Podcast: Morse's Midnight Madness

When Andrew Hart from MaineHighSchoolFootball.com emailed me to ask what I was doing late on a Sunday night, I was a little confused, but when I found out it was to ring in the first day of Fall Sports as Morse' Midnight Madness, I was intrigued.

So as the thunderstorms cleared out, we went live on Facebook starting at 11pm and podcasted our way up to the midnight deadline. Along the way we went over some teams to watch this season--both in football and basketball--Morse's prospects for the upcoming season, and a whole lot more.

I recorded it on my phone to re-use as a podcast.

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Transcript (auto-generated)

Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings podcast. I am your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNelly.And guess what folks? We did it. We made it through the summer. We have survived the 18,000 heat waves, We survived Beach to Beacon, which was somehow not during one of those 82 heat waves and we got a new course record out of it.

0:27

So if you didn't see that we had our second, let me make sure I'm plugging my computer in here.We had our second American male to win Beach to Beacon.Connor Manz of.Let's say Utah? Somewhere out West and the first American since Maine's own Ben True and he's set the course record and it was like a perfect day for running.

0:50

So a lot of people just I was there for beach to begin and just seeing everybody and seeing on Strava and a lot of people going, wow, that was like my best time in years because it wasn't 80° and humid.And it's just, if you've never run Beach to Beacon or gone to Beach to Beacon, it's just a fantastic event.

1:09

And it's just the premier road running race of the summer end of the state.And I don't know why I'm talking about it now because it is time to talk about football and soccer.So today this is I'm recording this on Monday is the first day of fall sports.

1:29

So football, soccer, volleyball, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, all kicked off practices today either at like 5 AMI think I saw Camden Hills was running up Mount Batty at 5:00 AM or something and bunch of a bunch of stuff like that.

1:45

Or if you're crazy like me last night, you went to a Midnight Madness, which I thought was just a college basketball thing.And now I'm wondering why we're not doing it for high school basketball, but I digress.

2:01

So Midnight Madness, if you don't know some coach, I feel like it was a Kentucky coach, maybe came up with the idea to have your practice at 12 O 1:00 AM on the very first day you can practice, which is very gimmicky and fun and dorky and you get everybody together and then it's a good time.

2:21

When you're doing college basketball, they fill the place with students and it's mostly a bunch of dunking in three pointers.It's kind of like an All Star game.With a little bit of.Practice worked in there.So a couple of high school teams in Maine have started doing this and have been for a couple years now.

2:38

Winthrop did it.Mike Mandel went and covered Winthrop's Midnight Madness.And then a couple days ago, Andrew Hart emailed me.He's like, hey, what are you doing at midnight on Sunday?Which is a kind of a weird thing to hear.

2:54

It's, it's a weird question.Something illicit usually happens Sunday night at midnight.And so I was a little wary, but he wanted me to come out to Morse, which is not too far from where I live, to help him ring in the midnight madness at Morse.

3:13

And so we did an hour plus live stream, which I then recorded and we'll play right here where we sort of went through some footballs and basketball, took a couple, took some looks at what teams to look out for this year.

3:29

You know, is there another fell myth on in the works that can come from worst to 1st and win A state championship?You know, who's the favorites in what?We were trying to get through all the classes.We don't really only got through class.C.You know, is Levitt back?Is Wells the team to be in Class C?

3:45

And then there was a lot of me not remembering which teams got relocated where in the high school football, you know, hierarchy.So it was a good time.It was a bit of a rambling conversation, but very enjoyable and a fun way to kick off the the season.

4:05

So I'm going to throw to that right now.This is me with Andrew Hart, live on tape from Morse High School in Bath.This is insane.This is crazy.

4:20

I mean, at least it ain't raining.It was raining right here.It was raining when I was driving through Damer Scott and I was like, oh, this is going to be a disaster.Not much here.It's yeah, seems to have tried out here.All right, looks like I got my first thing, so let's make this formal.

4:36

Hello everybody, welcome to this very crazy pre preseason broadcast courtesy of Maine High School Football.I'm Andrew Hart, website host, and along with me is Mr. Lucas Nelly of Maine Basketball Rankings.How's it going?Oh, it's going just perfect, man.

4:53

Can't believe you talked me into this neither.I have to work in like 8 hours.What's what you got?You gotta take that time off.I just took time off the problem, so now I'm stuck with not taking time off for a while.So we are here under the lovely lights and the dark clouds of Bath to kick off Midnight Madness.

5:14

We are one of three places in the state of Maine, along with Naples and Winthrop that'll be doing the same.That'll also be having a little Midnight Madness fun here.So what we're going to do is over the next hour, we're just going to kind of chat a little bit, talk some football.Of course we got to talk basketball.

5:30

I mean, I'd be a horrible host.In the contract.Yes, it is.I drew it up myself.I think I did.And then we're just going to kind of help usher in football right off to the 50 yard line when the when the Moors ship holders led by Jason Darling take the field.

5:47

Yeah, it's going to be fun.There are already some some young ones throwing the football around.I don't know if that's a violation of any rules because it is not yet midnight, but we're we don't have them on camera so we can't identify them later.You know, I had a parent that asked me that question, is it OK for kids in middle school to be doing practice?

6:08

And I wasn't really sure of that.I don't know.I don't know the rule on that.Yeah, me neither.Because I mean, the MPA bulletins talk about varsity and junior varsity.Yeah, don't really talk to youth.I don't know if it covers.I don't think it does cover that.So I guess they're, I guess they're fine.

6:23

They're probably OK.I mean, is it instruction?They are wearing uniforms so, you know, drop right there.But I guess number one, start young.And yeah, up in Bath they do start everything a little young.So I was kind of hoping to have Jason Darling out here because he has been one of the biggest proponents here for Midnight Madness.

6:45

Every time I've came out here, talk to him, he's always had great things to say.You know, he's always looked at this as a motivational aspect.His kids love it.It's great.You know, granted, it's a high energy, low expectation practice.They're not out here to learn XS and OS.

7:00

They're out here.Have fun, get everybody you know going.As a matter of fact, you can see those tackling Donuts out there.Those things are ready to go.Footballs are at the ready.What more couldn't you ask for?I mean, it's fun.I think of this as a college basketball thing because that's the thing called basketball, the Midnight Madness.

7:16

And you're you're inside.So it's you get a big crowd and everybody gets hyped up and they basically scrimmage and just dunk and throw out the oops.And it's a glorified All Star game sort of situation.But yeah, I hadn't hadn't occurred to me the football would do a similar thing because I just assumed everybody was doing 2 days starting at 5:00 AM.

7:35

So, yeah, I mean, I, I know that Jason had said he got to start up in Bucksport.I went up there one year.I mean, it was great.It's it's always exciting to see kids coming out here.This is that special time of year.School's ready to go, football's ready to go.It's a shame because this is what we all got to be looking forward to.

7:51

And then in about 3 months we're going to be going.I don't want to see snow on the ground.Three months we're going to be here like we were last fall and it's going to be 40 mile an hour winds and we're trying to play soccer.That's what's going to be 3 months from now.Oh, that's right, don't they?They have state championships.

8:08

Here and I, this very field and it was a 40 mile an hour wind and you can see the ball get kicked and then we'll just go drop.You know, you bring that story up two years ago at Cameron Stadium up in Bangor, they were doing 8 man championships and if I remember right, it was Orono goes to punt, they punt and the ball goes the other way.

8:29

And it was the, it was the weirdest 2 yard punch I've ever seen without a deflection.Just crazy wins.But that's Bangor.So then he's got to go for it on 4th down.You could.I mean you could if as long as it's not 4th and 15.Because you're the same problem throwing.Very true.

8:45

Yeah.And then that sort of thing, you really can't run a whole lot just because you don't got the blockers unless you want to do some razzle dazzle annexation of Puerto Rico.Yeah, Yeah, you could.You could do that.So, you know, we're going to try to figure out, we don't really have a script.

9:03

I I'm a master of winging things.Case in point, why we're here.This is why we're here.This idea.You pitched this to me yesterday, I think.I did.I think it was yesterday and I couldn't think of a good reason not to do it and here we are.I couldn't think of a good reason why not to do it.

9:21

And that's the way that's the way I like to work.I was like, it's, you know, I'm I'm trying to think of different things.And I always thought to myself, you know, we don't have a whole lot of great shows around here when it comes to high school football, you know, Herman Hawk, Hawk nest.Sorry.You guys do an awesome show for anybody who's up there who's not asleep.

9:39

Get ready for football tomorrow.Sham.I loved your idea.I'm stealing your idea.You didn't trademark it.So that's why we're here.But I always like these sort of productions, you know, people coming out with unique contact, things that help explain their team.

9:55

And we didn't really have a whole lot coming in here.So you see it around the country.Midnight Madness is definitely not unique to me.You'll see it in every single state.As a matter of fact, I was watching a video out of Texas there.This is crazy.Yes, they are.And they started about two weeks ago because why not?

10:13

I mean they 16 game season have.A16 game season in Texas.They do 10 game, 10 game, regular season.That's like a.Religion down there.It is.It is.You talk to anybody down there and they'll tell you it's a religion.Yeah, whether you want them to or not.I mean, they'll just walk up to you like Texas football's a religion.

10:31

That's crazy.I.Went to College in western Pennsylvania and it wasn't that bad but it was it was.Up there, I heard a lot of things.Yeah, I mean, they do.They had the shows at Tykes.Yeah, Tykes Football.They're showing on TLC where it was this these obnoxious parents yelling at Western PA telling their kids to go out and just absolutely cream the kid on the sideline.

10:53

We went to college with those.People possibly could have, sorry, you're going to see us kind of looking over a little bit.We've got people, they're excited.Over here we're seeing brought a soccer ball, which I don't know if that was allowed.Oh.Football's football, right?Football's football, but I mean, we get in trouble for mentioning soccer for some reason because we have the new MPA website and.

11:14

I posted the.Thing of what the new heel points look like and it looks not great and but it was soccer.And so I was like, what are we posting about soccer?And I'm like, first of all, second of all, you think it might look the same for basketball or for every other sport, considering that's how the world works?

