KeeperFan15

I am sure that Katie Smith, her family and friends, and Blackman fans appreciate the concern expressed about her knee. I don't know that going into the next rounds of games it is a good idea to post injury reports on here. I know that watching her through multiple sports, that she plays with heart and through pain that would make most he man tough guys cry as many of these athelets do. I would not rule her out on Friday unless CH does himself.

OK. So according to the front page article on the DNJ and Ken Melton, supervisor of officials for the Murfreesboro area, we fans have unrealistic expectations of high school officials. Also TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress says that fans that don't think the officiating is up to par should be part of the solution and become officials themselves. There you have it from on high. There is no problem with the quality of officiating, just our expectations. And while I appreciate you sticking up for your very talented team, I think the charges against the officials are off base. As I have said in previous posts, I think they are just bad front to back top to bottom. The inconsistency from one end of the floor to the other dictates that one team is going to come out with an advantage. However, if the officials were "racist", you would think that Lavergne would have been the first team to have a player foul out. With regard to the tournament itself, I think Lavergne has done a first rate job of hosting the tournament. The folks are courteous and helpful to all those visiting teams and fans. It would be nice if there were a few more rows of seats in the lower sections, but nothing you can do about that. I think the addition of both Lavergen and Smyrna to the district have made it much stronger and a benefit to all the teams that advance from here on out. If you want to talk about negative publicity from the DNJ, look who's fans are in the picture on the front page today with the title "Hoops crowds grow hostile". You have to go to page 2 to find out they are talking about the incident at a Christmas tournament (not at Blackman), an 8AAA game, and a Metro game that had no security. Thinking this might finally get me to cancel my subscription. We will finish up tonight and then get to go beat up on some other teams rather than each other. At least until the regional finals. Good luck to all, most to Blackman as always, play hard and stay safe. edited for spelling.

The officiating has been bad all year. Should we really expect anything different in the tournament. I would say in about 75% of the games this year it appeared the officiating was more favorable to the Blackman opponent. So I don't think the officials all of a sudden fell in love with Blackman. My feeling is that Lavergne came out and tried to be really physical and the officials called it closer than Lavergne would have liked. I agree something should be done about the officiating in this district but not because of this game but because of how it was throughout the year. Blackman won this game because it played the best game it has played all year and executed the way they are suppose to. Lavergne showed a valiant effort in coming back and I thought they were going to pull it off but they just couldn't quite get over the hump. Lavergne your season is not over, it was just a loss that really will not mean a whole lot come region tournament time. I think Riverdale will beat Blackman but if Blackman can play for 4 quarters like it did in the 1st half of the Lavergne game, then it will come down to the very end. We haven't had anybody that can hang with Barbee or Haislip yet. They will probably be the difference. I think we have all felt the officiating has favored the other team at times throughout this season. In watching 4 different crews over the past two days in games where I had a vested interest and those where I was truly just a spectator, I realized that they are just that bad and inconsistent with their calls. What bothered me most was the apparent lack of understanding of the rules of the game. Does where the ball is taken out affect the final result? Probably not, but it does represent a basic understanding of the rules. If they consistently do that wrong, what else don't they know. That said, I still think all four teams can make significant noise yet this year. Good luck to all after Monday night. Until then still want Blackman to have the most luck .

I am assuming you meant district tournament play. I think it is slated to start Feb 18. I am sure Phargis can correct if different.

Wow hadn't thought of it that way . So lets just do away with the officials and the rules of the game and let it really come down to execution. From the games in 7AAA I've seen this year there hasn't been much officiating anyway. That way the schools can save $160 a week.

...don't respond, don't take the bait... Oh well, I had a nice little conversation about the topic in my mind. Only pleasant comment I can make is that consistency is the key. I do wish there were a way to get there.

Haven't thought of it quite that way. And this is in no way a slap at any team, but looking at the schedule left, it is quite possible to have a 2 District loss team taking the district. I can even see a scenario where you have a 3 loss team being number one but that requires a couple of major upsets. For now, Lavergne is definitely in the catbird seat. They are just going to have to play as well on the road as they have at home. @ Blackman, @ Smyrna, @ Riverdale in the last two weeks of the season might be murderer's row. One of these three are going to be looking for some help from Smyrna and Siegel before it's all said and done. Just another opinion.

Yeah what's that about? Not quite a regurgitative reaction , but I am tired of it too. And for the record, "WE ARE BLACKMAN" is getting old as well.

The girls should be proud of themselves tonight. They fought through to the end. I appreciate Phargis putting up the box score. Hopefully, the paper will have the foul counts and freethrow information. I don't think it was so much the fouls called but the ones that weren't toward the end. May be wrong, but I only remember about 10 FTA by Blackman. Lavergen's best defender was the blonde headed guy running the moving screen on the right wing. Forced the Blackman point to pick up her dribble multiple times during the night. Maybe he was tired and just couldn't get out of the way.

Wow! this is all to funny. Cupcakes, the tie breaker rules are unfair to us, (whoever you want "us" to be)....shoulda coulda woulda... Bottom line is that if Smyrna plays Cane Ridge and Station Camp instead of Ensworth and Brentwood they finish 7-3 and get a wildcard. How fair is that? ...if they had not played Indy and lost .... Three great teams. The sad thing is that they really do have to bring it back to Rutherford county, rather than bringing it back down Middle Tennessee Blvd. Wonder what kind of turn out the surrounding Cookeville area would have had on a rain swollen night like last night.

