Miller Time: Sports Blog

11/14 Round One In The Books....

2008-11-15T06:43:00Z

So the first round of the KHSAA playoffs is in the books. Not a lot of surprises. Here's my take:I'll start in Class 1A. A big CONGRATS goes out to Chris Cooper and Ballard. I felt the Bombers had a chance to win at Caverna. I did not think they'd go over and take Caverna to the woodshed. 48-14!!! Way to go Big Green!!! Your reward. A trip to Crittenden County next week. The Rockets rolled up an easy 47-0 win over Kentucky Country Day. ...(read more)

11/7 Playoffs For All!!!!

2008-11-08T06:03:00Z

Playoff time is officially here for all!!! Kentucky put the wraps on the regular season tonight and we have 11 local teams that will play for a state title in the commonwealth.The question is, how many of those 11 have realistic hopes of bringing home a state title?Let's start in Class 1A: Crittenden County and Mayfield should both take care of business in round one with home games. It will be hard for the Cards to move past round two. They'll have to travel east to...(read more)

10/24 Gridiron Glory Wrap

2008-10-25T04:56:00Z

As always, an active night on Gridiron Glory. Here are some of the highlights (or low-lights) from the evening.Paducah Tilghman is not going to the playoffs. Let that sink in. The Blue Tornado, a year after missing the state finals by a field goal, are out of the postseason. Assuming the KHSAA takes away their win over Webster County (because of an ineligible player) Tilghman will be 1-8 and 1-3 in the district. They would lose out on a tiebreaker against Webster for...(read more)

10/3 What was he thinking???

2008-10-04T04:47:00Z

It was a pretty ho-hum schedule of games this Friday, but there were some high points and certainly some low points. I present my observations. I have to get this off my chest (along with this miserable flu...I hate being sick!!!) Anyhow, I have to question Tilghman's Randy Wyatt's choice to go for a two-point conversion down 21-12 to Mayfield in the fourth quarter. Albeit, it didn't have any bearing on the outcome, but with the Tornado driving late, it had to be frustrating...(read more)

9/26 Contender Or Pretender...

2008-09-27T05:53:00Z

It's 12:54 am, so I'm going to make this short and sweet and leave the floor open for you.Lone Oak and Calloway. WOW!!! What a game. I'm still shaking my head wondering why Calloway didn't just grind it out and take the field goal and get out of dodge with the win. Regardless, what a gutsy drive by Jamarielle Brown and that offense to give Jack Coorts another shot at the win (he had already missed a 33-yarder.) Honestly, after kicking them into the state title game last...(read more)

9/19 Gridiron Glory Review

2008-09-20T04:55:00Z

Week four is in the books and I'm feeling the ill-effects. I'm not saying the games were bad, but the weather is kicking my....well, you can guess. So I'm going to make this quick. Graves County 4-0. Enough said. They continue to impress. Mayfield jumped out 12-0, but the Eagles ran off 29 unanswered to win. Congrats to the Eagles on beating their rivals in their house!Marshall County gets a nice bounce back win over Calloway County. Marshals offense...(read more)

9/17 OVC Commissioner Responds To Comments On Officiating

2008-09-17T21:50:00Z

Let's get a few things straight on this whole Matt Griffin-saga. Was Matt out of line Saturday night when he publicly blasted the officiating in the Illinois State loss. No doubt, yes! But did he have a point? Without question! I agree with the OVC's decision to suspend Griffin. The league has rules and Griffin broke them with his mini-tirade. He deserved to be punished. But this requires a deeper look. Were Griffin's comments warranted? I...(read more)

9/12 Another Night Of Gridiron Glory, Another Night Of Surprises

2008-09-13T05:01:00Z

Our third week of Gridiron Glory is in the books and with it came another night of surprises. Here's a quick rundown of thoughts I had after another night of great action. What happened to Lone Oak? The hit the snooze button to start the third quarter against Obion! Up 35-0, the Flash allowed the Rebels to score 28 straight points in about six minutes. A combination of turnovers, sloppy tackling and bad special teams made a sure-to-be blowout turn into a shootout. If Lone...(read more)

9/5 Friday Night Thoughts....

2008-09-06T04:42:00Z

Another edition of Gridiron Glory is in the books and boy were there some surprises tonight. Here's a quick rundown on some of the highlights from Friday night. South Fulton upsets Fulton City 36-30. The Red Devils pass their first big test of the season and outscore the high-powered Bulldogs. Could the playoffs be on the horizon for SFHS? And the big question about Fulton City, can that defense hold up? That's 36 points to South Fulton and 26 to a weak West Carroll...(read more)

8/31 Governor's Cup Flop

2008-09-01T04:26:00Z

The normally entertaining Governor's Cup game between UK and UL turned out to be a big fat lemon.

Both teams look like they'll have a long season.

I came away unimpressed with both the 'Cats and Cards.

I'm not a fan of either team (in fact, I'm a die-hard WVU fan just so you know...born and raised, WV Pride!!!), but I found myself rooting for Hunter Cantwell. I've met and talked with Hunter plenty of times and have become quite fond of him and his story. It was hard to watch everything go wrong for him on Sunday.

He had four turnovers himself and just couldn't get anything going. But by no means do I think this was strictly on Hunter's shoulders. His receivers and running game were no help at all. In past years, the 'Ville has had all kinds of offensive weapons. From Bush to Brohm, Douglas to Urrutia, Barnidge to Allen. They've been dangerous. Now they've got.......well......ummm.....no one. A recently shot Trent Guy might be their best big-play option, but he probably won't get back into game shape for another month.