11:35

You'd think so.So we'll see.The heel points could be an adventure this year.Well, I was looking at football.I thought it was interesting.You know what football's Crabtree is.What's that?Northern A.So they don't know the teams loaded in yet.Oh, they got the teams in the schedule.That's just it.Northern A Maybe it's Suns changed in the last couple of days, but that's it.

11:54

Some one of the spring sports, they had two teams in BN and like 17 teams in B South or something like that.It was all screwed up for like 2 weeks.Sorting it doesn't matter.But it's the thing, that's the thing they were in like, you know, what was it?Whatever sport it was, if it was in basketball or football, it would get sorted out right away.

12:13

Oh, of course, because 15 people would e-mail about it.The uproar would be crazy.Oh yeah, others the the smaller sports, it's less urgent.Yeah, exactly.Ouch.We had that hurt.Yeah.So like I said, it's going to be crazy here.

12:29

You're going to see people coming all over the stand.Everybody's excited.And that's the thing you've got to love about this, is the excitement these things sort of generating.Yeah, it's late.Yeah.School's coming up in about two weeks.But you know what?This is the energy that Jason loves to try to have when he's looking for this coming in.

12:48

Let me ask you a question.How excited is Morse?Like, how does Morse look this year?What are the prospects?I think for the ship builders, I think for Morris coming back to Class A seems like, you know, I all the pot, all the comments have been positive about it.And you know, you've got to admit that most schools they look at 8 man as you know, kind of a regrouping class.

13:13

OK.And that's, you know, it's all based on a point of view.You go to any other state, eight man is considered a reality for most smaller schools.And that's the way folks like Dean Plant and Old Orchard Beach, Bob Sinclair up in Orono, That's the way they look at it.

13:29

They don't look at it as we're trying to rebuild, to go back to 11 man.They're saying we know our numbers, we know our place, This is our brand of football.And then you look at Morris, who is by all means a Class C school in terms of enrollment.Sorry, enrollment.Can't say that it's got to be something other than enrollment.

13:47

Yeah, well, you know.Yeah, well, I can only imagine basketball.Football ain't any easier.Oh, Jesus.So everybody around is always kind of, I've seen the comments periodically saying what, They're not in Class C, How come?Or they're not in, you know, they're really going far back.

14:02

They're not in Class B, which is, you know, some people, some people didn't get the memo.Well, enrollment for Morse has been down I think the last five over six years.I think it's been trending down.I.Think it's been down for everybody, Almost everybody.No, some teams, some.There's some schools on the upper swing, but Morse has had more.

14:20

Morse and I think Brunswick, their enrollment numbers have dropped recently.Too, I do remember.So it's a little bit of a thing where you're like, you think of them as this big, but they're actually maybe this big I.Want to say wasn't Brunswick not too long ago, 750 something like that, that.Sounds right.Yeah.I don't think they're there anymore.

14:37

And I know back in the day when football was only three classes, there was, you know, Morse was considered an Eastern B school.But since they've came around into eight man, a lot of what they're doing is down South Down the southern region because geography.

14:52

I mean, let's let's not talk about Freiburg being a northern Class B because, you know, parallel wise, sure.But I mean that that's that's the reason.Why in I think it's soccer Eight man, is it the soccer?It's something I should know this.

15:09

Everybody who's not in Aroostook County is in the South.I have noticed.That Washington County schools in the South.Really, it's very weird.Film.It's like Machias in the South.Crazy, along with the islands along with Pine Tree Academy which is right on the border.

15:26

There might be basketball actually, might be the new under 100 for basketball.I haven't looked at that as much as I should have.You haven't.I have I looked at it when I reported it in like.All right, everybody, now we've got 2 cameras going.

15:42

We're doing this on Maine basketball rankings over there.We're doing this on Maine high school football over there.Mr. Maine Basketball rankings doesn't know.Take that to the presses.I knew in December when I reported it, and then I got distracted with other things and now I don't remember.

15:59

Because there's a lot, of course there's a lot to pay attention to.And you know, and I got you got coaches, you have this, you have coaches who were like, we'll just text you like, oh, we won by 15 today.And you're like, my dude, I do not remember what school you coached for right now.

16:16

You're going to need a little more information than that.What happens, though, when you try to remember a lot of stuff and you've got, you know, boys and girls basketball?Yeah. 260 teams, I think, something like that, maybe 250.And I've got 79.Yeah.And here I am.I'm getting geriatric syndrome and I can sometimes have a hard time remembering a coach.

16:34

And they move around, they do.So you're just like I think you.Know what you like, Winthrop?Maybe it's like you.You're Joel Stone, 10 of Sometimes It's Apparent.Windsor.Yeah.Thank you.Sometimes it's apparent and you're just like, I have no idea what you're talking about.

16:51

Don't idea what school this is.Those sort of things happen though, yeah.So I can't really see what time you got.I got 11/13. 13 We got 47 minutes 47.Minutes to kill.It's going great.It is going great.

17:06

It's going great.And I'm looking over, I know once we start getting within about 20 minutes, AD here will start flipping on the clock and we'll actually have a good scoreboard to keep track there.You go, I had a question for you.So last year Falmouth is a big story in football.

17:22

They have the nightmare season from hell and then they bring in Spencer Emerson, turns it around in like an unbelievable fashion all the way to state championship.Is there a Falmouth out there that people should be looking for?Is it Lisbon or is that just such an outlier of a situation?

17:43

I mean, there are coaches that have changed.I think we are looking at 12 different faces that are coming in, just new faces on board.Some interesting stories out there.I don't know because I don't think anybody saw Thelma doing exactly what they did no.

18:01

And The funny thing is you talk to Spencer and he he he giggles at it.Maybe if Spencer, if you're still up over there, which I can't believe you are, I know you were laughing at every single person coming into the season who didn't really think his team was a team to watch out for.

18:16

And I want to see in here the Press Herald recap even said we're underdogs.We're we're unknowns and we like.Even the turn around, even if they had gone like won five games and lost in the semi finals or something, that would have been an amazing turn around, right?But to run the table and they ran the table.

18:33

Right.Did they lose undefeated?Undefeated.Yeah, First time undefeated.Yeah.And to do that is just because it's so hard to win a title, you know, to come from that and to win a title is just like mind blowing.And you don't.And I can't remember in my mind seeing that much of A one year turn around from struggle boss all the way to undefeated in the state championship.

18:56

Might be might possibly be the first.If only I had a laptop in my little numbers, I can.Think of a basketball example.Yeah, Nokomis, when Cooper and Ace showed up, they went from 1 and 17 to 17 and one and won the state title.

19:11

Wow.But you know, that's sort of a strange situation.Where the?Number one overall draft pick in the NBA shows up and then your your fortunes change.Of course.Things get a lot easier.I would say, I mean, there's some interesting stories is that when you're looking ahead, predictions are always going to be tough.

19:33

I mean, granted, you can always look at a team like Thornton Academy, six time Class A state championship, you know, contender, yeah.I mean, you're going to naturally look at them and say, yeah, they'll be up there.And then you look at a team like Old Orchard Beach, They've been there three times in a row for the eight man state championships.

19:52

So some teams you're going to automatically pencil and then you're going to look at some of these unknowns.And you know, it's kind of tough.You know, you don't really get a feel for what you want to do.And then sometimes you get burned.I remember two years ago, Wells, I believe only five and three, they were able to beat out Winthrop for first place.

20:10

And I think Oak Hill was in that battle as well.And they go on this tear.Meanwhile, in the north, Boxcroft Academy is just mowing everybody down in Northern Deep, as is their custom.Absolutely dominating.And what happens, they've lost I think the last three times to Wells 3 or 4 times in the state championship.

20:30

They're finally, they're going to halftime 21 to not that.Yeah.And I remember we're down here in, we're in Portland at the the class towards the tail end of the Class A game.And we're just like, oh, ponies did it.I never seen that on Twitter and going Oh well, that seems like that's a wrap.Yeah, Danny White was like, he finally did it.

20:48

You know, he's finally going to get another title after so long, so many tries.Tim Roach's crew, the Warriors, they score a touchdown.They score 2 touchdowns.Now all of a sudden leads 21 to 14.What happens in the final minute and a half?

21:04

You see a touchdown and Gutsy has called.Kids say we're going to go for two.They go for two.Ethan Whitner, Ethan Whitten, I believe.Somebody correct me.You're going to anyways.My eyes can't really see out there so hopefully somebody is correcting me people.

21:21

Are talking, I can see that.I can see a few people talking.So I believe it was Ethan Witt and somebody got corner of the end zone, tosses it.He's right there, right in the end zone. 2 points, 22 to 21.Foxcroft Academy gets the ball back, isn't meant to be.

21:40

Wells beats him again.State Championship 2221 and again, you know, but these are the sort of things that nobody sees happening at the time.But that's what makes football so compelling.That's what makes high school sports compelling because you never know.You never know.You know, I was talking to a basketball coach and about like some obvious strategy.

21:59

He goes, you know, these aren't NBA players.These are 14 year old kids and 14 year old kids, their brains short circuit sometimes and they just do the complete wrong thing.And, you know, you never know when that's going to happen or when some kids going to just sort of show up and be like, make the big catch that you wouldn't expect.

22:18

So they're not going to run the puke like in semi pro?Right, Yeah, they're not going to.You know, you can, you can coach them up and then do all these things, but sometimes you just look at them.There's nothing there in between the eyes.And sometimes the kid at the end of the bench makes the big play.It's.Like, you know, football, just because you you're A5 tool athlete and Max Preps just can't stop talking about you, then you get a Tom Brady.

22:42

Yeah.You also find some of these kids that come out that are just, you know, absolutely dominant.You know, I think back to Dylan Hapworth, Class C state championship between Winslow and Levitt up at the University of Maine.You know, Levitt looks strong.What does he do?Dylan comes out seven touchdowns, 260 yards. 7 touchdowns. 7 touchdowns, Absolutely dominant.

23:03

Probably in all the years we've been covered.Most dominant single game performance at that championship level.Wow, he was good.Yeah, wasn't it?Fitzpatrick semi semifinalist list, of course, but he was good.Sometimes, you know, you get these sort of things and then you look at football.

