rSquared

Pigeon Forge is definitely blessed by having two aces this year. Where did Lindsey pitch last year? /huh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":huh:" border="0" alt="huh.gif" />

Any word yet on pool play/tournament schedule, etc.?

No problem---I'm a little early I guess. Just looking forward to this tournament! ---rSquared

. . .TSSAA's infinite wisdom, etc., etc.,. . .

Any brackets, pool play info yet?

If you still have an opening, we may be interested in playing in the Plateau Invitational. Would I contact Mark Rich at the number above or someone else? Thanks, R. Roark Union Co. High School

What year is Pickett?

With their 64-59 regional championship win over Unicoi Co., the Union Co. boys will play host to Carter at 7 p.m. on Monday night in a sectional/substate game. Carter lost to Fulton 62-47. Congrats Patriots! Carry on!! Carry on!!

District 2AA Playday at Pigeon Forge, Sat. Mar. 7th Union Co. vs. Pigeon Forge @ 10:00 a.m. Union Co. vs. Cumberland Gap @ 1:30 p.m. Union Co. vs. Grainger Co. @ 5:30 p.m.

Congrats to the Union Co. Patriots, Coach Brian Jessie, and tournament MVP Tyler Smith for capturing the 2AA tourney tonight with a convincing 67-50 win over Gatlinburg-Pittman! ---rSquared

Union Co. at Halls on Tues. 2-24 at 5:30 p.m. Union Co. at Grace Christian Academy Thurs. 2-26 at 5:00 p.m. Please list your team's scrimmages for this week and/or next week. Thanks, ---rSquared

As a coach, I have to agree with goosevol and the others on this. I see nothing wrong with what Scott's coach has done, but rather commend him for it. Any coach worth his weight would do the same, especially for such a fine athlete and competitor like the Lowe girl.

Man, it was a long way to that truck. LOL I did go earlier, but wasn't sure whether to post a reply or not. The brackets listed on the back of the program I got last night at the tournament obviously have an error, so I wasn't sure whether I'd just confuse everyone. They list the boys championship game as being played Sat. (last night) at 8:30 p.m. It was definitely not played at that time, because that was when Grainger and GP were squaring off in the late semifinal game. Judging by the girls bracket, which has no mistakes that I see, I'm pretty sure that the boys consolation will be played Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. and the boys championship will follow at 7:30 p.m., since those are the starting times listed for the girls consolation and championship games on the previous (Monday) night. Hope that helps! Good luck Patriots!

The girls consolation and championship games will be played on Monday. Grainger and Claiborne boys meet in the consolation game on Tuesday. I believe the consolation game starts at either 6:30 or 7:00 with the championship game (Gatlinburg-Pittman vs. Union Co.) to follow at 8:00 or 8:30. I'll post the exact times as soon as I go out to my truck and find the brackets. LOL

2009 Union Co. Lady Patriots Last year's finish: Grainger (Rutledge) Pigeon Forge Union Co. Claiborne Gatlinburg-Pittman Cumberland Gap (not entirely sure on these last two due to game scores not posted) Players lost to graduation: LHP Brittany Dyer C Meagan Effler SS/3B Whitney Cochran DH/1B Kari Benziger OF Carrie Droegemeier OF Sarah LaVoie OF Megan Beeler Pre-season Outlook: With ace Brittany Dyer's graduation, pitching duties fall to Junior RHP Ravyn Nease, while the other part of the battery passes from Meagan Effler to younger sister Haley Effler (Jr.). Backup catching duties could fall to Soph. Linsey Carey, Fr. Haven Housewright, Fr. Alexis Flutie, or Soph. Harli Dunsmore. Sr. RHP Samantha Williams will also log some innings on the mound for the Lady Patriots this season, as could Fr. Megan McAllister. The hole left at SS will be filled by one of two seniors, Delana Cooke or Samantha Williams, or by Soph. Taylor Brown, while Jr. Linsey Carey and Fr. Haven Housewright will compete for the 3rd and 2nd Base spots. Nease may see some time at short when she is not on the mound. Sr. Brittany Maples returns to handle the first base duties for the Lady Patriots, though her versatility could find her at other spots in the infield if needed. Soph. Linsey Carey may also see some time at 1B. Sr. Ashley Dyer returns in LF, while Fr. Megan McAllister, Soph. Brittany George, Jr., Fr. Alexis Flutie, Fr. Rachel Samms, and Soph. Brittany Patterson will compete for the remaining OF spots. Seniors Samantha Williams or Delana Cooke or Soph. Taylor Brown could also be moved to the OF as needed. Predicted Finish: The Lady Patriots have several holes to fill, but Coach Lance Lay always manages to have his team in the thick of district competition. Depending on how quickly several players step up and provide answers to some of the question marks, as well as how well Nease performs on the mound, the Lady Patriots should finish anywhere from first to third in the district. Key games, as always, will come against last season's first and second place teams---Grainger Co. and Pigeon Forge. Both the Lady Grizzlies and the Lady Tigers return more pitching depth than the Lady Patriots, and this could well prove to be the difference in the District 2AA race.

