thehotsnakes

The bold part is my question. These games are, I'm assuming, a pretty good weekend for hotels and restaurants in BG. With that being said, how much does the impact this has on the BG economy impact where it should go? Lexington is obviously doing just fine on it's own, and so is BG. But, being so much smaller, an event like this can have a really good impact on some of the restaurants and motels.

I'd prefer for the games to move to UK for the simple facts that I've been to enough of the bars and restaurants in Bowling Green over the last 2 or 3 finals. New places to eat and have fun are enough for me. Heck, I'd love a 2 year rotation between UK, UofL and WKU. Give me plenty of time to forget about anywhere I had been to since the last time.

JV games aren't exactly as the same level as even backup varsity games. And, even if it is the purpose of JV games, then wouldn't players be better served playing 1 1/2 JV games a week instead of just 1? Most schools who are in a position to consistently run the clock on someone might have a 9th grader who just simply needs to see the field to get a better feel for the game. Putting him in on special teams or in some sort of position rotation isn't the same as just putting him out there and letting him go for a quarter. I wouldn't run the score up on most people, simply because that makes them look bad. If I have the superior athletes, there's really not much he can do on the other side. But, me beating him 80-7 doesn't do him any favors. Should he have stopped me from scoring? Yeah, obviously. But I would feel a little bad for costing a guy his job. I don't think pulling your starters is "taking it easy" or contributing to the infamous "everybody gets a trophy" culture. But, I mean, that's just me. I don't understand who people are blaming in that argument, anyway.

I've always been under the impression that subbing players out when the game is out of hand is less about having pity or making kids "soft," but more to save the starters from injury and un-needed wear and tear. And to make sure the younger guys get some live action that will help them going forward. If I'm the coach, and I get up by 36, my starters are coming out. Doesn't matter who the other team leaves in or for how long. My starters are coming out, taking their pads off and taking the rest of the night off. Not getting tackled or hit when the game is pretty much decided. If you want to think that winning by a certain point threshold helps kids down the road, that's fine. But for me, once the game is decided, my guys are coming out.

Is there anyone who would be considered the favorite for this job? It's not a bad situation, at all.

There are enough small colleges around the state that there could easily be neutral site games that aren't at a high school. Having it at the highest seeded team could often be a huge logistical issue. A home game between, Tilghman or Caldwell and Belfry? Somebody just made a 7 hour drive. That's not cool. If anything, I'd have the lower class teams at a neutral site and then the larger schools have the home field advantage. 1, 2 and 3A could all easily be held at some of the smaller colleges, without a doubt.

Is it technically breakable? I mean, yeah. But, will it be broken? Unless a program like Trinity hires an 18 year old, and he stays in that job until he's 70, probably not.

One streak that I'm glad isn't going any more would be from Logan County.

I actually had the Fall Break conversation the other day. I don't remember having them when I was in elementary school, but I remember them in high school. I don't know when it started between those points. But, I loved them then. I loved them in college and I love them now.

That's boring. It needs to be something exciting or memorable. Each team picks 5 players and there are 5 individual challenges. Hot dog eating contest, power lifting contest, endurance running, see who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth, and then some sort of academic test or something like that. That's how they should break a tie.

I would love to see a tie breaker district go all the way to the commissioner. And I would pay good money to just listen to what that discussion was about.

Well, first off, Belfry gets a ring in 4A. I think Corbin is the clear choice to make it from the East. Obviously. The only real difference is that a team from the west now has a legitimate shot at a championship, whomever it may be. I'd say Caldwell v. Corbin in a solid championship game.

I really wouldn't ever want that to happen, especially if it's a judgement call in the heat of the moment. Nobody makes those 100% of the time. But, I think if there was a huge error that clearly cost a team, I'd appreciate an official who did apologize. I think a few years ago, WKU's basketball team lost a game when the opposing team had 6 players on the floor and it wasn't noticed. Those kind of blatantly obvious, non-judgment calls are way different. And that's one of the reasons I think that some penalties should be able to be reviewed in football and basketball.

Let's have them play and figure it out. Cancel all the other games going on in the state, play it on a neutral field, and settle it there. Everyone can come see the game, it'll count towards their Christmas gifts! But, seriously, I think it's a toss-up. Depends on any number of things that specific day. I'd go with BG in an absolute classic. 35-28, with a last drive stop by BG to win it.

A good coach should be able to teach tackling without full pad, full contact. And, as a whole, athletes on every level today are bigger, stronger and faster than they were even 20 years ago. Besides, tough is a relative question. I've seen teams I could categorize as tough, get absolutely destroyed by teams that aren't nearly as tough. I wouldn't even dream of faulting a coach for attempting to limit injuries in practice. You get the wrong kid hurt, and your "good season" turns into a "good, it's finally over" season.

Then you know what? Consider me to be a hardcore Belfry Believer. That's who I am. A Belfry Believer. In all honesty, I fully did expect Belfry to run it this year. I thought they had the pieces and tools to do it, regardless of their schedule.

Hey, I believed that this was going to be the year. It's gotta happen eventually, right?

I think Casey County has been a big surprise this year. I'd probably include Bardstown in that surprise category. As far as a let down? I don't really know if I would have one. Of the top tier teams who don't have great records, it's because they've had a challenging schedule. You know who I am personally disappointed in? Belfry. I picked them to go 15-0, and here they are making me look like a fool.

I would challenge that, because I'd just venture to say there are places with pretty much equal issues (if not more), but they simply don't have the name recognition as PT. I'm only vaguely familiar with the PT program, so I'm not really sure what is completely going on though.

See, while that theoretically weeds out weaker teams, I have a big problem with rewarding a district champion with a tough opening round playoff game.

I think you go check out a game that you wouldn't normally see. Go somewhere unique, or go see a match-up between a team or two that you wouldn't normally see.

What would the Etown result have been if Edmonson was healthy?

Once saw a game where an alumni was officiating the game, and his son was on the team. Yeah..... yeah.....

I think the quality of officiating is pretty subjective, for the most part. However, I think there are too many officials worried about calling so many of the little things, that they are going to miss some of the bigger things. I've seen too many officials who are absolutely over bearing with how far back the coaches are from the sideline. But then those same officials completely miss the kid who took a cheap shot 5 seconds after the play was over. They'll call the borderline hold behind the play, but completely miss the kid who was brought down by his facemask. I don't want to be an official. I know what people say to them, I don't want that. And, I know there is a yearly point of emphasis for officials to watch for. I think it's funny, because it seems like whatever that point is, it is way over called the first few games of the year and then everybody backs off of it and just lets it go. Officiating is a hard job. The worst part about it, is even if there was a perfectly officiated game, no one would notice or know about it. Bad officiating stands out, good officiating goes unnoticed. That's got to be hard for them, because no one is going to know anything about you unless you miss what they wanted you to call. I wouldn't want to do their job, regardless of money.

This is it. For me, the districts aren't well balanced enough every year for me to feel like the top 2 only need to advance. There are some tough districts in this state, to where the 3rd place team could have very well won several other districts. I don't really think as many teams being in the post season hurts the system, I think it makes it better. Post season play is like democracy, the more people involved, the better it is for everyone. I know plenty of people will make fun of the state for the amount of classes, teams in each class, and amount of teams making the post season. But, I think high school football is great and can offer some great matchups every year in exchange for some absolute beatings. Ultimately, I'm okay with that.