23:19

Sometimes you get these long shots.Sometimes you get these teams that just for whatever reason, you don't picture them.Oh, and we've got our clock.Got a clock.If I could turn our camera right now we're sitting at 40 minutes and 18/17/16 and looks like Morris is losing to the builders.

23:36

Oh cool, I think that's meant to be 2025.It could be 2020.They're losing. 20 to 25.I mean, we had a similar thing in basketball with Falmouth again, because this Falmouth's year last year with Davis Mann wasn't on the Mr. Basketball semi finalist list for some reason, because people weren't paying attention.

23:54

And then went on arguably the best tournament run anyone's had in 30 years and just drags them to A state championship.Nice.And they were down big in the state championship game.And he's just, he just took over.He just took every shot.He did everything.

24:09

And he just put that whole team on his back.And that's a guy where you're sitting there going, I think we need to redo the vote for Mr. Basketball because he he should be on the 10, the short list of 10 at least.So let me ask you a basketball question.Sure.You you you finally dragged yourself out to some football.

24:27

I have.Yeah.It's crazy seeing you out here.Well, you know.I mean, first time I saw you, I think I said are you lost?What was that?Was that?Fitzpatrick.It was a Fitzpatrick.So obviously, you know, besides the physicality difference and everything, what do you see team aspect between basketball and football?

24:45

Like the difference?Of course, yeah.I would just say that because standing on the sideline, there are more technical fouls that would have been called in basketball on a football sideline then.And I have not shy about profanity or language or yelling or anything like that.

25:03

And I'm just like, Oh my goodness, these guys get kicked out of a basketball game in 5 minutes.And then just the physicality of guys getting hit and they're just come flying towards you.And I'm just looking at that going I Nope, no, I would not get up.I would not get up.

25:19

I would be done forever would put me in a full body cast and they get right back up.You mentioned full body cast.You had a great video at the Lobster Bowl back in July, Joe Doobie, that he got the snap.Quarterback gets those.That kid from York.

25:35

Yeah, it was Peter Martin.Or Martin Sure believe the tall kid.Yeah.He.Was tall sorry if we got you wrong and you're watching I know you graduated hopefully you're you're paying homage to this thing so but I do remember you got you got the snap ball pops up he gets it and.

25:52

Just get trucked.Yeah, I I was on the opposite side of the field.You had a great view just right there, just perfect, right?Yeah, I got lucky and he completely ate that hit.Yeah, that was one where you're like, I don't know, you want to?He's getting up.I didn't think he'd get up.

26:08

Kid got up.And that's not even a game that counts.No, it's.An exhibition game.Right.But, you know, at the same time, Lobster Bowl, this is, you know, for most of these kids, it's their last year.Yeah, everybody likes to say it.Unlike basketball, you can do a lot of competitively organized stuff.

26:24

Football's tougher.Well, you don't tend.To have pick up football games?No, when you're 25.I mean, you could if you're just going to go out throwing the pigskin in a flag football, yeah, But nobody's out there going to say, hey, we're going to give you pads, uppers, we're going to get you a really cool helmet.

26:40

You're going to go out there and just absolutely charge.Not unless you're playing semi role.Yeah, it's kind of, if you think about it, it's the first sport you stop playing because you would stop it in high school.And then at the end of high school or in a college or whenever you stop playing competitively basketball, you're always going to men's leagues.

26:56

And then people transition into like triathlons or running or CrossFit, things like that, which you would be.Competitive couch potatoes or.Yeah.That's also, you know, armchair quarterbacking.Hey, it could be on the old show.That's true.

27:12

I've seen some of the things the old show's done.Football, I think for some reason I was like, OK, they're crazy.Lakes out.There, I've seen there's YouTube channels of it where they're playing these, these organized fields where it's like this tree out in center field is our home run line boundary.

27:29

Yeah, crazy.Yeah, I mean, we all did.Some do.We had our wiffle ball like on our front yard and if you hit it over the lilac bushes, that was a double.And you know, if you hit it over this tree, it was a triple.I mean, we also, we had a place where Poison Ivy was kind of like it was, it was a drunk.

27:45

Yeah, if it.Gets into the Poison Ivy, yeah, and then somebody's got to go get it.We're just getting a new ball.To pass, eventually we would mow the lawn over there or somebody would have to mow it just out of sheer disgust, and then we'd find like 10 balls.Nobody would touch them, of course.

28:01

Yeah, gotta wash them off.Yeah, something happened to him.I don't know.It wasn't me.That's what younger brothers are for there.You go.You can always go tell your younger brothers problem.Whatever I had, what I had happened is, if any people who know my brother, he's 65.

28:18

And so sometimes they get a lot bigger than you.And for the kids out there, you want to be careful because that can come back around to bite you in the ass.Maybe.Because you know, they might end up being a lot bigger than you and then.I have a brother back home who's a little bit smaller than me.

28:38

I have another brother who's out in Alaska.Wow, who's a tad bit bigger than me has.He been out to that new field on in Alaska that's like right on the water.Oh, the one up in the they changed the name from Barrow to yeah, something like that.But it's like this, like little strip of land, and there's like a football field right there.

28:54

I think I saw.Did you share that?I did.OK, I did and it's the only place.And of course, of course, for them to play, they take their charter flights because that's all they can do.And their nearest opponent is, I believe, in fair.Let's hear Anchorage is not too far from the water.

29:10

Fairbanks is further inland, I believe.So that's one of their closest opponents.Now God forbid if they have to go, say, to like Juno, which is even farther down.That just had to drive all the way to Augusta.Wouldn't that be a travesty?You know how it goes.It's always twice as far going north of the South I'm sure.

29:29

I'm of two minds of that.For one, I look at that and I look at like a vinyl haven, their schedule and I'm like, geez, what is everybody else complaining about?And I think you don't have to live on vinyl haven.Like that's your decision to live on Vinyl Haven?Unless you're a kid, in which case you're kind of born to a body and you resist.

29:48

But yeah, it's a, you know, that's that's your choice.I mean the lobster.At some level.All right, that's Lucas Nellie.Maine basketball rankings For any lobstermen out there who are like, got your pitchforks or whatever, you get these.It's all right.

30:03

I got people here that think I'm biased against them.Then again, I thought every, at some point, every region's been biased.Thanks.I'm biased.Yeah, it's crazy.Yeah, they think there's most people who think I'm biased against them.There's people in Stearns.That my uncle played for Morse.People in Stearns that got angry saying I never nominate anybody in northern Maine to get.

30:22

I pick somebody from Holt.It's like apparently there's like the I maybe I miss the geographic line of north of Stearns and then it goes all the way up.Yeah.But often.Very often kids don't get mentioned because no one tells us what they did.

30:38

That's very true.Or they don't tell us what they did in a timely manner.So like for basketball, so I have the the daily newsletter.And so if on Monday night you score 40 points and I find out about it on Thursday, that's, that's gone.That's so gone.

30:53

That's, you know, we've moved on.We're like 3 more newsletters since then.It's not going to get mentioned, things like that, because time moves.Exactly.I remember it was not too long ago Bonnie Eagle parent got angry at me saying how can you didn't nominate our kid.He had 9 catches, 3 touchdowns and about 190 yards.

31:12

Pretty impressive numbers at this level.He probably would have got the Class A selection.Guess what, if I don't know about it, I don't know about it.And that's why usually when we get close to the season, I talk about my main super six stars of the week and I tell him I don't know if I don't read it, if I can't see it, I'm not some omnipotent genius that can magically put on the you said that I don't remember Rob.

31:39

Oh, Rob Kennedy disclaimer, by the way, which is an interesting rule which will be invoked when I write my preseason article.I do thank you for providing it.Rob is clearly going to say that rankings don't matter until the 5th week, right?Except in basketball.Baseball.

31:54

Well, NBANFL.Well, it's tricky to do rankings.So I do football rankings now and like Week 1, they're just going to be the end of last year's rankings because and then it takes three weeks, at least three games at least to sort of start to find a level.

32:12

And especially if you're like Levitt last year where every it lost every game.I thought they were going to win and, and won every game they were going to lose.I think I went over the season on them.I don't think I got a single Levitt game right.I belong to a pick em competition for Mark Kellman at Eastern Maine Sports.

32:30

And usually I can start off pretty good.But by the time everybody knows that our rankings have gone completely to to, you know, to help once Bob Betham just basically starts making his picks and bashes our brains.And guy's a genius when it comes to knowing his stuff.I mean, guy's guy's clever.

32:47

Hi, Bob.I'm sure he's watching.There's like 5 people watching right now but maybe?Maybe back?I mean these things can be shared at a later time.Can you share?At a later time, yeah.Yeah.So you're doing it live.I'm recording over here.Oh, you're recording?I'm.Recording and then what I'm going to do is I'm going to put in an intro on this and then just send it out as a podcast and video because a couple reasons.

33:12

One, it's easier to get on the podcast than live doesn't do as good a numbers.I found for some things it does sometimes, but not really.It's like if you have like a special event thing like this that people were like ready for that.OK, when we did our wins draft beginning of the season, that did pretty well.

33:30

But if you just do them normally and push them live, I found the numbers kind of suck.So if I just push it out as an actual video, it does better.I'm hoping this video does well.I don't really do a whole lot of live unless I'm looped in on other things.I mean, my schedules have done phenomenal, which.

33:47

Yeah, that's been really helpful.It has been, and it took some work.There's a website, Mean High School Football America.Who had they get tapped into all the states?And one of them they did was for Eastern Pennsylvania EPA.

34:04

And one of the things they wanted to do was they did a graphic for each and every school on the eastern side of the state.And I looked at that and I thought, this is interesting.Why can't I do something like that?So I took my original schedules that I'd written and completely threw them out the window.

34:19

And then I redid them all in some nice little graphic format.And I figured, OK, well, let me get some fields.And then I realized that some of the fields are really out, out of date.Like I still haven't gone up to Herman.They got an artificial turf at paddle field.Paddle field I don't.

34:34

Think I have a nerd.I hear a lot of people bypass that unless they're going to dysarts.I.Mean dysarts.No, I just, I just made a bias too.Now they're mad at you.Yeah, I just perfect.I'm angry.And they, they're really good, too.They're really good.I'm sorry, folks.

