Roberts signs with Co-Lin

Roberts signs pact with C-L Wolves

TOM GOETZ, DAILY LEADER
Blaine Roberts said he is looking forward to shooting the basketball in Copiah-Lincoln Community College's Mullen Gymnasium. The Brookhaven Academy senior signed a basketball scholarship Monday with the Co-Lin Wolfpack.
"I'm happy and I'm excited," answered Roberts, when asked about his scholarship opportunity. He said he's considering a career in the medical field.

As a senior, the 6-foot-3, 155-pound Roberts averaged 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for Coach Dale Watts, helping the Cougars to a 30-10 record and a 5th straight Class AA state tournament championship. He was selected Most Valuable Player and Mr. Basketball on The DAILY LEADER'S 2009 All-Lincoln County Boys Basketball Team. Roberts moved from shooting guard to being mainly a point guard and ball-handler his senior campaign. His points per game average plummeted but the Cougars added another state championship banner to John R. Gray Gymnasium in the process. Described as "gym rat" by Coach Watts, Roberts works overtime at improving his basketball skills. His grandfather, Danny Roberts, used to borrow the gymnasium's keys from Watts so his grandson could spent extra time shooting the basketball in the gym. "We would come up here and shoot, a lot of times on Saturdays before games," said the soft-spoken Roberts. His parents are David Roberts and Melissa Burns, both Bogue Chitto graduates. Roberts also excels in track where he competes in the triple jump and high jump for the Cougars. He has cleared 6-foot in the high jump and posted a distance of 38 feet in the triple jump. In the classroom, Roberts said his favorite subject is math. He has scored a 30 on the ACT. "Blaine has been a great person to work with," said Watts. "He has set some high standards for himself. He's very coachable." Roberts competed in the AA state basketball playoffs in spite of a broken bone in his left hand. He had sustained the injury in the final game of the regular season. "Blaine showed a lot of courage to continue playing despite that broken hand," said Watts. "He's very dedicated and competitive." Asked about his favorite NBA team, Roberts said he likes the Boston Celtics. He comes from a family of Ole Miss fans so he enjoys watching the Rebels play. Roberts said Watts helped him improve his basketball knowledge and skills. "Coach Watts really taught me a lot." Co-Lin coach Dennis Sims said he was looking forward to having Roberts on the squad. He loses 4 starters to graduation off a state tournament runner-up team that finished 15-14. Returning is 6-8 post Dwayne Brown. "Blaine is a guard with good height," said Sims. "He is coming from a very disciplined program where a lot is demanded of the players. "Coach Watts works his players extremely hard so he knows about practicing to improve," Sims said. "He's a good student, too."

New York City

My son Derek and his wife Alissa in New York City last month

Washington Monument

Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial Fountain

(Courtesy Brett Rutland)

Utah

Dead Horse Point

Moab, Utah

Great Vacation Spot

Planning a Vacation? Gotta Go To Moab, Utah!

By Darron Thomas
Looking for a vacation with a little bit of everything? If you’re an early planner and find yourself searching for a destination for the whole family do a search on Moab, Utah! I knew nothing of Moab until May of 2007 when scanning through the travel atlas I stumbled upon Utah and began to scour the state from top to bottom in an attempt to find an interesting and new location to spend a vacation. Salt Lake City looked like fun but unless you really enjoy tours and picture taking it may not appeal to the whole family. Then I scanned on down the atlas to the southeastern part of Utah and saw Moab and decided to do some net surfing to find out what activities and sights were in that part of the state. Well it didn’t take long for Moab to get my interest up. Great information was readily available and before I knew it I was booking a flight and making hotel and car rental reservations. One thing that was clear from the start of my planning was that if the trip was a dud then it was me who would catch the wrath of the family. Anyway, plans were finalized and June was upon us quickly and the ritual of packing and repacking and going over every detail from proper identification for security at the airport to where’s the itinerary and did I leave anyone off? As most everyone knows one of the most stressful parts of a vacation post 911 is security at airports and long lines not to mention the what seems like miles of walking to find your gate for boarding. Being a habitual worrier that never sleeps the night before a trip adds to the stress but with Gods guidance we had no trouble and made our destination to Salt Lake City full of excitement. A smooth transition from airplane to rental car at the airport went off without a hitch and we were on our way to Moab. To all the guys out there…if your wife suggests paying a few extra bucks for the navigational system to go along with the rental car just swallow your pride and say “yes dear”, because you’ll need it! The drive from Salt Lake City to Moab is a short four hours, by short I mean time goes by quickly because you don’t know what you’ll see after every turn and it’s a two lane highway most of the way. One thing that’s obvious during the drive is the vast change of the terrain from mountainous wooded areas to huge rock formations as we got closer to Moab. We made the drive with ease and checked into our hotel and began planning the next four days in an attempt to cram as much in as possible and that we did! Moab is just on the outskirts of Arches National Park which is one of the most incredible experiences we’ve ever enjoyed. Thousands of natural arches, hiking trails and rock formations that grabs the interest of everyone. It would have been easy to spend our four days just inside of Arches National Park. We did see and do almost everything we wanted to during the four days……ATV riding in sand dunes, horseback riding, Hummer tour, whitewater rafting in the Colorado River, and one of the “must do” activities in Moab…the "Canyonlands by Night" tour. The tour actually begins with a dutch-oven buffet late in the evening and ends with a night-time boat trip up the Colorado. This was one of our most enjoyable things to do in Moab. Within 25 miles or so of Moab is Canyonlands National Park which is another mystical park and Deadhorse Point State Park is in the area as well. Although it was June and in the low 90's during the peak of day the humidity is so low that we never broke a sweat the whole time. After our time was up in Moab we made the drive back to beautiful Salt Lake City and spent the next two days there before heading back home. As most know, Utah is Mormon country and Salt Lake City is full of history of the church. Temple Square engulfs alot of downtown and has great architecture and greenery. Our last tourist location was the short trip north of the city to visit Salt Lake and Antelope Island. The only inland salt lake in the country is amazing and it’s easy to walk a hundred yards without the water getting above your knees. This area of Utah contrasts greatly to the Moab region but is worth the visit. We had so much fun during our May 2007 trip that we went back with more family members in September. Moab is definitely a vacation for the whole family.

New York City, April 2009

Times Square

New York City

(Photo by Brett Rutland)