Jason Stringer with the 9 point (18" spread) he bagged at Walker FarmsDecember 31, 2008
December 30, 2008
December 29, 2008
UFC 92 in Las Vegas
Got back from Las Vegas on Monday night after a day of delays at airports and late evening traffic in New Orleans, but it was well worth it. We were treated to 10 fights at the MGM Garden Arena which holds 17,000 and it was full as the main card got started. I was a little disappointed that only one of those went the distance as the night was full of knock outs. Three of my favorites got hammered, Wanderlei Silva got knocked out cold by Rampage Jackson about midway through the first round and it took him several minutes to even sit up, Minotauro Nogueira was TKO'ed by Frank Mir in the 2nd round and Forrest Griffin allowed Rashad Evans to take him to the ground where Evans dominated him before knocking him out. Even though my favorites were beaten it was still a great event to attend. The lighting and sound in the building was awesome and added so much to the night. We stayed at the MGM two years ago and I had no clue it had a 17,000 seat arena.........of course we saw Tom Jones there and needless to say the old guy's crowd was a little more subdued and smaller. I was a little surprised we didn't see more celebrities at the fight since it was the biggest card in UFC history but we did get to see Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Dana White and the Tap Out Crew with the help of the ole binoculars. Chuck Liddell's expression after Rampage Jackson's knockout of Silva was priceless. Liddell was in line for a title shot had Jackson lost and it looked like he had just gotten knocked out himself. The UFC is becoming so popular it's hard to believe and they have captured the formula for pleasing their fans unlike boxing. A few of the fighters from the Ultimate Fighter series were in the lobby after the fight which caused a lot of commotion amongst fans eager to get photos and autographs. I look forward to getting back to Las Vegas to catch some more fights and eat at the best barbecue restaurant I have ever eaten at. The Harley Davidson Cafe on the strip has the best babyback ribs ever......we ate there two years ago and again on Sunday and it is absolutely the best! UFC 93 is next month at the MGM with St. Pierre vs BJ Penn as the main event...should be great!
December 25, 2008
December 21, 2008
AA South Basketball Races
Halfway Home
By Darron Thomas
For one team the second half of the season is the only thing standing in the way of a state championship. For the remaining 27 teams it will be another season of what if and what could have been. What teams will make January a sprint to post season seedings and positioning in that quest for the ring? Will Brookhaven be hoisting the trophy for the fifth consecutive season or will it change hands? Will the north quietly enter the state tournament in Brookhaven come February and leave with a bang? We’re already at the halfway mark and some questions are easily answered but many will remain cloudy until late January.
My take on the first half of the 2008/09 basketball season is, of course, concentrated on the south and with good reason. It’s no secret that the south has been dominant with regards to AA boy’s basketball over the past 12 years and if you’re a gambler you would likely bet that the trend will continue this season as well. Had Central Private not moved up to AAA for the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons the Rebels, with all probability, would have won four straight AA Championships which would have negated the titles that Simpson and Marshall won during those two seasons. No disrespect towards those two fine schools but the fact remains that Central Private was flat out dominate during that span. With all this said the north could very well make a splash this season but just which squad will crash the party and make the final four at state isn’t yet clear. You know that it has to be a motivation tool for a few teams in the northern districts after the all south final four at Grenada last season. Marshall is solid every year and came up just short of defeating Brookhaven in the first round last season and Leake came a whisker of sending Bowling Green home. Whether the south has the four best teams again this season is up in the air.
As January 2nd approaches and district play begins there will be some separation between solid teams and the ones who struggle. In district 4AA Brookhaven once again will be prohibitive favorites to win another district title but the race for the second spot could be closer than usual. The Columbia Cougars having the misfortune of being in the same district as Brookhaven for so many years would have won several district titles had they been in any other district. This season they may have company in the race for that #2 spot. Simpson has opened the season with a respectable 12-5 mark and Prentiss sits at 8-1 which could lead to some great district battles. All this is hyperbole if Brookhaven trips up somewhere along the way, perhaps at Columbia on January 13th.
