Homerun

Even St. X vs Male makes the USA Today. Thu Dec 2, 2010 5:34 PM Male (Louisville) tries to bring football powers' run to an end By Jim Halley, USA TODAY http://www.highschoolsports.net/sports/preps/football/2010-12-02-trinity-male-jenks-union-dynasties_N.htm?csp=hss

No. I guess the state final may end up being the district final.

Congrats to Central.

Anybody know an attendance estimate?

Well, I think that there is a lot of misunderstanding and ignorance about a lot of high school sports issues. I can understand why any team would like to feel that they have a chance at some point to compete, yet I also think that there’s been an era where our society has developed a mentality to try to “give a trophy to everyone just to participate” rather than respect a program that has done well. Building a program in any sport is difficult, but football has its own challenges—especially because of the number of players involved. Geography and population also play into this. The Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area population in 2008 was 1,221,069. KY has about a total population of about 4,314,113. So Louisville makes up about 28% of KY’s population. People with differences need to find common ground. Both sides. Sometimes I feel winners can be hated because they win and Louisville is hated—because Louisville is Louisville. Sat Dec 4, 2010 12:00 AM 6-A game will usher in new era:http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Louisville/article/2010312030115

The losses for Central might be very deceiving. The article in the Courier-Journal talks about how Central had a tough schedule to get ready for 3A football. "...Central scheduled six 6-A teams -- Lafayette, Ballard, Male, Manual, St. Xavier and Pleasure Ridge Park -- and Scroggins added a seventh in Seneca, led by future University of Louisville quarterback DaMarcus Smith. The only team in that bunch that Central beat was Lafayette, 25-19 in Lexington. 'This was the toughest year for us,' Scroggins said. 'With only eight seniors we had to ask players to remain focused and stay with us. They knew the big picture was 3-A football.'" Central willingly took hard road to 3-A state title gamehttp://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Louisville/article/2010312020095

The question posed “Who was the better team this year, Ryle or St. Xavier?” is legitimate on one hand, but not in other ways. First of all, this is not one of the better St. X teams in recent history. A person can make a general observation and assessment about who is better, but there are a few points to consider. The point in another post about a neutral site is important to consider. In college and pro games, it can be considered up to a 7 point difference. In their last game, St. X and Trinity were tied at 7-7 at half-time. The margin of difference at the end of the game were similar between Ryle and St. X given the fact that Ryle played at home Too, what about the officiating. How much of a difference did that make? Didn’t Trinity have 12 penalties and 100 yards versus three penalties and 20 yards to Ryle? What about match ups. Does St. X match up better to Ryle than to Trinity? But will this same question be asked next year when Trinity, Male, and St. X are in the same district? Will it be asked of the two of the three that don’t get out of the district if they are better than the teams that the other might face?

Yea, I haven't posted as much lately, but I gathered this after more posts on this thread. I also went back and read other posts by people who made post on this thread. I wasn't as familiar with people who posted to know that their was sarcasm intended initially.

Agreed.....Very well said.

I know.............I think I just get a little edge on me when it's "BASH LOUISVILLE" thread.

1. Why don’t you make another thread with this topic that relates to your point. The point of this thread was to bash a Trinity vs Male 6A final. Now we bring in the football class system as well. 2. Bringing up Central was extremely appropriate because the topic is “The official ‘There shouldn't be 2 Louisville schools in the finals’ thread.” There are 3 Louisville schools in the state finals, not 2.

While I thought the topic of this thread was ridiculous, I am very happy with the success that Central has had. I like the quote from Wales: In helping the Yellowjackets avenge a 24-21 loss in last year's semifinal in Paducah, Wales carried 22 times for 134 yards, raising his season total to 2,722 yards. He has scored 38 TDs. He had only two long runs against the quick-hitting Tilghman defense, gaining 22 yards on his first carry and romping for a 50-yard gain in the second half. " My teammates did a good job keeping me in the game ," Wales said. Courier-Journal:"Central earns trip to final by beating Tilghman 35-18" http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Louisville/article/2010311260078

I have not read every post in this thread. I will say that defending Trinity's passing game is something that Ryle may not be ready for because you just don't face it. Secondly, has anyone discussed how the officiating of the game may impact the outcome?

