The Cost of High School Football

If you have a chance to pick up today's Times-Free Press, there is a terrific piece in the sports section about the costs and struggles to maintain a high school football team. Who knew that painting the lines all season costs $2500 or that outfitting a single player pushes $700.

The article outlines several ways coaches try to either increase revenue (pay to park, increased ticket prices) or decrease costs (re-use helmets, go without new practice uniforms), but there is no getting around the TSSAA decision that is having the greatest impact on football money: the across-the-state districts.

Several schools are mentioned in the piece, including my one-time home Ooltewah. The Owls play in Knoxville and middle Tennessee, so fuel costs for buses will drain a significant amount of the football budget. Many parents cannot even afford to make the trip to see their kids play ball.

The idea of raising ticket prices to offset these costs is hurt by the distance between schools playing. How many students from William Blount are going to travel to Ooltewah to watch their team? The limited attendance means less money even with an extra dollar added per ticket. Anyone who has been to one of these match-ups has seen the empty "Visitor" bleachers that come with them.

Here is the solution the TSSAA needs/must implement for next year: local districts. It will never be fair when schools with varying enrollments play each other, but it isn't fair to have kids missing class and running up huge fuel costs to play a more fair opponent in a game that means nothing to anyone outside of the two teams. We need to restore the local rivalries not just for the game's sake, but for the kids', parents' and environment's sake as well.

My school, McCallie, will play its third game tonight in Nashville. I haven't seen them play other than the jamboree because their games have been in Charlotte and Franklin. What a waste. I've written this before, but things were much better around here before the public/private split when real rivalries existed between schools like McCallie and Brainerd or Baylor and Red Bank. Those rivalries are dead.

Instead, we have games like Brentwood vs. McCallie and Ooltewah vs. William Blount. We have games that are half empty and extremely expensive. It doesn't make any sense.

Off the top of my head, I can list over a dozen schools in the area that ought to be playing each other instead of out-of-town teams: Ooltewah, Central, Hixson, Soddy, Red Bank, Baylor, McCallie, Notre Dame, Brainerd, Howard, Tyner, East Ridge, Bradley, Cleveland, Boyd Buchanan, Grace, Signal Mountain...you get the idea. In the name of fairness, whether that is public vs. public or enrollment sizes being equal, we're watching schools and teams struggle to properly equip their players and parents unable to afford the gas to watch their kids play.

Here is hoping that the TSSAA redraws the districts to make high school football relevant and affordable in the state once again. The playoffs can include trips across the state, but regular season games ought not to include lengthy jaunts that end up excluding students and parents.

A-Rod Playing Well in NY

As predicted, Rafael Nadal and Scotsman, Andy Murray will clash in the semifinals of this year's U.S. Open. Both looked good but beatable in their respective quarter final matches yesterday. Federer should cruise this afternoon in his quarter final match against Luxemborger (and qualifier), Gilles Muller, even though Fed needed five sets to dispatch Igor Andreev in the fourth round. Don't forget, Adreev is no slouch on this surface-- he upset Roddick here a couple years ago.

Speaking of A-Rod, of the six men left in the tourney, he is by far playing the best tennis. He is also the only one in the Top 10 who skipped the Olypmics. Hmmmmm . . . coincidence? Seriously, Andy lost six points on serve against Olympic Gold medalist, Fernando Gonzalez, and hardly broke a sweat winning easily in straight sets. Tonight he goes up against the reigning Australian Open champion, and current #3 in the world, Novak Djokovic. And oh by the way, Novak lost here last year in the final against Federer-- a match he should have won. On paper, this looks like a tough match for Roddick, but Djokovic looked extremely tired, and was pushed to five sets in his fourth round match. Look for the brash American to make it through to the semis easily. Fed should be waiting, but if A-Rod serves the way he has been thus far at the Open he should be able to get by him this year. Just a few weeks ago, I was slamming the state of American Men's tennis. I boldly predicted that Federer would win another slam before any American male would. Well, I hope I was dead wrong. Good luck Andy, I hope you end this four year, slam-less drought for the Americans (the longest in history).

As for the Women, after watching Serena beat Venus last night, I don't think Dinara Safina will have enough to get past her in the Semis. That truly was a great match last night, probably better than their Wimbledon final a few weeks ago. Venus failed to convert set points 10 times, which was ultimately her downfall. All-American sweep in singles this year? We can only hope.

