Perspective

I saw on X that this was the score in the 2nd quarter!

Legit question: do these rankings mean anything (anything at all) until the final rankings come out after the games are played the final week of the season?

C'mon, Ray . . . since when do pollsters have to be consistent?

My hunch (which isn't worth much lately) is that "quality losses" can have more value than beat-downs of inferior teams. Just a guess.

I know this falls into the category of "it ain't going to make any difference," as these two teams could play on one days rest or three weeks rest and it won't affect the outcome of the game, but three days rest for a district game is a pretty short turn-around (speaking of "safety first"). Why wouldn't they at least play on Wednesday night? Tropical storm force winds aren't expected tor each the Tampa Bay/central Florida area until Thursday morning, at the earliest. (And, yes, I could be one of those 'turning-into-your-parents' guys on the latest ad where they're talking about the weather).

I pIcked Norland over Chaminade. (Quoting Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: "Big mistake. Big. Huge.") I picked Osceola over Jones. Apparently, if the Osceola coach had managed the clock a little better or if the young QB hadn't taken a knee on 4th down to stop the clock, Osceola might have had the chance to kick a FG for the win . . . so, close, but no cigar. I picked an undefeated 5A Atlantic Delray over an undefeated 1A First Academy. 50/50 game and it went the wrong way for me. I had Edgewater over Apopka until about a minute before I posted my picks. I don't know why I changed my mind, but that was a bad hunch. I had Bishop Verot over Cardinal Mooney. But, so did everyone else, I think, so nothing lost there. I picked 4A Port Charlotte over 1A Naples First Baptist in the game I knew the least about . . . and it showed. In my second hunch game, I picked Columbia over Jax TC and they game up a TD short. In my third hunch game, I picked Buchholz to rebound and win a big road game up in Georgia, but, alas, the Bobcats came up a TD short, as well. Julian, feel free to rename this thread the "Week 5 Pick 'Ems Whining Room."

Good, that means I didn't lose that one.

Speaking of MNW, what happened to their scheduled game last night vs. Columbus? At least that was one of the Thursday games in Pick 'Ems. But when I look on Columbus' schedule now, I don't see a game for this week. The game doesn't show up on MNW's schedule either. But the game had to be on one of the two schedules earlier this week, as that's the only way I would have known that MNW was the home team.

You and me both Julian. You and me both.

Miami Central Norland (Thursday) Osceola (Thursday) Venice MNW (Thursday) Atlantic Delray Apopka Bishop Verot Sanford Seminole Port Charlotte Dillard Eau Gallie Lincoln Columbia Buchholz Cardinal Gibbons Nease Vanguard Bolles Tampa Bay Tech (but don't be surprised if Gaither pulls out a home win) 11

#44 is probably fair . . . they haven't lost a game yet this season.

The pendulum swings until it reaches a certain point, and then the pendulum swings back. That's the way of the world.

Are you referring to the current Board or to the staff? Wouldn't this be a staff issue?

Any thoughts on which one finger they'll hold up?

Just remember, it wasn't all the mob activity that got Al Capone in trouble; he went to prison for tax evasion. Sometimes it's the little things (that are easier to prove) that get you in trouble.

Thanks. So, it sounds like First Academy committed some of those technical, smechnical violations. You know, some of those rules that everyone else has to follow. But it also sounds like the defense is that 'we should be allowed to commit those violations and break those rules because otherwise, well, otherwise, football players wouldn't get the food they need or have rides home.' I'll let this one play out and see where it lands. But, I can tell you this much: when you get 30 transfers into your school to play football, you need to recognize that you're going to be walking around with a target on your back and you better make sure that you do everything possible to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

Can someone summarize the Sentinel articles for those of us who can't get past the paywall and don't want to pay for yet another newspaper subscription?

This topic gets a lot of attention on this board. You can scroll back and see the discussions that have taken place. As for now, as I understand it, the only state championship site that has been announced is The Villages for the Rural classification. The location of all the other state championship games in still "TBA." (Because why would anyone need to know this before Thanksgiving?).

Ely Columbus Cardinal Gibbons Sanford Seminole (I had a heavy lean towards Seminole early in the week, in part because MaxPreps showed Monarch playing Deerfield Beach on Tuesday of this week -- perhaps a continuation of a game that got suspended? I don't know, but I know what I saw. Now, MaxPreps shows that Monarch beat Deerfield Beach 8-0 on 8/29. WTF? Regardless, I decided to stick with my original pick). Northwestern Palm Beach Central Columbia (Is it really an upset if a 2-1 4A school beats a 2-1 Rural team at home?) Tampa Bay Tech (would prefer otherwise, but going with my head) Coffee Mandarin American Heritage South Sumter (This one has me confused. An undefeated 6A team vs. a 2-loss 3A team, but it looks like I'm not alone in picking SS).

"Good cause" means if the kid is good, we'll cause him to be eligible.

Good luck, Ray.

Muckboy, if you're going to submit multiple entries, you might want to change them up a little.

I don't believe so. It wasn't on your reply to my post. Are you writing your initial post somewhere else and then 'copying and pasting it' into this forum? Just a thought.

Coach, I'm not sure how you see this before you post it (or even how you and/or the others see it after you post it), but I see white type on a lot of black background. I don't know about the others, but it sure makes it harder to read.

True to the spirit of Helen Keller, Julian simply didn't see it.