wiredtowin

Seymour, congrats on the win. Was the score summary in the KNS wrong or did your best forward Suttles actually score goal #11? If so, double red!

Looks close but you probably dropped Farragut too far. They have a quality win over Houston--West and Maryville do not have a W over a team of Houston's caliber. Also, Lenoir City could be ranked higher. I would go with: 1. Bearden 2. CAK 3. Oak Ridge 4. Farragut 5. West 6. Maryville 7/8/9/10-Too close to call-Catholic/Karns/Lenoir City/Powell Some good match-ups this week that should provide some more food for thought. Bearden vs Farragut CAK vs Maryville Powell vs Seymour Karns vs Lenoir City

Do you really have to play district games??? I know that Bearden and Farragut do not play a couple of the Blount County teams that are in their district by mutual agreement of the coaches. That allows a Bearden to schedule a Notre Dame and Heritage to schedule a Cosby. Both games are more competitive than a Bearden blow-out of a weaker team where neither team gets much out of it. G, well said on your plans in place to hold down the score but still provide opportunities for younger players/reserves to sharpen their game. When we first moved to Knoxville, one of my children was on the receiving end of an 18-0 U12 club team beating where the opposing players did push ups after the goals. I still harbor ill feelings toward this entire club even knowing that it was one team/coach specific. Just my opinion but double digit scores are unacceptable in 99% of the cases and the blame falls right on the coach.

Briacrest defeated St Agnes tonight with a score of 1 to 0........pretty evenly played game with the Briarcrest goal achieved with about 8 minutes remaining in the game....a very exciting game to watch. Not sure why St Benedict's is ranked by the Commercial Appeal (above Briarcrest)....they have only played two games on the season.....I believe that they beat St George's with a score of 2 to 0 and beat Hutchison with a score of 2 to 1. Hopefully the rankings will shift next week! It could possibly have something to do with the fact that Briarcrest has three losses on their record: 0-1, 0-4, 0-4. Don't get so enthralled with rankings. Things will sort themselves out as the season progresses.

According to Knox paper, Seymour popped Cosby yesterday with 2 TD's and a FG for a convincing, 17-0 victory. Absurd.

Shelbyville also tied Knox Catholic at CCS this weekend and then lost on MLS shootout. Goes on their record as a tie. Shelbyville's win over Cleveland was a surprise for me--I have seen Cleveland and they are solid. Shelbyville's record is 1-2-3 so one win in six matches probably wouldn't get my top ten vote...but it's mjuhb's poll and he hasn't seen fit to give me a vote. Thanks mj for taking the time to give us something to discuss.

* Each bracket will have finalists and a championship game. * Games ending in ties are decided by MLS shootouts format. * All teams are guaranteed 3 games.

There is a blue and gold division. I think this is the schedule for the gold division. 4:00 Shelbyville vs Cleveland 6:00 Knox Catholic vs Signal Mountain 8:00 Boyd vs Science Hill 8:00 David Lipscomb vs Maryville Blue Division 3:30 Anderson County vs CCS 4:00 Tullahoma vs Ooltewah 5:30 Coffee County vs FRA 6:00 Tennessee High vs McMinn Central I would pick FRA and Cleveland.

Bearden, 5-2.

So, Big G, CAK to beat Bearden next week?

Some of the scrimmages this week. Anyone know of others? Farragut vs Pope John Paul Bearden vs Webb Karns vs Maryville Maryville vs Cleveland CAK vs Oak Ridge Karns vs Alcoa Webb vs Notre Dame Looks to be some good battles on the pitch coming up!

Your first post as leftfooter belongs in the Coach T Hall of Fame!

DI Bearden (+2) DIA Farragut/Oak Ridge (0) DII CAK/West/Maryville (-2) DIII Karns/Catholic/Seymour/Powell (-4) JUST FOR FUN and to get some discussion started in these hot days of summer! I've broken the teams down into levels that you see in club and given them a "power rating". For example, Bearden versus a West/CAK/Maryville, I would favor the Dawgs by 4 goals. West v Seymour, Rebels by 2. Teams within each "division" would be a toss-up. This is not meant to "dis" any team, player, mom/dad, or supporter--just for discussion.

I think soccerknox is a Bearden or Farragut supporter so the possibility of one of those teams not making it out of district is about the same as you getting hit by a lightning strike when you walk out your front door. West Knox rocks.

If HS soccer is the "impediment" for TN, what is the excuse for FL, GA, LA, NC, OK, AL, AK failure against TX? Most of these states play HS on a non-fall basis? I've seen the issue from both sides and agree with most that have posted--good club soccer and good HS soccer complement each other. Bad club soccer or bad HS soccer hinder performance. TN's problem with TX is a population issue--the pool of talent in TX is deep...non-committed get weeded out, parental problems get weeded out, less skilled get weeded out. And the gap is not that wide--both TN U15 and U16 teams at regionals played their TX opponents in very close matches--I think all the games were decided by one goal, not more than two.

>>MVM says--once Regions start there are no weak teams. Debatable statement. Soddy-Daisy was second place in a 4 team district. Teams 3 and 4 had a combined record of 0-15-3 according to Eurosports. Soddy was 6-8-2 yet as a result of being second in a weak district was a regional qualifier.

