chipinbogey

Oh to be a fan again. I report next Friday morning for my first college scrimmage of spring ball, have a clinic to attend Saturday, and two more preseason clinics already on the calendar paid for with rooms booked. VHSL stuff usually won't start up until the end of July, but if you pull double duty like me, you literally get about 2 months away from football. I'm not complaining though, just providing some insight to those that are not aware of the work and sacrifice that goes into our avocation as officials. Remember, we don't drop out of the sky on Friday's and Saturday's.

They had 6? last Saturday at Lee. At Battle they were down to 4.

Genius men line baseball socks with airplane bottles encircling their calves and do not have to worry about sharing because you literally have almost snuck a fifth in if you do it right. I may or may not know from experience.

Something to consider, December 15th is a big day of sports at UVA Wise with the All Star game, and a 30 team wrestling tournament going on at the Convocation Center. Parking may or may not be an issue. Either way, that is GREAT for the economy of Wise County and the student-athletes of Southwest Virginia. I for one will be back and forth between the two events.

Unless there are so many cowbells that the stadium simply does not have the staff to confiscate them. I'm not saying a mob mentality works all the time, but we see how far the SEC got at Miss State with getting them taken. There is 0% chance that the on-field crew will call any sort of unsportsmanlike foul because of cowbells.

Can anyone confirm or deny that the press conference announcing the new GC coach has been moved to Emory?

I think you're confused or I have a comprehension issue. Union/Burton is usually Week 1 on Thursday.

Ok, if it benefits that particular bench for them to be adjusted, who on that sideline is going to say any different? The home team can choose whichever bench they prefer, there is no rule that dictates which side a team's bench must be on, so it isn't really all that questionable, although our eyes and brains have trained to be dark jerseys with backs to the press box. I saw it on Twitter over the weekend, so I could definitely see that they moved. What I couldn't see is the clip man, which would take some real dedication and sneakiness to make that move that quickly.

Why were the chains on the home side is my first question? Unless it's similar to a Hurley setup where they are the team facing the press box, that should never be an issue. That matter is trivial compared to the matter that the HL (maybe LJ in this case) did not do a great job in their pregame with the chain crew. You HAVE to keep your eyes on them and most of the time in the back of your head because it is frowned upon to look back. A lot of them do amazing jobs for nothing more than a hot dog and bottle of water at half time, if they even get that. This isn't on the line judge(as the heavily biased article states) as much as the chain crew. The chain crew is an essential part of the game, and I remind everyone I have the pleasure of working with that by accepting that position, they forfeit all bias and are under the direction of the head linesman and referee. This seems like it wasn't communicated, and if it was, it was not communicated strongly enough. 1instripes, I'll agree that probably shouldn't be a line of commentary made by an observer, however, I do not find it shocking. I've learned in my relatively short officiating life span that there are plenty of "cut throat" officials everywhere who never miss a chance to throw their brother under the bus to keep the heat off of their neck.

How about a "Wheel of Fortune" style selection process? Plot twist, Akers and whoever is working the first window at GC pals at kickoff on Fridays has a space on the wheel.

They scrimmaged each other up at Central during the first week, which I found odd to scrimmage a regular season opponent but, hey whatever. The 1's played pretty evenly. When the subs came in, Tazewell had a definitive edge. Keep in mind this was after a week or so of practice on turf, in 80 degree heat. It should be a great football game in all honesty.

By my math, a about 10 whole life policies for adult smokers above the age of 50 and that's before you grease underwriting to get them written FOR SURE.

