Readers respond...

Well, I apparently struck a few nerves with my blog yesterday about a recap of the LeFlore County Tournament, not that it was my intent.

My goal with the blog was to simply make a few suggestions, not disrespect any county gym, team player, official, fan, etc.

I wrote that I like Spiro’s gym and probably should have stopped there. Instead, I wrote that it was the nicest facility in the county.

This was not written to insult any other gymnasium, of course. The county is blessed with several nice facilities.

Lloyd James of Talihina wrote: I take offense that you said that the Spiro gym is the nicest in the county. Talihina has a nice gym and seats more than Spiro. Apparently Talihina is never considered as a host for the tournament except for its turn in the rotation. There has been several Area and Regional tournaments held here with the largest payback to the OSSAA in the state. All I ask for is a reason as to why Talihina cannot have the semi and finals here.

The tournament host decides where the semifinals and finals are played. Talihina can host the event just like any other school in the county and if it does, I would support it just like I would at any other location.

Another reader wrote: Howe also has a really nice gym, it may not have as much seating as Spiro but it is just as nice.

Howe does have an excellent facility.

I wrote that it would be better to play the tournament at a neutral facility so no team has a home-court advantage.

That brought on the following remark: i must be mistaken but i thought carl albert's gym was located in poteau. Did spiro have their own players ref the games?

Yes, Carl Albert’s gym is in Poteau. However, Poteau plays its home games at its own gym, not at Carl Albert. CASC would be a neutral site. As for officiating, that was not mentioned and I felt like the officials did a great job. Spiro won because the Bulldogs played better Saturday night, not because of favoritism by any official.

The best situation would be if the games were played at a neutral location. Any time a team plays on its home court, they have an advantage. Spiro has done a great job the last two years, and Bokoshe also did a great job as this year's host. I do not want to see anything hurt the tournament and there are always going to be some people who aren't happy if a team gets any advantage.

The LCT just completed its 80th run and I hope the tournament is around for 80 more years.

And my final comment was: MY NAME IS DYLAN BROWN...AND I FEEL I WAS LEFT OUT OF CONSIDERATION FOR THE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM! #GOYELLOWJACKETS!

Unfortunately, not everybody can make the all-tournament team although Dylan, if this is actually Dylan, you have another shot at it next year and I wish you and all the other players the best.