Every now and then when things seem to get a rut, things get busy again at work. And usually in those moments something gives me a boost. Almost always that boost comes from knowing that there was purpose to my job that day.
No other time in my professional career, have I probably felt such purpose than this week.
A former Spain Park track and field captain named Imad Mohammad, 18, and his mother spent five days in the LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, La. They had been in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since Jan. 12. I learned of the story this past Monday, three days after they were taken from the Perry County (Ala.) Jail to LaSalle.
While yes, here is a family who is here illegally after their visitation visa expired in the 1990s, they have been appealing their request for asylum for more than a decade, working, paying taxes, getting involved in their community and local school and living a clean, American life. All of a sudden, they were picked up by ICE - nine years after they were told they'd be deported.
While the Immigration Board of Appeals will decide what happens to the family, it was still our job to report what the family and lawyers were seeing as injustice - being detained all of a sudden by the government, while knowing that they had no country to send the family to.
On Wednesday afternoon, that purpose moment came when Imad and his mother were released after an inquiry by U.S. Congressman Spencer Bachus.
The words of encouragement and thank yous coming from the family and friends of the family are better than any award that can be won for a story. Hearing a father say through tears, "You brought a mom home to her children again," leaves you speechless.
Not only has this week brought a renewed sense of humanity to the father of the family and teachers at Spain Park, but hopefully to Imad, who was beginning to believe that he can not trust anyone in this world. Trust is exactly what he needs to have in his family, friends and government - even if by law it is not his government yet.
Here are the stories so far from this week.
1/28 - Mohammads released from jail
1/26 - Former Spain Park runner faces deportation
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Who really owns the Iron Bowl?
I'd almost forgotten what an Iron Bowl Saturday in Dixie felt like. After living in Tennessee the previous two Iron Bowls, I'd missed that certain feeling in the air and buzz that moves freely through the state in late November. It's orange, blue, crimson and white everywhere you look. It's tiger tails and Bama flags, as the traffic flows steady down U.S. 280 or South on Interstates 459 and 59.
As Auburn fans celebrate their sixth-straight win over Alabama this week, a 17-10 victory on Nov. 24, I thought I'd pose the question of who really owns the Iron Bowl?
It's not Auburn or Alabama, but Paul "Bear" Bryant.
During Bryant's tenure in Tuscaloosa, he not only racked up one of the greatest coaching records of all time with 323 wins, but posted 19 of those against the "cow college," otherwise known as Auburn Uninversity, the "Loviliest Village on the Plains." His 19-6 record in the 72-game rivalry is the best of any coach for either team. It is understandable why Alabama fans are quick to call the rilvary theirs, however, despite what the series record of 38-33-1 says to their favor, the series is not theirs.
If you eliminate Bear from the equation, Auburn leads the way at 27-19-1.
Only one Alabama coach has beaten its rival more than five times: Bear Bryant. Three Auburn coaches have won more than five over the Tide: Ralph "Shug" Jordan (9-16), Tommy Tuberville (7-2 and still counting) and Pat Dye (6-6). Alabama's Gene Stallings and Red Drew were both 5-2 againt the Tigers.
So, as you see, it is Bear that owns the Iron Bowl, not Bama. For if it weren't for Bear, the bragging rights are Auburn's. Take away the Auburn win's againt Bear and the time spent by Shug and Dye pre-Bear and post-Bear, and the series still tilts toward the Plains (18-11-1).
Of course, you can't elimiate the records of three of the best coaches to coach in the rilvary.
Shug took over Auburn, or API at the time, in 1951 and stayed through 1975. Bear came in 1958 and departed in 1982. Doug Barfield was 0-5 for Auburn from 1976-80, while Dye was 6-6 from 1981-92. The time from Shug to Dye accounts for 42 of the rivalry's 72 games played, thus creating the heart of the heated battle. for this time alone, these 40 games, Bear won 19, Shug won nine and Dye won six. The Tide won 27 and the Tigers won 15.
But has the platue of the rivalry passed or is a new era dawning? Since Dye's departure in 1992, Auburn is 10-5. Before Shug ever walked the sidelines of Legion Field for the Iron Bowl, Auburn was 8-6-1.
The series between the two teams is as close as most of its scores.
Now there's a new Iron Bowl era. Tuberville is knocking on becoming the coach with the most wins against Bama in Auburn history. He already holds the longest win streak for Auburn against Bama. Next is three wins to pass Shug for most wins and to match Bear's streak of nine wins in the series.
So, you tell me, who really owns the Iron Bowl?
OTHER IRON BOWL FACTS
Record by location
Auburn: Auburn 7-2
-- Jordan-Hare Stadium: Auburn 7-2
Tuscaloosa:Auburn 6-0
-- Bryant-Denny Stadium: Auburn 4-0
-- Other Tuscaloosa location: Auburn 2-0
Birmingham: Bama 34-18-1
-- Legion Field: Bama 32-15
-- Birmingham Fair Grounds: Bama 1-0-1
-- West End Park: Auburn 2-1
-- Lakeview Baseball Park: Auburn 1-0
Motgomery: Tied 2-2
-- Highland Park: Bama 1-0
-- Riverside Park: Tied 1-1
-- Other location: Auburn 1-0
As Auburn fans celebrate their sixth-straight win over Alabama this week, a 17-10 victory on Nov. 24, I thought I'd pose the question of who really owns the Iron Bowl?
It's not Auburn or Alabama, but Paul "Bear" Bryant.
During Bryant's tenure in Tuscaloosa, he not only racked up one of the greatest coaching records of all time with 323 wins, but posted 19 of those against the "cow college," otherwise known as Auburn Uninversity, the "Loviliest Village on the Plains." His 19-6 record in the 72-game rivalry is the best of any coach for either team. It is understandable why Alabama fans are quick to call the rilvary theirs, however, despite what the series record of 38-33-1 says to their favor, the series is not theirs.
If you eliminate Bear from the equation, Auburn leads the way at 27-19-1.
Only one Alabama coach has beaten its rival more than five times: Bear Bryant. Three Auburn coaches have won more than five over the Tide: Ralph "Shug" Jordan (9-16), Tommy Tuberville (7-2 and still counting) and Pat Dye (6-6). Alabama's Gene Stallings and Red Drew were both 5-2 againt the Tigers.
So, as you see, it is Bear that owns the Iron Bowl, not Bama. For if it weren't for Bear, the bragging rights are Auburn's. Take away the Auburn win's againt Bear and the time spent by Shug and Dye pre-Bear and post-Bear, and the series still tilts toward the Plains (18-11-1).
Of course, you can't elimiate the records of three of the best coaches to coach in the rilvary.
Shug took over Auburn, or API at the time, in 1951 and stayed through 1975. Bear came in 1958 and departed in 1982. Doug Barfield was 0-5 for Auburn from 1976-80, while Dye was 6-6 from 1981-92. The time from Shug to Dye accounts for 42 of the rivalry's 72 games played, thus creating the heart of the heated battle. for this time alone, these 40 games, Bear won 19, Shug won nine and Dye won six. The Tide won 27 and the Tigers won 15.
But has the platue of the rivalry passed or is a new era dawning? Since Dye's departure in 1992, Auburn is 10-5. Before Shug ever walked the sidelines of Legion Field for the Iron Bowl, Auburn was 8-6-1.
The series between the two teams is as close as most of its scores.
Now there's a new Iron Bowl era. Tuberville is knocking on becoming the coach with the most wins against Bama in Auburn history. He already holds the longest win streak for Auburn against Bama. Next is three wins to pass Shug for most wins and to match Bear's streak of nine wins in the series.
So, you tell me, who really owns the Iron Bowl?
OTHER IRON BOWL FACTS
Record by location
Auburn: Auburn 7-2
-- Jordan-Hare Stadium: Auburn 7-2
Tuscaloosa:Auburn 6-0
-- Bryant-Denny Stadium: Auburn 4-0
-- Other Tuscaloosa location: Auburn 2-0
Birmingham: Bama 34-18-1
-- Legion Field: Bama 32-15
-- Birmingham Fair Grounds: Bama 1-0-1
-- West End Park: Auburn 2-1
-- Lakeview Baseball Park: Auburn 1-0
Motgomery: Tied 2-2
-- Highland Park: Bama 1-0
-- Riverside Park: Tied 1-1
-- Other location: Auburn 1-0
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Goals met in Division II debut
It's something I began doing my junior year at the University of Montevallo when broadcasting basketball games. I'd go to a player before the game and give him or her a realistic goal to achieve that was slightly higher than his or her average. It might have been points, rebounds, assists, fewer turnovers or field goal/free throw percentage. It was often that those goals were met.
I took this form of encouragement and motivation with me to Martin Methodist College as sports inforamation director. It worked a little in the 2005-06 athletic season, however it was displayed the best last fall. My two most successful targets were Tassia Augusto and LaKenya Wrightsil. Tas, a native of Brazil, missed a large portion of her freshman season due to knee injury and was not able to travel as a player to the Kansas to help MMC win the women's soccer NAIA national championship in Nov. '05. She rehabbed and returned to the field last summer and although her speed was affected by her surgery, she developed the determination to score. I'd go to each girl in pregame warmups and wish them good luck individually. It had to be individually, because it was a superstition. If I missed someone, I was afraid they'd not play well. Again, I said it was a supersitition.