Post-UCLA Questions...Without Answers

A full day after the Hollywood Horror, I've got lots of questions that need answering.

1) What exactly is the "Clawffense?" Is there something more to it than pre-snap motion?

2) When are special teams going to be a priority?

3) Why send Daniel Lincoln out to try a 55-yard field goal after he was short from 51?

4) Can Jonathan Crompton be a big-time college quarterback?

5) Check that - can Jonathan Crompton be a competent college quarterback?

6) Why throw the ball 41 times when they are getting over 5 yards with every rushing carry?

7) Why throw the ball 41 times when Crompton isn't close with 39 of them?

8) Why sit Crompton in the pocket when he is clearly athletic enough to roll out away from the UCLA pressure?

9) Why was UCLA able to get so much pressure on Crompton? Wasn't this the exact same offensive line that protected Ainge so well last year?

10) Why isn't the Vol defensive line able to ever get pressure on the quarterback?

11) Did Rico McCoy make the trip to the Rose Bowl?

12) How can the offense fail to score, fail to even attempt a field goal, after inheriting the ball on the UCLA 25?

13) Without any running game whatsoever from the Bruins, why wasn't the defensive line able to tee off on Craft?

14) What happened to the secondary in the 2nd half? The 4th quarter?

15) What is Arian Foster's problem in terms of hanging on to the football? His career is going to be remembered for the turnovers, not the rushing record.

16) Who approved the white tops/orange pants look?

17) When will we see B.J. Coleman?

18) What took so long to put Gerald Jones back to field kicks and punts? The guy is the most explosive player this side of Eric Berry - get him the ball.

19) Speaking of that, what happened to putting Berry on offense?

20) Is it time to panic or time to take a deep breath?

I wish we didn't have to wait so long until we start getting answers. The UAB game cannot get here fast enough.

UCLA 27 Tennessee 24

Now is hardly the time to point out my astute predictions, but when I'm right, I'm right.

Glass half empty? My five concerns were:

Jonathan Crompton - awful. Just awful. I'm sorry, Bob Griese, but he wasn't inaccurate because of pressure. He was simply inaccurate. He looked lost and overwhelmed, getting little help from...

Dave Clawson - awful. Just awful. David Cutcliffe has forgotten more offensive imagination than we got out of Clawson tonight.

Neuheisal and Chow - clearly out-classed us, especially Chow who got smart with his plays in the 4th quarter and sliced us up.

Depth - the Vols looked gassed in the 4th because Fulmer could not sub throughout the night. It hurt us.

Meanwhile, our senior stud running back fumbles inside the 10, we still can't get a pass rush on the quarterback and the special teams lost us the game.

The good news is that we are still 0-0 in the SEC. For now.

First Week of the 2008 U.S. Open is in the Books.

Some thoughts:

1. The U.S. Open is celebrating 40 years of the Open era and predictably had a really lame opening ceremony last Monday night, complete with—get this—the Jersey Boys doing a Four Seasons medley. They also invited 40 past champions to help celebrate. Inexplicably, the only two 5-time men’s champions, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras, were M.I.A. These guys defined the U.S. Open during their respective eras. Not sure who’s at fault here, but it felt awkward to me. Also missing: Steffi and Andre.

2. As I mentioned in my preview, I was a little upset that James Blake had to play Donald Young in the opening round, but that ended up being a really enjoyable match—at least the last two sets were spectacular. On Saturday night, Blake had to face one of his best friends on the tour, fellow American Mardy Fish. They are such good friends, that Blake will be a groomsman in Mardy's September wedding. Fish, for those of you who don’t know, is two years younger than Blake and might be the poster child for wasted talent in the Men’s game, but he managed to get by Blake in straight sets to make the round of 16 at the Open for the first time in his career. While both players played well, this was not a fun match to watch. It seemed neither player was enjoying himself.

3. My two picks, Andy Murray and Dinara Safina looked less than invincible during the first week and both were pushed to the limit getting to the fourth round. Meanwhile, the Williams Sisters (who should collide in the quarters), Nadal, and Fed have all cruised easily through the early rounds. Good thing I’m not a betting man.

