Just hours before the big game with Indy and West Charlotte in football, we find out that two more players have been found to not be telling the truth about where they live. The two players were removed from tonight's game, but the teams will not be punished. (quiet..don't tell the South Meck kids)
You see South Meck's football team was thrown out of the playoffs when it was revealed the school had missed a form in their situation. The kid in question had been up front, no one was playing a trick or lying for that matter.. yet the entire team had their season yanked away from them...
One could reason that the best policy is to lie and hope you don't get caught as that will only result in losing a player, not the season. We don't suggest anyone lie about anything, but it sure worked out better for West Charlotte and Indy than it did for South Meck.
The best punishment is removal of the kid from the team as well as from the school. We have a hard time finding a reason to punish an entire team that followed rules but was let down by a mistake from someone else.
I don't think this is an issue that is going away anytime soon. In all reality there are many other kids crossing school boundaries. Some legally, some not so legally. Dr. Gorman is going to have to step up and fix the system instead of simply responding everytime the Observer uncovers an issue. It's not fair to the kids or the school and it certainly hasn't been fair to the South Meck football team to sit back and watch the light punishments handed out for kids and parents struggling to tell the truth.
As we guessed, the big game will go on tonight, no way a decision was going to be made to cancel either one of the teams seasons..... that would be wrong..... right?
PS Sending out a wish of Good Luck to the Cougars tonight! Hold up the tradition of Cougar Football and move on the the state title!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Ardrey Kell Basketball
I attended the Ardrey Kell vs Marvin Ridge basketball game last night at Marvin Ridge. What a super nice facility The Mavericks have. I was kind of dissapointed by the crowd size, for two schools this close, the place should have been packed. Tuesday night probably wasn't the best night for this game...
Back to the Men's Game.. It looks like AK coach Mike Craft is determined to show the same inprovement Marty Woolbright displayed with the football team. The Knights are strong up front with Jordan Darnell and Cameron McQueen. Ryan Chandler brings a big body off the bench as well. Guard play is super with Kevin Davis, Joey Cheek and Alex Watkins. The bench is strong as well, sharpshooter Matt Helickson has a very nice three point shot.
The Knights easily handled a scrappy Marvin Ridge team, in the first game back for AK footballer's Brad Wornick, Prince Shembo and Travis Burrell. The Knights knocked off North Meck to open the season and now stand at 3-0. Conference play will be interesting, Providence has a lot of talent with Thomas Berlacher and Lamar Bradberry. Butler lost their top player, but should still play strong. East Meck, Weddington, South Meck and Indy are all solid teams as well.
Where will AK finish? An early guess would be 3rd or 4th.... With Coach Craft calling the shots, anything is possible. His style and command of the game is very impressive. His college coaching background has given him time around some great head coaches. Looks like he has mixed up everything he has learned and formed his own style of successful coaching.
Side note - Marvin Ridge has a super coach in Gosnell White, but he will have to adjust to a different style of play from his past job at West Charlotte....... Speaking of West Charlotte, I read today in the Observer that they have a 6-10 kid from up north moving in and another all-star from VA coming to the team.... Hope someone checks the eligibility forms on those......... We wouldn't want to see any more issues on eligibility pop up....
Back to the Men's Game.. It looks like AK coach Mike Craft is determined to show the same inprovement Marty Woolbright displayed with the football team. The Knights are strong up front with Jordan Darnell and Cameron McQueen. Ryan Chandler brings a big body off the bench as well. Guard play is super with Kevin Davis, Joey Cheek and Alex Watkins. The bench is strong as well, sharpshooter Matt Helickson has a very nice three point shot.
The Knights easily handled a scrappy Marvin Ridge team, in the first game back for AK footballer's Brad Wornick, Prince Shembo and Travis Burrell. The Knights knocked off North Meck to open the season and now stand at 3-0. Conference play will be interesting, Providence has a lot of talent with Thomas Berlacher and Lamar Bradberry. Butler lost their top player, but should still play strong. East Meck, Weddington, South Meck and Indy are all solid teams as well.
