CKSportsFan

There are many things that are not illegal that might not be in the best interest of somebody or some people to do. Probably MORE things are legal than illegal, but you might not want to do them in regards to common sense and court of public opinion. Two years ago, some of the studs at Rival School A somehow acquired their game uniforms during the week (wearing them outside of game setting or school setting is a no-no) and went to an assistant (volunteer, but still on sideline in coaching shirt) coach's. The coach, an avid hunter, let the players pose with some of his shotguns. Took a series of photos with the players posing with a dummy dressed in Rival School B apparel. Photos were posted to a PUBLIC facebook group (which then, not surprisingly, were seen by Rival School B). When the teams faced off the following week, sparks flew. Nothing illegal about it. Not sure the ACLU has any authority in this. But just because it's legal does NOT mean it was probably a bright idea. To this day, I have parents and players from Rival School A who still defend their actions like they did nothing wrong.

No one cares or writes about it. ... Unless that tree happens to block a road (see the end of "We Bought A Zoo). If people wanna go off school property and pray before a game, go do it. Good luck getting back in time for the game, though (because apparently all prayers must be done within 3 minutes of opening kickoff or on field less than 5 minutes after final whistle). Them's unwritten rules you be messing with.

I rarely, if ever, mention God or prayer for a sporting event. - If you're gonna point to the sky following a TD, you better point toward the sky when you drop a pass, miss a kick, throw a pass into the dirt, blow a tackle or get your ankles broken by a RB, too. Because, you know, he's the same God whether you score in public or fail in public. Still the same guy above. You just didn't get your way in public. - You're not gonna outpray X, T, DeSales, Holy Cross (either LOU or COV), Brossart, LexCath, O'Cath. That's what those schools do. Might as well stop trying. If you pray and they pray, they gonna win. - Why do I rarely see group-led prayers before or after JV and freshman games BUT are much more likely to see them at varsity? Because they want people to notice, that's why. Same thing with starting lineups, public address, JROTC flag stuff. Also same reason homecoming is during a varsity football or basketball game and no other time ... because no one would notice/show up if some other time at some other place. It's all about eyeballs. Some of these same exact kids making sure they are part of these pregame/postgame group prayers are the same kids I'll see at malls, around town and especially on social media acting the complete opposite.

At almost every one of the seven high schools I follow, that fence you mentioned is STILL on school property. Only way a prayer like that happens at a football game in my area ... no one notices. Because once you get off school property, no one's gonna see you. And if you're at that part of the fence, no one's gonna hear you.

Other things: The media is not going to make a big deal about D-2, D-3 and NAIA because there are a TON of them every year. If C-J was forced to cover "signings" for the other levels (here's a fun fact: you do not "SIGN" an athletic scholarship to play D-3 because D-3 is NOT ALLOWED to offer athletic scholarships). Morehead State does not offer "football scholarships" either, so even though they are technically D-I, there's a huge difference (school size, conference affiliation, fan support, media coverage, and oh yeah, paying your school bills) between Morehead and Kentucky. Not apples and oranges. Not even apples and arachnids (nouns beginning with A). It's more like apples and unicorns. If the C-J had to cover D-2, D-3 and NAIA signings, Jason Frakes would never go to a game, write a preview, write a feature or compile stats because there are a ton of them in Louisville alone. NAIA football signings are a different breed, too. Campbellsville and Lindsey routinely have signing classes over 40, when NCAA D-I makes that impossible. More often than not, an NAIA football scholarship will leave kids OWING money, while NCAA D-I scholarships (especially in football and basketball, but not as much in baseball) are the quote unquote full ride. Campbellsville signed a female/girl defensive back last year in football. Didn't make all-conference. Didn't even start for her own team. There's a reason that even though the number of D-2, D-3 and NAIA schools dwarf the total number of D-I schools, the number of NFL players from D-I schools dwarf that combined for D-2/3/NAIA (same goes for MLB and NBA). High school/college/pro baseball scouting isn't near what it is for football, but the ratio still applies. Because more likely than not, D-I is where the talent is (even though sheer numbers would point to 2/3/NAIA). Not all signings are the same. They've never been. They never will be.

