UVAObserver

I didn’t compile victories for Graham in my calculation...

Graham would have 176, and that includes an 8 year stretch where Graham went 1-7 in the playoffs: 1976 - 1 1981 - 8 1984 - 1 1986 - 6 1987 - 1 1989 - 18 1990 - 8 1991 - 6 1992 - 1 1993 - 8 1994 - 6 1995 - 18 1997 - 6 1998 - 8 1999 - 1 2000 - 1 2001 - 12 2002 - 6 2003 - 8 2004 - 1 2005 - 6 2006 - 6 2007 - 1 2008 - 1 2009 - 3 2011 - 1 2012 - 1 2013 - 1 2014 - 1 2015 - 3 2016 - 6 2017 - 6 2018 - 18

This would be an interesting exercise. I can think of at least 8 SWVA schools that would almost certainly outpoint Elizabethton in that same time period. Gate City, Giles, Powell Valley, Graham, Appalachia, Richlands, Clintwood, and George Wythe are locks. Pulaski County and Radford would be close.

This post for some reason reminds me of the adage that if we judge a fish by its ability to walk, the fish will always be a failure. Not every male will have the talent or drive to play sports, and that’s the way it should be.

Given my age, I fall square between Generation X and the Millennials (though technically I fall in the latter category, I have little in common with 1990s babies). When I was 5, I had 13 channels on TV. When I was 17, I could download 1000 songs per week off the Internet. This is a prelude for what I’m about to say. There’s a constant pining on this board for the good old days, when men were men; when every single boy played football; and when a succession of presidents with dreadful foreign policy had the U.S. embroiled in unwinnable wars. In case y’all haven’t noticed, our population is on average roughly 25% less than what it was back then. Since fewer of the remaining 75% are having babies than their ancestors (mostly because the young ones fled the region leaving the old ones behind), our schools are roughly 40% smaller than in the era of LSD and 8-tracks. For schools like Pocahontas, that means closure. For schools like Garden and Whitewood, that means consolidation. For every 10 linemen you had in 1974, you have about 6 now. What used to be depth now is simply having enough to play iron-man. In addition, what most of the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers bemoan as “picking up a controller” is in reality becoming more oriented in STEM and electronics. I hate to break this to anyone, but coal will never again be what it was in 1973. Information technology (IT) is the backbone of our future economy. The boys that used to bale hay and dig ditches in the summer, which lends itself to a sport like football, are now learning to code and program, which doesn’t lend itself. Every generation has its lazy kids, and this generation has it in the exact same proportion as did the Baby Boomers and Generation X. The kids who lay around smoking dope and play Fortnite today are the same kids who laid around smoking dope and playing guitar terribly in 1975. There were probably more of them in 1975, because there were more people in general. Far be it from me, though, to criticize the generations who gave us the pet rock and pension systems that irreparably leach the retirement funds of the younger generations to subsidize themselves. It’s ALL because the kids of today are lazy and worthless. The kids of today will be responsible for repairing the mess left behind by the generations who are criticizing their work ethic. And I, for one, am not going to ride them like Seattle Slew, even if it means that we have fewer kids playing football. Rant over.

If this game is within 2 scores, I’d be surprised. Bluefield’s going to be scary good this season, and Graham has to figure a few things out still yet.

You completely neglected the Bonanza, one of the proud 21 remaining restaurants in the chain. The meat loaf and rolls alone are reason to party.

I think if Tazewell County ever consolidates, it will be into 1, not 2. There’s no clear geographic or logistics divide that would make the schools of equal number. And since Tazewell County combined would be a 5A high school, with no local competition in that division, I think it will be a long, long time, potentially decades away.

I could start at QB and Graham would win 3 games...

This has the potential to rip the community apart. Shameful and sad.

Sharp helmet indeed.

Brogdon’s deal is reported to be 4 yr./$85M. That’s good walking around money. Also, from a UVA perspective, Joe Harris will enter his contract year on the Nets this year along their new core of players. Mike Scott signed a 2 yr./$8.5M deal with the 76ers also.

A little research and you would have known that Bermuda is a warm-season grass that historically grows poorly outside the Piedmont and Tidewater. The first frost kills its growth, which is customarily in early October in the mountains. Given the trampling it will receive starting in about 6 weeks, and given that deep root growth for Bermuda is 6 weeks in a BEST-case scenario, then GMan’s much closer in his reckoning than are you. But what else is new... BTW, they should have used Kentucky bluegrass or fescue.

And that’s the sort of impact I’m talking about. Duncan wouldn’t have have carried that ‘81 Rockets team to the finals, or allowed that ‘83 76ers team to come 6 points shy of going “fo-fo-fo”. Duncan was on teams that had Ginobili, Parker, Bowen, Leonard, and ultra 6th man, Big Shot Bob Horry (the first 2 of which stayed around forever). Malone made 2 Finals and won 1 title with a Julius Erving that was in the twilight of his career, and he played with a very young Barkley that only really found himself when Malone had been sapped by injury. That’s virtually it.

What an absurd justification. One, the competition was objectively FAR superior during the Malone era. With the Rockets, he had to battle the Lakers. They had Kareem (HOF, all-time points leader), M. Johnson (HOF, top 5 all-time player), Worthy (HOF), McAdoo (HOF). They had a HOFer backing up a HOFer. With the 76ers, he had to battle the Celtics. They had Bird (HOFer, top 5 all-time player), McHale (HOF), D. Johnson (HOF), Walton (HOF), and Parish (HOF). They could literally play 5 HOF at once. And he beat the Lakers once and the Celtics once! I don’t even have to show that this was pre-expansion, which by its own nature dilutes the talent pool. That’s preposterous that you’d use that as any justification, and it really damages your whole argument. Two, PPG in the NBA never topped 101.0 in Duncan’s era. PPG never dipped below 101.4 in Malone’s era. It’s two different eras! Offense was the priority in Malone’s era, and he lit it up while rebounding (a defensive contribution) better than anyone at his position in NBA history. BTW, he did make 2 NBA all-defense teams. Trying the dismiss Malone because his defensive win-shares were low ignores the fact that there were 10 more possessions per game in that era, and that defensive philosophy flourished with the rules changes in the mid-90s that helped Duncan thrive. Three, touting the number of awards Duncan has (15-12 all-NBA) relative to Malone wholly ignores that Malone spent 4 years in the ABA (1 all-ABA), and lost 2+ years to a broken foot. In terms of MVPs, Malone has more, two of those coming on a team with Dr. J. Ask yourself this: does Duncan win more than 1 title if you switch him with Malone? No, and they very easily could have lost the ‘83 title to boot. Does Malone win more than 5 if switched with Duncan? Considering San Antonio had some real offensive woes with Duncan (never won consecutive titles), even in a depleted Western Conference, it’s arguable he could have.