Frank The Tank

Someone talked about Williamsburg's tradition earlier. Cumberland is the school in the region with the most baseball tradition over the past 25 years.

Its true, over the last 25 years, Cumberland has had some great teams. However, I think Middlesboro's baseball tradition during that time is much better.

Wasn't at the game but I think thats a great win for Middlesboro. Thats 2 good wins against Corbin and Bell co. And I would think that it feels good to bounce back after giving a game away at Williamsburg. It's still early in the season, but up to this point it seems like the 13th region is as wide open as it's been in a while. Good luck to the Jackets the rest of the way.

Thank you cumberland. We've all heard about williamsburg. I would like to hear about Cumberland's team. Who pitched? who are some of the better players for Cumberland? Good luck against Lynn Camp in the all A region final.

Not surprising. Before Comparoni moved to Williamsburg he hit around .500 for Middlesboro and was the glue that held together a bunch of "super egos." After he left Middlesboro, the team never made it out of the regional tournament. Williamsburg has a proud tradition and Comparoni, with his love for the game, will fit in well there. We wish you well Mark.

:laugh:

WOW! I suppose he was the "glue" that held together Whitley Co too?

As ugly as the M'boro - KC game was, the Corbin - Dunbar was a great game to watch. Congrats to the hounds.

Anyone know the starting times?

Is it going to be called the downtown arena or is there a major sponsor buying the naming rights?

Here is a good article on Ron Polk that may clear some things up. Not all.

By Mark Schlabach June 7 2007

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=2895944

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- In more than three decades as a college baseball coach, Mississippi State's Ron Polk has never been a fan of the NCAA.

Ron Polk's recruiting strategy will have to change when the new rules go into effect.

Polk has criticized college sports' governing body for reducing the number of scholarships available for his sport, eliminating coaching positions and reducing the number of games baseball teams can play each spring.

Fresh off an upset of national seed Florida State, and as the Bulldogs prepare to host Clemson in an NCAA super regional at Polk-Dement Stadium this weekend, Polk is once again fuming about the NCAA.

And this time, Polk might have a legitimate beef.

"I've been on their case forever," Polk said. "I think Title IX was the greatest thing ever for college sports because I think women were really being discriminated against. I've got no problem with that, and I don't think anyone else does. Women's sports were underfunded and didn't have the facilities and good coaching staffs.

"I just say, 'Where's Title X?' Our boys, our families and our coaches are being discriminated against in terms of scholarships."

The NCAA Board of Directors in April approved multiple rules changes that Polk and other coaches believe will forever change the face of their sport. Already hampered by having only 11.7 scholarships to award to more than 30 players each season, the NCAA has approved legislation that will dictate how those scholarships are awarded.

College baseball has always had the short end of the stick in terms of scholarships. Division I-A football teams receive 85 scholarships, and men's and women's basketball teams have 13 scholarships. Women's equestrian can dole out 15 scholarships, and women's crew teams can award 20 scholarships.

In the past, Polk was able to fraction the 11.7 scholarships to nearly three dozen players. His team has 34 scholarship players this season, with half of those players receiving less than 33-percent funding for tuition, housing and books. One player receives 74 percent of a full scholarship, and the next highest is 54 percent. Several players receive only 4 percent, which Polk describes as "books scholarships" because they pay for nothing more than required texts for classes.

Under the new rules, which will go in effect for the 2008-09 academic year, baseball rosters will be capped at 35 players, with only 30 players being eligible to receive financial aid. Starting in 2009-10, only 27 players can receive financial aid, each of whom must receive at least one-third of a full scholarship.

South Carolina, another NCAA super regional participant, has 22 of 36 players receiving less than one-third of a full scholarship this season, coach Ray Tanner said.

"They're giving us chump change, and now they're telling us how to spend the chump change," Polk said.

The new college baseball rules also include legislation that is targeted at increasing player retention and graduation rates for college baseball. In the past, baseball players could transfer from one school to another without penalty. Football, basketball and men's hockey players have to sit out one season at their new school if they transfer. Under the new rules, baseball players also will face that one-year penalty if they leave.

Polk believes baseball players have been more likely to transfer because they can get better scholarships at other schools.