To me, the biggest difference in the coaching relates to the offense that Beatty brings to Trinity. Beatty may, I believe, call the West Coast offense a “pass/choice(?)” offense. It is a complex pro-like offense that tries to create mis-matches. It is important for the quarterback to know when to throw the ball. What the receiver does depends significantly on how the defense sets up. Hardly any high school team runs it so it’s hard for the defense to prepare for it. St. X didn’t seem to have the big offensive line this year that they sometime have. This may be crucial for St. X to be successful the type of team St. X has. I believe, though, in the not too distant past I've heard Glaser quote Woody Hayes "Three things can happen when you throw the football, and two of them are bad." Too, they had less depth on defense on more players played both ways than they ever have in a long while. Some fault Beatty’s lack of people skills. As a coach, Beatty seems to adapt and learn well during the course of the season. Trinity seems to play their best in big games. It’s hard to argue with the amount of wins St. X has had over the years, yet it interesting to imagine what might be with the resources St. X has.

WKU new's release on the NLI of their commits for this year, including Tompkins and Spalding: http://www.wkusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=28975&SPID=2257&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205034253&DB_OEM_ID=5400

Congratulations. Three Seniors Sign National Letters of Intent Posted 11/10/2010 04:17PM http://www.saintx.com/page.cfm?p=414&newsid=507

Congratulations. Jay Sorg is a great coach.

What I find interesting is your initial response that you made. It was though you had a job in measurements for the NBA, NFL, or MLB and felt compelled to respond. In fact, you felt compelled and persisted to address this in 4 different posts. You chose to respond to that aspect when you could have addressed anything in your response. It was not congratulatory. You seem to magnify this emphasis and not even mention any of the details of what went on in Jupiter and what was accomplished. Not mentioned, too, were how hard work, the love of the game, and the willingness to learn maybe had something to do with the performance. No mention also of the sacrifice and effort to participate and the courage to be on the big stage there and compete at your best. No mention, too, of the acquired knowledge of the tournament (which is more limited by others in this area) and the awareness of the possible benefits of playing in it. While you said that it was “never intended to be a negative,” I wonder if there are other factors under the surface—even if they are not conscious. It is important to realize that if a player on a team does well, it can benefit the whole team and offer opportunities for other players. Likewise, if the team does well; it can help every player on the team.

Maybe Engineer was excited by what he oberserved. There were 700 total scouts for the tournament, but not 450 for the game. The article from Baseball America was more accurate regarding the scouts behind the bleachers. There was a great opportunity at that game with only 4 games going on and pitching against a team that had at least 5 highly followed players—commits from Rice, Oregon State, Baylor. There were more scouts there because of that. The velocities are accurate and documented by multiple third parties. There were only 3 players that through harder than him in the entire tournament. The low end of his fast ball velocity was 91 mph. I’m concerned that you make a broad statement about accuracies and lump everything together. Also, many people in Kentucky are not familiar with Jupiter and what goes on there. Pitching Continues to Dominate in 5-0 Texas Win 10/21/2010 5:49:05 PM Pitching continued to be the big theme on this first day of play as the Texas Scout Team Yankees shutout Kentucky Baseball Club before a throng of scouts on Blue #6. RHP Dylan Davis started for the Yankees and the Aflac All-American was impressive, pitching in the 90-94 mph range and allowing 1 hit. Davis did a good job locating his fastball and getting some good arm side running action, especially to left handed hitters. 2011 RHP Aaron Garza was equally effective for the Yankees, picking up the save with 3 scoreless innings, striking out 5. Garza was 85-88 mph with good downward plane to the plate and a tight low 70's curveball. CF Dereck Rodriguez, son of big league catcher Pudge Rodriguez, stood out on both sides of the ball for the Yankees, going 3-3 at the plate and showing a very strong throwing arm from centerfield. Rodriguez has shown tremendous improvement in all facets of the game over the past year and could will be a high level prospect if his bat continues to develop. Kentucky Baseball Club RHP Matt Spalding was just as impressive as Davis on the mound. Throwing 2 innings of scoreless relief, Spalding pitched in the 92-94 mph range from a very extended high 3/4's release point that gives his pitches much more downhill angle than you would expect from a 6-0, 190 lb right hander.

The first response by Engineer had hyperbole to it, though I amazed that you quickly brought out a negative and then took an inch or two off of his height.

