OVC 2010 Predictions and thoughts

[squinks]

yulp...

[clutch]

Ok squinks, what about baseball? Do you know all about it too? Sounds like you might be one of the coaches! Will SP have some of the same problems they had in football?
Does anyone on this forum know anything about Ironton's new field? Will it be ready for the season? I hear CG is having some internal problems this year. Is it true that Rock Hill may be losing some players? To tell you the truth, Chesapeake is going to surprise some teams this year, and don't ever overlook Fairland. Believe it or not, RV has some pretty good talent. OVC going to be wide open this year from what I've heard.

[squinks]

sp isnt goin to have any problems for baseball as of fighting with teammates and who cares about irontons field this the ovc forum and i do know alot of things but not all and rv has always stinked ..fairland only has fisher thackston sowards and couple others....havent heard anything bout there field though sorry:/

[Dragonwhelp]

you most definately cannot forget about Roe for fairland and the addition of Baise.

[wemufans]

Squinks "You are making SP look but like a bunch of idiots! If you can't sound any better than that then just stay off the computer" "stinked" really......"stinked'....serioiusly.....go practice for that OGT!!!!

The OVC well be very competitive with the exception of River Valley prove yourself on the field not on SEOPS. Real practice hasn't' even started yet!

[bucksfan76]

Ok all the people on here trashing shilot need to shut up and get some facts.I played for shilot when he won the OVC and he is a good coach.yeah your right south point did have talent last year but I talk with one of the coaches once a week and he said that last years team was LAZY they expected to play and put in no work in the off season.they thought they were entitled to start and didnt even think they could win.I went to all the games last year and you could tell the problem was not the coach it was the players not showing any heart out on the field.this team should have been better but no one cared.

Shilot is building the program I cant wait till a few seasons from now and see how much crap you have to say then.

[Baseballdad1985]

Ok, whoever really thinks that Dickess throws in the 80's, your crazy. He hits 75 or 76 at the MOST. I have also heard word that Tyler's little brother, Alex hit the low 80's last year during the summer. I actually heard T-Bone was the one that clocked him. The kid was 15 years old hitting the 80's! Not to mention...he's a lefty. I have watched Alex play for years and he also has one of the nasiest duece pieces you will ever see with a very consistant changeup. And sorry to whoever really thinks the kid is going to get rocked. Yes, I do think he will experience some growing pains. He will have a couple bad innings due to lack of experience. But with a kid that talented, it's only a short period amount of time before he starts K'ing people up left and right. In my opinion, Alex goes 5-1 or 4-2 from the mound this year as a Sophomore. The OVC is up for grabs. There is no one indicator to who will win it.

And whoever mentioned that about the Fairland High School team last year, you are also correct. There's not one person in the conference that didn't enjoy watching those boys play. It was entertaining to watch. It was almost like the Huntington High basketball team a couple years ago but with baseball. Yea, they weren't top 5 in the nation but they competed and beat anyone that came their way. Zach Jordan, Tyler Thackston, Cole Hatfield, Robbie Easterling, and Nate Burcham were the biggest threats with Jordan and Hatfield being the guys that always found a way to get on base and Easterling and Thackston always being the guys to hit the long balls or drive in the RBI's. Nate was a great ace for them also. All of these guys are playing college baseball except for Hatfield who is playing college basketball at Marietta. Thackston is at the University of Charleston. Jordan is at Rio and I think I also heard word the Easterling is there now also? Their catcher, Tyler Godby is also going to Rio. Nate, I hear, is pitching well for Berea College as of right now.

[squinks]

yea fairlands team last was unstopable they had the best team in awhile...but dickess was clocked at wayne at 76 top speed when he was a freshman ....but he hasnt beeen clocked since then and dont forget he broke his wrist he is goin to have to start working hard to get back in the swing of things...but alex does have a good curveball but dickess had a better one i think in my opinion..we will have to see what happens with his wrist though he has broke it 2 times now...but i look forward to watch alex and dickess in the long run for the leftys anyways

[Baseballdad1985]

I respect your opinion but I have seen both ball players. It's not like I'm being biased. I'm just being truthful. Alex DOES and WILL HAVE a better fastball, duece, change piece, etc. that Dickess could ever have. The real competition is between Thackston and Sparks. I really can't wait to see that. Wayne's mechanics are awful but due to the lack of bats on the Dragon team this year, it will be interesting. I see it being a low scoring game with both teams struggling to hit eachothers pitchers. Not because Wayne is amazing by any means but because Fairland lost a lot of great bats from last year. Coal Grove, I believe, still has some good bats but I just do not see Thackston getting rocked by them. I have been around baseball for years, man. And other then Michael Hill, I have never seen a pitcher as good as him at the age he is.

