Why I don't write stories like this

Here's a headline from an AP piece about Tennessee women's basketball:
"Pat Summit disgusted with uninspired Tennessee Lady Vols"
You can check out the story from the link.
The article explains that #4 ranked Tennessee has had too many close games and lost more games than their strength on paper seems to warrant. So, Head Coach Pat Summit is calling out her starters for lacking heart, and shaking up the lineup.
Summit is known for using the media to call out her players. Pretty often, it works. Sometimes it doesn't. You can see from the comments following the article that some readers agree with Summit and others don't. Nobody seems to have any gripe with the AP writer (unnamed, in this instance), for writing the article.
I would never write this article, at least not in my current situation. Although college athletes are not paid in the conventional sense, they are paid in the sense that they were recruited specifically to play their sport, they are being rewarded by having the tuition paid for their college education, and they are receiving advanced vocational training for a possible career in a professional league.
I write about high school athletes, sometimes middle school and youth athletes. While in the AP article referenced above, the writer records as the coach calls out by name the athletes who have earned her ire, I don't feel like I can do that. I have had coaches call out players by name to me, but I won't print them, because high school players don't get paid, in any sense of the word.
I have, on occasion, printed the names of players serving suspensions handed down by FHSAA, but not those suspended by the coach or school. I even have doubts about printing the FHSAA suspendees. I will review my policy.
Sometimes prep athletes perform at such a high level, or individuals do such outstanding things, that our expectations exceed their proper place. High school players play for love of the game, and many of them will never play above the recreational level, once they graduate. It's unfair to demand from them the accountability we demand from professionals or even college players.

Chiefland's All-State football honorees

Chiefland's Stephen Davis and Chance Hall received All-State honors. Davis was named All-State Second Team for defensive back and Hall received Honorable Mention notice for offensive line.
Congratulations Stephen and Chance! Your play made the difference in Chiefland's season.

Bronson puts payback hurtin' on Chiefland

Check out video of Bronson varsity boys over Chiefland, 60-39.
Way back in the first half of the season, Chiefland boys came into Bronson and edged them 49-45. Some Bronson fans complained there were so many Indian rooters, "It wasn't even like a home game."
Tuesday night, the Eagles returned the favor, storming into Chiefland and muscling the Indians around. Chiefland was without a key starter, due to an internal suspension, but Bronson simply dominated the paint and shot the lights out.
Both teams look, on the whole, better than they have all season. Did Chiefland, the expected winner of the matchup, really have such an off night, or has Bronson taken a giant step?
Did you see the game? Tell us what you saw -- click below to comment.

Boys' basketball state poll, Jan. 21

The (sort of) latest boys' basketball poll:
Williston, once ranked as high as fourth, has fallen to ninth in 3A. PKY is under "also receiving votes," GHS is third in 5A, and Mr. Charles told me Saturday the 'Canes still have only three losses - one to Florida Air, whom they beat in preseason, and one each to Christmas tournament teams Princeton (Cincinnati) and Olympia (Orlando).
But where, TBO, oh, where, is the girls' poll?

Bronson boys hammer Trenton 67-32

And quite right. (See video here at ChiefandCitizen.com)
The Tigers are down to just C.J. Bowers and a bunch of youngsters, and nobody thought it was funny when I asked where Trevor Pelphrey was. (Ankle, two games)
But big Trevor has nice hands, and they could have used another large body down low last night.
Regardless, we'll really see where Bronson is on Tuesday when they travel to Chiefland. According to both Eagles' Head Coach Aaron Haldeman and Eagle basketball devotee C.W. Gilbert, Bronson played well in an 11-point loss at Newberry last week. This is the same Newberry that beat Chiefland (not a good game) and just lost to Williston after tying them up with that crazy slowdown they sometimes run now that all the tall guys have graduated. Williston finally put them away by leaving Paul King on Ryan Brown all night, but who all has shooters and ballhandlers like that?
So, I guess what I should say is, we'll see where both Bronson and Chiefland are after Tuesday.
Counting down to districts, which are at Bronson and Chiefland, respectively.
On the Chiefland side, obviously Williston and P.K. are the teams to beat, but the Indians are playing awfully well. On the Bronson side, Hawthorne has the guns but Oak Hall always seems to put the zap on the Eagles. The Blue Eagles definitely have the guns to beat the maroon -- but will they?

NC State Coach Kay Yow dies of cancer

Offtopic, I know.
Even though it's inevitable, it just stanks.
North Carolina State women's basketball Kay Yow dies of cancer at age 66.
Read the New York Times obit.
Yow, along with Pat Summit and Sue Gunter and all the other old-school hardcores of women's basketball, is one of the people I'd love for all the girls playing high school basketball today to know about. The pioneers of modern women's hoop believed in the future, even when there wasn't one, and they kept up the hustle, despite adversity that most of us can only imagine.
Raise a glass, girls, to Kay Yow, who coached a ranked or near-ranked college team for five years while actively receiving cancer treatments. Nobody worked harder.
While you're at it, read this too. (Another NYT piece on Yow from 2007)
And this. (Michelle Voepel's lovely recollection)

Indians peaking just in time?

Go to ChieflandCitizen.com to see video of Chiefland boys vs P.K. Yonge.
Chiefland came within a whisker of beating state-ranked P.K. Yonge tonight, finally falling 63-54. Cantrell Richardson and Stephen Davis limited Josh Snodgrass from the floor and big 32 endured the catcalls of the Indian rooters to get about half his 25 points from the line. P.K. is going to have to play better than this to get through districts. So is Chiefland, of course, but then, the Indians aren't the returning state runner-up. The Indians are surging -- with six games left, what do they need to cut through P.K. and Williston to get out of the district?
Indian boys and girls travel to Ft. White tomorrow. Bronson hosts Trenton.

Football odds and ends

Chiefland football alum Jarret Johnson's season ended this past Sunday, one game away from the Super Bowl, at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Johnson was a freshman at Alabama when the Baltimore Ravens won their only Super Bowl in 2000.
What is the missing piece in Baltimore, and what will Johnson be thinking, the Sunday after next, as he contemplates the offseason and the season to come? Who should the Ravens be looking at come draft time? Who can help them right now?
On the other side of that question, who in Levy County (and nearby) football will be moving up next year? At Chiefland, Stephen Davis is getting looks. Travis Evans of Williston has signed with Georgia State. C.J. Bowers of Trenton should have a spot somewhere. And several other kids in the area should be college-bound.
Signing day is next month -- who will land where?

Welcome to the Chiefland Citizen Sports Blog

Welcome to the Chiefand Citizen Sports Blog, where we talk about sports in western Levy County (and occasionally other areas as well).
First -- how 'bout them Indians? Chiefland boys' basketball is 9-7, third in the district after beating Dixie County Friday. In Mark Lundy's second season as head coach, the senior-heavy Indians have a winning record and are playing strong, confident basketball in a district dominated by such brutes as P.K. Yonge and Williston.
Speaking of Williston, Chiefland has fallen twice to the fourth-ranked Red Devils, but the second loss was only by eight, and the Indians briefly took a lead. Chiefland lost to P.K. by 17 in the first half of the season and will face the Blue Wave - the same Blue Wave that beat Williston last week - again this Thursday.
Who will win? What does Chiefland need to do to beat P.K.? And with seven games left in the regular season, what do the Indians have to do to get through districts and claim one of the top two slots?
Post your response below, and email your discussion topics to sports@chieflandcitizen.com.
(Photo by Jenna McKenna/Chiefland's Eugene Carter brings the ball upcourt against Dixie County's Rodney Scott.)