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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008
Looking back at the 2008 World Series
I ’ve heard several camps
say that this was the
worst series in recent
history. I can't disagree more.
Two balanced teams made for
what I saw as one of the more
interesting series in recent his
tory. I think what we were
hearing was sour grapes from
the New York sports writers.
They can't stand to watch a
series if one of their teams
isn't in it. Anyway, it was
tough for me to place a bet
on this one. I ended up going
for the Phillies, as I thought
they had more momentum and
more experience.
Two things made this one of
the better series I’ve watched
in several years. First, and
speaking of experience, was
Jamie Moyer, the 45 year-old
pitcher for the Phils. Moyer
started game 3 and went 6.1
innings of very good ball.
Nothing spectacular here,
except that the game started
at 10:06 pm after a two-hour
rain delay. Now, how many of
you 45 year-olds out there can
go out and play ball at 10:06
pm in damp and cold condi
tions? Moyer did and he did it
quite well.
Secondly, the suspended
game 5 only intensified the
drama. With the Phils up 3-1
in the series, Selig stopped
the game after the field began
looking like New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina. It looked
for a moment that the Coast
Guard would be needed to
rescue the outfielders. (Selig
is known for stopping games.
Remember the 2002 All Star
game in Milwaukee when
Selig stopped the game after
11 innings because the two
teams had run out of pitchers?
The game was tied which was
probably a bless
ing for the National
League.) With game
5 halted, the weather
systems continued
to plague the east
coast for the next
two days, and, after
a 50-hour rain delay,
what was to become
the last game of the
series resumed. The
Phillies immediately
scored in the bottom
of the sixth, followed by a
tying run by the Rays in the
seventh. The Rays couldn’t
hold it together and the Phils
went on the win the game and
the series.
Unfortunately, the umpir
ing crew missed several key
calls. In game one, home plate
judge Kerwin Danley initially
rung up Tampa’s hitter Rocco
Baldelli, only to appeal to the
first base umpire for a second
opinion. Danley’s hand clearly
came up indicative of a called
third strike, paused, them
came down slowly, pointing
at the first base umpire. The
broadcasters, 40,843 attend
ing fans, millions of TV view
ers and two managers were
puzzled by the call and after
a trip out to discuss the mat
ter, Manuel was satisfied by
Danley’s explanation. I think
Danley must have simply
told Manuel that he blew the
call and asked that he please
not embarrass him by argu
ing. Most managers are OK if
an ump simply whispers into
the ear those sweet little four
words: “I blew the call.”
Watching two great man
agers slug it out is exciting.
CharlieManuel,Philadelphia’s
skipper, fulfilled the City of
Brotherly Love’s dream of
taking home the first
World Series since
1980. This is the
same Charlie Manuel
who exploded at the
local press corps two
short years ago. (I
remember it well - it
was right after Lou
Piniella went banan
as at a press con
ference after another
humiliating loss for
his Cubs. Side note
here...Lou Piniella was born
in Tampa in 1943. Makes one
wonder if association with the
hard-luck Cubs rubs off on
everyone.) I suppose Manuel
is looking better and better to
the Philly press corps now.
Asked about his team’s
chance of coming back next
year, Rays’ manager Joe
Madden remarked, ‘‘I believe
this firmly, our guys are not
going to be satisfied without
playing in October from now
on, and that’s a good thing.
And that’s all because of this
group of people this year.”
I really thought the series
would go seven games this
time. I saw two teams quite
evenly matched with talent
and motivated. Hence, the
most surprising thing about
this series was the way Tampa
Bay folded.
But, reminiscent of the 1991
Braves, Tampa has everything
to be proud of, coming from
worst to first.
I have a feeling we haven’t
seen the last of the Rays.
John Rieken is an avid
baseball fan and contribut
ing columnist for the Barrow
Journal. E-mail comments
about this column to jrieken @
windstream.net.
Lady Bulldoggs improve record to 3-1
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Strong performances from
Malik Stevenson and Mimi
Hill helped push the Winder-
Barrow High School Lady
Bulldoggs past Heritage 48-43
in the game for third place
in the Tabo Tipoff Classic
Saturday.
Coach Brenda Hill’s squad,
who is now 3-1 this season,
was also to do a quality job on
the boards as Stevenson and
Hill both had 10 boards each.
“Our kids did a great job
defensively,” Hill said. “We
missed a few opportunities to
box out but we played with a
lot of intensity and emotion.”
The WBHS coach said her
team is continuing to work
on handling the opponent’s
defensive pressure and went
back to work on it earlier this
week in practice.
The Lady Doggs opened the
home portion of their 2008-09
schedule with a 54-38 win
against Rockdale County
Nov. 25.
Malik Stevenson paced
Hill’s team with 14 points
and 18 rebounds. Mimi Hill
added nine points, 12 boards
along with two assists and
two steals.
Lauren Hamel added to the
GOING FOR TWO
Winder-Barrow’ Lauren Hamill drives for a layup for the
Lady Bulldoggs. Photo by Jessica Brown
balanced attack for Winder-
Barrow with 10 points, five
steals and three rebunds.
Brittany Witt finished with 10
points.
Shant Finch scored seven
points in the home win.
The Lady Bulldoggs fell in
their semifinal contest in the
Tabo Tipoff Classic hosted
by Jefferson High School.
