RamBackstop8

Is your comment about the KY education system a direct insult to those of us who disagree with you? We are entitled to our opinions on this matter and just because we do not agree with you, that is really no reason to insult our education system. You are a high school baseball coach????

The weather is wacky in KY, man. Radar, no radar...it don't matter. It can be pouring down rain on one side of the street and dry as a bone on the other. Storms move, change direction....it will pucker up, get dark and windy then sprinkle for 15 seconds and then the sun will come out. If you are scheduled to play....even if it is away and it is not raining where the game is being played, you gotta make the trip. If your AD is confused as to why you are spending $200-$300 a day when you know you can't play, ask him to call the AD of the opposing school to are scheduled to travel and play against or call the KHSAA.

Paul will be missed. The thing I will always remember about him was that he would give you that firm handshake, a pat on the shoulder and he would ask how things were going...and he seemed genuinly interested in what you had to say. I didn't know him that well, but the way he would talk to me, it made me feel like we were old buddies from way back. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. The Raceland family lost a heck of a good guy.

Congrats Rams! Go Get 'Em In Paintsville Next Week!!!

Heidelberg is a good school! The OAC is a very competitive conference.

I think Hoof will get this team turned around. In years past (early 90's) Raceland played a fairly strong JV schedule and a lot of the young players saw quite a bit of varsity action as well. We had 3 sophomores who started every day and 1 other sophomore in the pitching rotation on the '91 Regional Championship team. So, those Raceland teams didn't really lose a lot to graduation from year to year. It also helped that it was kind of a thing that the older guys took the younger guys under their wing, so we bonded as a team real quick and we were all real close friends as well. We played for not only the name written across the chest, but for each other. Once the older guys 'get' their role and the younger guys 'find' their role, Raceland will be back on track.

I think he is actually working @ golf course in the Orlando, Florida area.

This kind of concerns me because it is not like a Raceland team to not be ready to play....especially making a lot of mental mistakes. Hoof always had us ready to play. We used to go through so much situational crap in practice that it would drive us crazy. Also, we very rarely hit off the machine...even when we practiced inside...it was mostly 'live arm'. It does sound like someone is going to have to step up and be a vocal/emotional leader or this season could become a huge disaster.

Do they have a lot of youth/underclassmen? I read an article on the Daily Independent about an 8th grader that his playing.

What is going on at Raceland? I can't remember the last time a Raceland team has started off winless after 5 or 6 games. Is it pitching? I have read a couple of articles that talk of some pitchers struggling to find the plate.

It seems hard to name the best player ever at every school, but I will name the best player(s) I played against/with. Greenup Co. - Aaron McGlone / Brad Stultz Raceland - Brian Fletcher / Matt Bostic Russell - Kelly Gipson Boyd Co. - David Kazee Ashland - Juan Thomas Fairview - Eddie Dixon Rose Hill - David Greene East Carter - They had a kid that set the state record for stolen bases several years ago, but I don't remember his name West Carter - Shay Berry Lawrence Co. - Shawn Hill (I remember him because he ran me over @ home plate in the 16th Region Title game in '91 and I still have cobwebs from that collison!) Paintsville - Tucker Howard Johnson Central - don't remember Sheldon Clark - no idea What made these players the best at their respective schools?

What about Perry Yates?

I vividly remember that Knott Central team in 1991...they eliminated us (Raceland) in the Sectional Tournament @ Boyd Co. that year. They weren't the biggest bunch we played, but they were scrappy. They beat us on a suicide squeeze in extra innings.

When the football team starts having huge success, some of the other sports tend to be forgotten about.....and it trickles down to the youth leagues. My guess is that the youth football program @ Raceland is as strong as it has ever been. Am I wrong?.....

I wasn't aware that the field was in that bad of shape. I haven't been to a Raceland home baseball game in years and the only time I get back in town is for the occasional football game, so it is usually dark over around the baseball field. I remember back when there was no grass on the infield and the football team practiced in the outfield...so needless to say, the field was rough. Speaking about an earlier post about having baseball clinics for the youth leagues....Back in '93, I think it was my senior year, we held a clinic on a Saturday in the old gym and the turnout wasn't real great. We each took a group of young kids and worked with them on the position we played...did some drills with them and what not. It wasn't organized the greatest and seemed to be thrown together at the last minute. I don't know if it was Hoof not putting the time and effort into it or what but I doubt it was lack of interest because we had won the 16th Region 2 years earlier and were winning 20+ games a year and drawing pretty good crowds even when we traveled. Right now, It seems that Hoof has way too much on his plate. Hoof is one of the old guard in the 16th Region and Raceland has a pretty strong tradition in baseball, but from what I have been reading, it seems like the baseball program is beginning to fall through the cracks.....and I hate to hear that.

Yes, that was a very good Raceland team as well. The 1991 team was a bunch of tough, hard nosed guys who jelled at the right time. Funny thing about the Regional Tourney was that Raceland beat Boyd Co. in the semi-finals, 5-4, and had only one hit the entire game. That Raceland team was a couple of bad bounces away in the Sectional Tournament against Knott Co. Central from going to State. I, too, might be a bit biased towards the 1991 team....

Let's hear it. Who was the best team to ever take the field at your alma matter? For me.... 1991 Raceland (63rd District Champions; 16th Region Champions) Matt Bostic, Brian Fletcher, Shane Davidson (R.I.P.), Rob Pence, Brent Mackie, Brent Boyer, Ryan McKenzie, Kenny Salyers, Chris Potter, Lance Black

Dave Conception

The middle school won 1 game last year.

We didn't start anything until February 15th @ Raceland back in the day. We did a lot of conditioning in the first few weeks of practice. Some guys would work out on their own in the off season, but back then, that mostly consisted of lifting weights...there weren't too many places to get some quality swings in back then. I know Coach Hamilton had a baseball class @ Boyd Co. when he was there and those guys were hitting, throwing, running, lifting almost all year round.

You hit the nail on the head, my friend. I feel that I am a better man today having played 4 years of baseball for him.

Hoof does an excellent job @ Raceland. I played for Hoof back in the early 90's and I would still run through a wall for the man to this very day. Granted, he wasn't the head football coach at the time, but none the less, I guarantee that Hoof still puts in as much for the baseball team as he did in years past before he became head football coach. As for the comment about how Raceland doesn't take baseball half as serious as they do football....well, I find that hard to believe. Let's just put it this way....when I graduated in 1993 we didn't have lights or a press box and we only had the grey uniforms and the black batting practice jerseys. Look at the facilities now....look at their uniforms now. Seems to me that if the schoool didn't take the baseball program that seriously, they wouldn't invest so much money into it. We didn't travel to Florida on spring break, either. Sorry to rant on, but I know what Hoof puts into the baseball program and I know how much the school backs the program as well.

Guy Morriss

Dress Code? Anyone remember back in the day, back in the early 90's @ Raceland, those bright orange blazers? Wow, those were hideous! I hate those things with a passion.

Anybody from 16th region back in the early 90's remember a referee with the last name Dixon? For the life of me I cannot remember his first name and I should....how could you forget someone as bad as him, not only in basketball but in baseball as well.