(NOT) Your Average Joe

Slacker

So, I've been a slacker lately.  It is a good thing I still have a few readers left to remind me of that.  I will be honest though, the coverage for track has been pretty bad this year.  You see, the thing is that my blogs are based on what I read just like you all out there.  I do not have top secret info or the inside scoop. Well sometimes I do, but not recently.

Anyway, there have been a lot of questions posed that I have not gotten around to answering.  I will try to address some of them and will wait for others on another blog.  My faithful readers Chris and Olay have been keeping track and I have not done a good job of getting back to you or answering your questions.

Fist of all, Olay asked who I thought the top contenders in all the sports will be.  Wow, that is a great question and unfortunately I will have to answer that in another blog. Also, most of my knowledge is in football, cross country and track, so I am not sure I could answer it all.  But, I will address your other question in regards to track coaches on Wayne Thorton's show.

I actually have gotten to know Wayne over the years and he seems like a fairly open minded guy.  I have his number and bump into him pretty often, so I will definitely ask him and I am sure he would be glad to talk about track with coaches and athletes.

A few readers have also been asking me all year about track rankings.  I have to be blunt on this one.  I have never been a big fan of track rankings or cross country for that matter.  All I really care about is who is the top team and who may challenge them.  If you think about it, at a big track meet the only thing people remember is who won it, and who almost won it.

Now, as rankings go for the district meet, well that holds more water to me.  Since those meets are a lot more closely contested and you have your district rivalries, it makes it a lot more interesting to follow.  All I know is that this mulit-district meet is a very good idea and should have been done a long time ago.

Well good luck to all the freshmen and J.V. athletes competing this week. And also let me mention the 3A meet again.  That will be out in Clint next week.

Till then.

Joe Weissbard

kingrain77@aol.com

Microscope

Wow, I must say, I quite enjoyed all the back and fourth banter.  Mike McClain opened up a huge can on the whole issue of athletes going to different programs and transferring to other schools to follow a coach.  I was even scared to touch that one, but if someone is gonna do it, it's Mike. 

You know, it is a major issue that is not unique to any high school in the united states.  I mean it can be argued back and fourth.  Some parents just see it as a right they have to see to it that their kids receive the best "athletic" education possible. Are they wrong, well, I do not know, I am not a parent.  Does it affect a lot of different people? Yes!

I think the ones that are most affected though, are the hard working coaches that see an athlete that is supposed to be going to their school, competing for the neighboring rival school.  I live in the northeast and I see it a lot with Chapin and Irvin.  It is kind of sad to be honest

It used to be like that with Parkland, Irvin and Andress.  I can see both sides of the argument and agree a little with either side.  As far as Jeff Turnbull not living in the Riverside area, I just spoke to a kid that played for the Rangers a few years back and he affirmed that Turnbull was there since his freshmen year so it would seem all policies were followed.  I mean he may have not lived in the area, but it all depends when he started playing varsity ball for the Rangers

I am glad that is subject was brought up though.  At times you all were funny and at other times harsh, but we are all entitled to our opinion.  Those who feel strongly about it, well say something, or take it up to a higher level.  Those that do not care, just sit back and enjoy the teams.  I can respect the both of you though, and some awesome points were brought up. 

I hope that there continues to be good subject that people wanna talk about.  How bout the Montwood Rams basketball team?   I'm out!

Joe Weissbard

kingrain77@aol.com

Cheater

Well well well, I leave town for a few days and a firestorm starts.  First off, sorry to Mike for taking so long to reply to your posts.  It is actually a subject that I have been wanting to hit for a while.  I know it is a controversial subject that people have been debating for years.  I just had not touched it since I would just be giving my opinion with little known facts on the such subject matter.

I also wanna thank "Bulldog" for putting in his two cents.  I actually am glad Mike brought it up, because it affects every sport in every school in every district.  When I was in High School, I questioned the eligibility of athletes that I knew lived nowhere near the school they were attending.

With that being said, I wanna hit what Mike was speaking of.  He asked me if I knew of some kids that followed a coach that transferred to another school. Then Bulldog replied, saying that Riverside has been picking up athletes from other areas for years.  I cannot support any of this with facts, but have also heard this for years from fairly reliable sources.  I do not just mean Riverside either.

When I was in high school even Caleb Quinn, an all state running back that transferred from Coronado to Irvin to play football was accused of this.  But I remember that his family actually re-located to a house in the northeast.  So they did things legitimately.

Now, Bulldog claimed that some players did indeed follow a popular coach to another school, which if it is true, is obviously a major violation of eligibility rules.  This would need to be investigated of course because it is all here-say.