Where will AK finish? An early guess would be 3rd or 4th.... With Coach Craft calling the shots, anything is possible. His style and command of the game is very impressive. His college coaching background has given him time around some great head coaches. Looks like he has mixed up everything he has learned and formed his own style of successful coaching.
Side note - Marvin Ridge has a super coach in Gosnell White, but he will have to adjust to a different style of play from his past job at West Charlotte....... Speaking of West Charlotte, I read today in the Observer that they have a 6-10 kid from up north moving in and another all-star from VA coming to the team.... Hope someone checks the eligibility forms on those......... We wouldn't want to see any more issues on eligibility pop up....
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
ALL-SOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM
We released our first ever South Charlotte Sports Report All-South Football Team on Monday.
view team here
In looking over the list, it is amazing to see how many talented football players we have in the area. Just at quarterback alone, we have 2 of the top QB's in the country, Latin's Braden Hanson and Butler's Jacob Charest. So many kids on the team will line up on Saturday's next year and continue to make our area very proud.
As with any all-star team, great players are sure to fall through the cracks. We have no doubt that we missed on a few kids and maybe selected a few kids folks will disagree with us on. Our philosophy here at The South Charlotte Sports Report is that all student-athletes are winners and should be commended for their time and effort. This list is simply a way to provide a little extra recognition to the players that stood out in a crowd this season.
It was interesting to round up all the votes and nominations for our awards. Braden Hanson was a clear cut winner as offensive player of the year. Robert Blanton of Butler edged out some fine football players for Defensive Player of the Year. Robert heads to Notre Dame next season!
Our Coach of the Year award had a clear winner in Marty Woolbright at Ardrey Kell. Going from one win to nine required great coaching.
Brad Wornick, Ardrey Kell QB was one of many players that were valuable to their teams. Brad won the award based on his ability to run and pass the ball as well as his leadership ability. On so many nights, Brad carried the Knights to victory. Brad played WR for the team last year and had a super year. Instead of focusing on his individual future as a WR, Brad agreed to play QB for the team and was magnificent. Whatever team signs Brad to a scholarship will be rewarded.
We met Christian Culicerto nearly a year ago and came away so impressed by his leadership and character. Christian is the kind of kid we should all be proud of. He is well liked by his teammates and always brings a smile to the table. He stepped up to play QB this season and has Catholic within 2 games of another state title. In the Catholic offense, it requires a leader to step forward, Christian was that person this season.
His teammate RJ Sweeney is truly tough as nails. He is a hard worker that fights dyslexia on a daily basis. With hours of tutoring everyday, RJ has become a successful student and will play lacrosse in college next season. He has the ability to play college football, but his lacrosse talent is even greater. RJ always found a way to help the Cougars gain the tough yardage and has been awarded our Tough As Nails Award for 2007.
We didn't mention it in the paper, but I want to send out a special heads-up for Ardrey Kell senior Brent Vinson. Brent injured his knee just days before the season started and missed the entire year. Brent was headed for an all-star season and a college scholarship, probably at a D-1 school. Brent stayed true to his teammates and was there for them all season long, even though it had to be tough to watch each game. We spoke to Brent a few weeks ago and he weighing his options of prep school vs a smaller college. We send out our best wishes to Brent on the future.
Congratulations to all the kids on the All-South Team!
view team here
In looking over the list, it is amazing to see how many talented football players we have in the area. Just at quarterback alone, we have 2 of the top QB's in the country, Latin's Braden Hanson and Butler's Jacob Charest. So many kids on the team will line up on Saturday's next year and continue to make our area very proud.
As with any all-star team, great players are sure to fall through the cracks. We have no doubt that we missed on a few kids and maybe selected a few kids folks will disagree with us on. Our philosophy here at The South Charlotte Sports Report is that all student-athletes are winners and should be commended for their time and effort. This list is simply a way to provide a little extra recognition to the players that stood out in a crowd this season.