Definitely a shout out to the new Smyrna field. Funny thing is that two years ago, the ladies team was relegated to practicing in the outfield of the baseball field. The ladies, parents and supporters started wearing Title IX bracelets, holding meetings and voila, there is money for a new soccer field. Good job.

2P Sorry, you are starting to lose credibility with me. I don't jump on the Football boards as much as the Futbol boards. I usually get on just to see what's going on with my Blaze. The first couple of rants that you had against Blackman, I put off to having a bad day. Been there, done that, and apologized for it later. That said, I am starting to see a pattern. It appears that your dislike for our new coach clouds many of your comments about the Blaze. Now before you ask where have I been all these years, I've been here. I have also been working concession stands for multiple sports at Blackman even though my offspring has been away from Blackman for a few years. I had the opportunity to work side by side with our new coach's family and can tell you that you are way off base in your previous analysis of the motives for him coming to Blackman. Slow down and rethink a bit. Just a thought. BTW Even though it says that I have been a member since 2006, it is actually 2004. Funny thing about the t, if you loose or forget a password, back then there was no way to recover it. You have to rejoin even if you keep your screen name. Don't be so quick to judge how long someone has been a poster.

Gotta agree with G on this one. A good question no doubt, but we get on here and complain all the time that TSSAA is "muddying" the sport by adding rules and changing things. This is not much different IMO. Yes it can be dangerous. So can an improperly executed header, skull to skull contact on 50/50 balls, or a keeper going out head first. If we are intent on changing the rules to protect the players, let's require head protection. Sadly, there are more in memorium plaques on soccer fields for head injuries than badly executed slide tackles. With regard to the original question, I haven't been able to find any memos on focused inforcement from the ref associations. Doesn't mean that it is not a point of emphasis, just haven't found it. All in all, I haven't seen much change in the quality officiating over the past 8 years. Most of the coaches that I have observed over those 8 years spend rainy day practice time on slide tackles and the proper execution several times a season.

MJ Maybe it takes a million and one. And I don't really care which one it is. I am just confused because Euro has Rutherford Co as 8 as well. I would think that McKloskey would know which district he is in. Just trying to get to the bottom of it.

Good luck with that one. MSC cancels their own tournament with anything over 1 inch of rain.

All that said then. Blackman Oakland final. And as much as I wish differently, Oakland takes it. No disrespect meant toward Riverdale and Siegel. Great teams and great seasons. I just don't see R'dale shutting Zeek down twice. Vice has already given indications in the paper that he knows what he will do different. Boynton is just going to have his team full out flat out for the tournament.

Can I assume that no one really knows who is going to match up with who yet? I haven't seen a post by Whitey yet. Someone already has added Blackman vs White County on May 5????? I'll wait to see a true schedule before posting my predictions.

Wow. Late to the game this year. No comments from me and ya'll already have a 7AAA thread locked. May just have to watch the board from the sidelines this season.

Eagleville is starting their own Women's soccer program. Sorry, but to see women's soccer brought in to this is a little out there. High School soccer does not get you scholarships. It's all in the select program/team that gets you the recognition, so homeschoolers playing soccer for scholarships just doesen't pan out. As to some of the other posts, now that I don't have a kid in public school, can I quit paying my taxes? I've gone from three cars to two, no more road taxes?

The statement was not compete against every class but "gold ball" in any class they wanted. You were definitely heads and shoulders against the schools that you went up against, even the AAA schools that you pounded. I grew up many moons ago in a state where the different classes did have a play off to name a state champion. I really don't have the prejudice that some accuse me of. I believe that basketball like wrestling and tennis can be the great equalizer among communities. It is just that as I look down some of these AAA benches, I get to 6 or 7 before there is someone under 6'1". Could you beat the other gold ball holders in tournament basketball, maybe so 3 out of 5 times. I also beleive there would be a difference playing your way through an entire years schedule at a different class, making it out of district, region, and section to earn the right to play for the gold ball in that class. You should be proud of you team. They did something very special that they will remember for a lifetime. Just don't denigrate all the other schools in the state.

Number one, we will never know for sure. I am not taking anything away from Clarkrange. Their first 7 are very good, well coached and play well together. But to say they would be "gold ball" in any class is in my opinion just plain silly. Your team, your girls, your perogative. This is not meant disrespectfully to any of the Class A team, but my point is that depth really comes into play. Your first 7 may match up well against the first 5 of another team, but your 6-10 probably wouldn't match up as well as their 6-10. Especially when you get to AAA when half the girls on the team are on successful AAU teams. Could they be successful against the higher classes?, obviously yes, but gold ball? I don't think so. I normally follow AAA, but as scheduling would have it, I had the opportunity to watch both CR and GC in their early games live and all three finals thanks to the magic of TV. You definitely were "as good as team as there was at the 'Boro". I just think that saying that you could have beaten the other that you saw is streching it a little. Again, your gold ball was well deserved.

Congrats on a great win and championship Now I don't care who your are. Thats funny. /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

Sad. Someone should shut this down.

For what it's worth and most of you know how I travel to support my school. I don't know that I would have agreed for my teenage son or daughter to head off the plateau with a winter weather advisory in effect for the mid-state. Just sayin.

Thanks for the congrats. As stated in an earlier post, I believe that all the teams in 7AAA were coached up pretty good this year. 8AAA should be a blast next year.