Alcoa drops out of Integra Bowl in Kentucky ...

[MSUBac2001]

Word is that Alcoa has informed Trigg County officials that they will not be returning to fulfill its contractual obligation to play Hopkinsville in the Integra Bowl. Apparently, they waited until June to make their decision known, leaving Trigg officials two months to find a new opponent for Hopkinsville.

 

Alcoa has apparently picked up Booker T. Washington to fill that date on the schedule, a game which will require the Tornadoes to barely break a sweat.

 

Classy move, guys ...

 

 

We don't know all the details, so lets not jump to a judgement of character based on Alcoa not playing a game. There may be many reasons for the change: cost, the effect of a new coaching staff, etc. While the team did sign a contract, these contracts are regularly broken in sports for a variety of reasons. If Trigg County wanted to ensure Alcoa played the game, they could have put a much larger buyout clause in the contract.

Edited June 24, 2006 by MSUBac2001

[kentuckian]

We don't know all the details, so lets not jump to a judgement of character based on Alcoa not playing a game. There may be many reasons for the change: cost, the effect of a new coaching staff, etc. While the team did sign a contract, these contracts are regularly broken in sports for a variety of reasons. If Trigg County wanted to ensure Alcoa played the game, they could have put a much larger buyout clause in the contract.

If Alcoa had to make this decision, why didn't they do it over the winter, giving Trigg County and Hopkinsville more time to find a suitable opponent? Instead, they waited until June, two months before the game.

[theosu_2]

If he really wanted to water down the schedule he should have scheduled Oakland instead of Booker T.

 

That aint right mikey.

[olandpats]

That aint right mikey.

no lil pup. u got that all wrong. he left so he wouldn't have 2 play oakland anymore b-cuz we now got a level playin field wit big butch takin the principal job. no mo stealin athletes from us, right precious?

[wingman10]

With Rankin at Alcoa, will he schedule a series with Jefferson Co.?

[olandpats]

With Rankin at Alcoa, will he schedule a series with Jefferson Co.?

 

naw man he dont want none of marty .

[The Scribe]

If a team chooses to pay the opt-out price like Alcoa did, that's fine. But they were advertising in April for a game on Aug. 18 -- the same date as their trip to Kentucky. Hopkinsville found out and asked their AD about it, and he said they would still play. Alcoa sent a copy of the contract and the check back to the Trigg County AD, the host of the bowl game. No phone call. No letter. Didn't even let Hopkinsville know they were cancelling the game. Apparently the Alcoa boosters paid the opt-out fee after telling the AD and coach they weren't supporting the trip.

 

As far as last year goes, the Alcoa people were slightly agigtated about their late start. Of course, the first game was delayed due the heat (KHSAA statewide rule). Alcoa chose to drive up and back in the same day last year. This year, their game was moved to the first game to avoid such a late trip back.

 

As far as Warren goes, he threw a punch at the Hopkinsville player. In Kentucky, you get ejected for that type of thing. Did the Hopkinsville player start things? Yes. Should the Hoptown player have been ejected? Probably. Should Warren have been ejected for what he did? Absolutely.

 

I have nothing to do with the Hopkinsville program and don't even live there. But waiting this late in the summer to cancel a game without as much as a phone call or reason lacks a little class IMO. If they didn't want to play, they should have canceled back in April when they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar with their on-line request for a game on Aug. 18.

[kentuckian]

I'm not an Alcoa fan, nor am I against them...having said that, understand that this comes from the least of biased opinions. Hopkinsville, KY has some of the least class I've seen in some time on one football team. I have been involved in passing tournaments with them, and have heard their coaches curse their players, players curse their coaches, and players curse players from the opponents' team as well as their own. They have very little sportsmanship and not to mention they have coaches on staff with some less than stellar off the field habits (I do not know them personally, I am referring to bits and pieces that I have witnessed). Long story short, they are easy to root against, and I totally understand Alcoa's pulling out of this situation. Lastly, Hopkinsville's reputation is ruined by their coaches', the kids only model what their coaches are doing, and from my angle, 'it ain't good'.

I'm not arguing with your assessment of Hopkinsville's program ... I'm not about to tell you that you didn't experience what you say you did with them. But it seems that most of the Alcoa complaints had to do with the facilities and officiating, neither of which had anything to do with Hopkinsville.

 

Trigg County is the program that's getting screwed here, just as much or more so than Hopkinsville is.

Edited June 24, 2006 by kentuckian

[wingman10]

A series with Alcoa and Jefferson Co would be very interesting.

[pressman]

I'm not arguing with your assessment of Hopkinsville's program ... I'm not about to tell you that you didn't experience what you say you did with them. But it seems that most of the Alcoa complaints had to do with the facilities and officiating, neither of which had anything to do with Hopkinsville.

 

Trigg County is the program that's getting screwed here, just as much or more so than Hopkinsville is.

 

That's a fair assessment, then. You are right about Trigg County if this is the case. In an effort to report accurately, I was not referring to alcohol or promiscuity in reference to their coaches' 'vice'. I have no question that that program has some serious character issues, but a contract is a contract. Keep in mind that Alcoa did experience the coaching change, and could have someting to do with the timing (although I am also aware that a coach inherits a schedule, and that this is part of the overall responsibility).

[kentuckian]

Well, see how many people on this board agree that Warren getting ejected at Hopkinsville was a fair call. The other game he was ejected from was not the issue, only the Hopkinsville game.

And how many of those people aren't seeing things through Alcoa-filtered glasses?

 

Bottom line ... if Warren did something to warrant ejection from a quarterfinal playoff game, it isn't far-fetched to suggest he did something against Hopkinsville to warrant one, either. And there are people that were close to the play that said he threw a punch.

 

Regardless of your feelings on the issue and what occurred last year, it doesn't explain why Alcoa waited until June to pull out of the rematch.

[JC4life]

A series with Alcoa and Jefferson Co would be very interesting.

Especially this year, heck maybe we can have 4 team tourney with Meadows and WB and the team down in GA that Reid went to. I`d pay to see that