34:50

I, I I.Yeah, good program.You can send your in the.Basketball program they do yeah, yeah, they had a very unfortunate injury a couple years ago.I'm gonna completely forget who it was, but their best player broke his leg and then they went from like I wanna say they were 10 and O something like that.

35:06

And I think they finished ten and eight and it was just like.What could have been?Yeah, and you hate to see that.And I think he was a senior and just they were the they were the favorites to win the whole thing.Similar story in football.Camden Hills.They've actually Chris Christie's got a really good thing going with the Windjammers.

35:25

They've been top of the table last two years.They had a strong quarterback until they got into the end of the season.Oh yeah, they had a lot of injury problems last year.Didn't.They yeah, injury bug hit him hard and an 8 man football, if you're kind of relying upon one kid to kind of be your dual back, if you lose that, it sinks your your team.

35:43

I will point out though, and I'm just as I'm saying this, it's mostly for Ryan Snell.They have a lot of kids on that roster or an 8 man roster.They have more people on that eight man roster than a lot of 11 man schools have on their roster.So I feel like that if you had an injury that was survivable, you know, the talent being what it is.

36:06

But there's people on there, you know, they're not playing eight man with 12 kids.However, quarterback is a position that's tough to kind of do even, I mean in this state, the talent discrepancy when you compare Maine to so many other states is just very, there's a sizable drop off, you know, and that's not a knock against Maine, I mean.

36:26

Why is that, do you think?Is it a culture thing?Because I feel like football wasn't as big when we were kids.Was it here?Well, you weren't here.No, I wasn't here.Because it wasn't in my memory, but Madonna Valley didn't have a team, right?So or, or a youth program at all.

36:42

So I was like, I don't, I don't know, I guess people play football at Thornton Academy, places like that.I think quarterback is, and it's one of those positions.It's a leadership position, it's an athletic position.You're expected to know everything and do everything.So it's if you don't get the consistent reps when you're playing, it's very easy to have somebody coming in who's just not used to that position.

37:05

You can shuffle bodies around, but if you're just not used to knowing because you got to know where everything that's going on.You got to know where your running back is off to where your full back's off to if you're playing.Now granted, if you're going to do, if you're playing double wing, it's just easy.You're just going to hand it off.You're going to pitch, hand it off.

37:22

Has it improved since the passing Academy that Hathaway and and the rest dude has that made a noticeable improvement?Have you seen?I think you're saying you are seeing some kids coming off where their quarterbacking skills are noticeably that much more better against those that you're observing.

37:40

Haven't been through that program.And there's always a number of things, you know, not everybody has a chance to be able to go into those because let's be honest, Maine's a big state.There's a lot of very, you know, size difference for people that have to go from, say, the northern parts of Maine to the southern part of Maine where most of the events are at now.

37:59

I know they want to try to encourage these things to go up, say to Augusta, Waterville, Bangor, So it it tries to get up there, but you don't have the amount of possibilities that say you do coming into southern Maine or.

38:15

They're just so closer to.Exactly, exactly.And dare I say, even going further South, whether it's going into New Hampshire or going into Massachusetts or Connecticut for that matter.And the population's just more clustered.Like for me, I live in Namaskada and so to get to a basketball game on a weeknight, it's like a 45 minute range of where I can get to.

38:36

And so like here is pretty much the limit of where I can get on like a Tuesday to go to a game.But if you're in, and I think it's, I think I counted once might be 10 schools.But if you're in Portland, that same range is, I mean, how many schools is that 3040?

38:54

If we're going to include all schools, you got Freeport, Yarmouth, Greeley, down to York, Dalmouth, Westbrook, Gorham, Chavris, Fearing.Yeah, I know.That's a lot more.A lot more.That's not even covering S right?You know, that's not even going across the bridge.

39:09

You got 2 right, three right there if you want to count Scarborough on that range.So that's why one of the things that kind of makes me chuckle when they say, Oh, people in southern Maine complain because they have to travel N it's like, well, understand that if you're in an area where most of your opponents, matter of fact, your schedule is within, you know, many miles, of course it's going to be seen.

39:32

So foreign to have to go on a road, a road warrior schedule, right.So everybody out there, I know that this is an outsider per take, but it's it's you know, come on, let it let it go.Understand that when you when you don't have to travel, traveling seems like it a big shock.

39:52

It's a reality.Yeah.If you're Presque Isle, you're doing it anyway.You're doing 2-3 hours each way for any everybody, every game.That's not what Caribou.All right, then you know you get used to it.And then you've got, you know, the you know, for instance, in in RV football, you've got the the try it trio cooperative Fort Kent Madawaska wisdom.

40:16

Is that the Valley team?That's the Valley team, the Southern Aroosting Valley or whatever you want to do.Always throws me because I always think it's Valley because that's an actual.Existing school.High school.Yeah.I'm like.Oh, I didn't.Why is Valley playing up there?That's really far for them.And I had somebody who did that as a matter of fact, you know, when you look at the different co-ops, Valley High School or Kennebec Valley High School, I believe is its actual name is in a Co-op with Madison.

40:45

So you've got valley the team and Valley the high school.But then you know, you when I was looking, what was it, Ohio, I was trying to figure out once looking at some of the high schools in Ohio and you'd be surprised how many multiple schools there are named after presidents.

41:01

You've got four different Washingtons that are in some each different like Washington, Cleveland, Washington, Cincinnati, Washington, Columbus, Washington, Dayton.And it's like.So it was Ohio.Ohio's.Weird now working on there.

41:16

I used to live right next to Ohio and IT you just don't want to cross that border unless you have to.Mirror depends which state is near.I was in western PA, so I was like, right, I was probably, I don't know, 15 minutes from the Ohio border.So you were you were happy to be not in Ohio?Yeah, there's nothing that happens when you go.

41:33

To Ohio I.There was a diner that had good milkshakes in Ohio so.I once made the mistake I when I was moving out here, I, I missed a Interstate and I stayed on a toll road and I forgot where it was.

41:48

But there is a place that I kind of drift kind of lazily in southeast.And I got to get into a place where I realized, oh, oh, I don't know where I'm at.And I was like an hour and a half away from the Interstate.That came right through Cleveland.And that was interesting.

42:05

Yeah, You know what happens if you get stuck in traffic in?You know what you get if you get stuck in traffic in Columbus, OH?No, you get a degree from Ohio State.That sounds like a Michigan joke, although that could also be a Pennsylvania show or a happy, you know, I think it was.

42:21

I think I heard Dan Marino tell that joke.So it's.A Pittsburgh joke.I think it's pretty good though.I always like that one.All right folks.So we are now coming up upon 21 minutes left to go.Yep, starting to get a crown.We are.

42:37

Here we are.You know if.We had if we had production, we could pan, we could see the crowd, but we don't.You know, I mean, we could show some of the people out there at sent, you know, out in the field, Yep, you know, enjoying themselves.We're seeing, you know, people kind of congregating around by the gates chatting it off.

42:54

And you know, I think you're going to, you're going to see.Is the concession stand open?Because this seems like an opportunity for concession.It was the first year I came here.I mean, this isn't the first time that Morse has done this sort of event.And the first time I came here, they did open up the concession stand.Hot cider, hot chocolate, hot coffee was definitely on the menu.

43:15

Because this dropped like 20° from this afternoon.It has, it has.I mean, I'm, you know, I mean you Mainers just, you know, kind of, you know, you're, you're always cold.This is how we do it.Yeah, this is nothing for me.Once you can't start your car, then it's cold.And if you don't know what that means, then you've never been cold.

43:33

That's when it's iced over.You can't get the door open.That, that was one of the first things that took me a long time to get used to when the state was the concept of ice, like completely freezing over.I remember once looking out at a tree branch and just seemed like that little droplet coming out there just frozen.

43:50

I was like, well, that's different.And then I remember I finally got in my car because of course, you know, you're constantly scraping like you're digging for gold.And I remember rolling, getting one of my other windows to finally roll down.And I'm like, oh, there's a sheet of ice right there.Well, that's a different.

44:07

I can't see out of it but.Yeah, try to drive on.That's an adventure.I'll bet it was.I will bet it was.So, All right, well, as you folks out there can kind of tell, you know, we're trying to keep it loose, trying to keep it exciting.You know, I'm kind of chatting and off the cuff, so to speak.

44:24

OK, well let me ask you this who are our favorites this year?Oh, everybody wants to know who.As I know, that's why.See, now we're up to do that. 10 people live here.So let's figure out who is it Levitt?Is Levitt back?I think Class C is going to be tough to tell because Class C is single, single table.

44:42

There's no Easter, no north or South, east or West, whatever it is.Which means that you've got 10 of 13 teams making it, which means that your best two to your state championship could be two teams from the South.Soccer Blue Crazy people in northern and southern Quebec are gonna be angry about that.

45:00

Hi, Chris Lesnar.I hope you got that joke.So I think.Single to wait 10 of the 13, get in 10 of the 13.That seems like too many of 13.I think is.That 2/3 was 2 thirds 13.But we in football it's different because in football you only have 12 weeks.

45:18

It's not like basketball where you can play multiple games in a week.So in football it's only one game a week.So you have to evenly organize it out.So in class A9 game regular season, that leaves three games for your playoffs, 2 games for the regionals, and then your state championship.

45:34

So the maximum number of teams you can pluck from the North and South is 8.When you have BCD eight man large school, eight man S, they only play an 8 game regular season schedule.So for them they can have a maximum number of 1816 teams total.

45:54

OK, nobody has that many, right?So in football, I guess one of the things that was discussed was they wanted to go as high as 12, so only.One team make misses the playoffs out of 13.Yeah, crazy.Exactly.And it wasn't that long ago in football they decided, well, we're going to bring everybody in the playoffs.

46:12

I hate that.What happened?Four teams, you know, four teams kind of said we're withdrawing from the playoffs.Oh yeah, yeah.Which ended up leaving, leading to the MPA creating the rule that if you're going to withdraw from the playoffs, you have to give one week's notice, which, I get it, you.

