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No. 1 is the loneliest number
May 26, 2008Rankings never guarantee a thing. Any coach that I have ever talked to has told me that.
Still, schools should always carry a sense of pride when they are at the top in the state of Texas.
Two of the five classifications in Texas had our area's baseball teams ranked No. 1. Archer City and Holliday both occupied the top spot, representing Archer County very well.
But both of teams had their seasons end well short of expectations over the weekend. Palmer swept Holliday -- which had entered the series with a 25-game winning streak -- and after winning Game 1, Archer City lost the last two to Bosqueville.
I did not see any of the AC series, so I cannot comfortably say what went wrong except the fact the Wildcats committed 11 errors in the two losses. Archer City probably goes back to state if Blaine Willett is able to pitch this season, too.
I think Holliday was pretty unlucky at the plate. The Eagles only struck out 5-6 times all series, but seemed to hit the ball right to the Palmer defense.
They had some costly outs on the basepaths, and Palmer was very good fundamentally. It is how baseball goes sometimes.
Even though they both lost -- leaving Seymour as our lone area team still alive in the playoffs -- both Archer City and Holliday should be commended for being the best team in the state for much of the season.
Posted by at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Who do you root for now?
May 23, 2008When the Mavericks got busted out of the NBA playoffs, I still had a couple of teams to root for.
I liked watching the Hornets, and catching LeBron on TV is always fun to watch, even if the rest of his team leaves something to be desired.
Now both of those teams are done, and I really can't be excited about any of the four teams left. I wish there was some way for them all to not win it.
Here is why I do not care for each team, and the NBA Finals pairings that would make me the least happiest.
WHY I DO NOT LIKE...
Spurs -- This is easy. As a Mavericks fan, you have to despise everything San Antonio-related. Manu Ginobili is the biggest flopper ever. He should be playing soccer, he is so good at it.
Tim Duncan acts like he has never done anything wrong in his life, and he is a total whiner. Gregg Popovich may be a heck of a coach, but he is a top-notch grump, too. And they always win -- which makes it even worse.
Lakers -- Kobe is a punk. A heck of a basketball player, but a total punk. And L.A. basically stole Pau Gasol from Memphis. If that trade had been proposed in my fantasy basketball league, it would have been shot down in a heartbeat.
I grew up a Lakers fan because of Magic Johnson, but never really liked them during their run in the early 2000s. And not now, either.
Pistons -- I am getting kinda tired of these guys. I was ecstatic when they won the title in 2004, but now they lull me to sleep. If you love to see an 82-77 game, then this is your team.
Celtics -- So we've sucked for the last couple of decades, but we will trade for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and become a national media sensation. Except our supremacy will be totally overblown to the point where we are pushed to seven games against the woeful Hawks.
WHAT SERIES WOULD BE THE WORST...
1) Spurs-Pistons: No, please not again. For the love, please do not let this happen. These games will make me wish I was in a coma. And they are also TV's worst ratings nightmare.
2) Spurs-Celtics: I probably dislike these two teams the most. The only two rewarding outcome of this series would be the KG-Duncan duel and the Ray Allen-Bruce Bowen feud. Those guys do not like each other at all.
3) Lakers-Pistons: If this happens, get ready for your "Looking back at the 2004 NBA Finals" highlight montage. Honestly, I would rather not.
4) Lakers-Celtics: I was just a little boy when these teams waged war for NBA supremacy, so I do not have any fond memories with this matchup. I do not like either team (which has already been stated), but this looks like the best matchup. Hopefully I high-scoring one, too.
ALSO...
Something else I heard on the radio today: Phil Jackson-coached teams are 40-0 in playoff series when winning Game 1. That is ridiculous. And for Spurs fans, that is not a good sign after San Antonio blew Wednesday's game.
Posted by at 5:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Another week, another great sports story from this area
May 19, 2008Last weekend at the state track meet, I wrote a story about Kelsey Johnson of Iowa Park. She won two gold medals a year after suffering from an iron deficiency in her body that hampered her running.
