KFDM COOP

[Hidden Content]

Come on folks let's settle down.

Very Athletic!! Very good shooters inside and out!! This will be tough.

La Marque Cougars Schedule DATE/TIME LOCATION GAME TYPE OPPONENT RESULT Nov 14 2006 7:30 Away Non-District Bay City Won 82 - 48 Boxscore Nov 17 2006 7:30 Away Non-District Elkins Lost 55 - 67 Boxscore Nov 20 2006 6:00 Home Non-District Galena Park Won 74 - 46 Boxscore Nov 22 2006 1:30 Home Non-District Clear Brook Won 40 - 34 Boxscore Nov 25 2006 TBA Home Non-District FB Marshall Nov 28 2006 7:00 Away Non-District Ball Won 70 - 59 Boxscore Nov 30 2006 6:00 Away Tournament Woodlands Lost 50 - 53 Boxscore Dec 1 2006 4:30 Home Tournament Deer Park Lost 50 - 60 Boxscore Dec 2 2006 Away Tournament Austin Reagan Won 76 - 32 Boxscore Dec 5 2006 7:30 Away Non-District Montgomery Won 58 - 57 Boxscore Dec 7 2006 Home Tournament Oak Ridge Won 63 - 55 Boxscore Dec 8 2006 4:30 Away Tournament Huntsville Won 71 - 49 Boxscore Dec 9 2006 Away Tournament Livingston Won 63 - 50 Boxscore Dec 12 2006 7:00 Home Non-District Wheatley Won 77 - 66 Boxscore Dec 19 2006 7:30 Away District Angleton Won 60 - 56 Boxscore Jan 4 2007 7:30 Away District Friendswood Lost 55 - 60 Boxscore Jan 6 2007 3:00 Home District Texas City Won 69 - 33 Boxscore Jan 9 2007 7:30 Away District Santa Fe Won 66 - 49 Boxscore Jan 12 2007 7:30 Home District Dickinson Won 100 - 69 Boxscore Jan 19 2007 7:30 Home District Brazosport Won 74 - 57 Boxscore Jan 23 2007 7:30 Away District Angleton Won 75 - 65 Boxscore Jan 26 2007 7:30 Home District Friendswood Won 75 - 58 Boxscore Jan 30 2007 7:30 Away District Texas City Feb 2 2007 7:30 Home District Santa Fe Won 57 - 52 Boxscore Feb 6 2007 7:30 Away District Dickinson Won 70 - 67 Boxscore Feb 13 2007 7:30 Away District Brazosport Won 53 - 47 Boxscore

Predictions?

Thanks, great night of BB at the Hill.