Ok, I??™ll weigh in on this one. The tackle/ride down from behind was flagrant and unsportsmanlike very much warranting a red card but absolutely necessary to save the goal/win the game. Yes, within the rules of the game but from my perspective, outside the spirit of the game. Somewhat akin to the Barry Bonds apologists who excuse his steroid use as not being ???specifically prohibited??? when he was juicing. As many have stated, time will tell if doing ???whatever it takes??? to win a district championship will be negated because Farragut is losing a key player with an elimination game looming. I would bet that Culbreath would not want that trade-off. Playing Oak Ridge with Muth seems much more winnable than playing West without JM. That said, I think Farragut will get it done??”they have more depth/talent than any team in the area.

Mad Dawg you are spot on with your above post. As far as the "these are just kids" line of thought. BT, a HS Sr, is either 18 or real close. We have 18 year old "kids" getting ready to vote in the fall election. We have 18 year old "kids" serving in combat zones. And we have 18-21 year old "kids" who are DI athletes putting their respective colleges on the sky line almost daily with their actions that are excused by many for the reason that "they are just kids". These same athletes are the ones from elementary school up who have had the rules bent and the standards adjusted for them because they are "special"--gifted with the ability to put a ball in the hoop/net, run a 4.4 forty, throw a ball 90mph, etc. But it's just a little rule and the kid needs a break you say.....that message is seared into the special one's mind and voila at college, we have what we now have--police blotters filled with indiscretions of the "kids". I hope BT does not slip on this slope--he is an exciting player to watch but he's going from big fish/small pond to little fish/lake when he heads to USC. And I have no dog in the fight because the team I follow does not/will not play CAK. That's it from me on this issue.

As many of you state only the CAK??™er s have all the facts on this one. My main concern would be the precedent that is now set. What happens next year when a player(s) not of the same caliber as Tarr ???decide??? they??™re not playing, playing, not playing, playing??? Having one set of rules for the super-stars and another set for everybody else is very detrimental to team chemistry/cohesiveness. Also, the message being sent to Tarr is that the rules/standards that apply to everyone else don??™t apply to him. Will he expect the same considerations when he is at South Carolina? In the real world? Also, what about the team? G has said that the team would be better without a superstar such as Tarr who everyone relies on to win-ie, players would play better as a unit vice waiting for BT to make the big play. I??™m confused-this seems 180 out from what I would have expected. But, once again we??™re just outsiders looking in

Who knows who would win an MBA-MHS game? But, I think Maryville would have a fighting chance based on a common opponent they have had--Hillsboro. In the 2006 Blue Cross Bowl, Maryville led 21-3 at half and easily won 35-10, outgaining the Boros 388 to 158 in total yards. In a September 2007 match-up between MBA and Hillsboro, the Boros led 12-3 at half before giving up 14 points in the second half and losing 17-12. MBA won the total yardage also, 278-260. It would be interesting to get the perspective of Hillsboro coaches/players re how the two would match-up. I think it would be a great game but I would not bet against GQ.

Just my opinion but state games should be at neutral sites. At least rotate venue between sites every year instead of Chattanooga year after year. Congrats to CAK for a great fight in what had to be a tough/hostile environment. CAK is young and has good coaching--will be a force to be reckoned with in 08.

G, not surprised at your response. I'm sure you see that strong private school teams don't benefit from playing mandatory opponents who provide no competition. Interesting concept that you propose. I guess the devil is in the details of determining who moves up/stays in a division. No system will make everybody happy.

Well, it seems that most of us agree that having club players on a HS team equates with success. And that "access" to a club environment is critical--in terms of distance from a club and $$$. The pro-privates are happy to be in A/AA with the opportunity to be a state "champion". What they realize but are not willing to confront is that the pitch is not that level for the public A/AA folks. Seymour, Hixson, LA, East Ridge, Station Camp, Alcoa, Pigeon Forge, Chucky-Doak etc are public schools with no chance to compete for a state championship due to the access issue. Is there a solution or should the A/AA publics just be happy to have the opportunity to be on the same pitch with teams they have no chance of beating? As I proposed in one of my earlier posts, should the private powehouses in A/AA consider playing at the AAA level? Using CAK as a model--according to Eurosports, they had regular seasons losses in close matches to Bearden, Farragut and Science Hill; tied Greeneville; and beat West, Maryville and Lenoir City. In nine matches with their district public A/AA "rivals", they had nine easy wins by a combined score of 71-3. And, I'm sure those #'s could have been much worse. My bottom line is that the strong private schools are really not getting much if anything by bashing public A/AA opponents and by staying in this division denying these small, mostly rural public schools an opportunity to compete for that much desired state championship. Comments?

$300 for a weekend tournament is a reasonable estimate--two nights in a hotel/gas/4-5 meals and you're there. One possible solution is to encourage teams like FRA, ND, CAK to play up in AAA. There can't be any great satisfaction for those teams to beat A/AA public schools in the state tournament by scores such as 12-2, 8-0 (ND), 6-0 (FRA), 12-1, 5-0, 5-0 (CAK). Basically, these strong private schools have excluded themselves at tournament time from being tested by strong public schools by staying at A/AA. Wouldn't an Oak Ridge-CAK or ND-Ooltewah match at sub state be a bit more exciting (and challenging) than CAK-Pigeon Forge or ND-LA?

The skill set for a volleyball player is much less complex than for a soccer player. A good athlete can be made into a good volleyball player in HS--a good athlete who has never played soccer faces much more of a challenge because the skills required for soccer are more demanding. Somewhat like swimming--the feel for the water is developed at an early age, technique is acquired and repetition sharpens those skills. Let me choose 5 good players off the basketball team and I can make them into good volleyball players but I'm in big trouble if I put them on a swimming or a soccer team.