It was interesting to round up all the votes and nominations for our awards. Braden Hanson was a clear cut winner as offensive player of the year. Robert Blanton of Butler edged out some fine football players for Defensive Player of the Year. Robert heads to Notre Dame next season!
Our Coach of the Year award had a clear winner in Marty Woolbright at Ardrey Kell. Going from one win to nine required great coaching.
Brad Wornick, Ardrey Kell QB was one of many players that were valuable to their teams. Brad won the award based on his ability to run and pass the ball as well as his leadership ability. On so many nights, Brad carried the Knights to victory. Brad played WR for the team last year and had a super year. Instead of focusing on his individual future as a WR, Brad agreed to play QB for the team and was magnificent. Whatever team signs Brad to a scholarship will be rewarded.
We met Christian Culicerto nearly a year ago and came away so impressed by his leadership and character. Christian is the kind of kid we should all be proud of. He is well liked by his teammates and always brings a smile to the table. He stepped up to play QB this season and has Catholic within 2 games of another state title. In the Catholic offense, it requires a leader to step forward, Christian was that person this season.
His teammate RJ Sweeney is truly tough as nails. He is a hard worker that fights dyslexia on a daily basis. With hours of tutoring everyday, RJ has become a successful student and will play lacrosse in college next season. He has the ability to play college football, but his lacrosse talent is even greater. RJ always found a way to help the Cougars gain the tough yardage and has been awarded our Tough As Nails Award for 2007.
We didn't mention it in the paper, but I want to send out a special heads-up for Ardrey Kell senior Brent Vinson. Brent injured his knee just days before the season started and missed the entire year. Brent was headed for an all-star season and a college scholarship, probably at a D-1 school. Brent stayed true to his teammates and was there for them all season long, even though it had to be tough to watch each game. We spoke to Brent a few weeks ago and he weighing his options of prep school vs a smaller college. We send out our best wishes to Brent on the future.
Congratulations to all the kids on the All-South Team!
High School Eligibility
The recent eligibility issue at South Meck combined with the Independence issue last week bring to light a very important subject, high school athletic eligibility. At South Meck, they were forced to forfeit their 1st round playoff game right before loading the bus for the game. From all indications no real harm was intended, the Yokely's were up front and filled out what they thought was the proper paperwork. The South Meck AD failed to catch the one form that was missing and the Sabres paid the ultimate price. I can only imagine what it felt like to be a Sabre football player on that Friday afternoon.
At Indy, a player is caught using an illegal address and is removed from the team and Indy continued on in the playoffs. Reason given for no school punishment was the kid lied, so the school doesn't pay the price. Very hard for me to believe that no one at the school, the coaches or AD knew he didn't live in the district.
Many feel the message CMS and NCHSAA delivered is if you are going to try to play for a school whose district you aren't in, then LIE, that way the school pays no price for turning their heads and accepting whatever the kid says, even if you know its not true. The Yokely's were up front and outside of the AD mistake, had done everything correct. Yet, the entire football program pays the price. I can understand removing Yokely from the roster, but how do you punish all the other kids that have been honest and worked hard all season long?
These two cases have received all the headlines, but it's safe to say there are many, many more in all sports. Now is the time for Peter Gorman and his CMS staff to do a massive overhaul on how they determine athletic eligibility. I don't have all the answers, but I know it's time to remove any doubt from the eyes of the taxpayers and parents of CMS students.
If nothing is done now, its only a matter of time before the actions of one player will ruin the seasons for the remainder of a team. No one person is more important than an entire team of kids.
I would encourage parents of athletes to ask questions if they know of a possible issue. Make sure all forms are in order, otherwise it could be your son or daughter whose season ends in a split second because of the actions of others.
As a side note - West Charlotte and Indy play in a huge football game Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The Observer is said to be investigating some other players eligibility. What would happen if at 4:30pm on Friday afternoon, another issues similar to the Yokely's came to light on one of the players in this game? Would CMS make the call and award one team the winner and walk away from what will be the largest gate in Charlotte high school history? Wouldn't that be interesting.............. For the kids that have followed the rules, I hope it doesn't happen.
