Random Thoughts: Miller, Treece and more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Today’s Random Thoughts center around Lincolnview’s Zane Miller, Van Wert’s Owen Treece, this weekend’s Flyin’ to the Hoop tournament, the NFL and a messages to parents of high school athletes.

Zane Miller

What a weekend for Lincolnview’s senior guard. He hit the game winning trey in overtime at Bluffton on Friday, then was all but unstoppable with 14 points in the third quarter against Miller City on Saturday. His scoring outburst sparked the Lancers to a 61-49 win.

Two wins by Miller and Lincolnview. Not a bad weekend of work.

Mr. Consistency

Owen Treece was a huge factor in Monday’s win at Marion Local, a place that’s never easy to go in and win.

Treece scored 31 points and did so in a steady way. The sophomore scored eight points in the first, second and third quarters, then tacked on seven more in the fourth.

It was certainly a career night at a difficult venue and it gives the Cougars a boost heading into this weekend’s games at Shawnee and against Bryan.

Flyin’ to the Hoop

This Sunday is when the Crestview Knights will participate in the prestigious Flyin’ to the Hoop tournament in Kettering. It’s not really a tournament, but rather a showcase of some powerhouse teams, big and small from Ohio and beyond, and it’s billed as the No. 2 ranked event nationally by CBS Sports/MaxPreps.

If you can’t make to any of the games, you can watch them live on the web for a fee. The website is flyintothehoop.com.

NFL playoffs

This weekend’s AFC and NFC conference championship games should be interesting ones. Kansas City will host New England, while the Saints will host the L.A. Rams.

I don’t have a horse in either race, but I wouldn’t mind a Kansas City-New Orleans Super Bowl. Of course, I’m sure CBS would much rather have an L.A. Rams-New England Patriots Super Bowl.

The Chargers

While watching some of this past weekend’s Chargers-Patriots game, I realized I’ll never get used to the name L.A. Chargers. They’ll always be the San Diego Chargers to me.

It’s sort of the same with Progressive Field and FirstEnergy Stadium, both in Cleveland. They’ll always be Jacobs Field and Cleveland Browns Stadium to me, even though I’m one of the few people who actually preferred old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

I must be living in the past.

A message from NFHS

This was issued on Monday by the National Federation of State High School Associations: A Message to Parents of Ohio High School Athletes.

It starts with Dear Mom and Dad: Cool It.

One of the key parts of the open letter said “Yelling, screaming and berating officials humiliates your child, annoys those sitting around you, embarrasses your child’s school and is the primary reason Ohio has an alarming shortage of high school officials.”

It’s a shame that we live in an age when a letter like that has to be written to parents and other fans. Criticizing officials isn’t new, but it really seem to have gotten worse.

Yes, officials make mistakes or miss calls. They don’t do it intentionally, so try to keep that in mind.

I’ve said it for years and I’ll say it again – buying a ticket to a high school sporting event entitles you to a seat, not to berate officials and others.

If you have thoughts on any of today’s Random Thoughts, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.