I moved

Save the new blog... http://joeweasel.wordpress.com/

Thank you...

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the 2011 Season

The Good:

Tyler Boyd... Enough said right lol. It has been a blessing to watch him run, almost effortlessly, this past season. This kid is a rare breed of talent, and just maybe the best player, at the 1A level, in a long, long time. Watching him on an option play to the left and get cornered, just to cut back across the field for a long TD run in the State Championship was just a thing of beauty. And here's the scary thought for Class A teams, he'll be returning in the 2012 season for his Sr. Year.

Clairton's streak of 47 games in a row has been amazing. I know there are some that say that the Bears wouldn't own such a streak if Jeannette and/or Aliquippa played Class A football. I say so what, if those fans have something to say, let those schools drop and let it play out on the field. 47 games in a row, even against this competition, is one hell of a feat. Teams, that have the talent Clairton has, been known to play down to their competition and even lose. The fact that these Bears haven't done that and blasted these schools the way they have, the kids and the coach's should be applauded. These last 2 state championship games really tested the mettle and heart of these kids. And they passed with flying colors!

The Bad:

WPIAL competition has seemed to have gotten worse these past few years. When you see scores of 43-7 and 42-6 you instantly think of a regular season game, and not playoff games against the likes of Rochester and Sto Rox in the Semi's and the Finals.

What happened to the mighty WPIAL in Class A? I just remembered 10 years ago when Rochester went on to win a few State Championships but struggled in a few playoff games against the likes of Chartiers Houston in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Is it talent, coaching, or a combination of the 2?

The Ugly:

84-0 rings a bell doesn't it. While Clairton and even the haves have seemed to separate themselves, the difference between the haves and have nots has gotten much much worse. Beth Center, Springdale, Rochester, Bishop Canevin, and Clairton all routinely blew out their competition-or lack there of. Are we in need of a 5th Class or a Class 1A and Class 1B? Who knows, but this issue wasn't addressed for this next cycle(2012/13 and 2013/14 school years) but it will be. But Clairton's 84-0 win should be the catalyst for some change in the PIAA.

Steelers Defense: Holes Gallore

I normally don't write blogs about the Steelers and its quite simple to why I don't blog about them. Its mostly because there's hundreds of Steeler bloggers out there. But after tonight's game I just have to say my 2 cents.

OK schematically I felt we took the right approach to Tim Tebow and the Broncos passing game. You can't all out blitz him because he'll simply scramble and gain 10-15 yards at a clip. So daring him to throw is obviously going to put pressure on our Cornerbacks to make plays. Tonight both Willie Gay and Ike Taylor failed... miserably.

Games like tonight is the exact reason why I felt that the Steelers should have drafted a shutdown cornerback in last years Draft. And this is the reason why the Steelers will need to draft one in this years Draft. If we don't it will still be the same old same old next season.

But when it came to the Zone Read Option and the more traditional option we failed miserably as well. To defend that style of football you need all of the Options covered. And if they aren't covered Tebow- or any other option QB- is just going to read the DE or LB. If the DE or LB covers the RB, he'll keep the ball, and if the DE or LB commits to the QB he'll hand off or pitch the ball to the RB.

This is practically an offense many of these players saw in High School and College. And I'm just surprised Dick LeBeau didn't have an answer for this offense.

If we can't defend this style of football, I'm afraid of what Cam Newton and the Panthers will do to this defense. Cam Newton is a far better runner and passer than Tebow.

I'm not going to ramble on and on about this. But I have to give credit where its due. Tebow made the plays when he had to tonight. He's going to be a dangerous weapon when he gets more accurate in the future.

I guess its time to enjoy the long off season. It won't be long until the boys in the Black n Gold hit the field again. Until then, enjoy the Penguins and Pirates seasons. 

Some Notes On What to Expect in the 12/13 Football Cycle(Realignment)

Expect to see 3 Conferences of 9 teams in Class's 4A and 3A, 3 Conferences of 9 teams and 1 8 team Conference, and in Class A, expect to see 3 Conferences of 9 teams and 1 Ten team Conference.

I'm hearing from too many people, from coach's and media types, that there will be a major shift in Class A. I saw different configurations and as always, I totally hate them all. One has Clairton in the Eastern Conference with the likes of W. Shamokin and Apollo Ridge-talking about driving a distance. Another I saw wast Clairton in a Mon-Yough like league w/ the likes of Brentwood, Monessen, Frazier, and Geibel.