Well, this week came with another great story about a high school athlete bouncing back.
Seymour's Hayden Holub threw a one-hit shutout on Saturday which allowed the Panthers to win its playoff series, 3-0.
This was Holub's first start since tearing his ACL in the Class A state football game in mid-December. That is only five months ago!
I remember the Seymour coaches told me at the time that he was going to try and get back in time for the baseball playoffs. And when you hear things like this, I tend to be a little cynical just because of course you think "best-case scenario."
Maybe I am jaded because I had two knee surgeries my senior season, knocking me out of soccer. And each time I busted my butt to get back, yet was not cleared when I was supposed to or had a minor setback.
But it sounds like Holub has the go-ahead to play baseball for the rest of the playoffs. Seymour is two series away from going to state.
Holub's return is already a great story. And if he can get them back to state in another sport, that would be amazing.
One last thought. Both Johnson and Holub are really good kids. That always makes there stories even better.
Posted by at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
These guys crack me up
May 16, 2008Since I work at night, I am usually home during the day. I will do some yardwork, clean up a little (probably not enough as the wife would like), read, run errands and sleep some.
I also have to answer the door when these people come by. You know who they are. College-aged kids who act like they are your best friend and hope that you will buy a magazine subscription from them so that they can earn points toward this awesome vacation.
This guy yesterday was about the third or fourth one since we bought the house a year ago.
I drive up to after going to get dog food and he is at my front door. He excitedly tells me he's trying to meet some "cool" adults around town today.
He notices my Brewers hat that I am wearing -- apparently he is a big sports fan.
He also adds he is trying to go to Cozumel, and when I tell him I have been there before, it's like this guy is my long, lost best friend.
Then the magazine spiel comes, and of course, if I give someone else the subscripting, he gets triple the points. (They propose this so you can't use the excuse that you don't need any more magazines).
When I turn this guy down -- which since I am not a big confrontation guy, I don't like doing -- then he mutters thanks and hurries off to the next house.
If some legit junior high or high school kid from my neighborhood ever came around town selling something, I would probably purchase it.
But these guys are pretty shady. Most likely, they are not trying to get points for a trip. They just work for a national magazine promotion company, stopping by different towns to try and sucker people.
Anyway, it is not going to work on this sports writer.
Some quick sports notes:
* Never got around to writing a recap about the state track meet (sorry, but I was tracked out and enjoying some off-days).
But among the things I will remember are -- IP's Kelsey Johnson winning double gold and setting a state record; the Rochelle girls winning Class A all by herself (the story made it to ESPN.com) and city kids doing pretty well, taking home a couple of medals.
* Just got the tickets to Yankee Stadium in the mail yesterday. Going to see the Angels and Yankees on Aug. 3, then will go to Mets-Padres on the 5th at Shea Stadium.
* Saw Holliday baseball rally with an eight-running on Thursday. The Eagles are ranked No. 1 in 2A, and Archer City is No. 1 in A.
How cool is it that two of the five No. 1 teams in the state hail from Archer County?
Posted by at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Saturday track medalists
May 10, 2008Here is a rundown of the area's track medalists on Saturday.
Either later tonight or sometime Sunday, I will have my thoughts recapping the weekend. But for now, I just sent my last story to the paper and am going to go to dinner and then unwind with friends that I rarely see.
The medalists:
Gold: Seymour girls 4x400 relay team
Silver: Hannah Lewis, Electra (shot put); Shelby Gutierrez, Knox CIty, (200)
Bronze: Samuel Nunez, Munday (discus); Seymour girls 4x200 relay team; Brock Harris, Olney, (100 hurdles); Zack Hardin, Seymour (400).
Posted by at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Great ending to last night; good start to this morning
What a great 3A mile race last night. Iowa Park's Kelsey Johnson set a state record in a race down to the wire.
It's the best mile race I have ever seen. Johnson and her pratice partner (Argyle's Kristie Krueger) broke away from the field and both went full bore the last 100 meters or so.
And it's a great high school ending for Johnson, who didn't make it to state last year because of health problems.