"Am I supposed to tell a kid who's getting a 4 percent scholarship that he can't leave?" Polk asked.

Why are our boys playing for 10 percent scholarships and 4 percent scholarships when other athletes are getting full scholarships? Baseball has always been hammered by the NCAA. This is another crisis.

Ron Polk

Under the new rules, players also must be academically eligible during fall semester to play the following spring, which will require more players to attend summer school.

Most college baseball players don't attend summer school because they can't afford it, Polk said. If a player receives only a 4 percent scholarship during the school year, he receives the same financial aid during summer school. Scholarship athletes in basketball and football attend summer school because their scholarships will cover all the costs.

"A lot of our kids opt not to go to summer school because they can't afford it," Polk said. "Fortunately, there are NCAA-sanctioned summer baseball leagues at Cape Cod and Alaska and all over the place. They can play summer baseball and get jobs to save money."

The rules changes are the results of the NCAA's new Academic Performance Rates, which measure each student's progress toward obtaining an academic degree. Teams failing to score 925 in the APR -- equivalent to a 50 percent graduation rate -- can lose scholarships.

Last month, the NCAA released a list of 112 programs that were subject to penalties because of poor APR scores. One-quarter of the programs on the list were baseball teams.

"It's criminal to say our kids are not good students," Polk said. "That's not true."

Most college baseball coaches agree that they need to do a better job of retaining and graduating their players. But decreasing the size of scholarships isn't the way to achieve that goal, Polk said.

Polk believes the new rules will do more harm that good. Because of the new rules, Polk said college baseball teams won't be able to lure top high school players to their schools anymore.

"How am I going to be able to convince a kid to come to college, instead of going pro, when I can only give him a 33 percent scholarship?" Polk said.

Polk said teams also will encourage juniors to enter the major league draft, instead of returning to school for their senior seasons, so coaches can open up roster spots for the following season. And teams will be less likely to retain injured players, because coaches won't want to risk spending a scholarship on a player who might not be able to play.

"Why are our boys playing for 10 percent scholarships and 4 percent scholarships when other athletes are getting full scholarships?" Polk asked. "Baseball has always been hammered by the NCAA. This is another crisis."

Glad to hear this. Actually Bell co has good facilities except for the field and a concession stand. Maybe this will light a fire under the school to the south of Bell co to upgrade their field. They need it desperately.

]

My top 5.

1. north laurel - champs till someone knocks em off

2. south laurel - good hitting team but no pitching

3. Bell Co. - new coach and a lot of experienced talent.

4. Corbin- lots of experience. Has to find some pitching

5. Whitley- young team last year. has to find some offense.

Also throw knox co. in the mix. Good season last year...fell off towards the end of the season.

Something else to think about is the new harlan school. Not playing in 2008 but in 2009 should be a contender. With the right coach and the right mix of players from evarts, cumberland, and cawood....they could make a run.

Friend of mine's team went there 3 years ago. I was asking him and his dad about the experience. At the time they were a 15 year old team playing up in a 16yo usssa tournament. They had good and bad things to say. They were one of the first teams to play on the field turf infield. A severe thunderstorm had moved in and rained everything out friday night, but they were able to play on saturday and sunday. Here are their pro's and cons.

Pros

1. liked the idea of fieldturf infields

2. Good location in nicholasville. Not far from lexington. Hotels and Restaurants within proximity

3. Competition was good but they were playing up in age group

4. Paperwork and contact with tournament director was good

5. Nice park comparable with others that they had been at in TN. and other parts of the country

Cons

1. Fieldturf infields were nice but the outfields were terrible.

2. Had to pitch on portable mounds, which are fine for younger ages but not 15/16 year olds with steel cleats. They had a delay in one game because a portable mound actually had fiberglass pieces breaking off and had to be replaced.

3. Foul balls were a problem. Still a mystery. They had played at fields closer together but had never had the foul ball problem that they had there.

4. My friends dad went on and on about this one. The park doesn't allow TEAM COOLERS. He said they had played in parks all over the country and to this day MSC was the only one who would not allow a team cooler. Big blowup over this one. It was a july tournament...right around 100 degrees. He wound up setting the cooler just outside the entrance gate.

