November 18, 2008
A political quote, attributed (disputed) to Otto Von Bismarck, "the less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they sleep in the night," seems apropos on the heels of TSSAA publishing the new district assignments. But with those now in the public domain, let's see what the benevolent dictators in the smoke-filled rooms of the Hermitage have done for us now.
In East Tennessee, there are now a total of 127 Division I teams. Of these, 42 are Class A, 45 are Class AA, and 40 are are Class AAA. Class A teams are spread out a across six districts, AA are spread over seven, and AAA are spread over only five. A big sticking point with the Class A schools is that 13 of 42, slightly less than 1 out of 3, schools are non-football. We'll spend some time on that later, but let's decide who won, who lost, and what just might have been collateral damage.
The first group of winners is Knox-area football fans. In Class AAA, no longer will teams like Bearden and Farragut be assigned different regions, as the two are now grouped together in District 4-AAA. This will be a super-competitive football district, as they are joined by Maryville and William Blount in the 6A bracket. The Class 5A group in this district should also be competitive, and there will be top-notch games weekly. The Knoxville area also sees a great victory, in that, all the KFL schools in Class AA except CAK were grouped together. Add Gatlinburg-Pittman to a district that includes Fulton, Austin-East, and Carter and it should be a dandy.
The first group we'll mention that we consider losers are the Upper East football fans, especially in the large class. Dobyns-Bennett and Science Hill will compete for an automatic berth as will Jefferson County and Sevier County. With these four teams no longer competing in the same region, and with Greeneville dropping to AA and Bearden being now in District 4, these large teams will compete with 5A teams that may or may not pose the same challenge. Speaking of the Greene Devils, and their losing their petition to play in District 1, the two districts farthest north may have trouble competing. Time will tell.
There really isn't a lot to say out of Southeast Tennessee at any level, as far as football winners and losers go. Ooltewah and South Pittsburg are still likely to pace that area. With that being said, Ooltewah could see some competition with Rhea County, Cleveland and company. Tyner will get some problems from Red Bank in Class AA, but McMinn Central should run rough-shod over District 5-AA. Marion County and South Pittsburg being district opponents for the first time in many years could also prove quite interesting.
At this point, we apologize for this being so football-oriented. For all intents-and-purposes, basketball districts saw only minimal changes with few teams moving about. The Knoxville area probably does lose a little luster in Class AA, as Alcoa and Seymour move out of District 3, and Anderson County moves out of District 4. Otherwise, there was little significant movement.
The biggest winner of all will be the fans in most areas, particularly in football. The combining of districts such that there are only three classifications will ensure that there are competitive games, the likes of which have not been seen since 1992. The schools' hands being forced to improve schedules can only prove good for the fans and the kids involved.
The biggest loser of all has to be Class 1A. Because of the large number of non-football schools, a handful of districts will be combining to form regions. And, of course, what this will do is increase everyone's travel. In these burdensome economic times, it makes little sense that the 1A schools, many of which are in depressed rural counties, will benefit the least from the new system, which was touted as a way to reduce travel. That's unfortunate.
But the last big loser has to be the playoffs. The wildcard shenanigans will be difficult to follow, and there will be districts which still send weak teams into November. Take a peek at the assignments, and look at the ones where there are only two teams for a given classification, and you can decide for yourselves which one will be a problem.
That said, it's going to be a fun regular season to watch. (From what I'm hearing, Kingston's non-district could be a little stronger, but I digress...). Something tells me that the unbalanced districts will be a serious source of heartburn, but let's see how this thing goes.
