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BASKETBALL MCHS vs. Telfair Co. Sat. 4:00 p.m. (A) RTCA vs. Bulloch Aca. Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A) TCHS vs. Swainsboro, Tattnall Co. Fri. 7:00 p.m. (A); Sat. 7:00 p.m. (A) VHS vs. Woodville Fri. 6:00 p.m. (A) NO FANS - LISTEN TO ON 98Q Wheeler vs. Hawkinsvill, Johnson Co. Fri. 6:00 p.m. (H); Sat. 6:00 p.m. (A) Treutlen OFF January 6,2021 ®lft Aiuianre Section B Loran Indians Host Christmas Classic Photo by Mike Branch Ira Clements holds off a Mount De Sales defender before getting a shot off during the first half of the game. Smith Phil Neikro The box score of Phil Niekro’s ex traordinary career has intrigued and astonished baseball aficionados for years, but that doesn’t reflect his great love for the outdoors or the humility which characterized his life—his abil ity to walk with kings and never lose the com mon touch. I saw Phil pitch many times with the Braves. There were pre and post-game in terviews when I would listen to him talk pitch ing. The mas ter of the knuckleball had difficulty explaining what made his knuckler “do what it did.” It was like the naive country boy from the sticks who could not fathom how a thermos bottle kept your coffee hot in the winter and your tea cold in the summer. “How do it know?” he asked in exasperation. It was the same with Niekro’s knuckler. Even he didn’t know where it was going. He couldn’t explain why his knuckler would seem to explode in front of a batter, going straight up or straight down. He remembered bat ters who swung at pitches that wound up hitting them. “I have seen batters swing at pitches that actually went be hind them,” he said. For years, I fly fished with Phil in the spring on the Chattahoochee. While he has always been an avid an gler, dating back to his growing up days in Lansing, Ohio, he had never fly-fished. I introduced him to Jimmy Harris, owner of Unicoi Outfitters in Helen, and Jimmy introduced Phil to fly-fishing. “I’m hooked,” Phil grinned after his first outing on the Chatta hoochee. Niekro was as baffled about the sport of fly-fishing as major league hit ters were about his fluttering knuck leball. “It has always amazed me how those trout see those tiny flies,” he would say. “You fly fish with such a small hook and you are overwhelmed when you land a fly in the stream. The trout sees it and suddenly strikes your fly. I keep asking myself, ‘How do those trout in that swift moving water see those tiny flies?”’ Phil never got over what he con sidered a phenomenon, same as it was with hitters and his knuckleball, which he said would often break two and one-half feet. A Hall-of-Famer, who pitched 24 years in the Big Leagues and retired at age 48, Phil Niekro, ev erybody agrees, could pitch. He could also fish. When it came to storytell ing, he was, perhaps, the best. What a raconteur! His ability to weave a yarn ranked him with the elite. It was fun hearing him lay out a story even an oldie that he had told before. Like the joke he would pull on a waitress by initiating a conversation with, “What is your name?” She responds, “Mary Ann.” “Can I call you Mary Ann?” With a generous smile she says, “Certainly.” Phil then would deadpan, “What’s your number?” A round of laughs ac companied every round of drinks. Following an afternoon on the river, he would hold court at the Holiday Inn Express in Helen, which caused our fishing party to put off din- Please see Loran page 2B By Mike Branch Sports Editor sports 7 advance@gmail. com The Vidalia High School Indians basketball teams hosted the Paul Thig pen Christmas Classic last week with games on Monday through Wednes day. There were several teams in atten dance over the three-day event. On the first day the Lady Indians faced Wilkinson County while the boys took on Mount De Sales. On Tuesday the girls fell to Tattnall County while the boys won over Jefferson County. On the final day the Lady Indians lost to Veterans High while the boys dropped a game to Wilkinson County. Girls vs. Wilkinson The Lady Indians got a big game from Treyunna Roundtree on their way to the win. In the first period Vi dalia was up by just one, 13-12, and then by halftime they were trailing 24- 23. In the third period VHS outscored Wilkinson 18-4 to pull out to a 41-28 lead. VHS took the win 