IrishLegacy

Hahaha touche!

First and foremost, congratulations Big G on your wonderful accomplishment. I'm not sure if you are a Duke fan, but to pile up these wins so fast is Coach K-ish! I'm sure LCsoccer will agree. Seriously though, this accomplishment could not go to a more deserving person, and you and all of your players over your short time at CAK should be proud of this. Secondly, it is very nice to see two old rivals on here again. It reminds me of my more stress free days. I am curious though. Exactly what percentage of those 100 wins came from those LC v. CAK dogfights? 10%? Maybe more? Those were some great games. LC holla at me sometime and take care of that foot. Congrats again Big G.

Big G, you'll have to excuse Hoya's absense. I know he likes to claim that he is teaching/working in Atlanta, but from the looks of his frequent posts on CoachT, I'm not sure he's doing much of anything down there. I know he was heart broken to not be able to come to the match though. I'm not sure that he knows what to do with himself these days, so missing a KCHS v. CAK game must have been hard on him. I have no doubts that he'll make it to the next one. Anyways, congratulations to Catholic on the win. Also, Big G, I know you'll have CAK ready for the back stretch, so no worries. I mean come on, you have to let someone else get a ring at some point. Good luck to both teams with the rest of the season.

I'm kind of curious as to where everyone on this thread went? I mean, I would have thought that all the AC trash talkers about how Catholic nevers wins anything and doesn't make it out of district would have something to say. I just thought that I'd post so that the thread wouldn't get buried too much farther back on the message boards. BigDawg? Ballisticswizard? Where are you guys?

First off trublu, you are right that staring at a home run ball and high stepping into home are two different things. Just like calling someone an idiot in response to something and rolling your eyes are two different things (both disrespectful in my book). The bottom line is that you like to classify AC as the saints of baseball. You don't want to seem to admit that your team does questionable things as well. It might be a good idea if you watched baseball tonight for a few weeks. I think you'd find that the unwritten rule is that you don't stare down your home run, because it is disrespectful. Now I'm not excusing the high stepping action, but I think it is ridiculous that AC fans are so quick to point the finger, when their kids make equally questionable decisions. Bilbob, I'm glad that you actually look at things from an unbiased perspective. I agree with you that both teams had some things that they should not have done. However, I found it funny that you mentioned the trash talk that happened after Catholic's home run. As I said earlier, I was not at the game, but I have a hard time believing that alot of obscene language was used simply for the fact that almost any ump in the state would toss a kid for the kind of language that you suggest was used. Even more interesting is that I was relayed a story the night of the game about an incident that happened on 3rd base following an AC triple that sounds very similar. I was not going to put it on here until I saw bilbob's post. I was told that following a triple (while AC was winning), that the player who hit the triple began taunting Catholic's third baseman with alot of profanity. The bottom line is that neither side is innocent, nor are they completely guilty. They are high school kids and we have to keep that in mind. Finally, I just want to say this. Trublu, I think that its aweful that obscene language was written on your cars after the game. I truly think it is aweful. I too have had things of that nature done to me following games. However, it looks like you are lumping that action in with the questionable on-the-field actions of the Catholic players. The bottom line is that you can't blame the players for what happened to your car, because how could they possibly have done it while they were playing. I could go on and on about all the vandalism that happened to Knox Catholic cars over the years, but that would take forever. I'm sure others have similar stories too. As a Catholic alumn, I apologize for what happened to your car. However, getting back to the game, I think if you are going to ask Catholic's team to win like men, then you should lose like a man as well and not come on here and find something to complain about in hopes that it will take away from Catholic's win.

If I have to get on here one more time and read a post about someone from AC whinning about Catholic, I'm going to throw up. The bottom line is that everyone talks a little trash or does something that is questionable on the field at times and to stand on a moral high horse like so many AC proponents seem to do on this site and talk about how classy they are is just ridiculous. It must get awefully lonely up there on your ivory pedestal. Additionally, I did not see the game, but I have heard a few sources say that Rorex sat and watched his home run ball for quite a while at home plate. Now, call me crazy, because after all I am an Irish alumn, but I would classify that as being just as classless as high stepping into home. Any AC fans want to point the finger at themselves for once?

