Mama Bear

The boys seem to have really enjoyed this Spring practice. I talked to some mommy's who say their boys have "hit the hay" earlier than usual since Spring practice started. The coaches must have been working them hard! The boys seem really excited about the upcoming season. I was hoping that we'd get to go see the intrasquad scrimmage Thursday, but the weather is looking nasty.

However, what I want everyone to remember is that neither SL nor NL were in the 13th region until just a couple of years ago.

Cumberland used to beat up on Laurel County during this time frame as well. :sssh:

The point is that we have had some good baseball teams in Harlan County before and with the consolidation we hope to begin a new tradition with the talent that we have and will have in the future. So you can question our tradition, talent and our coach all you like, cards1b21, but I think you're in for a surprise when the Bears take the field.

Do the Black Bear play their first game today?

It is the same scheme Rock uses and they have proven to be one of the best teams around. I was just defending Polson earlier and trying to find a way to say it. There were lots of mistakes made but he knew what to do and got into position to do it. No one ever said HC did not give up a lot of points. And there is much more to the d-line play than just knocking the o-lines' legs out. You may see that but there is more to the picture than that. No one lined up in the I and ran it on HC. It was all from the spread and no one was chopped against the spread and no one was left one on one. And anyone who does not know the value of Glen Roberts does not know football from the standpoint of what all he brought to the table. He was there EVERY day ready to go whether he was hurt, tired or whatever. He was one of the few senoirs who actually bought in to the defense and did his assignment each play. That defense, just as any defense, will not work if kids have their own agenda and don't play disciplined football. Glenn was the epitome of that. All HE cared about was winning, not what he looked like or his stats. No defense or offense works in any sport if the players don't do as coached. Give them another year to get people in place who only care about winning and can commit to being there and giving a daily effort and then talk bad about them.

Roberts may not have cared about stats but he sure had some nice stats to show for his efforts. He led the team in tackles, I believe. I've seen Glenn once without pads and a helment on and I couldn't tell much of a difference. The kid's a rock! I really think we've got a strong core group of players out this year. Now that we have the first year behind us, the kids have a better understanding of the system. My hope is that within the team that they will push one another to be better and challenge each other to do whatever it takes to be successful. The coaches will find somebody to play the FB and MLB spots, but they'll be hardpressed to find somebody that will have the immediate success that Roberts had in those postions. They've got the Spring and Summer to develop those kids. We'll be ready.

I'm not bashing HC. I think they should be middle of the pack in the region. Do I think they will be a regional title competitor? No.

 

Do I think they will be a district competitor? I really don't think so.

 

 

There is a difference in being excited and having fans say they are going to dominate in just a couple of years.

It hasn't been all that long ago that there was one of our Harlan County teams that did "dominate" in baseball for years and years and years. This includes beating Laurel County, Corbin, Whitley, Middlesboro, Clay, Bell, etc.....year in and year out. It's not that far fetched to think that it can happen again. The Bears will contend for regional championships in the very near future. They will be competitive now. You can have your opinon. We love our Black Bears! :ylsuper:

I think Harlan Co. will have two of the best players in the mountains. TJ Green 6'0 190 RB/LB. I would like to see him one season just @ the TB spot. He has played everything from FB to QB, but has never got the full load of carries @ TB. I think that is the only reason he is not mentioned when you talk about tops in the mountains @ TB for 09. Also, you have James Ball 6'0 275 OL/DL. I think the sky is the limit for this kid with his speed for his size. I look for him to be one of the top players up front in the mountain area.

TJ has done whatever has been asked of him and it will be nice to see the ball in his hands this year RUNNING like we all know that he can. I believe Jamie is gonna be a leader this year, he'll be vocal and lead by example as well. James Phillips is gonna be a handful for anybody who gets in his way, he is HUGE! The team got a little taste of success this past season and I believe they are hungry for it this year. I'm amazed at how physically bigger these kids have gotten from the weight program this winter. The Black Bear Nation is gonna have lots to cheer about this season! :thumb:

I hear that the guys are looking good at Spring practice!!!

NICE! :dancingpa

The Harlan County Black Bears will be in the run and will make themselves known as one of the best teams in the 13th.

Looks like two tough games to start the season off with. Was Wagner a senior this year?

:lol:

Larkey VS Larkey (October 9th) should make for a fun game. Football season can't get here soon enough. My boys and their father can't even go fishing without it becoming a full blown competiton. I can imagine there would have to be a little bit of "smack talk" leading up to this game between the two. Mama Larkey will be the winner either way it goes. :thumb:

Congrats to Middlesboro and to Brown for a fantastic game! WOW!

I didn't get to attend this game, but listened to it on the radio. What happened to the Bears the 2nd half? It sounded like that in the first half, they were getting the ball to the post and if they collapsed, the guards were getting the shots. Why didn't they continue to throw the ball down low the 2nd half? Did Middlesboro change up their defense?

