Perspective

And while I understand the logic behind turf fields, especially for high schools that have limited space and multiple sports using the one "big field," the truth of the matter is that the turf field retain the heat much more so than grass fields. I've literally seen shoes melt from the heat of the turf.

Football games in August in Florida are just a bad idea regardless of what time the games are played. You either get overbearing heat or afternoon/evening thunderstorms or both. But yet we insist on doing it.

The fact that there have been posts on this message board about this subject every day since last Monday tells you exactly why they didn't release all the games at once.

Who knows . . . you may be . . . and I quote: "Nobody on the message board has any proof of what I am or am not."

Not to take this thread in a completely different direction, but this is my biggest concern for a relegation system, where teams are moved up or down based on one successful or unsuccessful year. Imagine a team like West Broward being highly successful last year, then losing all their stud players, yet getting pushed up into a higher division for this coming year. This situation could happen because of the de facto transfer portal or it could simply happen to a smaller school that has one of those 'once-in-a-generation' senior classes that takes the team to states. Especially in this day and age, if a team has a down year, it could take years for that team to recover and become competitive again.

Florida HS Football Forums: the new Tinder.

Hillsborough may have a new one . . . Morgan??? Not sure.

It's like the "heads I win, tails you lose" coin flip. Venice says "We'll host a home game this year and then next year you can travel."

Venice: KOC - TBA - HOME Week 1 - TBA - HOME Week 2 - TBA - HOME Week 3 - TBA - HOME Week 4 - TBA - HOME Week 5 - TBA - HOME Week 6 - TBA - HOME Week 7 - TBA - HOME Week 8 - TBA - HOME Week 9 - TBA - HOME Week 10 - TBA - HOME

This should describe every team in the state.

If given a choice between MaxPreps' ranking system and the FHSAA's ranking system, which would you pick?

Spoiler alert - the FHSAA will find a way to make it more convoluted.

If you haven't taken a look at the Florida statute governing the FHSAA, you might want to: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=1000-1099/1006/Sections/1006.20.html

PinellasFB, I hear what you are saying. But how can the FHSAA restrict or limit transfers in light of the state legislature's mandate regarding school choice? I don't often come to the defense of the FHSAA, but on this particular issue, it seems to me that they are in between a rock and a hard place. As for the cap proposal, let me lay out a hypothetical for you: you're the coach of a public high school in Pinellas County that is making some progress . . . at the beginning of the summer, you find out that four kids have transferred into your school - each for his own legitimate reason. Not studs, but kids that might be able to help your team. Then, out of the blue, right before school starts, Joe Stud's dad gets a job offer and his family moves down from Ohio into your district. Under your proposal, if you let Joe play, your school will get kicked into the open division and you will likely give back all the ground you've gained over the last few years. But if you make Joe sit out a year to preserve your status quo in the district, you can rest assured that Joe will go somewhere else. What do you do?

If this is true, it's sad. This is not what high school football should be about.

PinellasFB, I believe you have floated this idea before. I'm not saying it's a bad idea or that you're wrong, but I have a legit question and it basically boils down to this: can a school control the number of transfers that come into the school in a given year? While some (many?) transfers are the direct result of [illegal] recruiting efforts, sometimes there are other factors that result in a school receiving transfers . . . a head or position coach switches schools, a particular school becomes the "cool school" for whatever reasons and the kids want to go there, a nearby charter school shuts down, etc. It seems like your idea "punishes" a school that happens to benefit from a handful of transfers even if the school did nothing against the rules to cause the influx. Can a school or a coach 'turn down' a kid who wants to transfer into that school? In short, if your proposal were instituted, is there any way a school could limit the number of incoming transfers for a given year to avoid being elevated into the open division?

So, just to be clear, per the FHSAA rankings (that would have been used to determine the so-called top 8 teams that would have participated in the "Open Division" playoffs), the following teams would have been left out (because, according to the rankings, they were not as good as the 8 teams named above): STA (who finished the season ranked 10th in the MaxPreps National poll), Raines (25th in the same poll), Miami Central (49th), West Boca Raton, Chaminade-Madonna, American Heritage, Lake Mary, Lakeland, Cardinal Newman, West Broward, Venice, Armwood and Edgewater. How can the FHSAA say, with a straight face, that their system works?

I agree that this is totally inappropriate. The game officials should go out of their way to 'avoid the appearance of impropriety.' A subtle nod of the head prior to the game would about as far as they should go. Calling kids by name (even if they know the kid's name) and 'high-fiving' a kid clearly crosses the line. The officials should have been smarter than that.

Based on a quick glance, it appears that Venice coach John Peacock has his name on about half of the agenda items. Clearly, he's heavily involved in the process and deserves to be commended for his involvement. That said, I did have to chuckle about his proposal involving the selections of officials for playoff games and his justifications for making sure the refs don't come from somewhere too close to one of the two teams. If you've ever been on the sideline of a Venice home game (which makes up about 90% of their schedule), you likely would chuckle too at the irony.

Be careful, Nolebull . . . someone may think you're talking politics.

It was indeed a shame that Tucker Gleason got hurt in the final regular season game for Toledo and was not able to play in the bowl game with Coach Weiner serving as the interim head coach. Gleason and Coach Weiner had a long run together, first at Plant and then later reuniting at Toledo. I wouldn't be surprised to see Coach Weiner join Jason Candle's staff at UConn as assistant head coach/OC/QB coach or some similar capacity.

So, of the so-called 8 best teams in the state, only one of them won a state championship? Hmmm.

Saw it. Well played.

"Did you say my name?" (Sorry, I think I've seen that new John Daly/Hard Rock commercial one too many times.)

Mark, I'd love to read what you posted, but over half of your post is covered with black squares and ads. I know that's not your fault, and I understand the business model behind advertisements, but I hate that they appear in the middle of someone's post such that you can't even read the post. Is it just me or does everyone see the same thing?