Middlesboro is going to be a better football team this season then what people think. I will tell you one thing I really really like about this group. They are a TEAM. Of course it will hurt Middlesboro to loose talent such as Trevor Hoskins, Casey Earls, and C.G. Ford, but this crew is one of the more united bunches we've had in awhile and it shows by their attitude. Middlesboro will have a great offensive line, that’s usually a weakness at Middlesboro. All but one Linemen will be Sr's and most of them have started since they were freshmen. Heck, they were great last year! The backfield will be solid as well with Russell and Bowling. Russell will be a load to take down and is your 4 yards and a cloud of dust guy. Bowling is more of a tailback, a shifty runner who will also catch the ball out of the backfield. At WR Middlesboro's deep threat returns as Dalin Farr will be a Jr this year. He is a very fast kid with great ability to go up over defenses and grab the ball. Daniel Crawford will also be a threat in the passing game as a very sure handed, playmaking TE. The big question and a good one is QB???? Hunter Adams will be making the move from WR, to QB for the Jackets in 07. Hunter is a great football player, and an all-out playmaker. This kid has done amazing things on the football field up to this point in his career and I think that will only continue as he lines up under center. He's fast, he's strong, and I think he will be a great option QB and passing threat before district play rolls around. This is a different kind of year for Middlesboro football. Middlesboro doesn't have the big names of the past, which can fool you at a glance, a closer look and you'll see a very solid football TEAM, led by a senior offensive line and backfield. Lacking the flash of the past, I expect a VERY solid team in 07. They might get off to a little bit of a slow start, but I expect Middlesboro to surprise a lot of people as the season unfolds.

I would agree with most of that. Big question is at QB. Hunter is a good football player. Can he adjust and can he stay healthy? Line is very experienced. On defense, if we don't adjust it doesn't matter how good the offense is. Get rid of the all or nothing defense. Also I've heard the new principal has informed all the coaches that the minimum gpa will be ENFORCED this year. How will that effect the TEAM? Farr didn't play in half the games last year and when he did he wasn't effective. Who will hunter throw it to? Will Gilbert make the adjustment to WR after being told he was going to be the starting QB? How will that affect the TEAM?

New coaches on board, how will they do? I think David Kelly will do wonders for the running backs, question is will roark use them effectively or try to prove hunter can throw the ball. I can't wait to see bowling get to play a full season at RB. He looked really good last year. Had a big TD at breathitt co and had a long run in the Belfry game.

All in all middlesboro should have a good team. Definitely the best line they've had in a while. Personally I think it will be tough to beat corbin in district this year. They look strong. But time will tell. The corbin game definitely will be the biggest game on the schedule.

What's going on at Bell?

.

There was a rumor floating around during the 13th region tournament that John Smith would be the new head coach for Bell co. in 2008. However, haven't heard anything since. Would be a big lift for Bell, they probably will have the most talented team in the district next year.

Does anyone know about the new harlan school? Isn't that school opening this fall?

I will be sure and ask Coach McWhorter at North to send a thank you card to the Middlesboro coaches for handing him a regional title.

 

I don't know the situation at Middlesoboro, but why would ANY coach want a team they coach to lose? That makes no sense whatsoever.

First off I didn't say anything derogatory towards North Laurel did I? I believe I quoted anamail and was responding to a statement he made. Would it have been a different game with Pittman on the mound...I believe so but we'll never know as I stated. So how is that taking away from north laurel?

Second..no you don't know the situation at Mboro, so why make a statement? But to answer your question....baseball season cuts into time to play poker.

Lastly, you're right, it doesn't make sense..but thats exactly what was going on. Anamail will tell you, as well as any Jacket fan or player will tell you, the best 9 were not on the field for middlesboro.

1. 3 positions, (LF, 1B, 3B) were being played by starters who had little or no experience or practice time at those positions.

2. Started a freshman pitcher who had pitched a total of 15 innings all year while we could have started 2 seniors or a junior. And then when the kid finally settles down in the 2nd inning he gets pulled. The senior who replaced him pitches 3 good innings, we get the lead, then he walks the leadoff batter and gets pulled. Then the senior that replaced him walks 3 in a row and gets left in. Tolliver never gets a chance to pitch.