I just got home from Church and caught the end of this one on the radio!!!!!!!!!! Bears by 1 in a barn burner!!!!!!!!!

Prayers from Harlan County.

Great article by the way, I think a lot of people on BGP now has a new understanding of Elliott County.

New Elliot Co. fan here!!! Great article! Louisville Hawpe can put this one in his pipe and smoke it! Success breeds success. Best of luck to the Lions of Elliot County!

The sight had Rosspoint as a winner a moment ago. Now it has changed. LOL

I'm getting a little anxious..Scott Co. was up by one at half time against Rosspoint. I hope they can pull this one off!

Rosspoint won their game 58 to 41 over Wesley. :thumb:

I understand that they play Scott Co. next. I hope they can pull that one off! Thanks for the updates!

Thank you!

Does anyone know how Rosspoint Elementary out of Harlan County did? We weren't able to make the trip to cheer on the Wildcats and are hoping that they do well. They have a good group of kids and I hope they will "represent" while in Lexington.

I agree with your statement ROCKMOM. Those of us who live in this area have to take care of our own problems. We have a valuable rescource in this area. There is a tax placed on all the coal that our miners mine that is called coal severance tax. Coal mining communities get 1/2 of this money and the rest is given to Frankfort for them to disperse to the rest of the state's communities who do not mine coal. Money won't fix all of our problems, but it might help some. Mountain people stick together. We've been through alot of diversity over the years and are still here. We'll overcome this prescription drug problem here as well, but we're gonna need some help. When you see the kids of one of these pill heads suffereing like the show displayed......the firing squad idea doesn't seem so far fetched. (kidding of course)

There will be truck loads of Hannah Montana boots shipped in here along with other "things" that people who watched this show and were touched, will want to provide to these families. It is a lovely gesture and the kids most certainly deserve the things that they will receive. I think that Diane Sawyer was wanting to highlight the kids that are being hurt by the poor decisions of their parents and in essence being left behind by society. I get that, but while doing so she also perpetuated ALL the hillbilly stereotypes that the rest of us get kind of tired of hearing.

We need good roads in Eastern Kentucky. We need a bigger selection of jobs. Do to the terrain we live in, there isn't a lot of flat land to build on. Although I am thankful that we have the opportunity to have a valuable resource like coal in this area, coal mining isn't for everyone. After seeing the 20/20 show, what company is going to want to come start a business in our area? We need some money in this area, but not for those individuals who choose to abuse prescription drugs and live like they do. Those adults should be made to work and I am for passing a drug test before you get your check. We need money for infrastructure.

You must love to pay taxes, then.

We are paying for the majority of them to live the lifestyle that they choose to anyhow (Welfare, Disability, SSI). At least if they were locked up then their kids might have a fighting chance for a decent life. I think he is talking about the habitual offenders.

Good question on the vegetable growing issue. I wonder how the hilly terrain (being that many live in the "hollows") would effect the amount of hours of sunlight and how that affects the crop choices that they might have.

 

I grew up in a "hollow." We grew our veggies up on top of one of the hills, near my uncle's tobacco fields. We didn't grow anything besides flowers down by our house.

We live in a "hollow" and we just ate our last gallon of corn that I put up and we are down to our last two gallons of green beans. Our garden gets plenty of morning sun because in the evening the mountain blocks the sun. We raise a garden because it just taste better and better for us than what you can buy in a store. There's a difference from being poor (not alot of money) and being "sorry". It takes a great effort to raise a garden. These people have limited income and make poor decisions. These are the same type of people that are lined up to buy lottery tickets and would LOVE to have one of the governor's gambling casinos, that he's so anxious to have, built in their community. I know people that play the lottery who work hard and play for fun. These 20/20 individuals are looking for an easy way to get money with as little effort as possible. It's just plain and simple ignorance! Getting these kids to see that how they live is not "normal" and that there is hope for them is the only way the cycle will ever end.

It said on 20/20 that the 18 year old they profiled was STARTING out at $60,000 a year, so I would assume the ones that have mined for 10-20 years are very well paid. Two questions, where do all of the people in Eastern Kentucky work that live in the nice neighborhoods,etc.(of which there are many) and how do those poor people afford $120 oxycontin?

They work for hospitals, schools , coal mines, law firms, state and federal jobs, etc. These poor people use your tax money to buy those pills. They are on welfare or disability. They will even sell their food stamps that would otherwise feed their kids to get high. It's a bad situation. I don't understand how social services would allow kids to be in homes in some of the conditions that were aired on the program.

Drugs are addictive and the Pharmecuetical companies and Doctors that prescribe the drugs should be under close scrutiny as well.

:thumb: Amen! The drug problems are mostly prescription drugs that a doctor had to prescribe to begin with.