4. As good a story as Mardy Fish making the round of 16 a month before his wedding is, perhaps Sam Querrey’s (pictured) story is even better. The six foot-six inch, 20-year old from Southern California made a huge statement on Saturday by beating an even taller (6'10") Ivo Karlovic in straight sets. What sounds like a pretty boring match on paper, ended up being quite entertaining. Up next for Querrey? Unfortunately, he’s got to face Nadal.

5. Perhaps more than any other Open that I can remember, this tourney has been all about the Young Guns. There has been some electric play from guys who wouldn’t be old enough to buy a beer during their stay in Queens. I’ve already mentioned 19-year old Donald Young and 20-year old Sam Querrey, but there have been others. Guys like Marin Cilic - 19 (who is in the midst of a four set battle with world #3, Novak Jokovic as I type this), Ernests Gulbis – turned 20 during his match with Roddick (he had a chance to go up two sets to love against the big serving American, but eventually lost), Juan Martin Del Portro – 19 (who is still alive in the tournament!), Kei Nishikori – 19 (who is also still in and all he did was get by former #1 and current #4 David Ferrer!). The kids are alright, indeed.

Glass Half Full - Five Reasons to Feel Good About the UCLA Game

1) Eric Berry - It is nice to have the best player on the field and his name is Eric Berry. I'm going to be disappointed with anything less than 10 picks and 3 touchdowns out of the sophomore. The Vols secondary ought to be good enough to allow John Chavis to blitz all year and leave his backfield in man coverage.

2) Arian Foster - Foster tested the professional waters after last season, but decided that the Tennessee River was just fine for another year. The word out of Knoxville is that he is working hard and being a leader in the locker room. He'll probably become the all-time rushing leader at Tennessee, which is odd to me since I wouldn't list him in my top 10 of all-time Vols backs (off the top of my head - Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis, Travis Stephens, Chuck Webb, Reggie Cobb, Jay Graham, Charlie Garner...okay, he is Top 10).

Foster is going to have a huge game running behind the Vols offensive line, which brings us to #3

3) UCLA's Offensive Line - UCLA has never been a physical football team in the past, but they are inexperienced and really inexperienced. Chavis will send his boys from all angles and repeatedly hit...

4) UCLA QB Kevin Craft - the community college transfer does not scare me. Ben Olson, yes. Kevin Craft? The guy threw three interceptions in a UCLA scrimmage game. What is going to do in the Rose Bowl with blitzing Vols and a defensive backfield of Eric Berry, Demetrice Morley and Dennis Rogan?


5) Phil Fulmer - call me crazy, but I think Phil still senses the Vols vultures hovering above him even after last season. The Vols have the potential to be a really, really good team this year and Fulmer knows it. To win the SEC East this year over Georgia and Florida would be feather in his cap and to win the entire SEC and go BCS bowling again would silence his critics for some time. With the addition of Dave Clawson, I think Fulmer is going to be energized and eager to put the Vols back into the national spotlight once again. It starts Monday night.

Glass Half Empty - 5 Reasons to Worry About the UCLA Game

1) Jonathan Crompton - he was a big recruit, has tons of talent and showed great promise as a freshmen. So why worry?

Here is why: he stunk last year, is inexperienced and had to learn a brand new offense this off-season. Worried, now?

The Vols will go where Crompton takes them. I'm not sold that Arian Foster can carry the Vols on his back and I'm not sold that the Tennessee receivers are good enough to make plays on their own without great quarterback play. There is no doubt that Crompton will have weapons around him, but not the type of weapons that can mask his poor play.

If we see the Jonathan Crompton we saw against LSU two years ago, we'll be alright. If we see the Crompton that looked baffled and confused whenever he took snaps last year, we are in for a long season and a long night in the Rose Bowl.

2) Rick Neuheisel - the guy might be an idiot when it comes to common sense on the job, but he can coach. The Bruins will be fired up to impress their new coach, to usher in a new era in UCLA football and to pull off a major opening season upset.

Would I rather Karl Dorrell still be the head coach at UCLA? Yes, yes and yes. Neuheisel is an upgrade who might have a few tricks up his sleeve for Fulmer and the Boys.

3) Norm Chow - yes, that Norm Chow. The architect of the USC Trojans' National Championship offense. The architect of the Tennessee Titans...well, that wasn't his finest work.

Chow is a college guy and he'll be ready to exploit weaknesses in Tennessee's defense. He might not have the tools right now to do it, but once again the Bruins are better in the coaching department than they were six months ago.

