First blush at Pacific high school football Week 12.0

Posted November 14th, 2009 by Dave Ornauer

Pacific Sportsblog

-- Yokota 24, Guam High 7: Panthers' "Big Four" backs, Daley, Harvin, Forbes and McCloud healthy for the first time in six weeks and it showed.

-- Kadena 44, Seoul American 0: Right from the opening kickoff, it was clear this would be the Panthers' night; T-Mac, Shariff each rush for two TDs.

And off the field:

-- CAJ def. Faith 20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 for Far East Girls Class AA Volleyball Tournament title. Lowest seed entering the elimination round at No. 7 to win the title since the inception of dual pool/division play in 1995. Coach Tanya Hall's third title in five years and fourth overall.

CAJ

On November 14th, 2009 aarontwinter says:

Would It hurt you to write a good in depth article about CAJ? Just because they aren't a base school doesn't mean they don't try as hard. Honestly, the Volleyball girls win Far East and you write two sentences? There must have been some good players on both sides at least worth mentioning.
This is the second Far East CAJ has won and you barely even gave them any credit.
It seems as if you would gain more respect as a reporter if you reported everything.

CAJ and Volleyball

On November 16th, 2009 koreacoach says:

I recommend next year some other team beat CAJ soundly in the Far East Volleyball Championship so we don't have to hear this whine!

Actually, Dave is the SINGLE BEST supporter of athletics for HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS in the Pacific and makes extraordinary sacrifices to try and give our students the best coverage he can. His coverage is inclusive and comprehensive and ofetn goes beyond the "superstars." Actually, I've always been impressed that Dave took the time to give coverage to NON-DODDs athletes in a DOD newspaper! He has frequently given coverage to athletes from CAJ, ASIJ, SFS, St. Mary's, etc..

My hat is off to Dave for the GREAT work he does in CARING about kids - that is his single motivation and there are far too few folks like him out ther! Thanks Dave!

C'MON MAN!! Dissin' Dave?

On November 14th, 2009 zamadawg says:

To: aarontwinter-

Aside from the fact that the heading includes the words “First Blush” which, if you follow the blog regularly, you would realize means that Dave is providing some initial information to be followed by a detailed recap in a future posting.

Most concerning is the fact that you would so recklessly criticize someone who has selflessly dedicated the last 25+ years of his life to covering Pacific Sports.

If you are unaware, the Stars and Stripes newspaper, which encompasses this site, is a daily newspaper published for the U.S. military, DoD civilians, contractors, and their families. “Stars and Stripes is a Department of Defense-authorized daily newspaper distributed overseas for the U.S. military community.”

That said, Dave has gone out of his way for all these years to always include international schools in his coverage and, in fact, has even expressed his support of bringing them back into some of the Far East competitions where they do not currently participate. However, his first priority is to serving the community for which the Stars and Stripes was created for in 1945.

I understand that you want to hear about CAJ and I am sure that if you had given Dave time to do his normal follow up to his “First Blush” posting, you would have seen (and will see) the detail you desire.

It is your right to express your opinion and I respect that. But C’MON MAN!

Exactly and nicely stated

On November 15th, 2009 MyPointOfView says:

Zamadawg...you're on spot with your reply to the "CAJ" prompt. The "First Blush" stories by Dave are just that; brief hitters to let us know what just happened. They most always are followed up by more in depth stories. It's understandable that everyone wants to hear stories about their school, but don't "dis when you don't get it exactly when you want it. A loyal participant to this blog knows that more was to follow after the "First Blush" story.

Keep up the good work, Dave.

also keep in mind...

On November 15th, 2009 bogopogo says:

That this past week was a super busy week for Dave.

Class AA volleyball in Guam.

Class A volleyball in Korea.

Far East tennis in Okianwa.

Class AA football in Okinawa.

Class A football (not sure where that was).

Far East Cross Country in Misawa.

As much as he would like to - Dave cannot cover all those events in person. He has to get help - and then depending upon the information he gets - then he writes his stories.

Aaron,

On November 15th, 2009 Coaching Aint Easy says:

Stars and Stripes is run by and for the American Military community overseas. Not for expats, sorry but it's true. It's also PAID for by those on US military bases, not international school people (except a few embassy families at ASIJ maybe). Be lucky you don't have to put in an access code to read this stuff.
Dave does a good job at reporting, but he has editors that also make him write to his audience (wow, what a concept).

It's so sickening when the International School community gets that chip on their shoulder that everything is owed to them. Be lucky your school could attend the Department of Defense activity.

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