46:28

Shouldn't be able to withdraw from the playoffs anyway.What sort of soft nonsense is that?I mean, don't ask the people who are like, well, Miranda Cook withdrew.Everybody should be receded.No, MPA doesn't recede.Yeah.You could be the number.Be allowed to withdraw unless you don't have enough kids to play.

46:44

Well, I know Trape Academy has had a couple incidents where they've had really low numbers.So along the way going into the playoffs, they knew that they were kind of don't flat roll man on the totem pole.They said, look, we're withdrawing.We're not going to expose our kids.Just get, you know, we just get beat upon when we don't have that many numbers at all.

47:03

So it's kind of unique.So Class C, not only, you know, you've got 11, OK, you've also got Greeley, which was the large school state champion.They have, they had good numbers and eight man, they've got just as strong numbers and not only that.So they're back to 11.

47:19

They are back to 11.They've also got lineman kids now football you that's an important thing.You can't it's not just enough to have athletes.You need to have lineman.You need to have physicality because in small ball you're not going to really have the talent to do the pass, say or the exciting receiving or all that other thing.

47:35

You're going to ground in talent.OK, So Greely, I think is kind of in my opinion, my sleeper team.You asked me early on who's the one that teams may not may overlook.Really.Maybe.I think Greely out there and I'm willing, I'll take that to the bank.I think they are going to shock some people.

47:51

People are going to look at them and say no, I think I like them, I like their chances.But you'll also have Wells is.Wells back to Is wells in a lemon?Man, now, well, they were they were in class DS and now they're coming back to C, which is much to the much to the the happiness of everybody in class D who routinely said too good for I'm sorry, too big.

48:18

Nevermind.That's another argument for another day that I see so often that I'm just going to try to ignore it.But so you got Wells Foxcroft Academy.You can't overlook them.But then again, here's the thing.They've been dominant in class DN Last time they're in Class C, they were a 500 team.

48:35

Danny White ain't going to put up with that.So he's not going to you know, then again, I I, I what was it?When I was on Jacob Mulligan's podcast, one of the things that we had talked about was that, and I said, unlike last year where you knew you had a really good crop of kids who you knew about as juniors coming into the seniors, this is going to be kind of a tough year to to figure out some of those high level expectations those those can't miss kids.

49:00

Granted, by the time we get to week, week four, week 5, you're going to know who the ones are that are clearly in Fitzpatrick consideration 50 consideration.So I think, you know, Foxcroft will be right there as well.I'm not going to overlook Mordomic Valley and Herman.Those two teams have been trading blows the last couple of years as some of the top teams.

49:21

Oceanside's another one, Granted they took their lumps last year.They lost up Foster.That's going to be a big loss.Yes, I mean the year before they lost the Sargent Brothers.Those kids were amazing on the air between them.The juniors up Foster at the time.They're going to lose him.

49:37

Sam Sam way says is you know, he has his his his job color for him to figure out how to get them back up there.Then you look at a team like Old Town.Old Town for the last couple of years has been northern class D.Now they're moving to Class C How are they going to be able to handle this?

49:55

And then you've got a lot of the other usual, you know, usual suspects.You've got Nokomis, you know, you've got not so much Freiburg Academy because they moved out.Somebody's going to yell at me saying oh, can you forgot us and this and that.

50:15

You know, you've got a lot of these different faces coming along.And I think that's what'll make Classy exciting.I think unlike the the regions, the regional alignments, it's going to be a constant battle.Somebody's going to win and it's automatically going to propel them off.It's going to make an ever changing ranking system and it's going to take a couple of weeks, at least five before you start saying to yourself, boy, who is really going to be the best coming out of Class C might even take, you know, till the end of the year.

50:43

It might even be one of those things where you're going to see you got a couple really good teams, couple mid level teams, a couple teams scratching to make it in and a couple towards the bottom.And that's exciting.That's fun to watch if you have.I mean as great as Levitt 2 years ago was a little anticlimactic for for the playoffs you're like, well they're going to win every game by 50.

51:05

And it didn't take that long for dense Oceanside to kind of say, you know, every it was, you know, I wasn't there for that game.One of the sad aspects of the recent change to the MPA going.Now granted, in basketball you're accustomed to this because you've got three tournament sites.

51:20

In football, everything for the last couple of years could be, could be viewed at 1.You know, you could be able to see it.You could go to, once they went to four classes, you could go up to to Bangor or University of Man and watch your Friday night game and then come back down to Portland.

51:37

You could watch your AB, your your AB and your C or D game, whatever.One didn't get played.And it was fun.But now they've made the move.They want to get away from playing these cold, winter weather, cold games because it was driving down numbers.Nobody was really there, so they said, well, let's do our 2:00.

51:54

Hard to tweet on the sidelines is the big thing too, because you need special gloves and then you don't think about the special gloves until you get there and they go.Or those hand tears.You just keep your hands up more often than not.I remember that third game being so cold sometimes where it's like, all right, I don't care at this point.

52:12

I'll get a touchdown and then I'll get my hands out.Let's just get this over with and give it out a goal ball and go home.And that's the way sometimes it seems.So, you know, the football committee took a look at it and they decided, hey, we're going to make this change.We're going to do 2.

52:27

You know, we're going to do what we're going to split sites. 1 is going to be kind of more centralized.The other will be the traditional Portland location.And we're going to have two 11:00 games and then 2230 games.And those 230 games are usually done by the time the sun's already set, right.So you know, you, so you've got that, You know, I am happy there is no longer the night game.

52:49

And I will say the turn around from going up to Bangor, covering that game of the University of Maine and covering that game down there, then coming back to coming back down to Portland, sleeping, waking up, get to Fitzpatrick and then having three, you know, three games in the day was definitely an exhaustion.

53:06

That's a long weekend.I shouldn't complain.We've got it easy.You know, you go to Massachusetts, they play their.I want to go to.Massachusetts.Oh, if you live there, you'll live there.But then again, I'm in southern.I'm in southern or northern northern Massachusetts, as people like to say up, you know, further up.

53:24

But up there you have 4 games on Friday, 4 games on Saturday.They start at 10 AM and then usually their last game of the day is played at 7.And that's.You know, it's like a quarter final day for us, for basketball.It is, but that's where they're playing all their state championships, plus the Patriots cover them.

53:44

Patriots broadcast all their games, which was just awesome.And really play at Gillette.Gillette see that that's worth it to be able to play at Gillette.It is, you know, because it's, it's OK.But you know, if you're playing at Gillette or if you're playing at Fenway or something like that, then.

54:01

It's a destination.It's a better destination.You'll play at the TD Garden.And nobody out there complaints that in Massachusetts it's not centered.Oh my Lord, we're not playing in Worcester, which is kind of the geographic center of.Massachusetts.Play.On the good field, wherever, whatever.

54:20

Foxboro, Yeah.Foxboro, it's like near, It's like near Rhode Island, yeah.But whatever you want to play on the big field or the big corridor, whatever, because that's an experience.It is.I mean, who doesn't I mean, who down there doesn't want to look at it saying, oh, wow, we're playing at Gillette where the Patriots play.

54:37

That's where we're going to play.And then out here, you're like, we're going to play in Fitzpatrick, where the.When we used to have the All New England championships for basketball and like when Stearns and Morse were really good, Morris, they would go and play at T at the Garden at the at the Boston Garden.

54:55

And so my uncle was on those Morse teams and they would just go early because before them was the Celtics Predator.And so they're just like, Oh, you just said there's a different time and less security, and they're just sitting in the stands watching koozie and Bill Russell and running practice and like, how cool is that?

55:13

You know, and that's the benefit some of these states having NFL teams back home.Minnesota, they play at U.S. bank Stadium.They have all six classes plus the nine man championship, which who doesn't want to play again in your your home where your NFL team plays?Let me ask you this because I've been to a game in Minnesota.

55:31

Would you not want to play at the Metrodome?I've been on the Metrodome.That's one of the worst stadiums I've ever seen in my.Life.It was always interesting because that was holy.The Dome had to be propelled by air.That was kind of how it kept that.

55:47

It kept the ceiling afloat, was a very high air pressure.Twins game there and it was it was dark.It's dark times.Now, was that at the time where they put the glass on the left field to try to extend the height of the left field wall?I don't remember and I want to say it wasn't even like tradition.

56:03

It was like hockey glass because Minnesota.Yeah, sure.But I will say I remember, you know, the first time they had made the job saying you're going to get sucked into that arena or stadium and you literally did as you're trying to leave because it took an effort to prop open the door because all that air was that's what they had to keep pumping in to keep it going.

56:22

But I do remember getting out on the field and this is in the day of really horrible.They're carpet.It's like that really horrible green carpet.So shorts, so brittle.And I remember seeing guys sliding around to catch ball, you know, catch a fly ball.I was like, oh God, he's going to tear his jersey or he's going to cut open his arm.

56:41

Hyde had.When I was in high school, Hyde had a basketball court that was.Like some sort of rubber and.They might still, I don't know, but it was.It was some.Sort of rubbery, not like this, but like this track service.But it was like you, if you dove for a loose ball, you weren't sliding very far, you were sticking.

56:59

And so you're just like, I don't need this loose ball.That sounds harsh.You take it.And now, you know, along the way, since those horrible days of the Houston Astrodome turf, which rivers concussion tar Three Rivers, Pittsburgh, you know, the Metrodome, you've seen some such advances in artificial turf.

57:24

You know, we're seeing here, you know, McMahon feel it's artificial term.That's why it's not dead like my.Lawn just don't go down to don't go down to northern North Berwick and tell them about it because they'll just get crazy and they'll yell at you saying you can't, you can't.

57:43

You know we're not going to conserve water all.Right.Yeah, I mean it looks nice.It is.And this, you know, they've had a relatively new renovation, so we're down.TO5550 here and they're coming out.

58:00

This is old.I mean, this is not midnight yet.I'm just saying.It's not midnight, but you know what?You're going to watch them as they walk out.Now, I know many of you at home, you can't see this.So we're kind of explaining it.One of the traditions for the radio when they're coming out on the field.

58:17

Yeah.You can't see.You've got to see that.Wait, you can't see that, Those slap shot.Yeah.So as they're coming out, you're going to notice they're not walking anywhere on the field of play.They're going around, they're going to walk around the perimeter, very strict tradition.They're going to walk all the way around.

