Let's Eliminate All GHSA Region Assignments

Several years ago when I was a high school athletic director, I worked as a GHSA region secretary and a GHSA Executive Committee member.  I held those positions for more than a dozen years and was honored to represent the school principals, coaches, athletes, parents, and fans of the regions that elected me.  During and since that time, I've seen GHSA struggle through the expansion of championship classifications, a multiplier for private schools, and a variety of other travel/economic concerns related to re-classification and geographic region assignments.  

During the greatest portion of my time with GHSA, I was also a Georgia representative with NIAAA's leadership training program.  (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association with the National Federation of High Schools -- the national sanctioning and rules authority for high school athletics in the U.S.) That experience placed me with athletic directors and state athletic association leaders from all across the nation.  As a result, I had an opportunity to share Georgia's issues and concerns and listen to athletic leaders from every state.  Leaning on the information others shared, I once proposed to the GHSA Executive Committee a plan for dealing with many of the re-classification issues mentioned earlier.  My proposal was made more than ten years ago and was not popular with the leaders of the committee. It met immediate resistance and quickly died for lack of support.  I still believe a version of that proposal holds merit and its time has come.

My proposal, years ago, was to eliminate regions.  Allow every school to schedule the way they see fit in each sport, and adopt a computerized-interlocking schedule formula to create the end-of-season state playoff pairings.  The GHSA office could assign small "schedule requirement groups" to require schools within limited travel distance from one another and in the same classification to play one another in each sport.  This should help relieve the argument,"Nobody wants to play us."

Every travel concern argument I ever heard was about required region games, loss of classroom time, and the economic impact on a school.  The 'unspoken', underlying complaint was about competitive balance (i.e., too many strong teams in a given sport (usually football) assigned together.)  I rarely -- if ever -- heard a school complain about travel for a state playoff contest.  They were happy and excited to be in the playoffs!  There were also arguments about the imbalance in size of assigned regions (equal access to state playoff spots).  Without regions, all schools have equal access and can schedule locally or statewide if it best meets their program's financial standing and/or needs.  Schools would have to understand -- in such a format -- that scheduling would be extremely important regarding qualification for the state playoffs or playoff seeding.

The old guard of GHSA has always been "married" to 8 geographic regions in each classification and the pre-set playoff brackets that system creates.  (Yes, I know there have been some changes/acceptance in recent years in Class A, but not in other classifications.) There has also been a mistrust of any seeding formula.  If the highest level of NCAA football can utilize computers to assist their national championship selections, then why not GHSA?

The freedom of scheduling would allow GHSA to host some Saturday "Showcase" events using corporate sponsorship, television, and regional stadiums/arenas (maybe even college facilities) to enable profitable events that "interlock" schedules across the state during the regular season.  For example, imagine football or basketball events -- similar to the Georgia Dome finals -- scattered throughout the regular season where high profile programs from wider geographic areas face off.  These events would improve the "interlocking" portion of schedules and ratings.  They would strengthen the seeding process.  Meanwhile, programs trying to build or repair would have the opportunity to play one another more often.  

Quality computerized ratings programs would make sure those programs competing at higher levels against stronger competition would be rewarded come state playoff time.  Even "reasonable losses" against stronger competition would be rewarded at a greater rate than wins against weaker competition.  If there is not a single computer ratings program that is trusted for seeding, use an average of multiple systems like the BCS does.  I'm sure this state has sports-minded math experts that can create a formula that meets the criteria GHSA may require for playoff seeding.  The state could also adopt Massey, Sagarin, or any of the many other systems already developed.  Some of these are already being used by other states for playoff seeding.  As long as the rating system only uses data for the existing season (no historical standing/rating), then I am confident the seeding would not miss a true potential state champion when it seeds the Top 32 for each classification.  With all the current classifications consisting of less than 75 schools each, we are already placing almost fifty percent of teams in the state playoffs.  That would not need to change, but the 32 best rated teams would make the playoffs instead of four from each region.