At Indy, a player is caught using an illegal address and is removed from the team and Indy continued on in the playoffs. Reason given for no school punishment was the kid lied, so the school doesn't pay the price. Very hard for me to believe that no one at the school, the coaches or AD knew he didn't live in the district.
Many feel the message CMS and NCHSAA delivered is if you are going to try to play for a school whose district you aren't in, then LIE, that way the school pays no price for turning their heads and accepting whatever the kid says, even if you know its not true. The Yokely's were up front and outside of the AD mistake, had done everything correct. Yet, the entire football program pays the price. I can understand removing Yokely from the roster, but how do you punish all the other kids that have been honest and worked hard all season long?
These two cases have received all the headlines, but it's safe to say there are many, many more in all sports. Now is the time for Peter Gorman and his CMS staff to do a massive overhaul on how they determine athletic eligibility. I don't have all the answers, but I know it's time to remove any doubt from the eyes of the taxpayers and parents of CMS students.
If nothing is done now, its only a matter of time before the actions of one player will ruin the seasons for the remainder of a team. No one person is more important than an entire team of kids.
I would encourage parents of athletes to ask questions if they know of a possible issue. Make sure all forms are in order, otherwise it could be your son or daughter whose season ends in a split second because of the actions of others.
As a side note - West Charlotte and Indy play in a huge football game Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The Observer is said to be investigating some other players eligibility. What would happen if at 4:30pm on Friday afternoon, another issues similar to the Yokely's came to light on one of the players in this game? Would CMS make the call and award one team the winner and walk away from what will be the largest gate in Charlotte high school history? Wouldn't that be interesting.............. For the kids that have followed the rules, I hope it doesn't happen.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Riding the Light Rail
My wife, son and I decided to go join the tens of thousands of other folks riding the new Light Rail on Opening Night. We arrived at the 485 station, rode the elevator up and jumped into a packed train cart. Five minutes later we are headed north on our maiden voyage on the light rail.
I have to say it was neat. There were lots of folks heading to see the Bobcats. We got off at the Bobcats station and walked around downtown looking for dinner. After dinner, we climbed back on at the Convention Center station for a quick 20 minute ride back to our car. Return trip was packed and we were lucky enough to be part of one of the technical glitches enjoyed on day one as the train lost power for about 2 minutes. The driver was nice and kept everyone informed and we were soon back underway.
All in All a neat evening for us, Tyler really enjoyed the fact that Santa Clause was on our train minus his outfit coming back home.
While I dont think the light rail will make a bit of difference on traffic and I wish the money had gone to widen 485 .... the train ride was neat..... The curiosity will wear off soon and it will be close to empty 95% of the time, but its worth a ride or two.
It will provide a great option for Bobcats games, that is if they actually do something to connect with their customers and give us a reason to want to go.. Panthers games should be fun on the train as it comes within 3 blocks of the stadium.
We can now say we were part of history!
I have to say it was neat. There were lots of folks heading to see the Bobcats. We got off at the Bobcats station and walked around downtown looking for dinner. After dinner, we climbed back on at the Convention Center station for a quick 20 minute ride back to our car. Return trip was packed and we were lucky enough to be part of one of the technical glitches enjoyed on day one as the train lost power for about 2 minutes. The driver was nice and kept everyone informed and we were soon back underway.
All in All a neat evening for us, Tyler really enjoyed the fact that Santa Clause was on our train minus his outfit coming back home.
While I dont think the light rail will make a bit of difference on traffic and I wish the money had gone to widen 485 .... the train ride was neat..... The curiosity will wear off soon and it will be close to empty 95% of the time, but its worth a ride or two.
It will provide a great option for Bobcats games, that is if they actually do something to connect with their customers and give us a reason to want to go.. Panthers games should be fun on the train as it comes within 3 blocks of the stadium.
We can now say we were part of history!
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