For Wash County Fans; I really don't know what to expect to be honest. Canon-Mac and Peters Township looks to be in a southern based Conference with Mt. Lebo, Baldwin, maybe McKeesport or Pittsburgh Central Catholic.

Trinity looks to be in a league with Thomas Jefferson, Ringold and teams as far away as Albert Gallatin and Uniontown.

In one form or another Char Houston and Fort Cherry fans expect to lose Clairton as a conference member and gain at least Bishop Canevin and even possibly Western Beaver.

I really haven't seen 2A projections so I really can't speak on that.

You yinzers ready for my typical anti-WPIAL rant!!!

Here's my problem with 3A and 4A going to just 3 Conferences of 9 teams, and its simple. This just feels so archaic to me. While the rest of the nation is promoting big time games, we're only having games within our District. No doubt that there are some fine matchups on the horizon, but come on. I want to see Pittsburgh Central Catholic play against the likes of Louisville Trinity or Don Bosco Prep. I want to see Central Valley play against a Stuebenville or Cincinnati Colerain and so on.

This area's old school ways just drives me insane. We totally need "new blood" within the combines of the WPIAL with fresh new idea's. Why not have spring football? Why not have smaller leagues and more conferences? Why not vote Yes for 5 Class's or even 6? The league is simply moving backyards and not forward and its sad, quite sad.

Some changes coming for the 2012 football season

I'm not going to rant about the PIAA and the WPIAL tonight I promise. I'm sure I'm going to rant about both sometime in the near future.

I plan on expanding my content next season. I'm going to post more on Washington County Schools but at the same time expect my traditional 3-4 Clairton blogs.

There are a few reasons for me expanding my content. The main reason for the change is that I need to know 2A-4A football as much as I do 1A football. And there is no better way than gathering that knowledge blogging these local schools in the area.

Now if I have the availability on Friday Nights, I'd like to cover some games as well. So I may have to step up my interview skills and figure out ways to get a media pass.

So between now and August I have to do some studying on Canon-Mac, Trinity, Washington, Peters Township, Avella, and so on.

This blog has been an overwhelming success and I thank you guys. Its totally natural to expand my content.

One thing though, I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do every week just yet. Maybe a preview Wednesday and a week in review on Sunday with Clairton content in between.

Thanks for reading making this blog as successful as it has been.

Parents of Clairton Education Center: Where's the Outrage

As a 2001 Grad of Clairton High School there are a few disturbing trends as I did a little bit of research from Clairton's Web Page.

We all know that CEC isn't making the grade when it comes to the PSSA(PA System of School Assessment) tests.

But I must ask this simple question, where is the outrage from the PARENTS of these kids? Where are the parents during such events like School Board Meetings, Parent Teacher Conferences, or part of the PTA(Parent Teacher Association)?

On the City of Clairton Facebook Page there are always great discussions, but they are always led by people outside of the city such as Gary Mullen(Leader of the Clairton Restoration Movement), Paul Goodrum, Loretta Sanders, Damon Moore and so on.

The problem is that we can discuss these issues all we want, but we can't change anything until the residents of Clairton are involved.

Here are the facts parents;

From Page 24;

Strategy: PSSA awareness
Description: The district will utilize motivational strategies to inform the student and home of the
importance of the PSSA assessment.
Activity: Parental correspondence
Last Modified: 9/15/2009
Description: A letter explaining the importance of the PSSA is sent to each home on three
occasions prior to the administration of the assessment.
Person Responsible Timeline for Implementation Resources
None Selected Start: 1/1/2007
Finish: Ongoing
-
Status: In Progress — Upcoming

Low Test scores for Clairton has been in the limelight ever since the PSSA was introduced in the 1990's. So you're going to tell me that from the 1st of January in 2007 through September 15th of 2009 this School Board didn't find the need to have someone in charge to lead in this area. There maybe one in place today, but not having one in place for a year and 9 months is, what we like to say in the Navy, UNSAT.

Also as you read their Strategic Plan you're going to notice minor spelling errors and so on. And then you're also going to notice several of their Goals listed as Overdue, or not completed.

So how can we take this school seriously when they're sending this Document to the Department of Education on the Federal and State Levels and they can't spell or have decent grammar.

Most "Living Documents" are only updated when "Goals" are completed. So most of these so called Goals from 2007 are still incomplete and overdue. Which is a shame, because this Admin is failing the future of this great nation.

Again Parents, where is the outrage? This document is on the Schools Web Page for crying out loud. Do you even read the site at all? Parents... get off of your dead asses and turn off your TV's, and lets do something about this problem.

