Lurch

Well for starters I am not a JC fan. But that isn't what kept me away. I didn't have a computer that worked for a while. Plus my family had to move because our old house got demolished and I just got straightened back out. I went back and read some old threads including the JC/Ashland threads from a few weeks ago and it struck me the wrong way.

You are exempted then, and you have been very unbias in your posts. Sorry if I struck a nerve, but it stinks to open a thread for a game this big and only read one side of the story. I've lost some respect for the great tradition of Ashland football. Shame too.

How do you determine that?

The Titans will not be stopped. Nobody will keep it within 21 points the rest of the way. Mark it down.

Whats wrong with a little expression? Kids need to be able to get some of that out of their system.

Mercer in a blowout. Gooooooo Titans :ylsuper:

BTW, Matney and company my hang 50 on the Tomcats this week. The Eagles are rolling and the upcoming matchup with Rock or Bell looms very large on the horizon. That will be a matchup to see.

I certainly hope the Ashland posters will add to the conversation this week leading up to and after the game. As vocal as they are in nearly every other thread, it is a shame if they don't hold up their share of the conversation in this one. I wonder if they know how silly and petty it makes them look when they orchestrate this stupid "boycot" of these game threads. It reminds me of the kid whose team falls behind in a sandlot game and he decides to take his ball and go home. I know it may not be be perfect scenario, and it looks bleak for them, but bowing out of the conversation entirely is a bit cowardly, IMO. Surely they can show good sportsmanship and hold their composure long enough to discuss the biggest game of their season. Their kids deserve it, their fans deserve it and BGP deserves it. So Tomcat fans, don't bow out, stay in the game and let's talk it up. Don't just sit idly by and watch the changing of the guard in silence.

A lot of mediocre teams make the playoffs now and they are gone after round 1 just like they will be under this system. But what I am talking about is the championship. People act as if a title under the new system is less meaningful but I say no.

I tried to address this with a thread a couple of weeks ago but my schedule has kept me from coming back to follow up on it. So I will just go right to the conclusions. This system is not watered down and here is why. In all classes, there have been a very small number of teams with a legitimate shot at winning the title each year. In A, there are 4, in 2A there are 6-7, in 3A there are 4-5, and in 4A there is only 3. Other teams have an outside shot, but these teams are the only ones who have a real chance. And that is not going to change, as a matter of fact it might even be worse because under this new system each class may become even more exclulsive. How? Because those 15-20 teams are going to be spread among 6 classes instead of 4, leaving less favorites in each class and making them even more elite. For instance in A, now there are going to be 2 big time favorites instead of 4. Additionally, the playoff format will not change and you will still have to win 5 playoff games to take home the hardware. That is true under both systems regardless of how many teams are in the class. Less teams will be staying home, but it will not make the playoff paths easier by any noticable amount. The early rounds will still be against your district opponents (I assume) and the later rounds will be against the best in the class. So the playoff games themselves will be a bit different makeup, but the semifinals will still be dominated by the same old faces and I'm having a hard time seeing how that translated into a watered down system. Bottome line, it will not be eaiser to win a title under this system and the additional 2 titles will still be won by one of the 15-20 favorites.

ON AN AVERAGE YEAR, in Class 1A, how many teams have a legitimate chance to win the title? How many additional teams (not counting the legitimates) have an outside chance? By this I don't mean a Cinderella story team with a gnat's chance, I mean a decent team that is just below the level of the legitimate shot group that could win it with a few breaks. I'm not looking for names, just numbers. And don't base your answer only on this year, consider maybe the last 10 years and give me numbers based on an average year. I'll go first and say in this class... Legitimates 6 Long Shots 10