Shall we climb that Hill for the third time?

It's that time of year again. School has started, Fall Sports are underway and the summer is history.

Before I get to the fall sports, I must say that covering the Griffons this summer was one of the most frustrating endeavors I've had.

The poster team for underachieving most of the season, they made a run in the NBC World Series that had you thinking they were finally going to fulfill their promise. Then they reverted back to their old selves and lost a pair of winnable games to finish tied for ninth. Again. Ever since I moved here in the summer of 2004 it's been the same story with the Griffons. Mediocre regular season, ninth-place finish in the NBC.

Last year I had no gripes with coach John Hill III and the way his team played, as he was playing with a short hand.

This summer he picked the players and the team actually got worse.

I really like Hill. He's been nothing but accommodating to me. In fact, I wouldn't think twice about inviting Hill to my house for dinner and a beer (I'm not sure he drinks beer, but I would invite him just the same).

But Kelly Bradham made some good points in Sunday's column. I'm not quite on the "John Hill's gotta go" bandwagon, but I was left scratching my head numerous times this summer over moves made (or not made). And I agree 100 percent with Bradham's point that you play every game to win it. If not, just hold a scrimmage instead.

That said, managing has been a learning experience for Hill as well as the players. Remember, Hill is a young coach trying to make a dent in a tough field. He's going to make mistakes. He's going to have a learning curve. If you don't want that learning curve to come at the expense of the Griffons' performance, you shouldn't have hired him in the first place.

It's my understanding that the Griffons have hired Hill back for a third season next summer. While Bradham is about to have a heart attack and threatening to die on us before the season begins, I'm not ready to throw in the towel.

Hill's a bright guy, even if he doesn't come from the old school. My guess is he has done his share of learning from the experiences of his last two summers.

I've got no qualm with giving him one more year to see where this thing goes.

For me it's a situation where you don't want to be the Kansas City Royals. You don't want to give a guy a couple of years to develop, then let him go only to watch him star elsewhere.

While some may be convinced Hill will never star anywhere, I'm not so sure. Could he be harder on his players? Sure. Could he stand to pay more attention to matchups? Absolutely. And I would be happy to see him worry less about hurting guys' feelings and doing what's best for the team in every single game. But it's possible he understands some of these points.

So if you're going to organize a boycott of the Griffons because they re-hired John Hill III, count me out. I'll be at Lyons Stadium all summer in 2007, watching some baseball.