AZ State HS SB Championships

[Az.Ump]

It's all Andy's fault (with a little Darrell in the mix) . He taught me well. It will be the end of a great year with a 5a quarter final yesterday, 4a1 semi final tomorrow and the 4a2 state championship Saturday night. Same 3man crew for all three. Made them work a LL game last week to get the kinks out. Yesterday went great. 3-2 game great rotations. Missed a strike though.

Steve, thank you.

Hugo, congratulations it counts. We all know they play great ball in Florida. Enjoy and have fun!!!

Next year I will probably be fetching waters and new balls for the many deserving umpires I have the honor of working with.

Paul

[Steve M]

I was fortunate enough to do a state final a few years ago. It was a great game 3-2. I'm at the finals every year since then - toting water & towels or whatever. That's a really good experience too - sharing in & watching those who are often on their first "big stage".

[Stu Clary]

Congratulations, guys.

[SRW]

It's not AZ, but WA...

Angler and I, along with a bunch of others (2 others from Seattle) were selected to work the 3A/4A State HS Tourney - our highest classification - over Memorial Day weekend (Fri/Sat).

[HugoTafurst]

Originally Posted by Az.Ump

It's all Andy's fault (with a little Darrell in the mix) . He taught me well. It will be the end of a great year with a 5a quarter final yesterday, 4a1 semi final tomorrow and the 4a2 state championship Saturday night. Same 3man crew for all three. Made them work a LL game last week to get the kinks out. Yesterday went great. 3-2 game great rotations. Missed a strike though.

Steve, thank you.

Hugo, congratulations it counts. We all know they play great ball in Florida. Enjoy and have fun!!!

Next year I will probably be fetching waters and new balls for the many deserving umpires I have the honor of working with.

Paul

WOW - It was better than I thought - Nat'l #1 ranked Naples (FL) against Nat'l #25 Bartram!! (Naples won 3-0).

Today I'm watching the State Finals - #1 ranked Naples vs. Nat'l #2 ranked Dunnellon (FL)

It is now tied at 3 in the top of the 8th.

If any of you guys get a chance to see the replay.. go for it.
It's a classic...
Great pitching, a few errors, a few great plays (and a couple of interesting calls!!)

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by HugoTafurst

WOW - It was better than I thought - Nat'l #1 ranked Naples (FL) against Nat'l #25 Bartram!! (Naples won 3-0).

Today I'm watching the State Finals - #1 ranked Naples vs. Nat'l #2 ranked Dunnellon (FL)

It is now tied at 3 in the top of the 8th.

If any of you guys get a chance to see the replay.. go for it.
It's a classic...
Great pitching, a few errors, a few great plays (and a couple of interesting calls!!)

Okay, you had a great game. That's outstanding and something we can all appreciate. However, GMAFB about the "nat'l" ranking. It is complete BS.

[HugoTafurst]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Okay, you had a great game. That's outstanding and something we can all appreciate. However, GMAFB about the "nat'l" ranking. It is complete BS.

Not sure what GMAFB means.

I'm not really up on rankings and stuff, it was a thrill when I found that out..
I added that to share some of the excitement.

No. 2 Dunnellon faces. No. 1 Naples for 2010 Florida state softball championship | Ocala.com

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps...l/rankings.htm (USA Today from May 6 - Dunnellon was #6)

Needless to say, everyone in THIS area plays it up.

I realize National rankings may leave something to be desired and they are opinions rather than head to head play, and each game is a new game, etc, etc.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by HugoTafurst

I realize National rankings may leave something to be desired and they are opinions rather than head to head play, and each game is a new game, etc, etc.

Its not even that. Who sees enough high school teams in any sport to be able to make even a slightly intelligent "guess" as to how they would stand against all the schools in the nation? Same with the All-American HS teams.

Yes, locals and promoters are going to make a big thing of it, but that doesn't make it valid.

[HugoTafurst]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Its not even that. Who sees enough high school teams in any sport to be able to make even a slightly intelligent "guess" as to how they would stand against all the schools in the nation? Same with the All-American HS teams.

Yes, locals and promoters are going to make a big thing of it, but that doesn't make it valid.

Yeah, I know what you mean.... but it adds color to the story.

I'll still ice up that beer (from the other discussion board) if it ever gets sent

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by HugoTafurst

Yeah, I know what you mean.... but it adds color to the story.

I'll still ice up that beer (from the other discussion board) if it ever gets sent

Think you have a long wait for that one

[JefferMC]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Its not even that. Who sees enough high school teams in any sport to be able to make even a slightly intelligent "guess" as to how they would stand against all the schools in the nation?

My DD, who is on one of the two teams playing the state championship series for the AAAA division (the largest) in SC, said she'd like to play the champions of other states just to see what competition in other states is like.

There was a very good team from NC at one of the invitational tournaments we didn't play this year. The HSL now limits tournaments to 5 games maximum, which has kept away out of state teams that used to come.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by JefferMC

My DD, who is on one of the two teams playing the state championship series for the AAAA division (the largest) in SC, said she'd like to play the champions of other states just to see what competition in other states is like.
.

Even then is wouldn't be worth anything. There are no standards within states let alone between states. Even eligibility varies.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see something like a HS championship, but all you would have is a load of parents and coaches turning it into a business, cheating every step of the way which would turn the NFHS into the NCAA and pretty much screw it up for everyone.