Can you shoot me quarterly updates on both games? Thanks

Wharton Tigers Schedule DATE/TIME LOCATION GAME TYPE OPPONENT RESULT Nov 28 2006 7:30 Away Non-District Bay City Lost 46 - 48 Boxscore Dec 4 2006 7:30 Home Non-District Lamar Consolidated Dec 4 2006 7:30 Home Non-District Lamar Dec 12 2006 7:30 Away Non-District Edna Dec 15 2006 7:30 Away District Columbus Dec 20 2006 5:00 Home Non-District Foster Won 56 - 51 Boxscore Dec 27 2006 Away Tournament Sweeny Lost 42 - 50 Boxscore Dec 27 2006 Home Tournament Houston Christian Lost 48 - 63 Boxscore Dec 27 2006 3:00 Home Tournament Jones Lost 48 - 63 Boxscore Dec 28 2006 Away Tournament Bay City Won 52 - 33 Boxscore Dec 28 2006 Away Tournament CC Miller Won 60 - 47 Boxscore Dec 29 2006 Home Tournament Calhoun Lost 51 - 52 Boxscore Jan 2 2007 7:30 Home District Columbia Won 59 - 57 Boxscore Jan 5 2007 7:30 Home District Needville Jan 5 2007 7:30 Home District Needville Won 65 - 54 Boxscore Jan 9 2007 7:30 Away District Stafford Jan 9 2007 7:30 Away District Stafford Won 47 - 26 Boxscore Jan 12 2007 7:30 Away District Sealy Won 78 - 35 Boxscore Jan 16 2007 7:30 Home District Sweeny Won 55 - 43 Boxscore Jan 19 2007 7:30 Home District Brookshire Royal Won 49 - 33 Boxscore Jan 23 2007 7:30 Home District Columbus Won 47 - 29 Boxscore Jan 26 2007 7:30 Away District Columbia Lost 32 - 46 Boxscore Jan 30 2007 7:30 Away District Needville Won 34 - 33 Boxscore Feb 2 2007 7:30 Home District Stafford Won 42 - 27 Boxscore Feb 6 2007 7:30 Home District Sealy Won 60 - 42 Boxscore Feb 9 2007 7:30 Away District Sweeny Lost 54 - 56 Boxscore Feb 13 2007 7:30 Away District Brookshire Royal Lost 50 - 56 Boxscore Scoring Player No.Games Points Avg. Jamial Shelton 30 460 15.30 Jordan Kirschke 24 348 14.50 Lionel Gooden 24 226 9.40 Jonavon Jones 28 184 6.60 Donalton Haynes 30 170 5.70 Odis Thompson 30 93 3.10 Kenneth Phynon 30 73 2.40 K.C Curtis 29 37 1.30 Louis Byars 29 11 0.40 Rebounding Player No.Games Rebounds Avg. Jamial Shelton 30 228 7.60 Donalton Haynes 30 193 6.40 Lionel Gooden 24 121 5.00 Odis Thompson 30 116 3.90 Jonavon Jones 28 98 3.50 Jordan Kirschke 24 72 3.00 Kenneth Phynon 30 74 2.50 K.C Curtis 29 23 0.80 Louis Byars 29 18 0.60 Assists Player No.Games Assists Avg. Odis Thompson 30 203 6.80 Jamial Shelton 30 81 2.70 Jordan Kirschke 24 61 2.50 Jonavon Jones 28 65 2.30 Lionel Gooden 24 39 1.60 K.C Curtis 29 23 0.80 Kenneth Phynon 30 20 0.70 Donalton Haynes 30 22 0.70 Louis Byars 29 9 0.30 Steals Player No.Games Steals Avg. Jordan Kirschke 24 42 1.80 Odis Thompson 30 51 1.70 Jonavon Jones 28 33 1.20 Lionel Gooden 24 28 1.20 Kenneth Phynon 30 29 1.00 Donalton Haynes 30 26 0.90 Jamial Shelton 30 18 0.60 K.C Curtis 29 13 0.40 Louis Byars 29 9 0.30 Blocked Shots Player No.Games Blocked Avg. K.C Curtis 29 0.00 Louis Byars 29 0.00 Jonavon Jones 28 0.00 Lionel Gooden 24 0.00 Odis Thompson 30 0.00 Jamial Shelton 30 0.00 Kenneth Phynon 30 0.00 Donalton Haynes 30 0.00 Jordan Kirschke 24 0.00 Freethrow Percentage Player Free Throws Free Throw Attempts Pct. Jordan Kirschke 69 98 0.70 Jonavon Jones 26 40 0.65 Lionel Gooden 34 58 0.59 Kenneth Phynon 13 23 0.56 K.C Curtis 6 13 0.46 Jamial Shelton 80 174 0.46 Donalton Haynes 26 64 0.41 Odis Thompson 13 33 0.39 Louis Byars 3 8 0.38 3-point Percentage Player 3-point made 3-point attempts Pct. Jordan Kirschke 51 145 0.35 Kenneth Phynon 4 13 0.31 K.C Curtis 7 26 0.27 Jonavon Jones 22 103 0.21 Lionel Gooden 10 52 0.19 Louis Byars 0 0 0.00 Odis Thompson 0 0 0.00 Jamial Shelton 0 2 0.00 Donalton Haynes 0 0 0.00 Wharton Tigers basketball Roster NO. NAME POSITION HT. WT. YEAR Louis Byars K.C Curtis Lionel Gooden Donalton Haynes Jonavon Jones Jordan Kirschke Kenneth Phynon Jamial Shelton Odis Thompson

Predictions?

LaZeek will be there in full force!! ;D

[Hidden Content]

Predictions?

