Eliz. Star Article On Spring Fling Needs

[acdcfan]

Time for TSSAA to fix spring showcase

Sports Spectrum

    By Tim Chambers

    STAR STAFF

    tchambers@starhq.co

    Now that Spring Fling is near completion, it's time that the TSSAA take a long hard look at what's been nothing but a total disaster and fix it for East Tennessee High Schools. The Ranger baseball team has been a part of Memphis melee for the past three years, playing six games, winners of none.

    And while many teams would love to taste the success that Unaka has encountered getting there, the format for Class A baseball needs to be overhauled in its entirety. A loss in the opening round has put Unaka playing back-to-back games during the past two seasons.

    In 2004, after losing to Mount Pleasant, Unaka didn't have enough time to go sit down at a restaurant and grab a good meal or even taste some fast-food delight. They were treated to PBJ and bologna sandwiches, chips and Little Debbie snacks inside the parking located behind the Memphis University's baseball stadium.

    One hour to eat, before facing their next opponent.

    I'm sure the same held true this year.

    After 10 hours from heck on a non air-conditioned school bus, wouldn't it have been nice for the Rangers to shower, eat and get a good night's rest before playing their next contest.

    Why Memphis is part of Tennessee, I'll never know. The blues city could very well be known as "the great divide." West Memphis, Arkansas and South Haven Mississippi are within spitting distance of the TSSAA spring fling.

    It's kind of fitting because Arkansas is home of the Razorbacks, and playing the state tournament in Memphis is nothing but hogwash.

    It's all about the pork, lots and lots of pork to be made.

    And someone tell me when did South Haven Mississippi became a part of the Volunteer state? South Haven is known as "the top of the Mississippi." But to play the "Tennessee" girls softball there is another way of showing that the TSSAA has hit "rock bottom" with its choice of Memphis.

    It's like telling people that the adventures of Tom Sawyer took place on the Tennessee River and that floating down the Mississippi happened by accident. It doesn't make sense.

    Spring Fling should take place somewhere in the middle of the state. The TSSAA ought to pack up, leave Memphis and not let the door hit them in the gluteus maximus on the way out.

    Memphis Tennessee was a classic hit written by Chuck Berry that gained fame as a country/rock song. My advice to the board of directors at the TSSAA is to sing a different tune in the years to come.

    Like the blockbuster hit from The Animals, "We gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do."

    Memorable moments from 2005

    Best individual performances

    Baseball

    Ricky Morgan belted four home runs in one game, in a 18-13 loss to Unaka.

    Runner-up--Ryan Kennedy's five hits in one game for Elizabethton.

    Softball

    Katie Hubbard homered in three consecutive games for the Lady Cyclones softball team

    Best Comebacks

    Elizabethton, down 14-5 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth versus Sullivan North in the Snowball Classic scores 11 unanswered runs in the last two innings and wins 16-14.

    Runner-up--Unaka's 8-6 come from behind win over University High in the deciding District 1-A softball championship game. Trailing 6-3, Unaka tallied five runs in the seventh for an amazing comeback win

    Best Pitching performance

    Randy Swearingen's four-hit shutout of Rockwood in the 1-A sub-state game.

    Runner-up--Todd Caldwell's four-hitter against a hard-hitting Sullivan North squad in the District 1-AA losers' bracket final. HV won 6-1.

    Hard Luck Award

    Ryann Musick, Unaka--The junior lefty lost seven 1-0 games this season.

    Runner-up--Robbie Turbyfill, Cloudland. Turbyfill remained upbeat throughout the season although the Highlander baseball team finished the year at 0-29.

    Quoting a line from a song by the late, great Dean Martin. Thanks for the memories.

[wad]

Lets start with a geography lesson. Memphis is in Tennessee because it is located North of the Mississippi state line and East of the Arkansas state line. Last time I looked that would put it in the Great State of Tennessee. I get a little tired of people bashing Memphis. I remember a few years ago Memphis teams had to drive to Chattanooga 8 years in a row. I never heard one of them complain. But the first time some team from E.Tennessee has to drive west you would think some one held a gun to their head. Did the TSSAA make them ride a un-air condition bus or was that the schools decision. As for playing back to back, teams in the winners bracket get the rest of the day off. (just win baby). Memphis did a great job with Spring Fling. Baseball fields--Great, Soccer fields --Mike Rose Best in the South, Track-- Briarcrest 2nd to none, as for softball Snowden Grove was voted the best Complex in the Southeast. TSSAA could have played the games at good fields inside of Memphis. But choose to give the players the Best fields in the Southeast (just 5 miles from the City Limits.) Memphis has a history and I am proud to be from Memphis. I think if who ever wrote that would get over themselves and be thankful their team was able to make it to state. Life would look much better. GREAT job Memphis!!