4) Dave Clawson - the great unknown. Remember that great feeling two years ago when David Cutcliffe's offense crushed the Cal Bears in the season opener? We were finally out of the Randy Sanders Era and back to playing good offensive football.

We might have that feeling once again...or we might now. Dave Clawson brings plenty of success to Knoxville, but that success was at Villanova and Richmond. Those are not UCLA caliber teams. Is Clawson over his head? Does Clawson have the offense ready for his new system? It could be great, but it could also be awful.

5) Depth - the story of the scrimmage schedule has been dissatisfaction with the second and third units. Fulmer called them out, saying they were not ready to compete in the SEC. That would be fine if this was spring practice, but we are just days from the season opener.

If Tennessee is crossing its fingers for no injuries to expose its lousy bench, the Vols are in trouble. There will be guys hurt on Monday night and there will be a need for guys to come off the bench ready to play. Let's hope they are more ready than we have been led to believe.

Kotsay to the Red Sox

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ge-kotsay082508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

J.D. Drew's current trip to the DL apparently prompted this. I really liked Kotsay as a Brave-- I'm excited.

U.S. Open Starts Today!

I don’t have a whole lot of time to do a comprehensive preview of the world’s premier hard court tennis tournament, so I thought I’d just jot down a few thoughts:

1. Who the hell made up this draw? I’m most annoyed by the fact that Donald Young (pictured) has to play James Blake tonight in the first round. That’s right, by tomorrow the number of African-American men in the draw will be cut in half. Even though I’ve been critical of the state of American Tennis, the lefty Donald Young is a true bright spot. He’s a charismatic 19-year old African-American, currently ranked 99th in the world.

2. Is this the beginning of a new era? Not only does the current defending four-time champion, Roger Federer, come in as an underdog, but he enters a grand slam tournament as something other than the number one seed for the first time since . . . since . . . I don’t know when. Hey Rafa, good luck being the hunted. Which leads me to:

3. Can Nadal win his third straight Grand Slam of the year? Yes. Will he? I’m not so sure. While Rafael has already proven he can win on hard courts, he’s yet to get past the quarters in New York. He is also on a collision course to meet Andy Murray in the semi-finals. Murray is currently ranked #6, but since his coming out party at Wimbledon this year, he’s been playing some amazing tennis. He’s also my pick to win the whole thing. You read it here first!

4. Who is going to win on the Women’s side? Due to Justine Henin’s early retirement, the women head into this tournament without a clear favorite. In fact, there are six women who have a shot at becoming number one in the world with a win here at Flushing Meadows. Even though Sharapova is out with an injury (you’ll still see plenty of her during the commercial breaks), I’m still making a bold prediction that this year’s winner will be Russian—the Russian women swept the medals in Beijing. My pick: look for Dinara Safina (Marat Safin’s younger sister) to win the first of many slams to come.

The Beijing Olympics - Peas From the Same Pod

I'm not the biggest Olympic guy in the world, but the 2008 Games hooked me in at the opening ceremony and held me all the way through the Redeem Team's gold medal victory. In a year of great sports moments, these games had more than their share.

Michael Phelps dominated the games with his eight golds...until Usain Bolt lightninged his way to three world records. The basketball gold medal game was an instant classic, but the best American basketball team was probably the women's team that barely broke a sweat in Beijing. The American track team was a miserable disappointment, but the water polo guys came out of nowhere to grab a silver medal.

Even China, with its repressive government, mistreatment of the Tibetans, aid to the Sudanese government, censorship of the media and the rest, came across as a likable place. Going into the games I had serious reservations about the games highlighting today's China. I still do. But I've got to be honest: I enjoyed the heck out of the Chinese atmosphere and culture. With the exception of one nut, the games seemed to be safe for athletes and fans alike. China's government might be ugly, but it came through in regards to these Olympics.

The Olympics and China are peas from the same pod: they are as wonderful and beautiful as they are terrible and tragic. For every Michael Phelps there is a tae kwon do idiot kicking a referee, a racer tossed for juicing or wrestler throwing down his medal. For the beauty of the opening ceremony there are stories about inhumane treatment of the performers in preparation. It will be the same in four years when the game visiting London and the same four years after that as well.

The older I get, the more I realize that politics is sports and sports is politics. The only difference is that sports have more equipment. The good and the bad that comes along with both was displayed to the world for the last two weeks in China.