I could go on and on...but it would be a novel. We seniors made a legacy with the South Laurel game, no one can take that away. But we still think that the team was held back by the coaches and always will. Guess it doesn't matter now because the season is over and it's time to move on.

So I wasn't taking anything away from North Laurel. Congratulations. Anamail and I are simply venting frustrations from the season. And we have a lot to vent.

Yeah that was Chris Tolliver best hitter on team.I still think it would have been different story if they would had Brett Pittman.Lastyear's M.V.P as a freshman sit most year on the bench.An it wasn't just one game.they made huge mistake taking him out the lineup,wasn't like he was asking for alot just wanted to play an be part of the team.

I'll agree with you that it would have been a different story with pittman on the mound in the championship game. But we'll never know. I'll even agree with you that he had valid reasons for quitting, but I sure would have more respect for him if he would have stuck it out with the rest of us. Do you honestly think pittman was the only one that felt like he was done wrong by the middlesboro coaches? Hell no. Some would say they were trying to throw the season with the lineups they were sending out there starting with the first game of the district. Remember breeding sitting out against cawood? What about the head coach shoving the the starting pitcher at practice right before the district title game against harlan? What about a senior coming back after a 2 week academic suspension and starting even though the coaches told everyone for that 2 weeks that they wouldn't let him come back and start? How about leaving the head coaches nephew at the leadoff spot even though he wasn't producing? #6 at catcher and he gets to hit? Plenty of reasons to go around for everyone to quit. Im just saying...I don't blame him..but I wish he would have just stuck it out with the rest of the team.

And I love tolliver, great kid. The hits he had against SL were classic, but lets remember those were his only hits of the regional AND district tournaments. So to say he is the best hitter on the team is COMPLETELY wrong. He was in a slump for the last month of the season and was fighting for the strikeout lead. Not to mention he was good for 4 errors a game at third. Then they throw him to the wolves and play him at first during regionals even though he had never played 1st and had no practice time at that position. Meanwhile A.J. Jones sits on the bench the whole regional after hitting the only homerun at the district tournament.

2007 will go down as the season that could have been. The most talented Middlesboro baseball team in 10 years. But we'll never know how far they could have went not because of underachieving players but by 2 coaches who openly made moves to divide this team and put players in position to fail. My hats off to this team for making it to the regional final even though the 2 head coaches were trying to hold them back.

Kenny warm up the Bulldozer it won't be long now!!

WOW....what a great honor but I think that North Laurels coach would be more deserving...pitching an 8th grader, and young team and WINNING THE REGION!!! Could be a little home cooking there. I think Corbin's Garman could also be considered along with Smiht from Whitley County, and lets not forget South's coach, I mean he was only the region runner up. LOL

I'll agree with North Laurels coach being more deserving. He did win the region. Can't disagree more with garmon or smith, Whitley didn't make it out of the district and Corbin lost the first round game of the region. And South Laurel wasn't region runner up, Middlesboro was.

Middlesboro High School standout Lance Brooks has signed to play baseball for Maryville College (TN). Congratulations on a great season and a great career.

Also Congratulations to the Jacket players for a fine season. The semifinal win over South Laurel will be talked about for years to come. Even though the championship game didn't turn out like we wanted, we still played a gutsy game. We overcame more adversity than anyone will ever know. Thanks guys for a season I'll never forget. :ylsuper:

With two guys on the hill of that quality, 12 innings wouldn't be surprising. But 25 total runs???? This must've been a roller-coaster ride!

South Laurel was leading 6 -2 going into the bottom of the seventh. But Middlesboro scored 4 runs to tie. From then on it was a roller coaster ride. 2 runs at a time.

Yes. I would say Harlan/north laurel didn't start till around 10pm.

Just got back from the game. Took 12 innings to decide. Great effort by both teams. Middlesboro just wouldn't go away. A classic!!

Hoskins went 9 innings for middlesboro, gutsy performance. Tolliver pitched the last 2 and had a game tying 2 run homer and a game tying 2 run double. Also scored the winning run. Not for sure but it seemed like every hitter in the Jackets lineup had at least 1 hit. Unbelievable game! Words can't do it justice. You had to be there.