I would argue Honaker as Article A by scheduling George Wythe (perennial 1A power), PH(Stevie Wonder saw Palmer making them a winner), Ridgeview and Burton. Grundy as Article B by scheduling Lebanon(although they're down still a decent 2A in most years), Pikeville(Top 5 KY 1A), Tazewell (much love to them on the rise), Burton and Ridgeview(enough said). A case can even be made for Burton by playing their opener against the U every year and Chilhowie, although, it is not their fault that the Cumberland is year in and year out a cake walk usually coming down to a winner take all matchup. The relative top heavy BDD coaches realize that with only 3 games, they must schedule some tougher non district matchups to battle test their kids for playoffs. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

With the recent temperature drop, what makes for better football games, the heat and humidity ones, or the muddy, sloppy, bone chattering ones that spit snow? Do you think there is a chink to be found in Ridgeview's armor, if so explain, or was it just an off week for the Pack?

Picks in BOLD

That game would be a SELL OUT at either stadium. Can you imagine how high the half and half would get?

Brady knows his food after listening to this episode. The egg roll is unlike any other egg roll you’ll ever have. Also, I am a die hard Kentucky fan, not just basketball although I will pull for the Gobblers in Saturday too, but cannot necessarily claim fandom. I will also bet against Tennesuck and UVA any chance I get when the terms are right but never for them.

According to the NFHS, targeting is defined as the act of taking aim and INTIATING contact to an opponent ABOVE the shoulders with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow, or shoulders. If it fits in this box IT IS TARGETING. That is the guideline we are given. Personally as an official, since there is no ejection rule in HS, I would rather err on the side of caution and make a targeting call on a bang bang play than keep it in my pocket. I am trying to recall if we are instructed as an association at the high school level to do this as a mechanic, but in my college association, if you're not sure, call it anyway and the video will sort it out before next Saturday.19 times out of 20, if it's a targeting call, we get it right. These actions are not football moves but, attempts to injure and maim. You, me or anybody else out there does not know a player intent when making a hit, so whether it was on purpose or not is irrelevant. I am all for a player overpowering another one and showing his ability, but not at the expense of another player's long term health and wellness if we can prevent it. It is football and things do happen that we will never be able to ultimately prevent. As officials, we are charged with protecting the players and managing a very fast paced, physical and emotional game while and upholding the rules provided to us, in that order. Now for your specific example, I have seen ball carriers lower their head and shoulders my entire life. I have seen the running styles also evolve over the years to avoid contact instead of "running through someone". Here is my philosophy though, if I can identify the main ball carriers for a team and watch how they run, I can see their tendencies. Do they avoid contact? If they initiate, are they trying to extend the play, or punish the defender? What part of their body are they leading with? All of those draw my eye to keep a closer eye on a particular player. Some plays are more obvious than others, and will happen right in your lap. I like many other officials I have spoken with are having a tough time reprogramming our brains and eyes on what would have been just a hard nosed play 10 years ago to what is now a foul. If I see a kid running with his head down and not commit a foul on that particular play, I do some preventive officiating and speak with the kid and the coach during the dead ball period to try to avoid him even risking injury, much less the foul itself. It is going to take years and cycles of kids to adapt to the new rules by players, coaches teaching the game and officials who are in a position to teach and apply the rules correctly. The game of football is under attack by the United States of the Offended to change our ways and make the game safer by removing the types of hits that lead to long term head trauma, and we must do it to preserve the game we all love so much.

He’s right! In all honesty, I hope I can achieve his skill level one day. Most people think we just drop out of the sky on Fridays and will never understand the work, level of understanding and people skills involved in our roles as officials.

Seeing how I pull on my stripes almost every Friday night, which schools and coaches would you say give officials the hardest time? I am interested to hear this from an outsiders point of view. Also, in another questions of hard hitting journalism, Cuz's cheezed egg roll or Bearded Moose's Holy Cheezus option? If you choose the latter, what burger do you choose.

It's your show, but these 0.5 spreads should be labeled "pick em" to stay true to the Vegas format, which I find to be the most attractive part of this game. But that's just like, my opinion, man.

1) Bluefield 2) Ridgeview 3) Pulaski 4)Chilhowie 5)Union 6) Galax 7) Graham 8) Mount View 9) Richlands 10) Patrick Henry

I agree. This is better than fantasy football by a long stretch. A little more challenging than a basic pick 'em. I love it.