WBHS dropped a 59-47 game
to Franklin County which
dropped it to the consolation
game Saturday.
Hill finished with a team-
high 14 points and seven
rebounds while Stevenson
added nine points and nine
boards.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS
The Barrow County Competitive Youth Athletics Wildcats (BCCYA) recently captured
a conference championship in its first season of play. The local team competed
against opponents from Lithonia, Conyers, Stockbridge, Decatur, Madison County
and Athens.
Local team wins championship
The fall of 2008 will long be remembered
by the Barrow County Competitive Youth
Athletics Wildcats (BCCYA) football team.
The squad captured a conference title in
its first season of competitive play, outscor-
ing opponents 421-46. On the other side of
the football, the defense held six opponents
scoreless.
BCCYA moved from the recreation depart
ment league to five players the full value of
football, team officials said, including com
peting under high school rules and traveling
outside of Winder to compete. The end result
was a pefect 10-0 mark.
Teams from Lithonia, Conyers, Stockbridge,
Decatur, Madison County and Athens were on
the schedule for head coach Terrence Stover
and his staff which included assistant head
coach Terry Hatton; defensive coordinator
Matt Schell; coach Kent Knowles and coach
Stavon Johnson.
The offensive linemen produced a 1,300-
yard rusher in Stanley Williams.
Defensive leaders included Paul Kouassi,
Tyler Cash, Josh Holton and Kevin
Bindschusz.
Coaches said offensive standouts included
linemen Evan Matthews, Justin Forrester, Tyler
Cash, Kevin Bindschusz, Jerald Williams and
Josh Holton.
Williams was the Offensive MVP rushing
for more than 20 touchdowns, multiple kickoff
returns for scores and more than 1,300 yards
rushing.
Team captains included Josh Parker, Josh
Holton, Tyler Cash, Paul Kouassi, and Kevin
Bindschusz.
The coaches said these players were leaders
through adversity and helped lead the team
to glory.
Local racers gear up for Pensacola event
BY BRANDON REED
For several local racers,
there’s only one thing to focus
on going into this weekend’s
racing events at Five Flags
Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.
That’s winning the 41st
annual Snowball Derby, one
of the most coveted events in
short track racing.
It’s a race that every short
track ace has wanted to win,
with winners such as Darrell
Waltrip, Donnie Allison, Pete
Hamilton, Jody Ridley, Ronnie
Sanders, Butch Lindley and
Ted Musgrave having visited
victory lane.
Former Jefferson native
Ryan Crane won the
Snowflake 100, a Pro Late
Model event that leads up to
Sunday’s Derby, last year, and
this year, wants to add his
name to the winner’s list in
the big show.
Crane’s Panama City, Fla.
based team has sat idle since
he competed in last month’s
World Crown weekend at
Peach State Speedway. On
that weekend, Crane was vic
torious in the 100-lap Super
Late Model portion of the
weekend, and came home
with a fifth place finish in the
famed World Crown.
Since then, the team has
worked to prepare both cars
for the Derby weekend, going
over both Crane’s Pro Late
Model car and his Super Late
Model ride with a fine tooth
comb.
Crane and his team spent
the early part of this week
tuning the Ford-powered rac
ers for the weekend in hopes
of gaining an advantage over
their competition.
Other area drivers are gear
ing up for the weekend as well.
For Saturday’s Snowflake 100,
among the 79 entries vying for
a starting spot are Crane, three
time World Crown champ
Paul Kelley of Pendergrass,
Rodney Benefield of Flowery
Branch, Shane Sawyer of
Braselton, Commerce’s
Taylor Satterfield, and Jimmy
Garmon of Hoschton.
Sixty-one drivers will be
fighting to make Sunday’s
300-lap Snowball Derby,
including Joey Senter of
Jefferson, Watkinsville’s John
Wes Townley, while Paul
Kelley will join Crane in try
ing to run in both events.
The last Georgian to visit
victory lane in the Snowball
Derby was in 1994 when
Dalton's Tammy Jo Kirk
picked up the win.
Repeat continued from IB
“The girls have been work
ing really hard in practice for
the past couple of weeks and
that hard work has paid off for
them,” Parks said. “They are
very excited to have won the
preseason tournament for two
years in a row.”
The Haymon-Morris squad
has a couple of returning play
ers from last season who have
stepped up their play this year,
the coach said.
“I also have some new sev
enth graders who are going to
make a big difference on the
team,” Parks said.
The middle school team
returns to action Dec. 3 against
Malcom Bridge Middle
School on the road.
Bulldoggs continued from IB
Winder-Barrow benefited
from four players scoring in
double figures against Collins
Hill including Trent Demeritte,
Jodd Maxie, D.J. Butler and
Henry Maxie. Demeritte fin
ished with a team-high 18
points.
Connell’s team had moved
into the title game by defeat
ing Franklin County earlier
in the week 74-65 paced by a
25-point effort by Thurmond.
The first-place tourna
ment showing helped eased
some of the sting of falling
to Rockdale County 72-69 in
a Region 8-AAAA crossover
game last Tuesday.
Foul trouble hurt the
Bulldoggs in that game,
Connell said. Thurmond
scored 18 against Rockdale
County with Butler adding
16.
Henry Butler played well
off the bench with 14 points.
WBHS is scheduled to travel
to Salem Tuesday for another
region crossover contest.
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