Scott Central vs. Sikeston -- is it still worth the wait?

A post this week on a statewide message board is building interest — again — in a boys basketball matchup between Scott County Central and Sikeston that might or might not happen.

As I first mentioned here back on Dec. 28, administrators and coaches at both schools have been working on scheduling a game between the Scott County schools for several weeks. If it happens, it would be the rematch of last year's game that packed the Show Me Center and saw Sikeston win 86-85. It was the first meeting between the schools in decades.

Right now, insiders at both schools say the chances are about 50-50 that logistics can be worked out so that a game will be played in February.

While both programs still head up the SEMO Top 25 (with Scott County Central No. 1 and Sikeston No. 2), it'll be a tall order to match the energy last year's game generated, but from a spectator's view, it could be a fun one to watch.

Let's hope it happens. Again.

A recession-proof plan: Free admission to seven sporting events

DeSoto High School has come up with a great way to show is appreciation to fans: Free admission to a week's worth of high school events.

The school has designated January 18-22 as Community Appreciation Week and will charge no addmission to fans attending several home events:

Jan. 18: Varsity and JV girls basketball vs. St. Vincent, 6 p.m. (at high school)
Jan. 19: Freshmen boys basketball vs. Jefferson, 5 p.m. (at high school)
Jan. 19: Varsity and JV boys basketball vs. Grandview, 6 p.m. (at high school)
Jan. 19: 8th-grade boys and girls basketball vs. Farmington, 5 p.m. (at junior high)
Jan. 20: Varsity and JV wrestling vs. North County, 6 p.m. (at high school)
Jan. 21: Varsity and JV girls basketball vs. Crystal City, 6 p.m. (at high school)
Jan. 21: 7th- and 8th-grade girls basketball vs. Grandview, 5 p.m. (at junior high)

There could be a Scott County Central vs. Sikeston, Part II

Don't be surprised to see Scott County Central and Sikeston play a boys basketball game before the season ends.

Administrators and coaches are trying to iron out plans for a rematch of last season's game between the two county rivals. The date and location haven't been determined, but with Sikeston still looking to fill at least one open date, the matchup has gained more appeal.

Last season's game was the first in more than two decades between the schools; it drew several thousand fans to the Show Me Center.

Sikeston found itself with openings after a mixup left it out of the Poplar Bluff Showdown that starts Tuesday. The team has filled one date with Henry County, Tenn. (3 p.m. Jan. 16 at Sikeston).

Scott Central also has spots to fill; one has been taken by a date with Portageville in January.

Want a free t-shirt? We're giving away a whole stack of 'em

We get a lot of help putting together our daily high school basketball scoreboards, and this site owes tremendous thanks to all the fans, athletes and coaches who send texts and e-mails every day to help us fill in the blanks.

On Tuesday alone, we posted scores from 41 local high school boys and girls basketball games on our scoreboard page. No other media outlet in the region came close to that number. And even with a list like that, we miss a few.

So we're upping the ante for anybody who passes along high school scores for the rest of the season: Send us an e-mail (to scores@semosportsweb.com) or a text message from your cell phone (to 573-979-5929) with the score from your game and you'll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free SemoSportsWeb.com t-shirt.

Just be sure to indicate whether the game is a boys or girls game. That's it. It's as simple as that. Then check back on our HoopsHQ home page and follow the links to the boys and girls scoreboards.

And as always, we welcome your ideas to make our coverage of Southeast Missouri sports even better.

The unbeaten list shrinks to two

With Potosi's loss Monday at New Madrid County Central, the No. 1 team in the SEMO 33 poll is done for the season.

Who's left? No. 2 Valle is 12-0 and owes its closest game to Maplewood-Richmond Heights in a 20-12 decision Oct. 2. The Warriors have been held to less than 34 points just once, with a high mark of 69 points against Hayti last week.

Among the wins: 47-12 over Ste. Genevieve, 42-26 over Herculaneum, and 59-7 over St. Vincent.

Likewise, No. 3 Sikeston is unbeaten and has put up big numbers and big wins, and the Bulldogs have scored at least 26 points in every game this season, including 54 against Charleston and 50 against Dexter.

The wildcard: NMCC, the team that beat No. 1 Potosi and owes regular-season losses to Potosi (39-6), Sikeston (34-12) and Park Hills Central (38-28).

The next SEMO 33 poll comes out Monday -- who's No. 1?

Before you complain about Missouri's playoff system, take a look at this one

Just in case you're not a fan of Missouri's high school playoff system, here's a column published Monday by Tom Kreager of the Daily Journal in Murfreesboro, Tenn., addressing the state's disaster of a playoff system:

There was no room for error Saturday morning when the TSSAA unveiled the playoff pairings for its Division I six football classifications under the association’s new playoff plan.