Which brings me to another problem.  Rumors fly everywhere and many times these transfers are done in a legitimate manner with the athletic director of the district making the approval.  Some coaches though have been finding ways to get players to their school for years.  I have even known some athletes that did not even live on this side of the border.

Is it cheating?  Well I guess if nothing is being done and it is allowed to happen right in front of the higher ups, then no, its just unfair.  Now, if this type of thing is just not being investigated and the coaches just know how to get it done, well then in a sense it may be. 

The bottom line is that this has been going one for years.  Sometimes people are caught and lose eligibility for a year. Other times people are just able to beat the system by claiming an address within the set boundaries and no one ever catches them.  I am sure that the district's respective athletic heads have other things to do and therefore do not always catch these happenings.

Only facts can have a real affect on this, and sometimes it takes someone to really investigate to prove that there is un-fair recruiting or cheating taken place. At this point I do not think any of the districts have the money to pay someone to investigate these claims full time.

Joe Weissbard

kingrain77@aol.com

Response to "Signings"

I just wanted to respond to those of you who wrote in about my blog concerning athletic "signings".  First off I wanted to thank you for your insight on how these things work.  I agree with you that any signing is better than nothing, but I am talking about D3 signings to be specific.  My point is that you cannot call them signings.  I am sure those schools do not even consider them signings.

You are right about Chris Day though, but it still was not signing no matter how you cut it.  No disrespect to Day though, he is awesome.  Now these D3 signings are a waste of time.  These kids go up there and realize how useless most of those programs are and come back in a year.  I know this because I have talked to many many athletes who go off to these schools and I see them back by thanksgiving.

Look, to put it frankly, if the school is not paying for your school in exchange for you promising to compete for them, it is not a signing.  I am not saying they are not good athletes or deserving of a scholarship.  I am just saying that we should call it what it is and not sugar coat if for the sake of publicity.  El Paso should not be that desperate.

I thank you guys again for reading my blogs.  I hope to hear from you again, Bye.

Joseph Weissbard

Bogus Signing

There is something that I have wanted to discuss for a long time now.  I have been wondering this for the last few years and wanted to know what you readers thought. 

What I am talking about are Division 3 Athletic signings. You know, Little Joey Paladuchi from Sinclair High signs a letter of intent to play soccer at Buttwig University in the back countries of Sakawaka Kansas.

Well I know most of you would say, well it's always great to recognize when a kid does well and is going to participate at the next level.  But really, is Division 3 really considered the next level.  Most people probably do not know that Division 3's do not even offer athletic scholarships.

Yes, they may have sports at their school, but those kids either have academic scholarships, rodeo scholarships or are paying their way through school.  I am not saying these kids should not be recognized, I just do not see a need for the news stations or newspapers to be there to watch them sign a form.

I mean what are they signing for?  Are they promising to go to the school and participate in that program even though their is no scholarship at stake?  It seems a little silly to me to be honest. I am sure there are a few D3 schools that have decent athletic programs, but I think the major media coverage should be for those going to D1's and D2's.

Another thing I have never understood is why they call it a signing when a kid walks on at UTEP.  I remember a few years ago when Chris Day of Chapin "signed" with UTEP. O.k. don't get me wrong, he definitely deserved a scholarship and was an awesome player, but that is not my point.  It just gave me the wrong impression since the term "signing" usually refers to someone signing a form accepting a scholarship.  If you remember , Coach Mike Price said he had a chance to earn a scholarship.

Well I do not to sound like a pessimist and am not putting anyone down.  I just feel that unless you are signing with a Division 1 or a great Division 2 then the whole city does not need to know.  Those kids have earned a free education and that deserves attention.

I hope you readers out there give it some thought and get back to me on this.  I am sure I will hear it for this one, but that is what I think.  Bye

Joe Weissbard

Response to Erick Garza

Mr. Garza first let me thank you for reading my blogs and thank you also for the compliment. 

Let me start off by addressing the question you posted. Mr. Garza asked, if I will be blogging about sports in the spring.  First off I literally am just a fan of high school sports and I write about the sports that I enjoy watching personally.  With that being said I will now attempt to answer your question.

The sports that I can talk about with at least some real knowledge are cross country, track and football. With cross country being nearest my heart.  Well  I have only written about football because I really keep track of it in the media and I also attend games.  It would be irresponsible of me to spit unfounded knowledge strictly on records and stats without knowing about the sport or its top athletes'

Now on the flip side though, I definitely aim to expand my knowledge in many more sports including basketball and baseball.  If at any point I feel that I have obtained enough insight on these other sports and can post an opinion with teeth, then yes I will also write about baseball.

I hope I have answered your question to your satisfaction and I hope that others along with yourself will continue to give me feedback.  Thank You

Joe Weissbard