EasyG

Congrats to NDA. Any update on Tierney ... heard she was part of a pretty hard collision that required some medical attention. Hope the kid is OK.

Bunzel with 2 goals. Zimmerman with both assists. Defense was solid.

Senior Night for the Lady Neers. Good luck to both teams as they head to Districts.

My reply isn't meant to be a universal answer that applies to all games/schools/etc., but I think lower skill level and diverse athletic ability create an environment ripe for increased physical and/or dangerous play. The kids want to be competitive and they are cheered when they offer 100% effort, so if they lack in some skill or athletic ability, they'll resort to fouling to maintain some level of competitiveness. There is nothing wrong with physical play that falls within the rules, but that can be a wavy line for some. There's little doubt that dangerous play can escalate quickly and it helps to have a strong officiating crew to get it turned around but I think there are two very important groups missing from the list of "who to blame": coaches & players. Coaches are the leaders, they set the example, they guide their players. Secondly, I think players have a responsibility to avoid dangerous play. And I put the referees third. They are left to judge and apply the rules. If the first two do their job ... it never gets to the third. It may sound idealistic, but I think the responsibility and professionalism that coaches and players maintain at higher levels of play is the reason you've noticed a safer environment at the college level. I know I missed the role of the parents in this discussion, but I think sports should be one of those activities that parents should take a back seat. Sports should be an opportunity to let your kids learn from others. Maybe the most important role of the parent is to remove their kids from the activity when coaches, players, and refs aren't holding up their end of the bargain. Or at least have open discussions with their kids about these instances when they occur.

Stating obvious ... but Tierney (#3) is tough. Many good players on the field tonight for both sides but it's easy to like her game. Quickness, ball control, and passing (direction and touch) stood out. I don't recall a pass of hers that didn't connect with its intended target.

Great weekend for the Lady Breds. Kids stepped up and played solid. They took advantage of the space available on the large E-town fields and the defense was well organized all weekend. The NCC Families had a good time too. Joe Collopy's motivational speech (Matt Foley "down by the river" style) before the kids left for the championship game was worthy of him being named to the all tourney team. Maybe someone can post the video ... had me in tears.

Zimmerman on throw-in to Tolle with flick to Becca Collopy who made a well timed run for the volley and goal. First goal of the year for the Frosh. Was sitting next to her family ... great moment for them. Solid game ... very few fouls ... well played by both squads. Stangs were firing shots from long range but Breds D held up. Meg Martin had a solid game and had a couple quick reflex saves that were impressive.

Lady Breds capture the RAT tourney championship with victory over Russell. Defense was solid all weekend. Team chemistry is a strength for this group ... really enjoy watching them play.

Otten, Ware, Seibert, Davenport, and Zimmerman (2) find the net.

Sorry can moderator change score to 2-1 Breds.

Playing RAT Tourney in Ashland, KY. First game of tourney. Down 1-0 for most of game and score two goals in final 10 minutes ... Zimmerman from Bunzel and Ware off throw-in from Zimmerman. Career win number 200 for Coach Kevin Turnick.

Regarding Bolded ... two of the five cards were for "delay of game" ... where players played the ball away after a blown whistle. One card for each team. I liked the referee trying to take control of that. I've only seen three boys games this year, so I'm interested in other fans opinion of the physical style of play that both of these teams played last night. A lot of fouling by both sides, which killed the flow of play. If he wanted, I believe the center could have gone to the pocket several additional times ... on both sides. Kudos to CovCath for winning more than their share of 50/50 balls and almost every ball in the air. They were tenacious in this regard. Kudos to NCC for not giving up after getting down 4-1. They finished out the game strong.

Fun game to watch. Breds scored in the first half - Tolle from Zimmerman. St. Henry got a late goal on Leedam's (sp?) great individual effort. Both teams played pretty solid defense. Last 10 minutes were exciting as both teams stepped up energy and effort to try and get the W.

Tolle with 2 goals, Otten with 1, Martin w/shutout. Zimmerman and Ware with assists.

There were some injuries in this one. I hope the girls recover quickly. Beechwood sweeper and NCC forward (Simmons) collided near mid field, hit heads, and neither returned to the game. NCC forward suffered a fractured orbital bone around her eye requiring surgery. Outside mid from NCC (Cain) went down with leg injury after a pretty hard collision and a couple players from each team left game feeling affects from heat. I hope all recover quickly.

Is there a financial piece to this discussion? I haven't heard $$ mentioned in the "seed vs. draw" discussions (may have missed it though). I would assume the regional participant gets a cut of the door. As long as there are two dominant teams in the district, the others will be motivated by $$ to vote for the blind draw. Seems that any meaningful change would have to come from the KHSAA (state level)...and they should change it IMO.

Balance is one of the keys to winning against tougher competition. It was apparent Grant was asking them to work inside ... but tonight it led to several forced passes to the block and ill advised lob passes.

Lady Birds fantastic from charity stripe!

In the past NCC had an agreement with St. Henry that if either team made it out of the All A Regional they would cancel their regular season game. Seeing that NCC is scheduled to play St. Henry on Feb 5th it wouldn't surprise me if a similar arrangement exists this year.

Congratulations Coach. I was lucky enough to see win #1. I honestly thought the man was completely nuts after our first practice...20+ years, and 300 wins later, I'm 100% sure of it His "outward displays of enthusiasm and passion" for everything he loves are legendary! I also enjoyed watching Coach get inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame this past February. Great coach, better man, and tremendous leader having a positive impact on young people's lives.

Do you think the championship ring will look good on this finger?

Ref: "Did you just go for it on 4th and 1 from your own 15?" Coach (in soft gangster voice): "Listen Helen Keller...I know people...bang."

Several possible reasons: 1. Fallout from taking too many quick shots (several of them threes) in their last game...coaching decision to focus on working the ball inside to take advantage of their size. 2. Dixie did a decent job of closing out on shooters. I don't recall too many open looks from three that they passed on. 3. NCC had a big lead for most of game and didn't need three's out of their offensive sets.