nkywildcat68

The argument that "you got to beat the best anyway, so who cares if you draw them first" is cementing the argument that the regular season games mean nothing, and they may better served by scheduling tougher competition. I mean, wasnt that Mason Co's argument on why they didnt schedule the other three schools in the past? Why is everyone now worried about who Bracken Co plays in the regular season. Blind draws are dumb. They are for programs that know that over the long-term, their best chance of playing two extra games come down to a blind pill draw.

Good for Bracken. They've been the beneficiaries of not seeding before, even though they wanted to, so the argument that its ok to draw because "Augusta didnt care to seed during their run and did fine" is hogwash.....Augusta knew that the run wouldn't last forever. 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 is the best way to get a more competitive regional tournament. I am sure people loved to sit through GRC's 78-14 nailbiter over St Pat in the girls 10th regional tournament this year, while a good Bracken girls team was on the sidelines. And, I bet 10th region baseball fans cant wait for a possible GRC or Harrison Co or Campbell Co 10th region baseball first round showdown against a 3-win St Pat team (with all three wins coming over winless Augusta). I mean, would St Pat's team even look forward to that? Augusta and St Pat's baseball teams are a combined 1-15, with 14 losses coming by double digits, the only one that wasn't was a St Pat forfeit against Bracken. So, why does the state mandate the District Winner/District Runner-up matchups with same district reps in opposite brackets in regional tournaments, but dont mandate a consistent seeding format in the district tournaments? Then again, this is a state where the powers that be think that its a good thing for an 0-10 team to have the "post-season" experience of traveling 5 hours and losing 55-10.

He's not.

People don't follow high school sports as much as they used to, its a different generation, and I dont know if they can be brought back. There are way more competition for their entertainment dollar, more sporting events on TV. The NCAA Tournament is a much bigger event in 2016 than it was 20, 25, and 30-years ago.

He didn't "hire himself". Yes, he has coached football before, I think he was on the staff before and early in the previous (Fowler) coach's tenure...I think he has coached everything at Owen Co other than baseball Biggest problem at Owen Co isn't the coaching acumen at the high school level, it's getting numbers back up and getting a strong feeder program. That requires someone who can garner commitment from the community, something that hasn't always been the case in Owenton. That could be the reason why the would-be Rocknes, Bellichecks, and Sabans from the top HS programs that apparently were interested might have backed off. It's not an easy job, small rural schools rarely are.

delete

Good hire...good luck to TJ.

On paper it's a good job. Only Simon Kenton, Oldham Co, and South Oldham are bigger in the 8th region.

You know what is backwards? Taylor County's student section this week had signs that combined to show "X > NKU". While their TEAM was in the state tournament, playing in a state tournament game, mind you. Based on what I saw and heard this week, voters got it 100% correct. I'm not going to bash on high school kids on this forum, so I wont say anymore.

I would print a limited # of them, but charge $10-15 per, and continue to allow the e-program to be accessed for free.

Although I believe the voting ended a little less than two weeks ago, and with that being said....as an Owen Co fan/alum, I hope Carson wins it, but would have no problem if Goodin does. Two deserving candidates. And, Boone is great, stats dont tell the whole story. He may end up being the biggest steal of all of the D-1 prospects that signed from KY high schools.

Congrats to Mason. Congrats to Augusta as well, you boys did good.

No doubt, you can find teams that may have been the favorite that didn't win for whatever reason. Its just that everyone has it in their head that Mason Co has this competitive advantage when they are playing at home, and while that might be true in certain cases...more often than not, home court advantage isnt the determining factor in winning a region.

Mason Co wins. Interesting stat- Since 2008, this marks the fourth time that the regional tournament hasn't been held at the Fieldhouse. Mason Co has made it to the title game ALL four times and is 10-1 in those tournaments. Moral of the story: Mason Co (and, everybody else) wins in regional tournaments because they are 1) the best team or 2) playing the best ball in the region at the time of the regional tournament.

On paper it sure was. Oldham was one of the consensus top 3 all year. Everyone lauded their draw as they were opposite Owen Co (and South), they supposedly had the "easy" path to the regional final. South Oldham over Owen wasn't really an upset...this one was.

I am sure everyone had South v Anderson in their 8th region tournament pools.

Congrats to Trimble Co.....great to see another small school go to state. I was hoping my alma mater, Owen Co, would join them as a small school region winner on the boys side of the 8th, but the fairly tale ending doesn't always follow the script. Best of luck Lady Raiders, beat Campbell Co!

CovCath

Per @trimbleGameday Twitter.

Its way more flattering to the fans of W-V and OC that someone finds joy in them losing. It means they must be relevant.

I would think about going to Mt Sterling if its an Augusta-Mason final.

Rivalries happen when the two teams are always playing meaningful games, the outcome of the season rides on it, and both teams win their share of those games. Bracken-Mason boys programs have several aspects present to be considered rivals (mainly geographical, similarly passional fan/alum bases, and the fans/communities often interact in every day life), but they dont have this aspect of it, and it takes time for that to occur.

I havent seen Anderson play, so I'm not going to comment on the Oldham-Anderson game, but as far as the first game.....I don't think Collins has enough offensive firepower to beat South, but I think they may be better equipped to contain dribble penetration than Owen was on Wednesday. If they can get the game at a slow pace with a loose whistle, that would help their chances.

I would say their girls programs are rivals, as its a bit more even and Bracken wins their share. The boys programs, its more of a big brother/little brother thing than a "rival". They've only become district opponents within the last 10 years, though. I always thought Bracken's historic rivals were Augusta and Pendleton, maybe Deming/Robertson Co, due to them being district mates for so long. I don't know who Mason Co's current rivals are if they own Fleming like they do Bracken.

Boom. Great post.