In district 3AA Trinity is heads above the rest and will surely be hard to beat as they progress into January and district play along with some non-district competition. The Saints in all likelihood have the fastest backcourt in AA basketball which tends to cause match up problems for lots of teams. River Oaks could be the only resistance to Trinity winning another district title and a #1 seed heading into south state at Copiah. The Mustangs have started out an impressive 8-1 but must prove they can compete with the Saints to have any hopes of making a strong post season showing. Chamberlain-Hunt seems to be a strong #3 seed in that district. Any team with a legitimate 7 footer has to be right? Riverfield, PVA, and ACCS will battle for the fourth spot.
District 5AA, in my opinion, will be a two, possibly three team race to the finish line. Bowling Green has shown to be a hard team to beat at home with wins over Parklane and Brookhaven but has struggled just a bit on the road. With Coach Jason Horne’s Centreville squad beginning to get into a flow and an improved Silliman team playing well this district could be up in the air. Oak Forest is under new direction and has improved while Central Private under Coach Rudy Smith always competes. Go ahead and circle January 9th when Bowling Green travels to Centreville and one week later on the 16th as BG travels to Silliman. There’s your race in a nutshell.
For one team the second half of the season is the only thing standing in the way of a state championship. For the remaining 27 teams it will be another season of what if and what could have been. What teams will make January a sprint to post season seedings and positioning in that quest for the ring? Will Brookhaven be hoisting the trophy for the fifth consecutive season or will it change hands? Will the north quietly enter the state tournament in Brookhaven come February and leave with a bang? We’re already at the halfway mark and some questions are easily answered but many will remain cloudy until late January.
My take on the first half of the 2008/09 basketball season is, of course, concentrated on the south and with good reason. It’s no secret that the south has been dominant with regards to AA boy’s basketball over the past 12 years and if you’re a gambler you would likely bet that the trend will continue this season as well. Had Central Private not moved up to AAA for the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons the Rebels, with all probability, would have won four straight AA Championships which would have negated the titles that Simpson and Marshall won during those two seasons. No disrespect towards those two fine schools but the fact remains that Central Private was flat out dominate during that span. With all this said the north could very well make a splash this season but just which squad will crash the party and make the final four at state isn’t yet clear. You know that it has to be a motivation tool for a few teams in the northern districts after the all south final four at Grenada last season. Marshall is solid every year and came up just short of defeating Brookhaven in the first round last season and Leake came a whisker of sending Bowling Green home. Whether the south has the four best teams again this season is up in the air.
As January 2nd approaches and district play begins there will be some separation between solid teams and the ones who struggle. In district 4AA Brookhaven once again will be prohibitive favorites to win another district title but the race for the second spot could be closer than usual. The Columbia Cougars having the misfortune of being in the same district as Brookhaven for so many years would have won several district titles had they been in any other district. This season they may have company in the race for that #2 spot. Simpson has opened the season with a respectable 12-5 mark and Prentiss sits at 8-1 which could lead to some great district battles. All this is hyperbole if Brookhaven trips up somewhere along the way, perhaps at Columbia on January 13th.
In district 3AA Trinity is heads above the rest and will surely be hard to beat as they progress into January and district play along with some non-district competition. The Saints in all likelihood have the fastest backcourt in AA basketball which tends to cause match up problems for lots of teams. River Oaks could be the only resistance to Trinity winning another district title and a #1 seed heading into south state at Copiah. The Mustangs have started out an impressive 8-1 but must prove they can compete with the Saints to have any hopes of making a strong post season showing. Chamberlain-Hunt seems to be a strong #3 seed in that district. Any team with a legitimate 7 footer has to be right? Riverfield, PVA, and ACCS will battle for the fourth spot.
