Bluewhirlygig

You cannot be serious! Give me some of that Blaze Kool-Aid you have been drinking. According to the latest poll, 3 of the top 5 teams in the state are DII. But who care about a poll; after all, it is just someone??™s opinion. Let us look at the cold hard facts. On the two occasions where DI and DII teams actually compete against each other, the DII teams have absolutely dominated the field. At the McCallie Invitational (undoubtedly the toughest tournament in the state and perhaps the southeast with a field that includes some of the best teams from TN, GA, AL, and SC), 5 DII schools finished in the top 10 and 4 DII schools finished 1, 2, 3, and 4! In fact, you cannot find a DI school until you get to 12th place -- Soddy Daisy, which is ranked 8th in the state according to the latest coaches poll. 1. Baylor 2. Father Ryan 3. Brentwood Academy 4. McCallie 5. GA 6. GA 7. GA 8. GA 9. Montgomery Bell Academy 10. GA At the Father Ryan Invitational, 5 DII schools finished ahead of all DI schools in the entire field by claiming the top 5 spots: 1. Father Ryan 2. McCallie 3. Christian Brothers 4. Brentwood Academy 5. Montgomery Bell Academy 6. Mt. Juliet 7. Greenback 8. Brentwood High 9. AL 10. Glencliff So please, do not use Blackman's win over Father Ryan to declare that DII is weaker than DI. Doing so belittles the accomplishments of both the Sharpshooters and Blackman wrestling programs. Celebrate a hard-won victory and be proud of your boys. But do not claim superiority until you demonstrate it on a regular basis. You can start by having the Blackman coach contact Gordan Connell at McCallie and Pat Simpson at Father Ryan and request to be included in their respective tournaments next season. Trust me, competing against high caliber programs on a regular basis will not only enhance your wrestling program, but it will lend credence to your future posts.

Look, if you wanted a scouting report, you and the rest of the CBHS boys should have made the trip over from the left side to watch the match! Since no one on this board is giving up any valuable information about line ups, it looks as though you and the other West Tennessee boys will have to travel to Nashville to watch the Ryan - MBA match in order to get an idea of how tough Ryan really is this year. We are going up for the match; especially since it has been moved to Saturday night and does not conflict with "The Match". Perhaps we'll see you there -- I will look for Lewis' flowered shirt:)

On the front cover of today's Tennessean newspaper, there is a photograph of the Brentwood High School wrestling team's coaches putting on antibacterial foam before beginning practice. At first, I thought it was their middle school team's practice; however, if you look in the background, it clearly shows high school athletes getting ready for practice. Wow, I bet the conversation between the BHS coach and Ronnie Carter is going to be quite awkward! I mean, not even the TSSAA can ignore such an obvious breach of the practice rules. (Oh wait, I guess it can since BHS is a public school and we all know that only private schools cheat.)

I just heard a rumor that MBA is now going to the Kyle Maynard Duals. Can anyone verify or deny this rumor? Personally, I hope that it is not true. It is bad enough that year in and year out the Blue Tornado has to stomp the Little Red during the McCallie Invitiational, the Ryan Invititational, and the DII State Duals. Now, this year, we will have to do it four times. Come on, couldn't Collins Hill have found a more competitive team to fill the vacancy at the Kyle Maynard Duals?

Thanks Walkenvol -- undoubtedly, no one is better qualified to monitor and identify "DICBHPTIS" that you as you are an expert in the area. I am honored to have one of my entries selected and I promise to provide many more "DICBHPTIS" in the future because I always call 'em like I see 'em. As for the outpouring of sympathy for the coaches at JPII, I find it to be touching but it does not change my opinion. Based on MY OBSERVATIONS and DISCUSSIONS with others, I am not overly impressed with the JPII coaches (especially the head coach [so drink some decaf Steelerwhit]) and here's why: (i) During tough matches against solid teams, he sits and watches his wrestlers hardly saying a word until it is time for Courtney's match. Then he jumps around and gesticulates wildly acting as though the only way Courtney can win the match is with his guidance. Please, the fact is that Courtney would probably still be 136-8 with two state titles with anyone coaching him. He acts like a glory hound trying to take far too much credit for Courtney’s success. (ii) On several occasions, I have seen him discourage his wrestlers from demonstrating good sportsmanship by actually telling his wrestler to “not shake hands”. Pure and simple, there is more to coaching wrestling than teaching moves and strategies, it is also about building character and teaching boys how to deal with both success and adversity. To berate a boy for shaking hands with an opponent or an opposing coach is classless and sends the wrong message, and is the main reason for my low opinion of the coach. As for Courtney's wrestling style, I agree that Courtney should "not fix anything that ain't broken" because, clearly, it works for him. To reiterate my original point, Courtney’s achievements are a result of his natural talent and hard work not coaching. Thus, should he decide to pursue wrestling in the future, I expect to see marked improvement because his skill level will catch up to his physical abilities and create a total package. Now, ya’ll chew on that.

