[Avery Bullock]

Is it just me or does anyone else agree that the games of the first round of the playoffs are a joke? It's a shame that teams like Williamsburg (I'm a Jacket fan so I get to list them first), Mayfield, Raceland, Bowling Green, Trinity and others have to risk injury to play these games. It's just as shameful to make teams like Jenkins, Allen Central, Caverna, Apollo and GRC act as cannon fodder in these mismatches.

If the Jackets were 4-6 and Jenkins was 9-1, I would see no point in loading up the bus and wasting gas money to drive to Jenkins to see our kids get their teeth knocked in. In most cases it's pointless and a waste of school funds that could be spent in any number of ways.

Some of you will say that the first round does produce some upsets and that's all well and good. I root for the underdog most of the time myself, but for every 8 seed Villanova that wins a national championship there are a dozen 1 or 2 seeds who crush every opponent in the tournament and cruise to the title.

Would anyone be willing to place a $100 bill on any of the five underdogs I mentioned? How about if I put up $1,000 against your $100? Any takers? In other words, does anybody have a $100 bill they want to lose for sure?

The system needs to be revamped. It would save time, money and most of all it would decrease the risk of injury to the kids.