Bobref

Promoting Indiana football is a worthwhile goal. Problem is, no one is really looking out for that. Each team does what is in its own best interests. Nobody is looking out for the long term, big picture, interests of Indiana High School football.

No. If you’re the best, you’re the best. But you have to play the best in order to be acknowledged as the best. I admit I’m curious about IMG. But from the standpoint of an Indiana school, to whom regular season games are inconsequential, serving only as prep for the tournament, what’s to be gained by playing them? You can get just as tourney ready by playing good teams closer to home. There’s no shortage.

I don’t care about Heismans. I care about closing the gap between the Irish and the SEC giants, Clemson, and Ohio State. An elite level QB gets us a long way toward that.

The Chosen One is already turning heads under the Dome. https://allfans.co/notre-dame-qb-tyler-buchner-showed-off-his-immense-potential-this-spring/ Notre Dame QB Tyler Buchner Showed Off His Immense Potential This Spring Notre Dame freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner has been on campus for just five months, but he seems to have been part of the program for much longer than that. The hype around Buchner started over two years ago when he committed to Notre Dame on March 8, 2019. Since that time Buchner had a monster junior season in which he threw for over 4,400 yards, rushed for over 1,600 yards and racked up over 80 combined touchdowns as a junior. That was followed by an odd decision to alter this throwing motion, his senior season was canceled due to Covid-19 and Buchner's star faded a bit according to the recruiting services. That didn't tamper down expectations for Notre Dame fans, who still view Buchner as the future at quarterback. We finally got to see him in action this spring, and Buchner did nothing but raise expectations by flashing his immense potential and talent. Buchner's throwing motion is still a bit of a work in progress, and it caused some inconsistency with his deep ball, but when his arm slot was good the first-year standout showed off the ability to power the ball down the field and make accurate intermediate throws. Buchner didn't get much of a chance to show off his running ability in the Blue-Gold Game, but we did see a few flashes of it this spring. Considering how important that is to his game, it's encouraging to see Buchner perform so well without being able to use one of his best assets. He still needs a lot of work from a grasp of the offense and decision-making standpoint, but Buchner had an outstanding first semester at quarterback for the Irish. At the very least he performed well enough to put himself in position to earn a situational role in the fall.

They say lacrosse is one of the country’s fastest growing sports. If you’re curious about it — or if you’re already a fan — you’ve got to tune into the NCAA Div. I Men’s Championship on ESPNU. Some really exciting games, and the caliber of play is really something. Having played both as an undergrad and in grad school, I have been following the sport for 50 yrs. The play now is better than it has ever been. Give yourself a break from the NBA, MLB and, for God’s sakes, golf. Take in some lax. They’re playing now, and they’ll be replaying the games during the week. It’s lacrosse heaven until the finals on Memorial Day.

I think reasonable people can differ on whether “creating more classes would benefit our state.” Make your case. And, how many is “more?”

Then, I guess I do not understand the point you’re trying to make.

What makes you think they haven’t ... and disagree?

Not sure how Andrean can be considered “David.” One of the premier programs in the Northern part of the state, without a doubt, and they regularly punch above their weight class.

This is a common variation of the famous “Oklahoma” Drill popularized by Bud Wilkinson and his Oklahoma teams of the 1950s. I thought it had completely fallen out of use. Not because of head to head contact, because there isn’t any if done properly. But because of the general phasing out of full contact situations in practice. I believe it is actually outlawed in the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, along with the infamous Nutcracker Drill, and my personal favorite, “Bull in the Ring,” which was invented by some twisted sadist.

I agree. But I don’t think we’ll ever really know, because I don’t think he stays ... unless the Packers blink in a big way. And I don’t see that happening.

Significantly less than 20%.

[…drum roll and rimshot…] “I’m here all week. Don’t forget to tip your waitress.”

Every day that goes by without Rodgers making some public expression that says he is at least open to a return to the Packers is another nail in the coffin.

As with all other conference realignment discussions, a reality check requires that we pay some attention to the effect this proposed realignment would have on the total sports programs at the schools affected. Not saying that would be prohibitive in this case, because I don’t know. From a football perspective, it’s exciting on a local and regional scale. But this move, standing alone, changes nothing in 6A.