District 5AA, in my opinion, will be a two, possibly three team race to the finish line. Bowling Green has shown to be a hard team to beat at home with wins over Parklane and Brookhaven but has struggled just a bit on the road. With Coach Jason Horne’s Centreville squad beginning to get into a flow and an improved Silliman team playing well this district could be up in the air. Oak Forest is under new direction and has improved while Central Private under Coach Rudy Smith always competes. Go ahead and circle January 9th when Bowling Green travels to Centreville and one week later on the 16th as BG travels to Silliman. There’s your race in a nutshell.
I got Brookhaven in 4AA, Trinity in 3AA, and Bowling Green by a hair in 5AA.
It’s going to be fun for me this season due in part because I don’t have a son playing anymore and the intense pressure is gone. My wife thinks I’m insane but I WILL see all 17 teams play in the month of January!
See ya…………..
December 20, 2008
Brookhaven at Bowling Green
Bowling Green Sweeps Brookhaven
By Darron Thomas
By Darron Thomas
Bowling Green accomplished what many teams have not been able to do on Friday night in Franklinton......a sweep of both Brookhaven teams. The perennial AA basketball power Brookhaven Cougars entered Friday night's match up as the #1 ranked boys team in AA with it's only two losses coming at the hands of AAA powerhouses MRA and Jackson Academy. The last time Brookhaven and Bowling Green met was at last year's semi-final game in Grenada with the Cougars upsetting Bowling Green 44-36 then going on to beat Trinity for their fourth state title in five years. On Friday night in Franklinton the quite rumor was that it could be ugly as Brookhaven seemed to have just reloaded during the off season and Bowling Green still trying to mesh some new faces together after losing six seniors from last year's 33-3 squad. Bowling Green jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and finished off the 1st quarter with a 13-7 advantage. The 2nd quarter tightened up as Brookhaven outscored the Bucs 16-15 to cut the Bowling Green lead to 28-23 at the halfway point. The 3rd quarter was controlled by Brookhaven as the Cougars held BG to only three points and grabbed their first lead of the night going into the final period with a 34-31 cushion. Bowling Green withstood poor outside shooting long enough to get some help from senior guard Andrew Wood who hit two timely 3-pointers in the final quarter which aided the Bucs to a 21-11 fourth quarter run and a 52-45 win. Since starting the season 0-3 Bowling Green has won 8 of 9 which included a 10 point win over Parklane. Junior guard Jaron Edwards led BG with 18 points and Andrew Wood had 14.
Senior Blaine Roberts led Brookhaven with 16 points.
In the girls contest sophomores Brittany Cooper, Beth Reedy, Morgan Hembre, and Laken Adams stepped up to contribute 26 points collectively as the Lady Bucs held off Brookhaven 45-42. Cooper led BG with 14 points, junior Callie Brock had 11, and senior Cadie Robertson 8 points as BG improved to 8-5.
Brookhaven was led by Anna Lofton with 14 points.
Bowling Green will host Alpha on Saturday and Brookhaven will meet Silliman at the Brookhaven Christmas Tournament.
December 19, 2008
December 18, 2008
December 11, 2008
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December 6, 2008
Fundamentals?
No Fundamentals? No Rings!
By Darron Thomas
During the middle of last year’s basketball season I made a drive to watch a few teams play that I hadn’t seen much of. Before the junior varsity games got started the two schools played their 7th grade teams. While it was a competitive game one thing that became clear was the difference in the level of fundamentals that one team possessed over the other and that group won. What was more glaring during the course of the game was the decisiveness and discipline of the group. Each youngster knew where they were to be each time down the court and each one knew where the ball was designed to go and if the option wasn’t there they knew what the second option was. They had no fear on offense and shot three pointers with effectiveness when the opportunity arose. No forced shots or lack of patience on offense and a mental toughness that one usually only sees with varsity players. I had to keep reminding myself that I was watching 7th graders. My final observation was that this 7th grade team was executing the same offense and defense that their varsity team does and that this group had been drilled and worked with for countless hours. This 7th grade group will win championships and rings to go with them in three or four years. They will win because of someone’s commitment to them and the commitment those kids will put into achieving their goal. There is no magic bullet or easy solution when it comes to building a championship team. It can’t begin when kids reach their sophomore season. If kids aren’t drilled and taught basic fundamentals prior to their entry into junior high it’s often too late by the time they reach the high school level. The exceptions are the pure, gifted ones which are far and few in between. All it takes is the examination of the most successful schools year in and year out to discover the effectiveness of early development of young athletes. There are scores of young talented kids in the 4th-6th grade levels that will have to play catch-up to those kids that have been taught years earlier. Why most schools don’t have developmental programs is a mystery but those that do certainly have things figured out. So, no fundamentals? No rings!
