Boilernation

Lol...I knew I had to be missing something, but I was wrapped up in work to figure it out the obvious. My bad.

Larry Bigbie of Hobart was drafted in the 1st Round of the 1999 Amateur Draft by Baltimore. I played on a travel team with him when I was 15. At that point he was already jacking line drive homers out of ballparks with major league dimension. The Bullington kid from Madison is also missing from this database. Like Bigbie, he was a 1st rounder out of Ball State.

As a Cubs, Bulls, and Bears fan I listen to Chicago sports radio all day while working. The show I was listening to last week was talking about Montgomery easily being their #1 prospect and whether the Sox would trade him for immediate assets. I hope they don't. The season appears to be wash this year with too much disfunction within the Org (Ex. Owner bypassing GM to hire LaRussa).

Why do you feel the Gary/Hammond/possibly East Chicago kids will eventually transfer to Lake Central over Merrillville? Demographically, Merrillville makes more sense vs. St. John, Dyer, and Schererville. I think one advantage Merrillville has now is it's clear they have the attention of college recruiters. Granted, I think a D1 recruit at say Hammond Central or Morton is going to get attention as long as they promote themselves, but I could see how players or parents would find Merrillville appealing. Are the Chicago Catholic schools still recruiting NWI? I know Merrillville's RB from last year who went to Illinois State was at Joliet Catholic prior to coming back to Merrillville. I've also read Chicago Mt. Carmel had recruiting billboards up at some point on Route 30 in Lake Central's district. Agreed with your last comment. It's not easy to replace the guys they lost last year. And this current regime's marquee non Region Win is either Warsaw or Elkhart. By no means am I dismissing Merrillville as a 5A Title contender, but I'm in wait and see mode as to whether they can even win the North Semi-State.

Why are you so high on Elkhart? They went 5-5 last year, lost their HC, and they're new coach's only experience is at Peru. Penn, Carroll, and Warsaw will all be formidable foes for Elkhart in Sectional 2. Curious to know what you're hearing or seeing to be so bullish on Elkhart.

Who are the 3 that are currently committed to D1? I see: Justin Marshal: Colorado State. Odd committment based on the quality of offers he has. I wouldn't be surprised if he flipped to a power conference school at some point. Phillip Roche: Lots of D1 Offers. No official commitment. ???

Transfers from Gary/Hammond? To your last point, agreed. 5A playoffs are very wide open. Would not be surprised if the winner didn’t come from Indy and came out of The Region, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Or West Lafayette. Bloomington South and Columbus East have the history. I know nothing about what they return this year. I can’t imagine the Olympians being down for too long.

That's scary. Who of significance are they actually returning other than Marshall? IMO, they lost way too much talent from last year to be thinking a step down to 5A will open the gates for them. Granted, they basically get a bye through Sectionals, but isn't it too premature to be thinking State Finals or bust? 5A North looks wide open to me and should be highly entertaining.

Temp, I think I may have misinterpreted your question. Regardless of guys playing multiple sports, there should definitely be enough room for both sports to succeed. Ideally, they should feed off of each other and challenge each other. And most certainly it would be a boast to either sport if elite athletes (such as David Bell) are allowed to play both sports.

100%. Look at Warren. David Bell is the low hanging fruit, but I think they've had some good football talent also play basketball.

No idea of true. But the smoke had always been that Mitchell wasn't a fan of his basketball players entertaining the idea of playing multiple sports.

Agreed. There are certain old money neighborhoods and upper middle class neighborhoods in Washington Township that are not going to NC. The kids have either been going to Chatard feeder schools since grade school and/or are going to Chatard, Cathedral, or Brebeuf for social/academic reasons.

Westfield at 5 is interesting to me. Do they have a lot of starters returning? I have the upmost respect for Coach Gilbert, but the Rock had 3 straight average at best seasons after the 2016 Title. Do they legitimately have enough talent/starters returning? They are losing some serious offensive production from Webster and Hauser. It looks like their offensive all purpose yardage last year was dominated by Seniors.

Ha! Purdue will flip a MAC recruit on signing day as retribution.

6'5 210. QB or WR doesn't matter. Dez Tardy is an awful comp.

Haha! I didn't even see "Onion" in the link and just saw "florida-state-joins" before opening the link. I thought this was a groundbreaking announcement that I somehow missed yesterday. Too funny!

You don't say. A simple 30 second content search for "DT" and "leave" produced the screenshot below. You're allowed to have this opinion, but some of us who prefer not to see threads hijacked by easily refutable drivel can't share the same opinion? Sounds like rules for thee don't apply to DT.

Not really. A lot of the more successful people I know have the self awareness to realize when they’ve errored and hold themselves accountable to do better. Seems like such a simple concept.

Got it. 2 personal stories. Painting a VERY large fanbase of Carmel and CG fans based on the actions of 2 bad apples. Unfortunately, bad apples ruin it for everyone. I'm sure 99% of Carmel's fans have no problem playing WC or BD, but the few bad apples allow the stereotype to continue.

The best part is that it's limited to the Merrillville fan who likely hasn't done his (still assuming it's Parkhurst) homework. If my math is correct, Mason is 7-5 against Merrillville from his time at Andrean and City. Not a good look for the Pirates to have a losing record against a guy who supposedly can't coach!

How many times have you personally been told by a Carmel or CG fan that they weren't fond of playing urban Marion County schools?

I would be willing to bet your ability to hold herself accountable and having the self awareness to know when you should played a large role in the length of your career. Congrats to Coach Smith. My mom worked with his wife way back in the day at the Porter County Government center in Valpo. My parents both spoke very highly of Brad.

Wish you all the luck in the world as you search for another gig. But, if I were you, I would be prepared to answer why you job hop so much. Whiting needs someone committed to a re-build that could take some time.

No offense, but I tend to ignore the hybperbole and overly emotional reactions that are common place in our world today. I'm a Finance guy. Unfortunately, I'm always skeptical until I have data to sway my opinion. Considering WC has no fan presence on road trips and averages about 200 people for home games, I seriously question the seriousness of your claims. Sounds more like deep rooted stereotypes that at worst were fulfilled by a few bad apples from CG or Carmel faithful.

I could be wrong. I haven't watched a Portage game in person since the late 1990's. Just my assumption when I watch them live streamed or when I see a roster that they look bigger and faster than we were. We were probably better coached in the mid '90's. Buzea was very demanding on conditioning and discipline. Dave Turpa was also a great D Coordinator who could have been a HC elsewhere if he wanted the role.