Ballgame Quotations

Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules. They apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire.

We knew we were going to have some problems with pass protection. We knew that coming in. But, obviously, we didn't get it solved during the ballgame and Trent got hit too many times. We had a hard time getting the ball downfield because he couldn't hold onto the ball long enough.

We're still in the first or second innings of the ballgame of replacing Greenspan. But it's not like the game hasn't begun.

There are more good football teams today, I think, than there has ever been. It's much more significant today, and not to diminish past accomplishments, but the very fact that it's a different ballgame today, it's much more difficult to go undefeated and go on to win the national championship.

There are more good football teams today, I think, than there has ever been. I think it's much more significant today, and not to diminish past accomplishments, but the very fact that it's a different ballgame today, it's much more difficult to go undefeated and go on to win the national championship.

We really executed well in that ballgame and hopefully we'll be able to do that again this time.

There are things we can build on and have a really good football team, ... The kids coming back on the plane last night - there were no heads down. I think they were proud of their effort. They knew they were in the ballgame until the very end, that they had a chance to win. I think they'll be an easy group to rally to get ready to play an unbelievably good Wisconsin team.

Right now it's Jimmie Russell. He was outstanding when he came into the ballgame . . . He put them in scramble situations and caused problems for them. That's how we were able to get something going.

One thing I'll say here. I'm not going to waste my time talking about negative things. We won a ballgame 9-8. I'm not here to start beating on people, especially the people that, if we expect to win, are going to get us there.

Nobody likes to lose, but when we compete like we competed, you have to feel good about it. It was a physical ballgame and I wasn't pleased with that.

I didn't want to get in position where if you have another extra-inning ballgame you just don't have anybody to use.

I believe this is the best ballgame that Mike Simmons has played. I was glad to see him run the court and get a couple baskets. He is gaining confidence and when you gain confidence, other players gain confidence in him.

I felt like it was a sound ballgame all the way around. Defensively, we matched them blow for blow.

if I said, I dont think we could. I think we have enough talent to win the ballgame if breaks go our way. Now if breaks go their way, they have plenty of talent to make sure we dont win the ballgame.

I feel grateful, to be honest with you. Thank God for the effort out there, on both sides of the ball. ... Thank God the replay official saw it as we did in our locker room and changed that call. Things like that go your way throughout a ballgame sometimes, and we've been pretty fortunate this year at the end of games to make plays to win games.

I feel grateful, to be honest with you, ... Thank God for the effort out there, on both sides of the ball. ... Thank God the replay official saw it as we did in our locker room and changed that call. Things like that go your way throughout a ballgame sometimes, and we've been pretty fortunate this year at the end of games to make plays to win games.

For us to be tied at halftime with the way we shot was a blessing. We were in position to win the ballgame and just faltered down the stretch.

I get strike one, a ground ball back to me, and I screwed up, ... I was just fortunate enough that I was able to regroup, make some quality pitches after that to keep it a tie ballgame and give us a chance to win.

We've finished second in the conference two years in a row, but to get over the hurdle you've got to be able to put runs on the board. We've played a lot of low-scoring ballgames and we didn't score early in a ballgame ... so we kept coming back late.

We threw a quick pass, a fade route, and they called holding on our center. Our center didn't even have a chance to hold (because the play was so quick). It's a different ballgame (without the penalty).

He's passionate about it, but he's not so passionate that he has to be on the sideline at the end of every ballgame like (Dallas Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones or some of the others. He's going to try to hire the best people that he can get to run his football team because that's not his expertise and he'll admit that. And he'll give them all the things they need to work with.

Kickers are a little different and you've got to be careful with them because they think too much. Before this ballgame I talked to Joe and I said, 'Joe, just go out there and kick the ball. Don't think about it. Just go out and kick it because there's going to be a situation where we need you in this ballgame,' and sure enough, here it was and he came through beautifully for us.

I would say one possession here or there was going to determine the outcome of this ballgame for either team. I thought both teams laid it on the line, put great effort out there to make things happen.

I think it's gotten past the point of frustration for us. When we make a mistake, it seems to beat us. Tonight it was an infield hit. I thought it was a good ballgame and I thought we played well, but we lost.

I think the key to the ballgame was when we made that little run. That was the run that we needed, and then we just kind of held on for dear life.

I think you saw the passion he has for competition. The way he kept after it and kept us in the ballgame - a couple early innings could have gone south on him. He didn't let it happen.

I think winning that ballgame with only five hits gave the guys confidence to go out and swing the bats.

I thought we did a good job against Kyle Bell the first half. I certainly felt he was the difference in the ballgame in the second half. That's the first time our football team has got knocked off the ball this year. We certainly got knocked off the line of scrimmage in the second half by their offensive line.

I thought she was solid for them. She really kept them in the ballgame and made some big saves.

I think we just kind of got complacent a bit, but we tried to get a lot of kids in the ballgame and get them some playing time. The scoring in the fourth quarter really didn't mean that much. We just wanted to see some more kids out there and let them play.

I think we were here ready to play and if we could have gotten a break or two here or there, the outcome could have been different. We had chances to win the ballgame and we'll have more chances down the road.