Automatic football bids by district
Region 1-A: 2-2A, 1-1A
District 3-A: 1-2A, 2-1A
District 4-A: 1-2A, 2-1A
District 5-A: 1-2A, 1-1A
District 6-A: 1-2A, 1-1A
District 1-AA: 0-4A, 2-3A
District 2-AA: 1-4A, 2-3A
District 3-AA: 2-4A, 1-3A
District 4-AA: 1-4A, 2-3A
District 5-AA: 0-4A, 2-3A
District 6-AA: 3-4A, 1-3A
District 7-AA: 0-4A, 2-3A
District 1-AAA: 1-6A, 3-5A
District 2-AAA: 1-6A, 3-5A
District 3-AAA: 1-6A, 3-5A
District 4-AAA: 2-6A, 1-5A
District 5-AAA: 2-6A, 1-5A
November 5, 2008
Believe it or not, I have for the most part ceased living and dying by politics. Once upon a time I was a dedicated activist, but then I realized that the party machines were spending a lot of time and energy to determine who won primaries, and, for the most part, the fringes where I reside were not the beneficiaries. After all, I consider myself a strict Constitutionalist and fair-trader, and watching the campaigns of Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes, and Ron Paul wither on the vine, I have resigned myself to the fact that real small-government, laissez-faire economics, and fair trade don't have strong support from either of the major parties. So, even though I didn't support Barack Obama, I woke up with a strong pulse this morning, and it's a beautiful East Tennessee day, so I'll just let come what may for a few months, and wait until then to react. And I'm pretty sure the sun will rise and set on the 20th of January, should the Lord allow.
On the Presidential campaign
John McCain may have been doomed by the poor economic times, and it's quite possible that the election was entirely a referendum on George W. Bush, but McCain ran a pretty disorganized campaign, and the Republican Party in general did precious little to help its cause throughout the summer. For the record, I was probably more aligned with McCain than many of my contemporaries, based on surveys in which I participated in the spring. However, the Maverick spent too much time alienating the Republican base, i.e. conservatives, by perpetually touting his maverick status. Unfortunately, he picked most of the wrong issues on which to base that, particularly immigration and campaign finance, and Senator McCain presented a pretty convoluted message. And, as we live in a solidly-red state, we saw very few ads, Republicans who were hoping that he would hit a home run, in essence watched him strike out looking.
As for Barack Obama, he was very dynamic, and employed the right campaign strategies, particularly in the so-called battleground states of Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, etc. Whether he is liked or not, he is a great orator, and that in and of itself is an attractant. In a time of economic uncertainty, he reached out to folks who have struggled, and the Democratic Party as a whole did a good job of registering new voters and turning out the vote. And, with a good number of voters disenchanted with the status quo, Senator Obama was able to win going away.
On the US Congress
Obviously, it was a good night for the Democrats. Like most of the professional analysts, I believe that the Congressional races were, in large part, a referendum on the status quo, not just on George W. Bush, but on the philosophy and governance of the now-outgoing members. Without having a strong familiarity with the candidates, and with all the Tennessee delegation being reelected, that's about all that I have to say about that at this time.
On the State of Tennessee
On a big night for Democrats around the nation, the Tennessee Republican party scored one of its biggest victories ever, with the Grand Old Party taking both houses of the state legislature. It's pretty shocking that they could cede the number of seats that they did (by not fielding a candidate) and yet score the net gain in the House that pushed them into the majority. I can't come up with a reason as to how that all played out, and that's partially because the vast majority of the gains were on the other end of the state, and, quite frankly I haven't followed the particulars. I do ponder what that does to the Income Tax movement, with Naifeh almost certain to be ousted as Speaker.
It was not totally unexpected from where I stand to see the Senate move to Republican control, although it was by a much different margin than I expected. I expected Faulk, particularly with party backing, to oust Williams, but I thought that Ruppe would win and wouldn't have been completely surprised to see a mid-state pickup. But, with hotly-contested races in the 14th, 16th, and 26th, I did figure that the Republicans would keep their majority. I just didn't expect the Republicans to take every competitive race. And, again, I can't quite put my finger on the particulars.