16 Week Season for the Next 2 Years

The WPIAL and PIAA are simply amazing. Saying that both organizations are stupid or dumb would be giving them far too much credit.

Last Thursday night they was supposed to vote on a 15 Week Season and tabled the vote to Friday Morning-before the State Championship games. In a Tally that needed 21 Yes votes, the final tally came out to 16 Yes votes to 10 No votes and 1 voter abstained-for whatever reason.

While some people was surprised by this ruling I wasn't. Why would a D5, D9, or any other District be willing to cut playoff qualifiers when the WPIAL was still going to be able to hold a 16 team playoff field in all 4 Class's. Fair is fair right.

Its obvious to me that no one cares about the kids and only about their own self interest, but at the same time they want a shorter season at the same time. So compromise needs to be in order somewhere.

So what's the next step in ending the season sooner. The East doesn't want to start the season earlier, the WPIAL doesn't more Class's because of the Heinz Field issue, and doesn't want to cut its playoff field in half.

This is really going to come down to who blinks first.

And lets be serious my fellow WPIAL fans, does a 3-6 Fox Chapel team really deserve a playoff spot? Or how about in some of those bottom tier schools in Class A? I mean what benefit does bringing in 4th place teams really do when they're more than likely going to lose by 30+ in the first round. Why risk injuries to a star player or 2 in these meaningless playoff games? And its really sad that I'm calling a playoff game meaningless for crying out loud.

Another thing we need to fix is the competitive balance in esp in Class A and 4A. McKeesport for example is definitely a quality football program but why have them compete with a North Allegheny when their enrollment was 515 Boys and NA's was 1078. NA has more than double the amount of boys than McKeesport has. In Class A its even worse. Schools like Mapletown, Geibel, and Imani has less than 70 boys competing against schools of over 180 boys in enrollment. But the competitive imbalance is very noticeable at the Class A Level.

I'd root for 5 or maybe 6 Class's for the PIAA. But until the WPIAL and its counterparts reach some compromise. And with the way things are going, its not going to happen any time soon. And its a shame.

Some more realignment stuff

I must say that maybe I'm too ahead of my time or something. But this in my eyes looks far better than the clustered mess of 3 conferences of 9 teams and 1 10 team conference. And with Vincentian in the fold we could have 2 9 team leagues and 2 10 team conferences. The WPIAL and PIAA are a JOKE. It is what it is I guess. So here goes nothing... I GUESS;

Allegheny Valley

Apollo Ridge

West Shamokin

Springdale

Leechburg

Riverview

Blackhills

Avella

Bentworth

Char Houston

Fort Cherry

Beth Center

Northhills

Sto Rox

Northgate

Avonworth

North Catholic

Vincentian(Possible for 2012, if not able to field a team 2014 for sure)

Greene County

Mapletown

Carmichaels

West Greene

California

Jefferson Morgan

3 Rivers

Bishop Canevin

Carlynton

Brentwood

Imani Christian(Cannot compete in WPIAL playoffs due to eligibility/transfer issues)

Wilkensburg

Mon-Yough

Clairton

Monessen

Serra Catholic

Geibel

Fraizer

Big 4

Rochester

Western Beaver

South Side

OLSH

Mercer County

Laurel

Shenengo

Neshannock

Union

Clairton Seeking 47th Straight Win against the Mighty Tigers

Maybe I'm biased, maybe its because Clairton is the lone WPIAL representative in the State Finals this year, but is there a more intriguing matchup this year than the Clairton Bears vs Southern Columbia Area Tigers?

Lets be serious, as dominant Clairton has been these 4-5 on the local and then state levels, Southern Columbia has been that good for 2 decades. SCA had 12 State Title Appearances in 13 years(1994-2006) and won 6 of them including a 5 year winning streak from 2001-2006. Check this, other than 2007 SCA has won every District 4 Championship since 1991.

Coach Jim Roth owns a 330-58-2 record during his span at SCA(1984-2011) and was the youngest Head Coach to ever achieve 300 wins. And in his 27 years at SCA his teams won 10 or more game 24 of those seasons.

The Tigers just seems to have a way with wearing teams down as the game goes along. Both Old Forge and Pius X had 10+ point leads on the Tigers, only to see those leads wither away into 10+ point losses. They're led by 2 1,000 yard rushers in Tyler Laven and Matt Moore and their QB Brad Fegley has quietly been extremely proficient. He's 114 of  167 for 1698 yards, 13 TDs and 0 Interceptions.