I love it! If they win, the kids did a great job. If they lose, the coaches are doing a horrible job. That seems to be Middlesboro athletics in a nutshell.

Actually that is athletics in a nutshell. Players win games, coaches lose games. And if you were on the inside of this Middlesboro baseball program, you would know exactly what the poster is talking about. They are officially team turmoil.

No leadership and No direction. Do you think at some point this season the Head coach might realize that he's the only one in the 13th region that doesn't know middlesboro can't hit a curve ball? And that maybe he might try and work on that before he runs off the field at 5pm? Or maybe that if you ask for 110 percent from players you better be ready to give it yourself. If the HC and the AC would spend as much time on practice planning/game planning as they do on giving speeches m'boro would be undefeated.

Somewhere the Mboro AD is laughing. Thinking about that special day when M'boro baseball can't even get 9 people to come out and he can finally fire up the bulldozer and flatten out the baseball field. And finally put in that indoor practice facility they've been building for the last 4 years.

okay off the soapbox

Congratulations to the Williamsburg team. You've got a gritty team and I hope you guys make it to applebees. GOOD LUCK!!

Im never one to defend the khsaa, but this rule is dead on. I would like to see them push it back even further to 1st grade. HDE had it right, the rule was in place, it's black and white, and people did it anyway. Why? Who knows maybe they didn't know about it or maybe they thought they could get away with it. But the rule is in place for everyone. Im all for holding a kid back if it's for ACADEMICS. Not trying to attack anyone personally, so please don't take it that way but I get tired of hearing this lame excuse that we're holding our kid back for "MATURITY" reasons. No you're holding you're kid back so that when he's a freshman in high school and 16 he'll be bigger physically than the other freshmen he's competing against..period. It's all for athletics. If a kid is making all a's or a's and b's where's the immaturity? Whats funny nowadays is that almost every school is doing it now so where's the advantage? There isn't one. As far as the kid from Middlesboro, they knew exactly what they were doing and thought they could get away with it. When they didn't they cried foul then tried to transfer to a Tennessee high school and it didn't work there either. So I don't feel sorry for them.

Stop the excuse making and just come out and admit..hey we're holding our kid back so maybe he'll have an advantage athletically. Of course that doesn't sound as cute as we're holding him back for "maturity" purposes.

Stop the madness and put the STUDENT back in student/athlete.

Okay Im off the soapbox.

I can respect these rankings but I can tell you are obviously a little bias towards the older players. As second base I couldn't think of many but Chad Adkins should definitely be in there. I actually don't know all of the players you named but I can assure you that you left a few off. In 1999 when the Jackets went to the Final Four, Lee Hardin went 12-0 on the mound and threw a combined 5 no-hitters during his junior and senior years. He also went on to play college baseball.

 

Brian Powell started on two Final Four teams (99' and 02) and was clocked throwing 85 mph from SS to 1B. He committed to Kentucky out of high school and later played for Georgetown College. He was All-State his junior and senior seasons.

 

Justin Stewart started for 5 years for the Jackets, beginning with his eighth grade year. He was the offensive leader for the Jackets on the 02 Final Four team by hitting .410 with 13 HRs as a sophomore. Was a very dominant pitcher in the 13th region throughout his career and was All-State his junior and senior years. He ended up playing baseball at Cumberland College.

 

Vince Powell had a career .420 BA included a .496 senior year. He too was an All-State selection his junior and senior seasons and committed to play at Morehead State out of high school.

 

 

Now I'm not trying to attack your list in anyway. I can respect the selections you made but I would advise you to keep up with the Jackets a little more. You obviously haven't followed too closely for the past 15 years. Skidmore was a great player and a great competitor but he seems to get more credit that he deserves on the mound. You included him in the pitchers but Lee Hardin was definitely a better pitcher. You should also know that while many of the players on your list did rack up hitting stats versus the likes of teams like Pineville High School, Middlesboro doesn't even allow their varsity squad to play them anymore. They haven't for about 15 years now. They now regularly play the top teams in the state including Lexington Catholic, Henry Clay, PRP, etc.

 

Regardless, Middlesboro has had some great baseball through the years.