But what we saw — or heard — was anything but perfection.
An all-night bracketing session resulting in errors in virtually every bracket — something assistant director Matthew Gillespie said a day earlier would be “unacceptable” if even one mistake was made.

In fact, he was correct.

What happened Saturday is not acceptable. There have been too many questions and too much criticism of the Z-plan for any error to be made by the state association.
The association had to get it right this first year to give the new plan validity.

Throughout this whole process, the association sounded like it had a firm grasp on the new playoff system. Now, the only thing that is apparent is that they do know how the teams are selected, since that was correct. But once they get to the seeding and pairings part of it, there obviously is a major problem.

If it was one mistake, you could accept it. But errors in at least four of the six classes is not acceptable.

Errors were first caught on the air during the radio broadcast. At that point, the announcements should have ceased and executive director Bernard Childress and Gillespie driven back to the Hermitage office and start rechecking them again.

Instead errors continued. Coaches began making film swaps only for some to find out hours later that the film meant nothing as they had a new opponent.

Some errors were obvious. In Class 6A, White Station was originally a sixth seed in Quadrant 4 and was going on the road.

The problem is White Station is its district champion and it is seeded first. The only other district champions in that pod are Germantown and Brighton.

How do you fix it?

Childress sounds like he ready to scrap it and bring back the old playoff system.

Coaches Ron Aydelott, Thomas McDaniel and Philip Shadowens all said Saturday they would be willing to rip up the contracts for next year’s games if that is the decision of the state association.

That may be a good solution.

If this system remains, tweaks have to be made. Part of the seeding mystery needs to be gotten rid of as its also a mystery to those in charge of the brackets.

Perhaps the first round is played a day later, giving the high school association an extra day to work on the brackets. Or perhaps, Week 10 is played a day earlier.

Whatever system is used, the state association has to get it right.

Scott Edgar formally appeals his NCAA penalty

Former Southeast men's basketball coach Scott Edgar has appealed a penalty by the NCAA that would all but keep him out of coaching for three years.

Here's the full press release from The Sports Group, a sports law firm in Birmingham, Ala.:

Scott Edgar, former Head Basketball Coach at Southeast Missouri State University, recently filed an appeal with the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee.

Montgomery, Alabama. Scott Edgar, former Head Basketball Coach at Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, recently filed an appeal to the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee. Edgar, a thirty year coaching veteran whose career has included stops at the University of Tennessee, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Murray State University and the University of Arkansas filed the appeal through his counsel, Donald Maurice Jackson of The Sports Group, Montgomery, Alabama. He filed the appeal on Friday October 23, 2009, requesting that the Infractions Appeals Committee, review the findings of the NCAA Division One Committee on Infractions' August 13, 2009 decision. The Committee on Infractions imposed a three year show cause sanction against Edgar, among the most serious sanctions that can be imposed against a coach at an NCAA member institution. In Edgar's thirty year career which has included several head coaching positions, he has never been charged with previous NCAA violations.

Edgar: "I look forward to continued cooperation with all parties involved in this process as it is my ultimate goal to clear my name and continue to do what I believe I am called by My Lord and Savior to do. My calling is to coach and teach student-athletes at the highest level."

Donald Maurice Jackson, a licensed attorney and the Principal of The Sports Group, advises organizations, student-athletes, member-institutions and coaches in NCAA enforcement actions, committee matters and appeals. He has appeared before the NCAA Infractions Committee and various other NCAA committees on behalf of member institutions, student-athletes and coaches. In recent years, he has represented numerous high profile student-athletes in NCAA investigative actions, including several McDonald's and Parade All Americans. Jackson is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and a former collegiate pitcher. Jackson is the author of Fourth Down and Twenty-Five Years to Go: The African American Athlete and the Justice System.

Said Jackson: "We are optimistic that Coach Edgar will receive a fair and reasonable evaluation of the Committee on Infractions' findings. In Coach Edgar's thirty year, spotless, infractions-free career, he has demonstrated himself to be a man of considerable character and has an outstanding reputation in collegiate sports. We are hopeful that he will be able to clear his name, restore his reputation and resume his career after this process is completed".

For more information, please contact Donald Maurice Jackson at 334.467.0545 or at thesportsgroup@yahoo.com via e-mail.

The Sports Group is a boutique sports law firm that, among things assists universities, coaches and student athletes with addressing issues in complex NCAA enforcement actions and appeals concerning academic fraud, amateurism, eligibility, unethical conduct and institutional control issues. The Sports Group website can be located at http://www.thesportsgroup.org.