Cards fans might be taking pride in their defensive effort today. Yes, it was better than last year, but let's pump the breaks. Kentucky's offense was downright pitiful as well. Their quarterback, Mike Hartline, didn't make many mistakes, but then again he didn't do much to help the team either. Their run game is still trying to get off the ground without Rafael Little.

Both of these teams are major works in progress in my opinion. After watching today, I'd be surprised if either make a bowl game. I can see UK starting 4-0 and finishing 4-8. If Louisville can't get things turned around, they're staring a losing season right in the face. If I was Coach Kragthorpe, I'd be a little worried. Not sure how going from Orange Bowl champions to Big East doormat in two years will go over with the bosses.

8/30 What We Learned From Night #1

2008-08-30T05:14:00Z

Here's some quick observations from the first night of Gridiron Glory:

Jamarielle Brown is apparently the Vince Young of Kentucky high school football. I haven't seen final stats, but from what I heard on radio he was unstoppable vs. Union County. Although Jack Haskins said he was disappointed they only scored 48 points in his postgame radio interview. I'm sure a lot of schools would love to put up a 48-spot!
Marshall County looked good. Heath, well, looked a little lost. They had a hard time getting that new spread offense going and had a really hard time staying in front of the Marshals on defense. MC rolled up 643 yards to prove it. I'm interested to see how the Marshals fare against a school a little bigger than Class 2A.
Anna-Jonesboro answered the bell with an absolute beatdown of West Frankfort 41-0.
Marion looks like they're a step slower than last year's state semifinal team.
A couple of surprises in southern Illinois; Johnston City shuts out Carmi-White 12-0 and Murphysboro knocks off Carbondale 30-28.
South Fulton is 2-0!!!! I repeat, South Fulton is 2-0!!!

It was a great first night, make sure you check out the show on wpsdlocal6.com

And let us know how you feel about your teams!!!

Comment below!!!

8/29 It's Opening Night...Are You Ready???

2008-08-29T19:16:00Z

After weeks of practices and previews, gameday is finally here!

And I, for one, couldn't be happier.

You can check out a web-exclusive preview of tonight's show on wpsdlocal6.com.

We've got a full slate of games lined up for you tonight on Gridiron Glory.

Here are a few things that I'm looking forward to seeing tonight.

Calloway vs. Murray. Enough said. Both teams should challenge for district titles this year and have explosive players on offense. Last year's game was an instant classic and I expect nothing less tonight at Stewart Stadium
Jamarielle Brown (Lone Oak) I'm not sure what to expect? 300 yards passing and five touchdowns or 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns? Maybe both!?!?! I'm anxious to see how he does in his first start at QB.
Traditional Illinois powerhouses. Marion, Carterville and Anna-Jonesboro all have had great runs the past two years, but all three are also replacing a lot of talent from those runs. Tonight we see if shoes can be filled.

As I said, we're in for a fun night.

I know leave the floor open to your comments. What are looking forward to tonight?

Comment below!!!

8/27 Quick Hits

2008-08-27T22:03:00Z

Former SIU and Duquoin QB Nick Hill is headed for Indy to tryout for the Colts. Looks like he is most likely trying to earn a spot on the practice squad.

Former Tilghman standout Hunter Cantwell gets ready to start his first Commonwealth Cup game this Sunday.

Here is a link to Hunter's press conference courtesy the Louisville Courier-Journal

And we're just a little over two days from kickoff to the high school season.

We'll have more, including some web-exclusive preview things coming soon.

Tonight, Illinois fans, keep an eye out for a podcast with The Southern's Pete Spitler.

8/22 Kickoff Is Here!!!

2008-08-22T19:58:00Z

The high school football season officially opens tonight in Tennessee.

We have two games featuring local teams.

Obion County Central kicks off the Shawn Jackson era.

They're at Jackson South Side. According to all accounts, Jackson has kept the Rebels under lock-and-key this summer. No one has seen them practice and they haven't scrimmaged anyone. So tonight we'll finally get to see what the Rebels have. Obion fans are hoping for anything better than last year's 0-10 disaster.

South Fulton also kicks off a new era tonight.

Gwin Wood is gone after a long run with the Red Devils. In is new head coach Kelly Spivey. South Fulton has just five wins in the past three years, so there is some rebuilding to do. We'll get our first look at them tonight against West Carroll.

For even more on the upcoming season in Tennessee and Kentucky, check out the Countdown To Gridiron Glory: Mission Control page on wpsdlocal6.com. We've got podcasts previewing all the teams.

Don't worry Illinois, we will start posting podcasts previewing your schools next week.

Until then!!!

8/8 - Early High School Pre-Season Rankings

2008-08-08T19:43:00Z

Bluegrasspreps.com have released their pre-season rankings for every team in Kentucky.

Not a lot of love for our local teams.

Marshall and Graves County both picked at the bottom of Class 6A.

Reidland brings up the rear in Class 2A.

There are some brightspots.

In Class A, Mayfield is 4th and Crittenden is 11th.

In Class 4A, Calloway is 9th and defending state runner-up Lone Oak is 12th.

And in Class 3A, Tilghman is 3rd.

Here is a link to each class' rankings.

Class A
Class 2A
Class 3A
Class 4A
Class 5A
Class 6A

Do you think the rankings are accurate?

Let us know with a comment below!