Yup. Even in a "GOOD" year for KY HS football, 50 percent of ALL teams will be .500 or below. Statistically that has to happen (at least if it is Kentucky team vs. Kentucky team). Not a valid argument at all about the status of competitive balance. Throw-away line more than anything. Smoke and mirrors. Fifty percent of teams statewide being at or below .500 means NOTHING.

If John Hardin can handle PRP, I don't see the Dawgs losing to Iroquois. While Iroquois is sitting pretty, the Raiders (not Warriors) could be fourth seed in playoffs, too. Grayson's not too bad and North Hardin has a solid offense in Bankhead (just a sophomore at QB) and Graves (averaging 100+ yards from scrimmage every game).

Justafan#85, E'town and Meade did NOT have to play Breck. E'town is the only area team to play Fort Knox (granted FK beat E'town a few years ago, but that was EHS's ONLY winless season in school history, too). While Breck and Meade may have a long-running history/border rival/feud, you could say the same thing for North Hardin-Knox (don't play) and Trinity/X and 16+ teams in Louisville (while they are both Catholic schools, what would Trinity gain by playing DeSales?). Granted Indianapolis Marshall isn't the best team, but Central Hardin playing them is better than teeing off on Breck (who not self-respecting 4-A, 5-A, 6-A program should play non-district ... ever). I know scheduling is NOT easy ... but it's not as difficult as some people make it out, either. If "They were our ONLY option" ... then you need to look harder. Trinity went out of state to find good teams. McCracken got a team from Mississippi to come up and play an epic game. Central Hardin and Bullitt East have had some great games (when they had no rivalry at all before the past couple of years and rarely play each other in other sports except for maybe baseball). Paducah Tilghman and John Hardin sought out Highlands, even though it is a two-hour plus drive for both schools (like 4 or 5 in PT's case). JH might have been overmatched by Highlands this year, but JH gave FTH a scare last year). Bowling Green lost its streak to a really good East Tennessee team (McCallie) when it could have teed off on another SKY team it could pummel. When teams are WILLING to go hours and play out-of-state team, taking several losses in the process, I lose respect for team who play overmatched teams much closer to home all in the name of "difficult scheduling."

As someone else pointed, letter not very individualized. Other than kid's name at the top, nothing personal about the letter at all. The jersey is nice, but I'm guessing Purdue has a Photoshopper (making up a word here) that does this for a ton of "recruiting" letters. Huge difference between on-campus and in-home visits and coaches coming to watch games and ... getting a letter that many other players have duplicates of (other than name on the top). I hope the kid plays D-I. Not many people can say that. Even D-II and D-III and even NAIA are still good. But letters, in the big scheme of recruiting, mean as much as putting 100-plus yards and a couple TDs on an overmatched winless team.

E'town's schedule is about to get tougher: at Bullitt Central (4-0) ... BC's Carnell is among state leaders in rushing yards at Louisville Central (3-2) ... Records mean nothing to the Jackets, as they never went undefeated in any of their title runs, IIRC at LaRue County (1-3) ... LC led in fourth quarter in 2-of-3 losses Henry County (4-1) ... EHS lost at Henry last year Glasgow (4-1) ... EHS lost to Glasgow last year and some thing Trigg is among state's best RBs (he's committed to WKU, IIRC)

Follow these for more updates: https://twitter.com/Mike_Stunson https://twitter.com/EricChumbler https://twitter.com/SouthavenHigh

