Bobref

My guess is he would advocate a nutrition-based regimen ... centered around lard.

It would seem to me that there is an implicit assumption that in some cases gender reassignment can result in a competitive advantage. Just wondering if there’s any empirical evidence on the subject. I doubt the IHSAA reinvented the wheel in coming up with their policy.

The quote from then-Commissioner Cox says that the new inquiry and policy is to insure that no unfair competitive advantage is gained. Obviously, keeping the playing field level is a legitimate concern of the IHSAA. I don’t know enough about the subject to have a truly informed opinion. Are there studies, sports medicine literature, etc., on the effect of gender reassignment on athletic performance? Because it seems to me that’s the issue here.

Yeah, it’s not. Congress fixed the number at 9 about 150 yrs. ago. Somehow, we’ve managed to get by with that number since.

A constitutional amendment in the current political climate is probably a non-starter. If I were to favor any change like that, it would be a mandatory retirement age, not a term limit.

I would, in all sincerity, like to hear from someone - anyone - who thinks that scenario is a good idea. I mean, good for the republic.

Holcomb is a Pence sock puppet.

You defy the Ping Pong Ball gods at your own risk!

Video about pop-up kicks. Remember, the key to legality is whether the pop-up occurs on the first bounce, and whether it goes high enough to be mistaken for a kick in flight.

Would we even be having this conversation if Trubiski weren’t a bust and Foles a barely serviceable backup? I know a GM that better start getting his resume together if the season starts to spiral. Strange to say that when they’re 5-2, I know. But I can just see it happening, if they can’t run the ball and they can’t protect.

Some people probably will be playing sectional championship games this weekend. They just don't know it yet.

On a punt, the back judge uses a beanbag to mark the spot where the kick ends. For certain types of fouls that might occur, that’s the spot from which the penalty is enforced. It is also appropriate on kicks, both scrimmage and free, to mark a spot of first touching by the kicking team. Fumbles are marked with a beanbag if they occur beyond the neutral zone, or on a play in which there is no neutral zone. Muffs do not involve the use of the beanbag.

The Bears better find their running game tonight. Because if Foles has to win the game with 5 & 7 step dropbacks in the pocket, I’m afraid he is going to become very well acquainted with Aaron Donald. I would not be surprised if Trubisky saw some action tonight ... one way or another.

With today’s brand of football - spread out all over the field exploiting athletic mismatches - it’s more true than ever.

It is kick catching interference for the kicking team to touch a free kick that has not been grounded, regardless of whether a member of the receiving team is in a position to make a play on the ball, unless the kick was touched first by the receivers. ”Pop-up kick” is actually a specifically defined term in the rule book. “A pop-up kick is a free kick in which the kicker drives the ball immediately into the ground, the ball strikes the ground once and goes into the air in the manner of a ball kicked directly off the tee.” A pop-up kick is illegal. I take it you are referring to a kick that has never touched the ground, not a pop-up kick as defined.

Culver Academy 21 Kankakee Valley 14 Final

Kankakee Valley and Culver Academy 7-7 at halftime.

I spoke with the referee on the crew assigned the Gavit - Hobart game 3 hours ago and he hadn’t been notified of any cancellation.

I agree with everything you say, except the implicit conclusion that requiring kids to line up, walk through a line mumbling “good game” over and over, and fist bumping the other team is an effective way to go about it. Because it’s mandatory, it’s meaningless. If you’ve done those things you say are important, when the kids see you walking out to shake the opposing coaches hands after a hard fought game, they’ll know it’s the right thing to do, and they’ll do it freely, of their own accord. And that is so much more meaningful. Also, that is what team captains are for. Leadership comes from being out front, not pushing from the rear. But, of course, if you were the one to try and break the tradition, you’d be branded as “unsportsmanlike,” and probably worse.

We're in complete agreement on everything except whether a compulsory handshake has anything to do with sportsmanship. I'm not against the handshake tradition because it causes trouble ... although it sometimes does. Kids are going to fight sometimes when emotions get high, that's just the reality of it. I'm against forcing people to shake hands with the opponent, because forcing someone to do it cheapens the value of that handshake. As @Muda69 says in his posts: “No action can be virtuous unless it is freely chosen.”

Hammond Clark has canceled what would, in all likelihood, have been the Pioneers’ last game ... ever, as the school is consolidating next year. River Forest advances to the sectional semifinal.

I am reliably informed that Hammond Clark has canceled its sectional game with River Forest. No other information available to me at this point. Ironically, this would (likely) have been Clark’s last game ... ever, as the school is consolidating next year.

I love the game ,too. But if you haven’t shown your opponent respect and good sportsmanship through 48 min. of battle, a compulsory ritualized handshake isn’t going to do it. No one is more pro-sportsmanship than I. But this is fake sportsmanship. If somebody wants to go across the field and congratulate an opponent, good for him. If he doesn’t, no reason he should be forced to.

I believe the IHSAA did not want to issue that kind of mandate because they are in the high school athletics business, not the public health business. High school sports is just one of the activities affected by the pandemic. Public health authorities have to take many things into account. High school sports do not exist in a vacuum.

I was speaking of the possibility of the IHSAA canceling the tournament, not civil authorities. Without tournament money, they can’t keep the doors open and the lights on at 9150 N. Meridian ... unless there’s an infusion of cash from the members. How do you think that would go over?