That being said, it's a new day in Tennessee politics. One has to wonder if there'll be more pickups in 2010, and what that means for local election commissions, constitutional officers, and perhaps even the 2011 redistricting (although I'd like to see a whole lot less Gerrymandering from both parties, and let's just follow some natural topography for a change.) Let's see how long it takes the new leadership to shoot itself in the foot.
Closing thoughts
As a libertarian and small-government guy, I have to hope that this election is not taken as an indictment of conservatism, because conservatism has been missing for a while. One would have thought that the Republicans might have learned some lessons from the beating they took at the polls in 2006, but apparently they did not. The federal government has expanded both in scope and in expense in the last four years, and that trend will probably continue under the new administration. However, the Democratic party seems to have a pretty clear agenda, although don't be surprised if there are some public and strong disagreements between President Obama and the Congressional leadership at times. It's time for the Republican officers to do some soul-searching about what Republicanism and especially conservatism really is, and it's time for the rank-and-file to demand that they do, and stop giving moderates a free pass as "the lesser of two evils," when all that does is empower more moderates.
All of the new officers are in our prayers, and so should be our country, and that should hold true no matter who wins or loses elections.
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
November 4, 2008
Erma Bombeck once said, "the grass is always greener over the septic tank." Well, that's true at my house, and, I'm afraid that's about to be true for Tennessee football. Monday was a sad day for Tennessee football, as the Volunteer athletic program said goodbye to one of its legends in a rather abrupt, somewhat bizarre manner.
Tennessee has struggled to some degree since the championship year of 1998, but much of those struggles have been greatly exaggerated. The home record could use improvement, and Fulmer has struggled against his top rivals lately, but none of that changes the fact that he has been in the SEC Championship Game 5 times in 11 years, losing once to an undefeated Auburn squad and once to the eventual National Champion.
Off-field problems may have plagued the coach in the last half-decade, but 2007 saw signs of great improvement on that front. Now, who knows where Tennessee is headed.
The fact that Tennessee seems to be somewhat lacking of a plan for getting a coach should be disconcerting to Volunteer fans. Current Vols, including some of the leaders and stars, are talking of transferring, and the recruiting class has immediately started to unravel. One wonders how the future coach is going to close the deal with a recruit when he's up against coaches with the resumes of Bobby Bowden, Mack Brown, Les Miles, Nick Saban, or even Mark Richt, as opposed to a coach with a National Championship ring and a long list of NFL players who have come through the organization.
As one talk-show caller said, the UT program is bigger than Philip Fulmer. That is true. The program was in decent shape when he took over. However, it was Fulmer who brought the first universally-recognized National Championship in a half-century, and it's Fulmer who is the most successful Tennessee coach since Robert Neyland.
The disgruntled have their wish. The fence has been crossed. Now, perhaps Mike Hamilton can go outside the family, and we can be just as successful as the other BCS programs that decided to do the same, such as, Washington, Nebraska, Colorado, Syracuse, and Michigan. I'm sure they'll all welcome UT and its mercenary coach into the abyss of irrelevance.
That's what Tennessee will get. We'll use the word mercenary to keep it family-friendly but what Tennessee will get is a coach who will bolt this joint in a heartbeat if the next offer comes along, particularly if he doesn't like what he's gotten himself into.
Meanwhile, although Philip Fulmer said many of the right things in his press conference about his love for the University and helping his successor, one can't help but hope that his agent was already burning up phone lines trying to secure the next gig. Perhaps West Virginia might like to rethink their current hire. Or perhaps the carousel that Tennessee and Clemson has started will open doors around the area for Coach Fulmer. Time will tell. This writer is betting he finds success, but the program he leaves behind won't for a while.
It's a troublesome time in Big Orange Country.