As I'd go around and comment, I'd give different players a different goal, however I always targeted Tas. I guess I was consistant with her last fall, because after her first goal of the season she came up to me and said "You told me I was going to score. That's all I thought about, and when I did I immediatly thought about how you'd told me."
I heard this numerous times. If I was at the game, Tas would look for me on the sidelines after a goal.
Tassia transfered last December from Martin Methodist to the Univesity of North Alabama in the Gulf South Conference. She may possibly be the weapon that the Lady Lions have been in need of to take them into the GSC Tournament and pose a threat. Realizing that UNA would open its season on Friday night, Aug. 24, I sent Tas a Facebook message Friday morning saying "Good luck Saturday in your North Alabama debut. Be sure to score one for me and two if possible."
I forgot to look up the score and check up on how she did. While researching some high school football in the state and visiting the Times Daily's website, I noticed a UNA women's soccer story, and opened.
Midway through, this is what I found, "Augusto, in her first season at UNA after transferring from Martin Methodist, scored the final two goals of the first half in the 34th and 36th minutes to make it 6-0 at intermission."
The end result is that it made me smile and laugh that for some reason this motivation tool never fails with Tassia. She also added three assists in the 8-0 victory.
This is just one of the moments that working around young athletes that makes things enjoyable and rewarding. I'm not saying I'm the reason she is scoring goals and playing well, but do believe my encouragement and goal helps motivate her to think offensively and make the moves she needs to be in position to score....and when in that position, the net is open for her.
The photo is of Tassia from her debut taken from the UNA women's soccer main page.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Remembering No. 33 – Chauncey Shelton
Every one enjoyed watching his command of the game on the basketball court and strong ability to score. Chauncey Shelton was a one-year wonder for Martin Methodist College men's basketball in 2006-07 that earned him the honor of NAIA Honorable Mention All-American this past March.
However, unlike some one-year wonder basketball players, Chauncey was not someone who will be in your mind one minute but gone forever when his playing days were over.
I am fortunate to have known Chauncey during my time as athletic communications director at MMC. The joy was not just knowing that when you needed a win, Chauncey was going to try to do what he could to make it happen, but the short conversations before or after a game or practice.
Following the senior day loss to Union University, Chauncey came off the court apologizing to myself and others for not being able to pull out a win, despite personally shooting 50 percent from the floor and scoring 33 points.
Senior day was my second trip back to Pulaski after resigning my position at MMC in late December to take over as sports editor at the Shelby County Reporter in Alabama. My first was homecoming, and Chauncey was one of the first players to speak to me after the game, asking for my number so we could keep in touch.
I'm sure many people will tell you the same, "He's a good kid. He was always smiling and spoke to everyone he saw." These are not just cliche "after they are gone" comments, but the truth, as far as I could tell.
I first became a fan of Chauncey last summer when head coach Jason Ficca and then assistant coach Patrick Wilcher were working to get Chauncey to MMC from Weber State. We knew that a player of his ability would give MMC a chance to be in position for a TranSouth Athletic Conference title. However, one of the major concerns was academics. It wasn't a concern of having the grades to be eligible, but would he be able to get the classes he wanted and needed to complete his criminal justice degree on time, without having to go too many extra semesters.
This former McDonald's All-American is someone I will not forget. I regret that since we last spoke outside the gym following his final collegiate game, that we did not keep in touch, as he hoped, but still Chauncey always made it an effort to find me when I was back and visit.
That is why it is sad that today I join the Martin Methodist family past to mourn his loss. His character showed through to death, being gunned down after breaking up a fight in Nashville on May 10.
News Channel 5 Update
Friday, April 20, 2007
Baseball's fan base and home runs
Does Major League Baseball have a future? I think it is safe to say that most sports fans, at least baseball fans, may wonder about the future of Major League Baseball. During the players strike in the early 1990s 50 percent of Americans said that they were a fan of professional baseball, however by the time the dust settled from the strike that number fell to 45 percent.
The summer of '98 brought the love for the game to an all time high at 56 percent, but as the drama of a homerun race wore off, the numbers began to steadily decline the next season and have fallen five percentage points in the past three years amid steroid speculation across the league. In a December 2006 Gallup poll, only 45 percent will claim themselves as a fan of the game on a professional level.
Now, what was once considered our national past time, holding the appeal of 39 percent of Americans as their favorite sport in 1948, the love has fallen behind football and basketball. Today 43 percent of Americans consider football their favorite sport, up nine points from December 2005, while basketball remains even at 12 percent and baseball at 11 percent.
So, what is the reason for the fallout of fans from our favorite past time? Is it because we have become a more fast paced society and would rather see an action-packed battle on the gridiron or an hour and a half basketball game as opposed to sitting through three to four hours of baseball? Or is there something more than that?
Baseball's poll numbers are starting to look like political polls – the majority just don't have a trust in the game anymore. Last June 47 percent of professional baseball fans claim that performance-enhancing drugs are the direct influence to the higher number of homeruns. Only 27 percent thought that it was based on an increase in quality hitters, while eight to nine percent said it was because of a new baseball or lack of quality pitching.
With that, it is no surprise that only three percent of sports fans consider Barry Bonds, second all-time in home runs, the greatest home run hitter in the history of the game. Babe Ruth holds that respect with 43 percent of the votes, while Hank Aaron is the only other to receive more than three percent of the votes with 26 percent. And of course the reasons for the doubt in Bonds, which was down from six percent just three years ago, is because 78 percent of professional baseball fans said last April that they believe he has used illegal steroids.
It'll be interesting to see how the 2007 season unfolds, as Bonds is in pursuit of the all-time home run crown after hitting hitting his fourth home run of the season Wednesday, leaving him with 18 needed to break the record.
One thing is for sure, if Major League Baseball has any hope of returning to the position it once held as the country's best, it needs to find a way to win back the hearts of Americans. Simon and Garfunkel's lyrics to Mrs. Robinson ring true today, "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you..." We need a Joltin Joe or an Iron Man (Lou) Gherig or (Cal) Ripken, to help peak our interests - players who are respected for their pure talent and passion for the game. The same players that were in the shinning spot light at baseball's greatest number of fans.
Hope may remain in the pen stripes, as Alex Rodriguez's walk-off homer on Thursday was his 10th of the season. Since playing his first full season in 1996, A-Rod has averaged 42 home runs a season through last year. He is on pace for 116 this year, although that number won't come to fruition, it is safe to say 40 will, which will list him in the Top 20 with more than 500 career home runs. Home run leaders in perspective..Hank Aaron averaged 33 a season for 23 years in 3,298 games, Barry Bonds has averaged 35 in 21 seasons (through 2006) in 2,860 games and Babe Ruth averaged 32.5 for 22 seaosns and 2,503 games. If you take away Babe's first four years in Boston and last season of his career, when he hit a combined 15 home runs, and he avereaged 41.11 through 17 seasons in 2,309 games. A-Rod's average of 42 a season through the past 11 seasons and 1,681 is impressive. He beats Bonds (.25) and Aaron (.22) with an average of 0.27 in seasons where he hit at least 10 home runs (all but two). Ruth's is at the top with 0.30.
Statistical information for this column came from various Gallup Polls and Basebal reference for poll resutls and career stats.
The summer of '98 brought the love for the game to an all time high at 56 percent, but as the drama of a homerun race wore off, the numbers began to steadily decline the next season and have fallen five percentage points in the past three years amid steroid speculation across the league. In a December 2006 Gallup poll, only 45 percent will claim themselves as a fan of the game on a professional level.
Now, what was once considered our national past time, holding the appeal of 39 percent of Americans as their favorite sport in 1948, the love has fallen behind football and basketball. Today 43 percent of Americans consider football their favorite sport, up nine points from December 2005, while basketball remains even at 12 percent and baseball at 11 percent.
So, what is the reason for the fallout of fans from our favorite past time? Is it because we have become a more fast paced society and would rather see an action-packed battle on the gridiron or an hour and a half basketball game as opposed to sitting through three to four hours of baseball? Or is there something more than that?
Baseball's poll numbers are starting to look like political polls – the majority just don't have a trust in the game anymore. Last June 47 percent of professional baseball fans claim that performance-enhancing drugs are the direct influence to the higher number of homeruns. Only 27 percent thought that it was based on an increase in quality hitters, while eight to nine percent said it was because of a new baseball or lack of quality pitching.
With that, it is no surprise that only three percent of sports fans consider Barry Bonds, second all-time in home runs, the greatest home run hitter in the history of the game. Babe Ruth holds that respect with 43 percent of the votes, while Hank Aaron is the only other to receive more than three percent of the votes with 26 percent. And of course the reasons for the doubt in Bonds, which was down from six percent just three years ago, is because 78 percent of professional baseball fans said last April that they believe he has used illegal steroids.
It'll be interesting to see how the 2007 season unfolds, as Bonds is in pursuit of the all-time home run crown after hitting hitting his fourth home run of the season Wednesday, leaving him with 18 needed to break the record.
One thing is for sure, if Major League Baseball has any hope of returning to the position it once held as the country's best, it needs to find a way to win back the hearts of Americans. Simon and Garfunkel's lyrics to Mrs. Robinson ring true today, "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you..." We need a Joltin Joe or an Iron Man (Lou) Gherig or (Cal) Ripken, to help peak our interests - players who are respected for their pure talent and passion for the game. The same players that were in the shinning spot light at baseball's greatest number of fans.
