westsider

Save it for someone that believes it. The Yankees are the only team that can afford a $200 million payroll, and it's quite an advantage.

Maines has every right to be critical of her country's leaders and policies, no matter where she is. Palin has the same right. Our nation and our government are built on that premise. Little surprise, though, that there is a difference in the reactions to those statements.

Our response was our action against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Our invasion of Iraq had very little to do with 9/11, except that 9/11 was used to sell it to the American people.

This is for Weathers, right? I'm sure it's a player from a list of five or so, and I'm sure they're middling prospects at best.

What are you expecting it to be? Arroyo may have resurrected his marketability, not to mention his career.

One interesting possibility ... The Reds need a shortstop. Milwaukee has two good ones in J.J. Hardy and Alcides Escobar. I know Hardy hasn't had a good year, but his 2007 and 2008 seasons were huge upgrades on anything the Reds have there. Escobar is a well-regarded prospect with a good glove and speed. The Brewers also need starting pitching in the worst way. I know it's difficult to trade within the division, but I wonder whether Milwaukee could be persuaded (with another prospect, maybe) to take a chance on Arroyo or Harang.

7 ... Kentucky Country Day 5 ... Union County 3 ... Franklin-Simpson 2 ... Caldwell County 1 ... Russellville Kentucky Country Day

Massey Ratings ... A-3A 1. Fort Campbell ... 25.30 2. Crittenden County ... 9.72 3. Mayfield ... 7.91 4. Green County ... 7.62 5. Monroe County ... 7.49 6. Murray ... 4.68 7. Caldwell County ... 2.45 8. Owensboro Catholic ... -1.55 9. Trigg County ... -2.03 10. Paducah Tilghman ... -3.22 11. Union County ... -4.07 12. Glasgow ... -5.19 13. Russellville ... -6.94 14. Edmonson County ... -7.16 15. Heath ... -9.86 16. Butler County ... -14.06 17. McLean County ... -15.89 18. Campbellsville ... -16.58 19. Ballard Memorial ... -18.82 20. Hancock County ... -19.18 21. Metcalfe County ... -21.54 22. Adair County ... -24.29 23. Fulton City ... -25.02 24. Reidland ... -26.18 25. Hart County ... -30.36 26. Fulton County ... -32.33 27. Webster County ... -37.49 28. Todd Central ... -43.75

7 ... Estill County 5 ... East Carter 3 ... Perry Central 2 ... Breathitt County 1 ... Whitley County Perry Central

Hopkinsville and Graves have one common opponent ... Hoptown beat Tilghman 17-14 and Graves beat the Tornado 26-21. Marshall is bad, but so is Ohio ...

7 ... Fern Creek 5 ... Anderson County 3 ... Gallatin County 2 ... St. Xavier 1 ... Harrison County Anderson County

For what it's worth, these are how the Massey Ratings (power ratings) rank the 4A-6A teams in western Kentucky ... and remember, the Masseys even count out-of-state games. 1. Bowling Green ... 34.03 2. Owensboro ... 29.20 3. Christian County ... 24.47 4. Lone Oak ... 16.29 5. Henderson County ... 15.67 6. Greenwood ... 14.31 7. Warren Central ... 11.68 8. Allen County ... 10.65 9. Franklin-Simpson ... 10.06 10. Daviess County ... 9.82 11. Apollo ... 5.40 12. Madisonville ... 5.33 13. Hopkinsville ... 4.27 14. Graves County ... 3.11 15. Grayson County ... 2.98 16. Calloway County ... 0.72 17. Warren East ... -0.73 18. Hopkins Central ... -1.15 19. Marshall County ... -10.77 20. Muhlenberg County ... -11.17 21. Barren County ... -14.25 22. Logan County ... -14.83 23. Ohio County ... -16.42

Why is it always me that has to play this role? :lol: I don't think that anyone disputes that Grayson has made some strides with their program, only that one particular poster here is vastly overrating their accomplishments to this point.

Do any of the small-school teams Grayson has beaten stack up with that Caldwell team? Does Warren Central's team last year, with all the personnel issues and problems, stack up with the Calloway team of 2007? I would say not. I'm not touting Lone Oak's schedule in 2007 as being anything that tough ... but it's much better than the one Grayson has played so far. That is the only point I am making.

Enough said. Has Grayson beaten anyone the caliber of Madisonville and Daviess? Mayfield is a top-two team in Class A. Lone Oak is a top-five team in Class 4A. Those are hardly just "smaller classification schools" ... unlike most of Grayson's schedule.

Garrard County Graves County Mason County Murray Newport Catholic Paducah Tilghman

Actually, it was Fulton City that Lone Oak beat, not Fulton County. And that Fulton City team was 7-0 and coming off a win over Mayfield when Lone Oak demolished them. Lone Oak didn't play Webster, either. Based on what? Warren Central had their worst team in recent history last season. The Calloway team that Lone Oak beat was pretty good and won a playoff game, then reached the state semifinals the next season. The wins aren't even close to being comparable.

No one is knocking the Grayson kids. All we're saying is that it's awfully premature to rank them as high as some people want simply because they've cleaned house on a very weak schedule. There are a whole lot of teams that would dominate that schedule like Grayson has. "Taking care of business" is a relative term ... Grayson hasn't had much, if any, "business" to take care of.

Two years ago, two of Lone Oak's first four wins were over a Caldwell County team that went 7-4 and a Calloway County team that was a year away from a berth in the state semifinals. Has Grayson beaten anyone of that caliber so far? Their six wins are against teams with a combined record of 8-27, and at least two of those wins are against other teams on Grayson's schedule. Four of those eight wins are Hancock County's, and those four wins are against teams with a combined 3-19 record. It's one thing for a 4A school of 850 kids to play an A-2A schedule. It's another for a school of 1,200 enrollment to do it. Grayson gets two chances over the next few weeks to justify your ranking. We'll see how those turn out.

Simply put, Grayson has played a horribly weak schedule for a 5A school. Half of their opponents have been A and 2A schools. Ed Smart has obviously done a good job of reviving the program, but the Cougars have to beat somebody decent before they get that kind of respect.

Mayfield's schedule is normally pretty good, but this year, two of their usually solid opponents are having subpar seasons ... Marshall County may have their worst team ever and Paducah Tilghman has been a train wreck. On the other hand, Trousdale County is a top-5 team in Class 2A in Tennessee and Graves County just played Lone Oak, a top-5 team in Class 4A, very tough last weekend. Mayfield isn't up there with Fort Campbell ... no small school is. They are up there with Monroe County.

Small schools 1. Fort Campbell 2. Mayfield 3. Green County 4. Monroe County 5. Murray 6. Crittenden County 7. Paducah Tilghman 8. Glasgow 9. Owensboro Catholic 10. Caldwell County Big schools 1. Bowling Green 2. Owensboro 3. Allen County 4. Lone Oak 5. Christian County 6. Henderson County 7. Warren Central 8. Graves County 9. Apollo 10. Franklin-Simpson

Someone could still do a small-school and big-school top 10 ... A-3A for the smalls and 4A-6A for the bigs.

1. Fort Campbell 2. Bowling Green 3. Owensboro 4. Allen County 5. Lone Oak 6. Christian County 7. Henderson County 8. Green County 9. Monroe County 10. Mayfield

Lone Oak is actually about 50-50 run and pass, although they've gained more yards in the air.