RichlandsAlum

In almost a photo negative way (compared to Richlands), I seem to recall Marion using blue as an accent color pretty frequently. And on one occasion Sonny Hagy outfitted his team with blue jerseys -- which they changed into after pregame warm-ups. I have always thought it cool that Graham has separate official colors for academics and athletics. That doesn't alter the fact that I hate Graham (in a loving Christian way, of course).

It's a pay site, but the preview at the link below shows the light blue "alternate" jerseys. Guessing the pants in the photo were plain white -- and probably practice pants because I don't remember those jerseys being worn without light blue pants in a game situation. https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-aug-31-1975-p-58/

I think Coach Heldreth is the first person to officially "standardize" Navy Blue upon his arrival as football coach/AD in 1979. Prior to that, there was a real hodgepodge of various shades of blue. In football, Coach Hammond seemed to generally prefer Navy Blue with red trim -- although there was a light blue "alternate" with red trim that was also used. His tenure was roughly from the late '60s to 1978 for the sake of reference. Beginning approximately the time of the switch to polymer helmets in the early 1950's, Coach Hicks outfitted his teams in silver helmets and light blue jerseys. (Very similar to the uniforms worn by the Detroit Lions -- who were extremely successful at that time and possibly influenced the RHS outfit). This was pretty much a constant throughout the remainder of his tenure (which ended in 1964). Light blue (in various forms and shades) was the primary color worn by basketball teams from about 1950 until the adoption of Navy Blue and white for the 1980-81 season. Jack Lyons introduced red trim to those uniforms when he took over the helm in the mid 1970's. When baseball was reintroduced in the late 1970s, the color scheme was primarily Navy Blue and white with red trim. There was also a single random grey stripe on the home white jersey (sandwiched between a red stripe and a blue stripe). Coach Altizer introduced road greys with Navy trim and home whites with Navy pinstripes in the early 1980s. I've basically heard that the only official stance in terms of color prior to 1979 was simply "blue." In any event, some of the variants (like letterman's jackets and cheerleader uniforms) were pretty dismal looking. A lot of red started to appear in the mid 1970's. I would guess that there might be some association between that and the observance of the Bicentennial -- or the gear salesmen were just told to push that particular color. Either way, my opinion is that the formal designation of Navy was a great -- and overdue -- improvement. I wore some of the old light blue garb as a middle school player (it was simply handed down and re-used until it was pretty much worn out). And although I appreciated the history associated with it, I wasn't upset to see it ultimately phased out.

It wasn't too bad, actually. Helmets were white - some variation there with blue and red stripes and the aforementioned red 'R' from year to year. Home jerseys were solid navy blue. No stripes. But numbers were white and sleeve cuffs were red. White jerseys were similar (blue numbers and red cuffs). Two sets of pants. White pants had red/blue/red stripes. Navy pants had white/red/white stripes. There was also what I guess amounts to an "alternate" uniform, which was primarily light blue with red trim. Light blue jerseys with red numerals and white sleeve cuffs. Light blue pants with red/white/red stripes. These were the uniforms I remember seeing as a really young kid going to games. I'd peg the date range for them from about 1974 through 1978. Highly unlikely that there are any color photographs showing these uniforms. But there are definitely some random black and white shots from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (particularly the football season preview editions from those years). Messing around a bit with a template and Microsoft Paint I created the attached example. Occasionally Richlands would also wear the blue pants at home (which was a pretty sharp looking combination, IMO).

Pretty sure that Tazewell's official colors are simply Kelly Green and White. So anything beyond that is subject to the whim of any individual coach. I thought the early '80s kit with the yellow trim and grey pants was pretty sharp. Similar issue in Richlands. Officially Navy and White are the colors (and Navy has only been the designated shade since 1980 or thereabouts). But it's not unusual to see that paired with silver/grey. And the basketball coaches favored light blue as an accent during the mid '80s there.

We wound up getting really involved in England's run in the World Cup. My wife and son happened to be in the UK last week and watched the semifinal game in a South Bank London pub. Although the outcome wasn't what we had hoped, that was a really great and unique experience for the two of them. And even if England had been able to resolve Croatia's aggressive style of play, I think France would've pounded them mercilessly in the final.

Don't know when I'll make it to Audi, but I'm looking forward to it. As much nostalgia as I have for RFK, watching the game in a facility specifically designed for soccer has to be a superior experience.

That seems to be a good summary of the situation that Tazewell and other SW Virginia localities are facing. Although I'm an expenditure wonk by nature, this would appear to be a revenue-driven issue. Unless someone really brilliant can pull a rabbit out of a hat, only resolution I see is a combination of consolidation, increased taxes for residents, and debt.