Glad you're not attacking my list..would hate to see that. Actually I have followed Middlesboro baseball very closely for the last 15 years. In fact I've followed them since Parsons was the head coach. Perhaps I am biased towards the older players but no more than you are biased towards the younger ones. I think we'll have to just agree to disagree. And one thing I can tell you is that the Varsity did play Pineville as recent as 2004 so perhaps you should check your stats. Seems like you throw a lot of those around without anything to back them up so I guess we'll take your word on it. ....You know what I apologize for that. I made a new years resolution to be nicer this year. Sorry.

Middlesboro has had some great players over the years so any list by us fans is subjective. I think Brian Powell was a fine shortstop, but was he better than lawrence buell or Jack comparoni?...no way. And let's not forget those 2 also pitched. Justin stewart was a good outfielder and good pitcher, and maybe he hit 13 homeruns as a sophmore, but I know for a fact he only hit 2 his senior year. I've seen Jeff Kyle hit more than that in one game. I've seen Brian Williams hit a homerun off the roof of the national guard building. David kelley and Barry Burch could cover more ground than anyone. Craig Heath's homerun at Palatka Fla is still talked about 20 years later.

Point is we could go back and forth like this forever. You've got your list and I've got mine.

Now Im not trying to attack your list in anyway. I can respect your selections as well. They're all fine players. But I would advise you that Middlesboro Baseball has a long and storied history with a ton of great players. And a lot of em played before 1998.

I'll take my shot at middlesboro's too. Totally subjective and my opinion.

Pitchers:

Jeff Kyle

Lawrence Buell

Jack Comparoni

Jeremy Skidmore

Bobby Spriggs

John Smith

Outfielders:

Brian Williams

Jeff Kyle

David Kelley

Jeremy Skidmore

Barry Burch

Craig Heath

Catchers:

William Campbell

Jeff Helms

Floyd Patterson

1B:

Josh Robison

Glenn McDonald

Scott Sharp

2b:

Tim Overbay

Tommy Ferguson

Jeff Brooks

ss:

Lawrence Buell

Jack Comparoni

3b:

Pat Spangler

Derrick Wynn

Mike Jones

Best player all time would come down to Brian Williams, Jeff Kyle, or Lawrence Buell.

I think you have to give the early nod to the champs, South Laurel. Even though its early and lots of things can happen. Middlesboro should be right there as well, lots of experience and lots of talent.

It's way way too early to be projecting lineups. We're still almost 2 months away. Lots of shaking out still left to do. Kids get hurt, some take growth spurts, Some decide they don't want to play. So all lineups should be written down in pencil right now. No one can really say with any certainty (coaches included) what the roster will look like Feb 1st.

Some of my opinions and observations:

* If Hatmaker loses a spot because he played golf and didn't go to fall workouts, that's a joke. Let's remember that fall workouts are "not mandatory" and really not supposed to be organized in any way. One of the "grey areas" of high school sports. :sssh:

* Best hitter on the team is Earls. Tolliver is a good player and a good hitter. Jackets will need his pitching.

* If the coaches try to make frady play catcher, he'll quit. Definitely will help to have another arm in the pitching rotation. Could be a #4 starter or middle reliever. Didn't play last year, didn't play in the summer, hasn't been to all the workouts. But since he didn't play golf......let's start him over hatmaker...:confused:

* Brooks will be in the lineup somwhere, 3B, 1B, he even played 2B last year, fact is he can play any spot. Solid hitter, Solid defensively, experienced, 2006 all District and All region team along with Earls and Hoskins

* Hoskins and Earls will lead the way, pitching, defense, hitting, look for these 2 to have big seasons.

*with a pitching staff of Earls, Hoskins, Pittman, Tolliver, Hatmaker, and possibly frady, mix in another pitcher to throw strikes, Mboro has some of the most experienced arms around.

* A lineup with Hatmaker, Hoskins, Earls, Breeding, Brooks, Partin, Tolliver, Pittman, Branham, Jones, Frady. in any order, Mboro has a lot of sticks, good hitters, not much power, but a lot of guys that will put the ball in play. They also have a ton of speed.

Lots to look forward to. Can't wait till the season starts.