Sonny Gray (Vanderbilt) 6’ 185 # “Despite his smallish 6’0”, 185 pound frame, Gray is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous pure stuff. He displays one of the easiest arm actions around, with a whip-like delivery that allows him to touch the mid-90s with ease, sitting in the low-90s deep into ballgames.” http://www.baseballrumormill.com/players/sonny-gray/ Roy Oswalt “I always heard that I was too small.” http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Oswalt/Oswalt_my-say.html “Roy stood 5-10 and tipped the scales at 150 as a senior at Weir High.”http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Oswalt/Oswalt_bio.html Tim Lincecum 5’11” 175 “How Tiny Tim Became a Pitching Giant” http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tom_verducci/07/01/lincecum0707/index.html Ichiro Suzuki 5’11” 175 lbs Early Life “...He built strength and stamina by hurling car tires and hitting Wiffle balls with a heavy shovel, among other regimens. These exercises helped develop his wrists and hips, adding power and endurance to his thin frame. Despite his outstanding numbers in high school, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the professional draft in November 1991, because many teams were put off by his small size of 5' 9½" and 124 pounds.[5] (Years later, Ichiro told an interviewer, "I'm not a big guy and hopefully kids could look at me and see that I'm not muscular and not physically imposing, that I'm just a regular guy. So if somebody with a regular body can get into the record books, kids can look at that. That would make me happy.")[3]” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichiro_Suzuki Pedro Martinez 5' 11" "Officially listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 195 pounds (88 kg), Martínez is unusually small for a modern-day power pitcher, and he is believed to be somewhat smaller than his officially listed height and weight.[1]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Mart%C3%ADnez

Interesting note from Conor Glassey of Baseball America: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=3012 Spalding was also listed as one of the 30 impact players by Perfect Game from the WWBA World Championship: http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5086

I never have seen this young man play, but am really looking forward to it. On the Perfect Game website, he is listed as 6' 3" and 220 pounds. He definitely has a very projectible body frame for a first baseman. I have read where he is gotten some key hits in key games for the Midland Redskins. Here is a blog from Perfect Game from Friday last week in the WWBA World Championship at Jupiter, FL. Midland Edges All American in Classic Matchup 10/22/2010 4:08:51 PM The Midland Redskins/Cardinals Scout Team edged All American Prospects/Indians Scout Team 1-0 Friday in one of the most anticipated and most heavily scouted games of the event. Top 2012 RHP Lance McCullers started on the mound for Midland and was up to 96 mph on the PG gun and up to 97 mph on some scout's guns while throwing 3 scoreless innings. He was matched, though, by All American LHP Bobby Poyner, who threw 3 shutout innings of his own while pitching in the 86-88 mph range with a sharp 75 mph curveball. Both teams turned the ball over to their bullpens at that point. Midland broke through in the top of the 6th inning when 1B Jackson Laumann lined a double up the right field alley, was sacrificed to third base by CF Colton Bottomley and scored on a infield error. The velocity fireworks continued when Midland brought in another 2012 flamethrower, 6-5, 230 lb RHP Kayden Porter. The Utah native retired All American without a hit over the last 2 innings, pitching at 93-94 mph with a 74 mph curveball.

A college recruiter from a Division 1 school in Kentucky once said that a key reason that the World Wooden Bat World Championships in Jupiter, FL, has become so popular is that all the games are played at one facility, the spring training complex of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins. College and pro scouts can drive a golf cart around the complex to see all the games and many players without having to travel around a city or beyond. Also, the fall season has essentially wrapped up for colleges and most all MLB teams. MLB teams have been sending multiples scouts. U of L, U of K, Cincinnati, Middle Tennessee, and possibly Austin Peay were at many games that players from the Kentucky area played. Besides the Kentucky Baseball club, from Kentucky: Midland Redskins/Royals Scout Team: Jackson Laumann, Chandler Shepherd, and Chase Mullins. Marucci Elite: Walker Buehler. There may be others. Here is a story that describes more about the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter: Overview WWBA/Jupiter:http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=4726 Roger Dean Stadium: http://mlb.mlb.com/spring_training/ballpark.jsp?c_id=fla

Sometimes factors like this are helpful in the transition to college life. I saw him pitch in the Junior East/West All Star Game and he did a very good job.