KFDM COOP

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Let's do it!!!!

Gutsy Ganders celebrate playoff season By Dave Rogers Published January 28, 2008 Offensive lineman Sal Ramirez received the Pi. Yi. Kern Award for guts and determination at Saturday’s Robert E. Lee football banquet. Ramirez, who played the last half of the 2007 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament that required postseason knee surgery, was just one of several Ganders who limped a bit as they made their way to the front of the room to be recognized at the event put on by the team’s booster club at the Baytown Civic Center. But because Lee’s football team, like Ramirez, gutted it out, Saturday night was one of celebration. The Ganders were able to rally for a third-place finish in District 21-5A and their second straight trip to the Class 5A playoffs. “Third place in district and getting in the playoffs,†marveled head coach Dick Olin. “They fought like heck. I couldn’t be any prouder of this group.†Because of injuries, Lee used two dozen different starters on offense, requiring as many as four different starters at several positions over their 11-game season that ended with a 5-6 mark. Head athletic trainer Amy Newell, naturally, was the first to drop the “I†word at the banquet. After recognizing her student trainers, Newell prepared to present her annual “No More Tears†awards, bottles of similarly named shampoo she gives out each year to the players who spend the most time in the training room. “But this year, you may have heard, we had a lot of injuries,†she said, “and since most of them were on offense, I want to give this award to all our offensive coaches.†Olin followed Newell in broaching the subject as he presented letters and letter jackets to his senior class. “Most of these kids played on the varsity as sophomores,†he said. “They were thrown into the fire sooner than we’d like.†The short-on-experience Ganders of 2005 finished 1-7 in a season made further frustrating by disruptions caused by Hurricane Rita. “But as juniors,†Olin continued, proudly, “they were in the playoffs. And this year, they fought through a lot of adversity. “I usually don’t make an issue of injuries. We believe in the ‘next-man philosophy.’ We just fill in with the next man and keep going. But our numbers are not what we’ve had. “Being in the playoffs two consecutive years and winning a district championship (in 2006) is not too bad.†Among the numerous awards made Saturday night was the first Ron Kramer Heart of a Gander Award. Named for Lee’s football coach from 1968-84 and district athletic director from 1985-91 who passed away in 2005, the award winner was chosen by the coaches from among four finalists who best exemplified traits that spell out the school’s mascot: Greatness, Adventure, Nostalgia, Dedication, Excellence and Resolve. Junior linebacker Collin Bieschke edged out fellow nominees Ramirez, Reggie Butler and J.T. Cleveland. Kramer’s widow, Lee High teacher Merla Kramer, presented the winner’s plaque to Bieschke, who, it turns out, is one of her former students. Jesse Luna, a senior receiver who filled in at numerous positions as injuries required, was named the team’s most valuable player, an award voted on by the Gander players. Other awards voted by the players were the Henry Armstrong defensive awards to Butler (secondary and linebackers) and Cleveland (linemen); the Dan Stallworth offensive awards to Kevin Craft (backs and receivers) and Adam Rivera (linemen); the most improved player awards to Tim Smith (offense) and Trent Warren (defense); and the Kern Award to Ramirez. Josh Jones won the James Gay Academic Award for owning the highest grade-point average on the team, and Butler, Craft and Jarvis Moore won $400 Michael Clements scholarship awards for their devotion, honor and loyalty to the Ganders.

