Bev

The season isn't even over yet. Why is it open?

Please note, Coach Hector and all loyal Spring Hill fans, that the post above was NOT written by me!

PLEASE DON"T NAME ANYONE OR ANY SCHOOL but what percentage of head football and/or track coaches in Texas do you think would have made the same decision the former Hempstead coach made if faced with the same situation (before the news of this matter came out - surely no one would today)? Also, four assistant coaches were suspended without pay for 30 days over this incident. What do you think about this penalty for them? What should they have done in that situation? What percentage of assistant coaches in Texas do you think would have done the exact same thing these assistants did if faced with the same situation? Again, PLEASE DON'T NAME ANYONE OR ANY SCHOOL.

I, for one, am very interested in reading the continuation of this. I hope it doesn't involve poisoning anyone's food!

No, he lives in Carthage. I live in Houston, as I wrote earlier.

Four other coaches were suspended without pay for 30 days.

Hempstead football coach and dean of students Ricky Sargent was fired last night. Sargent, whose team lost the 2A Division I title game to Melissa last December after winning its 1st 14 games, was also the Bobcats' head track coach. He wasn't with the team when it was on its way back from a meet on March 30. Two athletes, one of whom signed to play football with Lamar 2 months ago, were misbehaving and eventually told they weren't going to be allowed to eat. The 2 got off the bus to get food and that's when Sargent received a call about the 2 seniors getting off and refusing to get back on the bus. He gave the OK for them to be left behind in Giddings around 11 p.m., and then went and picked them up himself. The 2 athletes were left alone at the restaurant more than an hour. Giddings is about an hour from Hempstead. Sargent subsequently acknowledged that he made a mistake and had said before last night's school board meeting that he was ready for any decision the board made.

Danny, I also enjoyed reading Ted in the Panola Watchman, and I played in many baseball games in which he umpired. He loved sports, and many of us miss him. As LilEagle referenced, I had some fun a couple of months ago with the Tatum posters regarding their favorable outcome in the UIL's most recent realignment. My "fun" in February has now apparently cost me the ability to start a serious discussion on this site. As I commented to someone yesterday, this was a legitimate topic and I have to conclude that the reason it wasn't treated as such is due to the fact that I was the one who initiated it. Guess I'll either have to be content with only having fun on this site or changing my name. BTW, "Bev" is my first name; I'm not hiding behind that name, despite what some have written. As I suggested yesterday, I believe the best thing would be for this thread to now die.

I was about to compliment Panther89 on his post and suggest that since this thread took the direction it did that perhaps it would be a good time for it to die. But I think your post probably ruined that idea!

Why does the questioning of a coaching decision have to result in a launchpad for arguments? It could - and should - have resulted in a discussion of the reasoning of this accomplished baseball coach in making an unorthodox decision for the 2nd straight year against Carthage.

I never said I did. I merely asked some questions about some of his coaching decisions last week, which were very unorthodox to say the least. (He made similar unorthodox moves last year.) Except for 1 or 2 posters, everyone has either responded to my questions with meaningless posts (e.g., he is the coach so he knows best) or personal attacks on me for daring to ask the questions - or in your case, both. BTW, I am not a baseball parent, just a fan of baseball, the great sport that lends itself so well to questioning coaching moves. Happy Easter!

Nice post. Provides food for thought. And again, the Spring Hill starting pitcher Thursday night did himself proud with his performance.

My name is Bev. If you're ever in Houston, I'll be glad to buy you breakfast and discuss baseball, my favorite sport. You shouldn't worry about getting fired. Not only do you have a good record and a District Coach of of the Year award, your team's supporters seem to agree with every decision you make.

Is that not at least part of what this site is for?

A battle for 1st place between two of East Texas' top baseball teams was held Thursday night in Carthage. One team pitched their top two starters, while the other pitched their 3rd pitcher, having elected to use their top 2 pitchers the previous night against one of the weakest teams in the district. Why is this not worthy of some discussion about the coaching decisions of the losing coach? Thus far, there has been no enlightenment on this thread about this strange decision - only unanimity in the attitude that because he is the coach, he must have had good reasons. Is this attitude the result of the UIL now having so many teams making the playoffs that a district championship no longer means much?

I must disagree. I am not from Spring Hill, and I am amazed that all of the Spring Hill fans seem to be fine with their coach's unorthodox decision. I've got to think if Carthage Coach Goldman had done such a thing when the Bulldogs were playing for 1st place in the district and they ended up losing the game, the Bulldog fans wouldn't be unanimously supporting his decision.

Why am I an "embarrassment"? All I have done is ask some questions about coacing decisions - all legitimate IMHO. The Spring Hill pitcher did indeed do a fine job of pitching Thursday night.

My understanding is that Spring Hill was ahead of Pittsburg 6-1 when the pitching change was made. Was that change necessary to make sure that game was won?

Was Wednesday's game against Pittsburg a tough one? In your opinion, did winning it require using both of those pitchers?

What do you believe this thoughts were?

My understanding is that Spring Hill pitched their #1 & #2 pitchers Wednesday against Pittsburg, which is currently in 5th place in a 6-team district. For Thursday's game against Carthage, which like them was undefeated in district at the time, they pitched a 3rd pitcher, presumably the 3rd pitcher in their rotation. Is my understanding correct? If so, what is the thinking of the Spring Hill Coach, the reigning District Coach of the Year? I have my thoughts, but I'm interested in yours - especially my good friends in Spring Hill.

And to think that I USED to be a big fan of yours!

Why do you rank Spring Hill ahead of Carthage? Because they got an easier draw than Carthage in the playoffs last year?

We should know for sure after the results of the big Longview game that is drawing so much interest in another thread.

4A Jacksonville 4A Lindale 4A Nacogdoches 4A Whitehouse Defending 3A Div. I state champion Chapel Hill 3A Rusk