What can I say about the Bears that I-or anybody else- has said about them. Its been unbelievable to look at the stats during the 46 game winning streak.

The Bears are led by Safety Jr Tyler Boyd. He has 2182 yards(53 yards short of Deonte Howards school record) on 172 Carries, 386 yards on 16 catch's, and amassed a total of 46 TD's on the season.

There are a plethora of WR weapons in Clairton's arsenol for Sr Capri Thomspon to throw to in 6'3 Trenton Coles(Pittsburgh Recruit), 6'0 Terrence Webb, 6'4 Titus Howard and 5'8 Byron Clifford. Thompson is 79 of 125 for 1701 and 15 TDs.

I have no doubt in my mind Southern Columbia is going to give the Bears the fight of their lives and will force them to earn their 47th straight win. And this is a game of totally conflicting styles, and is this is the ultimate Speed vs Power contest.

Ultimately I'm going with the homer pick because I can. I'm going Clairton 30 SCA 20. 

PIAA Class A Title Game

Site: Hershey Park Stadium, Hershey PA

Time: 1PM

Broadcasts: PCN on Cable and Online Feed, MSA Radio

*References...  http://www.easternpafootball.com/news/piaa-a-state-championship-preview-southern-columbia-14-1/

http://www.scatigerfootball.org/sca_fb.html

Conference Predictions

After seeing the #'s I do know Jeannette, and Aliquippa are indeed playing up but is unsure about GCC so I didn't put them in. We'll find out Monday if they're playing up or not. But here's my realignment(thinking like the WPIAL) without GCC.

 Blackhills:
Clairton
Bishop Canevin
Carlynton
Bentworth
Char Houston
Brentwood
Fort Cherry
Avella
Serra Catholic

Eastern Conference:
West Shamokin                   
Avonworth     
Northgate     
North Catholic     
Riverview  
Wilkensburg  
Springdale
Leechburg  
Apollo Ridge  

Tri County South:
Fraizer
West Greene
California
Jefferson Morgan
Carmichaels
Mapletown
Geibel
Beth Center
Monessen

Big 7:
Laurel
OLSH
Rochester
SS. Beaver
Sto Rox
Western Beaver
Union
Neshannock
Shenengo

A Run of a Lifetime

We at Clairton has been blessed with one of the greatest runs in Western Pennsylvania History. We've seen players come through the program like Dana Brown, Kevin Weatherspoon, Desimon Green, Trenton Coles, and Tyler Boyd these past 6-7 years.

What can I say about this program as of late other than WOW, or thats UNBELIEVABLE. Its easy to get caught up in the stats or the current winning streak or the streak of titles won in both the WPIAL and PIAA.

Heck the Bears went down to Texas and competed with schools twice the size of McKeesport and ended up in 2nd Place in a 7 on 7 tournament. I do understand that 7 on 7's aren't the best barometer of a program but to me this proved that Clairton, at least at the skill positions, are as good as any program in the entire nation.

It has been something hasn't it?

We all watch the news or see the negativity of our city on Facebook, Twitter, or in the daily papers. But we always have this football program to make us smile. For 2 and a half hours on Friday nights all that negativity is forgotten as we watch these kids play the game that they love.

But what we must remember is this run won't last forever. There is always the risk of the school closing down or the current run of phenomenal players runs dry. The latter is bound to happen. So lets enjoy this run while it lasts. Sometimes even I gets a little too arrogant when judging other schools after the Bears blow them out. I do think some of us fans has gotten a little spoiled. It happens. The Steelers and Penguins fan base are excellent examples of this.

I hear the 2A chatter. There was a time when I led the charge in this. Matt Popchock of 93.7 wrote an excellent article on this subject matter. In my opinion, with graduation this year, the Bears needs to add 25-30 more kids on top of the 25 kids left on the roster-which is about 7-8 more kids a class. Until then I don't think its a viable option. And thats rather unfortunate because its preventing players like Tyler Boyd from being challenged and taking his game to another level. 

And I do understand that Jeannette and Aliquippa has Single A Enrollment, but remember they never played Class A Ball and dropped from 3A to 2A in the late 80's early 90's.

Honestly, I do think the depth of Class A in the WPIAL and even the state is a little down. Other than maybe 1 or 2 teams, its just hard for even me to get up for conference or even playoff games. If the well runs dry by 2013, why punish that team by playing Keystone Oaks and South Fayette for the achievements of the 2008 through the 2011 teams.

