It is what it is. And if you don’t like the message you read…blame the message, not the messenger. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Four days away and the consequences…catching up with reader mail, and some observations on their comments on the reality of what we’re seeing in the basketball state tournaments. We might be talking about you.
For the sake of a short, busy week, and not enough time and people to give everything its just due, I always appreciate the fact that so many people read about the high school basketball tournaments this weekend – boys and girls – and the frustrations, real and imagined.
Nearly 700,000 people graced the pages of Press Pros for the boys regional finals on Friday, and the girls state final game between Fort Loramie and Waterford on Saturday. And I say that with this caveat…that I hope the OHSAA appreciates the proportion of positive publicity compared to the obvious dissatisfaction of so many who are unhappy with district and regional tournament venues, the lack of reporting, and the fact of scheduling a week in between the regional finals and the championship game, itself.
“Kids deserve something better if they get to the state semi-final game than to play in a high school gym. Someone from the OHSAA didn’t think this through,” wrote Patti, from Hancock County.
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“People are fed up. An obvious money-grab by the OHSAA,” Don, from Allen County wrote following Friday’s regional round for the boys. “But what can you do?”
I have some ideas on that. Just ask if you see me at the state tournament this weekend.
“It would have been nice if you could give more attention to the local kids instead of Ohio State baseball,” wrote a disgruntled reader, who’s probably upset because his parents ignored giving him a name at birth. He went on to remind that some games get more coverage than others, and some don’t get covered at all.
And some simply didn’t like the attention they got, or at least the way we did it.
“Your description of the Northside Christian-Russia game was awful, very biased, and there were no positive photos of the Northside kids. And you should be more professional [than to] highlight the scores of non-competitive (in your estimation) games. I repeat…awful!” … Charles (Delaware, Oh)
Well…Chuck, if you struggle with the obvious, and with what a gym full of other people saw for themselves, you might learn from that Jack Nicholson quote about handling the truth. As I remember it was 33-6 at halftime. As for the pictures, there were two of us there shooting and between us we didn’t have many positive Northside photos. Sorry you had to hear it from us.
And one from ‘the-more-the-merrier’ side of seven divisions wrote this back on March 5th, following the 80-1 girls district score in central Ohio.
” I would like to believe that people like you could at least respect the effort to give other schools the chance to have the experience of playing for the state championship. You’re an idiot.” … Maryanne
If that’s true, Maryanne, respect this effort. Professional journalists have always had the temerity to observe and question…why does this happen?
Numerous people mention distance and scheduling, including more than a few who said, “You lose your edge when you have to wait a week between the state semi-final and the state final game. This is not fair to the kids. Or does that even matter?”
Bottom line, I’ve spent months on the road around Ohio asking coaches, principals, superintendents and athletic directors about their views on seven divisions of everything in OHSAA sports – for the sake of more inclusion and opportunity. Here is a sampling of what you hear if you take the time.
“Frankly, I’m glad I’m almost done with it,” said one, who will retire in June.
Another: “Four divisions weren’t perfect, for sure, but what is?”
We heard this one a lot: “The OHSAA says the change was member driven, but no one ever called to ask us.”
“There aren’t enough competitive athletes to maintain the old standard of four divisions of basketball,” said a veteran coach. “Just watch the games.”
“If you’re looking to give more kids a chance, why not? But it’s not the same game.”
“Who could possibly think having more state champions is a bad things?”
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I will also take this opportunity to address those who question our commitment to covering college baseball in February and March.
One, there is sponsor support for it, and this site, like the New York Times, is a business and not a hobby.
Two, if it were Ohio State football, instead of baseball, no one would bat an eye. Already there’s reader interest for spring football and who will play quarterback for the Buckeyes in the fall.
Three, there is a viable audience for baseball among players and coaches at the high school level, alumni, and people who write every day asking, “What’s going on with 5-12 (their current record).”
To answer that question about 5-12…specifically, three coaches in four years. Stability is a cornerstone of anything you build and maintain in competition. Justin Haire and his staff just happened to be hired in the midst of the instability that saw six very important pieces on the roster leave through the portal following last year’s disappointing finish.
In addition, this is a very young group. Talented, yes. But young, and especially young in pitching experience.
“If you could take a pill for better baseball…I’d buy it by the case.” – Bill Mosiello
And a dash of reality…youth has a way of showing up in ways you least expect. In this case, college baseball at this level is the first true competition that many high school players have ever faced. The reality is that most most of them never worried about making their high school team. Most have never dealt with disappointment.
And none of them have ever played anyone like Alabama and Oregon State. And it’s stunning when you finally do.
And last, there’s still 40 games left to play and the only way you get better in baseball is to play. You can’t read about it in a book. And the truest thing I ever heard about playing experience came from former Buckeye coach Bill Mosiello, who told me early on in his brief tenure, “If I could go to the drug store and get a pill for better baseball, I’d buy it by the case.”
And that about catches us up for another week.
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