Interesting stat 1: E'town ran 14 plays TOTAL ... for 522 yards. Only 2-of-14 plays went for less than 21 yards (on the first, lineman ran over his own running back; other was a TD run in the red zone). Interesting stat 2: E'town did not run a single play at all in the third quarter. Breck got kickoff to open the 3Q and kept it all quarter. Had a 17-play drive lasting more than 12 minutes. E'town got the ball back after the TD, ran two plays (scored) and didn't have another play the rest of the game. FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL UPDATE: Elizabethtown 63, Breckinridge County 6 (09/20) | TheNewsEnterprise.com

FOOTBALL: Warriors down Wayne Co., 30-2 - Commonwealth Journal: Sports "FOOTBALL: Warriors down Wayne Co., 30-2 Posted: Saturday, September 20, 2014 12:45 am CJ Staff Report MONTICELLO – The Southwestern High School had no problem with putting away Wayne County High School by a score of 30-2. First half touchdowns by Kyle Nalle – on a 17-yard pass for Jordan Doan – and Jordan Doan – off a 10-yard run – gave the Warriors the 14-0 first half lead. Also, the Warriors’ defense excelled in the opening half with interceptions by Zach Coggin, Wyatt Karter and Floyd Fannin, and a fumble recovery by Austin Daulton. The Warriors put the game away in the third quarter with a 55-yard touchdown run from Patric Edwards, a 32-yard field goal by Jose Herrera, and a 80-yard fumble recovery TD run by Danny Butt. Doan led the Warriors with 82 yards on 16 carries with a rushing TD and a passing TD. Edwards rushed for 115 yards on only 3 carries with a rushing TD. Brandon Pruitt and Danny Butt both had second half fumble recoveries, as the Cardinals coughed the ball 6 times on the night. Southwestern (3-2) had 265 of total offense, while Wayne County (1-4) had a total of 201 yards of total offense on he night. Look for complete game story in Sunday’s Sports section."

1) Bylaw 6 DOES NOT and HAS NOT ever stopped ANY kids from going to ANY school they want. Never. Point Blank. Someone living in Hardin County can stay in home district of Central Hardin, ask Hardin County Schools to switch to John Hardin or North Hardin (if overcrowding is not a factor; bus will NOT provide transportation; money stays in district since sister schools) or even pay tuition to Elizabethtown (in county), Bethlehem (not in county) or X/T/Mercy/Assumption/DeSales/KCD (not in county). Several high school kids from Hardin County go to Gatton at WKU and don't play sports. 2) Bylaw 6 does NOT stop a kid from playing sports ... because they still retain eligibility at the school they were just at. If a kid attends School A and plays sports at School A and then tries to enroll at School B without moving into School B's district ... the kid is still ELIGIBLE to play sports at School A (school just left). Fun fact. 3) By joining the KHSAA, schools (public and private, rural and metro, big and small, rich and poor) agree to said bylaws (some of which the schools themselves have written and voted on). As an extension, athletes and coaches are subject to same bylaws. 4) Bylaw 6 has held up in court several times. Good luck finding court cases where bylaw 6 was the ONLY factor the judge/jury ruled that way. Many times, there are far more factors at play when these cases go to court as opposed to "just" bylaw 6. Without Bylaw 6, you're turning LOU/LEX/NKY into the Wild West. It would be hard to stop recruiting/transfers. You lose school spirit and support because businesses/alums don't recognize the teams anymore. Even the media can/will turn on you because they'll see you as winning with hired guns/mercenaries and recruiting your way to success instead of coaching/building. IMO, getting rid of Bylaw 6 is opening a HUGE can of worms that's not worth touching in the long run.

Completely agree. Top teams in 5th are Bardstown and Taylor ... and then everyone else. E'town lost its entirely backcourt and center. Bardstown has been there, done that and returns Cowherd. Taylor has the talent, but cohesiveness and coaching are question marks (in addition to the looming KHSAA investigation).

