Best of the Monday Mailbag

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

The Van Wert independent’s Monday Mailbag has become a popular feature among readers. Here is a look back at several of the top questions since the Monday Mailbag made its debut in August of last year.

August 20, 2018

Q: Why did you pick Van Wert to finish only fourth in your pre-season football poll? Don’t you know the Cougars have a lot of great players and are ready to win the WBL title? You should have picked them higher. Name withheld upon request

A: I wanted to pick the Cougars higher, and I hope I’m wrong with my prediction. I would love to see them win the Western Buckeye League championship. Van Wert lost some solid players to graduation, and you’re correct, the team has some great returning players.

Here’s why I didn’t pick them first – the WBL appears to be absolutely loaded this season. In my mind, there are anywhere between 4-6 teams that could at least contend for the title, including Van Wert.

St. Marys is the defending champion, and with a wealth of returning talent, there’s no reason the Roughriders shouldn’t be considered the preseason favorite.

Kenton returns quarterback Jaron Sharp, who accounted for over 4,600 yards of offense and 46 touchdowns last season. If the Wildcats show any improvement on defense (they gave up 35 points per game last season, including a shutout of Bath), they’ll be very tough.

I believe Celina is in play for the title as well, and you can never count out Wapakoneta, and Ottawa-Glandorf should be much improved this season.

See what I’m getting at? There aren’t just one or two teams that are head and shoulders above the rest – several teams return a lot of talent.

August 27, 2018

Q: Should Parkway join the NWC? Name withheld upon request

A: I’ve heard this question posed before (it actually came up among some friends last week), but I guess it depends on who you ask.

One thing to keep in mind – it’s really not as simple as them (or any other school) expressing an interest. The other schools in the conference would have to agree to it. I’m not saying they would or wouldn’t, but any conference or league expansion needs to have the support of the existing member schools.

September 10, 2018

Q: Why can’t parents send in nominations for your Student Athlete of the Week award? Name withheld upon request

A: While parents are proud of their children’s academic and athletic endeavors (and they certainly should be), I believe coaches and athletic directors have a more objective view. I might add that local coaches and ADs have done a great job submitting nominations since the award was introduced last year.

October 8, 2018

Q: Is there a chance that Lincolnview would ever consider starting a football program? Name withheld upon request

A: For that answer, I turned to Lincolnview High School athletic director Greg Leeth. This was his response:

“Lincolnview would never close the door to the possibility of starting a football team; however, in my four years as AD there has not been a proposal by the administration, board of education, students, or community to begin one. We continually strive to meet the extra-curricular needs of our students and, in recent years, added bowling (which will become school sponsored in 2019) and soccer. At the present time, we are proud of the coaches and athletes of 16 varsity sports we offer, and will keep open the possibility of adding new offerings in the future.”

October 29, 2018

Q: Saturday playoff games are great, because more people have the day off and don’t have to rush to games. Why doesn’t the state move all playoff games to Saturday night? Name withheld upon request

A: You have a point about Saturdays, but don’t look for a change anytime soon. OHSAA tried Friday night only playoff games last year and it was a failure as attendance and revenue went down. There’s no reason to think it would be different with a Saturday only format.

January 21, 2018

Q: My question is why do not more schools follow the GMC and schedule boys games on Thursday? In my opinion it would give the players an extra day to get their legs back under them thus improving the quality of play. Plus it would satisfy the requirement of equal time on weekends for girls games. I suspect it has to do with dollars but the GMC is making it work. Mike Schumm

A: Thank you for your question Mike. For answers, I reached out to Western Buckeye League commissioner Kent Smelser (who also serves as athletic director at Delphos Jefferson), Northwest Conference commissioner James Raabe and Midwest Athletic Conference commissioner Don Kemper. Here are their answers:

Smelser: “The Western Buckeye League has looked at this and has determined through each schools input that we are pleased with how it presently stands.”

Raabe: “In my six years as conference commissioner, this is not an issue that has come up for discussion in a conference meeting. It appears as though this has not been an issue in the past that has been a concern of our schools’ communities.”

Kemper: “The Midwest Athletic Conference has great attendance for both Thursday evening games and Friday evening games. Both days are work days for most people, so there is really no advantage to scheduling one day over the other. Historically, Thursdays have been for girls conference dates and Fridays for boys conference dates. It has worked very well, so I really don’t see a need to change what we are doing.”

“If we were to schedule Friday evening girls games, we couldn’t schedule Saturday afternoon girls games. I believe the current schedule is best for everyone and I don’t believe that anyone feels they are being slighted, or disadvantaged, by the current schedule.”

February 18, 2019

Q: There’s no way to fully adopt a perfect system when it comes to determining the seeds for the local basketball districts, however the games that are played with the seeding by a group of coaches aren’t hard to see.

There are teams other coaches dislike, coaches who dislike other coaches, and there are strong opinions on conferences. I love our local coaches, but at the end of the day there’s a lot of ego involved to be able to do what they do.

Do you think the dislike of a particular conference is simply because they’re tired of hearing how good it is while no one talks about their schedule they’ve put together? Name withheld upon request

A: I understand what you’re saying and there have been a few times over the years where I have noticed personalities come into play. However, for the most part, I think the seeding process is applied properly. Coaches know which teams and conferences are good and which ones aren’t, regardless if they like the team or conference.

All coaches have a breakdown of everyone’s record and a breakdown of wins and losses against each division (strength of schedule) and coaches are usually able to ask any questions they may have.

Do coaches sometimes lobby for their own team or their own conference? Yes. Does it have a true impact on seeding? Perhaps with the middle seeds. Is it major? Probably not.

Something else to keep in mind: For early tournament scheduling (sectionals) purposes and bracket placement, there really isn’t much difference between being a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, because you have the luxury of placing yourself in the spot you want on the bracket. In some ways, the same can be said for the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. Again, things can sometimes get murky with the middle seeds.

In the end, does it have a huge impact on the tournament? I don’t think so. In most cases, it could result in an extra game for a particular team or teams at the sectional or district semifinal level.

The system that’s being used now in the Northwest District is much better than the one used years ago. That involved coaches picking a No. 1 and No. 2 seed, then throwing the rest of the teams in a hat and blindly drawing for remaining spots (they were called pills back then).

Using that method, you could have been 5-12 at the time of the draw and wound up with the No. 3 seed, or you could have been 12-4 and stuck with the last seed.

I’ve heard some people propose using something similar to the Harbin Points system used to rank football playoff teams and I have to admit I’m intrigued by the idea. I’m just not sure how big of a difference it would make.

The regular Monday Mailbag will return next week. In the meantime, if you have a sports question, simply email it to sports@thevwindependent.com, then look for the answer next Monday.