Write for AOL Slams the NBA (good article) Mayhem Main Event at NBA All-Star Weekend 'Police Were Simply Overwhelmed' in Sin City By JASON WHITLOCK AOL LAS VEGAS -- NBA All-Star Weekend in Vegas was an unmitigated failure, and any thoughts of taking the extravaganza to New Orleans in 2008 are total lunacy. NBA's Big Weekend An event planned to showcase what is right about professional basketball has been turned into a 72-hour display of why commissioner David Stern can't sleep at night and spends his days thinking of rules to mask what the NBA has come to represent. Good luck fixing All-Star Weekend. The game is a sloppy, boring, half-hearted mess. The dunk contest is contrived and pointless. The celebrity contest is unintended comedy. And, worst of all, All-Star Weekend revelers have transformed the league's midseason exhibition into the new millennium Freaknik, an out-of-control street party that features gunplay, violence, non-stop weed smoke and general mayhem. Word of all the criminal activity that transpired during All-Star Weekend has been slowly leaking out on Las Vegas radio shows and TV newscasts and on Internet blogs the past 24 hours. "It was filled with an element of violence," Teresa Frey, general manager for Coco's restaurant, told klastv.com. "They don't want to pay their bills. They don't want to respect us or each other." Things got so bad that she closed the 24-hour restaurant from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. "I have been spit on. I have had food thrown at me," she said. "I have lost two servers out of fear. I have locked my door out of the fear of violence." All weekend, people, especially cab drivers, gossiped about brawls and shootings. You didn't know what to believe because the local newspaper was filled with stories about what a raging success All-Star Weekend was. The city is desperately trying to attract an NBA franchise, and, I guess, there was no reason to let a few bloody bodies get in the way of a cozy relationship with Stern. The New York Times says it's "hard to beat." Deadspin calls it "freakishly good." What is AOL's Fanhouse? Everything you want and need as a fan from the best bloggers on the Web. Plus, the NBA's business partner ESPN didn't have time to dirty its hands and report on the carnage. I'm sure ESPN's reporters were embedded in the rear ends of the troops -- Shaq, Kobe, King James, D-Wade, AI and Melo. But there were multiple brawls, at least two shootings, more than 350 arrests and a lot of terror in Vegas over the weekend. And the police might want to talk to NFL player Pacman Jones about a nasty shooting spree at a Vegas strip club. Jones and the rapper Nelly were allegedly at Minxx Gentlemen's Club Monday morning shortly before (or during) the shooting. Two victims, male employees of the club, were listed in critical condition at the hospital; a third, a female patron, sustained non-life threatening injuries after being grazed by a bullet. There were so many fights and so many gangbangers and one parking-lot shootout at the MGM Grand that people literally fled the hotel in fear for their safety. I talked with a woman who moved from the MGM to the Luxor because "I couldn't take it. I'll never come back to another All-Star Game." There are reports of a brawl between rappers and police at the Wynn Hotel. Vegas police were simply overwhelmed along The Strip. They were there solely for decoration and to discourage major crimes. Beyond that, they minded their own business. I was there. Walking The Strip this weekend must be what it feels like to walk the yard at a maximum security prison. You couldn't relax. You avoided eye contact. The heavy police presence only reminded you of the danger. Without a full-scale military occupation, New Orleans will not survive All-Star Weekend 2008. David Stern seriously needs to consider moving the event out of the country for the next couple of years in hopes that young, hip-hop hoodlums would find another event to terrorize. Taking the game to Canada won't do it. The game needs to be moved overseas, someplace where the Bloods and Crips and hookers and hoes can't get to it without a passport and plane ticket. I'm serious. Stern has spent the past three years trying to move his league and players past the thug image Ron Artest's fan brawl stamped on the NBA. After this weekend, I'm convinced he's losing the battle. All-Star Weekend Vegas screamed that the NBA is aligned too closely with thugs. Stern is going to have to take drastic measures to break that perception/reality. All-Star Weekend can no longer remain the Woodstock for parolees, wannabe rap artists and baby's mamas on tax-refund vacations. This was not a byproduct of the game being held in Vegas. All-Star Weekend has been on this path for the past five or six years. Every year the event becomes more and more a destination for troublemakers. If something isn't done, next year's All-Star Weekend will surpass the deceased Freaknik, a weekend-long party in Atlanta, in terms of lawlessness. Wide-spread looting and a rape killed the Freaknik in 1999. The NBA's image cannot survive bedlam in the French Quarter. And I'm not sure it can survive the embarrassment of a New Orleans standoff between its fans and the National Guard, either. If Stern wants to continue to strengthen the international appeal of his game, he has the perfect excuse to move the All-Star Game to Germany, China, England or anywhere Suge Knight's posse can't find it. from AOL.com

There are alot of Tournments beginning Thursday and continuing through Saturday. Post scores here.

