Thoroughbird

actually, it makes sense, as it gives team an opportunity to avoid playing on consecutive days in the even of a rain-out. And having all the opening round games played on one day was a good opportunity to see a number of games. Of course, the weather delayed the Boone-Holy Cross game, which pushed the last game back almost an hour. If games go as scheduled, 9th region champ will have several days to prepare for sectionals, which start next Tuesday (9th region champs hosts 10th region champ)

Opening round of 9th region tourney ends w/ a great game as the Crusaders are able to hold off the Bluebirds, 1-0. St. Henry played a solid game and won by playing strong on 50/50 balls, stepping up and ultimately finishing a scoring opportunity by netting a mid way through the 2nd half. Two interesting "no-calls" by officials went against the 'Birds worth noting: an obstruction call on St. Henry's keeper gave Highlands an indirect in the box about 8 yrds from the goal. When the whistle blew, the St Henry defenders rushed the ball before it was played, deflecting it away. No call on a clear infringement of the 10-yd rule. Then, late in the game (4 minutes remaining) a Bluebird forward blew past defenders on a thru ball and was one-on-one w/ the keeper when he was tackled from behind in the box. No call--clearly should have resulted in PK. Too bad...a great game by both teams that (once again) was allowed to end with officials refusing to make the right call when a clear scoring opportunity should have affected the outcome. If St. Henry continues to play the way they did tonight, they can make some noise in the tournament. Good Luck Crusaders.

In the oddest District tournament of them all (only two schools w/ soccer teams), NewCath prevails with late goal by Matt Tolle. One of the most enjoyable games I've seen all year. Good rivalry, clean play (no cards) and both teams--who are having mediocre years--played very well. Highlands controlled the ball most of the game, but NewCath capitalized on one of only a few scoring chances the entire game. Kudos to both keepers--Grosser was solid and Breslin made some spectacular stops. Good luck to both teams in regional tourney.

I completely agree. Make the initial call and nothing happens. In a previous game, HHS had a guy pulled down from behind in the box with seconds left in the 1st half--no call. Same game, 2nd half, same guy winding up to shoot in box was hacked from behind, 3-4 yards into the box. Ref called foul and placed the ball 3 yards outside of the box. In another game, I saw a player convert a cross by heading into the net w/ seconds left in the game to score tying goal--only to have goal disallowed....official said the player jumped into the defender. We have photos to show that the players never touched. The officials have been (mostly) bad on a consistent basis. It's a shame.

Is it just me, or is the officiating in HS soccer the worst of any HS sports in NKY? I've been following boy's HS soccer, and I simply can't believe how inept the officiating has been for the last several years. As an ex-official (baseball umpire), I can empathize with the challenges of calling a game---there are literally hundreds of acts to evaluate in the course of any game. I know it's easier to see the whole game from the stands--but I witnessed an infraction occur this evening at the HHS v. Holy Cross game that blew my mind. A complete failure by the AR (line official) to call a blatant foul resulted in the play erupting into a near melee that resulted in a player ejection (straight red card) and a yellow for another player. And it all happened with an official less than 5 yards away. What is going on?

Can't say enought about both teams. Coach Baioni had his guys ready to play and they stayed up the entire game. NewCath keep their composure when Birds took early lead and finally were able to get some hits at the right time---that was the storyline for NewCath's run through this tournament. Pangallo's defensive plays will be talked about for a long time as well. Bright future for the both teams. The final match up of Miller (Sr) v. Murray was everything you could ask for in a championship game. Two team leaders battling for the crown. If Pangallo doesn't make a diving catch to end the game, I can't say that he wouldn't have knocked in the game winner. Severe nail biting by both sides...not to mention the neighborhood rivalry which added that much more to the game. Glad I was there to see it--it was a good one.

For every parent who has spent too many weekends at baseball tournaments or trying to get white baseball pants clean.....don't take it for granted. Must read. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110824/EDIT02/108240326/Guest-Column-raising-baseball-lover

Congrats to Doug--Papa is surely proud. First met this kid when our boys were playing in Bluegrass organization---top notch kid, great player. EKU has done a good job securing this guy early. Sky's the limit.

I saw that blast in person as well. I still think the PRP shot was more impressive. Jacobs had a smooth swing indeed.