November 1, 2008
FINAL 2008 POLL 1 MARYVILLE 2 DOBYNS-BENNETT 3 ALCOA 4 S. PITTSBURG 5 KNOX CATHOLIC 6 SULLIVAN SOUTH 7 OOLTEWAH 8 FARRAGUT 9 ONEIDA 10 G.-PITTMAN 11 BEARDEN 12 KNOX GRACE 13 GREENEVILLE 14 HOWARD 15 MCMINN CENTRAL 16 GREENBACK 17 M. EAST 18 POWELL 19 B. BUCHANAN 20 RHEA COUNTY 21 COSBY 22 AUSTIN-EAST 23 SEYMOUR 24 SULLIVAN NORTH 25 POLK COUNTY
October 23, 2008
For those of you who weren't paying really close attention the last 96 hours, the TSSAA announced Monday which schools were electing to move up in classification for 2009-2013. This followed the October 10 publication regarding schools moving to Division II and the October 13th publication of enrollment numbers, including the adjustments made due to the private school multiplier. There is one more movement to come, and that is schools which will be playing up (football only) within their classification. The deadline for that decision is Monday the 27th, but most schools in East Tennessee do not project to do that. With that being said, the real hullabaloo will take place on November 13 when the teams are placed in their districts. That's when the gnashing of teeth will really begin.
The biggest news on Monday may have been how little news there actually was. Only three Division I schools played up, none of which were in East Tennessee (two in Clarksville, one in Memphis). Count us among the surprised that Greeneville stayed AA, although we're only marginally familiar with their history. Also surprising was that Tellico Plains in Southeast Tennessee stayed Class A, considering that a large majority of schools near them will, in all likelihood, be in District 5-AA, and Single-A travel will be much worse for the Bears. Other than that, we weren't really expecting much movement in East Tennessee.
Let's weigh the situation as it now appears:
The Good: Travel will be reduced for most of the teams in East Tennessee, depending on how the Board of Control sets the districts on November 13. District 2-AA probably will see the worst overall travel arrangements, although there are some outliers, like Tellico Plains and Stone Memorial, which will have some difficulties. Continuity of rivalries is also a good thing. In the new system, the districts will be unchanged where revenue sports are concerned, rather than having football separated, which should cause the games to be even more intense. And, the new, smaller, districts will, in most cases, allow teams to renew some old rivalries that were abandoned to play football region games.
The Bad: There are still some pockets where travel could be an issue, and that may have to be addressed in the 2011 mid-cycle. Also, the band of enrollment is very wide within a classification. How early will we start hearing chatter about the small 3A school that misses the football playoff because they were playing someone virtually twice their size? Also bad is the fact that there are so few football playing Class A teams, but the non-football schools affect the district assignments, making some of the football districts really small. This could make scheduling really hard for some of those teams, considering they will have to try to grab teams from bigger districts. And if they have to travel, they are likely the squads that can least afford that. One final drawback is that East Tennessee private schools seemed to be left in the lurch throughout the whole process, particularly those schools in the Knoxville and Tri-Cities areas. As often, the state seemed to treat the classification process as though the state stopped at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau. It's not nearly as difficult a decision for a USJ or Jackson Christian to move to Division II, knowing they'll be playing mostly Jackson and Memphis schools, but one wonders if CAK or Knoxville Catholic even considered it, knowing that that decision would cause them to travel to Nashville multiple times per year.
The Ugly: The worst thing of all in this process is the football playoff procedure. There is nothing really wrong with taking the top two district seeds, regardless of classification, but after that it gets really complicated and bizarre. Class 1A and 2A will field 24 teams each, and that's unfortunate. The other classes will field the regular 32. The worst part of it all is that a team only has to finish in the top half of its football class to qualify for the playoffs, meaning that there'll be some playoff teams that finish in the bottom half of their district. Perhaps that's to mitigate the fact that there is such a difference in enrollment, but it doesn't work well in practice. There's also the fact that the grand majority the football playoff teams will be wildcard selections, and that encourages teams to play weaker schedules.
