the only state that caused a problem with their player. A shame for SOnny but at least he did get to work out in front of scouts.