Dear dimwit on the phone

[Mark2010]

The UP --- and even parts of the LP --- are very geographically isolated. Actually much of America is. If you ever drive cross country, you might be surprised (as I was years ago) at how much open countryside is there.

 

[UPChip]

Michigan has high schools that have less than 50 people? Holy smokes. Are these public schools or all private? There are some schools down here that are that small, but they're all private.

Montana was the same. Some places are sooo rural that they just don't have many people and busing to another city is impractical because they are so geographically isolated. Thus the joy known as 6-man football.

That would make sense in someplace like Montana, where there's a lot more geographical isolation. I don't see Michigan as being that isolated, but I confess I'm not that familiar with the geography of the UP and places like that.

Called up next year's MHSAA enrollment list. There are 24 schools under 50 in enrollment. By my educated guess, nine are parochials, five appear to be charters (including a school for the deaf), one's an Indian school and the rest are public.

Of those 24, six are within the 906 area code (which is essentially the U.P.), one being the Indian school, a Baptist academy in the East, two located on islands in the middle of the lakes (Mackinac Island and Beaver Island) and two way out of the way on the Lake Superior shoreline east of Munising.

 

[bigpern23]

Got a news release at noon today saying that Local High was folding its ice hockey program due to lack of interest, etc ...

I type it up and throw it on the Web and give it to the paginator to put in the section.

Another email comes in at 3:30, asking us to embargo the release until tomorrow afternoon.

I call the AD and tell him I can hold off on print, and I can yank it from the Web if absolutely necessary, but it's already been out there for a few hours.

He said he didn't have a problem with it being online, but if we could hold off until Wednesday's paper for print, he'd appreciate it.

On the whole, this really wasn't a problem at all. But why would you send a release out and then try to embargo it 3 1/2 hours later?

Why would your paper leave up on the web, but not print it for the following day's paper? That's absurd.

 

[MonsterLobster]

Got a news release at noon today saying that Local High was folding its ice hockey program due to lack of interest, etc ...

I type it up and throw it on the Web and give it to the paginator to put in the section.

Another email comes in at 3:30, asking us to embargo the release until tomorrow afternoon.

I call the AD and tell him I can hold off on print, and I can yank it from the Web if absolutely necessary, but it's already been out there for a few hours.

He said he didn't have a problem with it being online, but if we could hold off until Wednesday's paper for print, he'd appreciate it.

On the whole, this really wasn't a problem at all. But why would you send a release out and then try to embargo it 3 1/2 hours later?

Why would your paper leave up on the web, but not print it for the following day's paper? That's absurd.

Because the only man who can stop the evil principal's plans is a 96-year-old retired superintendent who doesn't have web access. He just needs 24 more hours until the plan is complete!

 

[spikechiquet]

Michigan has high schools that have less than 50 people? Holy smokes. Are these public schools or all private? There are some schools down here that are that small, but they're all private.

Montana was the same. Some places are sooo rural that they just don't have many people and busing to another city is impractical because they are so geographically isolated. Thus the joy known as 6-man football.

That would make sense in someplace like Montana, where there's a lot more geographical isolation. I don't see Michigan as being that isolated, but I confess I'm not that familiar with the geography of the UP and places like that.

Called up next year's MHSAA enrollment list. There are 24 schools under 50 in enrollment. By my educated guess, nine are parochials, five appear to be charters (including a school for the deaf), one's an Indian school and the rest are public.

Of those 24, six are within the 906 area code (which is essentially the U.P.), one being the Indian school, a Baptist academy in the East, two located on islands in the middle of the lakes (Mackinac Island and Beaver Island) and two way out of the way on the Lake Superior shoreline east of Munising.

Go Grand Marais Polar Bears! Haha...great brewery in that town by the way.

Yes, the Yoop is pretty desolate between towns. Heck, when I was in high school, one of our conference-rival weekend basketball trips was to Alpena (Friday night) and Traverse City (Saturday afternoon)...it was a 700 mile round-trip (on a school bus!).
At least they let the cheerleaders stay in the same hotel as us that night!

 

[BillyT]

Michigan has high schools that have less than 50 people? Holy smokes. Are these public schools or all private? There are some schools down here that are that small, but they're all private.

