The MSHSL board of directors meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. The topic is placing Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Wayzata into the Lake Conference, effective a year from now.

More posts as stuff happens…

John Millea is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/stribjohnÂ

The MSHSL board of directors will hold a special meeting Tuesday to put the final stamp of approval on the placement of Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Wayzata into the Lake Conference, beginning in 2010-11. But that will not be the final word on the matter.

As noted in a previous post, this thing has legs. In fact, it could turn into a never-ending cycle of 1) placement; 2) unhappy schools withdrawing from placement-expanded leagues; 3) the remaining schools dissolving their shrunken league; and 4) the process starting all over again.

That’s the fear here. All the Lake schools except Eden Prairie are threatening to leave the Lake. That would leave EP and the four Classic Lake schools in a five-team league, and there would be no way to stop that league from dissolving on its own accord. Then, of course, the placement process would start again, all five schools would be placed in the Lake South/Dakota County (or whatever that league will be called), and the whole mess rolls around again.

The only way to fix this is for the Legislature to step in and give the MSHSL the power to align conferences. This is done in Wisconsin. That could happen here at some point, but there has been no movement along those lines … yet.

I will be at Tuesday’s 10 a.m. meeting, posting live blog updates and getting reaction from those in attendance.

John Millea is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/stribjohnÂ

I spent the bulk of this week researching and writing a lengthy profile of Seantrel Henderson, the senior offensive lineman from Cretin-Derham Hall who is the nation’s top-ranked football recruit in the class of 2010. The story will appear in the Sunday Star Tribune. (Here’s the update: the story has been designated as one of our “Only in the Sunday Paper” stories, so it will not be available on startribune.com for a few days.)

Henderson is a unique young man. It’s rare that a high school athlete is the subject of such an in-depth story, but he is well worth the attention and the story should make for interesting reading. We’ll also offer game video of Henderson, plus compare him to Vikings tackles Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt (hint: Henderson is bigger than both of them) and relate what he has in common with Joe Mauer, Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin.

The MSHSL board of directors will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, with only two “action items” on the agenda. One deals with the distribution of rulebooks every two years, a cost-saving change from annual distribution. But believe me, nobody who attends the meeting will be interested in that topic.

The big kahuna on the agenda will be the placement of Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Wayzata into the Lake Conference, effective in the 2010-11 school year. This has been a lengthy process, as prep followers are well aware. The big question isn’t “Will the board toss them in the Lake?” (Of course it will.) The big question is, “Once they are placed in the Lake, how many teams will pull out of the Lake and form a new conference?” Followed by, “Will those four schools and Eden Prairie end up in another five-school league?” Followed by, “What the heck happens then?”

If you’re interested, here is what’s on the agenda …

1. Approval of Agenda
2. Individuals or Delegations on Agenda Issues
3. Action Items
  A. Placement of Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Wayzata into a conference.
  B. Every other year Rules Books
  C. Other

John Millea is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/stribjohnÂ

Prepnation.com has released its preseason football polls, and … uh … the Gopher State isn’t exactly staring down from the mountaintop.

The national rankings go all the from No. 1 to No. 101, and Eden Prairie leads the Minnesota brigade at No. 101. EP is No. 6 in the Midlands Region, with defending 5A champ Wayzata at No. 7.

Midlands Region
1. Denver, Colo., Mullen (12-2) Â
2. Florissant, Mo., Hazelwood Central (12-2) Â
3. Sandy, Utah, Alta (13-1) Â
4. Blue Springs, Mo. (9-2) Â
5. Hutchinson, Kan. (11-2) Â
6. Eden Prairie, Minn. (11-1) Â
7. Plymouth, Minn., Wayzata (13-0) Â
8. South Jordan, Utah, Bingham (11-3) Â
9. Littleton, Colo., Columbine (11-2) Â
10. Iowa City, Iowa, City High (10-1)  

John Millea is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/stribjohnÂ