FanSpeak 3/9/03

Hang on, coach

I WAS at the district basketball game when Delta beat Scott County Central. Coach Stein and the Bobcats were heroes, but when Delta lost to Oran one parent took it upon himself to tell the coach what a bad job he did. Well, not all the parents feel the same way. Hang in there, coach Stein.

A round of applause

THREE CHEERS for Jason Whitlock. His column Wednesday hit the nail on the head. What a breath of fresh air.

Very little respect ...

I WOULD like to know why the Otahkians, who are No. 2 in the OVC, received minimal press coverage while the men, who are next-to-last in the OVC, get the headlines? Even in high school basketball, the coverage is less for the girls teams even though these teams consistently excel and advance beyond the boys teams. Fans are interested in good basketball, and right now the ladies are the ones providing it. Don't you think they have earned a little more recognition?

... and very little support

I WAS shocked to see the lack of support by fans at the Otahkians women's basketball game Tuesday night. It was a first-round OVC Tournament game. I cannot believe people don't care enough to come and support the team that finished the regular season in second place. I read the comments people put in about the lack of support for high school teams, but I bet those same people don't support Southeast's teams.

Thanks, but no thanks

IT WAS wonderful to have sports coverage about an Illinois school, and the article about the Cairo Pilots basketball team having a 23-4 record started out beautifully. However, this sports story turned into a bash-Cairo article. Cairo has many problems, but Cape also has problems with unsolved murders, racial problems, abandoned buildings, etc. The next time you write about our basketball team, please leave out the town bashing.

David's fan club

DAVID WILSON'S column is a fine addition to your sports section. And still in high school, you say? The kid's got a bright future ahead.

Leading by example

I WAS just reviewing the year in sports at Notre Dame. If you look at every sport from swimming to basketball to girls basketball to our state championship soccer team, our trophy case is full of district and state championships. I don't know what the public schools will do next. If they would just take their players and work them as hard as we do instead of worrying about trying to even out by penalizing us, I believe they will have a successful program, too.

Missing the story

I JUST read Monday's paper, and I'm very disappointed with the sports section. There is very little coverage about the district tournaments going on and even about the sectionals that will be starting for Class 4 and 5. Usually you do a much better job. What's happened this year?

Previews of the area Class 2 and Class 3 tournaments were published the day those events began, which was March 1. The preview of the area Class 1 tournament appeared Monday, the first day for that tournament. Information on sectional games has and will appear on the day of the event.

Supporting the veterans

THIS IS in regards to the basketball player who turned her back on the flag. I say three cheers for the Vietnam vets, and may more of them stand up and not let people degrade our flag.

Sign of a good coach

WE GOT a phone call on March 2 from the coach of Jackson wrestling congratulating Jacob Self for placing in state, and he talked with me and was concerned about the treatment my son received in 1997 in the Optimist Club youth wrestling. It was very thoughtful of him to take time out to call us and be genuinely concerned. Thanks, coach, and congrats to Cody Rouse for finishing third in the state.

Dead air

I READ with interest the comment about no TV coverage of the Southeast victory over Alabama. Has anyone noticed that KFVS did not mention Southeast's victory over Tennessee State? All I saw was SIU. Granted, SIU had a big game and is having a great season, but we have a basketball team, too. Why can't KFVS give all sports scores in a ticker along the bottom of the screen like WPSD does?

Change the focus

I WATCHED a local girls basketball game, and one of the girls was running all over the place. When the game was over, she was bragging about how many Stackers she had taken before the game. She was saying her coach had told her she was so fast that the other girls couldn't guard her. Coach, you should be condemning players taking speed, not applauding it.