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A couple thoughts on this first Monday of November....
Did the IHSA put Providence in a competitive disadvantage on Saturday?
Let's think about this - the IHSA is supposed to be about the students and for the students. I mean, really, at the end of the day, your tax dollars pay the bright people at Pee-Wee's Playhouse to make these great decisions.
So again, Providence is placed in a sectional 245 miles away - a short four-hour drive. Sorry, I just type that, laugh and say, did someone seriously get away with approving this decision? And these people are in charge of things?
The Edwardsville/Providence game time was set for 1 p.m. Saturday. Well, because no one thought they would be traveling far in the IHSA's geographic tournament, Providence didn't conduct a fundraiser for airline tickets or collect money to stay at a hotel on Friday night.
The Celtics got on a bus early Saturday morning with most players up around 5 a.m. to make sure they were at the school for the 6 a.m. departure. What time do you think Edwardsville players got out of bed on Saturday? And even if O'Fallon beat Edwardsville in the sectional semifinal, what time do you think O'Fallon players would've had to get out of bed?
And here's the kicker - this is a geographic tournament right? What if Providence, which lost 2-1 in the second overtime, won on Saturday? If I'm the Downstate schools, I'm at Pee-Wee's Playhouse today asking how in the heck a Chicago-area program would be placed in a Downstate sectional of a geographic tournament?
Mercy.
TUESDAY TREAT: Neuqua Valley and Lyons will meet for the third time this season. Neuqua won the first meeting 4-0, and the second meeting in the title game of the Pepsi Showdown at Toyota Park 2-1 in overtime. It's really tough to beat a team three times in a season - I've seen it so many times before. Fans may see more talent on the field for the doubleheader at Benedictine, which also features St. Viator and St. Joseph, than they will this weekend at North Central College.
CARDINAL STATE It could be the weekend of the Cardinals. The Arizona Cardinals play the Bears; the Eisenhower Cardinals could advance to the Final Four of the IHSA Tournament; and this is all happening in the state where the state bird is a Cardinal.
AND FINALLY: I had someone actually say to me last week, "See, you were all worked up about the field at Hinsdale when if you would've given time for the process to take care of itself, you would've seen the right decision would've been made."
And you know something, I smiled and said, "Then explained to me why they played there in a mud pit on Wednesday?"
If a snake bites you once, it's the snake's fault.
And I wasn't about to let the snake bite the soccer community again, as it has so many times in a case like this.
But at the end of the day, the right call was made. And that's the way it should be.
- Joe Trost
Cell Phone Alerts
Joe,
I hear you about Providence, and it really stunk they had to drive so far, but what is the IHSA supposed to do when there are not enough 3A teams south of I-80 to fill a sectional?
I'd like to hear how you think they should have handled it.
Let's look at the bigger picture - should it have gone to three classes? No. Solves the problem right there, but they are trying to generate extra revenue.
Joe,
Food for thought: I realize the IHSA screwed up with some of the sectional assignments this year. However, could this be an issue as to why the IHSA keeps this a "geographical" tournament instead of a "strength" tournament? Isn't what happened to Providence a realistic possibility should the format be switched to a tournament which has "true" seeds?
Not at all. If they went with true seeds for larger sectionals, such as a Chicago area, Midstate, Downstate, etc. A team from Oswego would have no issue traveling to play Warren or Naperville going to Marian Catholic. I mean, look at the East Suburban Conference, they travel during the season as it is. Marian Catholic to Carmel - that's a drive. Point is that there are ways to make it better, but as some coaches continue to say - you have stubborn folks at Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
Joe,
Even if sectionals become larger, doesn't that still provide the same "geographic" problem about which you complain? How does a larger sectional solve this? Neuqua, Waubonsie, Naperville Central, Naperville North, WW South would all still be in the same sectional with only one of them making it to the state tourney. The same issue still exists...