FanSpeak

They need a turn

THIS IS for the volleyball girls. I read the comment in the paper, and I agree totally that the girls are not getting fair time. The coach is not playing all the girls. I think if they are good enough to make the team then they are good enough to play.

Credit to Meadow Heights

MEADOW HEIGHTS doesn't get much coverage these days in any of the papers. Everyone is still stuck on Leopold this year. They aren't really all that good this year, but they are OK. And just because they beat Meadow Heights in the first game this season doesn't mean they will in the Panthers' home game.

Can that be right?

AS I read the high school sports results each morning, I have noticed a large discrepancy in the number of assists recorded by the setter from an area school. Last night in a three-game match she recorded 61 assists out of 73 total points. The other schools have somewhere between 15 and 20 assists per game recorded. How can there be 61 in this game? Is the newspaper in error?

The information was published as it was reported. Unless a member of our staff attends the events, the information provided by coaches is considered the official record of a high school game or event.

JV deserves time, too

I JUST finished reading the article on Central beating Jackson in soccer. You could at least put a paragraph at the end of the article about the JV team. You could at least acknowledge that these boys are out there playing, too.

That doesn't seem fair

WHY IS it that the players who have never missed any practices and work harder than most other players on the team end up sitting the bench and then have to get punished with the team for mistakes made in the game that they didn't even play in?

They're all overrated

I'M JUST trying to figure out which team was most overrated this season:SEMO for being picked to win the OVC, Mizzou for being ranked in the Top 25 or the Rams for being picked to win the Super Bowl. Holy cow, what were they thinking?

Smith a great example

I JUST had to comment on the article I read today on Central's new athletic director, Darrick Smith. Mr. Smith said that he was driven and motivated to do a good job because this is where he grew up and went to school. He said he took a lot of pride in that and wanted our area and schools to be the best they could be. It seems that I always see complaints about this or that regarding the schools or sports teams and things like that. Every time I read something like that I have to laugh, because most of the time they're pretty silly. Let's open our eyes people. I think Mr. Smith may be on to something. We need to take pride in our city and our school system. I love that mentality, and I wish Mr. Smith the best of luck in his new position. Go get 'em, Tiger!

Everybody pays dues

I'M NOT a teacher or a coach, but I do have common sense, and I just want to respond to the person who said that kids who are second- or third-string players don't feel like they're part of the team. Don't forget that the coaches are also teachers, so they see all these kids on and off the field. If any of these kids were not important, these people wouldn't be doing what they do. Also, maybe things have changed now days, but if you really want to get your coaches' attention, you practice harder and work harder. You be the first person to show up and the last to leave. If you show that you really want to be out there and you're trying, it's going to make a difference. You don't have to be a superstar, but you can show you've got heart, and that counts more than anything.

Tigers deserve a home

SOMEONE COMMENTED that coach Brookins should stop whining about the football team getting their own field at the new high school. I'm a student at Central. I'm not a football player, but I am an athlete. I don't think this person realized how much more there was involved in the situation. First of all, having our own field at school is normal. Every other school you go to in the state has their own field. Why can't we? Second, I'm sure it'd be nice for our players and staff not to have to drive all the way back over to the practice field at the old high school every night. Also, once our players get their own field at the school, think of the advantage it will be to them to finally have their own field. It can make a big difference when you're practicing on your own field every day. And finally, when we're playing on SEMO's field, that means the fans are also using SEMO's concession stand. That's money SEMO gets to keep, not us. By not having a home field, we're also missing that opportunity.

A good win for E.P.

THANK YOU for giving East Prairie credit for our victory rather than defending Scott City by saying it was a fluke. We have a good team, and we just had to get things rolling. I think we have finally done that, and it would really be appreciated if we were credited for more than what we are now.

Picking on Jackson

THANKS FOR shedding Jackson in a somewhat favorable light in your article. I'm not a Jackson native and realize Jackson doesn't have the best team in the school's history, but it seems that for Jackson, the Southeast Missourian is always biased for the other teams. For example in Friday's paper all of the other local teams had a short paragraph about the upcoming game with the local team as the subject. Well, the Jackson game was described with Pattonville as the subject. Also, Jackson dropped out of the top 10 after getting beat by a Class 5 team and Sikeston made it back to the top 10 by beating a Class 3 team. Do those who rank the teams really believe that Jackson can't beat any of those teams in the bottom half of the top 10? If so, that doesn't bode well for the credibility of those doing the ranking.

Change of leadership due

I THINK Tony La Russa has had more than a fair chance to lead the Cardinals to a baseball championship, but he's failed to do that. It's time for a change.