I am a total outsider here, but after reading the entire thread I can't help but notice that their is NO mention of the Director of Schools and his/her stance or involvement in the football situation. Who is the Director of Schools for Cannon Co. and to what extent does he/she support and become involved in the program?

No games at Union Co. tonight. Coaches will reschedule, possibly for Sat. is what I am hearing right now.

You say that the present coach is not doing well at Union Co., but almost everyone will tell you that the program is in much better shape than it ever was under Cook. UC won 9 games in Murphy's initial year (more than Cook won in her first season) and is 5-7 so far this season. Despite remaining winless in the district to this point in Murphy's two years, the team has become more competitive in district play. Moreover, the schedule is no longer as soft---gone are Thomas Walker, Knoxville Christian, Kings' Academy, Harriman, etc. This current Union Co. team has been playing teams like Knox Central, Carter, Scott Co., Sullivan East, and CAK instead. Coach Cook may or may not be doing a good job at Claiborne---only the people there know the direction she has taken the program. I wish her all the luck in the world there and I certainly agree with your statement that "there ARE other factors that contribute to a lack of success besides coaching ability!" I'm not trying to claim that Cook is not a good coach---I really have no idea whether she is or not. I'm just saying that she was nowhere near the "success" that you seem to claim she was for Union Co. Ask the people at UC who truly know the program and you will find that they are very happy with the job Coach Murphy is doing and very glad that Cook moved on.

Saturday,December 27,2008 10AM Knox. Central vs Carter (girls) 11:30 Washburn vs. Pigeon Forge (boys) 1 PM Cannon County vs Somerset KY (girls) 2:30 Cannon County vs. Somerset KY (boys) 4:00 Knox Central vs. Grainger Co. (boys) 5:30 Oneida vs Grainger Co. (girls) 7:00 Sullivan East vs Union County (girls) 8:30 Oneida vs. Union County (boys) Monday,December 29,2008 10AM Somerset (KY) vs. Oneida (girls) 11:30 Somerset (KY) vs. Washburn (boys) 1 PM Carter vs. Sullivan East (girls) 2:30 Pigeon Forge vs. Oneida (boys) 4:00 Grainger Co. vs. Cannon County (girls) 5:30 Grainger Co. vs. Cannon County (boys) 7:00 Knox Central vs. Union Co. (girls) 8:30 Knox Central vs. Union Co. (boys) Tuesday, December 30, 2008 10AM Oneida vs. Washburn (boys) 11:30 Grainger Co. vs. Somerset KY (girls) 1 PM Grainger Co. vs Somerset KY (boys) 2:30 Oneida vs. Knox Central (girls) 4:00 Pigeon Forge vs. Knox Central (boys) 5:30 Carter vs. Union Co. (girls) 7:00 Cannon County vs. Sullivan East (girls) 8:30 Cannon County vs. Union Co. (boys) ***** Team listed last is home team and will wear white uniforms.

great young lady, too! I had the pleasure of coaching Jenna at one time. Too bad that she's a BRAVES fan. . . /tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" /> Hope you're having a good senior year, Jenna! ---Coach Roark

In my opinion, the talent level is somewhat down across the entire district. Coach Brooks and staff did a good job of bringing their girls together tonight at Union Co. to win by a final of 60-43. They looked much better than they did last week when I saw them against Hancock Co. Maybe this was their breakout game. Four players finished in double figures---Shackleford with 19, McFall with 12, Graves with 11, and Williams with 10. For Union Co., Bruner finished in double figures with 15, while Irick added 11.

Sounds like you want Coach Brooks job! /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

1) Regardless of whether or not BallIsLife is Caitlyn Fields, it doesn't show a lot of class on your behalf to come on a public website and say negative things about a teenage girl. 2) Caitlyn is not currently "playing" at Union Co. She is ineligible until sometime around the end of December. She has, however, been present at almost every practice and is proving to be a solid team leader and valuable team member. 3) Although I personally don't care for the "pathetic union county" comment, you are providing our girls with some good motivational locker room material. So thanks. . . /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and enjoys the time with family and friends, the meal(s!), the football, and whatever activity you're involved in over this break. Take time to tell people that you love them and be kind and caring! Also, don't forget to give a heartfelt thanks to God for all the blessings he has given us---life, salvation, family, friends, health, jobs, falling gas prices (lol), etc. Oh, and good food, LOTS of good food! LOL Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and may the Lord be with all of us, including those who are traveling. ---rSquared

I was around two or three years ago, but didn't meet Murphy until the beginning of last summer, when he was hired at UCHS.