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Posted October 14, 2009

This week for my blog entry, I'm going to try and give some answers to some of the burning questions that have been addressed to me, as well as addressed on the tuscolatoday.com Sound Off page. It seems like there are a lot of things burning, so lets get started.....

• Why does the Advertiser Sports dept. only cover Varsity sports and not JV and below? The majority of high school sports are associated with the MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletics Association). And in the MHSAA, it is only varsity sports that can compete at a statewide level. With that being said, we cover the highest level of high school sports. Would it be nice to cover county wide sports at every level? Sure. But, it's not realistic. A lot of my success as a Sports Editor depends on coaches feedback. Some coaches want their teams to be seen, read about and talked about. Others don't. So, as a Sports Editor, if coaches put in the extra effort to turn in scores, stats and results on their team, I will reward them. Yes, even if they don't it is still my job to cover them as a varsity sport and I will do my best to give them that coverage. But, it is a two way street. So what I'm trying to say is that it is hard enough to keep track of all 13 schools, sports and athletes at the Varsity level. There is no way we could branch out for the younger teams. Varsity is the priority.

• Why is it that Football and volleyball take priortiy in the fall? Much like Basketball does in the winter and Baseball/Softball do in the spring. This may be hard for some people to swallow, but from my experience, football is what people want in the fall. Michigan is football. Now, it can also be said that all 13 coverage schools of the Advertiser have football and volleyball teams. However, all of these schools do not have soccer, swimming, cross country, tennis etc....... So, the best way to reach every school in Tuscola County is through football. Every school can relate to football news around the Thumb, and I still believe that the majority of our papers sold on Saturday momings are because people want their Friday night football scores from the night before. I agree that sports such as Soccer, Swimming, cross country, tennis, wrestling, and golf are important. But when playing to the masses, I still believe that Football, Basketball, Baseball and Softball are the best ways. BUT, make no mistake, I will still do my best to see that every sports gets the coverage they deserve.

• I've noticed on the Sound Off page that there are a lot of complaints on many of the coaching situations at Caro High School. I have a few things to say about this. First and foremost, I'm sure your not the only people in the Thumb area that are not happy with their coaches at the Varsity level, but there is only one other thing you can do besides complain. GET INVOLVED! And by getting involved, I do not mean taking your time to chew out the current coach or go interrupt a game or practice. I mean look to help out at a younger level. Coach a youth team or even volunteer your time at a Junior High level. Second- You may not be happy with these coaches, but let's not forget what they have done for these programs. Jeff Sauser, Girls Basketball - I know a lot of people in the community are not happy with him. However, how quickly we forget that he just brought Caro their first district title in 23 years. Sure, their regular season stunk. But listen, the TVC-East is brutal when it comes to basketball at the Varsity level. That goes for both boys and girls. He has been there for a while, but after a District Title why are you so fast to throw him to the curb? Ty Stevenson, Boys Basketball - I can see where a lot of people were again, unhappy with the hiring of Ty. Also, one season and done does not make this hire any better. However, the confidence and determination he installed in that 2009 senior class was unreal. Much like Sauser, he brought Caro something that they have not seen in many years. A winning team. The Tigers were upsetting teams early on in the season and continued to do it throughout the year. In my mind, Ty had a great thing going with the program. It was really too bad to see him step down and move on. Some may say that whoever fills the spot of Stevenson is nice because there aren't many expectations. But I have to dissagree. Stevenson got Caro basketball headed BACK in the right direction, and now it's going to take someone special to keep that train moving Lastly - Al Boydston, Varsity Football - Sure, Caro football has been down as of late, but just as any good football program will tell you - you cannot stay on top forever. Keep in mind, Boydston and the Tigers posted winning records every year from 1993-2003 except for 1995 in which Caro was 4-5. BUT, within those years, we are also talking about breaking into the fourth round of playoffs at the D3 levels. This is a Hall-Of-Fame coach that knows football. Coaches like Boydston are hard to find. Let's glance over to Millington and head coach Tim Furno. Furno has posted a winning record every year for the Cardinals since 1989, including 5-4 records in 1993 and 2003. Sure, some of them were not so pretty, such as when Millington posted six wins (06, 05, 01, 97, 90, 89) and missed the playoffs (03, 97, 93, 90, 89, 88). But you don't see the Cardinal faithful calling for his head. Actually, I'm sure they would love it if Furno decided to stick around a few more years. Also look at former Kingston football coach Mike Rea. Rea had outstanding seasons with the Cardinals from 1991-2006. Sure, it took him a few years to get warmed up, and just as the best schools do, Kingston cooled down in the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Now, Rea stepped down to spend more time with his family. But do you know how many people were begging Rea to stick around and coach a few more years? My point is Caro Football, in my opinion, is not broke. So why fix it? Great football coaches such as Boydston do not just spring up out of nowhere. Boydston's program will shine once again, there is no doubt in my mind. Hopefully it can come before the mob of unhappy Tiger fans run him out of town.

• One last thing..........where are all of my pictures? All of the photos that I take are posted online. However, you can no longer access them through tuscolatoday.com. Our photo site is currently under construction. BUT, the Tuscola County Advertiser Sports Dept. has a myspace page as an easy way to connect with student athletes. I post all of my pictures, blog from time to time, promote school spirit, start contests and I try to let kids know my coverage schedule throughout the week. So, if you are looking for more sports photos, check out www.myspace.com/tcasports.

Until next time, CHAD TCA SPORTS