Bobref

I think you are giving the people who came up with the travel rule too much credit for “intelligent design.”

THIS!!!!!

So, you think the mercy rule is a good idea, but it should be extended to the first half?

That’s because he’s from Highland. 😂🤣😅

I’m saying they often check out of a lopsided game whether there’s a mercy rule or not.

Predictably, not everyone agrees with you. https://www.on3.com/college/texas-longhorns/news/david-pierce-critique-replay-call-from-game-1-loss-vs-notre-dame-texas-longhorns-baseball-mens-college-world-series-cws-review/

And, in a related story, 2A football champ Andrean won the 3A baseball title yesterday.

“Fair” often depends on whose ox is getting gored.

The dream is still alive in Omaha!

So, coaches and players don’t mentally check out, and fans don’t leave early, when it’s 35-0 at halftime? I beg to differ.

Dennis was a great player and a great kid. He was a close friend of my younger brother, so I was around him frequently. From the entire decade of the 70s, there are 3 Munster players who have been inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (one of whom had been a high school coach for many years when he was inducted). There are 3 from the 1969 team alone (one of them inducted as an official). From that team two (Larry and Keith Johnson) went on to play at Michigan. Tom Karras played at Southern Illinois, and Jim Eidam played at Northern Illinois. Both Tom and Jim played in the North-South game.

This is what leads me to believe that the travel rule is grounded in something other than, or in addition to, concerns about students missing school, or expense. I believe there are those that feel such games would give a team a competitive advantage come tournament time, and since not every school can avail themselves of such opportunities, no one should. I know it’s silly and illogical. But I can’t think of any other reason for the rule.

I saw all those teams play multiple times, as I had 3 younger brothers attend Munster. One of them started on the Flynn-Such team you mentioned. I’m not unbiased, but I respectfully disagree. And, I can tell you with certainty, because I got it from the horse’s mouth, that John Friend disagrees with you as well.

The 1969 team finished ranked 9th in the state at a time when there was only 1 class in football. Relative to the. O petition, Munster has never had a better season. And I’m not sure how Munster was “far ahead” of the rest of NW Indiana, since 1969 was only the 4th season of varsity football.

The 1969 team had 4 D-1 players. Don’t think they’ve done that since.

Munster’s best team was in 1969.

That’s painting with a pretty broad brush. My younger daughter was formerly the Director of Bands at Triton Central and is now the Director of Orchestras for the School Town of Munster. So, I’m pretty familiar with the band thing. The one thing I’ve noticed is that the music groups are constantly engaged in some sort of fund raising venture to pay for these trips. Not only does this minimize the financial burden on the school, but it has the effect of involving both the parents and the community in band activities to a degree not often seen in athletics.

You’d lose that bet.

Apparently, there’s no concern with band kids missing school, the expense to the school, etc. Band kids are different, I guess.

I give this about the same chance I would give a snowball sitting on my driveway right now. https://heavy.com/sports/chicago-bears/dk-metcalf-trade-proposal-seattle-seahawks/

Reminds of the kid who was losing the pickup game, so he takes his ball and goes home. And if by “boring,” you mean it’s too complex a concept for you to understand, I find myself agreeing with you for once.

That the cluster system, or it’s various permutations, was actually a “cluster ****” is not a reason to reject a “top 1/2” qualification format. In fact, the IHSAA had the right idea, but the implementation was poor. Not enough teams in the playoffs. In a “top half” system, that problem goes away. In a nutshell, if you can’t rate in the top 50% of your class, you don’t deserve to play for a state title.

I’ve got my handkerchief out, dabbing at the tears in my eyes at the great story of the 8-6 team that almost won a state championship. But as a counter to my argument, it fails miserably. First, last time I looked the last team left standing this year will be crowned the “state champ for the 2022 season,” not the “2022 single elimination tournament held at the conclusion of the season champ.” More importantly, whatever makes you think that CG’s team wouldn’t have made a playoff in which the top 1/2 of each class qualifies? This is simply a rehash of the “Northwood 2005” argument — that has been repeatedly debunked on these pages. Besides, perhaps if those early season games counted toward playoff qualification, CG would have found a way to win a few more. Nothing like urgency to bring out the best in a team. Too bad our system doesn’t provide for that sort of intensity all season, instead of just the last 6 weeks. A lost opportunity.

Wait a minute! Every time I bring up the desirability of a playoff qualification system, because the “all in” tournament devalues the regular season, I’m told I’m crazy because “every game matters,” and “there’s no such thing as a meaningless game.” The “all in” tournament breeds exactly the attitude described above … which makes Indiana high school football less than what it could be.

Correct. A lot of people think the travel limitations only apply when the Indiana school travels out of state. That’s incorrect. The travel rule, which is Rule 10-1, reads as follows: “The address of an out-of-state school participating in a Contest with a member School, as well as the site of such Contests, must be within six hundred (600) miles round trip travel from the Indiana state line and shall be sponsored or co-sponsored by a member School.” I’m on record as saying the travel rule constitutes an unwarranted intrusion on the rights of local school corporations to decide, on a case by case basis, what sort of experiences they want to offer students, including student athletes. A blanket rule like 10-1 is a blatant overreach by the IHSAA.