Oh wow.... I just assumed Mooresville because I know that they are building some new schools there and the population figure seemed about right. I'm sure that the leadership of Cornelius had its reasons, and I have no basis for criticism, but I don't know why any locality within Mecklenburg would try to do something like that on a public school basis. Then again, I know that particular community has a longstanding affinity for big ticket capital items. I thought Davidson had stepped in it with regard to their decision to enter the cable business. But that looks much worse. Not that it matters, but Mooresville is on pretty solid footing and it's not far up the road -- unless your brother is seriously enamored with Cornelius, of course.

Not trying to pick a fight or be a major smart a--, but this does seem to be a good time to interject an observation about public debt. If the functionality of the proposed schools is maintained for as long as our great-great-grandchildren will be alive, why is it unreasonable to finance the construction of those facilities in such a manner that they will share in the cost of them? Of course, from a literal standpoint that isn't likely to happen -- most traditional issues have a limit of 30 years for repayment. In terms of scale, I don't know how far out of whack that $2 billion dollars is for a market of the size and nature of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a fan of debt (and I'm currently on track to make my own organization debt free by 2026). But for major capital improvements, there are many facets to that discussion. And if a community truly values public education, debt for schools is a concrete political example of "putting your money where your mouth is." Reading between the lines, I assume that sixcat's brother lives in Mooresville. I've been gone from that area for a while but based on my understanding of that community's demographics and economic trends, I don't think an additional debt load of $245 million is going to place a huge financial burden on Mooresville.

Liverpool supporter here. (And the less said about the Champions League final, the better. Thank you very much.) Got tickets for the ICC match next month in Charlotte against Dortmund and we are looking forward to seeing the Reds live. Of all teams at any level, this is probably my strongest allegiance in soccer (and my kids would probably say the same) -- even though the primary reason behind our support is pretty dumb, to be honest. In terms of MLS, I follow DC United primarily because they're the closest franchise to my residence (and we have gone to more than a few matches at RFK over the years). Oldest son pulls for LA Galaxy, which makes things a bit interesting in our house. If San Diego is ever granted a franchise, I would have a strong inclination to follow them (mainly to aggravate the eldest boy). We also watch La Liga primarily for the quality of play. But just to stir controversy there, two of my sons support Real Madrid, one declares for Barcelona, and I pull for Atletico. And our travel club has some formal connections to Swansea (EPL) and Rangers (Scottish Premiership), so I have some interest in them. Really enjoy international competition, but I think USA soccer still has a way to go in terms of being truly competitive. Since USMNT failed to qualify for the World Cup, I find myself guided by ancestry in terms of a rooting interest this summer. Strongest personal ties are to England, so I'll be following Three Lions for as long as they are in the running.

Another fun dynamic within the Augusta County footprint is the adjacency/presence of two independent city school systems (Waynesboro and Staunton) and a number of private schools with full athletic programs that are within reasonable commuting distance. The allegations of recruiting by certain SW Virginia football programs (*ahem*) pale in comparison to the outright solicitation and marketing of players and programs that takes place there. My sister lives within the city limits of Waynesboro but was a faculty member at Stuarts Draft for many years. My nephew started high school at Draft, was strongly "encouraged" for his entire four years to stay at Waynesboro, and ultimately graduated from a nearby private school in Charlottesville (where he had accepted a scholarship to play basketball). And during that entire time Robert E. Lee and a couple of other public schools were whispering in his ear. So yeah, I can definitely believe that the Augusta school system has a policy directive which places value on its schools' ability to compete on a state level.

Still a fantastic run by the Lady Blues and a memorable season. Congrats to Coach Lindsey and her charges.

I'm not sure how much of LCA's agreement with the VHSL is public -- mainly because it was a settlement reached as a result of threatened litigation. To start with, I find it extremely hard to believe that they've lost 74 students since 2015. I suppose it's possible in the wake of their decision not to pair enrollment at LCA with guaranteed admission/reduced tuition at LU. But I'd still love to know how the VHSL is vetting their reported numbers. Another alleged detail of their deal was that all of their participants will have to be drawn from the attendance area of the Lynchburg City School district within a certain period of time. Not many people in this area trust them to stick with that -- and the perceived administrative costs and difficulty associated with enforcement seem to be pretty significant as well. And if it were enforced, one would think that this would actually reduce their numbers for classification purposes -- even with the multiplier in effect. Not sure why the VHSL didn't test this in court (although I have my own theories about that).

Couple of thoughts.... 1. There are at least one (and probably two) too many classifications within the VHSL. One for the smallest schools and one for the largest with two in between should be completely sufficient to ensure some level of competitive equity. The current system of six -- with its constant bouncing up and down for most schools from 2A to 4A -- completely wrecks any aims or notions of scheduling consistency (which in itself is a hardship, IMO). 2. Admittedly I'm no fan of Liberty Christian Academy competing in the VHSL at all, but their ADM numbers bear extremely close scrutiny. You guys in 2A are not going to be happy about playing their semi-professional/international teams if and when they drop down to that level.