Haters gonna hate!

I’m telling’ ya, it’s a hair thing.

I strongly doubt that it was originally a safety concern, since the rule was in place long before the current trend toward “risk minimization.” More likely a “reward” for the kicker, since it used to be quite uncommon for a high school kicker to reach the end zone. Now, however, safety concerns would probably squelch any attempt to change the rule.

This reminds me of my one and only foray into the coaching ranks. My older daughter was about 8, and I agreed to help out with softball. First practice and a little girl came over complaining that she couldn’t get a batting helmet to fit. I told her that was because her hair was “too big.” By the time I got home her mother was on the phone reaming me, as the kid went home and started crying because “Coach said I had to cut my hair.” I decided I was not cut out to coach girls.

The situation is becoming toxic.

I acknowledge that webcasts are the wave of the future. I can’t help but think it will detract significantly from the in-stadium atmosphere. I have been going to high school football games for over 50 years. One of the greatest aspects of the whole experience is the energy generated by a supportive crowd cheering their team on. Really sorry to see that going away. But I see it as an inevitable consequence of the increasing broadcast coverage.

One of the few returning OL has entered the transfer portal. Reading between the lines, the message here is that those young offensive linemen like Spindler and Fisher are pushing the veterans. Very optimistic about what this OL group is going to be by about Week 4 of the season. https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-football-dillan-gibbons-to-transfer-out-of-program BREAKING: OL Dillan Gibbons To Transfer Out Of Notre Dame Notre Dame fifth-year senior offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons has entered the transfer portal and is leaving the program BRYAN DRISKELL 21 HOURS AGO Notre Dame veteran offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons has entered the transfer portal and is leaving the Fighting Irish program. In Notre Dame's 42-26 October victory over Florida State, left tackle Liam Eichenberg got knocked out for a period with an eye injury. Gibbons stepped into the lineup and performed well. He got his first career start in Notre Dame's 45-21 regular season ending win over Syracuse, and again he performed admirably. Gibbons entered the spring as one of just three players with a start under his belt, and he began the spring as the first-team left guard. Early on the staff began moving him back-and-forth from guard to center, and by the end of spring he was spending more time at center. With Zeke Correll now locked in as the starter, the role for Gibbons went from competing for a starting spot at guard to battling to be a backup at center. Holding onto the starting role was always going to be a challenge for Gibbons due to the presence of up-and-coming junior Andrew Kristofic and talented true freshman Rocco Spindler. About midway through the spring Spindler stepped into the first-team role at left guard, and he enters the offseason as the leader in the clubhouse to win a starting job, leaving Gibbons relegated to a backup role. Gibbons will look to find a program where he'll have a chance to start. Due to the Covid-19 eligibility decisions, Gibbons technically could get a sixth-season of eligibility. The loss of Gibbons saps the offensive line of one of its most experienced player, but barring no other departures the unit still has a lot of depth and talent as it heads into a very important offseason. Gibbons becomes the ninth Notre Dame player to leave the program since the end of the 2020 season, and the second since the end of the spring. RB Jafar Armstrong (Illinois) WR Kendall Abdur-Rahman (Western Kentucky) WR Micah Jones (Illinois State) WR Jordan Johnson OL Colin Grunhard (Kansas) DE Ovie Oghoufo (Texas) LB Jack Lamb (Colorado) CB Isaiah Rutherford (Arizona) A 10th player - running back Jahmir Smith - left the program during the season. He announced his transfer to Appalachian State in February.

A party to a lease, like any contract, always has the option to choose not to perform. Prudent parties with competent lawyers address the consequences of that choice in the contract provisions. So, can the Bears get out of their lease to play somewhere else? Absolutely. But the real question is what are the economic consequences of breaching the lease? Caveat: The NFL may have rules about how their franchisees deal with landlords, and that might affect such decisions.

Good luck with that in today’s PC climate ... something I know is a particular sore spot with you.

Morton has been a big fish in a small pond ever since Roy Richards and Hammond’s open enrollment policy combined to attract some really fine athletes to that program. It’ll be great to see if they can take it to the next level.