Hope may remain in the pen stripes, as Alex Rodriguez's walk-off homer on Thursday was his 10th of the season. Since playing his first full season in 1996, A-Rod has averaged 42 home runs a season through last year. He is on pace for 116 this year, although that number won't come to fruition, it is safe to say 40 will, which will list him in the Top 20 with more than 500 career home runs. Home run leaders in perspective..Hank Aaron averaged 33 a season for 23 years in 3,298 games, Barry Bonds has averaged 35 in 21 seasons (through 2006) in 2,860 games and Babe Ruth averaged 32.5 for 22 seaosns and 2,503 games. If you take away Babe's first four years in Boston and last season of his career, when he hit a combined 15 home runs, and he avereaged 41.11 through 17 seasons in 2,309 games. A-Rod's average of 42 a season through the past 11 seasons and 1,681 is impressive. He beats Bonds (.25) and Aaron (.22) with an average of 0.27 in seasons where he hit at least 10 home runs (all but two). Ruth's is at the top with 0.30.
Statistical information for this column came from various Gallup Polls and Basebal reference for poll resutls and career stats.
Monday, April 02, 2007
A lack thereof
There's been a lack of blogging on this page for the past three months plus. The same was the case in the fall. I liked to think that my mind was a source of information, thoughts or ideas ready to pour on the page, but if this is true, there's the lack of motivation at the end of the day or time to spend "wasted" online to write on this blog. No, I'm not going to cancel it, but maybe I'll have a break through idea to post sometime soon or an interesting story. In the mean time, if you're interested in reading what I have been writing, which has been 99 percent, if not more, sports driven, then visit www.shelbycountyreporter.com and read the sports stories.
It has been a good first three months on the job. I have covered state championships in indoor track, wrestling and AISA girls basketball, the Bassmasters, a rodeo, an emotional inaugural memorial golf tournament for one of the best golfers in recent history from the state of Alabama. I have also had the opportunity to watch the best junior tennis player in Alabama capture a county championship and develop small relationships with a future SEC football center and golfer. Before the move from sports information and Pulaski, I wondered if I'd be able to have the same opportunites to build relationships with student-athletes that I had there. The answer to that question is becoming true as yes, as long as I want that to happen. It has been great to be able to establish some relationships with coaches, players and fans - just a small part of what makes the job fun and new each week, even if there is burn out every now and a then for the lack of a full 24 hours off from work...such is the nature of media, especially in our technology and information age.
Another good angle to working with the Shelby County Reporter has been the enviroment in which I work. Friday we had an office cookout, which presented itself as more of a family atmosphere. The same was present when the office hosted a joint baby shower for the wives of the publisher and managing editor. The publisher's daughter was born a few weeks back, while the managing editor's son is expected in the next two months.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being where I am now. However, I do ask myself, "Where am I going?" The question of what my next career move will be is up in the air, however, maybe that is a good thing. While it is nice to have goals and a plan to achieve those goals, it is also nice to enjoy the moment and succeed in the task at hand until the time comes that a change is called for, if it ever is.
--Just something to fill the space--
It has been a good first three months on the job. I have covered state championships in indoor track, wrestling and AISA girls basketball, the Bassmasters, a rodeo, an emotional inaugural memorial golf tournament for one of the best golfers in recent history from the state of Alabama. I have also had the opportunity to watch the best junior tennis player in Alabama capture a county championship and develop small relationships with a future SEC football center and golfer. Before the move from sports information and Pulaski, I wondered if I'd be able to have the same opportunites to build relationships with student-athletes that I had there. The answer to that question is becoming true as yes, as long as I want that to happen. It has been great to be able to establish some relationships with coaches, players and fans - just a small part of what makes the job fun and new each week, even if there is burn out every now and a then for the lack of a full 24 hours off from work...such is the nature of media, especially in our technology and information age.
Another good angle to working with the Shelby County Reporter has been the enviroment in which I work. Friday we had an office cookout, which presented itself as more of a family atmosphere. The same was present when the office hosted a joint baby shower for the wives of the publisher and managing editor. The publisher's daughter was born a few weeks back, while the managing editor's son is expected in the next two months.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being where I am now. However, I do ask myself, "Where am I going?" The question of what my next career move will be is up in the air, however, maybe that is a good thing. While it is nice to have goals and a plan to achieve those goals, it is also nice to enjoy the moment and succeed in the task at hand until the time comes that a change is called for, if it ever is.
--Just something to fill the space--
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Last Games
In addendum to the previous post - what a week!
The week has just started, but feels like it should be over. With the holidays approaching, many of us have said "Today feels like it ought to be Friday (or Saturday)." However, it is only Tuesday.
A large portion of that of course because we are planning our vacations. But also, because of basketball games at Martin Methodist on this past Monday and Tuesday night.
Below I mentioned that this is my final week as a member of the RedHawks' Athletic Department staff. To say the least, it has been one heck of a ride with a great swan song duet.
On Monday, Dec. 18, the men's basketball team rewired the electricity in the Curry Christian Life Center with an 83-72 upset over No. 4 Faulkner University. This was the program's highest upset since joining the NAIA. In addition to that, Kirk "Bam-Bam" Newnham scored his 1,000 career point. The lone four-year senior was severely injured in January 2005, cutting short his best season of his career. Averaging 13.5 points per game, he was on pace to score at least 350 points, however finished with just 257 through 19 games. Had the season been completed in 2004-05, Bam would have passed 1,000 last season and pushed for the school record this season, unofficial set at 1,267 (as far as I've tracked down so far).
That is not to say that Bam will not score 266 points in the remaining games of this season's soon to be magical run.
The victory puts the men's team even at 6-6 on the season, with four of their six loses coming to teams at least receiving votes in the Top 25 poll. They are also on an amazing three game win streak.
Tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 19), the women's team improved to 9-2 on the season, continuing their best start in NAIA history, with a 71-60 upset of No. 16 Georgetown College. MMC's three starting guards combined for 47 points, as the RedHawks out rebounded the Tigers 49-29, collecting 34 defensive rebounds.
So, the MMC Athletics portion of my life begins it's close to the tune of "Over Rated!", the chant that echos through the CLC, lingering until both teams host nationally ranked Trevecca Nazarene teams on Jan. 4, 2007 for the TranSouth Athletic Conference opener.
Hopefully, as I turn to cover the fastest growing county in Alabama, the RedHawks will sore into the spring, hearing their fans recite the chant over-and-over again.
The week has just started, but feels like it should be over. With the holidays approaching, many of us have said "Today feels like it ought to be Friday (or Saturday)." However, it is only Tuesday.
A large portion of that of course because we are planning our vacations. But also, because of basketball games at Martin Methodist on this past Monday and Tuesday night.
Below I mentioned that this is my final week as a member of the RedHawks' Athletic Department staff. To say the least, it has been one heck of a ride with a great swan song duet.
On Monday, Dec. 18, the men's basketball team rewired the electricity in the Curry Christian Life Center with an 83-72 upset over No. 4 Faulkner University. This was the program's highest upset since joining the NAIA. In addition to that, Kirk "Bam-Bam" Newnham scored his 1,000 career point. The lone four-year senior was severely injured in January 2005, cutting short his best season of his career. Averaging 13.5 points per game, he was on pace to score at least 350 points, however finished with just 257 through 19 games. Had the season been completed in 2004-05, Bam would have passed 1,000 last season and pushed for the school record this season, unofficial set at 1,267 (as far as I've tracked down so far).
That is not to say that Bam will not score 266 points in the remaining games of this season's soon to be magical run.
The victory puts the men's team even at 6-6 on the season, with four of their six loses coming to teams at least receiving votes in the Top 25 poll. They are also on an amazing three game win streak.
Tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 19), the women's team improved to 9-2 on the season, continuing their best start in NAIA history, with a 71-60 upset of No. 16 Georgetown College. MMC's three starting guards combined for 47 points, as the RedHawks out rebounded the Tigers 49-29, collecting 34 defensive rebounds.
So, the MMC Athletics portion of my life begins it's close to the tune of "Over Rated!", the chant that echos through the CLC, lingering until both teams host nationally ranked Trevecca Nazarene teams on Jan. 4, 2007 for the TranSouth Athletic Conference opener.
Hopefully, as I turn to cover the fastest growing county in Alabama, the RedHawks will sore into the spring, hearing their fans recite the chant over-and-over again.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Winds of Change
"To everything there is a season..."
For those of you who don't know, I am entering my final week as Sports Information Director at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., possibly my final week in full time sports information for my life. I am turning over a new leaf (and considering using every change cliche possible in this post). On Tuesday, January 2, I will begin a post as sports editor at the Shelby County Reporter, a weekly newspaper based out of Columbiana, Ala.
The timing of this change is not the best. Since receiving a phone call in early November informing me that the paper may be calling me out of interest, I have served on a committee to help launch a public access channel in Pulaski, strengthened local friendships, enjoyed the scenery and as always enjoyed the sports memories here. MMC is either in her prime or entering her prime athletically. I hope the latter. That makes it a tough time to leave, not to mention that this departure comes in the middle of an academic and athletic calendar on December 22.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at MMC and will miss the character of Pulaski and Middle Tennessee. I'll miss walking out to Sam Davis Park to the smell of the baseball diamond and the smoke rising from Hickory House. I will miss the 4.5 minute commute from home to work. I will miss seeing chickens cross the road to go to the liquor store (ask and I'll tell). I'll miss students stopping by my office. I'll miss Borders bookstores since there are none in Alabama, and the random trips I made to Cool Springs and West End to waste time in Borders. I'll miss the wins, the loses and the what ifs. I'll miss the red and black of the RedHawks after allowing it to cover up and blend with the purple and gold of the Falcons. I'll miss the columned gates, the drive after merging right off Exit 1 and knowing that I'm almost home. I'll miss the site of the three stars inside the blue circle on the red, Tennessee state flag that flies above the Giles County Board of Education as I turn behind the Curry Christian Life Center.