There was a high school in the Adirondacks that did not have a graduation ceremony last year because THE senior said he didn't want them to have to go through the hassle just for him.

 

[BillyT]

This is not necessarily enrollment-related, but there was a strong push in the area around Albany, NY (the outlying counties) to go to eight-man football this coming season.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

Re: Stats inconsistencies

The M(ichigan)HSAA allows eighth-graders at small schools to compete in some sports, like basketball, but their stats from that year don't count for records purposes since other players may not have had the same opportunity. A colleague of mine got called a racist in Nimrod Nation (small school with a large Native American population) for saying someone wasn't (by the book) a 1,000-point scorer when he was by the numbers.

It's weird they allow 8th-graders in some sports and not in others, but at least they're consistent with the not allowing their 8th-grade stats to count towards records. That does level the playing field. Is it just the smaller classifications that are allowed to do that and what sports do they get to do it in?

If the KHSAA banned middle schoolers from competing on varsity teams, some schools' cross country and wrestling teams would be screwed.

A few years ago, one team's top three or four runners were in middle school and some of the best wrestlers to come through this area started varsity while still in middle school.

 

[JosephC.Myers]

Re: Stats inconsistencies

The M(ichigan)HSAA allows eighth-graders at small schools to compete in some sports, like basketball, but their stats from that year don't count for records purposes since other players may not have had the same opportunity. A colleague of mine got called a racist in Nimrod Nation (small school with a large Native American population) for saying someone wasn't (by the book) a 1,000-point scorer when he was by the numbers.

It's weird they allow 8th-graders in some sports and not in others, but at least they're consistent with the not allowing their 8th-grade stats to count towards records. That does level the playing field. Is it just the smaller classifications that are allowed to do that and what sports do they get to do it in?

If the KHSAA banned middle schoolers from competing on varsity teams, some schools' cross country and wrestling teams would be screwed.

A few years ago, one team's top three or four runners were in middle school and some of the best wrestlers to come through this area started varsity while still in middle school.

I remember that from when I worked in Clarskville and did stories on Fort Campbell's teams. I don't think Fort Campbell ever had any middle schoolers that were in their top six, but I know other schools did, especially on the girls side.

 

[Mark2010]

Michigan has high schools that have less than 50 people? Holy smokes. Are these public schools or all private? There are some schools down here that are that small, but they're all private.

Montana was the same. Some places are sooo rural that they just don't have many people and busing to another city is impractical because they are so geographically isolated. Thus the joy known as 6-man football.

That would make sense in someplace like Montana, where there's a lot more geographical isolation. I don't see Michigan as being that isolated, but I confess I'm not that familiar with the geography of the UP and places like that.

Called up next year's MHSAA enrollment list. There are 24 schools under 50 in enrollment. By my educated guess, nine are parochials, five appear to be charters (including a school for the deaf), one's an Indian school and the rest are public.

Of those 24, six are within the 906 area code (which is essentially the U.P.), one being the Indian school, a Baptist academy in the East, two located on islands in the middle of the lakes (Mackinac Island and Beaver Island) and two way out of the way on the Lake Superior shoreline east of Munising.

Go Grand Marais Polar Bears! Haha...great brewery in that town by the way.

Yes, the Yoop is pretty desolate between towns. Heck, when I was in high school, one of our conference-rival weekend basketball trips was to Alpena (Friday night) and Traverse City (Saturday afternoon)...it was a 700 mile round-trip (on a school bus!).
At least they let the cheerleaders stay in the same hotel as us that night!

Good fodder for "How I Met Your Mother" years from now.

 

[MightyMouse]

Arm-twisting by parents, alums, boosters, etc.

Maybe someone promised to raise some cash in 24 hours and now the AD will look like a moron for cancelling a program and then reviving it. Or maybe someone is in town whom he/she prefer not read that news in black and white.

There's a story here should you choose to pursue it.

Yeah, sounds like something's up. Pursue it and keep us updated, please, as my curiousity is definitely piqued.

Sigh, nothing quite so exciting as all of that. They just wanted to be able to make a formal announcement to the team today before it was in the paper.

 

[BillyT]

I don't know about the rest of the state, but in Section II in New York, you can get a waiver for seventh and eighth if the kids are solid enough to compete.

I think you need parental permission, too.

It's a way to keep the 96-pound weight class alive.