58:33

They're going to toe the line and then they're going to basically start the countdown.And once we start getting down to that minute, that's when the excitement begins.Very cool.We have cheerleaders here, We got some parents and yeah.This is the exciting time.

58:49

This is what the night.This is one of the greatest culminations of the night.Now, once you can hear the energy and the excitement coming up, you know the fireworks go off.But this is what it's a fireworks.No, unfortunately not.But fireworks, in a metaphorical sense, scare.

59:05

The hell out of pets, probably.Scare some of these houses.Probably scare some of these houses.Around here, probably.So, you know, you're seeing this, everybody's coming out here, everybody's enjoying it, everybody's having a good time.Some of the parents may be a bit tired, of course, but you know, this time only it's, you know, this is like waking up on Christmas Eve and trying to see what Santa gave you.

59:28

That's what I always like in this for everybody's going to be up in the morning.And the parents are like, I have to be at work.Good.Morning you'll notice this is really only going to be about a 30 minute practice because after 35 minutes the parking lot's empty so everybody's going to basically get out of here as quickly as they can but the whole point is though, to have a good.

59:49

Time they're going to run some drills or run some wind sprints and.Exactly, you know, kind of get everybody in in the in the mindset.And as you know, as we look around the state right now up in Naples, they're doing the exact same thing.Over in Winthrop, you're seeing the exact same thing, carrier.

1:00:05

Which is great to know that you're seeing this, you know, this excitement and you know for, for the sport in our state.Now why don't we do this for basketball?That's the question.I don't know.I don't know.This is just asking.It seems like it would make more sense for basketball because you're inside, so the weather's not an issue.

1:00:22

Coaches ask me in basketball rankings himself.Ask him why exactly aren't you guys doing this?Maybe someone isn't.Nobody's telling me.That would be the case.I mean, some places social media doesn't exist.They're behind the tile.Doesn't.Have the Internet, I'm pretty.

1:00:37

Sure, Bethel.That'll be a couple places right there that they finding.As a matter of fact, I was talking to Travis Lazare for Port and Press Herald.We were actually kind of chatting about that and one of the things we mentioned was there's some places just getting scores, getting info is kind of tough.

1:00:53

Yeah, Oh yeah, Jonesport Field.They don't have the Internet.I'm pretty sure they never, because they never report their scores.Who else doesn't report their scores?Yeah, Dear Isle.Sumner's pretty bad at it.Vinyl Haven's really bad at it.

1:01:10

North Haven's abysmal at it.Now correct me if I'm wrong, those are also some of the smallest schools.Schools, yeah, that's part of it.But then there's some bigger schools that are pretty bad at it to.Portland was notoriously bad for years.I used to have a joke whenever they get eliminated from the tournament that they were still alive until they reported the score 2 weeks from now.

1:01:32

So I mean they just wouldn't report scores for weeks.I don't get why that.Is and it's Portland.And that's always been the interesting thing, especially about we're coming up upon 2 minutes out there folks.So that's one of the things I've always noticed about football.For the most part, most teams are pretty good about reporting.

1:01:49

Scores.Yeah, you have much better track record of getting scores than I do.Part of that is practice because it's once a week.True.And it's not Tuesday night.No, you're basically looking at Friday night.Most of the things, if you're playing a home game, your athletic director is already on site.

1:02:05

He's already got his thing.He's got his access into the MPA's website to do his reporting.Minute 38.You can hear the buzz.I can hear some buzz you.Can kind of hear the excitement on the stands right now.I can see some younger brothers are a little tired.

1:02:22

We're starting to fade.Not seeing too many blankets though.Yeah, so it can't be that cold.I wondered if the rain lessened.Is this like how does this turn out compared to like last year?Did you say there's more?I would say it's roughly about the same.I don't think it's shifted too much.

1:02:37

But then again, you know, you're always seeing a pretty strong outpouring of the parents out here.We're coming up upon one minute.It's the magical minute right now.I want to say we are looking at, we're going to be looking at 12:00 on the dot midnight.Look at that, yeah.Because I believe they said you can't play until midnight O1.

1:02:55

OK.So I would say, do you want to flip our cameras?Around I will flip the camera around.Let's do this.Yeah, let's do this.So bear with us.We want to get this excitement out here.So we're going to zoom in.Things are going to be happening.Coming up upon 35 seconds, folks, that kind of feels like, you know, Ryan Seacrest or Dick Clarks, that was your rock.

1:03:18

And Eve.I like that one better.I don't know about you.Yeah, what are we on?20 seconds, 20 seconds, Right.OK, you.Hear that?Hear that.Silence. 10 seconds, folks.

1:03:40

Here we go, 321.The Rock Wind comes in.Here we go, folks.Welcome to the 2025 Falls football season.

1:04:14

All right, so.All right.And there we have it folks.As you can see, the wind is definitely have some fun here.I zoomed.I might have zoomed in too far.I didn't zoom too far.

1:04:30

I want to say, yeah, I think we might even turn this thing around here.That might work.I want to get you into my Cam.Oh, there we go.Hey, there we go.So there you have it, Lucas.Yeah, your very first Midnight Madness I.

1:04:47

Yeah, well, I did go to a college basketball 1.But for in Maine, in Maine, in your home state, yeah.So right now you're seeing some high stretching.Brother went to school.Here.Nice, so there.You go.And he's not in the stands yelling at you.

1:05:03

He's not heckling you right now here.No.I always would love to see that on a broadcast right now, somebody coming out.I mean, yeah, we see that on ESPN College game based sports.If someone like behind us with signs.I would love that, you know, if we do this next year.

1:05:18

Yeah.I encourage some of you out there to come in with signs.I want to see, what is it?Washington State?That's the one.Like, they've been there for how many, like 10 years straight?Somebody shows up with a Washington state flag.Crazy.Crazy.So this.Kid just dropped to triumph.

1:05:37

But yeah, it's fun to get out to these things and like, you know, it's partly to just to be in a community atmosphere like this and to see people and to sort of give a little bit of an insight into what's happening around the state.And so like I think you can do a great job of that with appreciate it with your website and Facebook and all that.

1:05:57

And I know people really like it so.You know, and that's, you know, that's the one thing, you know, it's tough to find consistent good information that is shared all the time.That's something that Maine high school footballs always like to provide is to give as much info about the whole state, not just southern Maine, not just Mid coast, not just central Maine, not just, you know, water, Oakland, Meslons, Oakland, Lawrence, Fairfield, all that sort of, you know, these various clusters.

1:06:27

Yeah.You know, everybody wants to know how it is they stack up, how it is, how it is they rank, right?Yeah, that's the important.Thing, and that's the big thing is just showing the whole state and not just who do you see cuz they're near you.Exactly.Because that next thing, it's just gonna be all southern Maine all the time, and that gets boring after a while.

1:06:47

Yeah, yeah, agreed.Never mind, Thornton Academy is out there saying yeah, we're we're Thornton Academy.Thornton Academy.Oh, there goes another bias accusation on don't.Forget about Don't forget about the Aroostook County teams.They will.Remind you, you mean 2 of them?

1:07:04

Well, for football, you got the two of them.That's the we have a bunch.That's true.Well, you can't forget, you know, county, County hoops.Yeah.I've seen Rusty.County hoops.Rusty county hoops.I've forgotten the name of the person who runs him, but he does a fantastic job.I guess half of my Rusty County scores from him.

1:07:20

It's not bad.Yeah, it's not bad at all, although kind of the fact, you know, there is a gigantic separation when you get from Holton down to, I don't know, at what point are you closer to, you know, geography in the state is always kind of, I've never quite organized townships because, you know, yeah, I mean, because what is it?

1:07:37

You go from Holton to Grand Isle and then Grand Isle, and then there's Mount Katahdin and that kind of last for 40 years and then eventually you see something for Lincoln.

1:07:54

Lincoln eventually.And then you see it, the turn off for the millinockets, Weston Plain or Easton Plain, because let's not have east and West, don't know why.And then, yeah, eventually you see Old Town and then Orono and then all the Bangor, all 19 exits and.

1:08:15

You're back in civilization.All depends.Depends who you're talking about.Civilization.Yeah, we're just making everybody out there angry.You know what?I'll I'll I'll chalk this up to being tired.There you go.You know when I wake up in the morning and I get 14 angry emails saying now I'm biased against areas at state I didn't even know existed, I'm just going to say, oh, it was a long night.

1:08:36

I drank an energy drink on the ride up here so I that's why I'm blaming that.I've got these weird Gatorades that I picked up.They said it's like a mash up of blue and yellow and yellow.And I'm giving them a shot and it's.They still taste like this.Yeah.I found some energy drink that was like supposed to be flavored like Sunny D and I was like, I'll try that.

1:08:55

It still tasted like chocolate.It tastes like sunny teak.It's not bad.It's not.Terrible.Not bad, OK, terrible.So right now, again, you're seeing your more of your traditional drills out there, you know, just some sort.Of leg kicks and.Yeah, you shouldn't want.You're getting their legs underneath them.And these are the things that is going to set the tone for everybody going for it.

1:09:14

And that's what I like about this is you're still emphasizing the basics, but you're also kind of showcasing at the same time all the things that you know you're going to have to learn in time.You're going to keep doing these tomorrow or just start your two a days and Tuesday.Well, actually, I can't say tomorrow.

1:09:30

Tomorrow's today.Tomorrow's today, and they're going to very quickly figure out who did anything this summer and who didn't.I remember that in football, you know, 9th grade, I puked.Yeah, it was hard because I didn't understand fundamentals of training.

1:09:46

What do they suffer in the summer?So you prosper in the fall?What's the thing?Something like that.I always like to say August sweat leaves to leads to November glory, but that's just me.They say that in running too, because that's when the goal races are.They're all in like October, November when it gets cool, when it starts to cool down.

1:10:02

So the miles you put in in July when it's 85° pay off.You know, you're you mentioned this back to Ohio.So I was Facebook is weird because it includes so it includes pages of other people's stuff they like and you get shown it to like it.