I think what got us back in the ballgame was our press. We made them turn the ball over and it helped us get back in it.

It had been our ballgame the whole time and this is the type of ballgame we need to get used to playing. They're going to be gunning for us now, we're in first place and everyone is coming to play you and everyone wants to beat you.

I think we came into the game with aspects of winning the game. We came in wanting to win the ballgame and doing whatever we needed to do to pull it out, but at the same time now we have to put this behind us and get ready for Pittsburgh.

I think we all realized what was at stake. We had talked about it all week, the big ballgame for us and for them there was a lot at stake. There was a lot riding on it and we didn't play well. I think we take a long hard look at ourselves, and it certainly starts with me.

Last year, I don't think we would've won a ballgame like this. I don't think we would've been tough enough.

Last year, I don't think we would've won a ballgame like this, ... I don't think we would've been tough enough.

Late in the ballgame we did a real good job of attacking their zone.

I said going into the ballgame that I thought there was a little bit of an advantage in having a senior quarterback. He gave me a scare .. and I told him to never do it again.

Our kids kept us in the ballgame and we probably could've been closer if we had made some easy baskets in close. I told the kids they played hard, they played their guts out, and took a good team and made them play hard.

Our quarterbacks had performed so well the week previous to this game in practice. Then you go in that ballgame and you look like a freshman, you know? So there's no doubt about it, now we've got to get them playing to their ability. ... And, of course, we'll try to blend our running game with it more.

Spending was up, a little weaker than expected... Nevertheless, the trend has been upward and it looks like the consumer is still in the ballgame in terms of supporting economic growth.

Like I told them in the locker room, I'm getting tired of telling them that. We lost our game at Syracuse where we played hard, were right there with a chance to win, and we didn't win it. We need to find a way to get over that hump. And that's the whole ballgame right there.

I still think our best ballgame is ahead of us. But I can't convince them of that. They have to convince themselves.

I think more than anything, I feel terrible for our defense, because we let them down today. I went up to them and apologized. There was nothing else to I could say except, 'I'm sorry.' They played hard, and they kept us in the ballgame all day, and offensively we let them down.

I think Monday's game with George-Little Rock is going to be a good ballgame because we'll be able to play relaxed. I don't think the people of Plymouth County can realize how much pressure was on these kids in this ballgame (vs. RSM). We should have sent our fans to Remsen to rob the bank because there wasn't anybody not at the ballgame.

Just hit it down their throats. They've got great team speed. When we were down 10-7 against them before, we still had a chance in that ballgame to go out and make plays. We just didn't do that.

I might be more reasonable with it. There will be a certain time when the things go off. At a certain time, you have to start preparing yourself for the ballgame and think about the people around you.

That was a real plus for us because he saved the game. We just need more of that. Twice we had a man on third with less than two out. Once we hit into a double play, and once we kind of rolled into a line drive double play. That's the ballgame right there.

That was one of the best plays we've seen this season. That was the ballgame right there. It's two runs and who knows what happens after that.

That's the turning point of the ballgame right there. You walk away from there with one run when you've got them 2-0. That's it. That's the game.

That's baseball. The two 'L's, leather and lumber, you've got to do them both, and today all nine of us did, ... You can win a ballgame so many different ways.

I wasn't pleased with the way we played in the second half. It seemed like we just got complacent. You can't do that in this conference. We won the game and everybody's happy, but if you do that against Southern or Grambling, they'll be back in the ballgame on you.

We had two choices after the ballgame in Chicago. We could dwell on what happened the previous game or previous games, or we could look forward to what was in front of us and try to make something of that opportunity. That's what our guys chose to do.

We need to keep doing this at the very least, ... At least you're keeping yourself in the ballgame this way. You have to do this as long as you see you're in a decline.

We were having a tough time scoring. Early we didn't have a good ballgame (but) we finally started controlling the ball.

To lose by 12 on their court isn't that bad. We didn't get blown out and we weren't even supposed to be in the ballgame and we were.

We get another great opportunity to win that ballgame with my at-bat, and it's just unforgivable to not put a ball in play. You don't even need to get a hit. A lazy fly to the outfield wins that ballgame.

We had too many penalties. Most of them were effort plays. They weren't smart, but they were effort. With a rivalry like this, both teams played hard. It was a competitive ballgame from an effort standpoint.

We haven't been pressured like that in a long time and we just didn't execute like we wanted to. We better learn from this or we won't win another ballgame this season.

We started to make shots towards the end and we made some key stops. They were right in the ballgame until the four-minute mark.

We just haven't gotten control of a doggone ballgame early enough to get him the work that I'd like to give him,

We've come out trying to run the ball. The second ballgame (against I-AA the Citadel), we came out throwing because we thought we were superior and we could do what we wanted to. Now, when you're playing Syracuse and you're playing Miami and you're playing Boston College, you better do what's best. I felt like sooner or later, we're going to have to come out throwing the darn ball, and that's what our offensive staff wanted to do.

