Varsity Kansas - The Blog

by joanna

I haven’t done this in awhile, so I thought I’d catch you guys up with what you commenters are thinking.

Last week there was quite a lot of talk about South’s Marky Nolen. He was ejected from a game last week and has earned a bad rep through the season for his intimidating play. Personally, I think the kid needs to tone down the attitude, but in the games I’ve seen (that’s all I’m talking about) I haven’t been bothered by his actions. As you probably remember, I was more bothered by one ref in the Northwest-South game. But Nolen definitely has caused problems during games with his attitude. There are some of you who have supported him — that’s fine — and others who have railed against him. That’s fine, too.

This came from Austin, at the tail end of the conversation:

Your missing the point, if he didnt have a rep he wouldnt have got tossed twice. I am saying he doesnt kiss ref butt during games and that gets him a bad rep, I personally like a player who stands up for himself.

I understand your point about standing up for oneself, I just don’t think it should happen in a game. You can quietly plead your case here or there, but it should be left up to the coach. Refs have a lot of power in games, if they want it. Most leave it to the players to decide the game, as it should be. Kissing butt isn’t necessary, but respect is.

From AVCTL Fan:

Would love to see a Goddard-Heights girls b-ball final. If Goddard can keep up the momentum they have a great shot. Everyone will have to be at their best but I see no reason why they can’t win it. Clearly, Heights has outstanding players but Goddard does too. However, I’ve got to give the coaching advantage to Keller at Goddard.

I agree it would be a good game, and I think Goddard would have the edge inside with Lindsey Keller. But I can’t predict against Heights until they lose. The Falcons have been so strong for the this decade that counting them out now would be a mistake.

From Quana:

Miami produces NFL players, especially RB’s and LB’s. Arthur Brown will not be the next Ray Lewis….. He will be better!!!…….. He is an original not a copy……… Bryce Brown will be the best RB that Miami has ever had period!!! College Football is in for a treat for the upcoming years with these two Men of Character!! They will influence the masses of people not just with their Talent but with the LIGHT that they possess inside of them, Much blessings to the Browns and their future careers!!!

I like the love here. Better than the hate. But it might be just a little over the top. Certainly Arthur and Bryce have had — and will still have in Bryce’s case — outstanding high school careers. They still have to prove it in college. While I think they will, I am holding back on such a prediction. Better than Ray Lewis? Wow. Best Miami running back ever? Oh my. There’s quite a few that have come out of Miami –Clinton Portis, Donnell Bennett, Najeh Davenport, Frank Gore, Derrick Harris, Edgerrin James, James Jackson, Willis McGahee, and Jarrett Payton (courtesy of RikRok). Will Bryce be the best? We won’t know that for a few more years.

From Greg:

Just don’t generalize “overweight male officials”, because as one myself, I’ll run all day long against just about anyone on the court, anywhere at any level! It’s as bad as generalizing that women shouldn’t be “in power” over men/boys.

I think this comparison is a little off. I’m sure there are overweight officials who can keep up, but I believe there is a perception — and reality — that an overweight official isn’t keeping up. Check the NBA — see any overweight officials there? Of course high school basketball isn’t at the same pace, but some of these kids are awfully fast and I think an official needs to be on top of the play to call it correctly. Not sure how that relates to whether women should be in power over men.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. and is filed under The Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.