An introduction
An introduction
Since I'll be writing some previews as the season gets into full swing I might as well let yinz know a little about myself.
I'm a 2001 Graduate of Clairton HS. From there I moved to New Smyrna Beach Florida to go to college. That didn't work out as good as I thought it would so I decided to enlist in the US Navy in 2002 and went to boot camp in Great Lakes Ill.. I was based in Mayport Florida (Jacksonville area) on the USS Simpson(FFG 56). I was a Torpedoman 3rd Class when I finally returned to civilian life in 2007. From that point to now I was my grandfathers caretaker until he passed away in 09. After that I started working again, and just this past summer I started going back to college to work on a History Degree with a minor in Journalism.
From a writing standpoint I owe a lot to guys like Josh Funk, Mike Kovak, and Kevin Gorman. Each of those guys provided great constructive criticism that helped pave the path that I'm currently on.
Like my opinion or hate my opinion, just remember its just an opinion. Some school has to be ranked 1, 5, or 10. Just because I didn't list your school, doesn't mean I hate your school. And the same if I don't predict "Team A" to beat "Team B".
A strong opinion of mine that I stand by is that the WPIAL needs to stop hosting the Finals at Heinz Field. WPA is really backwards when it comes to the importance of a District Championship vs a State Championship.
Another strong opinion of mine is the way the WPIAL formats its Conferences. I for one would rather see 8 conferences of 4-5 teams as opposed to 4 conferences of 7-10 teams. This allows for more interesting out of conference games. Because of this backwardness some rivalries such as Charleroi & Monessen aren't being played when this has been a yearly event for 99 years.
I'm also a firm supporter of a 5-6 class system in PA. While I know the most of the "so called" beef has come from the East in the 4A class regarding the absurd difference in enrollment, but out west what I'm really noticing is a severe competitive imbalance in Class A. The WPIAL attempted to rectify this by totally switching up the Blackhills & Tri County South(TCS) with Bentworth and Avella moving to the TCS and Monessen & California moving to the Blackhills. I'm unsure if this is the best way to do this either because you're going to see 2-3 teams from the Blackhills that will have a legit beef of not being in the playoffs while there will be 2-3 schools in the TCS that do not belong in the playoffs. A 4-5 class system would truly solve a lot of these problems across the board.
thx for your time,
Joey
Feel free to follow me @JoePanther0181 on twitter
I'm a 2001 Graduate of Clairton HS. From there I moved to New Smyrna Beach Florida to go to college. That didn't work out as good as I thought it would so I decided to enlist in the US Navy in 2002 and went to boot camp in Great Lakes Ill.. I was based in Mayport Florida (Jacksonville area) on the USS Simpson(FFG 56). I was a Torpedoman 3rd Class when I finally returned to civilian life in 2007. From that point to now I was my grandfathers caretaker until he passed away in 09. After that I started working again, and just this past summer I started going back to college to work on a History Degree with a minor in Journalism.
From a writing standpoint I owe a lot to guys like Josh Funk, Mike Kovak, and Kevin Gorman. Each of those guys provided great constructive criticism that helped pave the path that I'm currently on.
Like my opinion or hate my opinion, just remember its just an opinion. Some school has to be ranked 1, 5, or 10. Just because I didn't list your school, doesn't mean I hate your school. And the same if I don't predict "Team A" to beat "Team B".
A strong opinion of mine that I stand by is that the WPIAL needs to stop hosting the Finals at Heinz Field. WPA is really backwards when it comes to the importance of a District Championship vs a State Championship.
Another strong opinion of mine is the way the WPIAL formats its Conferences. I for one would rather see 8 conferences of 4-5 teams as opposed to 4 conferences of 7-10 teams. This allows for more interesting out of conference games. Because of this backwardness some rivalries such as Charleroi & Monessen aren't being played when this has been a yearly event for 99 years.
I'm also a firm supporter of a 5-6 class system in PA. While I know the most of the "so called" beef has come from the East in the 4A class regarding the absurd difference in enrollment, but out west what I'm really noticing is a severe competitive imbalance in Class A. The WPIAL attempted to rectify this by totally switching up the Blackhills & Tri County South(TCS) with Bentworth and Avella moving to the TCS and Monessen & California moving to the Blackhills. I'm unsure if this is the best way to do this either because you're going to see 2-3 teams from the Blackhills that will have a legit beef of not being in the playoffs while there will be 2-3 schools in the TCS that do not belong in the playoffs. A 4-5 class system would truly solve a lot of these problems across the board.
thx for your time,
Joey
Feel free to follow me @JoePanther0181 on twitter