We've come out trying to run the ball, ... The second ballgame (against I-AA the Citadel), we came out throwing because we thought we were superior and we could do what we wanted to. Now, when you're playing Syracuse and you're playing Miami and you're playing Boston College, you better do what's best. I felt like sooner or later, we're going to have to come out throwing the darn ball, and that's what our offensive staff wanted to do.

We had a chance to win the ballgame when we had the top of our lineup up, but couldn't, ... We had every chance to win but failed to put the ball in play. Jason Lane was the only one to hit the ball hard.

We have to be upbeat, find the things that we made mistakes on and fix them and go into this ballgame fired up.

The opening ballgame is different than any other. The adrenaline is at an all-time high.

When you play the No.1 team in the state, and they probably are the No. 1 team in the state, and you play them like that, it gives you a lot of good feelings. We had a chance to win this ballgame and just came up a little bit short.

Two teams coming in 6-0, I don't think anybody expected anything different. It was anyone's ballgame up until the very end.

We're the 1986 Celtics when we don't turn the ball over. The fact that we can turn it over that many times and still win a ballgame is a pretty good sign.

To make that type of catch, running the way he was, ... that turned the ballgame around.

We've got a lot of seniors. In a tough ballgame like this, you want your most experienced players out there in the fourth quarter.

We cannot think of the old days when we were dealing with SARS. It's a totally different ballgame now.

When you lose a tough ballgame like we did on Wednesday, it is important that your senior leadership and your captains step up, and Mike Ballard did that today. He got us started back on the right track.

We just wanted to go out today and play a physical ballgame and show the world that we can do that when we need to.

We just wanted to go out and play a physical ballgame and show the world that we can do that when we need to.

We just tried to keep fighting. We started off slow offensively. Pitching was great, it held us in the ballgame and we finally got it going.

We win a lot of games by running. When we slow the ballgame down, that's when we struggle.

We got some big hits from Dunn and Griffey. Griff's big three-run homer was huge for us at the time of the ballgame ... I like the way we played.

We hurt ourselves and we talked about that earlier in the week. You can't turn the ball over in a tight ballgame against a good team.

We hurt ourselves and we talked about that earlier in the week, ... You can't turn the ball over in a tight ballgame against a good team.

We feel like we missed out on an opportunity here. We made a lot of mistakes in the ballgame that really hurt us in the end.

We feel like we missed out on an opportunity here, ... We made a lot of mistakes in the ballgame that really hurt us in the end.

You have to really know who's in the ballgame because that's going to affect what type of plays they're going to run. The guys on the backside really have to keep the edge because Parker's not afraid to take it all the way around the other way.

We did a lot of good things tonight. It was just a complete, clean ballgame for us, ... You're curious when you haven't faced a team that has a record like they do, to see how you match up to them. It makes you feel a little better about yourself.

Brenham is very good. They have a big hitter, probably 6-2. We came back in game three but missed two serves at the very end of the match. We were in every single ballgame this tournament. We were tested mentally every time we stepped on the floor." ()

Boy, he played hard. That's a very, very complete ballgame for him.

Ben pitched a very good ballgame (until the fourth), but one of the things he has to learn is, when things are going against him, he doesn't know how to step back and say, 'What am I going to do here? What do I need to do?' He just keeps throwing. That's something that experience will help take care of.

Disappointing ballgame for us. I really don't know what to say about it, to tell you the truth.

Disappointing ballgame for us, ... I really don't know what to say about it, to tell you the truth.

I've said it from the very beginning that any given day in this conference anyone could win or lose. It was a very good game and it was a game we needed to have on the road, pretty poor officiating, high intense ballgame and high pressure, it was a good game that we needed to have on an away game.

It was a one-point ballgame with three minutes left. Gilliland hit his only shot of the night. He hit a 3 and after he hit that it put us up two and it seemed like after that Clatskanie panicked.

The thought of a squeeze crossed my mind, but you think he's one our better hitters and you want him to have a chance to win the ballgame and drive in a couple of runs.

The third inning is when the struggle started. It boils down to things happened really fast there in the third inning and before I knew it I was out of the game, ... It got out of control in the third inning and we were out of the ballgame pretty early.

Our defense kept us in the ballgame all night long. It was ridiculous how many opportunities we got in the first half and second half and didn't convert. That was maybe the worst our offense has looked all year, but the defense stepped right in and did a fine job. Our defense got burnt for 53 points and about 400 yards against U.M.S. and every week since then they've gotten better and have improved. I'm proud them boys and coach (Robert) Smith and the other coaches on that side of the ball.

Our effort was great, but we just got a little out of sync and turned it over in the third quarter. That was really the ballgame right there. They capitalized over that 3-, 4-minute stretch and that was big.

OfficeMax is in the first inning of the ballgame here in terms of the restructuring plan. They've got a lot of tough work ahead of them.

After winning a ballgame over a team that was a two-touchdown favorite, you can imagine how much confidence you gain. As you lose, you begin to lose confidence. You can win 15 games in a row and then lose one, and then you start to wonder. It was a big boost for us as far as confidence is concerned.

Defense, you won the ballgame for us tonight. We had five turnovers, and you guys held them to six points.

Defense, you won the ballgame for us tonight, ... We had five turnovers, and you guys held them to six points.