I will miss the square, the courthouse and the wave at random passers by. I will miss frequently eating fresh and being served by Teresa, Al and P.M. I will miss the giant painted turkeys. I will miss the family that is MMC and Giles County.
When I first moved here, I did not allow myself to get adjusted. I had a feeling that one day I'd uproot and move somewhere else. Despite an interview in July for a position in Birmingham, I was not looking to leave, and decided last December that I enjoyed being here.
"Pulaski grows on you once you let it," I'd tell people.
Everyone who came to visit loved it. Now, if that is the case, then why am I leaving after just 16 months? Why, if I was glad to get out of Birmingham, am I going back?
God only knows. No, that is not a figure of speech cliche, but the truth. Only God knows why he stirred me to listen to and accept the position at the Reporter. Only He knows what is in store for me in Birmingham and what lessons I will learn over the next however many years. Only He knows what will happen with the relationships I have built over the past 16 months or even weeks. For the past few years I have known that I do not fully rely on trusting the promises of God. That may be one reason for this change. I expect this move to open countless opportunities, whether that be professionally through the Reporter or outside work, or personally through straightening relationships both in the middle of the Volunteer State and in the Heart of Dixie.
"It's not why God has called, but for what..." - wisdom given by a co-worker at MMC.
So, as this Christmas week begins, I reflect more on a departure than get excited about a new position, to answer all of you who ask if I'm excited. To refer back to the top, "to everything there is a season" - a time and purpose.
The excitement will come in the next week for my new position, but until then, I'm going to open my pores and soak in what I can of my time in Tennessee.
For those of you who don't know, I am entering my final week as Sports Information Director at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., possibly my final week in full time sports information for my life. I am turning over a new leaf (and considering using every change cliche possible in this post). On Tuesday, January 2, I will begin a post as sports editor at the Shelby County Reporter, a weekly newspaper based out of Columbiana, Ala.
The timing of this change is not the best. Since receiving a phone call in early November informing me that the paper may be calling me out of interest, I have served on a committee to help launch a public access channel in Pulaski, strengthened local friendships, enjoyed the scenery and as always enjoyed the sports memories here. MMC is either in her prime or entering her prime athletically. I hope the latter. That makes it a tough time to leave, not to mention that this departure comes in the middle of an academic and athletic calendar on December 22.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at MMC and will miss the character of Pulaski and Middle Tennessee. I'll miss walking out to Sam Davis Park to the smell of the baseball diamond and the smoke rising from Hickory House. I will miss the 4.5 minute commute from home to work. I will miss seeing chickens cross the road to go to the liquor store (ask and I'll tell). I'll miss students stopping by my office. I'll miss Borders bookstores since there are none in Alabama, and the random trips I made to Cool Springs and West End to waste time in Borders. I'll miss the wins, the loses and the what ifs. I'll miss the red and black of the RedHawks after allowing it to cover up and blend with the purple and gold of the Falcons. I'll miss the columned gates, the drive after merging right off Exit 1 and knowing that I'm almost home. I'll miss the site of the three stars inside the blue circle on the red, Tennessee state flag that flies above the Giles County Board of Education as I turn behind the Curry Christian Life Center.
I will miss the square, the courthouse and the wave at random passers by. I will miss frequently eating fresh and being served by Teresa, Al and P.M. I will miss the giant painted turkeys. I will miss the family that is MMC and Giles County.
When I first moved here, I did not allow myself to get adjusted. I had a feeling that one day I'd uproot and move somewhere else. Despite an interview in July for a position in Birmingham, I was not looking to leave, and decided last December that I enjoyed being here.
"Pulaski grows on you once you let it," I'd tell people.
Everyone who came to visit loved it. Now, if that is the case, then why am I leaving after just 16 months? Why, if I was glad to get out of Birmingham, am I going back?
God only knows. No, that is not a figure of speech cliche, but the truth. Only God knows why he stirred me to listen to and accept the position at the Reporter. Only He knows what is in store for me in Birmingham and what lessons I will learn over the next however many years. Only He knows what will happen with the relationships I have built over the past 16 months or even weeks. For the past few years I have known that I do not fully rely on trusting the promises of God. That may be one reason for this change. I expect this move to open countless opportunities, whether that be professionally through the Reporter or outside work, or personally through straightening relationships both in the middle of the Volunteer State and in the Heart of Dixie.
"It's not why God has called, but for what..." - wisdom given by a co-worker at MMC.
So, as this Christmas week begins, I reflect more on a departure than get excited about a new position, to answer all of you who ask if I'm excited. To refer back to the top, "to everything there is a season" - a time and purpose.
The excitement will come in the next week for my new position, but until then, I'm going to open my pores and soak in what I can of my time in Tennessee.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
A Wealth of Blogging
I just thought I'd let you know that since I have been bombarding you with blogs every day for the past three months (if you can't catch the sarcassim here, then you might want to consider mental help), I'll give you a break for a little while and not post anything.
Seriously, I have no excuse for not posting anything on here, except for a four letter word "work". But still, that's no excuse, right? I have been doing a lot of "blogging" in my head, in conversation with others or on random scrap pieces of paper or notebooks. If only there were an invention that could take your thoughts and apply them straight to paper or to a Microsoft Word Document. While this would be a great invention, it could be a very scary one at the same time.
Before I go on rambling about mind reading software, I just wanted to let those of you who still read this that I will be moving back to Birmingham at Christmas. Considering the only people reading this now that I have been in hibernation the past three months are close family and friends, if even that, then you probably already knew that. Hopefully with the job change and location change, there will also be a frequency of blogging change.
Stay tuned to find out. Until then, have a wonderful Christmas holiday.
Seriously, I have no excuse for not posting anything on here, except for a four letter word "work". But still, that's no excuse, right? I have been doing a lot of "blogging" in my head, in conversation with others or on random scrap pieces of paper or notebooks. If only there were an invention that could take your thoughts and apply them straight to paper or to a Microsoft Word Document. While this would be a great invention, it could be a very scary one at the same time.
Before I go on rambling about mind reading software, I just wanted to let those of you who still read this that I will be moving back to Birmingham at Christmas. Considering the only people reading this now that I have been in hibernation the past three months are close family and friends, if even that, then you probably already knew that. Hopefully with the job change and location change, there will also be a frequency of blogging change.
Stay tuned to find out. Until then, have a wonderful Christmas holiday.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Happy Birthday
For roughly 650 years we have celebrated birthdays, the anniversary of our birth. Number 23 is approaching for me on Saturday and I have a hand full of friends that have their day this week.
I recently added the History Channel's This Day in History webpage to my list of online favorites to check periodically. It turns out today is an important birthday in American history.
192 years ago an American lawyer was sitting on a British ship just off shore of Fort McHenry in Maryland. As the night passed on Sept. 13 and day broke on the 14th, this lawyer looked out his port hole to see a worn and tattered American flag hanging over the Fort and sat down to pen the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner."
Francis Scott Key's poem about the flag's survival of the 1,800 bomb British assault during the War of 1812 was later published on Sept. 20 in a Baltimore newspaper, and later ironically set to the tune of an English drinking song, "To Anacrean in Heaven." However, it was not until Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order in 1916 that the lyrics became the nation's anthem, confirmed in 1931 by a Congressional act signed Herbert Hoover.
Looking around online today, I just found this as an interesting birthday as the morning of Sept. 16 approaches for myself.
One friend of mine who shares the Star Spangled Banner's birthday wrote yesterday that birthdays can be a time for reflection..."a time to reflect on old times, memories and friends, and contemplate where you are now and what you want to do in the future." As she approaches her senior year in college, she is asking the questions we all faced at this cross road and still face...wanting to do the right thing, find the right job, right person, right location and ponder if there is more that we should be doing to help those in need.
Birthdays are a reminder of age, whether you count it as 23 years, 276 months, or over 8400 days. However, as we approach birthdays, my friend is right - the time can be used to look back to your past and remember the people and stories along the way, to remember the parties and gifts, and fun times.
For me, in addition to remembering how I spent my birthday with family and friends in the past, I associate Sept. 16 with Auburn v. LSU, Mexican Independence, and now, as I learned today, the sailing of the Mayflower from
England to Plymouth, Mass. and Road Runner who shares my birthday in 1949.
Data for this blog was collect at This Day in History (Check it out!)
I recently added the History Channel's This Day in History webpage to my list of online favorites to check periodically. It turns out today is an important birthday in American history.
192 years ago an American lawyer was sitting on a British ship just off shore of Fort McHenry in Maryland. As the night passed on Sept. 13 and day broke on the 14th, this lawyer looked out his port hole to see a worn and tattered American flag hanging over the Fort and sat down to pen the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner."Francis Scott Key's poem about the flag's survival of the 1,800 bomb British assault during the War of 1812 was later published on Sept. 20 in a Baltimore newspaper, and later ironically set to the tune of an English drinking song, "To Anacrean in Heaven." However, it was not until Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order in 1916 that the lyrics became the nation's anthem, confirmed in 1931 by a Congressional act signed Herbert Hoover.
