BDGiant93

It was a really bad night for special teams. Rudolph has been rock solid all year. That missed FG was his first miss of the year. It was wide left by a few feet with good leg distance. He nailed the other one. Punting was a big issue last night. I will have to ask why the Giants rush their punt unit onto the field like that. I am curious. As far as the punt return, that was a case of not wrapping up a tackle. They had two shots at the guy, and he got away. That opening kick was probably the worst coverage I've seen out of a Ben Davis team in years. You could have driven a semi through that gap sideways. Something happened there. Knowing Coach Spinks, that unit is not in for a good week, LOL. He'll fix it.

Warren has a championship level defense. They are very good and sound. That freshman has an arm and he looks bigger than 5-11 and 175. Warren is getting to the Regional. I could see them making a run. The coaching staff did a fantastic job last night just keeping the team in it on the sidelines. On the Ben Davis side, the Giants had better find some answers to some things. I like what Coach Mann said in the Star. It was a "humbling" win. Got lucky. Sometimes you get those.

I think everyone is a little skittish after what happened a few years back outside the stadium gates. It was pretty clear from the sound, at least to me, that they were not gunshots, but the panic is real...and in this day and age...it probably should be. No one knows at any moment what's going to happen when it comes to violence these days. Thankfully, this was a false alarm. I've also heard/seen people casting doubts on that assessment, and I heard, firsthand, on the walkie talkiies the full assessment. It was very much fireworks.

Yes. Carmel's facility is still awesome even though it's 31 or 32 years old now. I found a pic of LN's old look. Looks like probably the same architect. Carmel's is a bit different in the design.

Reminds me a lot of the old stands at Dwaine C. Bell Stadium at Lawrence North before the renovation. I'm assuming FW Blackhawk pays some good cash to use the facility at Snider.

Fair enough. I gotta go.

I want to apologize to you @temptation for this comment. I should not have responded in this emotional way. My apologies, sir.

It looks like one of those fake tweet generators to me.

I don't find that tweet on his account. I'm assuming that there are shenanigans at work.

🤢

Warren Central and Ben Davis on the Westside of Indianapolis. It's going to be the 99th meeting of the two teams in what has recently been dubbed the "Circle City Showdown". For many of the last 40 years, one or both of these teams have been at or near the top of IHSAA football. This year, the Giants are probably the favorites, but that doesn't mean much when the Eastside and the Westside battle. The last time these two teams hooked horns at Ben Davis, it was a 57-56 classic. Some truly great and horrid memories for me in this series. Now, you have BD Coach Russ Mann, who spent years on the sidelines as an assistant at Warren, facing a former boss in Warren's Mike Kirschner, who hung plaques in the gym at Ben Davis. Should be a fun one on Friday night at Giant Stadium. Any great memories or not-so-great memories of this rivalry? By the way, Warren leads this series 58-37-3. The Giants have won 3 of the last 4. We won't talk about that one that BD didn't win LOL.

Well, I'm very proud of the Giants, first of all. It's weird to say that in a game lost by 20, but I think you saw why the Giants are tough to deal with considering who was on the field for IMG. There are some REALLY special players on that Ascender squad. A minor mistake can become a huge error quickly when you play against that kind of athletic talent. Leaving the Westside, I think that IMG probably felt it a bit. Nylan Brown and the defense really stepped up after a poor start for BD. I thought Thomas Gotkowski played a strong game despite the two pick sixes (one was just a phenomenal player who's committed to Oklahoma). The mentality all week was that the Giants belonged on the field with IMG, and I think they did. Mark Zackery's going to be making some college fanbase extremely happy in a couple of years. His catch in the back of the end zone on the first TD for BD was as good as you'll see. Back to the MIC and Warren this week. Giants can't let down.

Moeller really shocked me in almost toppling Center Grove...especially on the road. That must have been quite a game. Really proud of Ben Davis. No such thing as moral victories, I know, but the defense looked pretty darn tough to deal with when you consider who's playing on that offensive line for IMG. Giants got down 21-0 and then clawed their way back in. Missed some opportunites to really make IMG sweat. IMG is IMG though. Those kids are pulling in all those offers for a reason. You make a tiny error, and it can be a gaping wound in no time.

I really expected LC to take a step forward this year as a program given all the people returning. Obviously, losing to LN and WC is not a jaw dropping surprise, but does anyone have any insight as to why LC is struggling this year?

Is $9 the normal going rate for games at Fishers? I think that's a deal still, but I had not seen any up to $9.

Stop the running back, you stop Moeller. They showed heart in a comeback against BD's 2nd string and forced Tommy G/Skibinski and the 1's to go in to close it, but I doubt that CG has any issue with Moeller.

You being condescending on this board is not surprising. The new DT.

I don't want to start debating journalism, but he did give Indian Creek a chance to respond (included the principal's email). He also quoted Paul Neidig in the story from the IHSAA's side.

His piece on the Lawrence Central Sectional a few years ago at the start of the pandemic was unbelievable and should have won every journalism prize. I don't know how much time went into this and how much of an emotional toll it must have taken. https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2020/04/18/coronavirus-indiana-lawrence-central-basketball-sectional-10/5145870002/

I don't like Doyel's style at all as a columnist, but that's what columnists do. It's kind of like a shock jock in radio or even like a right-wing talker. Obviously, Gregg swings the other way politically. I'm glad that you know the difference because many people don't. That's part of the problem we have with the way people look at the news media today. There are too many flamethrowers and people who are less savvy than you don't know what's fact and what's not. (This is a general comment) I stand on my Doyel opinion. He's probably liked at the Star because he gets engagement. He can write some wonderful, beautiful pieces that really tug on your emotions when he swings more towards the feature side. He can also write some grating pieces that really are hard for me to read because he inserts himself into the story more than I'd like. Case-in-point, his beef with McLaren IndyCar. Oy! On this article, I think it's an awful look for Indian Creek, and, frankly for the IHSAA.

There is, but opinion writing is not the same as news writing. He's very definitely a columnist. Someone like Neddenriep occasionally expresses an opinion (mostly on social media) but most generally writes straight news or feature stuff (and does it very well).

I appreciate the work you do on these. It's great as someone who likes to go back and verify facts and things. There's nothing like source material.

Kyle Neddenriep is one of the best people in sports media. He's one of the best writers they have there in any department. He has tremendous integrity.

I don't disagree with you on Doyel but only to an extent. He's paid as a columnist and not a journalist. He's paid to get reactions from people and to express his opinions. His facts, however, have to be sound. That's especially in a case like this one. Anything presented as fact has been vetted by someone above him, I'm sure. If it's not, that's a problem for him and for Gannett. I find Doyel to be an excellent writer when it comes to features. His column writing is grating. He goes back and says the same thing over and over again. He inserts "I" and "me" into his columns too much. I've never written for the outlets that he has, but I did have a cup of coffee at the IU School of Journalism (it was my minor). I know that was always frowned upon. But hey...it's 2023. Gregg cares deeply for what he writes about. I think that sometimes makes him go overboard.

That's what's on the schedule. Not to say it couldn't change.