DAYTON - The Lumberton girls basketball team didn't quit Wednesday night. That much was evident by how the Lady Raiders reduced a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to seven. And if Courtney Wilson's 3-pointer with two minutes left falls instead of rimming out, then... "You never know at what point in a game that it turns," Lumberton coach Charles Wilson said after his team's 59-49 loss to Crosby in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal game at Dayton High School. That 3-pointer would have put the margin at four. Lumberton missed its next six shots before Chelsea Pickering's jumper at the buzzer cut the margin to a game-ending 10. Another shot here. Another shot there. Then maybe Lumberton (24-8) would still have a chance to make a second straight trip to the state tournament. "We were taking good shots, but nothing was going in," said Courtney Wilson, the coach's 6-foot-1 daughter. "It was like there was saran wrap over the rim or something." Lumberton had an eight-point lead midway through the first quarter but fell into an 11-point deficit with about two minutes left in the half. A 30-23 halftime margin quickly grew to 36-23 when Crosby (25-8) opened the second half two straight 3-pointers. Crosby held a 51-34 lead with about 7:20 left in the game. Then Lumberton rallied. A three-point play by Wilson and a layup off a pass by Pickering drew Lumberton within 54-47 with about 2:45 left. A Crosby turnover gave Lumberton the ball, and then Wilson's 3-pointer that would have cut the margin to four rimmed out. Pickering and Janie Long missed shots during a frantic minute in which several bodies fell to the floor fighting for rebounds and loose balls. Once the dust settled, Crosby closed by making five of its last eight foul shots to seal the victory. "I would have liked to have seen it when we were on our best defensive effort," Charles Wilson said. "I would have liked to see how it would turn out then." Crosby guard Creshun White carved up Lumberton for 19 points. She penetrated toward the basket often enough to force Lumberton to leave enough shooters open for Crosby to make six 3-pointers. Lumberton had four 3-pointers, all in the first half. Courtney Wilson had a team-high 15 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. Charles Wilson said the noise in the gym was louder than anything his team had played in all season. "I couldn't communicate with them to get done the kind of things they had to get done," he said. "I think they kind of got a little excited about it too and not being able to get anything done." The loss ended for Lumberton a season that included a 14-0 District 22-4A record and a third straight district championship. "They did it three times in a row, and they have a lot to be proud of," Charles Wilson said. "Right now, I know the loss hurts, and it should."

[Hidden Content]

This will be a good game with HJ winning by 10 in the end.

How did Central look?

Wasn't listed on their schedule. I'll check on it Thursday.

Jim Gilligan Golf Tournament benefiting Lamar baseball set for March 19 BEAUMONT – The Jim Gilligan Golf Tournament benefiting the Lamar University baseball program is set for Monday, March 19 at Brentwood Country Club. The entry fee is $100 and includes green fees, cart, prizes, light lunch, and drinks on the course. There will also be a prime rib dinner after the tournament at Brentwood. Prizes will be awarded to first through fifth place, and special recognition prizes awarded to longest drive, closest to the pin and hole-in-one contest. The format is a four-person scramble with a shotgun start at 12 p.m. Check-in will begin at 10:30 a.m. The field will be limited to the first 36 paid teams. In case of rain, all entry fees will be donated to Lamar baseball and the dinner will go on as scheduled. Each participant will receive a coupon for a free round of golf at Brentwood CC. For more information, call the Lamar baseball office at (409) 880-8135.