Looking around online today, I just found this as an interesting birthday as the morning of Sept. 16 approaches for myself.
One friend of mine who shares the Star Spangled Banner's birthday wrote yesterday that birthdays can be a time for reflection..."a time to reflect on old times, memories and friends, and contemplate where you are now and what you want to do in the future." As she approaches her senior year in college, she is asking the questions we all faced at this cross road and still face...wanting to do the right thing, find the right job, right person, right location and ponder if there is more that we should be doing to help those in need.
Birthdays are a reminder of age, whether you count it as 23 years, 276 months, or over 8400 days. However, as we approach birthdays, my friend is right - the time can be used to look back to your past and remember the people and stories along the way, to remember the parties and gifts, and fun times.
For me, in addition to remembering how I spent my birthday with family and friends in the past, I associate Sept. 16 with Auburn v. LSU, Mexican Independence, and now, as I learned today, the sailing of the Mayflower from
England to Plymouth, Mass. and Road Runner who shares my birthday in 1949.Data for this blog was collect at This Day in History (Check it out!)
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Martin Methodist College Helps Extend Aide and Support in Iraq
By Chris Megginson, Director of Sports Information, Martin Methodist
Posted 08.23.06 on the NAIA Champions of Character Site
PULASKI, Tenn. – Students are arriving on campuses across the nation and fall sport seasons are just days away from their start. Last year’s game ball for soccer, football or volleyball are tossed into the pile of 
During the past season, SSG Shane Duncan, of the 1/115th Field Artillery unit of the National Guard, and his fellow soldiers returned to base one day to find a gift from MMC including a volleyball net, ball and pump donated by the MMC athletic department.
Duncan asked his wife Kelley to search for a way to possibly find a net and ball to give the troops something to use for recreation when not on mission, for up to then it was all sand and no "beach" volleyball.
"My husband asked if I could find one for them. My sister-in-law and a friend told me to talk to [Athletic Director Jeff] Bain, because he is known to be supportive and spirited," said Kelley. "It wasn't but a few days [after I talked to him] and he had not only a net, but balls and a pump."
After receiving Kelley's request, Bain asked his athletics staff, specifically head volleyball coach Rose Magers-Powell, to help locate the items to be sent.
"I immediately thought of several older nets that had been in storage for several 
Kelley and Duncan’s family members poured the MMC athletic department with notes of thanks for Duncan and his unit.
"The sands of Iraq have been touched by these gifts from Martin Methodist. It is the gifts from home that mean so much to these brave men so far away from our beautiful country that is their home," said Kelley, who communicates with her husband frequently via e-mail.
However, the service to Duncan did not stop with the one simple gift. Upon placement of this story on the MMC athletics website, GoRedHawks.com, a call was received by Teresa Hoover of Liberal, Kan. Seeking information on how to get in touch with Duncan’s family.
Hoover was listening to her radio one afternoon, tuned into 102.7 the Legend, and heard a story about Soldiers Angels, a non-profit group organized by a soldier’s mother in 2003 with the mission to provide aide and support to U.S. troops. She immediately began researching the group and applied to adopt a soldier. Just days after the story about Duncan was published on the MMC web in July, Hoover received a letter with her soldier’s name, SSG Danny Duncan of the 1/115th Field Artillery unit.
Even though chances were rare that she would find more information on her soldier, she decided to search online. At the top of her Google search list was the MMC story on SSG Danny “Shane” Duncan.
”If it hadn’t been for the act by the school and that article, I may not have been able to get a hold of Kelley and find out what Shane needs and wants the most,” said Hoover.
Bain, Powell and Hoover are just a few of many across the nation that have been given the opportunity to give whatever is asked to help provide for a soldier.
”I was reminded how something so simple in our lives here at home, would be a luxury in a war zone, and of a wife’s sincerity to do all she can do to help husband away at war” said Bain. “If he sends another message home – needs something else, we’ll send it! That is the least we can do compared to what they are doing for us, our children and our country.”
Duncan, deployed from Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and Kelley have two children, Cody, 15, and Keaton, 11.
In addition to sports equipment there are numerous ways to donate good to troops. Visit www.SoldiersAngels.org for more information on adopting a soldier, submitting a soldier to be adopted or to find out how to help. Also, contact your local National Guard, Army, Navy and Marine units to find out what needs your local troops may have.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Putting CO2 in a Lockbox
During the 2000 Presidential Election, both Vice President Al Gore and Governor George W. Bush were asked to sum up their candidacy with one word, to which Gore responded "Lock-box."
This word, and its over use in the first Presidential Debate, became a fixture in the caricature of Gore through the election, especially by the writers and cast of Saturday Night Live. Gore poked fun at himself numerous times over the word, mainly when appearing as a guest host on SNL.
So, why not use the term again, as Gore's new movie "Inconvenient Truth", in summary, aims to put carbon dioxide (CO2) in a lockbox to stop global warming.
I'll admit, I was never much of an Al Gore fan, and when I heard about this film, I asked the same skeptical question that many others are asking, "What does he know about global warming? Give it up!"
But the more I have looked into the release of this film, the more I lean toward supporting, maybe not the film or Gore, but the urging to see the film and judge for yourself.
The Sundance Film Festival hit documentary is almost all Al Gore. The majority of the film, from what I can tell, is going to be Gore laying out the comparisons of different glaciers, snow-capped mountains, hurricane seasons, temperature indexes and other science to show that the planet is under a direct threat from global warming.
For almost a decade there has been talk, and not much focused attention on this issue, but again, this may be a film worth watching, evaluating and figuring out your own personal, non-partisan stance on a world issue, not an American issue.
One way we learn lessons in life is to compare our present habits to the habits of the past, so as to not repeat mistakes. History is a valuable learning tool.
However, "...in my judgment we need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and at the same time protect the environment," said Bush in May in response to his reasons in not supporting the film - arguing that debating what causes global warming is not important, but merely developing new technology is the key to solving the problem.
Of course, I could be wrong, but isn't it hard to plan new technologies to fix a problem without first attempting to listening to reasons as to how the problem may have been caused? Do you not often need to find the source, before you can find the solution?
After all, isn't that "strategery"? (reference George W. Bush's answer to the one-word question in 2000)
So, while you're looking for things to do this summer, check out the film.
Theatrical Trailer
Official Website
How much CO2 does my household produce? - I'm almost double the average.
Bush v. Gore 2006 (on the film)
Should this launch Gore to a 2008 Presidential bid?
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Lunch at the Drug Store
It used to be a common stop after school for children or for the bus passing through town. Located downtown, or to some uptown, the small town local drug store was the place for the gossip, medicine, gifts, and lunch.
Growing up in Birmingham, I never really had the opportunity to experience this that much, and no where near as much as my father, grandfather or great grandfather had the opportunity.
For more than half a century the corner of West Front Street in Thomasville, Ala. was home to People's Drugs - the small, family owned drug store with a soda fountain and lunch counter. Today, the corner and building is the renovated home of People's Corner - a gift shop and lunch stop.
I have few memories of People's Drugs before it closed in 1986. Really, I only have about one memory of the office inside the store - that and when we returned to the building in 1992 to clean out the attic.
People's Drugs was opened by my great-grandfather Theodore Megginson, followed by my grandfather Dick Megginson, who retired and closed the store in 1986. My dad grew up working small jobs in the store, as it became the after school stop. Bonfires were held on the corner to celebrate homecoming. Visitors would take a pit stop at the store when passing through Clarke County via bus.
Today, I felt like I went back in time to Thomasville. I looked for Grandmama and Grand Daddy behind the counter, as I entered into Reeves Drug Store on First Street in Pulaski, Tenn. for lunch. My friend Stacy, a native Pulaskian, and I met there for lunch. The chairs and tables were similar. It was my first trip to Reeves and made me stop and reflect on what it must have been like to take a lunch break in Thomasville and walk down to People's for a chicken salad sandwich.
Just a taste of small town livin'.
Growing up in Birmingham, I never really had the opportunity to experience this that much, and no where near as much as my father, grandfather or great grandfather had the opportunity.
For more than half a century the corner of West Front Street in Thomasville, Ala. was home to People's Drugs - the small, family owned drug store with a soda fountain and lunch counter. Today, the corner and building is the renovated home of People's Corner - a gift shop and lunch stop.
I have few memories of People's Drugs before it closed in 1986. Really, I only have about one memory of the office inside the store - that and when we returned to the building in 1992 to clean out the attic.
People's Drugs was opened by my great-grandfather Theodore Megginson, followed by my grandfather Dick Megginson, who retired and closed the store in 1986. My dad grew up working small jobs in the store, as it became the after school stop. Bonfires were held on the corner to celebrate homecoming. Visitors would take a pit stop at the store when passing through Clarke County via bus.
Today, I felt like I went back in time to Thomasville. I looked for Grandmama and Grand Daddy behind the counter, as I entered into Reeves Drug Store on First Street in Pulaski, Tenn. for lunch. My friend Stacy, a native Pulaskian, and I met there for lunch. The chairs and tables were similar. It was my first trip to Reeves and made me stop and reflect on what it must have been like to take a lunch break in Thomasville and walk down to People's for a chicken salad sandwich.