Schools could still form leagues/conferences with geographic proximity.  They could still compete for "local" or "regional" championships.  These leagues would just have to build their championship formats within the overall schedule limits established by GHSA.  There would be the added bonus, however, of longevity.  Leagues would not have to change every two years.  They could become long standing and even include schools from more than one of GHSA's classifications.  Once the GHSA state playoffs begin, schools would compete for a state title against just the schools within their own classification.  These leagues would likely remain small, but would potentially include great traditional rivalries despite volatile classification assignments based on growing or shrinking enrollments.

I can also envision a huge media event resulting from the seeding results.  Imagine a TV show that reveals the GHSA state playoff pairings for football and basketball.  For our state, it would be similar to the Sunday Selection Show produced by the NCAA hoops tourney.  Other sports' brackets could be revealed and marketed with online streaming broadcasts.

Is this the perfect ultimate answer?  Maybe not.  It does, however, provide an answer to many of the complaints we hear every two years during re-classification and the assignment of geographic regions.  It also allows schools to decide their own schedules based on their level of success in each sport and their specific travel/economic concerns.

I welcome your questions and comments.

Tag play at plate in Game 3

Big questions for 2013 Braves

It is only February, but Grapefruit League camps have opened and so have my concerns for the 2013 version of the Atlanta Braves.  The nice 94-68 regular season record in 2012 came crashing to an end in a one-game playoff, but Atlanta was right there with the best teams in the National League and GM Frank Wren has made some nice moves to improve the Braves even more.  Big questions still abound, however, and it will be interesting to see if the new arrivals can match or improve the team Atlanta had a year ago.

The Braves used 107 different lineups last season, but Manager Fredi Gonzalez will likely go with one that looks similar to the following when everyone is healthy:

SS -- Simmons
RF -- Heyward
LF -- J. Upton
CF -- B.J. Upton
C -- McCann
1B -- Freeman
2B -- Uggla
3B -- Johnson / Francisco

SP: Hudson, Medlin, Minor, Maholm, Teheran, Beachy
RP/CL: Venters and Kimbrel

Key Departures:  For me, losing C David Ross to Boston and OF/INF Martin Prado to Arizona are a big deal.  Ross was consistent, handled pitchers well, and seemingly came up with timely work at the plate.  Ross was able to perform at a high level even if his playing time was sporadic.  As for Prado, he may have been our best baseball player.  There wasn't much the guy couldn't do.  I firmly believe he could have filled in at catcher or thrown a few innings of relief if asked. His bat was one of our most consistent and his work ethic was apparent.  OF Michael Bourne's speed in the outfield and at the top of the order are gone along with SP Tommy Hanson, but I like our ingredients to replace them -- at least on paper.  Some of the other losses, OF Eric Hinske, RHP Randall Delgado, RHP Chad Durbin, and OF Matt Diaz should be less impactful.

New Arrivals:  Outfielder brothers, B.J. and Justin Upton (along with returning Gold Glover Jason Heyward) give the Braves an excellent trio defensively and potentially the best group in baseball with relative youth as a bonus. 3B Chris Johnson could prove to be a key ingredient of the trade with Arizona and C Gerald Laird (acquired from Detroit) will need to perform well early while Brian McCann continues to recover from labrum surgery. 

With the roster changes in place, here are my looming questions.

1. Can Brian McCann return from labrum surgery well enough to match his six-time all star status?  Before last year's injury plagued season, McCann averaged 22HR, 86RBI, and a .269BA.  Laird, who will fill in, has only hit .244 and only has 37HR in over 700 major league games.

2. Who's in the Hot Corner?
Atlanta not only lost a retiring Hall of Famer in Chipper Jones, but traded away his most obvious replacement in Prado.  Now don't get me wrong, overall I like the trade, but it does beg the question of replacement.  Chris Johnson has been a starter for the Diamondbacks, but he committed the third most errors in the NL last year in only 129 games.  The Braves also have Juan Francisco who spotted in at third base in 2012, but he was also error prone in his 49 games.  Neither Johnson nor Francisco have hit lefties well, so who knows how that void will be filled?  While offensive production may have to shift to other positions, the defensive questions are a concern.