And by the way, if Dickess was clocked at 76 his freshman year, which I do not believe, he hasnt moved on velocity. It seems that people think they know what 80 mph is when they truely dont. Its quicker then Dickess' fastball by a long shot. As I said, I am standing at 75 AT THE MOST by Dickess. I honestly don't even think he can hit that consistently. A lot of the Dragon team struggled to even hit him because he was throwing so slow. I remember watching that game and Jordan and Easterling had great afternoons but Godby, Thackston, and Hatfield struggled to even wait on the kid due to how slow it was. They all ended up having one hit each I believe but struggled all day to pick up the speed.

[squinks]

yea thats y seagraves didnt pitch that game

[sonny]

I think it will be an interesting year for the OVC. I think it will come down to Rock Hill,Coal Grove and Fairland, with RH being the team to beat. even though fairland lost alot, they will surprise some teams. They are not deep in pitching but have two strong pitchers with Alex and Fisher. RH has the experience working for them. Speaking of Alex, he has to prove himself on the mound, which I think he will. He doesnt have the innings under his belt like Dickess does, but he will find his the right way.

Fairland has a strong baseball tradition and it will show with this team. Coach Ward with Thackston and Begil helping will get this team in the right direction.

[Baseballdad1985]

As I said, with all do respect, I do not believe that. Dickess can't reach any more then 75 or 76 if that. People tend to think thats the new "trend" now days. To lie about speed to make someone look better. Back in the day, it was never like that. Either you were good or you weren't. Alex is good and will be one of the best two pitchers. Either him or Wayne will hold that title. I honestly could see Dickess not being in the top 5 pitchers in the conference. If he is in the top 5, I still can see better pitchers from Rock Hill and other teams that can match him or throw better. I just dont see a comparison with him and Thackston. I have seen both play multiple times and there is no comparison. Thackston has the speed over Dickess, the breaking ball, the changeup, and most of all the CONTROL. He never walks people. Dickess is good, it's just I dont see how anyone can be on here bragging about him because I have watched him from behind the plate (not umping) and he just isn't one of the best by any means. He couldn't ever be another Seagraves by any means. Velocity too slow and squinks, I dont know if you are actually Kyle Dickess on here bragging about yourself which would be pretty pathetic, but if you actually are just a fan I dont see how you think his duece is good. His curve balls hangs in the air slowly at about 55 mph and just floats at you. No one would have a problem hitting that.

[Baseballdad1985]

And sonny you are exactly right. I admire Pete Thackston and Al Begil with all I have. Pete has coached my boy before back in little league when I didn't know him. I will say that when I saw Pete yelling at his kids, it kind of questioned me and made me wonder if my son was being coached by the right guy. But I tell you what, he made my son into such a great ball player when it was all said and done. I mean, overall better with everything. Hitting, fielding, throwing, and even pitching. That is one thing I am very thankful for when it comes to my son and athletics is having someone like Pete coach him.

Pete and Al will have those kids in there taking 30 or 40 cuts every practce rather then what I hear the last year Dragons did. I hear that the 09 class would take like maybe 10 cuts of live bp a day. I know Pete and Al will help get these kids ready. Congratulations to Pete and Al on making it to the high school level in coaching!

[squinks]

you sure do love talking about alex are you his lover??....and what if i am indeed kyle and it doesnt matter cuz i know he is good and he is better than alex and he will prove it to ya alex's daddy ....or whoever you are ...

[Baseballdad1985]

Squinks, I graduated a long time ago and my only son I have graduated also. I have a son and a daughter. So that would be an impossibility for him to be my son considering Pete has 4 kids. I am a decent friend of Pete's and have been around Alex for a while with little league baseball, football, and basketball. I'm not trying to argue with you. Just giving you facts. I have seen both pitchers. If I thought Dickess was better, I would tell you. It wouldn't matter to me at all. But I'm giving correct facts. That's extremely immature of you to call me his "lover" over a forum board. You have no clue who I am and that's very disrespectful of you to say something like that. Yes, I am a Dragon fan. But I wouldn't lie about who I thought was a better pitcher. If say, Jake Seagraves was a senior this year and was playing this spring, I would without a doubt say Jake Seagraves is the best pitcher and will slaughter everyone. Which he would if he played against the conference this year. I would immediately tell you that South Point has the best pitcher in Seagraves because that would be a fact. But this isn't the case. All of the conference's great pitchers like Seagraves, Burcham, Thackston, Easterling, Zimmerman, etc. are all gone. All of those pitchers would be better then Kyle and Alex if they had one more year.