By Darron Thomas
During the middle of last year’s basketball season I made a drive to watch a few teams play that I hadn’t seen much of. Before the junior varsity games got started the two schools played their 7th grade teams. While it was a competitive game one thing that became clear was the difference in the level of fundamentals that one team possessed over the other and that group won. What was more glaring during the course of the game was the decisiveness and discipline of the group. Each youngster knew where they were to be each time down the court and each one knew where the ball was designed to go and if the option wasn’t there they knew what the second option was. They had no fear on offense and shot three pointers with effectiveness when the opportunity arose. No forced shots or lack of patience on offense and a mental toughness that one usually only sees with varsity players. I had to keep reminding myself that I was watching 7th graders. My final observation was that this 7th grade team was executing the same offense and defense that their varsity team does and that this group had been drilled and worked with for countless hours. This 7th grade group will win championships and rings to go with them in three or four years. They will win because of someone’s commitment to them and the commitment those kids will put into achieving their goal. There is no magic bullet or easy solution when it comes to building a championship team. It can’t begin when kids reach their sophomore season. If kids aren’t drilled and taught basic fundamentals prior to their entry into junior high it’s often too late by the time they reach the high school level. The exceptions are the pure, gifted ones which are far and few in between. All it takes is the examination of the most successful schools year in and year out to discover the effectiveness of early development of young athletes. There are scores of young talented kids in the 4th-6th grade levels that will have to play catch-up to those kids that have been taught years earlier. Why most schools don’t have developmental programs is a mystery but those that do certainly have things figured out. So, no fundamentals? No rings!
December 5, 2008
Brookhaven and Trinity Favorites in AA South
By Darron Thomas
As the 2008/09 season gets into full swing two teams are the prohibitive favorites to win the AA South State Title in Gallman come February and frontrunners to earn a state championship afterwards in Brookhaven. The Brookhaven Cougars won their fourth consecutive state championship last season edging out the Trinity Saints in Grenada. While the probability of these two squads actually matching up again in the state title game are slim due to the chance both could be in the same bracket it wouldn't be a huge surprise if either plays for the title once again.
Brookhaven lost four seniors from last season's squad including starters Corey Dickerson, Daniel Lofton and Sawyer Wallace but Coach Dale Watts has another crop of players learning the Brookhaven system and will undoubtedly be in high gear as January approaches. Seniors Blaine Roberts, Ty Smith and Josh
Winborne will be surrounded by a few new faces and underclassmen and more depth than last season's squad.The Trinity Saints also lost four seniors from last season's AA South Championship and AA State Runners up team. With the loss of Matthew Freeman, Kyle Ketchings, Parker Brumfield and Langdon Morrison, head coach David King has the task of molding yet another group of players with tons of potential. Returning for the Saints is 6'4" senior center Andrew Johnson and guards Brandon Daggs and Givonni Dent. Johnson and Daggs had exceptional play at south state in Columbia last season including the championship game against Bowling Green. The Saints not only won the AA South State Title they also handed Bowling Green their first loss of the season.
These two teams will play twice during the regular season.....January 3rd at Trinity and January 24 at Brookhaven. These two games will surely draw lots of attention and will be a barometer of sorts with regards to who may be the favorite in the post season tournaments. Both won on their homecourts last season.
December 3, 2008
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