Rockets 112, Heat 102 KRISTIE RIEKEN= AP Sports Writer February 21, 2007 - 11:18PM HOUSTON (AP) _ Tracy McGrady scored 32 points Wednesday night to lead the Houston Rockets to a 112-102 victory over the Miami Heat, who had Pat Riley back on the bench but lost Dwyane Wade late in the game. Wade injured his left shoulder in the fourth quarter and was in so much pain that he had to be taken off in a wheelchair. The Heat were 13-17 when Riley stepped down nearly seven weeks ago for operations to replace his left hip and repair cartilage in his right knee. They had gotten back on track recently, winning seven of their last eight games, but trailed by as many as 18 Wednesday and dropped back below .500. Wade, who left with 27 points, got tangled up with Shane Battier and grimaced in pain before going to the bench. A couple of minutes later he was helped into a wheelchair and taken off the bench. He was not moving his left arm and appeared to be in severe pain as he was wheeled away. The Heat said Wade would not accompany the team on their trip to Dallas for Thursday night's game, instead going to a Houston hospital to have his injury diagnosed. A basket by Wade with 11:15 to go got Miami within 89-80 and Alonzo Mourning hit one free throw to cut the lead to eight. The Rockets then added four 3-pointers, including two on consecutive possessions by McGrady to go ahead 103-88, and the Heat wouldn't threaten again. Wade scored 13 points in the third quarter, including two straight three-point plays late in the period to cut Houston's lead to 82-74. Bonzi Wells stunned the crowd when he made a 70-foot, desperation heave at the end of the period to extend Houston's lead to 89-75. Wells, who was at the 3-point line on the opposite end of the court when he launched the shot, broke into a huge smile when he saw it fall. Rafer Alston, who had six 3s and 20 points, got the crowd into it early in the second half when he put a move on Wade that left him standing at the free throw line while he breezed in for the easy layup. McGrady tweaked a groin midway through the first quarter and left the game briefly to have it taped. He returned about three minutes later and said at halftime that he was fine. The 40-year-old Dikembe Mutombo looked more spry than the younger O'Neal at times and provided a highlight of the first half when he finished a reverse layup despite being fouled hard by the Miami center. O'Neal, who finished with 20 points, has played just 14 games this season after missing two months early following knee surgery. Late in the game, O'Neal got a bit of revenge when he had a one-handed dunk over Mutombo. But O'Neal taunted him with the trademark finger wag Mutombo does after getting a block and was given a technical foul. The Rockets, spurred by nine quick points by McGrady, went on a 15-4 run in the first quarter that gave them a 18-8 lead. Houston outscored the Heat 9-2 late in the second quarter to push their lead to 63-48 at halftime. Notes: Former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich was scouting the game. ... Houston Comets star Sheryl Swoopes attended the game with her young son. The pair sat on the front row and cheered loudly throughout the second half.

Can't wait!! Ready for Baseball!

OF headed back to Huntsville; beat Cleveland, 66-51 Gabriel Pruett The Orange Leader VIDOR — Get ready Huntsville, the Orangefield Lady Bobcats and their legion of fanatic fans are headed your way once again. The Lady Bobcats used a strong fourth quarter from the free throw line to take out the Cleveland Lady Indians 66-51 in the Class 3A Region III quarterfinals at Vidor High School. Up next is a return trip to the regional tournament starting this Friday in Huntsville. The Lady Bobcats will face Diboll at 6:15 Friday at the Johnson Coliseum at Sam Houston University. Orangefield (28-7) was all smiles after the game but make no mistake about it, the players and coaches know there is unfinished business to take care of at the regional tournament. “This is just one step,†Orangefield senior guard Kristy Sanders said. “Hopefully we go in there and continue to play our game. Last year we lost by one and watched the team win state. That loss has made us work this hard this year.†Working hard is exactly what several Lady Bobcats did on Wednesday night, especially senior Nichole Judice. Thrust into the game when fouls became a problem, Judice scored 15 points and snared 12 rebounds. Judice was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. “It feels great to come up big for my team in such a big game,†Judice said. “When you get your chance to shine, you have to take advantage. I knew I had to give everything I had or I would regret it later on.†Orangefield led 49-42 after the third period when free throw shooting certainly came into play. The Lady Bobcats limited the Lady Indians (24-9) to just nine points in the games’ final eight minutes. While Cleveland was struggling, Orangefield and junior Kaylin Little were busy draining 13-of-18 free throws to pull away. Little hit all eight of her freebies and finished with a team-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds and three steals. The Lady Bobcats also got 16 points from Sanders to go with her five assists and five steals. Senior Jessica Shores grabbed five rebounds to go with eight assists and six steals while Laura Riddick added eight points, seven rebounds and two steals. Cleveland was led by Sha’Kendra Davis who had 18 points and 14 rebounds while Lateisha Rone finished with nine points. All week Orangefield Coach Sondra Ancelot said the team with the rebounding edge would prevail in the scoring column. The Lady Bobcats won the rebounding war 35-32. “You could see how they loved to crash the boards,†Ancelot said. “We knew how key the rebounding would be. I am just so proud of this team and it is a great feeling. If there was ever a group deserving of this, it is this one. A good team beat a good team tonight (Wednesday). It came down to that we were the better team.†After leading 35-25 at the break, Orangefield watched their lead dwindle down to four midway through the third. Rone hit a couple shots which were sandwiched around a three-pointer by Jessica Perry making the score 43-39. Orangefield’s Paige Roy stopped the bleeding with a bucket. The Lady Bobcats started the second stanza on a 7-0 spurt giving Orangefield a 19-12 lead. Cleveland responded with a 6-0 run which included four free throws. Judice scored seven points in the frame as Orangefield was able to keep building on its lead. Orangefield led 35-23 after Sanders sank a shot and hit a free throw but Cleveland’s Davis finished the first half scoring with two freebies making the half-time lead 35-25 for OF. “Everybody once again contributed to this victory,†Ancelot said. “We are really playing some good basketball right now.†Sanders agreed with Ancelot on how well the Lady Bobcats are playing as a team so far through the playoffs. “I am very proud of this team right now,†Sanders said. “Nichole was so huge for us tonight. Everyone is ready to step up and contribute.†Orangefield finished the night 26-for-32 from the charity stripe while Cleveland was 10-for-20. The Lady Bobcats’ hard-nosed defense forced 25 turnovers. Orangefield turned the ball over 20 times. “Now we are all very excited about heading to Huntsville,†Judice said. “We keep reminding ourselves we got beat by one last year. I think we are very prepared right now because we realize each game could easily be our last.â€