BG's defense this year is scary good. Not many teams can shut out X. And pretty sure they found their next Fant (Carrothers). Even Fant never had a game like Carrothers did last week. And it's not like Owensboro is some scrub. BG is used to winning, has a great coach, great depth and is battled tested (more than you can say for Pulaski at this point). It's BG far and away until proven otherwise. Even if McCallie ends "The Streak", BG is still the best team in 5-A.

E'town is NOT on Warren Central's level. No where near the depth, athletes or challenging schedule. Outside of SW, E'town has an easy non-district schedule. Flip E'town and Warren Central's schedule and E'town might be winless (maybe E'town beats Hoptown, but it loses to Bourbon, North Hardin and DeSales). E'town will be 4-1 after crushing Breckinridge (winless) and probably 5-1 after Bullitt Central (has a good record, but beaten nobody). E'town could finish 6-4 if it's not careful (Louisville Central, Henry, Glasgow, Bardstown). If E'town is among a team's best wins ... then that team's schedule isn't very strong.

I do NOT believe there actually are $50 fines being billed out each week. Here's what I've seen/found on KHSAA: 09/03/14 ? First Football, Soccer Statistical Leader Reports Released | Kentucky High School Athletic Association "As a reminder, member schools are solely responsible for submitting statistical information. If a school or individual is omitted, or information is not updated, that means the KHSAA did not receive a report prior to the deadline. Beginning with 2014-2015, as contained in Bylaw 27, the requirements to enter and maintain rosters, schedules and statistics will be enforced more rigorously by the KHSAA. This enforcement will subject the member schools to penalties by the Commissioner, including fines and other actions, within the constraints of Bylaw 27." 08/21/14 ? Scoreboard/Rosters/Statistics Reminder | Kentucky High School Athletic Association "STATISTICS REMINDER Finally, statistical entry is also required in the sports of football, basketball and soccer, which will be used to compile a list of statewide leaders, which can also be sent to local media outlets upon request. See the note at the end of this post regarding failure to maintain current contest-by-contest statistics." "PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE Beginning with 2014-2015, as contained in Bylaw 27, the requirements to enter and maintain rosters, schedules and statistics will be enforced more rigorously. This enforcement will subject the member schools to penalties by the Commissioner, including fines and other actions, within the constraints of Bylaw 27. In general, the information (statistics, results, etc.) will have a 48-hour grace period to comply. Due to the unique nature of football and the infrequency of play, enforcement on football will likely be more aggressive concerning score reporting." I can't find a single mention on KHSAA.org about "weekly $50 fine" for non-compliance. None.

Does anyone have PROOF of the weekly $50 fine thing? I can't find anything on khsaa.org. Plus, there are several notable teams who are NOT putting stats online consistently: Ballard, Beechwood, Boyd County, Bullitt East, Clinton County, Dixie Heights (First game only), East Jessamine, Fairview, Fern Creek, Franklin County (first game only), Green County. I stopped at G. And was only clicking on Week 4 winners. I have no doubt there's at least 50 schools who haven't put all their stats (or had them updated entering this weekend/Week 4) online. Can't imagine all those schools are getting weekly $50 fines. And is this a football ONLY thing? Because there are plenty more boys' soccer, girls' soccer and volleyball teams who haven't put stats online.

Look north. Talked to SW AD Chris Decker about something else -- he was interested in using something he was teaching in his class and he needed my help saving it from a website since he didn't have full access like I did -- and we got to talking about football scheduling. Pretty sure SW is playing two of the three Hardins (Central, John, North) and maybe even keeping Elizabethtown (Elizabethtown will be pretty darn good in 2015 with what would be a loaded senior class and a second year in Mark Brown's system).

DeSales is a reigning state champ, who last year, beat 5-A semifinalist John Hardin and 6-A runner-up Meade (in a scrimmage). DeSales beat Meade in a scrimmage again this year. ... fwiw, Meade is currently 2-0, has yet to give up a point and is ranked in the top 10 in 6-A in every major poll/ranking/rating. Meade and John were "top tier" 5-A/6-A schools last year and were not close to "blowing those schools out" last year. Bourbon's a good team. So is DeSales. DeSales appears to be a great team. And I'm not from Louisville. Have zero ties to the Colts. But respect is given where respect is due, too.