For more on Johnson, check the story link.
Also, we've had two events already this morning with area kids involved, and both ended with medals.
Electra's Hannah Lewis set a personal best and took silver in the A shot put.
Then Munday's Sammy Nunez earned a bronze in the A shot put by the slimmest of margins. He didn't even know he won until the officials announced it.
The A-2A running finals are about to begin, so I will offer a recap in a few hours. Should be an exciting day.
Posted by at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Craziness in Austin
May 9, 2008SInce I last blogged three hours ago, three athletes won medals and a golf team won a state championship.
Graham won the 3A title by three shots. Great for them - I wished I could have seen more of it, but I am at the track covering some more medals.
Wade Thornton of WFHS took silver in the high jump. Rider's James Chambers earned a bronze in the discus, and set a school record in the process.
And on top of that, Olney's Cody Cope was third in the long jump.
The only person not to medal in the last few hours was Jazzmin Hill of Rider. The event is still going on, so I'm not sure where she placed, but I do know she jumped 5-0.
It looked like she was dissappointed, but she is only a freshman, so she will be back. And plus, she probably didn't practice for a week until she learned she was going. Hill was third in the region, but someone dropped out.
I will update after the night races to see if more athletes have success in Austin.
Posted by at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Gold medal drought broken
Finally got a chance to get to a computer after a crazy morning. And guess what?
Kelsey Johnson of Iowa Park won the area's first gold medal since 2005 when she won the Class 3A girls 3200 by about 27 seconds. Her time was 10:56.86.
She will have another chance at medaling in the 1,600 tonight, where she had the fastest regional time.
Just got back from the golf course, where Graham is vying for a state title. All the guys were about 2 over through nine holes, but scoring is up today because of a nasty wind and the front nine plays tougher.
So we will see.
Also, no more medals yet by Seymour's Julia Holub got fourth in the CLass A 3200 with a strong finish. A couple of fifths too -- Jeremy King of Quanah (pole vault) and Darrell Harden of Graham (discus).
Spencer Sims did not do well in the long jump, but did get to the golf course with plenty of time to spare.
Will update in a few hours. We have a few city kids coming up, and I am headed that way back to the track.
Posted by at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The curse of the gold medal
May 6, 2008As promised, here is the story of how I have cursed our area track athletes.
Three years ago, I went down to Austin to cover my first state track meet. The year before (I was graduating from MSU, so I was not able to attend) nobody from our area won a gold medal -- a real rarity.
So in my first event of the morning, Graham's Dan Schmidt wins gold in the 3A discus. I thought gold medals were the norm. I waited to write about my second gold medal that weekend.
And I have been waiting three years.
Practically three state meets (and 102 competitors/relays from our area) later, and I am still waiting on someone from this area to win a gold medal.
But boy, have there been some close calls.
In 2005, both Jamilla Ward and the Knox City girls 4x100 relay teams got nipped at the wire and barely took second.
Even more memorable that year was how much of a lead the Knox City boys 4x200 had until the final 200 meters, when they dropped the baton on the last exchange.
The next year, even Schmidt failed to defend his gold, finishing in second place. I also remember a couple more close seconds in the 100, and Megan Liss of Petrolia was leading the mile before a late charge on the last lap.
There are even more vivid examples in 2007. Mallory Schenk of Windthorst took second after a series of jump-offs.
Casey Keeter of Olney was one throw away from gold -- he was finished but one guy had one more toss left -- and that guy surpassed Keeter, who took second.
And after telling Graham sports writer Clay Stewart about my gold-medal spell, he came running up to me when Nichole Jones of Holliday had a sizeable lead on the last straightaway in the 800.
This would surely end the drought. But some girl out of nowhere edged Jones at the line.
Out of those 102 competitors, 10 have entered state with the best regional times/distances. So there have been lots of worthy contenders, and I will say there are usually 10-12 athletes from this area who bring home silver and bronze medals every year, which is great.
So I guess we will see if anyone is golden this week from the state track meet, which I will be blogging from when I get the chance.