Wildcats take down Stangs, 58-57 Leader Sports The Orange Leader MOUNT BELVIEU — The Splendora Wildcats made all the right plays down the stretch to take down the West Orange-Stark Mustangs 58-57 in overtime a Class 3A Region bidistrict playoff game at Barbers Hill High School Wednesday night. The middle two quarters were a rough spot for the Mustangs (21-12), who finished third in District 21-3A. The Wildcats (21-11), District 22-3A runnerups, outscored WO-S 27-17 in the middle two quarters after trailing 21-13 at the end of the first period. The Mustangs were trying to defend its Region III crown after they advanced all the way to the Class 3A state semifinals in Austin last year. Senior Mustang post Richard Netherly powered his way to a game-high 23 points to wrap up a wonderful run in a Mustang uniform. Fellow Mustang senior Andre Bevil contributed 16 points to the WO-S arsenal. “We didn’t execute well down the stretch and it sure did cost us,†said Mustang head coach Doug McCarter. “We played up and down all night and that was typical of the type of season that we had.†Chris Usher led the Wildcats with 19 points while teammate Trey Gill poured in 16 in a contest that wasd tied 53-53 at the end of regulation. The Wildcats will now take on District 23-3A champion Navasota Friday in the area round. “Splendora deserves a great amount of credit,†McCarter said. “They executed well, hit big shots when they needed them and they took several charges on defense. They were just the better team tonight.†It’s the second straight season that the Wildcats have knocked off a 21-3A team in bidistrict. Last year, Splendora defeated Hardin-Jefferson 78-68.

Spring training thrills, chills Titan coaches Dave Rogers’ column for Thursday, Feb. 22 The Port Arthur News Memorial High football assistants say this was the shortest spring training they’ve ever been involved with. Starting Jan. 24 and ending Feb. 17, the Titans used only 10 of their allotted 18 days of full-contact practices. But head coach Ronnie Thompson says it was perhaps the best he’s ever been a part of. “We only had nine or 10 workouts, but every one was better than any one we had last spring,†said the coach who is just starting the second year of his second coaching tenure in Port Arthur. “It was extremely well run and handled. It was always spirited and fast. We filmed what we did. We coached the film. We didn’t want to just beat them down. We went three days a week. “It was a good tempo, one of the best I’ve been through in 34 years.†The coach said more than 100 players participated in each workout, including those bused to the campus from the Ninth Grade Center. They practiced Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at Memorial Stadium. As opposed to when Memorial had held spring training in the past – late April and May – these drills took place in cold and often wet weather. “We had to cancel one practice that we were in the middle of, because of lightning, and one that was just heavy rain and we didn’t want to just go slosh around,†Thompson said. But the weather wasn’t a distraction. “The kids retained a lot. The coaches knew what they were doing. It fell together quickly,†Thompson said. “Now we can spend the next three months coaching, rather than doing it the other way around. You have spring training at the end of May, you turn your gear in, take tests and leave. “This way, we’ve got a chance to touch up what we saw.†Curtis Viola, the Titans’ new defensive coordinator, explained that the coming in-school athletic periods would focus on smoothing any rough edges. “Basically, what we found out in spring is who can run and who can tackle. Now we’re going to spend the next few months making sure we do it right,†he said. “All we’ve done so far is find out which guys are going to hit and which ones can run. We have the rest of the year to fine-tune everything.†While Thompson and offensive coordinator Kenny Harrison looked to add on to the wide-open offense that carried Memorial to a tie for the District 21-5A championship last fall, Viola had the big job – a major overhaul of the troubled Titan defense.