1. BigDawg09 let me start by saying that I am grateful for you backing up the fact that Catholic kids are as normal as any other high schoolers. As for your comments about not many kids going to Catholic for free and the TSSAA and what not, I believe it was not taken as it was meant. I purely stated that the money set aside by the Catholic Church for students was for those who could not afford to go to school at Catholic. I never said that athletes received this money. If they have received I'm sure that they meet the objective qualifiers, such as family income and what not. I don't have it all memorized but I know it is for hardship cases where money for tuition is involved. For instance, I believe that there is a pretty good football player from AC that chose to go to Catholic after one member of the family was kicked out of AC and was graciously given a home at KCHS. I know that he pays full price to go, even though by Ballistics standards and many others on here, he would have been a prime candidate for recruiting (That is if we recruited, which we do not. BigDawg09 I'm sure you'll back me up on that claim). 2. As for the parents who work on the baseball facilities, I'm very sorry that I forgot to mention the parents. I know they put in a lot of time for the program, which is a testiment to their character and love for their children and the school. My comments were made to shut the people up who say that no hard work was given by the players who get the priviledge of enjoying their field. Yes I know that one family donated a large amount of money to start the facilities. I know the family personally. It was very generous of them and is yet again a testiment to the Catholic name and the type of people that the school develops. However, the field that they helped create and the one that exists today are miles apart (As a result of the players, coaches, and parents of the program's hard work). It is down right rude of people to downplay their efforts and call them snobby and imply that they are gifted everything they have. As for the hours of field maitenance that were "required," they were actually not. I believe the comments were along the lines of that if you were going to try out and had time to help and wanted to offer your time to maintain the field before tryouts, that you were welcome to do so. No one had to help and anyone could have not helped at anytime. 3. Finally, it is ludicrous to say that Catholic or AC have hand picked their teams. Kids choose to come to Catholic. If they were not in the feeder school and chose to come for high school then so be it, but I would dare say that if Catholic or AC could hand pick their teams that they would be heading out towards Farragut for their kids, or maybe to Bearden. As for getting to know who you are BigDawg09, I look forward to it. I understand that you might have a child or spouse or someone other than yourself that might not benefit from you stating who you are and I respect your integrity for not wanting to put them through any unneccesary repercussions as a result. For that I commend you. I am curious, if it is ok with you, as to whether you are a Catholic graduate yourself?

