Razor

Nederland and PNG both have great followings and great fan support. Despite the fact that I respect PNG's fan base, I don't buy that "we never leave a game early" stuff because I have witnessed that on more than one occassion when Nederland was beating them late in a game. Don't get me wrong, I see our fans do it, too. All in all, I would say that you would be hard pressed to find 2 more loyal fan followings. One year when we (Nederland) played in the Dome after Katy, a Katy fan asked me "where in the hell all these people came from". Even Katy was impressed and believe me, they bring it as well. Nothing compares to Mid County Madness when both towns get together. The openers in Reliant should be fun as well. I am pretty sure that they asked Nederland and PNG for one very compelling reason...how many butts would be in the seats.

Four teams in is ridiculous. Now teams with sub .500 records are going to get in. I would be more in favor of reducing to 2 than increasing to 4. In many cases, this is more than half of the district. What is this? The NBA and the NHL?

They could have hired Jimmy Johnson and half the people would be upset. As for kids who don't want to play for the new coach, the team and system are probably better off without them, regardless of their talent. Bottom line is, Thompson is in. If he can restore discipline to the program, it will be successful. I think he is a good choice because the program needs someone with experience who frankly will not care what the malcontents have to say and just go about doing his job. If the malcontents are eliminated from the program, you will see a turnaround eventually.

Don't get me wrong...I am no Ozen fan and I would prefer they not make the playoffs, but I think they have to be considered a contender just based on the amount of talent they can draw. Whether the system in BISD is right or not, it is what it is and Ozen has a deep pool to draw from.

You are correct Coop about the coach. He is excellent. Vidor is very inexperienced this year. Lokk for them to be back strong again in the years to come.

There are actually several local teams playing this weekend here in Beaumont. As mentioned, the Sting and Edge are playing in the 12U AAA division along with another local team, the 11U Major Texas Roughriders. The Roughriders also have an 11U AA team playing and a 9U team playing. Also playing in the 11U AA Division are locals the Mid County Thunder and the Orange Stars. You can follow the action at www.setexasbaseballacademy.com. There are several tournaments set for this Spring and Summer. Games begin Saturday.

How do you count Ozen out of the mix? However, I do believe that WB's success will hurt Ozen to some degree. If Stump continues to build a winning program, more kids will opt to go to the Brook over Ozen. Dayton definitely makes the district stronger.

Local 12U teams are the Texas Edge and the Beaumont Sting. Both will be playing this weekend at Ford Fields if I am not mistaken.