 

"Long distance information give me Memphis, Tennessee"

Edited May 29, 2005 by wad

[CUBCADET]

SOUNDS TO ME LIKE SOMEONE GOT THEIR FEELINGS HURT THIS YEAR BUT THE BRACKETS WERE THE SAME FOR EVERYONE I BELIEVE..I DO KNOW FOR A FACT THAT ONE TEAM (BRIERCREST WHO WAS A HOST SITE FOR THIS YEARS DII GAMES) HAD TO PLAY BACK TO BACK ON THEIR HOME FIELD ALTHOUGH THERE WAS ABOUT A 3 HR OR SO BREAK. THEY LOST AND WERE ELIMINATED IN LESS THAN 8 HRS...BUT SO WERE TEAMS IN EACH DIVISION, I BELIEVE..I GUESS THE TSSAA DEEMED THIS WAY NESS WHEN THEY DECIDED TO TAKE EIGHT TEAMS INSTEAD OF FOUR IN EACH DIVISION...SOMEONE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG..I DO AGREE WITH YOU THAT MEMPHIS IS FAR FROM AN IDEAL SITE FOR THE STATE TOURN..SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ON THE FUTURE NO DOUBT

[creekercalhoun]

Memphis has great fields to play on but i think that if they would hold the spring filing in the tri cities or just kingsport or sullivan county everone would be impressed with the fields and the location as in the atmosphere.....

[bud]

Lets start with a geography lesson. Memphis is in Tennessee because it is located North of the Mississippi state line and East of the Arkansas state line. Last time I looked that would put it in the Great State of Tennessee. I get a little tired of people bashing Memphis. I remember a few years ago Memphis teams had to drive to Chattanooga 8 years in a row. I never heard one of them complain. But the first time some team from E.Tennessee has to drive west you would think some one held a gun to their head. Did the TSSAA make them ride a un-air condition bus or was that the schools decision. As for playing back to back, teams in the winners bracket get the rest of the day off. (just win baby). Memphis did a great job with Spring Fling. Baseball fields--Great, Soccer fields --Mike Rose Best in the South, Track-- Briarcrest 2nd to none, as for softball Snowden Grove was voted the best Complex in the Southeast. TSSAA could have played the games at good fields inside of Memphis. But choose to give the players the Best fields in the Southeast (just 5 miles from the City Limits.) Memphis has a history and I am proud to be from Memphis. I think if who ever wrote that would get over themselves and be thankful their team was able to make it to state. Life would look much better.  GREAT job Memphis!!

 

"Long distance information give me Memphis, Tennessee"

825683954[/snapback]

 

Hey Wad,you are the on that needs geography lessons. The area where this paper (article) was written, is still 4 hours east of Chattanooga. No area in the state has had to travel as much as upper East Tennessee teams so consider that. I think Upper East TN has a right to complain. Knoxville is 1 1/2 hours for Upper East TN but when is the last time the TSSAA had anything there? It is not that teams that make it this far in the post season are not excited about going, but everyone but upper East TN has had post season tournaments in their neck of the woods or at least within 2 hours. I am sure it will never change anyway though.

[unakafan07]

as far as the bus decision, it was a financial decision.. 1a public school cant dish out 5k to get a bus to memphis and back, especially when substate is rained out and we didnt know if we were going or not til about 7 oclock on sat night

 

that being said, we would do it again, we had fun.. played pretty well after we settled down (our first 3 innings in the tourney were rough), ... but cloudland high and maybe the schools from bristol would have been the only schools with a longer drive.. i think the only thing people east of knoxville are getting at is a rotation or wanting it in the middle of TN..

 

as far as the brackets being the same, yes it is easier on the winners but when we played Goodpasture in the loser bracket, we had one hour between games.. they showed from hotel/resturaunt/wherever .. (why not put the loser bracket as evening games not 1 hour after the day games) it prolly wouldnt have made a difference but its all valid points to having the tourney either rotate or in the middle

 

as far as "whoever wrote this get over themselves" .. tim mainly wrote/followed elizabethton high and didnt cover unaka til ehs was elimanted .. he was at our last 2 games and maybe one here and there when ehs was off

Edited May 29, 2005 by unakafan07

[Opperman]

as far as the bus decision, it was a financial decision.. 1a public school cant dish out 5k to get a bus to memphis and back, especially when substate is rained out and we didnt know if we were going or not til about 7 oclock on sat night

825684068[/snapback]

 

Nobody up there has minivans or 14-passenger vans to rent? 2 of those to transport the team wouldn't cost $5,000, and they have air conditioning. Chartering a bus isn't the only option.