We'll just go in order again. 1. I did say that Catholic kids have money. You are right though, the kids don't have money, their parents do. Although wasn't it implied that their parents have the money. What high school kid has the kind of money that we are talking about? A little common sense as to the context of the comment would help you out. I am curious, however, as to who you talked to or played with that hated the school so much. I can say from a standpoint of someone who is not in the socioeconomic class as the kids that dominate much of the school, that Catholic is not a stuck up or snobby school. I have gone to public and private school and from my experience, there was no difference other than the required dress code. As for your teammate's claims about the snobbiness of the school, I'll have to correct you on it. They are not facts. They are claims. I'd take the time to tell you the difference, but you probably wouldn't care. 2. As for the field and our outside appearances, I guess I'll just apologize now for wanting to have good facilities and for wanting to make a good impression. Tell you what, next time I go for a job interview, I'll dress in jeans and a muddy T-Shirt and tell them I'm sorry for the bad appearance, but I was just working so hard on my skill set. That would never pass in the real world and you can't blame an institution that wants to have good looking facilities. The facilities not only make a good impression, but are used for practical purposes. I'm sure every team that plays there and doesn't have to deal with a ground ball hitting a divot is thankful. I can assure you that outside appearance is not everything at that school. However, if you are going to pay for a new building or field, why wouldn't you want it to look nice. As for the players needing more practice, I would say that you are incredibly uninformed. The kids in that program work hard and try their best. The field maitenance happens after practice and on weekends when there are no games. But who am I to say that. I mean I only know the coaching staff personally, and was witness to nearly all their practices for about 4 years. Your right though...Catholic's players have often been quoted saying that they would rather take practice time to make the field look nice so that when they lose, they can at least lose on a good looking field. 3. As for the "hidden funds" that you think Catholic has, you are right. The Catholic church does provide money to the school so that kids can attend. Two of my cousins were beneficiaries of those funds. They were too poor to afford the school's tuition and rather than turn them away, the church and school made it possible for them to attend. I can assure you, being someone that knows the ins and outs of the institution that the money that the church provides is strictly set aside for individuals that wish to attend but cannot afford it. Additionally, Catholic is not in D2 anymore because we DO NOT recruit. D2 is a private school division that was specifically set up for schools that give athletic scholarships. Catholic does not give athletic scholarships. Believe what you want, but we don't. You are right about us getting destroyed in D2 though. We got destroyed because as a small school that does not recruit, we got demolished by schools that do recruit. I find it funny that you want to encourage HIGHSCHOOLERS to go to a school that teaches how to pitch well. Pitching well is by far the most high percentage way to make it in this world. We should all start encouraging our kids to go to sub-par academic schools for sports over a getting a good education. That attitude is what is wrong with America. 4.I am curious as to how you can say that Catholic's baseball program has not learned to overcome true adversity or past experience. Have you watched their program develop over the years. How good was Catholic this time two years ago. Thats what I thought. The program is making progress and they are doing it with less kids to choose from than most other schools (Again they do not hand pick their team or recruit). As for arguing with umpires, I would say that it is not necessarilly a bad thing. If we never question authority in times where we think that they have gotten it wrong, then we wouldn't have abolished slavery or become an independent nation. I know these are much larger examples, but the idea still resonates. We should not be teaching our kids to passively stand by and not question. That attitude breeds losers and followers, not leaders and people that will change our world for the better. As to you not caring about Cormach McCarthy and where he goes to school, I'll simply state that the Pulitzer prize winner went to Catholic just once more. I believe that he actually would not even try to hit that 0-2 curve ball in the dirt that you were talking about, because he had a great eye and would lay off of it. Finally, it is true that all schools have people that excell and deteriorate. I am sorry for not addressing the obvious fact that Catholic does in fact have graduates that do not pan out. My statement was geared towards the incredible track record that the majority of our graduates have. There are bad apples, but Catholic typically graduates few of them from my experience. In closing, I would say that it is very difficult to be objective from any standpoint. You obviously have some ill will for Catholic in some capacity, while I obviously have great affinity for the school. I would say that I am being as objective as possible. I have a great deal of knowledge about the school and have simply conveyed what I know. I would say that you have relatively little knowledge about the school, its dealings (both athletically and academically), and its population. Where did you go to college again, I'm curious as to who you played with.

BigDawg09 you seem to be all over the threads regarding Knox Catholic. Any relationship to the school? Or are you just someone who takes a special interest from the outside?