Undoubtedly, Courtney Coffey is a rare athlete. The kind of athlete you only see once or twice a decade. But for the life of me, I do not understand why everyone is so high on Courtney Coffey as a wrestler! Throughout his career, Courtney's power and quickness have enabled him to dominate lesser athletes and slightly better wrestlers. However, he has yet to be tested by an opponent who either may be less athletic but a far superior wrestler, or who may equally athletic and a better wrestler (which would have happened had he gone to the Junior Nationals). For that reason, I am sold quite sold on Courtney as a wrestler. But in all fairness to Courtney, his wrestling skills are still largely undeveloped as he has not had any decent coaching, which makes his success (2X DII State Champion) even more admirable. (It is a shame that he did not attend Ryan, MBA, or even Ensworth where he would have had an opportunity to learn a great deal more wrestling.) So, if he decides to pursue wrestling in college, I would expect him to improve greatly under an experienced coaching staff that will further develop his wrestling skills to accompany his athleticism. I look forward to watching Courtney this season and, should be pursue wrestling, in the years to come because his raw wrestling talent coupled with his athleticism gives him great potential.

Ole Dad - Are you the "Ole" Irish Dad that used to burn the midnight oil on the wrestling board?!

I just heard some Blue Tornado wrestlers talking about how MBA received a bye to the semis -- so, SBA, it must be true. It really does not matter if MBA gets a bye because the Blue Tordado are better coached, more skilled, experienced, tougher, and hungrier. There is no way that MBA can beat McCallie, and you can take that to the bank!

Great day in the morning! People get on this board and talk about how Baylor is wasting their time wrestling Coffee County, Walker Valley, etc., but how about MBA wasting their time wrestling the pathetic teams than came in their gym yesterday! MBA is not that tough (After all, they finished 8th at the McCallie Tournament.). However, if you schedule things right, you can appear to be tough. Case in point, yesterday, MBA did not even wrestle the only decent team that attended their duals - Ryan. So, as long as MBA stays in Middle Tennessee and continues to wrestle some of the weakest teams in the entire state, MBA will appear to be tough. But, once again, the truth will be revealed in February when, like always, MBA fails to get past a Chattanooga team in the State Dual Tournament and finishes behind both Chattanooga teams in the State Individual Tournament. Why? Because as it has been said over and over, if you want to be the best, you have to wrestle the best (i.e., Oviedo High School in Florida) and MBA has not wrestled the best!

Irishdad, you really need to take some Prozac or something to calm yourself. Who knows, perhaps you should try yoga? As for the MBA-Ryan match, it was a real slobber-knocker with two equally-matched teams. (Both of which were destroyed by Chattanooga schools, but that is a different thread.) Both teams' wrestlers and coaches brought their A-game and left it on the mat. While I am not a fan of either school, I certainly appreciated the high level of excitement and competition and respect both MBA and Ryan for maintaining a high level of competitiveness within DII. (Unlike any of the programs from the West -- can anyone believe that MUS actually won more matches at the State Duals than CBHS??!!) Job well done to both MBA and Ryan. P.S. Congrats to Baylor, but don't count McCallie out just yet. The Traditional State Tournament is an entirely different beast and I think they will beat Baylor!

Okay Rigger101, I wll give it a shot. Your are right, it is a heck of a lot tougher to predict that DII... Championship Round 1: Bradley v. Colliervill - Bradley Clarksville v. Overton - Clarksville Soddy v. Science Hill - Soddy Franklin v. Karns - Franklin Championship Semis : Bradley v. Clarksville - Bradley Franklin v. Soddy - Franklin Consolation Round 1: Collierville v. Overton - Collierville Science Hill v. Karns - Science Hill Consolation Semis: Collierville v. Soddy - Collierville Science Hill v. Clarksville - Clarksville Consolation Finals: Collierville v. Clarksville - Clarksville Championship Finals: Bradley v. Franklin - Bradley

First of all, well done PapBear3, you nailed it because the DII Dual Brackets are just like 2003: 2003 DII State Dual Bracket: west region champ with east region champ #1M #2W #3M #2E #1E #2M #3E #1W So, here are my predictions: Round 1= MBA v. MUS - MBA McCallie v. BA - (please...) McCallie Baylor v. Ryan - Baylor (even shifting the lineup dramatically like last year won't overcome Baylor's depth) CBHS v. ND - CBHS (I doubt CBHS will wrestle their JV like MBA did against ND last year) Champ. Semis = MBA v McCallie - McCallie (of course) Baylor v. CBHS - Baylor Consolations Round 1 = MUS v. BA = MUS Ryan v. ND = Ryan Consolation Semis = MUS v. CBHS = CBHS (still won't be close) Ryan v. MBA = Ryan (injuries have created too many holes in MBA's lineup to pull off a back-to-back victory over a solid Ryan team thirsting for revenge) Consolation Finals = CBHS v. Ryan - Ryan (after all, they did finish 2nd behind Bradley at the CBHS Duals) Championship Finals = (an all East Tennessee affair confirms its dominance in DII) McCallie v. Baylor - McCallie (adjustments made after seeing Baylor once combined with a Cleveland victory will bring home the hardware)