[themagicrooster]

In the past when Rockwood has made that long journey, we(the parents) have been responsible for getting our kids there. NO bus, No rented vans, but parents. But we didnt mind because we were just glad to be going to the next level. We all knew where the hotel was we were going to and had a time to meet there and usually there was a convoy of 2-3 cars but you would see others on the road so in a way everyone was together. Thank heavens for cell phones and walkie talkies for bathroom breaks and gas breaks. Yes it would be nice for it to be more centrally located and hopefully it will in the future. Congrats to all teams who participated in the Spring Fling.

 

 

GO TIGERS!

Edited May 29, 2005 by themagicrooster

[unakafan07]

Nobody up there has minivans or 14-passenger vans to rent?  2 of those to transport the team wouldn't cost $5,000, and they have air conditioning.  Chartering a bus isn't the only option.

825684105[/snapback]

 

yea, they probably do, however; the decision had to be made in about an hour on a Sat night, that limited choices... but the point is the length of the journey.. it doesnt matter if they had limos for the kids.. 10 hours in a vehicle and your gonna get out and have dead legs. I did and i was in a fairly new passenger vehicle..

 

PS.. none of my comments are aimed at the city of Memphis.. they did a great job of hosting.. (unfortunately the only venue i saw was Bolton, but the field was great, thier booster club did a good job with concessions etc..) The only problem is the locaton.. I think it is a valid arguement that the state tourney be put somewhere in the middle, so no one team has a long journey..

[doodle_bug_1111]

Lets start with a geography lesson. Memphis is in Tennessee because it is located North of the Mississippi state line and East of the Arkansas state line. Last time I looked that would put it in the Great State of Tennessee. I get a little tired of people bashing Memphis. I remember a few years ago Memphis teams had to drive to Chattanooga 8 years in a row. I never heard one of them complain. But the first time some team from E.Tennessee has to drive west you would think some one held a gun to their head. Did the TSSAA make them ride a un-air condition bus or was that the schools decision. As for playing back to back, teams in the winners bracket get the rest of the day off. (just win baby). Memphis did a great job with Spring Fling. Baseball fields--Great, Soccer fields --Mike Rose Best in the South, Track-- Briarcrest 2nd to none, as for softball Snowden Grove was voted the best Complex in the Southeast. TSSAA could have played the games at good fields inside of Memphis. But choose to give the players the Best fields in the Southeast (just 5 miles from the City Limits.) Memphis has a history and I am proud to be from Memphis. I think if who ever wrote that would get over themselves and be thankful their team was able to make it to state. Life would look much better.  GREAT job Memphis!!

 

"Long distance information give me Memphis, Tennessee"

825683954[/snapback]

Spring KA-CHING is what is was all about. How many games was actually played in Memphis. At least it was in Tennessee. In the softball girls wasn't introduced, no P.A. announcer plus get this never was the National Anthem played. If you got a drink at concession it was a 15 minute wait. One window open 1 order at a time. Go sight seeing in town you are constantly being bummed.

Local tournaments is a credit to this Spring ka-ching. $$$$$$$$$

[JWhumboldt]

The Ranger baseball team has been a part of Memphis melee for the past three years, playing six games, winners of none.A loss in the opening round has put Unaka playing back-to-back games during the past two seasons.

After 10 hours from heck on a non air-conditioned school bus, wouldn't it have been nice for the Rangers to shower, eat and get a good night's rest before playing their next contest.

825683940[/snapback]

If you're 0-6, don't complain, it makes you look like a cry baby. Back-to-back games are common in baseball, it's called a Double Header. Win the first game, and you won't have to worry about a Double Header. You're blaming the fact that your team had to ride 10 hours on a non air-conditioned school bus on Memphis? Blame it on your Coaches and Athletic Dept, and use a little common sense. Rent mini-vans, have a fundraiser, companies and businesses will donate money, etc...

[doodle_bug_1111]

If you're 0-6, don't complain, it makes you look like a cry baby. Back-to-back games are common in baseball, it's called a Double Header. Win the first game, and you won't have to worry about a Double Header. You're blaming the fact that your team had to ride 10 hours on a non air-conditioned school bus on Memphis? Blame it on your Coaches and Athletic Dept, and use a little common sense. Rent mini-vans, have a fundraiser, companies and businesses will donate money, etc...

825684186[/snapback]

It could be worse Rangers. Have a 5-24 season like humboldt and stay home. Nobody in a state tour. should have to play 2 games in 1 day. Schedule is just poor organization.

In a sport like softball where they can play 2 games in a day their schedule had winners and losers playing 1 game a day.

Spring $$$Ka-Ching = poor management