I am telling you that Dickess is a good pitcher, just not by any means the best. I have seen every pitcher. I have watched the Dragons face all the ace's from every single team including non conference teams. I have seen 80 and even 90. And I'm here to tell you that Dickess does not come close to 80. I'll even admit to you that during the high school season, Alex wasn't coming close to 80 either last year. 75 at the most. But if you would had seen him throw over the summer, you would understand. I was talking to his dad over the summer and apparently Alex was in a tournament in Lexington, KY for travel ball and faced an 18 and under Morehead team and shut them out. I'm pretty sure he said it was a shut out but if it wasnt, I know for a fact he said he beat them and beat them hard on the mound. He was 15 during all of this.

I'm just telling you who I see is talented. I have been around the game longer then a lot of people and have seen the studs come around. I have watched Fairland baseball even before Michael Hill and that group came up. And I'm am telling you that Thackston is the best pitcher I have seen for his age since Michael Hill. I have no reason to be biased. If I was being biased and childish, I would come on here and say "Fairland is going to come in and rock everyone. Dickess has nothing!" But do you see me doing that? No. I'm telling you what I see. I am a huge Dragon supporter and before I would be biased toward a kid that doesnt share my last name, I would be biased toward the whole Dragon team. I completely told you that the OVC was up for grabs didnt I? Did you ever see me say that the Dragons will downright when it? No. Because, honestly, they aren't good enough this year to make that kind of prediction. I am just telling you what I have seen with my own two eyes. And it seems that no one else on here agrees with you either with your myth of Dickess throwing over 80. Your probably a player based on your grammer (no offense, you just use the teenage text grammar), so you have seen Nate throw. Throws pretty hard doesnt he? Did you know that even Nate has only been clocked at like 84 at the most? And your gonna tell me that Dickess can throw 80? I'm sorry man but thats just obviously wrong. Anyone with eyes could tell you thats wrong.

[squinks]

you sure do know what your talking about and if alex is better than him more power to him but i dont see that happening ...alex will have to prove that to me when i am watching him pitch....im not trying to make people look good or anything like that but dickess can throw 82ish if he brings it but like my pitching coach always said its not about the speed ...also y throw 90 when you throw 80...but he cant throw it consistently....

[Baseballdad1985]

I have watched these forums for years without a username and can tell when someone is on here bragging about themselves. You haven't said ONE thing that didnt include the name Dickess. Yes, I have talked about Thackston but I havent posted 10 times and posted all 10 about one person. If you wouldn't be arguing with me right now about the whole Dickess vs. Thackston thing, I wouldn't be talking about Thackston. I would be talking about everyone elses teams and how they look. Look, I'm not trashing you (Dickess), but when you get on here and type like a teenager and talk about how Alex is "going to get rocked", it makes it obvious your just being a teenage trash talker. Which is completely normal. But that doesnt make it right. I'm just telling you that not only have I seen both pitchers and came to my conclusion on whos better, but I have also heard Dickess has attitude issues along with the whole South Point team. I watched Alex in little league and he never walked around with a chip on his shoulder. The kid always had a smile on his face and was a warrior and by his body language is born to be a pitcher. I'm not bragging on him, squinks. Just praising a kid that I FEEL (and trust me, plenty of others) think has the potential to do some great things.

Your questioning my knowledge, but you forget. I have seen it all. I have seen Michael Hill and watched him from when he first stepped on the field with Fuller, Corey, Todd Maynard, and all of those guys from years back. At this age, no one besides Hill has been better. Easterling wasn't, Burcham wasn't. Heck, his own brother wasn't as good of a pitcher at this age as he was.

And sonny, I also noticed Thackston's size. I always remember him as a little stick out there throwing off the mound but he has gotten big! I bet he's every bit of 6'1. Still pretty skinny but if Alex is still who I always thought he was, he will find a way to do anything to make himself bigger, stronger, faster for the field.

[squinks]

you should be a broadcaster for espn...think you would make a great one ....but anywho...does anyone have grade issues with players

[Baseballdad1985]

I do not take that as an insult at all. I actually wanted to do that as a kid . But I have not heard much about grade issues in Dragon country. South Point seems to have boys with troubled grades. Do they have any this year?

[squinks]

i mean i didnt mean it at an insult i really did mean that though...yea sp does but as usual they will wait until the last minute to try and bring them up adkins hasnt even been coming to baseball open gym ...but it probably wasnt like this when you were in high school huh old timer(not an insult)