53-34. Roundtree led VHS with 24 points. Boys vs. De Sales Vidalia took an early 6-0 lead after a basket by Ty Dailey. VHS led 10-3 with five minutes to play in the first. De Sales closed the lead to 10-8, but a By Mike Branch Sports Editor sports 7 advance@gmail. com The Montgomery County High School and Toombs County High School basketball teams played on Wednesday of last week and split their games. The Lady Eagles got the win in the girls game while the Bulldogs came out on top in the boys matchup. Girls The Lady Eagles were on top 14-5 by the end of the first and led 26-12 at halftime. It was a 47-17 lead for MCHS by the end of the third period and they outscored TCHS 21-5 in that period. Montgomery took the win 53-31. MCHS was led by Makyla Bell with 18 points, Marley Bell added 15 points. For Toombs KayKay Mobley scored 13 points and Aniyah Mckin- non posted 11. Boys In the boys game the Eagles scored first on a basket by Jamari Mincey. Dreon Jackson extended that lead to 4-0 before Toombs made it 4-2 after a basket by DJ Mckinney. Montgomery extended their lead to 10-2 with 4:30 left in the first period. Brantley Upshaw got another bas ket to fall for the Bulldogs, and then a The 20th edition of the Sweet Onion Cheer Classic presented by the Paul Thig pen Automotive Group will be held this Saturday at Parsons-Reid Gymnasium on the campus of Vidalia High School. The event will feature the defending 2AA State Champion Vidalia Indians and has become one of the premier competi tions across the state. It will also feature 12 High School and 12 Middle School teams who will compete for the title. In addition to the Vidalia squad, the defend ing AAA Champion, Pierce County, will be on hand Saturday and Vidalia Cheer Coach Ann Michele Toole say’s that this year’s event, held under some different guidelines, should be a classic. “We have some outstanding teams that will be here to compete Saturday, and I am so thankful that we have the oppor- basket by Bryson Whited made it 12-8 with 3:45 on the clock. Dailey got another shot to fall for a 14-8 lead, and then Whited hit a jumper for an 18-8 lead with 2:30 to go. At the end of the first period VHS led 20-13. In the second, baskets by Ira Cle ments and Matt Hill gave the Indians a fast-break for TCHS by Dominic Ea son closed it to 10-6. It was 12-9 with two minutes to go in the first and at the end of the first it was 13-9 with Montgomery on top. In the second the Eagles pushed the lead to 18-9 with 6:40 on the tunity to host the event once again, even if we have had to make some changes. We have instituted a set of guidelines that outline specific details that will ensure that we are taking all the necessary pre cautions to help ensure the safety of our teams and fans.” The event, which will also feature the J.R. Trippe Middle School team and Toombs County, will get underway Sat urday at 9:00 a.m. with two Middle School sessions, followed by two High School sessions beginning at 12:30 p.m. Tickets to the event are limited and must be purchased in advance. There will be no tickets sold at the door. Tickets may be purchased by going to the Vidalia Athletic Website at vida- haathletics.com/event-tickets. 25-13 lead. De Sales closed it to 27-20 with just over four minutes to go in the first half, and by the buzzer the Indians led 30-22. The Indians continued to play well in the second half of the game as they came away with the win, 61-46. clock, but a three-pointer by Julian Mann for TCHS made it 18-12. With five minutes to go it was 20-17 as Toombs was closing in on the Eagles. It was 20-19 with just over three Please see Bball page 3B Toombs Hosting Memorial Tournament By Mike Branch Sports Editor sports 7 advance@gmail.com The Toombs County High School Bulldogs wrestling team will be hosting their Annual Sweet Onion Memorial Classic Wrestling Tournament on Fri day and Saturday of this week. On Friday wrestling will begin at 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday they will start at 9:00 a.m. This is a big event every year with close to 20 teams in atten dance. By Loran Smith Please see VHS page 2B TCHS And MCHS Split Photo by Mike Branch Julian Mann cuts through the lane for the Bulldogs as they fight their way back into the game in the first half against Montgomery County. VHS Cheer Classic Saturday