retropop

Let's not forget the final second - and extra second - of the South Oldham-Shelby Co. game. Make sure that you add it to the not-so-small list of officiating peculiarities. Would a different team in playing the semifinals, and possibly even the final game, have upset the tourney apple cart??? We'll never know, but it makes for interesting specuation.

The shot was fine. It's a non-issue.

Good luck to Anderson Co. and Coach Kays as they carry the 2010 banner for the 8th region down to WKU. The bigger question has nothing to with a last second shot, but is instead must be this, "Is this the beginning of a Lady Bearcats parade to Diddle for the next few years?"

No doubt the AC folks will be (and have the right to be) crowing about pulling off this championship coup earlier than they had realistically hoped. Curiosity causes one to wonder if there be a rising up of contenders who will accept the challenge laid down by the AC youngsters, or will it simply become an issue of everyone else competing for second place? Only with the investment of some serious sweat equity will contenders come to the forefront to make next year' 8th region campaign anything more than a one horse race.

Dixon vs. Brown should be an interesting match up.

If these two - Dixon & Brown - neutralize each other, it will probably come down to if Anderson has an answer for Sandlin. However, I would give the nod to Dixon at this point in their careers.

Another question is if W-V's guard play is really up to the task in this big game? More often than not, it has let them down against bigger schools and better teams, with the one huge exception being against SK in the district final.

Too close to call for me. This will be another great game under the same roof - all for one price, too!

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

Simon Kenton should win this one - but I do think that retro makes some good points. What I find interesting is how so many people say that officiating should not determine the outcome........ seems how it always does though.

Part of being a championship player is being able to adjust to the style of officiating. The teams have been dealing with many, many different types of officials all year; the best will adjust.

In response to Crazy 8s post: In anyone's opinion, has the officiating performed by the 6th region officials had an influence upon the outcome in any girls' (or boys") 8th region game(s) thus far?

In response to Colonel Mike's post: Sometimes when two teams play to a dead-heat even level, winning or losing can simply come down to a strange or lucky bounce here, and a slip, a trip or a fumble there -- hopefully by the players. But too often (can anybody say Rick Pitino?) there are frequent situations when an officials' call - one (or more) that is difficult to comprehend - will enter into the picture and cast its shadow upon the outcome of a game. In that instance, it is often not possible for players and/or coaches to adjust in order to overcome them (again, consider Coach Pitino). Around Derby time, this is referred to as "racing luck," I think.

That is the good/bad thing about basketball - the human factor. But as far as the attitude that "It all evens out" goes, although it sounds good, I wouldn't bet on it.

That's too bad. Coach Warfield's teams played a sound, competitive and hard-nosed brand of basketball. Best of luck to Coach Warfield, and also to the girls who will return. She will be missed.

Say what you will, but much will be determined by the way this one is officiated. The 6th region officials have been, to say the least, quite varied from game to game so far, and whatever personnel combinations occur will make it even more unpredictable. They also have been quite different from the 8th region norm.

With Simon Kenton's hands-on defensive approach and Shelby Co.'s aggressive rebounding attitude, it is imperative for the winner to be able to exercise their strong suit in sucha way as to not get whistled. All bets are off predicting this outcome. If Simon can shove the dribbler to the short corner baseline and double team with no whistles, they will win. If Shelby can attack the glass with wreckless abandon, they will win. If they both get to do what they want, it will be a very physical, intense and exciting game - and that is my only prediction.

As they say down on the farm: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Well, the Sweet-16 ain't broke!

If anyone out there is foolish enough to believe that messing with our current KHSAA Sweet-16 format is a good idea, please check with intelligent b-ball observers over in Indiana and see how their misguided destruction of the formerly great IHSAA state tourney format has gone. Please, please, please, let's not go down that road - give up the whining!

:ohbrother:

It will be interesting to see if having refs from outside the 8th region will be a factor as the toruney progresses - or if it was any factor last night. It's pretty unusual for the region go "go outside" for officials, at least for the last few years it has not been done.

Let's revisit this one now that the "pretenders" have been eliminated from the tourney field. With only the stronger teams remaining, a.k.a. "the contenders," and the region pairings entering into the survivor picture, who is still hot - or gotten hotter - and who stubbed their toe and has possibly cooled off? And let's hear something from all corners of the Bluegrass, so we all have a better understanding of the teams that actually make it to Diddle!

Hmmmmmmm? With four top-20 teams in the Bluegrass participating in this affair, are there any of the other 15 regions that can compare with this field??? With that said, the high quality of the teams in this region tourney may be insignificant once the winner gets to Bowling Green. Playing CAL is a tough reward for the Lady Crimsons for winning the district.

Hey, hey, hey, if they are selling a tourney pass, you'd better get on it, 'cause this tourney is going to be well worth more than the price of admission! Fireworks right off the bat with the first round games - especially with the gravity of the top bracket. I know I'm mixing metaphors here, but every team has a strong suit and chinks in its armor, so it will be like a high-stakes chess match by each coach to pull out the win. And you can scrap all of the 20-plus games per squad, as it's of NO consequence now. It's like a three game Texas hold 'em mini-marathon at Simon Kenton High School. Boys and girls, you just gotta love it!!! The one group of young ladies that pulls together the best from now until next Saturday night will cut down the strings and ride a big yellow bus down to WKU.

Obviously, the win by W-V is the official outcome of an evidently very fine title game. But are you folks that have posted saying that it is an coutcome that is tainted/questionable, or that is legitimately correct? The posted writings and the photos imply an ambiguity that creates more questions for, at least, this reader. Can there please be some clarification given? Thanks.

