Rez

I don't think Carthage will have any trouble this year. They are going to donkey stomp their way through a 16-0 season.

I think PNG has a few receivers back from last year.

Please tell me that's a mistake. The phrase is "purple and white" above "indians."

PNG has the toughest schedule they've had in years.

PNG and Nederland should play each other for preseason and the regular season. Double Madness.

I would think PAM would be favored against all three.

Someone suggested changing the name to the PNG Golf Carts. I kind of like it -- Every time I'm in Groves or Port Neches there are ten year olds driving golf carts around.

Very, very sad. Sorry to hear it.

I think this judge should be forced to recuse himself. Judges are not supposed to be interested parties in their cases, and this one has turned himself into the ONLY interested party in this case, as the defense and the prosecution both support dismissing it. And, even after the higher court orders him to dismiss the case he refuses to do so? I hope he gets sanctions.

Elections are literally popularity contests, and have always been so.

If you are trying to get ahead of the story and you think it clears your name, releasing a video is a good idea whether or not you have a guilty conscience.

What about the "Blue Chain"? Its (1) easier to say, and (2) more intimidating than "Blue Link," and (3) actually references the TEAM aspect of a good defense.

The "Blue Link" is a stupid name, regardless of what it is replacing. Mustangs' defense went from having the most intimidating name in the area to having what sounds like a bad attempt at innuendo. The players have got to be furious.

If it is against the rules (and I have heard that it is against the rules at both stadiums) why don't the school administrators police it better? It seems like an easy thing to control. All they have to do is kick one person out, and the problem would be 99% solved for the rest of the students, at least for several years.

12-5a div. 2 is ranked more highly than I would have expected. It's definitely a meat grinder though. Not the best teams in the state, but overall well-balanced. Hard to predict who will win district.

Vidor CAN do it. The coach just needs to teach it.

If they would throw just enough to keep teams honest it could be a game changer.

Nothing new in this article, but here's Tepper's article on the subject for those who haven't seen it: [Hidden Content]. I think this is very good news.

It certainly helps that Carthage is in D2 now also.

I should say, I don't expect Silsbee to have much trouble containing Vidor. My issues with the secondary are in defending the pass. In this case, Silsbee's secondary get to just be extra linebackers. My prediction is Silsbee wins by two touchdowns. I could be wrong though. I think if Vidor could complete ten passes a game (not a magic number, just an estimate) it would change the entire way teams would have to cover them and their run-heavy game would have just a little more space.

Right - I knew that. Even better.

United seems to be on the rise. They still have the disadvantage of being small in 6a, so they probably won't go far in the playoffs, but they looked dangerous last year.

Right - I have flown in just for MCM before

Silsbee's secondary is about as bad as PNG's, historically. Maybe a little worse. Those two rarely have disciplined secondary.

To answer your question "attendance" and "atmosphere" are not the same thing. Attendance can contribute to atmosphere. This assumes "atmosphere" is even something we can define. However, atmosphere is important. It isn't necessarily the most important thing, or even the second most important thing. But it does matter when it comes to evaluating something as subjective as a rivalry. "Atmosphere," as far as MCM goes, is extremely hard to produce, or reproduce. We've been working on MCM's atmosphere for about a century. If it wasn't hard to produce, every school in the area would have an "atmosphere" to speak of. Remember, we aren't talking about what wins games, we are simply talking about what factors matter for comparing one rivalry to another, and in the case of MCM, the atmosphere is an important factor. 8,000 to 13,000 people in attendance (and everyone knows that it would be higher with bigger stadiums), with who knows how many others tuning in on the radio, with people listening in from all over the country (and, on occasion, from all over the world -- I've listened to PNG/NED games with people emailing in from Korea, Europe, Iraq, and all over the USA, and that's just on the PNG side of the broadcast). And throw in the fact that both teams are usually among the stronger teams in the area, with absolutely rabid fan bases. Then throw in the fact that the communities are basically right next to each other and tightly intertwined. Then throw in the nearly year-round trash talk and the crazed roar of the crowd throughout every second of the game. It's a pretty good recipe for "atmosphere," and an important factor for comparing one rivalry to another. You can judge it based on the attention the game gets on this site alone. If we were talking about what wins games, the above wouldn't matter as much (though I'm certain it contributes to why other teams find it so hard to beat PNG and Nederland at home).