Ch-ch-ch-changes : 2006
The new coaches and
new schools (and stadiums) have their own pages.
Here's the NFHS
(National Federation of State High School Associations)
rule changes for 2006, which include :
7-2-8 : Goodbye, “fumble-rooskies”
2-40 : "Intentional” is no longer part of the definition of "spearing"
7-5-10, 13 : If an ineligible receiver touches the ball beyond the line of scrimmage,
it's no longer Off. Pass Interference (15 yards), but simply Illegal Touching (5 yards)
4-2-2 : If the holder has to "un-kneel" to recover an errant snap (where the ball has touched
the ground - a muff), he WON'T be called "down" if he immediately kneels again
and, my favorite (he says sarcastically) :
1-2-3g : advertising now allowed in the end zone
Some other rule changes relate to equipment (chin straps, mouth pieces, sideline headset
usage, chain placements & visitors jerseys), clarifies illegal substitution/participation,
and requires cheerleading uniforms to cover the midriff (Spirit rule 2-2-7).
The VHSL also made a couple of rules changes :
54-6-4 (1)(b) : Allows a school to play in 2 pre-season jamborees
68-8-4 (1) : new playoff qualifer tie-breaker list. The first 2 remain
(a) Ratings Scale
(b) head-to-head
Then, they replaced the "create a 2nd level ratings scale" with 3 new levels :
(c) Best record against all common opponents
(d) Best win % after games against non-public school are excluded
(e) The team with the highest average rating of all of each team's opponents
The final one remains "draw by lots" by the Regionalal Chair.
The Group AAA championship game leaves (the Univ. of) Richmond for Tidewater - not because of
what happened last year, but because it's cheaper. Todd Stadium in Newport News won the bid
for the 2006 title game, while Hampton's Darling Stadium might be used for one of the games
(probably if a Newport News team is in the finals). Richmond hosted the games from 1999-2005
(actually 2004).
The VHSL also approved some items back in the Spring that will go into effect
NEXT season. They include :
a change in the Ratings scale, an optional extra round of playoff games,
and realignment of Regions III, IV & D.
Since we have no schools closing or opening in SW VA this year, all Divisional set-ups
will be the same as last year.
Here's a couple of interesting items from neighboring states.
The WV powers that be decided not to go from 3 Classes to 4 (for 132 schools), and not to
create a seperate class for private schools.
Meanwhile, KY also voted down a move to split the private schools into a seperate Class; BUT,
they DID put in motion a plan to go from 4 Classes to 6 starting in the Fall of 2007, and to
allow teams to "play up" if they wish. A final vote may be conducted this Fall. (See the
preliminary proposed alignment in a July 17th article from the
Harlan Daily).
If this passes, they'll go from 53.5 per Class to around 37 each. And since the top 4 teams
from each District make the playoffs, 87% (192 of 221) of the teams would see the post-season.
Looking at it from another angle, 24 of the 48 Districts (as they look now, before appeals
and "playing up" changes) will have EVERY team qualify for the playoffs - no matter their
record! (Apparently they feel that football has been getting slighted, because in almost
every other sport, everyone qualifies for post-season play).
I read somewhere that Johnson Central of Paintsville would have District opponents located
about 64, 91, 112 & 128 miles away, meaning at least an hour and a half to the closest one.
Paul Blazer of Ashland appears to be in a similar situation.
And the KHSAA pulled another fast one on the coaches back in the Spring.
There's been a lot of debate over the past year or two about "fixing the problem" of private
schools winning so many state titles (WV and, to an extent, NC, are also going through this).
But the KHSAA Board of Control approved a change to their playoff format without the coaches
knowing it was coming.
Previously, the first couple of rounds were "cross-bracketed", so the 4 playoff teams from
Region "Y" opened by playing 4 teams from neighboring Region "Z". The new format has the
District champ hosting the #4 seed from the same District, and the District runner-up
hosting the team that finished behind them in third. The 2nd round will also be a
same-District re-match now.
Another change comes in the 3rd round. Before, it was always the Regions 1 vs. 2, 3-4, 5-6 &
7-8. Now, a "blind draw" will be held to determine which Regions meet. For 2006, 75% of the
draw was the same as last year.
The move was reportedly made to cut down on expenses and boost the gate. But fans immediately
flooded the messsage boards pointing out that the top two 4A teams in the state are private
schools in the Louisville area, and the new format will guarantee that only one of them can
now make it past the 3rd round.
Read more in Lexington's
Herald-Leader, Louisville's
Courier-Journal, and Somerset's
Commonwealth
Journal.
In Connecticut, a new "anti-slaughter" rule was approved in May. Any football coach who racks
up a 50-point whuppin' on his opponent will be suspended from the next game. Here's a story
from the
Hartford Courant.
The Charlotte Observer
said that Independence High, which has a 92-game winning streak that dates back to 2000, won
19 of those games by more than 50 points.
The NCAA has also been busy, mainly trying to shorten the (real) length of the game.
Touchbacks should decline wih the use of a shorter kicking tee, penalties on punts will be
enforced differently, and the clock will run in more situations than before. Also, coaches
can now challenge one call per game (as long as they have a timeout remaining). Here's a story
from the
Knoxville News Sentinel.
We'll also see a lot of Bowl changes this year. Along with some changes in the conference
tie-in landscape, we'll see FOUR new Bowl games, including the first "championship game" from
the BCS (although I preferred the "+1" concept, which was probably rejected because it was a
mini-playoff).
In Div. 1-AA, well, they'll cease to exist after the December championship game.
The NCAA announced in early August that the football-playing schools will collect under new
umbrella terms, as the 1-AA schools have felt for years that they were looked upon as being
lesser somehow to their brethern who offer more football scholorships
in Div. 1. Therefore, after much debate,
Div. 1-AA shall be known as the Football Championship Subdivision, with Div. 1-A becoming the
Football Bowl Subdivision (I wish they had kept the earlier-debated monikers of "Playoff
Division" and "Bowl Division". These new names won't catch on fast, if at all. Instead, look
for fans and sportswriters to abbreviate them to "the CS", and, ironically, "the BS".
(HEY!, don't look at me... that came directly from i-aa.org, and here's the
cached page from Yahoo to prove it).
Also, transfers from major colleges will NOT be allowed to play if it's their last year of
eligibility (those new NCAA graduation rate scores are the cause).
And there's some big news from the NFL.
Monday Night Football moves from ABC to ESPN (8:40 kickoff).
The Sunday night games move from ESPN to NBC (8:15 kickoff) for 6 yrs.
John Madden leaves MNF for SNF where he'll be joined again by Al Michaels (who was
traded
from ABC to NBC for a nearly 80-year-old cartoon rabbit).
Bob (the walking sports encyclopedia) Costas, Chris Collingsworth, Sterling Sharpe and Jerome
Bettis will host the pre-game show, "Football Night in America".
(Smart move, considering what might happen if Costas and Michaels were to team up again.
Remember BASEketball?)
Syracuse alum Mike Tirico, Washington Post columnist (and PTI ranter) Tony Kornheiser & former
Redskin QB Joe (I broke my leg in front of millions of fans in 1985) Theismann will be
the new Monday night crew.
And opening weekend will be longest in history. The regular-season will kick-off on Thursday,
Sept. 7, when Miami travels to Pittsburgh for an 8:30 game on NBC. Then, ESPN will have a
Monday night DOUBLE-HEADER with a 7:00 game in D.C., followed by a 10:15 game in Oakland.