Whoa! Decaf, definitely decaf. (Does Guinness and/ or Jameson's come in decaf?) There is no reason to be so hostile and start threatening people with a fate that would certainly be worse than death: having to have a private conversation with you and actually listening to you mindlessly drone on about the great Irish wrestling team as you live vicariously through the ups and downs of Ryan's season. Oftentimes, it appears that you are looking for a fights where they do not exist. And another thing Good ole Irish-blow-his-top, you should really try to keep your eye on the ball. After all, unlike Ryan's 189, 275, 103, 112, 135, 145, and 152, your son actually WON his match against MBA. You should be pleased with his string showing and feel good about his chances to place in the 160 pound weight class at the DII state tournament. Lastly, no one said your son cost Ryan the match. As you should know, the loss was a team effort with all 14 boys sharing equal responsibility.

Irishdad: Cool your jets! There was absolutely no insult to your wife at all! Once again, you let the trees get in the way of the forest. If you were to READ my statement, you would realize I was merely stating what any frequent visitor to this site already knows: you are an expert at shoveling horse manure. A fact, your wife, as the one who knows you best, should surely be able to confirm. Again, the previous statement was not insult to your wife or any member of your family. P.S. Do you have a twin brother who posts on this site under the name "BartlettDad"?

The DII State Duals will be seeded by separating the #1 from the East and the #1 from the Middle and then placing the #1 from the West in the opposite bracket from the year before. Lastly, the balance of the bracket is filled in while trying to separate teams from the same region. As a result, using brackets from previous years as a guide, one can predict this year's DII State Dual Bracket. 2003 DII State Dual Bracket: west region champ with east region champ #1M #2W #3M #2E #1E #2M #3E #1W 2004 DII State Dual Bracket: west region champ with middle region champ #1E #2W #3E #2M #1W #3M #2E #1M Probable 2005 DII State Dual Bracket: west region champ with east region champ #1M - MBA #3E - ND #2W - MUS/ CBHS #2E - McC #1W - CBHS/ MUS #2M- RYAN #3M - BA #1E - BAY Boy, if this is accurate, it is a great year to be #1 or #2 from the east -- what awesome draws! Let's see just how close I am to the actual bracket.

Mrs. Irishdad, being married to Irishdad, would DEFINITELY be an expert in horse manure. I edited the aforementioned statement. Thanks RMC for bringing the Irishdad-like spelling to my attention.

Baylor will be tough, but McCallie will be right there with them. As usual, the Chattanoga teams will dominate DII with the also-rans of Nashville (Ryan and MBA) lagging behind and the never-wases of Memphis (CBHS and MUS) bringing up the rear. Yep, DII is predictable, and I predict that the Blue Tornado will finish on top!

Marable is a great wrestler, but he does not have the "juice" to beat Manley. It looks like Marable will have to wait one more year before he loses the title: "Best Wrestler to Never Win a State Championship"!

BOTW: I agree with your analysis and you propose an interesting strategy; however, there is one major flaw: head-to-head results during the state duals can be used in the seeding process at the traditional state tournament. Therefore, both MBA and ND (and most other teams) will have to put there full line-up on the mat in order to get the match-ups required to obtain the highest seeding possible for their wrestlers; especially since teams like MBA and ND never wrestle during the regular season.

PinU46, you were right. I still cannot believe that Baylor and Ryan meeting in an opening match! Well, here are my predictions... Round #1: McCallie defeats MUS ND defeats MBA CBHS defeats BA Baylor defeats Ryan Round #2: McCallie defeats ND Baylor defeats CBHS Consolation Finals: Ryan defeats CBHS Champioship Finals: McCallie defeats Baylor

PinU46 provided us with "Option A" (quoted), but I prefer "Option B" (below) because there is no way in the world that the TSSAA will allow Baylor and Ryan to meet in the first round! McC (East Champ) vs. MBA (Middle Runner-up) ND (East Third) vs. CBHS (West Champ) Ryan (Middle Champ) vs. MUS (West Runner-up) BA (Middle Third) vs. Baylor (East Runner-up)

Well, well, well. I guess there is no reason to gloat. 42-19 is a thorough, decisive beating. It was a great exhibition of McCallie's athleticism and talent. Hey Rawn, want a crying towel?! Don't be so sanctimonious. The whole purpose of this board is to support your team and critique others. Stay on the porch!

botw: I am glad that you appreciate and understand the use of multi-syllable words and fact-based arguments. (By the way, "Best of the West", isn't that like being a Great Dane amongst a bunch of Poodles?! Ha, Ha. I kid, I kid.) usfjim: That is the first time I have been able to read one of your post without having to use a deciphering device. Thank you for your clarity when criticizing my comments. Keep up the good work! As for the outcome, I am confident that McCallie will win decisively!

Suffice it to say that, after the match, ND will not longer believe that they warrant respect or should ranked among the state's top teams. The beating will be so thorough that ND will realize they need to stay on the porch because they are not ready to run with the big dogs!