1:10:21

So somebody out there must like I mean most people are playing multi sport so track.So somebody was going into Ohio's the Ohio OHSAAI believe it is their athletic body and they were talking that the heat caused them to cancel a major pre season cross country race because they were organizing so many of their races around noontime and they were looking at temperatures in somewhere between Cincinnati and Cleveland.

1:10:53

I know that's a very vague region, and for most that's like the other regions.Yeah.I mean, you're right.Ohio is kind of the entire state.But one of the things they talked about out there was all these things about the heat.Now, one thing I'm never going to complain about living here in Maine is heat.

1:11:09

I have a friend in in who lives in Arizona.She routinely tells me, you know, 100 and teens.And I'm like, forget it.I don't need to know those sort of things.So I'm finding it's.More of an issue than football because you don't have as much.You don't have the stoppages, true.And your heart, it's the issue of your heart rate getting up and you know, you, it's there's, it's harder to have water, especially in cross country.

1:11:32

Yeah, they don't have water stations in cross country.Right, because unlike Rd. races, yeah, Rd. races, I think somebody just fella, you did.I hope somebody's OK up there.That sounded painful, folks.So it was just, you know, you hear these things this time of year, you know, and one of the things you know, folks will never complain about here, Texas learning about, you know, them starting their preseason in the middle of August when down there it's, you know, 100 degrees, 100° plus.

1:12:06

And you know, one artificial turf is nice to reduce things like maintenance cost.Nobody's ever going to come here to to McMahon and say, oh, I'm getting sick and tired of mowing the lawn because it ain't going to happen.But at the same time, when you get these really incredibly hot days, which I don't know if they happen on the the mid coast.

1:12:24

I heard you you guys are like temperature wise you're like 40° cooler than the rest.Of the state sometimes, yeah.So you don't really have to worry a whole lot about.Air temperature 85.You're like 85 today.Before the rain, I want to say it's like you take your air temperature and as long as there's no breeze, you can add like 25°.

1:12:43

And that's what it's going to feel like with the turf because I mean, this is all rubber pellets underneath the grass.Yeah.I use somebody talking like Farmer Fran.Yeah, from the waterboy.Maybe it's just me, but then again, he's not going now.

1:13:11

Someone's asking when is the turn into a college game day type show?Sam.I don't know.Tracy, we'll do that when we when we get there, but we'll take donations from you, Sam.Yeah.Donations are always good.Sure it is.I mean, especially, you know, I I'll.Show places.

1:13:27

Now we mentioned donations.One of the things I've learned is monetization.I have been talking about it.Facebook has definitely been interesting learning about that for you.With those schedules must have done pretty well.They did.Bangor is going to earn me 8 bucks now.You take on average it is now if you you look at every schedule, if I average it out to about 2 1/2 dollars $3 that's not bad that's times 79 that's you know about 200 and some dollars.

1:13:56

So I'm hoping that when Facebook gives me the check and they say this is what I'm scheduled to earn, I actually get it.And my Facebook check looks nice.It's.Going to be a direct deposit, but yeah.Well, you know.I mean, it's, this is the first year I've had it this past season.

1:14:11

And yeah, it's sort of you sort of figure it out and it's been helpful.Not by any means like making anybody rich.Now, are you on content monetization or are you on the bonus?I remember the bonuses were weird.The bonuses were stupid.I mean I really like 15 bucks maybe.

1:14:28

Yeah, I mean, I remember I had one.Who was that?Unfortunately, the the kid didn't Samford who jumped off with the scatter quad branch suicide.You know that post that I did from the school?The statement ended up being seen by almost a quarter million people.

1:14:46

Wow.I was kind of curious what it was going to trend towards.And then I just got a $25 track and I was like, all right, I'm not even going to try Facebook.Yeah, I'm sorry, folks, I I shouldn't be music talking about death as a way to make money.Well, guess what?

1:15:01

Insurance companies do it all the day, all the time.So we'll we'll leave that at that.But at the same time, this is what Facebook looks at because when you see these weird influencers that do some of the most God awful, bizarre stuff out there, that stuff's making them money.So you can't have this sort of business of Facebook without talking about screaming people in the background, which was over out there somewhere.

1:15:24

I guess they're having fun.That's the whole thing.Everybody's having fun out there having fun.So we're not even looking at the the the practice.They're just.They're like in lines and.I see not tackles because this we can't have contact, right, But I definitely see some rap is that.

1:15:40

What that is?That's the distinction.Now here comes the fun part.So they're going to take these wrapping doughnuts, so.You're losing your your background.I thought we had a whole bunch of stuff stacked on top of this.There was a big there was a big win that came through.So one of the things I like about this field is.

1:15:58

Tackle wheel.Take one more step, Step 1.So I'm going to do this.I'm going to show you folks something out there.Check this out.Most of you people who've done football are like, yeah, I've seen this.So what?This is designed to do that.Oh that looks fun.

1:16:14

And it's designed to encourage you to safely wrap and take down.So they come in and down they go.That actually looks kind of fun.It does.And you know, granted at, at, you know, at such a young age, there's often a reluctance for contact.

1:16:33

Let's be honest, some kids it comes naturally.Other kids?Whether or not they had a Big Brother.Yeah, so these things are designed to basically encourage you to know how to go and bring things down.Now, is there a difference between the wheel and a 180 LB opponent?

1:16:53

Yeah, of course there is.But it's the whole idea of getting the muscle memory and everything.Exactly, it teaches you the basics of rap drag, unlike that picture I shared from the one in Georgia who basically was a £250 T 1 prospect who had a kid jump onto his back at about the 12 yard line and got dragged all the way into the end zone.

1:17:17

Marshall.Walker, you see that, right?Before he went crazy, yes.And before he got drafted and destroyed the Vikings for nine years, Yes.Yeah, we'll never talk about that.Anybody who says that there are trades out there that are worse than the Herschel Walker trade don't know the I mean, the Vikings made Williams trade was.

1:17:37

Pretty bad.Yeah, but the, the what was it?Nobody won a Super Bowl as a result of that trade.The Vikings basically allowed the Cowboys to to go to three Super Bowls and win two of them.That.Sounds great.Because they got Michael Irvin, I believe, Emmett Smith, Moose Johnson, Leon Wett, all these sort of people.

1:17:57

That came out of it.I'm just Leon Wett.It was fun.But all these people came about as a result of that trade.Yeah.So anybody that tells you that trade was not, I mean, the Vikings got absolutely nobody.I mean, yeah, Kerschel Walker took a hand off, lost his shoe on the kick step and got 50 yards.

1:18:15

And that's as much as he ever did again in Vikings time.There we go.We're going to see a helicopter pass overhead.We are getting a flyby.Folks.This is amazing out here.This is how big Maine high school football is.Meanwhile, somebody in Texas, just.Meanwhile, somebody in Texas is like.

1:18:37

We've had that.Happen in the worst tops.Could be, you know, somebody from Eastern Eastern Main Hospital or whatever one is still open.Yeah, I forgot which one's been closed and quite a few of them at home.Sorry, I got to be sensitive about that.

1:18:54

That's a rough spot.I mean, nothing's worse than, you know, what's going on between the healthcare basically Anthem being denied and all that sort of thing, and that's a rough spot.I wouldn't wish that upon anybody.I lied.Oh my.Gosh, so we don't even know where we're at right now.

1:19:14

What are what time are we OK?12/15.Or 12:15.So right now we've got about 15 more minutes here.Again, high energy.Yeah.I mean, he just slid.If this was rain, you could say he hydroplane 10 yards on the tackle.So again, maybe your old, you know, your old, you know, your old fogies, your old, you know, cotchers will tell you that, you know, footballs meant to be played with four concussions will tell you that this isn't real and they were tackling kids after one day of practice and whatever.

1:19:49

But you know what?Times changed.And this is you know this, this works, this works.This is how you.It makes sense to.Me, it's helpful.You don't need to be getting anybody injured on your first day of.I mean it's like with basketball, they have the things it's like to simulate like long arms, like pipe cleaner looking things and you got to try to shoot over.

1:20:08

Them you'll be not like WAVY and WAVY wacky wild inflatable arms.But the assistant coaches will hold them up, you know so because they can't. 7 feet tall, right?You know you can't get magically get a girl's spurt at 40.Right, Yeah, it's, it's some 62 dude doing it and he's trying to, you know, work on your shop, log in.

1:20:26

It's a similar idea.Smart idea.I like that.Granted, you don't see that often down here where people try to, you know, perform a head to tall Jones move by coming in with, you know, those inflatable arms.Then again, somebody could also do a MOX thing from Varsity Blues and throw a football at somebody's head just to try to kill the clock.

1:20:45

Hey, why not?Is that allowed?That's not allowed, right?It wasn't Texas.Frowned upon.Kind of like putting a beer can on your head and saying throw the ball and then you got to get a broken nose and you can't laugh because they're making a gag joke.

1:21:04

Oh, this is fun though.I, I, I enjoy this and I'm glad you came out, Lucas.Yeah, thanks for inviting me.I mean, granted, you're going to probably curse me out in the morning.I will in the morning definitely be cursing you out.I'm.Going to be looking forward to that e-mail saying I the alarm goes. 7.

1:21:22

I fell asleep at the wheel and I almost got into two accidents.That's not my fault because.You.Might need some of that.Yeah, Brandy, you'll have to keep your head off at work.Yeah.What I expect, you know, And unlike you, I took the day off because I kind of knew what to expect.

1:21:39

Yeah, You know, learn from your elder.See, I take tournament week off.So well, that's just smart to do.I mean, plus the fact that and there's games the entire.Week.Yeah, it's when I got the job.I was like, just so you know, I will not be here for that week.

1:21:54

And they're like, yeah, we know.I mean, I could take the entire week off of game one and tell my boss at work.Hey, you know, forgot my boss, Meg.You should.Not forget your boss.Yeah, I don't think, I don't think she follows me on here, so I think I'm good.

1:22:10

So I think if Meg was to come up to me and say, Andrew, why are you taking Monday through Friday off for opening weekend?It's like it's a celebration.You don't need to take Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off when you only have games on Thursday and Friday.He's Rd.Showing it around the state.