The game against Sharpsville may be yet another blowout, or it could be the end of the 45 game winning streak. We'll find out Friday Night up at Slippery Rock University. The winner of the Clairton/ Sharpsville game will take on the winner of the Southern Columbia/ Penns Manor game next Friday at 1PM in Hershey PA.

Everybody from the Press, to fans of other schools, and Clairton fans themselves needs to simply enjoy the brilliance they're seeing in front of their eyes. This is one of the greatest runs in WPIAL history. Clairton isn't going 2A anytime soon and may simply close down in the very near future. Who knows what the future holds for the Bears. What we do know is that our Bears is primed for a 3rd State Championship.

On another note, on or around December 12th the enrollment figures will be released. Who knows which programs will drop to 1A or jump up to 2A. And around February the new conferences and schedule matrix's will be released for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. 

Bears Ready to Take on the Sto Rox Vikings

The Bears are seeking their 4th Straight WPIAL Championship at Heinz Field this Saturday and also their 5th in a 6 year Time frame.

On must ask, how is it possible that this team isn't getting respect, but it seems like every week there is a perceived negative article on the Bears.

The Bears are 12-0 and has scored 554 points and only given up 45 points for an average of 46.2-3.8 a game.

The Bears counterpart, Sto Rox Vikings are also 12-0 and has scored 511 points and has given up 105 for an average of 42.6- 8.8 points a game.

Clairton and Sto Rox has 5 Common opponents in Carlynton, Rochester, Western Beaver, Cornell, and Brentwood.

Clairton has won on an average of 44.2-1.4, while Sto Rox has won on an average of 40.0-6.6.

Ultimately the game will come down to who can control the lines, and to the team that has more discipline as well as turnovers. Because as we all can see, both teams have similar numbers with Clairton averaging a little more on offense and giving up a little less on defense.

Both the Vikings and Bears have D1 Talent all over the place in Trenton Coles, Tyler Boyd, and Titus Howard from the Bears; and Deashawn Rippy, Marzette Geter, and Dontez Ford from the Vikings.

I must say both teams are mirror image's of each other at nearly every position.

Capri Thomspon(Clairton) and Lenny Williams(Sto Rox) are very athletic and capable QB's. Josh Beverly(Sto Rox), and Tyler Boyd(Clairton) are workhorse type of running backs. And both teams have a plethora of WR's to throw to in Trenton Coles, Byron Clifford, and Titus Howard from the Bears and Marzette Geter, Dontez Ford, and TE Deashawn Rippy from the Vikings.

At this point its just hard to pick against a team that has won 43 straight games, 2 State Titles, and 3 straight WPIAL titles.

Neither team has seen a team on the other side with as much talent, if not more, than them in some time.

Past history tells me that this should be an all out defensive slug fest. But I think this game is going to play out differently than past games. Ultimately I'm going to take the Bears in a 35-21 win; and hush up the critics until the next big time match up of course. HA

WPIAL Class A Title Game

Where: Heinz Field

When: Saturday, Sept 26

Time: 11:00 AM

Broadcasted Live on Root Sports and MSA internet radio.

Is there even a 2011 football season

 2011 equals Armageddon in my eyes. I can't remember a year when the sport of football is the sideshow while the main story has been some sort of controversy.

All summer long we had to deal with the NFL Lockout and wondering if the season was going to happen at all. Good to see Goodell, the owners, and the players put ego's aside and working on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Either way, it was definitely a scandal that lasted most of the summer.

Also during the summer months we had the Ohio State/Jim Tressel/ Terrell Pryor saga where players sold merchandise and for exchange they received tattoos. And on top of that players was receiving cars and other items from big money boosters.

At the University of Miami, you had the Nevin Shapiro-who ran an illegal ponzi scheme, hand out money to 72 players from 2002 through 2010. Some writers such as Dan Wetzel -of Yahoo Sports- indicated that Miami may receive the "Death Penalty".

From August on, the biggest news story has been College Football Realignment.

We saw Texas A&M and later the University of Missouri head to the SEC, while the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University head to the ACC and Texas Christian University and West Virginia University head to the Big XII.

In the middle of all the actual movement of schools you had various rumors like the University of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma University, and Oklahoma State University going to the Pac 12, and the Big XII left over schools heading to the Big East.

Heck there was even rumors of Notre Dame sending its none football sports into the Big XII, Louisville trying to get into the Big XII, and UConn trying to get into the ACC.