3. Who assumes to leadoff spot?
Gonzalez has said he envisions Simmons, Heyward, and Justin Upton at the top of his order, but when Andrelton Simmons arrived in Atlanta there were concerns if he would hit at all!  Suddenly, he is a major league leadoff hitter?  Simmons batted in the sixth and seventh spot most of 2012 and hit for a surprising .289BA with a .335OBP.  If he can bring those numbers with even more at-bats in the leadoff spot in 2013, he will be a great answer to the departure of Bourne.

4. Can Kris Medlen's arm share the increased innings burden?
Medlin has had great numbers as a reliever, but it appears he will be asked to assume a different role with the 2013 roster.  Gonzalez is going to need Medlin to start and go six or more innings on a consistent basis.  Brandon Beachy will not be ready to return until mid-June, so Medlin's effectiveness in this new role will be a huge factor for the Braves and will continue to impact the club into the late summer months.

5. Can Dan Uggla be more consistent?
Dan Uggla had a tough year in 2012, but the second baseman made some changes to his swing over the final month that Wren and Gonzalez called fruitful.  Uggla hit .301 over the final 22 games and additional winter diagnostics with some weight loss mark his plan for an improved 2013.  Although he is still sporting some of the best biceps in baseball, Uggla has dropped 20 pounds since the winter of 2012.  Let's hope he can shed the inconsistency rap as well.

Goodbye Hall of Famer

Years ago I taught a Speech and Presentation class at Cass High School. The class was made up of mostly freshmen, so I only knew a couple of the kids when the class began in August. After providing some preliminary instructions and going over some basics, I gave them their first assignment. They were to present a five minute speech on either of these topics: "The best day of your summer break." -- OR -- "The worst day of your summer break."

The kids prepared for a class period or two, organized and rehearsed for homework and then had to make their first-ever presentations for the course. It would be a good way for me to learn something about them, let them do some speaking without having to research a topic, and allow me opportunity to begin putting names with faces, etc.

Among these presentations was a cute little girl who started telling the story of "The worst day of her summer vacation." She began by describing this long journey to New York in a car with her family, but really caught my attention when she said the trip was to Cooperstown. Now I'm a baseball fan, so Cooperstown, NY and the Hall of Fame had me paying closer attention. Girls like baseball too! How could she have been so miserable visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame?

She went into a description of having to go to a reception for her grandfather who was being inducted into the Hall of Fame the next day and how boring all of it was for her. She was trapped in a hotel room and there just wasn't enough to do. Keep in mind, she never used her grandfather's name in the speech. She just kept referring to him as 'my grandfather.'

At this point, my mind is spinning. I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm looking at her last name on my class roll, but it doesn't immediately come to mind who her grandfather could be. . . . besides, it could be her maternal grandfather and the last names wouldn't be the same. I'm momentarily at a loss. I could not figure this out and her speech was continuing, so I kept listening for clues.

She was very descriptive. She talked about how boring Cooperstown was for a 14 year old girl. She talked about how hot and humid it was on the induction ceremony day. She complained about having to dress up for this occasion and sit in a folding chair for such a long period. She had to listen to long presentations and lengthy speeches from people she had never even heard of before.

She had been truly miserable.

Meanwhile, I'm the baseball fan still racking my brain to figure out possibilities of who her grandfather could be. I still had not figured it out as the summary of her first-ever speech was winding down. I was going to have to ask her who her grandfather was. Was he a player? a manager? a front office executive? a writer or announcer? Then it hit me.

Her last name was Weaver, so as she finished I asked: "Was your grandfather. . ." . and she interjected. "Earl Weaver."

