The MHSAA usually releases the football schedules for the upcoming season in early June.  Michigan-Football.com has done a good job of posting most of the schedules early, but there are still some big holes.  I’m awaiting the MHSAA posting to see whether these open dates still exist or whether some schools are just too late, lazy or inconsiderate to publish their schedules.  Read the rest of this entry »

One of the state’s most successful programs in the past three years, Menominee, will be out to three-peat in 2008. We’re still awaiting the  Maroons non-conference schedule. Will they play the big-time Wisconsin programs again this year? How about an opening game vs Inkster. That’s a game I would go see. Maybe they could schedule it at a neutral site in mid-Michigan.

This is definitely a program on the rise.  I am very impressed with Coach Carter.  Not only is he a great coach, life mentor and disciplinarian, but also he is a nice guy.  I am concerned, however, with the way Inkster appears to be re-loading this year.  Read the rest of this entry »

I have been outspoken against the MHSAA 300 mile travel rule in the past.  I’m not necessarily against the intent of the rule to keep a lid on national travel for high school sports.  But, I am in favor of some easing of the rule in order to accommodate the teams that may want to play in events like the Herbstreit in Ohio or various Track and Field events that attract a national field but are held within the 300 mile limit of the travel rule.  Basically, I feel that the MHSAA should have some flexibility in its enforcement of the rule.   Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll be publishing my Pre-Season Top 25 Teams sometime before camp opens this summer.  Most, if not all, of the Top 25 will likely come from the watch list that follows.  In effect, these are the nominees for the Top 25.  As more information becomes available over the summer, some teams could be added to this list and others dropped.  The current watch list contains some of the usual suspects–programs that have a long history of success and usually re-load with competitive teams year-after-year.  Others may be new powers coming off strong years with a good nucleus of starters returning.  There are some traditional powers coming off poor years in 2007, but with a lot returning and/or strong JV programs to draw on next year.  There’s a lot of guesswork involved at this early stage and the top programs from last year get the benefit of the doubt–unless their losses to graduation were so great and future prospects cloudy.  Information on JV teams is sketchy at best, so it doesn’t become a major factor.  If a JV record is known, it can have a bearing on a team’s ranking.  Strength of schedule is also a major consideration in my rankings.  Teams that schedule strong non-conference competition will usually get the nod over teams that don’t stray from generally weak conference schedules–all other factors being equal.  Not all the 2008 schedules have been released, but most of them are.  After the official MHSAA schedules are released in June, I’ll give a SOS factor to each of the teams on the watch list.   If you don’t see your favorite team on the list and you have some compelling arguments why they should be there, please post a comment, with the appropriate support, e.g., number of returning starters, Division I prospects, JV record, transfers, etc.  If you feel that there’s a team currently on the watch list that shouldn’t be there, and you have some solid, legitimate reasons, please publish a comment. 

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