Dfenz

That's funny...I think if you look at Rowan's schedule, they definitely put themselves out there.

woot!

Didn't Rowan lose a high-scoring starter to injury in the Menifee game? I don't know his name - wondering if he's back??? I think it was a high ankle sprain. Ouch.

I'm relaxing

I think Rowan plays both Lexington Catholic and Lexington Christian on their home court over the next month or so.

Final - could the Lady Vikings be a Top 10 team?

Rowan WON by 10, I think

Yes, and the lesson to be learned here is no different than a pitcher who must adjust to the varying strikezones of different umpires. Rowan should've realized early the refs (probably not from a metro area) were going to call it close and should have adjusted their aggressiveness...maybe not press so much, use a little more zone vs. man to man or traps, etc.

I get sick and tired of hearing this same, lame, over-used whiney excuse year after year after year as it pertains to Rowan. They flat out get after you on Dfenz and so it would behoove most 16th region teams to toughen up. Maybe some other teams need to start "hatchetizing" or get "very physical" or use "hands and pushing". Rowan's been playing this way for years...time to move onto some other excuses...geesh!

Wow... I can't believe you're even comparing a foul tip to an intentional ball being allowed to hit the umpire. Many umpires have experienced neck sprains and headaches from taking foul balls off the mask (myself included). Jeff had a MRI and did experience a neck sprain. Your last sentence is pretty sad...very bush.

I umpire in the same association as Jeff Scott (the umpire that is hit). The ball does NOT hit the batter. The pitcher's brother - Ethan Martin - was rung up on a 3rd strike call in the half inning prior to this incident. He mouthed off as he returned to the dugout and threw his helmet (Yes, he should've been ejected for that). Anyway, after an investigation the GHSA fined the school $1,000 and placed them on "severe warning status". The catcher was a horrible actor in this incident. See article - http://www.armchairgm.com/Article:Boys_will_be_boys..._not_according_to_the_GHSA

Ashland had a good year, but Rowan was a little better this year. It does no good to compare years to years. Some say "this year is down from last", "last year was down from this year", blah, blah, blah. Of course, you can say this is all your opinion and we all know what opinions are like...everybody's got one. All that matters is this year. All that matters next year is next year. 2008 will be toast.

Rowan 71 Ashland 59

Sounds like a good win for the Lady Vikes. The Eagle girl had an incredible game against Rowan in the regular season - 33 points, I think. She would have to duplicate that effort (hard to do) for Morgan to have a chance in this game. I think she ended with 16 points and Rowan's margin of victory was 17 (therein lies the difference in game one vs. this game). Rowan should handle Ashland by a dozen points...congrats to the Lady Vikings.

I respectively disagree in a big, big way!

Also, I bet if you surveyed the kids playing, they look forward to playing at this facility. Some fans (not all) in Greenup and Boyd Counties might grumble, but I bet the players love it.

Lookit, Hookey....I appreciate you point of view, but it ain't happenin'. MSU is a stellar facility on the campus of a regional university - a Division 1 facility. I played back in the day when the regional tournament was held at 'Summitt Junior High' (now Boyd Co. Middle School). It was a great facility for the 70's and probably better than the old Wetherby Gym at MSU so it made sense. (By the way, Wetherby was University Breckinridge's home court back then). But, today, Greenup, Raceland and Boyd's facilities are really no match to Ellis T. Johnson Arena - and, it's a neutral site. Yes, the eastern end of the region has to travel 60-75 minutes to get there, but it really is the best scenario for the region. I've also been a proponent that the 61st District should move their tournament to Wetherby Gymnasium permanently - another neutral site within the district.

The same argument can be made for schools like Bath, Menifee, Fleming, Morgan and Rowan going to Greenup or Boyd. While those schools have gyms that have hosted regionals in years past, both are "tired" facilities. MSU is the best venue in the region. NO HOMER GYMS...may the 16th never fall into the 10th region trap of having to play their regional tournaments year in and year out on a member school's home court.

The rest of the 10th Region hates going to Mason to play their regional. Unfortunately, there's not another locale inside the region that's big enough.

Exactly! How many titles does Mason County have in the last 10-15 years playing at the Fieldhouse???

Sounds about right...no surprise here

Gone are the days of the Ashland-Rose Hill OJ Mayo games - they were stacked to rafters back in those days.

Rowan by 15-20

...invite each of the 16 teams in the 16th Region to play one of their regular season games at Ellis T. Johnson Arena. I think it would be a hoot for the players, it would expose them to their regional University and would give all the teams a taste of the atmosphere in anticipation of the Regional Tournament. I dunno...you might think it's a goofy idea, but I thought I'd throw it out there!