Thus far in the 8th region it appears that the usual suspects have been rounded up for next week's event in Independence. Will this trend continue to play out? Are there going to be any surprises in tonight's games, or Friday's games? Is anyone willing to shout out some predictions ahead of time??? Inquiring minds are waiting to know!

YESSSSS, WHAT A GREAT TIME IT IS TO BE A GIRLS' B-BALL FAN IN THE 8TH REGION !!!!!

AT WALTON: Will the third time be the charm for W-V vs. Simon Kenton? They are capable but have yet to overcome the mental block syndrome.

AT NORTH OLDHAM:The 29th is anybody's guess! North could possibly make history tonight with a win against the unpredictable Lady Colonels; only to be followed by a game with the up and down (however when they're up, watch out) Lady Dragons? This is wide open.

AT SHELBY: No doubt about it, another final with, surprise, Anderson vs. Shelby. Shelby may be THE most unpredictable and dangerous team in the region, and they are playing at home against some very young pups from Lawrenceburg. So ... seeing the Lady Rockets ascend the ladder for nets, packing their victory scissors to cut 'em down, would not be a great surprise at all.

AT GALLATIN: On a neutral court these two teams that are overly familiar with each other will square on in another backyard brawl type of game. Yep, it's a toss up.

No proposal at all - no need to fix something that does not need fixing and cannot be fixed.

Obviously, nothing can really be done about the weather or the modifiying the schedules of playing venues, but I was thinking more along the line of how the teams and coaches will be able to respond to these circumstances in order to successfully extend their seasons deep into the tournament. For instance, some school districts have rules against playing and or practicing during sonw days, while others do not; or some teams that are allowed to have their players in for practices cannot get them there because, in some locales, the roads are too bad for practices to happen. When all these variables enter into the picture, some teams may have an edge.

How many districts hold JV and Freshman tournaments, and what might be the winning teams of those tournaments? It might be a good predictor of future success to know which schools/programs have some promising prospects in the pipeline.

This is a very respsectable performance by the Lady Panthers against a very good Highlands team, and it may bode well for them in the district tourney. Coach Mefford regularly faces a challenging regular schedule in order to better prepare the team for tourney time, and it has paid dividends over the years. Quite possibly it will again in 2010.

For the second year in a row, ol' man winter has wreaked havoc with the girls' hoops season. But not all areas of the state have been and are being impacted by the snow/weather in the same way. Several regions have had numerous teams cancel games or postpone games already, and it looks as though even more are ready to happen at this very moment. Other regions have not been affected much at all.

The weather is making a difference in how teams are keeping their routines going: the positives are resting up when tired, healing when banged up and bruised; the negatives are losing good mojo, losing conditioning and timing due to lack of gym time, too many games in too short a time period, or not enough games over a two-week period.

Since most teams within a district will experience similar weather, it might not make much of a difference for district tourneys. But beyond that, the region tourneys and the Sweet-16 may be different stories. Only after-the-fact hindsight may provide us with 20/20 insight, but are there any other speculators out there wanting to address this subject? Please chime in.

:dancingpa

The 8th region tournament should have these "somewhat hot" teams squaring off: Simon Kenton, Walton-Verona, Gallatin Co., Owen Co., Oldham Co., South Oldham, Shelby Co. and Anderson Co. In the event of slight upsets in the first round of district play, these teams could break the ice to make an appearance at Simon Kenton: Carroll Co., Henry Co. and North Oldham.

This region has been, and still is, sooooooo wide open that it will come down to this: On these four specific dates, March 1, 2, 5 and 6, which ever of these teams becomes the hottest, the healthiest, and the luckiest team, that team will go to Diddle. As I have said since the summertime, it's WIDE OPEN (still), and there has been no change after two-and-a-half months of competition !!!!! Get your tickets early, boys and girls. It is highly possible that there may not be a single region in the state with more parity than this one, and we should see a very fine 8th region tournament next month.

Hats off to the hoops experts from the 9th region! Apparently, yours is the only region in the Bluegrass with any teams that are hot, or else it's the only region with a burning passion for its teams. All other teams and 15 regions should take note of these testimonials, as they might be a sign of things to come at Diddle in March. Time will tell.

Perspective is hard to determine from website posts. In some instances middle school athletes play up because they are specially, but in a greater number of instances it is due to a lack of talent that exists amongst the older players in the program, so they get their "early" minutes by default. With the "studs," they go on to possibly be dominant players, but the majority of the girls mature early and plateau out.

With the regular season winding down and the post-season creeping closer and closer, it's time for the annual pre-district tournament question: "Who's hot and who's not? C'mon, let's hear it, ladies and gentlemen!

:popcorn:

Are there no super sophs at Conner?

Although it may be a stiff challenge for the Lady Cougars to win, here is one voter that hopes Holy Cross can pull it off. They are superbly coached and have a special group of girls this year, and it would be great for them to cut down the nets.

With the Anderson Co.-South Oldham outcome and the outcome of the Shelby Co.-Oldham Co. game last night, it appears that the 29th District is not in the top half of the 8th region at the present time. Early on, however, many prognosticators felt otherwise. Possibly South Oldham and Oldham Co. will get it together, but after two months of play, the play of these two teams these two teams is generating more questions instead of providing answers. Still, with about one month left in the campaign, there will surely be ups and downs in this topsy-turvy season for just about all of the teams in the 8th, so we'll anxiously await how it all plays out.