Just a taste of small town livin'.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Tracking Your Success
Yesterday we had our annual campus wide planning meeting in the dining hall. Part of the meeting included a presentation on the success of the new website launched by the school on March 1. The stats given compared the Top 6 most visited sites for the month of April.
Of course, the school home page was number one, but the athletics home page was a very close second...one theory is that many are going to the school page and then to the athletics page instead of straight to the athletics page, meaning that the home page success is largely in part to that of the athletics page's success. Third on the list was the baseball home page. Fourth was the admissions page, while softball was fifth. I forget what the sixth page was.
The month of April saw 8,497 visitors to the server, making up 22,000 visits to 419, 800 pages and over two million hits. In just 10 days in the month of May we have had 4,448 visitors and 721,500 hits. May hopefully will eclipse April in the amount of visits. It also appears that over 100,000 trips have been made to the school website from the link off the athletics website.
This is all good news, since the websites are really and truly in their first year of actively being update, nearly on a daily basis. Also, figures that will help bring about some possible financial needs to make needed changes to the sites.
What sparked this blog was my little map on the right side of the screen over there, look down below all my links and the "Blogger" logo. You see all the red dots? They show clusters of visits to this blog as of April 1. If you click on it, then click "map with smaller clusters" it will take you to a map that shows a little more detail of who is viewing the blog. Now, I know where the small dot in Florida is coming from and the ones in Alabama. The big dot covering those is most likely myself checking this thing out. However the one that throws me for a loop is the 10-99 visits from the Great Plains area and the 1-9 in New York.
It is neat to see who, at least from what state/country, someone is reading your blog. Maybe I should send this to my friend in Belgium and others to check when they go over seas to decorate the map...nah, I won't cheat that way.
However, one interesting thought...could you imagine what a map like this would look like on the my athletics site with all of our international students' parents checking the site. Hopefully it would be a lot of red.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Pausing For What Matters
Every day we get up and go about our day on a tightly timed schedule. If you stop and think about it, almost everything we do each day is scheduled - even our "down time."
Say your work day ends at 5 p.m., well, then you know that you should be home between 5:30 and 6:00, so you start to plan dinner, then maybe get ready to get some projects done before your favorite show(s) come one. After that you figure out what needs to be done before going to bed at a certain time.
There's always a schedule.
This is true in almost ever hour of my life. Even vacations are scheduled out to a T.
Saturday was no different. My plan was to meet someone for lunch at 1:00, then go to my alma mater's baseball game around 2:30, then stay for the game, hang out with my college employer, then meet another friend for dinner, then go home to be with family and update baseball results.
However, as I got going Saturday afternoon to meet for lunch, I decided the heck with schedules.
I pulled up to Cracker Barrell to meet my friend from college, Scott. We both were feeling rushed and on a schedule when we arrived. We went in, found a table, debated over what to order, then ordered.
As conversation struck up for the first time (extended conversation) in person in almost a year, I began to relax and mentally crumple my schedule for the day and toss it to the side.
Freely catching up with Scott was much more important than making it to a ball game and trying to see every person I could possibly see in a visit. Scott is one of these friends that I neglect from time to time - well, we probably both neglect each other.
We'd see each other every day in a class while in college. We'd say our common courtesies, briefly find out how things were going, but always seem to be on a schedule. I can truly recall only a few occasions where we have paused to sit and just talk about whatever we needed to get off our chest with no time frame at hand. Although, those times have been limited, I think that is what has built a friendship. We can go months without hardly talking and probably pick right up - something I value with all my friends.
Scott and I had both scheduled about an hour for lunch in our mental planner, but the hour, without realizing it, turned into an hour and a half. It would have been more, but we figured we better give up our table just in case it was needed. But we still had a lot to catch up on, so lunch was paid for, then we made our way to the front porch.
Checkers? Might as well.
We sat down to play a "quick" game of checkers with the intention of continuing our conversation, however the game quickly became highly strategized and competitive, so not many words were said, until we decided we better set up some rules to speed up the game, other wise we'd be there all night.
We did, and I let him beat me.
That was another hour and a half, if not two hours. So, then we made our way to our cars and wrapped up conversations, talking about our jobs, his upcoming wedding, politics, and just life values.
We parted ways soon thereafter, but instead of feeling rushed to live out a schedule, I was relaxed having spent much needed time with a friend. I returned home to spend time with family, while Scott went to the office to help put together the Sunday paper for the Clanton Advertiser.
We issued each other a challenge while eating lunch - to write a column, separate from our normal weekly writings, to e-mail to each other for advice, criticisms and just to get their creative juices flowing. Hopefully that challenge will uphold.
When it does, we may establish a website or blog to share our little project with everyone else, so you can read what we've been writing - that is if Scott doesn't cheat and use his weekly column as his Friday column for the paper.
So, if you're taking the time to read this, keep in mind, just as I must, that it is always more valuable to pause for what matters and throw away your schedule for a few hours or a day.
To read Scott Mims' columns and articles, search the Clanton Advertiser archives for his name.
Say your work day ends at 5 p.m., well, then you know that you should be home between 5:30 and 6:00, so you start to plan dinner, then maybe get ready to get some projects done before your favorite show(s) come one. After that you figure out what needs to be done before going to bed at a certain time.
There's always a schedule.
This is true in almost ever hour of my life. Even vacations are scheduled out to a T.
Saturday was no different. My plan was to meet someone for lunch at 1:00, then go to my alma mater's baseball game around 2:30, then stay for the game, hang out with my college employer, then meet another friend for dinner, then go home to be with family and update baseball results.
However, as I got going Saturday afternoon to meet for lunch, I decided the heck with schedules.
I pulled up to Cracker Barrell to meet my friend from college, Scott. We both were feeling rushed and on a schedule when we arrived. We went in, found a table, debated over what to order, then ordered.
As conversation struck up for the first time (extended conversation) in person in almost a year, I began to relax and mentally crumple my schedule for the day and toss it to the side.
Freely catching up with Scott was much more important than making it to a ball game and trying to see every person I could possibly see in a visit. Scott is one of these friends that I neglect from time to time - well, we probably both neglect each other.
We'd see each other every day in a class while in college. We'd say our common courtesies, briefly find out how things were going, but always seem to be on a schedule. I can truly recall only a few occasions where we have paused to sit and just talk about whatever we needed to get off our chest with no time frame at hand. Although, those times have been limited, I think that is what has built a friendship. We can go months without hardly talking and probably pick right up - something I value with all my friends.
Scott and I had both scheduled about an hour for lunch in our mental planner, but the hour, without realizing it, turned into an hour and a half. It would have been more, but we figured we better give up our table just in case it was needed. But we still had a lot to catch up on, so lunch was paid for, then we made our way to the front porch.
Checkers? Might as well.
We sat down to play a "quick" game of checkers with the intention of continuing our conversation, however the game quickly became highly strategized and competitive, so not many words were said, until we decided we better set up some rules to speed up the game, other wise we'd be there all night.
We did, and I let him beat me.
That was another hour and a half, if not two hours. So, then we made our way to our cars and wrapped up conversations, talking about our jobs, his upcoming wedding, politics, and just life values.
We parted ways soon thereafter, but instead of feeling rushed to live out a schedule, I was relaxed having spent much needed time with a friend. I returned home to spend time with family, while Scott went to the office to help put together the Sunday paper for the Clanton Advertiser.
We issued each other a challenge while eating lunch - to write a column, separate from our normal weekly writings, to e-mail to each other for advice, criticisms and just to get their creative juices flowing. Hopefully that challenge will uphold.
When it does, we may establish a website or blog to share our little project with everyone else, so you can read what we've been writing - that is if Scott doesn't cheat and use his weekly column as his Friday column for the paper.
So, if you're taking the time to read this, keep in mind, just as I must, that it is always more valuable to pause for what matters and throw away your schedule for a few hours or a day.
To read Scott Mims' columns and articles, search the Clanton Advertiser archives for his name.Wednesday, April 12, 2006
GMA Week with Adam Wright
Recently I ventured up I-65 to Nashville for the Gospel Music Awards Week to help support my friend Adam Wright, who was there with Indie Community.
Adam and I both arrived mid-afternoon Sunday, April 2 in time to hang out, grab some pizza, then head over to Rocketown and get ready for the Indie Community Showcase that night. The showcase featured Candlefuse, Solomon's Wish, Distal, Captured and Hyperstatic Union on the main theatre state. In the coffee shop, Judd and Maggie headlined the night, while North of Here, Adam and Josh Hilikar all were featured in accoustic sets.
The night went well, despite tornados moving through the Nashville area. Both mine and Adam's cell phone had numerous voice messages from friends and family checking to see if we were ok in the weather, while we were clueless about its strength. A few positive contacts were made that night with Grass Roots Music, some promotors and other bands.
After we made our way back to our motel in north Nashville and were able to get some sleep, we went back downtown in the morning on Monday to the Nashville Convention Center for the exhibition. We missed out on hearing Donald Miller speak that morning, but I still managed to get an Adam Wright CD in his hand and a DM book in Adam's hand.
The first day of the exhibition went well, as we made contacts with Poor Rich Folk from Ft. Worth, Texas and some other bands that hopefully Adam will have some playing time with in the future. We had the opportunity to stop Jars of Clay in the hall and talk with them briefly about BloodWater Mission and also managed to slip some CDs into the hands of some radio stations around the nation and world.