My mouth probably dropped open and I looked around the room of 14 and 15 year old kids to see if they were just as astonished.  Of course they weren't. It was 1996. They had all been born in the 1980s and most didn't care one bit about baseball even though the hometown Braves had recently won a World Championship. One kid even asked: "Who was Earl Weaver? What did he ever do?"

So I received a quick lesson in generational gaps, but it gave me a chance to share a little baseball fan experience from my younger days.

For my memories, Weaver was the fiery manager of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1970s. His teams won over 100 games five times. They won the American League East six times and they were in the World Series four times, winning one. He was always feuding with his superstar pitcher, Jim Palmer. He was ejected from games almost as often as Bobby Cox in recent times and was well known for kicking dirt on the umpires during arguments. He was feisty, to say the least, but I loved his competitive -- almost combative -- managerial personality.

Over the years I've told versions of this experience many times, so it saddened me this morning to read of Earl Weaver's passing at the age of 82. He was vacationing on a cruise according to team reports. My prayers are with his, now adult, granddaughter from my speech class.  May peace and comfort be with her and her family. Rest in Peace, Earl of Baltimore. Rest in Peace.

Please make it a blowout

I have several friends that are die-hard Notre Dame fans and they will tell you I have been slow to come around regarding the Irish football success this season.  At the same time those friends will tell you I have no problem with Notre Dame's place in this year's national championship game.  It is simple, they fulfilled the obligations of their schedule and won every game.  (A schedule that has ultimately been rated slightly tougher than Alabama's.)  The Irish can't do more than that.  They've earned their top ranking and spot in the title game. 

Courtesy MrCFB, Tony Barnhart... 3 hours before kickoff

In contrast, Alabama detractors have a valid argument for Oregon to be the more deserving opponent.  Oregon's biggest blemish was similar to Florida's.  Each lost a game that kept them out of their own conference championship game, but let's not forget that issue did not keep Alabama out of the NCG in the past.  Oregon was also solid in their bowl appearance, and we all know what happened to the Gators.


The long layoff for teams before bowl games occasionally creates some mysterious results, but that often has more to do with motivation than any other factor.  Teams playing one game for a national championship will be motivated.  I don't think Alabama will be complacent as a defending national champion.  That means coaching, preparation, talent, and experience are a bigger deal in this game than most other bowl games and my opinion is the Crimson Tide hold an advantage.

Notre Dame's best chance in this game is similar to other upset bids.  The Irish need to start fast, take an early lead, and be successful enough with their ground game to hold off the Tide.  That would put pressure on A. J. McCarron to orchestrate a comeback and that would not be an easy task against that defense.  I don't, however, expect that to happen.

I have no brilliant revelations here.  My take on this game is similar to many.  Expect a close score at halftime.  Expect two conservative approaches as the two teams feel one another out, but expect the Tide rushing game to eventually prevail.  Many see Notre Dame's defense as the best in the country, but when Bama decided to run directly at Georgia in the SEC championship game their results were decisive.  Both teams want to lean on their defenses to control this game, but it will be surprising if Alabama's offensive line isn't again the big story by the end of this one.  The odds maker point spread sits at 10 points and the Tide should cover with a two touchdown victory.  My guess is 24-10.

If Notre Dame can somehow pull off the upset, please let it be by a two possession or more difference.  Even though we want a thrilling game as fans, we want our national champion to be definitely determined -- especially if it is an upstart, new team in the title mix.  Like it or not, Alabama gets the benefit of the doubt if they win a close game.  Similar to boxing or the Ryder Cup, the title holder gets to retain status in a perceived draw.  Since Notre Dame is breaking new ground (they were unranked to begin the year and are new to the title discussion in recent years), we do not want to hear about how the Irish (or the Tide for that matter) benefited from some controversial call.  If they can win it, let Notre Dame win in such a manner that no one doubts their prowess.  Let them have a clear cut victory -- even a blowout.

Either way, this game gives us some great story lines and plenty to talk about in days to come.