Random Thoughts: round robin II, more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A former coach’s take on round robin scheduling, sectional tournament draws, NFL overtime, Aaron Rodgers, and the Monday Mailbag are among this week’s Random Thoughts.

Round robin revisited

Last week I addressed the topic of round robin scheduling and how it can bring more excitement to conference or league play.

Former Van Wert basketball coach Dave Froelich chimed in and we had a nice discussion via email about it. With his permission, here’s what coach Froelich had to say about round robin in the Western Buckeye League:

“Many years ago i threw out an idea to AD’s to consider. I have been concerned about declining interest in games and rivalries and thought a change might be worth a try. Here is a brief synopsis:

• Two 5-team divisions
• Could be big and small (WBL), is easy split or a geographic split
• Play your division home and home=eight games
• Crossover: play five games
• Championship round 1 vs 1-2 vs. 2 etc. for league championship
• Total 14 games

This is when we had 20 games so it allowed for six other games, now teams can have eight for non-league matchups that schools usually play, Van Wert vs. Crestview, etc.

It’s different and would require some scheduling work but might generate some new interest. At the time, a great concern was WBL teams all went to the same sectional (except OG and sometimes Celina was D-1) and play each other again. Now the super sectional changes those options.”

I agree this sounds like a great idea. It makes scheduling very easy and speaking from experience, it really does generate more excitement.

This is not to say the way it’s currently done is wrong. It seems to work for all area conferences and leagues, which is fine. It’s just a different perspective.

Sectionals

Girls basketball sectional basketball tournament draws will be held this Sunday.

In the Division II Paulding district, Toledo Central Catholic and Shawnee seem to be vying for the top seed while St. Marys Memorial and Napoleon figure to be high seeds as well. Van Wert will likely be a mid-range seed in the 15-team district.

In the Division IV Defiance district, Crestview and Columbus Grove appear to be vying for the No. 1 seed. Crestview’s head-to-head win over Columbus Grove, plus an impressive win over Ottawa-Glandorf should be enough to give the Lady Knights the No. 1 seed.

Lincolnview is in that district as well and the Lady Lancers have enjoyed some success there, so we’ll see how this year pans out.

Boys sectional draws are scheduled for Sunday, February 6. We’ll examine those next week.

NFL overtime

Since Sunday’s overtime playoff game between Kansas City and Buffalo I’ve heard a lot of complaining about the NFL’s overtime rule, how each team should get a possession to ensure it’s fair.

Not that my opinion is any better than anyone else’s, but my take: play defense. The Bills had to hold with 13 seconds left in regulation and didn’t do it. They didn’t get a stop in overtime either and it obviously came back to bite them.

If you keep a team out of the end zone or hold an opponent to a field goal on their first possession of overtime, you get the ball back. Buffalo didn’t do it.

It’s as simple as that.

Aaron Rodgers to Cleveland

The rumors have started, but I’m not sure they really have much traction…Aaron Rodgers to Cleveland.

Regardless, no thanks. Why mortgage the future for a guy who is entering the twilight of his career, and one who has won one Super Bowl in 17 years?

He very well may wind up with a different team, but Cleveland doesn’t seem like a good fit.

Monday Mailbag

Perhaps you’ve noticed the Monday Mailbag has been missing the past two Mondays. The reason: a lack of suitable sports questions or comments. I won’t use questions that attack high school teams, so those are automatically excluded.

Perhaps the feature has run its course. If we receive questions and comments, we’ll continue it (which I’d love to do) but otherwise it will stay on hiatus. If you have a sports question or comment, please email it to sports@thevwindependent.com. As always, you may have your name included or have it withheld, your choice.

If you have thoughts or comments on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.