1:22:27

So Speaking of which, we do have three, you know, to kind of set the tone.I know we're right now in an exhibition scrimmage state of mind.Thursday is going to be our first kickoff for the high school football season.You're going to see Biddeford and Sanford.You're going to see Noble and Wyndham.

1:22:43

That's going to be a good game.I'm liking that.I think I want to see what Noble can do minus Jamir Rose, because when you lose a kid of that talent.They're one of the big test cases for basketball, too.Because of what happened with losing him for the team.

1:23:00

Yeah, exactly how often, I mean, is the very first time you saw a fit seat candidate.And what is the basketball, Mr. Basketball?They don't they can't find somebody in all the years.They can't call it the Cooper Flag Award.I.Mean they might change it to well, Mr. Basketball is a nationwide thing.It is everybody has every state has a Mr. Basketball.

1:23:18

But the thing with Noble for basketball is they were really, really bad.And then John Morgan came in at the same time Jimmy Rose came in.And then all of a sudden, they're very good.And now Morgan is at Stanford, I think, and Jamere Rose is off to college.And so then the question is, do can they stay up or do they go back down?

1:23:37

All right?Like, how much?How successfully were they able to reinvigorate that youth program?The reload versus rebuild argument, right?And that's because sometimes it's just you get a group, you get a good group of seniors come through and you're good for two years and then you they're gone.

1:23:55

And there's no, the infrastructure hasn't been built up enough to sustain.So that's, that's one of the that's one of the teams I'm looking at for that.And another one is Lincoln Academy, which is around here.Yeah, because they are returning 47 points from last year.

1:24:14

But only they could return football to their ranks.They once used to have a club team.I think there's talk of it.Because I want to say there's still a couple teams that play club the main independent football.They're not part of that one that involves the team in Caribou, the team at China First Academy region, then the team in Berlin, New Hampshire, which that's a whole and then the but the team in Presque Isle also has a red and silver squad and that's how they kind of kept it to a 14.

1:24:45

League.Otherwise, if you play 3 teams, that's kind of super repetitive.Right.So then you've got that, Then you've got John Babst will be playing Madison at the University of Maine, playing at Alphonse Stadium, just because John Babs doesn't have their own football stadium.

1:25:04

They're kind of relying upon Bangor Hudson, University of Maine to kind of help out getting them the place to play.So that's your first game, you know, first, you know, first opening season.And, you know, as a matter of fact, the Biddeford Sanford game is the 6:00 PM game.

1:25:19

So they're going to be the very first one.And it's kind of different because in the last couple of years it's been Old Orchard Beach playing.Dean Plant has said he loves that eight man can get the sole attention of the state of Maine by being the first team to play countable football.

1:25:35

When is the first countable?Game this year it's going to be, let's see here.So 31st is Sunday, first, second, third, 4th, 4th, the 4th yeah.And then fifth being Friday, you know, that's everybody goes, Yeah.

1:25:52

And then Saturday, there's six games because there are still some places that don't have lights.So that's what they have to do.And then you've got teams like York.Now York is one of the last schools that was allowed to continue their construction before the MPA put the hold or the freeze or somebody did.

1:26:11

I forget who it was, Maybe it was the state put a freeze on.No more artificial turf construction built, but York was so far into it that basically they were so finished what you're doing.But we're gonna give like a three-year moratorium.Or two year or whatever.So because of that, they don't have a field of their own, so they're gonna be playing on the road their first two games are gonna be at.

1:26:31

And I love this name, even though it's religious connotation.Our Lady of Victory Stadium, they're just.Playing their entire schedule on the road.They are.Like Gardner did a couple years ago in basketball.And Nokomis did the year before and Biddeford did when Waterhouse Field was there, so they had to go to Cannonball.

1:26:49

So they're going to play their first game, which should have been a home game.They're going to play it at Greeley.So Greeley, if you look at the schedule, has five home games.So they're playing Greeley at Greeley.At Greeley should be That's the home.Team.Are they playing any neutral site games?They're going to play the two games on Saturday evening and Dover, NH at Our Lady of Victory Stadium and then the last game of the season against Manod Knock, No, Manod Knock, just straight up the Manod Knock Huskies.

1:27:18

And they're going to play them in Kennebunk, OK, as a York team traveling up to Kennebunk.So that's why as the home team.That's like a neutral.Site.Neutral site, but they'll be the home, right?Right, because I guess they couldn't go to Marshwood, they couldn't go to Noble, they're not going to go to Trade Memorial, they're not going to go to Wells.

1:27:37

So instead, what do they do?They have to shuffle their way N to Canada.But artificial terms.So I can understand that makes sense.So yeah, I mean, don't worry, your schedules are always different, you know.But from what?The constructions, you know, the construction things the website is showing for the school, it's going to be amazing.

1:27:56

It's not as amazing as this wind that keeps, you know, moving this thing towards us.But hey, you know, zip ties only work so well.I probably should have used them on the edges.But you know, you got what you paid for and I did.I don't pay myself, so I'm relatively cheap.Oh, what time are we at now?

1:28:15

We're at 12:20. 4 You know, originally I said we could stop this at 12 O 1 and here we are.We're still going, yeah.We should probably wrap it up because we have to both get home.Some of us do.I mean, I can go home and go to sleep.

1:28:31

You got work.In the morning, I got work in the morning.Yeah, and eventually I am going to be back.I am going to want to talk to Jason Darling, head coach of Morris, because we couldn't bring him here before the show and I'm sure some of the folks would love to hear from him.These things are always exciting.I know he really looks forward to it.We don't exactly want to broadcast his talk to the team that's, you know, private, you know, if that's going to be setting the tone for them.

1:28:53

And I'm sure you know everybody.I mean, if you look around, everybody's having fun.A lot of people on the sidelines to see a couple mugs.Looks like coffee maybe?Hot chocolate, maybe we'll call it be Hot Chocolate Mother.We don't want to dig into what it might also be.

1:29:10

You don't want to be.I got some relatives in this town, I can guess.Yeah, we're learning the huddle, all right.That seems important.Every team is different.

1:29:26

You would think that the huddle wouldn't so much be a variation, but you know, there's some teams, that's what they do.You're going to hear, you know, if I remember right, the system here, you're going to see the center coming out, going in yelling huddle because you want to make sure you're getting everybody's attention, right?

1:29:42

Because the last thing you want to do is get, you know, 10 other teammates just kind of sitting around, don't really know what's going on.And then you've got somebody coming up trying to call plays.The meanwhile one's looking at the sky, one's watching a bird, another's looking at a shoelace that's not really tied.And then you've got another two that are kind of nutching.

1:29:59

For a four leaf Clover.Exactly 4 leaf Clover on an artificial turf surface.That's all.Well, if we want to end it, this was fun, Yeah.It was fun, thanks for having me.Absolutely.Let's see what you see.This games probably madness.Madness.Yeah, it's definitely midnight.

1:30:17

I hope that everybody out there who stayed with us all, I'm sure we've had a couple different phases.I see five.Yeah, 5.It looks like.I see.Oh, oh, well, we'll get more chatter.I mean, hopefully the live keeps going and this seems like a good way to end it.

1:30:33

We're excited.I'm I'm going to definitely clap as well.They're they're definitely.Exactly.I'm pumped.I'm right.My bed is pumped.Oh, I think that was an illegal pass and he was over the line of scrimmage before before he turned him through that backwards.Well, I guess it's lateral, so we went through backwards.

1:30:49

That's fine again.So here we go.I definitely no, I mean, no, that was that was it was a lateral pass.That's fine.I'm going to say this almost looks like the puke equivalent basketball because you're I mean they're going to this is you know, eventually, eventually this sort of conditioning is going to pay off down Yeah, that's the important thing we're.

1:31:13

Not allowed to cause suicides anymore.Reason.No.Probably for the better, though.Yeah.We, we won't get into that sort of discussion because we could have some fun with it.We could have a lot of fun with the people.They are easily angry at Why?

1:31:28

It's not like that.Yeah.I'm just glad I know if you're welcome.That's what we always say.I've always been excited, you know?That's why I like being on the sidelines taking pictures of what I once used to do, because I don't have to do it now.Yeah, hurts a lot less.

1:31:46

Exactly.I don't have to sit here looking at this going, oh, I couldn't.And when you get older, that's what you end up looking at it saying, oh, this gets tiring after a while.Yeah.All right.We're bringing it all in.I think we're going to bring it in as well.

1:32:01

All right.This is fun.This was fun.This was a blast.Hopefully everybody out there enjoyed this.If you're going to go back and listen to it, be kind.We didn't mean half of what we said and the other half was just in light hearted humor.And I'm going to have the part of this that I'm recording is going to be on the main basketball rankings podcast, and I'll throw an introduction on it.

1:32:20

And then, yeah, two birds with one stone.This was the meeting of two organizations that you never knew you wanted.And who knows, maybe we can.Find them out if you don't want them.Those people are track fans, all right?

1:32:37

For all of you out there who follow Maine, Maine high school football and for all those Maine high school basketball, we wish you nothing but the best.Have a good rest of your evening and happy 2025 fall practices.Goodbye, good night.

1:32:54

OK, so thanks to everyone at Morse for being so nice and setting up, turning on the lights early enough for us so that we didn't have to use the small ones we brought.And thank you to all the people at Morse who didn't kick over the cameras or run in the background or say dirty words as they ran back and forth.

1:33:14

And thanks to Andrew Hart for inviting me.If you are not following his website, mainehighschoolfootball.com, you should be doing that because it is exhaustively helpful.And this is where I throw in the reminder that if you paused your subscription to mainebasketballrankings.com, now is a good time to turn it back on because it will have rankings and predictions for all of the football games and rankings for soccer and field hockey, etcetera, etcetera.

1:33:45

Once the season actually starts, although it has already started up north for the harvest teams, which do they still do that?You still need the kids to do the potato harvest or we just doing that because that's what we do.I don't know.Anyway, and then this is my other pitch.

1:34:01

Let's do who's doing the March the Midnight Madness for basketball season because that we won't have to worry about it raining and raining out the broadcast.OK, so that's the show.This has been a production of Maine basketballrankings.com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.

1:34:23

I am out of practice.I took the summer off and it's just rusty as hell.This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't.If you enjoy this, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms and all that nonsense.Tell your friends.