All in all, time will tell how good or bad this system really is. For now, we'll just sit back and watch. Hopefully the regular media will start paying it more attention, because, to date, only the Jackson Sun and Tennessean have stayed on top of this process. (And you should read their coverage, both have done well.) It's a big change, and it'll take some getting used to. See my projections below, based on a variety of sources.
Highly Unofficial Projections
Note: (NF) represents schools which do not participate in football, and (1A),(2A) represent the school's football classification.
CLASS A (0-520)
District 1-A: Cloudland (1A), Hampton (2A), North Greene (2A), Unaka (2A), University School (NF)
District 2-A: Clinch (NF), Cosby (2A), Hancock Co. (1A), J. Frank White (NF), Jellico (2A), Washburn (NF)
District 3-A: Berean (NF), Knox. Grace (1A), Greenback (1A), Harriman (1A), Knox. Christian (NF), Midway (1A), Rockwood (2A), TSD (Does not compete for titles)
District 4-A: Coalfield (1A), Oakdale (1A), Oliver Springs (2A), Oneida (2A), Sunbright (1A), Wartburg (2A)
District 5-A: 21st Century Acad. (NF), Boyd Buchanan (2A), Copper Basin (1A), Chatt. Arts & Sciences (NF), David Brainerd (1A), Chatt. Grace (2A), Silverdale (2A), Temple (NF), Tellico Plains (2A)
District 6-A: Lookout Valley (1A), Marion Co. (2A), Richard Hardy (NF), Sale Creek (NF), Signal Mountain (2A),
South Pittsburg (1A), Whitwell (1A)
CLASS AA (521-1065)
District 1-AA: Elizabethton (3A), Happy Valley (3A), Johnson Co. (3A), S. East (4A), S. North (3A), Unicoi Co. (3A)
District 2-AA: Chuckey-Doak (3A), Claiborne (4A), Cumberland Gap (3A), Grainger (4A), South Greene (3A), Union Co. (4A), West Greene (3A), Greeneville (4A)
District 3-AA: Austin East (3A), Carter (4A), Fulton (4A), Gibbs (4A), Gatlinburg-Pittman (3A), Pigeon Forge (3A)
District 4-AA: Alcoa (3A), CAK (3A), Kingston (3A), Loudon (3A), Scott (4A), Stone Memorial (4A)
District 5-AA: McMinn Central (4A), Meigs Co. (3A), Polk Co. (3A), Sequoyah (4A), Sweetwater (3A)
District 6-AA: Brainerd (4A), Collegedale (NF), East Hamilton (4A), East Ridge (4A), Howard (3A), Notre Dame (4A), Tyner (3A), Chattanooga Central (4A)
District 7-AA: Bledsoe Co. (3A), Chatt.Christian (3A), Grundy Co. (3A), Hixson (3A), Red Bank (4A), Sequatchie Co. (3A)
CLASS AAA (1066+)
District 1-AAA: Daniel Boone (5A), Dobyns-Bennett (6A), Science Hill (6A), Sullivan Central (5A), Sullivan South (5A),
Tennessee (5A), Volunteer (5A)
District 2-AAA: Cherokee (5A), David Crockett (5A), Cocke Co. (5A), Jefferson Co. (6A), Morristown East (6A),
Morristown West (5A), Sevier Co. (6A), Seymour (5A)
District 3-AAA: Anderson Co. (5A), Campbell Co. (5A), K. Central (5A), Clinton (5A), Halls (5A), Karns (6A), O.Ridge (6A),
Powell (5A), Knox. West (5A)
District 4-AAA: Bearden (6A), Farragut (6A), Hardin Valley (6A), Heritage (6A), Knox. Catholic (5A), Lenoir City (5A), Maryville (6A), South Doyle (5A), William Blount (6A)
District 5-AAA: Bradley Cent. (6A), Cleveland (5A), McMinn Co. (6A), Ooltewah (6A), Rhea Co. (6A), Soddy Daisy (6A),
Walker Valley (5A)
