From the Notebook………….

For those that are UFC fans like me, there is a saying that precedes each main event fight……”It’s time”! With one day remaining until opening kickoff that time is nearly here. I’ll be making to drive north to Hattiesburg on Thursday to cover the Columbia at Presbyterian match up then to Amite on Friday for the Centreville at Oak Forest battle. All 28 AA squads will be in action this week and I’m working hard to cover as many as possible through the help of others. Week one coverage may be a little shaky but it will improve each week. Southern Sports & Travel has surpassed the 21,000 visitor mark in the nine months since tracking was installed and to say this is just what I expected wouldn’t be totally honest. The site is growing and will continue to grow. During basketball last season I was nearly overwhelmed, particularly during post season, in trying to cover as much as possible. I never have to remind myself what the main objective of the site with regards to MPSA/MAIS athletics is………”It’s all about the kids”. If Southern Sports & Travel is successful in garnering attention for a kid and it reaps benefits for that youngster then the work has paid off. The continued growth of the site will hopefully lead to a group of contributors maintaining the blog format or moving to a conventional website.

Must see games week one, in my humble opinion…………
*Centreville at Oak Forest
*Adams at Cenla
*Central Private at Huntington
*Pillow at Kirk

In AA this week 11 of the 24 games will include teams that didn’t play each other in 2008.

I’ll be distributing “SHOUT OUTS” each weekend as I’ve done the past two seasons. If you have nominations you’re welcome to throw them my way.

An item that I thought might be of interest………….
A slideshow of photos taken at the featured game each week will be published. If anyone has a few photos of interest just drop me an email and I’ll be glad to shoot them to you although it may take some time. I don’t think I’ve completely caught up on requests from basketball season.

I'll be posting updated scores each Friday night to my twitter column as they come in.

If you see a guy on the sidelines this season taking photos and notes with a confused look on his face that would be me……come say hello!

See ya somewhere…………….

From the Notebook……
With five weeks remaining until the opening kickoff of the 2009 football season it’s easy to get excited. With that excitement comes the quest for interesting facts and observations as August 20th approaches. Here is a small sampling…….

If one were to compare 2009 football schedules with those just three or four years ago it wouldn’t take long to notice one glaring fact……the common practice of having an “open” date is quickly disappearing. Most teams at one time cherished the week off in order to prepare for the homestretch and to heal the wounded. Nearly half (37) of all MPSA teams have elected to play eleven games in 2009. I’ve questioned the risk that teams contending for a state championship take by not opting for an open date. If you’re a squad with decent depth and see the open date as an opportunity to get lazy I can see the advantage, but for those marginal teams with limited numbers it can be a risky move if not a down right season killer.

Here is a breakdown of schools without open dates in 2009:
*There are 80 MPSA schools participating in 11-man football in 2009.
*In AAA classification 9 of the 14 teams have no open date.
*In AA classification 11 of the 28 teams have no open date.
*In A classification 17 of the 38 teams have no open date.

While the “open date” aspect of football appears to be eroding another facet has entered MPSA football, independent competition is on the rise. In 2009 alone 31 games against independent schools will take place. Of those 31 contests, 16 include MPSA single A teams, 7 MPSA AA, and 8 MPSA AAA. Interestingly enough the Immanuel Rams (single A) of Steen, MS have the most matchups against independents with five.

See ya somewhere………….