You're right on! NewCath simply couldn't get the big hit (with runners on base) that they've been able to get all year long. And when Sullivan got in trouble, Coach Schulkens had all of his pitchers in the field. His decision to play Cain (at 3B) over Murphy kept him from having his big gun available to warm up when he needed him to be ready. Sullivan was very effective through 4 innings--but PRP was able to adjust once they got through the batting order a few times. NewCath's defense finally had a let-down as well...despite some spectacular plays by Hightchew, there were a few "uh-ohs" that you normally don't see from the 'Breds. Nice year (nonetheless).

That HR was a no-doubter from the second it left the bat---maybe the best looking hit I've ever seen from a HS player. It was a thing of beauty, despite the fact that it all but finished NewCath's season.

The fact that staying at WV wasn't an option has already been stated. And your comment about "Dad's reaction" is really not germaine to this thread--any time a kid has to change schools is obviously tough on everyone: student, family, etc. So stating the obvious provides nothing worthwhile to this discussion. So if you're intention is to poke this kid's father or family--find another forum. If you have something to contribute--please do so. Otherwise, start a thread and see if anyone is interested in responding to you. I'm not interested in hanging around to see what other barbs you can cast. Sounds to me like you are getting too much enjoyment from a tough situation. Remember--the article was printed for the purpose of acknowledging the achievements of a baseball player who's had to overcome the adversity of changing schools mid-year.

Just to be clear--I have no issue with the writer. I find him to have done a good job--good story telling, good reporting, etc. I think he's fair and put together a good article. I hope that my previous posts do not indicate otherwise.

Having met Richard Skinner only once, I can't attest to his "intent" in writing the story, other than the fact that NCC is workign through the State Tournament and he's covering them. I would be surprised if he was intentionally "misleading" or doing anything other than reporting on a side-bar story about a kid making (what could be) a tough adjustment to a new school--and handling it very well. IMO, this seems to be a good kid from a good family. Not sure that I would call it bad journalism because writers can only report on what they know or can verify...and I'm sure that he followed the normal protocols for following the lead. He may have asked the question "why did you transfer", and maybe he simply chose not to follow that thread, based upon the response. Everyone knows that most articles only include a small portion of the actual interview anyway. It's a "feel-good" piece about a kid playing on a local team playing on a big stage. And as a parent, I'm glad that Skinner chose to leave it at that.

Good points all-around. But from the perspective of someone close to the team, a few things to note: First--there is much more to this story than was reported. Everyone associated with HS athletics understands that KHSAA has strict guidelines regarding the issue of transfer, so know that this matter was handled with extreme caution. Second--The mood of the article indicates that the transfer of this student was done casually--that is simply untrue. There were reasons why this boy had to be transferred to another school and the article failed to mention this. I can say that he was not allowed to participate in anything pertaining to baseball (including off-season, voluntary conditioning) until cleared by KHSAA to do so. Anyone who knows Coach Schulkens and the NewCath administration can attest to the fact that the school always tries to lead by example--and given the fact that this team had high aspirations prior to these events, it's hard to believe that they would risk the qualification status of a high-quality team for the sake of one player. I'm certain that all the proverbial "ducks are in a row" concerning this matter. And simply put, if given the choice, I'm sure this player would not have chosen to leave his school mid-way through his senior year.

NewCath coaches claim that the LC batter threw an elbow at NewCath 1B Luke Schmits while he was running out a ground ball. NewCath coaches said something to the 1B ump and the LC 1B coach started walking towards the NewCath dugout. More than likely--it all happened out of frustration, for at that point in the game, LC was finished, demoralized, etc.

Cain clearly did not swing--he was trying to avoid a high, inside pitch. He actually turned away from the the pitcher (towards the ump). Completely botched call by umpire. Oddly enough, NewCath pitcher (Brian Doyle) hit a LC player with a curve ball that would have broken in for a strike. the kid leaned into the pitch and his elbow was in the strike zone when he was hit (I saw this from a position directly behind the plate). Ump awarded him 1B.

