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During last night's festivities at the Classic I got so caught up in the moment that I neglected to mention a very important part of my day there..........Dr. Dan Ross of the OHSAA and I spent a considerable amount of time sitting next to each other up on press row. We mostly talked about what a great event this was and what it meant for exposure for the girl's game across the state, and nation for that matter. We both were mightily impressed on the number of fans in the stands and also the number of college scouts in attendance. We touched on the issues of the "R" word in girls hoops and although I didn't get a definitive answer from him, I'm of the feeling that he doesn't approve of some of the goings-on that is happening at certain schools around the state. I was also interviewed by the local radio station WKLM FM 95.3 out of Millersburg, Ohio. They wanted to know what the RocketCorner was, and what we were doing here at the Classic. Flounder explained that we were just two basketball junkies who enjoyed both the boys and girls game and we always thought that the girls game got short-shrift from most media outlets. I told him that when we developed the RC that we would promote the girls sport's programs as fervently as the boys whenever possible.
Which brings us to Sunday's games here at the CITC. Noon on a Sunday afternoon in Berlin, Ohio isn't exactly primetime. The locals have just spent their customary 3 hours in church services and then dinner is on their minds. Game #8 on the schedule pitted the Springboro Panthers against this week's #8 in the AP poll Marion Harding Presidents. Notice I said #8 in the AP poll (and nowhere to be seen in the RM's rankings, actually #5 in my NW Ohio poll) because after watching this game I've lost a lot of respect for the AP pollsters
The second game of the day featured the #7 team in the D4 "Flounder & Rocketman's" poll Waterford (nowhere to be found in this week's AP btw) taking on the #8 team in D2 Indian Hill in the AP (again, not in my rankings!) and the result just helps to reinforce the Flounder and I's knowledge of girls basketball......Final Waterford 51 - Indian Hill 46.Two teams that I had watched play on Saturday returned to the hardwood Sunday afternoon in Game #10. Lakota West and Hathaway Brown went at it with HB taking out LW 60-41 as the Blazers just wore down Lakota West. While this game was being contested I had the pleasure of being interviewed by The Voice of Holmes County, Mark Lonsinger. They have a great website that really promotes the Holmes County community and they 'stream a whole bunch of sports programming and special interest happenings for this part of the state. This is someone who the RC would definitely consider partnering with, as they have a vision for the future also.
After my interview the staff was busy setting up the buffett line for today's meal. Broasted chicken, beef tips, noodles, green beans, dinner rolls, and an out-of-this-world dessert were all laid out for our enjoyment. Flounder had been talking to one of the volunteers earlier about the timing of the meal and sure enough, he was the first one in line. I can't say enough about the staff and volunteers here at the Classic. Not much is left to chance, with everyone having a job and knowing what to do. It ran like a well-oiled wooden bucksaw with everyone pulling their own weight. The Flounder and I were planning on leaving after the Mason vs. Regina game. The night before the fog was terrible and we were anticipating the same tonight. A long 2.5 hour ride driving in the fog was something I wasn't looking forward to in the least. After saying our good-byes to everyone we packed up the gear and headed back to NW Ohio with a lot of great thoughts about this event. We definitely will be back and hope you too can make the trip someday...........RM