Ballisticswizard, I found your comments about Catholic to not only be off topic, but rambling, unsupported, and bitter-sounding. I'll simply go in order. 1.Yes kids at Catholic have money. I would say this is because their parents work very hard for it and simply want their kids to do well in life. However, if you knew what you were talking about and took a closer look, I believe that you'd find that a good proportion of the school is much like you and me(Yes I said me. Alas I was not blessed with a BMW for my 16th birthday). In fact, many kids at the school go for free because they cannot afford the tuition. 2.Yes, Catholic has a very nice field. It is even more amazing from my standpoint, because I remember when it terrible. Yet again, a closer look would reveal that all the great facilities for their baseball program came from hard work and sweat. The green monster was built as a result of countless fundraisers and was actually put up and secured by the team (Yes, the ditches were dug, the wall was placed, and every other aspect was done by players and coaches). But in case your not a fan of raising your own money through fundraisers, I'm sure we can contact local government officials and see if they will provide welfare for baseball programs from now on. 3. As for Catholic thinking that they are the cream of the crop, I have two responses. Just like any school, there are kids at Catholic that may think they are better than others or have a big head about themselves. I would dare you to find a school where there was not. However, I would argue that as an institution, Catholic is indeed a very good school, or cream of the crop as you put it. The facilities are nice (also built with fundraised money), the teachers are caring and talented (a product of their hardwork, not money), and of the 99% that graduate, most go on to attend college (money helps this, but keep in mind that you must have the scores to be accepted). 4. You state that we think that we are better than everyone else, because we pay tuition and have some money. Has someone explicitly told you this, or have you developed this concept in your head because Catholic kids wear polo shirts, part their hair, and enjoy life? I will agree with you on a few things though. Money can certainly not buy championships. If it could, then none of us would win anything considering other school in the area have much more money than Catholic. Additionally, I totally agree that you have to earn your way in the world. I would say that the priviledge that kids at Catholic experience is a product of their parents earnings their way. We cannot blame someone who was born into a good situation for taking advantage of it. I wish we all could live that well. Finally, I find it funny that you quoted Elbert Hubbard on a baseball post. I would say that since he lived mostly in the 1800's and was a literary figure known for his intellectual arguments that his comment has nothing to do with baseball (in context of course). Regardless, I would say that Catholic kids do cash in on their experience, seeing as how most graduates go to college, excell, and become successful. Even more interesting is that you chose an author that is known in large part for his biographies of other great writers (about 180). Maybe you should have chosen someone who has more original things to say like Cormack McCarthy. I believe Hubbard would agree that he cashed in on his experiences, considering that McCarthy's inspiration comes largely from his experiences in life. McCarthy is a Pulitzer Prize winner for The Road and might be more well known for the novel No Country For Old Men. I bet old Elbert might have even written a biography for Cormack had he been alive. Oh and by the way...did I mention that Cormack McCarthy was a Knoxville Catholic graduate?

CAK will be coming out to avoid another outcome like last week. However, I believe if Catholic plays like they did last friday they will be victorious again. Should be another good one. Good luck to both teams. Go Irish. 101 out.

40 to 2 in shots. We weren't lucky. I don't know what you are talking about. I mean we only had the ball in our half 80% of the game. Who would have thought.

My latest post on this thread regarding a certain Catholic alumn was not a post by myself. I believe one of my Columbia Academy alumni roommates got on my name. Anyone who knows me should know this because I would never predict Catholic to lose. Anyways the game should be good. Catholic by one.

Cak will probalbly win because cathlic hasnt been the same since Evan Geo left two years ago. Cak also has a great assistant coach in Jason Bowman

Many things are going to make this game exciting on Friday. 1. The game is between possibly the two best A/AA teams in the state 2. The game is for the championship 3. Being that it is summer now for most colleges, many alumni and A-list knoxville celebrities will be on the sideline for this one. Bill Walton goes back to UCLA and I'm sure plenty of old greats will be at this one. I even heard Chris Moneymaker is making an appearance. All jokes aside, this should be an outstanding game with a fast pace and lots of action. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I'll be there for sure. Shout out to room 101. I'll be representing, what about the other half.

My room mate wants to know what you guys think about Columbia Academy this year.

I'm curious as to whether you have seen the eastern teams play this year ManU? That, by the way, is just a question and not a sarcastic comment. I think you'll find that the eastern teams are a notch above the west in A/AA this year as they have been. I remember the first time I played CBHS with my Knox Catholic team. It was at the beginning of their 3 year run of championships. We thought the same thing you did. We had all club players and thought the difference could not be so drastic. 4-1 later we knew what everyone on here was talking about. I'm not saying that Madison can't win it, I'm just saying from history and experience that Madison more than likely has not seen or played against the level that they will get from the eastern teams this year. The finals will be Catholic./CCS/CAK however the brackets turn out. If Catholic comes to play they will win in my opinion. However, how can you bet against CAK haha. BigExpress will have his boys ready as always.

