Heat in the kitchen

I have been taking a lot of heat over on Coast 2 Coast Prep for posting statistically based 8th grade/14u USA rankings.  I am done with that crowd.  There are some extremely loyal  but mean spirited posters that have an opinion about their team and nothing to back it up.  I am always open to additional data to make the rankings more meaningful but not to get ridiculed with mindless put-downs.  Like I said over at C2C, $5 and your opinion might buy you a cup of coffee but if it is ordered with that kind of negative attitude, don't expect to get the coffee.

I don't expect to keep this up next year for 14U/8th grade.  My 14 year old grandson will probably play JV high school ball and the 11 year old will be playing 6th grade.  I will do some local rankings for both.

So enjoy the blog for the next two months when most of the major tournaments are conducted.  I will keep up the top 100 and will post the full 3500 teams in the next few weeks.  I may even try to handicap a couple of the big tournaments.  I predicted 88% of the bracket games at Never Walk the Hardwood in Lawrence this spring.  Might be fun to see if I can nail a national tournament.  Unfortunately, these are "14" year olds and they don't always play to our expectations.

Feel free to comment.  Positive comments, links to tournament results I haven't come across or good, healthy debate are welcomed,  but negativity will get you blocked from the blog.

Cheers.
Gramps

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