Lysander

Maybe 1 out of every 10-15 with a mask. Not really what I would consider social distancing....people sitting/standing side by side along the sidelines. Lots of signs, etc. about it, though. Anyone that appeared associated with the park was wearing a mask. It wasn’t really any different than the tournament they had there 3-4 weeks ago. To be honest, if I hadn’t been paying attention, I might not have even noticed there was anyone wearing masks. Place was packed....took me almost 15-20 minutes to get from the parking lot to US31 once the second game I watched ended at 12:30.

Obviously not football, but I saw (as I understand it) probably over 200 lacrosse teams from all over the Midwest at Grand Park today playing full bore. God only knows how many baseball teams there as well. About 3 weeks ago there were also over 200 lacrosse teams at Grand Park. Club sports are going at it like normal.

Thx. Bill was, I believe, on a Marian State Championship team. He later played fullback at Butler and a few years later was in my wedding. Good man.

Gotta ask. Since your avatar is Knight ‘82, did you graduate in ‘82? If so, do you happen to know or have heard of a Marian player by the name of Bill Baker who graduated in ‘78?

My recollection from the Marian game last year was that they were losing a lot to graduation. Honestly, Concordia was probably the most youthful team we saw in the North with the most coming back. I have to admit that, although the whole Sectional 28 thing was a bit...errr..... “dubious”, it was very, very cool to see and play against teams in the North. Teams that you are only going to see at LOS otherwise (unless you schedule them in the regular season). Without fully knowing, I’d still pick the winner of 28 to be the most likely team from the North to get to LOS. I really think there were 4 teams in that Sectional last year that could have made it to LOS if they had survived the Sectional.

Hmmmm......usually it’s just a rehash of the end of last season and not much of a predictor. For the most part it is - excepting they dinged Heritage Hills unusually hard by ranking them 6th rather than 2nd (which would be the norm). No idea how these teams actually shape up but I’d definitely put Guerin somewhere in the Top 10. Man, I’m going to be sick (maybe not the best word choice) if there is no HS football this Fall.

So Sears is down with paying Drunks? D@mn.....how did I miss not having a career at Sears?

Football wasn’t even my favorite sport in HS BUT there has never been anything during or since then (even in my college sports days) that comes close to feeling as magical as Friday nights did those days. Chesney’s “Boys of Summer” comes as close to capturing that magic as I have ever seen.

Agreed. It’s been enjoyable to watch these games and I agree that they have been “mutually beneficial” (perfect choice of words DT). I have to give kudos to the ADs (and whoever else) that might have beeninvolved in making this happen. If I have one regret it is that Chatard has not yet played Columbus North. I have long wanted to attend a game at Columbus North (and East for that matter).

Conference Indiana and the Circle City Conference already play several cross-conference games yearly. In fact, I think the CCC teams have generally played as many CI teams in the the regular season each year as they have CCC teams. Don't know the exact breakdown (although I have tracked it each year...just don’t have it on hand), but I think the CCC schools have been relatively dominant in terms of victories vs. the CI.

Going to be honest - I’ve never thought that having elementary and middle schools “run” the varsity offense was that important. I know that schools like Center Grove (whose success is indisputable) swear by it but I’m just not convinced. Everyone cites consistency of system as some sort of cure all but it’s certainly not what my kids experienced in CYO and even in Freshman football. At least on the Northeast side of Indy, the CYO programs have no ties at all to running Chatard or Cathedral’s schemes. Heck, not so many years ago (can’t speak for now) Chatard’s Freshmen didn’t even run the varsity system. Rather, it’s a lot more about teaching skills and technique...and making it fun (retention and making it fun where huge for Chatard Freshmen teams). I honestly felt like my kids in Jr. High received better instruction on skills and technique than I ever did In HS. Even so, what happens when there is a head coaching change and the new coach scraps the old system. Bear in mind, there is a 6 year “tail” (Grades 3-8) on teaching kids these “systems” - does the average head coach even stay at a school 6 years? Let’s say it’s 10 years and then he leaves....then was the 6 years for those incoming Freshmen wasted? I realize kids have to play “some” sort of system in Grades 3-8 but wouldn’t it just be better to worry less about whatever the HS is doing and focus a lot more on skill and technique....and keeping it fun?