It's still early to see what effects last week will have on Adam's future music career, but the ball is rolling. Hopefully the career will be able to take off soon.
If you have not heard Adam play, please visit his myspace page and sample his stuff and check out his schedule. The "official website" will hopefully be back up and going in the months to come, as Adam is gearing up to hit the studio for his second recording project.
If you wish to purchase a copy of his first CD, Right By My Side, please visit CDbaby.com.Friday, March 31, 2006
Jackson Recap
I’ve decided to pause and write.
Jackson, Tenn.
The Recap
I arrived in Jackson on Tuesday, March 14. As I mentioned below there were meetings I did not know about and other events that made me excited for the week to come, but also nervous of how I’d handle it. However it was not a bad nervousness, but a good nervousness that makes me focus on ever detail, every time frame to make sure the job is done correctly and to the best I can do it.
Tuesday was another late night, the second in a string of four nights of nearly 3-4 hours of sleep each. Amazingly, I was alert and good each of those nights without drinking a drop of caffeine the whole week.
Monday’s opening game tipped off at 8:30, a tip that could have coincided with the firing of a starter pistol for the track meet I’d run as director of media ops at Oman Arena that week.
The final buzzer sounded for game one as the winning basket hit the nylon net for the University of the Cumberlands, as the Lady Patriots held off Cumberland University’s comeback from 15 points down to almost pull off the win.
The day followed with upsets from the No. 6 seeded teams in the tournament, while the No. 1 seeds won without much of a fight. The story was the same on Thursday for the second half of round two. An interesting statistic in the morning session of day one, was that the visiting team scored 67 points in each of the first three games, however Vanguard University’s strong defense put an end to that interesting, useless fact when they held Texas College to 46 points in the 1:45 game.
By Friday night, I’d written 24 game recaps and two round recaps for the NAIA Tournament. But for the first time, I’d get to sleep past 6:30 on the week. A nice feeling, when hours usually don’t come that early.
By this time I already had the opportunity to get to know the tournament photographer Willis, some of the Trevecca Nazarene players, Lubbock Christian players, reporters from local newspapers and get to know Steven and Allen better, two of the Sports Information Directors of other TranSouth Conference teams that were in the tournament.
Also, because I was one of the first to arrive and the last to leave each night, I received the chance to get to talk with Earnest, one of the maintenance men, or “E” as he preferred to be called.
I slept in Saturday then went to the arena to set up for the quarterfinals. Vanguard opened by holding off a University of the Cumberlands’ attack that almost upset the No. 1 team in the nation, followed by sixth-seeded Lubbock Christian knocking off No. 1 seed Trevecca Nazarene, then The Master’s College tying the game with a last tenth of a second shot by Jessica Seyler to send the game with Freed-Hardeman University to overtime, before winning to knock-off the No. 1 seeded Lady Lions. The night cap was the defending national champions, Union University, beating Oklahoma City in a rematch of last year’s title game, to advance to the “Fab Four”
The next day I hosted the Fab Four Press Conference at the Doubletree Hotel. I was tempted to play Beatles music, but decided not to.
The session lasted nearly two hours, possibly way too long, but it was a good two hours. Stories came out in the press conference that may not have come out otherwise, as we heard from Jessica Seyler and how she came back from what she thought was a career-ending injury to play in the last 12 games of the season. Also, The Master’s Grace Tapely shared what it was like to be sitting on the bench for the tournament after being injured in the opening minutes of the tournament, and having to give up her starting role to a freshman.
I’m not nearly doing justice to the stories here, but they were stories that had the reporters and others in attendance engaged in what was being said. I was disappointed that not more was printed the next day, but it was rewarding to see a small story on Seyler in the Jackson Sun, that most likely would not have been there had it not been for her speaking at the press conference.
Jessica was a source of encouragement for myself over the next few days, just reflecting on her story and the short moments of conversation she and I had off the court. Her ability to look past the troubles that she was going through and keep the positive attitude, plus being the one to go ask the trainer and others what she could do to help them after she played her final game on Monday night was good to watch.
As Barry Faulkner from the Daily Pilot in California kept telling me, that’s a girl that a movie script could be written about.
Anyway, we went on to see Lubbock Christian stay alive into the championship game as this year’s Cinderella, and the lowest seeded team to ever make the championship.
LCU dominated early, but Union countered with offensive and defensive tactics they had not used all year to get past LCU and dominate the last 25 minutes of play, although, LCU made a late run to pull within six.
So, Cinderella fell short of wearing the crown home, as the defending champions won their third title in nine years.
I’ve been asked many times how the tournament went, was it fun, was it worth while.
It went well, and “Yes” to the other two questions.
Did it pass the test to say that sports media relations in where I am supposed to spend my career? I don’t know.
What I do know is that I enjoy telling the story. I enjoyed the moments of helping make the ones who go unnoticed hopefully feel appreciated. I enjoyed the chance to encourage others to tell the story and help them do so.
“Director of Media Opperations” – sounds big and official, doesn’t it?
Although, I think the roll was more like Media Servant... at least that’s what I’d prefer my work on the week to be remember as by the media that was there.
Were there complaints? Yes. Some expected there to be more phone access or more structure for certain aspects. But, those people were only there for one night, so it didn’t matter past that. And after Monday, I think things went well. We still had glitches and problems, but we worked to make sure that things were still able to be done and deadlines met.
It was a good week, but aside from the Championship feeling of standing in the tunnel before the title game and looking up at all the banners, the weekend was more about service than sports.
It was rewarding to help others serve their school or the NAIA. We’ll see lies ahead.
All 34 recaps can be found on the Championship Website.
Jackson, Tenn.
The Recap
I arrived in Jackson on Tuesday, March 14. As I mentioned below there were meetings I did not know about and other events that made me excited for the week to come, but also nervous of how I’d handle it. However it was not a bad nervousness, but a good nervousness that makes me focus on ever detail, every time frame to make sure the job is done correctly and to the best I can do it.
Tuesday was another late night, the second in a string of four nights of nearly 3-4 hours of sleep each. Amazingly, I was alert and good each of those nights without drinking a drop of caffeine the whole week.
Monday’s opening game tipped off at 8:30, a tip that could have coincided with the firing of a starter pistol for the track meet I’d run as director of media ops at Oman Arena that week.
The final buzzer sounded for game one as the winning basket hit the nylon net for the University of the Cumberlands, as the Lady Patriots held off Cumberland University’s comeback from 15 points down to almost pull off the win.
The day followed with upsets from the No. 6 seeded teams in the tournament, while the No. 1 seeds won without much of a fight. The story was the same on Thursday for the second half of round two. An interesting statistic in the morning session of day one, was that the visiting team scored 67 points in each of the first three games, however Vanguard University’s strong defense put an end to that interesting, useless fact when they held Texas College to 46 points in the 1:45 game.
By Friday night, I’d written 24 game recaps and two round recaps for the NAIA Tournament. But for the first time, I’d get to sleep past 6:30 on the week. A nice feeling, when hours usually don’t come that early.
By this time I already had the opportunity to get to know the tournament photographer Willis, some of the Trevecca Nazarene players, Lubbock Christian players, reporters from local newspapers and get to know Steven and Allen better, two of the Sports Information Directors of other TranSouth Conference teams that were in the tournament.
Also, because I was one of the first to arrive and the last to leave each night, I received the chance to get to talk with Earnest, one of the maintenance men, or “E” as he preferred to be called.
I slept in Saturday then went to the arena to set up for the quarterfinals. Vanguard opened by holding off a University of the Cumberlands’ attack that almost upset the No. 1 team in the nation, followed by sixth-seeded Lubbock Christian knocking off No. 1 seed Trevecca Nazarene, then The Master’s College tying the game with a last tenth of a second shot by Jessica Seyler to send the game with Freed-Hardeman University to overtime, before winning to knock-off the No. 1 seeded Lady Lions. The night cap was the defending national champions, Union University, beating Oklahoma City in a rematch of last year’s title game, to advance to the “Fab Four”
The next day I hosted the Fab Four Press Conference at the Doubletree Hotel. I was tempted to play Beatles music, but decided not to.
The session lasted nearly two hours, possibly way too long, but it was a good two hours. Stories came out in the press conference that may not have come out otherwise, as we heard from Jessica Seyler and how she came back from what she thought was a career-ending injury to play in the last 12 games of the season. Also, The Master’s Grace Tapely shared what it was like to be sitting on the bench for the tournament after being injured in the opening minutes of the tournament, and having to give up her starting role to a freshman.
I’m not nearly doing justice to the stories here, but they were stories that had the reporters and others in attendance engaged in what was being said. I was disappointed that not more was printed the next day, but it was rewarding to see a small story on Seyler in the Jackson Sun, that most likely would not have been there had it not been for her speaking at the press conference.
Jessica was a source of encouragement for myself over the next few days, just reflecting on her story and the short moments of conversation she and I had off the court. Her ability to look past the troubles that she was going through and keep the positive attitude, plus being the one to go ask the trainer and others what she could do to help them after she played her final game on Monday night was good to watch.
As Barry Faulkner from the Daily Pilot in California kept telling me, that’s a girl that a movie script could be written about.
Anyway, we went on to see Lubbock Christian stay alive into the championship game as this year’s Cinderella, and the lowest seeded team to ever make the championship.