JH's non-district schedule would be tough for most 5-A teams, let alone for one which needs to grow and get some reps. This isn't like UK prepping for the SEC with Louisville and three cupcakes. How often have we seen Trinity or Central take some early season losses and then win titles? Central did it almost every season it won a title, while I believe Trinity was 0-4 won year after a tough tough schedule that many teams wouldn't touch. Ranking teams, at this point, SOLELY on wins and losses (and not taking experience or strength of schedule into account) is lazy and informed voting, IMO.

Seneca was first game starting for many JH players. Lots rebuilding this year. Also lost No. 1 running back to torn ACL in the game. Central Hardin was on THREE DAYS' rest (finished Seneca on Monday night, played at CH on Friday night). Not many teams can pull off that feat. Plus, this is CH's best team ever (returned 16+ starters from last year's team which went 10-2 -- with only losses to 6-A runner-up Meade -- and beat McCracken at McCracken and also beat Bullitt East and 4-A champ Collins). CH had never beaten JH before, so suffice it to say this was CH's Super Bowl (up to this point). JH also has Meade and Highlands, both on road, next two weeks. Could easily be 0-4. However, I'm not sure there are still 10 5-A teams better than John (Harlan County got the doors blown off it by a Bryan Station team that never does anything in the postseason and HC is still in top 10). Bullitt East, which JH hasn't lost to since whenever, is ranked in the top 10 and is in JH's region for the playoffs. I'm not sure BE is better than JH.

Boys' basketball went to state. Football had a great season. Girls' tennis was in the state final (maybe won). Softball was in the state final. Numerous other sports had good years. Not sure if McCracken had a losing record in any sport. Granted McCracken is huge and should be good, but not too many -- if any -- Paducah area schools had and overall sports year like McCracken did (talking Paducah area only, not statewide). School having best season usually gets most coverage. Papers are not, and have never been, about Title IX equality.

That's a STRONG possibility. I do NOT think the average reader understands the 'A' Section/News Section/Front Page has a much earlier deadline than sports does. Because the section is bigger in page count and usually has more color (ads) than sports section, it takes longer to trip. Thus, it goes first. That's the reason lottery results (which don't move on the Kentucky Lottery website) are in the sports section, but stories on lottery jackpots/lottery winners/ticket sales are always in news. By the time the lotteries are drawn each night, the 'A' section has already gone to press and is being printed. Other possible factors at play: - Don't blame the writer. Mike Stunson is very good. By his tweets, he never mentioned dominate, especially late. Doubt he wrote his story like that. ... Most reporters, especially at decent-sized dailies like Paducah, don't write their own headlines. - It's possible the paper was NOT even layed out by someone in Paducah. Many newspaper companies have gone to "universal desks" where you'll have upward of a dozen papers being laid out/designed/edited/paginated at a diffferent/central location. Saves money. Easier to hire people (because they know EXACTLY what they're doing instead of splitting time writing, editing, taking photos, etc.). However, errors arise when you CAN'T change things late (like in this instance). Once Paper A sends off its stories/info/photos to be laid out, once it is sent back in final form, it's hard to edit (if at all possible). - If it was REALLY about selling papers, the "dominate" tease would NOT have been listed second. Or in small point. It would have been six columns stripped across the top in like 40-point (instead of 12 or smaller as it appears). That being said, that's a very bad error or poor judgment. I've never used "dominate" in an overtime game, unless it is about a particular player or talking about the OT period itself (a basketball team outscoring the other 14-2 in OT, for example; or a soccer team scoring three goals in a mandatory OT period when it is fully timed and not sudden death). But never used "dominate" to describe the game itself if it went to OT.