There are some things still going on in the Realignment process as the Big East rebuilds itself. It appears that the University of Central Florida, University of Houston, and Southern Methodist University will be All Sports Members while Boise State University, Air Force Academy, and the Naval Academy will be football only schools. Different rumors out there indicate the number 12 sport could either be Brigham Young University or San Diego State University. Stay tuned I guess as that stuff shakes itself out.

If you thought that the Miami, and OSU's scandals was insane, then I guess you haven't been paying attention to what has been happening up in State College PA.

It is one of the most appalling story's I have ever followed and I'm just saddened by the way Joe Paterno's name will forever be tarnished. My grandfather adored JoePa, and I wonder what my pap would think about this situation if he was still here today. And the sad part is, it just feels like we haven't seen anything yet in regards on how big of a story this is going to get.

It just saddens me to see how greed and corruption is ruining the sport that I love. From lockouts, to players illegally getting paid, to 100 year rivalries being lost, and a child molestation scandal being swept under the rug, one must ask... when will this end? What more is out there waiting in the wings to be put to light? I'm just sick to my stomach right now.

Here's the worst part, I didn't touch on all of the various scandals this year. There are many more and I really just don't want to talk about anymore right now.

Even as a football crazed guy as I am, its even hard for me to get excited when a game comes on TV. And that's just a shame. It just seems like the only football that I truly give a damn about is High School football anymore. And how I feel right now, I could live with that.

Down Year for the Eastern Conference

I've learned plenty of things as I been blogging and score comparisons is one thing that should never be applied in judging potential match ups.

Team A beats Team B by 30 and Team B beats Team 3 by 21 and people immediately assume that Team A should beat Team C by 50+. But it almost never works out that way. I remember hearing about Rochester beating Monessen by 2 TD's and the following week Clairton beat Monessen 46-0 and immediately assumed that Clairton was 3-4 TD's better than Rochester.

But when I look at the Eastern Conference as a whole, I've noticed a plethora of tightly battled contested games. The only school that really stuck out to me was Bishop Canevin. Other than North Catholic(19-0 win) and Springdale (7-6 win) they've blown out the competition including a 33-6 win over Avonworth.

Fast forward to the playoffs, Avonworth beat California 28-16 in a tougher than expected game where the halftime score was only 7-2 in Avonworth's favor.

Springdale needed 65 points to put a beat up Monessen team into the mercy rule and gave up 30 points in the process.

Beth Center-whom I consider the one team that stood out- needed Chartiers Houston mistakes to win on a 27-23come from behind victory.

Northgate, in the Eastern Conference's only loss, took one in the chin losing 48-22 to Rochester.

Northgate played everyone tough in the Eastern except for Bishop Canevin(42-0) and Springdale(26-12).

I know its easy to look at their 3-1 record in the first round and think that's impressive with the naked eye. But when the Top 3 schools struggle with perceived lessor competition that raises my eyebrow just a little. And Northgate getting smoked by Rochester is a testament to that.

First glance could be that the TCS may have gotten a little better when its competing a little better but with its blow out losses to Sto Rox(beat Frazier 69-25)  and Fort Cherry. I have to point the fact that the Eastern Conference just isn't its usual self this season.

I'm fully anticipating all 3 schools from the Eastern Conference to go down this week in possible blowout fashion. If Springdale is giving up 30 to a beaten up Monessen team, how many points will a much better Clairton team score on them. If Avonworth is struggling with California, how well can we expect them to compete with a much better Rochester team. If Bishop Canevin barely beat Chartiers Houston, what can we expect against Fort Cherry-who blasted Char Houston 37-13 just 2 weeks ago).

Its definitely a down year for the Eastern Conference. It happens to all leagues. It'll most likely be back with a vengeance next season.

But until then I'm sticking with my picks of Clairton over Springdale; Rochester over Avonworth; Sto Rox over Brentwood; and Fort Cherry over Bishop Canevin to set up Clairton vs Rochester and Sto Rox vs Fort Cherry for the right to play at Heinz Field. 

A Happy Valley No more

I'm sure everyone heard this story so I'm not going to rehash every single detail here. We all know Jerry Sandusky is facing serious sexual assault charges on children.

But I want to ask a few questions regarding the lack of action taken here. Why didn't the Grad Assistant not only go to Joe Paterno but to the police. Hell why didn't Joe Paterno go to the police. Its one thing to report a situation to your superiors but why not follow up if there was a legit police report on this matter. Why didn't the janitor that witnessed this go to the police as well.

I think there was some negligence on the part of JoePa, the janitor, and the Grad Assistant for not going to the authorities.

