The stupidest thing your state high school association allows to happen

That's all they get. You download a sheet from their Web site, fill it out with the name of the reporters and photographers you'll send and fax it in.
In wrestling, they've been asking for proof of coverage after the state meet, which is fine. I've yet to be asked for the same thing for track, but since I cover it, I'll have it.

 

Yes, but the OHSAA is assuming every parent and every freelancer is that way, and that is not the case.
I'm sure the OHSAA is trying to find a way to limit photographers and papers from selling photos they take at postseason events, and this will affect the freelancers.
By the way, the OHSAA used to less strict and allow freelancers in. It's their tournament and they can set the rules, but I feel they're being too narrow-minded with a one-size-fits-all change.

 

I've had wrestling coaches ask me to get them photo credentials for the state tournament, which I think they really want to get another coach on the mats. By golly, don't know how I keep missing that deadline.

The CIF's cut some deal making Maxpreps the official photographer at state events. They still credential print media, of course, but at the end of games at the state hoops finals, they would rope off the court and allow only Maxpreps shooters and our TV pals to get the trophy shots and team pics.

 

Got a new one: sectional tournaments that make no sense geographically. On Memorial Day we're, in all likelihood, going to have two baseball teams from the city playing two hours away. Couldn't we move the game to a neutral site in-town? Nope. Got to make the drive.

 

Forgot about this from last year.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association last year did away with providing free meals to the media covering the state track meet, though they did continuing providing free pop, water and chips.
For $10, though, you received a box lunch with (I believe) a sandwich, chips, cookies and pop. I and many others declined ... and ate like a hog off the expense account for supper.
;D
No word yet about food this year.

 

I think Kansas has limits of 7 innings a day and 10 over two days. However, that's any two days, so a pitcher could go 7 on day one, 3 on day two and 7 more on day 3 (Which, coincidentally, is 17).

But that would also seem to allow 20 innings over four days (7, 3, 7 and 3).

However, this would likely never happen in Kansas due to its regular-season limit of 20 games, which can be played over about a 10-week period from mid-March to mid-May. And since most Kansas teams insist on playing doubleheaders, the majority of schools have about 60 days (No Sunday games here) to use 10 playing dates. Playing consecutive days usually only happens if there's no other way to make-up rainouts. It's not unusual to see teams have 10-day breaks in their schedules.

 

Bruce's coach made a horrible misjudgement. He should have been aware of the rule and made sure that his ace didn't go over 17 innings. As for the argument about what constitutes a calendar week, the rule explicitly states what a calendar week entails. The court should have dismissed the injunction without so much as a sigh. If it remains, the championship will be vacated and instead of 25 kids on Bruce's roster being penalized for a honest mistake by a coach, there will be 75 when you add Hamilton and Richton not being able to "settle it on the field."

The problem I have with the rule is not every inning is created equal. A three-pitch inning is not the same as a 35-pitch exertion. But I'd imagine that coaches would fudge their pitch counts a bit and keeping up with innings pitched is a little easier than pitch counts.

 

Conferences in Minnesota. The schools organize the conferences themselves and the state association doesn't step in unless a school can't find a conference after two years.

One school will play four North Dakota teams in football next year.

 

The Lake Conference in the Twin Cities is messed up.

 

A school in Kansas that can't find a league can appeal to the KSHSAA to be placed in one. That doesn't mean it will happen. Atchison tried for years to get into a league but didn't get into one until last year.

To make sure schools that didn't want the school don't destroy the league out of spite*, no other changes in league membership, either ingoing or outgoing, can be made for three years, once a school is placed by the KSHSAA. Leagues that allow a new school to join willingly can make changes as often as they please.

* - Supposedly this happened in the late 60's where Garden City and Dodge City were assigned to a league that included schools as far away as Manhattan and Junction City. The league broke up almost immediately because the other schools didn't want to play Garden and Dodge.

 

Agreed. My take, and it seems to be underscored by some previous court actions in this state on high school athletics, is that Bruce belongs to the MHSAA as a voluntary association and agrees to abide by any rulings that are made. The "we can't be sure what constitutes a week" argument is too precious for my taste. They want to cite a rule about Monday through Friday as a school week, but some allowance has to be made for Saturday ... and it makes more sense that it would follow Friday, with the calendar getting reset each Sunday.

 

As does Indiana, but most responsible coaches won't start a kid on two days' rest even though the rules reset the innings every third day.