Cool Picture: Bobby Knight Gymnasium - Orrville, OH

This was taken right before tipoff of the Orrville/Triway girls game this past Saturday.

As always, click the image to see it full size.

This OHSAA Competitive Balance Formula...explained (maybe).

Maybe you've seen this, maybe you haven't. Back in March of 2010, a group of Wayne County Superintendents got together and submitted a proposal to the OHSAA (here's the actual proposal) asking them to do something to level the competitive playing field among private and public schools in Ohio.

The OHSAA assembled a blue-ribbon "fact-finding" committee (which always produces results, right?) to come up with a solution...and it's a doozy.

Sharpen your pencils, and better yet, get a calculator and let's try to figure this out together.  Remember to show your work.

Orrville Wrestling Update

I didn't mention the Orrville wrestling team in my winter sports update yesterday. Not intended as a slight, just had nothing to mention. Haven't been able to follow their progress at all this season.

Thankfully, I got a message from assistant football coach (and former OHS wrestler and former middle school wrestling coach) Brent Steiner who shared that several Orrville wrestlers were mentioned in the recently released Brakeman Report.

Hoops Update & Other Random Acts of Red Riders

Almost forgot what this place looked like. It's been over three weeks since I've posted anything.  Sorry for the absence of late, been busy with family stuff the past few weekends.....and it's looking it might get a little busier for me over the next few months or so, which means less time here.  I apologize in advance, but won't make any apologies for trying to keep my priorities straight.

But life goes on, and so does Red Rider sports. Basketball is at it's halfway point and there's plenty to talk about, so let's get back at it.

The 'Red Rider' nickname....Part 2.

I knew when I started down this road, that I might not nail the complete story in one blog post. As always seems to be the case, there's another layer to this onion.

Got some good reader feedback on this topic, some clues and another newspaper article that helps further establish the time line of the creation of the Red Rider nickname.

At the risk of becoming a genealogy blog, I'll keep this short, but want to do my best to be thorough.

The Origin of the Orrville "Red Rider" Nickname

I had this question posed to me twice in the last few months...once via e-mail and once via my Facebook page. Both questions wondered about the history of the "Red Rider" nickname. It's a simple enough question, but one that I wasn't really sure of myself, so I thought I'd try to find out for myself and share it with those who didn't know (myself included).

We all know and love the "Red Rider," and I think a lot of us appreciate it's uniqueness.  Martins Ferry in southern Ohio call themselves the Purple Riders and Texas Tech are the Red RAIDERS (something we've been mistakenly called many times), but other than the Canadian rock band that gave us Lunatic Fringe (the all-time greatest pre-game football song), and the BB gun made famous in The Christmas Story movie, the term 'Red Rider' is very native to Orrville. According to this link at the OHSAA, we're the only 'Red Rider' in the state, and quite possibly, the nation. (A commenter correctly points out that there is another Red Rider in the country. It's Weir High School in Weirton, WV. What's even more odd, is that their helmet logo is exactly the same as our rivals in Wooster.

That's all fine and good, and a lot to be proud of, but where did it originate?  I'll do my best to lay it out, and some of the other theories that have been documented over the years.

Happy New Year - Here's some old yearbook photos

Happy New Year to all my readers, in whatever platform you choose. Whether you subscribe by e-mail, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or just drop by the site once a week, I appreciate you taking the time to make reading my site a part of your day. It means the world to me.

It was a banner year for the site in terms of readership and site visits. Thank you so much for your kind words, your comments and your passion for the Red Riders. Thanks most of all to the student-athletes of Orrville, your hard work and on-field successes make what I do so enjoyable.

Here's to a bright 2011.

Now on to other things...specifically, some great sports pictures from old Orrville yearbooks.