I'm just also curious if this is only the tip of the iceberg. In many cases such as this one, more allegations come out in the following weeks/months. And with Sandusky being on the Penn State coaching staff from 1977 to 1999 it makes me wonder if there was other cases as early as the late 70's through the 80's. How many other people may be involved in this alleged cover up, and is JoePa himself in on the coverup?

I've seen people throw out the possibility of Penn State being suspended or kicked out of the Big 10, or even Penn State "saving face" and simply leaving the Big 10. Another thing being throw out there is that the NCAA needs to hit Penn State with harsh penalties.

Lets me make this clear, the Big 10 isn't going to boot PSU nor will PSU leave the Big 10 over this. And from every lawyer and media type I've chatted with, each tells me this is a legal matter and the NCAA won't hand down any sanctions.

But PSU needs to "clean house" from its President, to the AD, to every coach on the staff and move on. It'll be a tough transition but the Boosters and BOT needs to do this as soon as the season is over.

I have no idea what kind of effect this story will have on recruiting. I've read a few recruits comments on twitter and this might cause PSU to lose a few recruits they might have otherwise would've added to their class. But I do pose a question for parents of kids that are recruits- would you allow your kid to go to Penn State for a recruiting visit knowing there may be a possibility these very coach's covered up a heinous crime?

All in all this is a much bigger story than just football. I'm hoping no further allegations come out regarding Sandusky's case. Its just sad for football that JoePa will be going out on a major allegation, and its sad for PA in general to watch as this scandal unfolds.

Class A Round 2 Predictions

Clairton 45 Springdale 7
Rochester 30 Avonworth 14

Sto Rox 55 Brentwood 21
Fort Cherry 21 Bishop Canevin 20

Hey WPIAL/Root Sports; We have a problem

Alright WPIAL if you want to continue the deal with Root sports then we need to change venues for the Championship game.

There will be much, much more flexibility to televise these 4 games if you had the 1A and 3A on Friday and 2A and 4A on Saturday.

Think about this, if there is a Penguins game on at Noon, you could start the 1A or 2A game at 4 and still start the 3A or 4A game at 7/7:30. Its far easier to schedule around the Pens game this way.

All this scheduling games between 9 and 10 AM is doing no good at all. You're forcing kids to wake up between 5 and 6 AM to go to their schools to get on a bus to travel downtown and then prepare for the game.

Now if you really want to keep the games at Heinz, isn't it time to go to a different media outlet to broadcast the games. Whats wrong with CW, PCNC, and hell what about WTAE 4-2 on the digital side?

The fact that this years games will be 2A at 9:30, 3A at Noon and 4A at 3:30/4PM with the 1A game at 8PM with 0 live TV coverage is a problem with me. So what are you telling me WPIAL/Root that 1A games aren't "important" enough to be on live TV.

I do understand that the 2A and 4A games was effected by Penguins games in the past. And just maybe it is 1A's turn to be effected by it.

The only benefit I see with an 8PM start time is Class A will be "under the lights" and its closer to the normal start time of 7:30 for the 2 1A schools involved in the game.

Is it really fair to the kids to be constantly changing around the start times for these games, and 9-10AM start times even if the WPIAL went to another Network. And personally, its really time to start thinking about another venue! 

What does Clairton have to do to gain respect.

 After reading 2 pieces(by Josh Funk and Josh Yohe) on the Bears, and a pick by Rich Emert of the Post Gazette against the Bears at Heinz, I must ask a ?, has anyone listented to any Aretha Franklin lately?!!!

What must the Bears do to gain respect?

Just look at some quick numbers for a second; after the first week of the season against Washington it took until midway through the 3rd Quarter of week 8 against Fort Cherry to give up any points. Not even a Special Teams TD, or a TD against the backups nor any Field Goals.

How are those numbers possible if this team is bored or complacent? I would think if this team was bored and/or complacent they would be giving up more points.

Ok fact is is that offense hasn't been as explosive as in past years. Can it be a little possible that some defenses in the league are getting a little better as well? For much of the game against Fort Cherry, the Rangers seemed to shut down the Bears run game. Whats wrong about giving a little credit to Fort Cherry, and Brentwood's defenses for not giving up as many points in past years? And despite those 2 games the Bears still are averaging 47 points a game.

I understand people are right to their opinions but how can anyone at this point pick against Clairton; whether its the WPIAL Title(Rich Emert of the PG) or the PIAA Title (Jeremy Verner and Josh Funk of Prep Sports Radio)

Clairton's has amassed 4 WPIAL Titles in the last 5 years(3 in a row) and 2 PIAA Titles in a row, and along this ride has a 40 game winning streak.