Nice job sir.....and to imagine I once thought you were humorless....

In NCAA lacrosse, the top 20 DIII teams could compete in DI. In fact, just a few years back, perennial DIII lacrosse champ Salisbury, beat top ranked DI Duke in a preseason scrimmage. More specifically, at year end last year, Sags had a 3A team as the 6th best team in the State overall (5th in “Predictor”). Just a few years ago, when 1A LCC was on its several championships runs, I’d challenge anyone to say they weren’t among the top 20 teams in the State all classes.

I’ll give you some credit....only a HS football geek would go so far into the weeds that you’d dig deep into Belmont’s schedule and notice they open the season with 1A teams. Sounds like something I’d do. That said, once I realized it I wouldn’t have cared much either way given their record last year.

Just bear in mind that baseball isn’t the only alternative Spring sport you are contending with. Most every school is also going to have track. Many other schools are also going to have golf, lacrosse and rugby. I played football both ways in HS but if had been forced to make a choice between track and football, I’d have chosen track. Not because I liked running in circles until I puked vs playing football but because running in circles paid for my college....something football wasn’t going to do. Not to mention the point @Temptation made earlier about underclassmen would basically be playing continuous football from literally January through the end of November in the case of teams that would make deep runs. That’s 11 straight months of football for underclassmen. I think spring is problematic.

My understanding was it was a 3-2 vote in the MSDWT and all sports (extracurriculars) are suspended until such time as they have a re-vote. No date has been set for another vote. I am getting this from friends who teach in the district. The thought is that IPS will likely follow. I can only assume this is the initial start of the tidal wave.

Unfortunately, the response will be “knee-jerk” just as every response has been to literally EVERYTHING these last few months. It will take only one school to have those “”25” positive cases” and it will begin the cascade and ultimately the avalanche of school shutdowns. I think we have societally lost the ability to accept (or understand) the measured risk of everyday life in general.....and that isn’t to say that COVID doesn’t constitute an unacceptable risk....just that societally, we tend not to accept any risk from something new to our experience anymore. If, in fact, we do have football with fans in the stands, it’s likely I will be there but I will be damned uncomfortable about it (but my wife will be going regardless so I might as well get sick “with her” rather than “from her”). All that said, I’m not sure there will be fans in the stands but rather there will be video feeds. To be honest, I’d be down with paying the HS for an in-house broadcast to offset ticket and concession sales losses....although I’d prefer a free webcast. Just as a note, unlike many high schools, Chatard does not have an internal webcast of their games....or traditional radio coverage like Cathedral and Roncalli in Indy. This might push every HS in the direction of live internet broadcasts....which I would find appealing.

I actually think they are real and helpful but to those intensely political on both sides, “yes” - just part of a pissing contest.

I am skeptical too and become more so daily.....and I am absolutely agnostic on the politics of this. I still think the jury is out for the pro sports experiment. I think NASCAR will pull it off but have serious doubts about the stick and ball sports. If that ends up going bust, then there will flatly be no HS.

Unfortunately, I am beginning to believe the same. That said, I was at 3 graduations this weekend and a lacrosse tournament at Grand Park with probably 200 teams (so I was told by one of the officials). I really didn’t see very much at any of these events in the way of precautions. I think this domino will fall (if it is going to) sooner rather than later.

Wow....a TW sighting. Feel like I’ve just seen Bigfoot......

I generally agree. Football scheduling is difficult......but doable. I think it might be more problematic than one thinks in other sports just because there are so many of them. The problem is replicating that “no-conference game” schedule for ALL the other sports. While I agree football is a wholly different animal to schedule individually, it’s still going to be difficult (and tons of work) to do it for all sports. As a side note, I think many will not be happy when all those “All-Conference” designations for kids disappear. As an Independent, about the only post season recognition accolades your kids have to look forward to is whether or not they are All-State. It may sound a bit petty but I think many will dearly miss that little cherry on top of the Sunday.

My understanding was from last season that the first 4 teams listed above had a TON of major contributors that needed replacing and most of them might well be top 10 but not top 5. Brebeuf, I am less certain about.

Pretty well ourselves - though those “farmer” in-laws from the “Deere” days are sadly passed. ....and you?