LCU dominated early, but Union countered with offensive and defensive tactics they had not used all year to get past LCU and dominate the last 25 minutes of play, although, LCU made a late run to pull within six.
So, Cinderella fell short of wearing the crown home, as the defending champions won their third title in nine years.
I’ve been asked many times how the tournament went, was it fun, was it worth while.
It went well, and “Yes” to the other two questions.
Did it pass the test to say that sports media relations in where I am supposed to spend my career? I don’t know.
What I do know is that I enjoy telling the story. I enjoyed the moments of helping make the ones who go unnoticed hopefully feel appreciated. I enjoyed the chance to encourage others to tell the story and help them do so.
“Director of Media Opperations” – sounds big and official, doesn’t it?
Although, I think the roll was more like Media Servant... at least that’s what I’d prefer my work on the week to be remember as by the media that was there.
Were there complaints? Yes. Some expected there to be more phone access or more structure for certain aspects. But, those people were only there for one night, so it didn’t matter past that. And after Monday, I think things went well. We still had glitches and problems, but we worked to make sure that things were still able to be done and deadlines met.
It was a good week, but aside from the Championship feeling of standing in the tunnel before the title game and looking up at all the banners, the weekend was more about service than sports.
It was rewarding to help others serve their school or the NAIA. We’ll see lies ahead.
All 34 recaps can be found on the Championship Website.
Blog Update
Yes, there is another update coming soon. No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet. And yes, I did spend more than one day in Jackson at the NAIA Women's Basketball Tournament.
I know some of you have been checking for an update, so I thought I'd put this "disclaimer" up until I can get the next Jackson post up. I sat down a few times in Jackson to write, but after writing non-stop almost through the day, each day, I lost my creative edge, or decided to sleep, then the same has mostly been the case since getting back into "routine".
So, a post is coming soon, more than one most likely. Maybe next week.
I too keep checking my blog, hoping to see it updated, but the blog fairy just won't do it for me.
I know some of you have been checking for an update, so I thought I'd put this "disclaimer" up until I can get the next Jackson post up. I sat down a few times in Jackson to write, but after writing non-stop almost through the day, each day, I lost my creative edge, or decided to sleep, then the same has mostly been the case since getting back into "routine".
So, a post is coming soon, more than one most likely. Maybe next week.
I too keep checking my blog, hoping to see it updated, but the blog fairy just won't do it for me.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
I'm goin' to Jackson...
Day 1
Jackson, Tenn.
Well, the tournament begins in the morning, actually tip-off is nine hours away from when I am writing this. I arrived today around 11 a.m. and checked in at the Jameson Inn, then headed down to the NAIA Headquarters at the Double Tree Hotel.
Upon arrival I learned that my media manual had not arrived yet, nor had the media programs. Steven Aldridge, the SID for Union University and I sat around the lobby waiting, then decided to go grab lunch. He jinxed us on the way to the restaurant. Steven asked if I had heard about a pre-tournament SID meeting, which I had not and neither had he. Well just our luck, while we were waiting for our food to arrive, Steven checked in with his wife about picking up his daughter from day care and I received a call asking if I knew that I had a meeting at 2:30 with the SIDs….”No, but that’s ok…we’ll aim for 2:30, but let the SIDs know we may be a few minutes late,” was my response.
We arrived back about 2:35 after devouring our late barbecue lunch. The media manual was there, which was what I needed to help conduct the meeting, so to say the least, the meeting was strictly improvised – which turned out well.
We’re short some fax lists and media credentials, but that can be taken care of in the morning. After the meeting Steven and I went to Oman Arena where the tournament will be and I set up my “office” for the week that is closed off from the rest of the media room. I also set up the press tables a little. Tomorrow, I’ll need to get there extra early to setup press row for the games and make sure we’re good to go.
I rushed back to the hotel to change clothes then go to the WBCA Kodak All-American Banquet at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, then a quick Wal-Mart run, then back to the hotel to my second office on the week to update the MMC website with our baseball, softball and tennis results from the day.
I was nervous about getting through today with my students helping me out back in Pulaski, but it all worked out great.
The highlight of the day/night is most likely nothing to do with MMC or this tournament, but receiving a call from Andrea from the Gulf South Conference, who was keeping track of the Montevallo game for me.
“They were down 14 at the half, I’ll call you back” – first call
“They just went up with seven minutes to go, but keep swapping leads” – second call
“Overtime” – third call
“86-83…Montevallo” – fourth call.
The Falcons are in their first ever Elite Eight!
In other words….BZZZZZZ…Alfred Kojima’s getting a buzz cut by Marcus Kennedy – an ongoing agreement since our first Sweet 16 appearance two years ago.
Previous to Danny Young’s tenure, the last UM team to go to second round of the National Tournament was the 1995-1996 women’s basketball team (25-4) here in Jackson at Oman Arena in their final year as an NAIA team. Garry Van Atta was head coach at the time of the purple and gold Lady Falcons.
Tomorrow, Van Atta will lead his No. 1 seed Lady Trojans of Trevecca Nazarene University onto the court for his first trip back to Jackson as a coach since March 1996. Oh, Trevecca wears purple and gold.
Every time I speak to Van Atta, including this afternoon, I tell him it’s the purple and gold!
I am hoping to see our four TranSouth teams do well this week. I hope that Van Atta and I can sit down and talk about the Montevallo days sometime soon, most likely not here, but when we do, then maybe I can start working toward the “History of Myrick Hall” book that I thought about and wrote him about two years ago.
Time to roll over and go to bed…I was thinking I’d be nervous. I was earlier today, but not as much now. Tomorrow may be a different story though.
Jackson, Tenn.
Well, the tournament begins in the morning, actually tip-off is nine hours away from when I am writing this. I arrived today around 11 a.m. and checked in at the Jameson Inn, then headed down to the NAIA Headquarters at the Double Tree Hotel.
Upon arrival I learned that my media manual had not arrived yet, nor had the media programs. Steven Aldridge, the SID for Union University and I sat around the lobby waiting, then decided to go grab lunch. He jinxed us on the way to the restaurant. Steven asked if I had heard about a pre-tournament SID meeting, which I had not and neither had he. Well just our luck, while we were waiting for our food to arrive, Steven checked in with his wife about picking up his daughter from day care and I received a call asking if I knew that I had a meeting at 2:30 with the SIDs….”No, but that’s ok…we’ll aim for 2:30, but let the SIDs know we may be a few minutes late,” was my response.
We arrived back about 2:35 after devouring our late barbecue lunch. The media manual was there, which was what I needed to help conduct the meeting, so to say the least, the meeting was strictly improvised – which turned out well.
We’re short some fax lists and media credentials, but that can be taken care of in the morning. After the meeting Steven and I went to Oman Arena where the tournament will be and I set up my “office” for the week that is closed off from the rest of the media room. I also set up the press tables a little. Tomorrow, I’ll need to get there extra early to setup press row for the games and make sure we’re good to go.
I rushed back to the hotel to change clothes then go to the WBCA Kodak All-American Banquet at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, then a quick Wal-Mart run, then back to the hotel to my second office on the week to update the MMC website with our baseball, softball and tennis results from the day.
I was nervous about getting through today with my students helping me out back in Pulaski, but it all worked out great.
The highlight of the day/night is most likely nothing to do with MMC or this tournament, but receiving a call from Andrea from the Gulf South Conference, who was keeping track of the Montevallo game for me.
“They were down 14 at the half, I’ll call you back” – first call
“They just went up with seven minutes to go, but keep swapping leads” – second call
“Overtime” – third call
“86-83…Montevallo” – fourth call.
The Falcons are in their first ever Elite Eight!
In other words….BZZZZZZ…Alfred Kojima’s getting a buzz cut by Marcus Kennedy – an ongoing agreement since our first Sweet 16 appearance two years ago.
Previous to Danny Young’s tenure, the last UM team to go to second round of the National Tournament was the 1995-1996 women’s basketball team (25-4) here in Jackson at Oman Arena in their final year as an NAIA team. Garry Van Atta was head coach at the time of the purple and gold Lady Falcons.
Tomorrow, Van Atta will lead his No. 1 seed Lady Trojans of Trevecca Nazarene University onto the court for his first trip back to Jackson as a coach since March 1996. Oh, Trevecca wears purple and gold.
Every time I speak to Van Atta, including this afternoon, I tell him it’s the purple and gold!
I am hoping to see our four TranSouth teams do well this week. I hope that Van Atta and I can sit down and talk about the Montevallo days sometime soon, most likely not here, but when we do, then maybe I can start working toward the “History of Myrick Hall” book that I thought about and wrote him about two years ago.
Time to roll over and go to bed…I was thinking I’d be nervous. I was earlier today, but not as much now. Tomorrow may be a different story though.
Monday, March 13, 2006
NAIA Women's Basketball D-I National Championship
For the next week I will be in Jackson, Tenn. serving as the media coordinator for the 2006 NAIA Women's Basketball Division I National Championships. There will be 32 teams, 31 games and six days of competition for one championship. It ought to be interesting.
My hope is to update this blog daily with an update of each day's events, so check back each night or morning to catch up on what's been going on. Most likely I won't be doing much e-mailing, especially the first few days, so this will be my way of letting you know how it goes.
Wed.-Fri. the first games tip at 8:30 a.m. and the last at 9:45 p.m., so that means time in the media room will be from about 7 a.m.-1 a.m.
Click here for a bracket.
Bring on the Basketball,
Chris
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