What will it take for some to say this team is legit? Could it take the Bears mercy ruling Rochester and Sto Rox for people to hop on board?

Here's a quote from one of the players on his feelings about the lack of respect towards the Bears;

"Damn, the newspaper that US... The clairton bears aren't as good as everyone thinks we are but not too many schools win back too back state titles and win 4 times straight down Heinz... #Disrespect"

But hell, let the naysayers; naysay. Y'all gave Clairton some beautiful bulletin board material, and lit a fire under the teams ass for sure. And with that said, I totally feel sorry for the Cornell Raiders because they are first up on the Bears agenda. And as former Wrestler Goldberg would say Springdale "You're Next".

On another note; I didn't contribute to Josh Funks piece in any form. If I had anything to do with it, I would've wanted to be quoted to plug my blog for traffic. And don't you think if I had anything to say, I would've simply wrote a piece myself.  And I'm not upset those 2 pieces was written. Heck if I had 2 guys from Southern Columbia giving me quotes and what not I'd write a piece about how they're not as good as people think they are.

Playoff Projections

16 Cornell at 1 Clairton; Clairton by 35
9 Springdale at 8 Monessen; Springdale by 21

13 Northgate at 4 Rochester; Rochester by 28
12 California at 5 Avonworth; Avonworth by 42

15 Frazier at 2 Sto-Rox; Sto Rox by 55
10 Western Beaver at 7 Brentwood; Brentwood by 14

14 Chartiers-Houston vs. 3 Bishop Canevin at Dormont Stadium; Bishop Canevin by 3
11 Fort Cherry at 6 Beth-Center. Fort Cherry by 10

Round 2

9 Springdale at 1 Clairton; Clairton by 28
5 Avonworth at 4 Rochester; Rochester by 14

7 Brentwood at 2 Sto Rox; Sto Rox by 30
11 Fort Cherry at Bishop Canevin; Fort Cherry by 3

Semis

4 Rochester at 1 Clairton; Clairton by 14
11 Fort Cherry at 2 Sto Rox; Sto Rox by 20

Finals

2 Sto Rox at Clairton at Heinz Field; Clairton by 7

Why Having More Conferences is Benificial

As I was sitting back pondering to myself, what would be the best way to align 8 conferences instead of 4 I came to an even better reason.

Its not always about competition per say, or even better proposed match ups. Its driving distance in itself. Hollisdaysburg has to travel at least 2 hours to at least 2 away games a year. Lets do some math for a minute, most games end between 9:30 and 10:30, add the 2 hour drive, plus unpacking at the school- whether its band or football equipment. Kids most likely aren't getting home from the school function until about midnight or later.

I mean come on, isn't better to have games a little bit closer especially when a Ringold got 5 schools within a 20-40 minute drive in Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward, South Park, McGuffey and Trinity. 

Just from that list a League consisting of Ringold, Trinity, McGuffey, and Chartiers Valley makes sense while Thomas Jefferson, South Park, West Mifflin, and Elizabeth Forward makes sense for another league.

Belle Vernon for instance would be then place with the 3 Uniontown Schools; Uniontown, Laurel Highlands, and Albert Galletin, which is 1-2 40 minute drives a year. That ultimately creates just 1-2 drives that are an hour or more for Hollidaysburg to the Greensburg area against Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, and then Derry.

I just created 4 geographical friendly conferences in 3A in a matter of minutes. It just makes too much sense not to happen and should happen pretty much across the board. Imagine these local Conferences 1: Waynesburg, Washington, Charleroi, and Brownsville 2: Bentworth, Beth Center, Monessen, and California 3: Chartiers Houston, Fort Cherry, Avella, and Brentwood!

Under these smaller leagues, that frees up out of conference games like this; Chartiers Houston vs Canon Mac; Burgettstown vs Avella, Fort Cherry vs South Fayette, Ringold vs Charleroi, Ringold vs Peters Township, Charleroi vs Monessen, Clairton vs TJ, Trinity vs Washington, Washington vs Canon Mac, Trinity vs Peters Township!!! Some of those games has been important rivalries over the years, and why should we let the WPIAL ruin these rivalries by not freeing up the space for them to be played.

So I again ask why are schools traveling up to 2 hours away when there could be neighborhood games. It would be a bigger gate for home games when you're playing a local rival as opposed to a school coming in 1-2 hours away. Its a win/win situation.

The ball is in your court Tim O'Malley, make it happen.