Bearcat Bob

The VHSL may not reward district champs with an automatic playoff spot but each district can (and many still do) recognize their regular season champion. Congratulations AHS.

I know we were good last year. That is one reason why this year has been so very frustrating. Just not the same attitude/effort/something. I do not know!?! First thing in the morning, I am going over to a little hollow not far from here, near Sugar Grove, and climb into a tree stand. Maybe I can leave Smyth County with something other than this foreboding feeling!.

There is still time on the clock but the fat lady is singing in this one. Congrats to Marion, they have a solid team. I am ever the optimist when it comes to VHS but this year has been one VERRRRYYYY frustrating season. After last year's playoffs and then having a large number of kids come out this year, we should be ahead of where we are. We have athletes, maybe not football players in the truest sense of the word but athletes nonetheless. We have the facilities. All the ingredients are there but SOMETHING is obviously missing. I did not expect the Bearcats to go undefeated but I did expect them to be competitive in every game. Never would have guessed that over half the games would be "running clock" situation in the 2nd halves. Many on here may not remember but VHS USED to be a very decent football school. During my years and my brothers years, we competed with everybody...did not win them all but at least we competed. Maybe Fred Fisher was a better coach than I thought...and I thought he was a very good coach. My venting is over now...thank you and good night!

A win would probably guarantee VHS a spot in the playoffs if the gurus I have seen elsewhere are correct. But that would be a tall task to ask for at this point in the Pumpkin Brigades' progression. Do my beloved Bearcats have chance tonight?

JSB is better than they were at the beginning of the season. That said, Lee still gives them a spanking Friday night.

This is one of those "good news-bad news" kind of things. The Falcons beat Richlands (good news for AHS). And now for the bad news: they are still A-B-I-N-G-D-O-N!

Yes. Yes you do.

To answer an earlier question, I believe the record is 193-0.

Forgive my ignorance...is it still Bland/Rocky Gap? I have not followed their team for many years. Just curious.

A. Offense=score points B. Defense=stop offense C. Whining=A could not stop B

Oh for goodness sake! If you post something, own it. You cannot put the genie back in the bottle. The more you harp on "what I really meant" just makes it stink even more. Should you feel the need to apologize, do so and move on.

I have seen both play my beloved Bearcats. Abingdon is much better than they have been, absolute fact. They do not play like the wine and cheese crowd of old. I did not see their match up with Gate City but from all honest accounts, AHS put up a good fight (for a 31-0 game that is). Richlands was just plain solid all over the field. You could tell from their body language that they just knew they were going to win. If I had a gun to my head and had to pick a winner, I would have to say Richlands, but not in a blow out. A lot of folks on here are claiming to have played the most difficult schedule. Fair enough but I would argue that VHS' has to at least be in the conversation: Tenn. High, Richlands, Gate City, Abingdon, and Tazewell with Lebanon, Marion and Lee on the horizon is formidable to say the least. Only breathers were JSB and Chilhowie (and that wasn't easy).

MM...No wonder you lost money on the Super Bowl last year. The Colts were not in it.

I am more concerned with China and their "don't give a damn attitude" and third world countries burning rain forests than I am about an American Gas company fracking.

And there is no way in Hades that my brother would ever say anything good about Abingdon...even if it were true! He and a certain RB from Abingdon have a less than pleasant history.

WHOA!!! Pump the brakes UVAO!!!! My brother is known as "Mountaineer Man" on another message board. He started using that name in honor of his alma mater's (Appy State) big win over Michigan a few years ago. I do not know who this "Mountain Man" character is on this board. I do know for a fact that "Mountaineer Man" only posts on the other board because he likes to go at it with mostly the Gate City fan base. If he ever starts over here, I'll quit! Unlike me he can be obnoxious!

Good Will Hunting reference?

I do not want to engage in a long, drawn out battle of whether fracking is good or not. I happen to believe that the fracking industry is safe, effective and can be an incredibly useful tool. Others may believe differently. There is not enough data and history to really determine the long term issue that may arise from this process so I'll keep an open mind. But I will say it again, look at what is happening in the Dakotas. It is hard to argue with the success going on there. I also find it somewhat interesting and almost comical that we (mankind) have such a high opinion of ourselves. The Earth has been here a LONG time and will probably be here a LONG time after we as a species are gone. In reality, we change the composition of a few things here and there but we PROBABLY have a negligible effect on the planet as a whole. Other than a little space junk we send into orbit and the few comets that hit us every so often, there is really nothing here that hasn't always been here. Dust to dust and all that... I recall reading somewhere that a volcano eruption polluted the planet more in a day or two than humans did in YEARS. At any given time, 1/3 of the Earth is in drought; 1/3 is about average; and 1/3 is above average. The Earth warms and cools; I seriously doubt that we have any real effect on that cycle. So, I think if we can find something that helps the people as a whole, why not use it? We have regulations out the yazoo to ensure it is safe. Otherwise, the UVAOs of the world would be out of business! In our business, we move a lot of dirt. Mother Earth has this uncanny ability to fix things she does not like! But plastic bottles seem to have a way of avoiding her immediate wrath! I am officially off the soap box and going back to work. No offense UVAO...

Famous last words? If, and I mean if, Abingdon enters your game with one loss and wins, I wouldn't call that the upset of the year. Hopefully VHS makes it a moot point Friday night.

Ryan should be the biggest of VHS fans Friday night...he said if Abingdon goes 9-1, he would leave this board. An Abingdon win puts them a little closer to that...

What's really bad about all this for me is that there is a strong POSSIBILITY that Abingdon will win this Friday night. Dang that would be hard to swallow...

The current administrating in D.C. has basically stated that one of its goals is to end the coal industry. When I had my new well dug, it had to be fracked to get through the rock to the water. Done correctly, fracking can be a benefit. The Dakotas are certainly benefitting from those efforts.

Friday, we received an email from the UVA ticket office in reference to our baseball season tickets renewal. Now we have to pay an additional $150 per ticket (which all goes to VSAF). There is no guarantee that we will keep our seats which we have had for 10 years. There was a note explaining that we could "donate" more than the $150 per seat. That would be "taken in to consideration" when assigning reserved seat locations! We do not use the seats ourselves that much because of the distance but we make sure that somebody uses our tickets every game. We had a 97% use last year (yes they keep up with that as well). And it still does not matter...show them the money!

Congrats to R-lands. Kind of makes that whooping we received last week a tiny bit easier to swallow!

It is just not football. Littlepage and company pulled a similar stunt with the baseball seating about 5-6 years ago. I know several long time baseball supporters who lost their "blue" seats to fat cat donors who rarely show up at the games.