Realignment of UIL a cause for confusion By Dave Rogers Published January 28, 2008 I’ve spent a sleepless night or two debating whether I should do this, but I’ll lose my Texas Sports Writers card if I don’t. So here goes: The obligatory column about Friday’s much-anticipated announcement of the UIL’s Reclassification and Realignment for the 2008-2010 school years. Here are the most important things to remember, as voiced the other day by Crosby athletic director Kevin Flanigan. “It’s going to happen this year and every two years after,†he said. “Obviously it’s a complete guess (how it’s going to turn out) and anybody who tells you otherwise is lying through their teeth, because nobody knows.†Make no mistake: Friday is an important day, because it’s when every school in Texas finds out who it must battle in all sports (and also UIL academic, band, debate and theater competitions) on the first step to the Holy Grail that is a state championship. Coaches and athletic directors will gather Friday morning at one of the state’s 20 regional education service centers awaiting the 9 a.m. release from the UIL. First, the enrollment cutoffs used to determine who’s in Class 5A, 4A and so on. And finally, the district assignments. Locally, it’s pretty much a given that Lee and Sterling will continue to battle one another in a Class 5A district. There are three popular theories as to which schools they’ll find in their league next time: • The current makeup (three Humble schools, two from Baytown plus Beaumont West Brook, Port Arthur and Channelview) will stay the same. • The Beaumont and Port Arthur schools will be sent north to a district that includes Lufkin. • The Humble schools (Humble, Kingwood, Atascocita) will be grouped with the four Aldine schools and maybe New Caney, which is moving up from 4A. If either of the latter two occur, look for Sterling and Lee to wind up in a district with Deer Park and La Porte and maybe North Shore. “I’ve seen two or three things and I really don’t know,†said Tom Ed Gooden, the athletic director for the Baytown schools. “Of course, we’d be happy if we stayed like we are, because we’re familiar with the territory. The Humble schools could go out, but then they’ve got to find two or three more and you never know who that will be. From a Baytown standpoint, the keenest interest is in finding where the city’s new high school, Goose Creek Memorial, lands. Most think Memorial will be assigned to what’s left of the current 21-4A after New Caney goes up to 5A and Huffman and Forest Brook drop to 3A. That would put the first-year Patriots in with Barbers Hill, Crosby, C.E. King, Smiley and Galena Park. It’s expected that first-year varsity program Kingwood Park would also start in that league and many projections/guesses have Livingston moving in, too. “Obviously, the easy thing would be to pick up the new Baytown team and Kingwood Park, which will give us seven schools,†Crosby’s Flanigan said. “The eighth school would be either Dayton or Livingston. Dayton coach Jerry Stewart doesn’t have a clue where his school will end up. “I think we’re always the balancer,†he said. “I don’t see us moving, unless they’re going to make it (22-4A) a seven-team district.â€

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We'll see what happens on Raw!!!

HHH almost won!!

8) Let's keep it that way!!!!!!

Awesome!!!!!!

Congrats to both!

He doesn't get on Weekends.

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Not sure. I didn't delete it.

Thanks for the update!

What was the final here?

[Hidden Content] By Ryan J. Foley ASSOCIATED PRESS 12:04 p.m. January 22, 2008 MADISON, Wis. – A sheriff's lieutenant has been fired for using his position and official reports to try to weaken a high school football team before it played his son's squad in a state playoff game. Lt. Shawn Haney, a 21-year veteran of the Dane County Sheriff's Office, was fired for releasing reports describing a Sept. 30 underage drinking party attended by Waunakee High School football players. Several people face charges in connection with the party. Advertisement His son is a lineman for rival DeForest High School. Sheriff David Mahoney said he fired Haney for releasing the reports prematurely and having a conflict of interest. Two weeks before the state quarterfinals game on Nov. 3 in which DeForest defeated Waunakee, Haney gave documents to the Waunakee School District detailing the party on a farm where a teacher's aide lived. Then, days before the game, Haney called a top official at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Association to complain the district hadn't disciplined athletes at the party and urge action, according to his dismissal letter. “The fact that your son plays on a rival team, which could stand to benefit from any sanctions imposed on the Waunakee football team as the two teams progressed through the playoffs, should have caused you to remove yourself from the situation immediately,†Mahoney wrote. Haney is appealing his firing, claiming he did nothing wrong. “Honest to God, everybody has to step back and take a deep breath,†said Haney's lawyer, Lester Pines. “We're talking about high school football here. I mean, really, come on. This seems so small-town to me.†The teacher's aide and her husband were charged with obstructing police. Three others, including a football player, were charged with disorderly conduct using a dangerous weapon. Waunakee Superintendent Charles Pursell said players were disciplined but not until after the Nov. 3 quarterfinal game because the investigation wasn't complete. DeForest defeated Waunakee 27-13 but later lost the state championship game. Pines said the reports could be released to the district under state law during the investigation. And he said Haney was acting as a parent when he complained to the WIAA. Pines said he would ask for Haney's job back. “It's not like he was trying to influence the election of the governor,†the lawyer said. “We're talking about two little tiny school districts. ... But this is Wisconsin. We do take our football kind of seriously.â€

Should be a good one!!

Yea, Yates is the real Deal!!!

;D HHH

The battle between #1 and #2 in Southeast Texas.

2 Days away!

2 days!!!