I've got to agree with my boy LCSoccer on this one. The eastern side of the state has been dominant in A/AA for about 4 to 5 years now. I think those last 3 finals matchups are good indicators. Besides, the last year Ridgeway, a western powerhouse, was in A/AA they lost in the first round to Lenoir City. The results just plain and simple speak for themselves. As for BigExpress, he is absolutely right. There are no attacks being made on this site. People are merely stating opinion. Finally, as for discrimination against the western side of the state, what a bunch of garbage. No one discriminates against the west. In fact, I'd say the west has more respect across the board over the last decade in soccer than any other region of the state. Everyone pretty much already admits that CBHS is the best team in the state, and Houston has the respect of everyone in AAA. Until a western team does what Ridgeway did out of the west in A/AA again, no one can be blamed for not thinking a west team will win. As for my predictions for this years tournament. I believe it will be an all east final again. Any combination of CAK/Catholic/CCS is my prediction depending on how the brackets turn out. I'm going to say Catholic wins it all, but only if they come ready to play. A/AA is no walk by any means.

Isn't hoya funny everyone? I find him humorous on occasion. This may be one of them. Hoya if your checking in regularly, enjoy emory this week. You do have a point. I'm not quite right in the head.

Govols you may be right. I think Catholic and CAK are very even though. However, after what happened with Catholic this past weekend against CCS I have to say that they could be a real threat in states. A/AA is wide open and if anyone thinks they have a walk in that division they are in for a rude awakening. I'm gonna go ahead and back my boys though and say Catholic will win state and bounce back from their loss to CCS. It's hard to beat a good team twice, especially in the post season.

I don't want to be rude, but where did I ever say that hacky sack doesn't improve skill. I stated that a hacky sack doesn't have the same feel as a soccer ball, and that if given the choice, juggling a soccer ball would be more beneficial to your touch. Another thing is that I think you took my game conditions comment the wrong way. It is very hard to mimic game conditions when you are stuck with the only option of juggling. The point I was making is that the most game like thing would be to use the actual piece of equipment, a soccer ball, when you are juggling. A hacky sack can improve eye foot coordination, but so can a soccer ball. The difference is that a soccer ball has a much different touch than a hacky sack. The spring that comes from a soccer ball is much different than a hacky sack's cushion. This was all I was trying to state with my post and I don't know why your post had to be so aggressive in nature. I don't think I said anything offensive. Correct me if I did. Either way, LCSoccer's suggestion for an alternate option besides a soccer ball is probably better than a hacky sack anyways. Seeing as how he was a two time player of the year in TN I think he knows what he is talking about. As for your comment about juggling a soccer ball by yourself, and trying harder when you play hacky sack with your friends, I'm not sure of the point your trying to make. Are you saying that you can only juggle a hacky sack with your friends and not a soccer ball? I think you could juggle either one of them with a group or by yourself. Anyways for those who enjoy hacky sacking, this post is not meant to be offensive. I enjoy hackin it up myself and did so throughout highschool. However, I never found that it helped my touch very much, if at all. My added skill typically came from team practices and individual work on the soccer ball. Hacky sack is fun though. Mr. LCSoccer if you see this post by the way give me a call soon, I wanna hear about your spring season. Holdin it down for room 101 and The real Irish of K-town.

The fact of the matter is that a hacky sac has no bounce to it. It is much easier to juggle a hacky than a soccer ball. I know you can carry one around and play anywhere which is fine, but given the choice you should always try to mimic game conditions as closely as possible( i.e. juggle a soccer ball). I'd say your volleys have gotten better because you might be concentrating more. The real solution to better touch on the ball is simply to practice and juggle with a soccer ball more. Hacky is fine for fun, but in terms of getting you ready for the touch and spring of an actual soccer ball, it does very little.

As a Catholic alumn I hate to go this way, but I believe Webb will take this one. They have a solid core of players and good solid coaching as well. Webb wins by a goal.

Rosenblad was indeed a two time all american, but he's old a has bad knees now. Even if they were good I'd still score all over them. As for Jason, I get to practice with him and I just think he might squeak one in. Hoya on the other hand might just decide to curl one upper 90. He is a legend for that kind of shot.

Just a quick response. BigExpress is a stand up guy and has proven that quality ever since I've known about him. I would dare say that anyone having a problem with him closing a thread or deleting a post is probably to blame. Biggy your doing a great job on here and with your coaching over at my old rival that gave me so many headaches while I was at Catholic. Keep the good work up.