Interesting game. Cain had a shakey start--had trouble finding the plate. Shepard had command in 1st, but put a couple runners on base--one walk, one HBP (Cain)--neither team scored in 1st inning. Cain was a bit better in 2nd, although he was helped by NewCath's heads-up defense, who took advantage of poor base running by LC. He got out of the 2nd inning unscathed. Bottom of 2nd inning is when the game got interesting: storyline is the horrid umpiring. W/ Hightchew on 1B, pitcher throws over, ball gets away--Hightchew to 3B---on his way home when LC RF holds hands up, indicating that the ball was lodged in the tarp. Umps throw up hands---then kid (literally) picks up the ball as if it were laying on the ground. By then, Hightchew had scored. Umps convene--send him back to 3B. Next batter is Cain--Sheperd hits him in the hand on a high, inside smoker (87 mph). Ump says Cain swung at pitch and refuses to give him 1B. Cain could not finish his at-bat and never re-enters the game. Cain's replacement reaches 1B on a bang-bang infield hit. From there, the flood gates opened. NewCath scores 7 runs with 2 out in 2nd. Chandler Sheperd was knocked out of the game before he ever got out of the 2nd inning. Many other crazy umpire instances in this game--can't list them all. By the time LC got out of the 2nd inning, the game was 90 minute long. 6 inning game took 3 hrs 20 minutes. LC defense was horrible. NewCath gave them a beating.

I hope that history works in my favor, as your last prediction regarding a Bred's game was that NCC wouldn't touch Bertke (5/28 post) and that NewCath would fall to BW. Seeing that you predict LC over NCC gives me hope. I wonder if Sheperd has seen a team that hits like NewCath can. Of course, NCC didn't hit well in last two regional games. And I don't know how well LC hits when the tables are turned and they have to answer with a fireballer on the opposite mound. Of course--this means that Cain needs to throw strikes. If he has command of location and his off-speed pitches, it will put some pressure on LC. I agree with previous comment--toss up. No predictions from this guy.

Early money for next year's POY is probably going to be focused on Teegarden (Boone Co.), Hightchew (NewCath), Tiberi (Holy Cross) and Clarkson (Ryle). Case can be made for others as well---just as we saw this year. Could've been any number of guys---and they all would have been well-qualified recipients. 2011 produced a heckuva class of players.

Today's paper mentioned that the NKY Baseball Coaches have voted Jake Cain as the 9th Region POY. Good kid, great family. Congrats to Jake on this achievement and good luck next year at NKU. As we've stated on past threads, it was a wide-open year for POY. I felt like which ever team who won the 9th--their "stud" would be in the cat-bird seat for POY. Any way you slice it, many well-deserving candidates this year. Thoughts/comments?

Any idea who's pitching for the Cougars?

NewCath blew a late-inning lead against Conner and the lost the game due to sloppy defense in their only match-up of the year. The 'Breds are a different defensive team than they were back then, due to a few nice adjustments. If NewCath brings their bats, they'll be tough to beat. However, if Conner is able to get guys on base, their aggressive base running can put a lot of pressure on NewCath's "D"...and that is Conner's game--aggressive offensive play & manufacturing runs. No predictions from me--I haven't made any up to this point and my team is winning....no reason to start now and mess up the mojo.

Any win against Harrison Co is a quality win---even in a year where the Bred's were faced with significant set-backs due to injury and graduation losses. They're always going to be fundamentally sound and well-disciplined. As NewCath fan, I'm glad we get invited to play them every year and the atmosphere there is the best around. Nothing like a well-positioned lawn chair on the hill, 1400 am blaring from the radio and the best steak sandwich EVER! From one 'Breds fan to another--congrats on a good year. Despite the disappointing finish, Coach Whitaker still produced one of the state's top program again this year.

Couldn't tell how strike zone was called, as I was down the baseline. But there were a number of pitches called balls that got a reaction from the fans behind the plate. The pitchers did a good job of keeping their emotions in check on the field--so if they were getting pinched, they didn't show much of an outward reaction. Both Sullivan and Laumann were good--and Brodsky was great. I spoke with some Boone fans indicated that (Brodsky) didn't really get the ball too much this year, due to rain wreaking havoc on the pitching rotation. Sullivan had his best outing of the year last night for NewCath. In the two games these teams played against each other, Boone held NewCath their lowest hit-outputs of the season--so the game really came down to some defensive miscues by Boone. I think NewCath scored their four runs despite having only one hit (through first three innings). Heck of a game.