And one last thing
This probably is not the best forum to write this, but I wanted to give my condolences to the family of Olney's Jeff Taylor.
Taylor passed away on Sunday at the age of 19. I had never talked to the guy, but I had seen him play for the Cubs for two seasons.
He made my Red River 22 team twice, and he was one of those linebackers who was always in the right spot. He may have not been the fastest, but he was strong and could make plenty of plays.
In 2005, he led the entire area in tackles. He also played baseball, and sounded like a class act. I am sure the entire town of Olney is in grieving mode right now, and everyone should keep the Taylors and the community in their prayers.
Rest in peace, Jeff.
Posted by at 6:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Why is this place still open?
May 4, 2008I have a feeling you and me think the same thing.
Whenever the urge to go see a movie arises, I hope and pray the movie is at the Cinemark theatre and not at Sikes.
Sometimes, my wife and I get lucky. And sometimes we have to trudge off to Sikes, hoping that the air conditioning is working and that our feet do not permanently become stuck to the floors.
Well, today we saw Iron Man, and of course, it was at Sikes (How are they allowed to get the good movies? They should be sentenced to only show lousy romantic comedies and corny teenage flicks).
We wanted to see the 1 p.m. showing, so we get there at about 12:10 to get tickets. But wait. The ticket box office does not actually start selling tickets until 20 minutes later.
WHY! All that does is back up the line for the rest of the day. And we were going to grab a quick snack, but that went out the window.
Cinemark is cheaper, nicer, bigger and more comfortable. Mall theatres are a thing of the 1980s. Sikes sometimes looks like it is ready to fall apart at the seams, but yet it remains in business.
And yet, they seem to get at least half the good movies out there. It drives me crazy.
Posted by at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
A smorgasbord of sports topics
May 2, 2008Here goes my thoughts on some of the sports topics of today:
*Stars could close out series tonight
I actually happened to go to Game 4 on Wednesday (my first playoff hockey game) and had a great time. The Stars, who have been so great in the third period during these playoffs, looked a little lethargic down the stretch, and it cost them.
No matter what happens tonight, I do not see them losing this series. But now that Detroit swept Colorado, it is important to the Stars to close out this series so they can get some rest.
Oh, and Marty Turco continues to be a stud in these playoffs. He was great again in Game 4.
*What happens to the Mavs now?
That is a great question. Have to hang onto Dirk and Brandon Bass. Kidd will stay because you will not find any takers for that contract.
Everyone else should be up in the air. Some of these older guys (Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones) need to shown the door. Josh Howard could be traded.
And who do you get to coach -- the Dallas Morning News had these names: Jeff Van Gundy, Rick Carlisle, Mike D'Antoni and Paul Westphal, to name a few.
*No guarantees in track
Wrote and kept up with all the track regionals last weekend. And usually if you medal at state the year before, I figure you are a shoo-in to get back the next year.
But that did not happen over the weekend. Three silver medalists from a year ago (Windthorst's Mallory Schenk and Brian Hoff, as well as Holliday's Nichole Jones) all came up a little short as seniors.
That just goes to show you how tough getting to state actually is.
*Other track tidbits
Some things I thought readers might be interested in.
-- Was at the practice of Rider's James Chambers the other day (working on a feature for next week) and coach Mark Dobson told me he takes the discus' up to the Post Office to get them weighed to make sure they are not too light.
-- Was checking out the qualifying times/distances for the upcoming state track meet. And in the 4A boys high jump, all eight of the participants, including WFHS senior Wade Thornton, jumped 6-8 at regionals.
-- Will write a whole other blog about the gold-medal curse I have on our state track athletes this weekend.
-- Also writing on a column about Graham sophomore Spencer Sims (check it out Monday. Let's just say he will have a crazy weekend in Austin).
*Give me a break
Saw somewhere that two more bowl games will debut next year (I am assuming that none are being terminated).
So, pretty soon you will be able to go to a bowl game even wit a losing record. That must make Notre Dame, coming off a three-win season, very happy
Posted by at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
