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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2008
It’s OK now to cheer for Gators
I n my opinion this
year’s NCAA National
Championship football
game played at the Orange
Bowl on Jan. 8, 2009, has
the chance to be the greatest
college football game ever
played.
It will certainly be the most
evenly matched game played
by the two most deserving
teams in the country, in spite
of what the Texas Longhorns
feel.
In recent years, the game
has been a letdown either due
to the fact that there were
no clear-cut favorites to play
the game or the game itself
turned out to be a blowout.
In 2004, Southern Cal beat
Oklahoma 55-19; Florida beat
Ohio State 41-14 in 2005; and
last year LSU again defeated
Ohio State in a game that was
not as close as its 38-24 final
score.
But this year there is no
doubt, at least in my mind,
the two best teams are play
ing. A strong case could be
made for both Texas and
Southern Cal, and that’s why
we need a playoff, but Florida
and Oklahoma are clearly the
cream of the crop. Both
teams have dynamic offenses
so the final score might top
100 total points.
As I watch the game this
year I will be doing some
thing I never thought I'd be
doing. I will be pulling for
those hated Florida Gators.
No one despises that Gator
chomp any more than me
but I will be sitting in my
chair hoping for first downs
and touchdowns for the
offense and turnovers for the
defense.
There are three primary
reasons I will be cheering for
Florida:
Spurrier ain’t
there anymore!
The venom that used to boil
inside me for Florida is not as
lethal as it once was when
“the old ball coach” roamed
the sidelines in Gainesville.
Don’t you get tired of hearing
him called that? I think his
“coaching genius” is being
shown for what it truly is.
He hasn’t exactly set
the world on fire at South
Carolina and he certainly
didn’t do any great coaching
while with the Redskins. I
think Spurrier is, at best, an
average coach.
The fact of the matter is
that Spurrier was lucky that
he coached at a school where
he was surrounded by great
athletes.
Florida has always been
a recruiting hotbed so, year
after year, he was able to
replenish his team with out
standing football players.
I have found Urban Meyer
to be less
repul
sive than
Spurrier
but give
it a few
years and
he may
begin to
wear thin
on me
just like
Spurrier
did. Course
my beloved Dawgs didn’t do
anything during the Spurrier
era to ease those feelings los
ing to him practically every
year. Spurrier has always
had it in for Georgia since
they were the only team to
beat him during his Heisman
Trophy winning season in
1966 and he loved picking on
Ray Goff and Jim Donnan,
but who didn't?
He seems to have now
turned his attention to
Tennessee and Philip Fulmer
but with Fulmer gone, who’s
next?
Tim Tebow is
a good guy
It is very hard to pull against
a young man who exempli
fies what a role model in
college athletics should be.
Obviously, he is a tremen
dous athlete.
I’ve heard some football
experts and analysts say that
Tebow would be a great play
er at whatever position he
played. No less an expert
than Archie Manning, the
father of Peyton and Eli,
called him the best foot
ball player he has ever seen.
Mind you, he didn’t say the
best quarterback, he said the
best player.
I am writing this column
before the Heisman Trophy
is awarded this year but I
would not be at all surprised
if Tebow becomes only the
second player in the history
of the award to win it two
times.
And what a pleasure it is to
hear him interviewed. First
of all, he is polite. “Sir”
and “Ma’am” and “Thank
you" are a natural part of
his vocabulary and he can
actually put several cohesive
statements together in a row
unlike most athletes.
Second, Mr. Tebow (I call
him Mr. because with all the
money he's going to make,
I’d like to work for him some
day ) is also very bright.
He is carrying a 3.7 GPA
and I don’t care what your
major is, that’s tough to do,
particularly with the schedule
he has to maintain.
And third, he obviously has
a very strong faith. Many
times, when athletes are
being interviewed they thank
God for their performance
randy
blalock
and victory and it comes
across as phony. Not so with
Tim and he always end each
interview with “God bless
you."
You have probably read
that Tebow spends his sum
mers doing mission work
and he also takes every
opportunity he can to speak
to various FCA (Fellowship
of Christian Athletes) groups
wherever he travels.
I wish him the best in his
pro career and I hope he
decides to enter the draft this
year so we don’t have to face
him again next year.
I have to pull
for the SEC
Even though I am a
Bulldog, I try to forget about
those rivalries when it comes
Bowl time.
I like to see the SEC dom
inate and solidify the fact
that they are the best confer
ence, from top to bottom,
in the country. The confer
ence will have eight out of
twelve teams playing in Bowl
games, and who’d-a thunk
it, those eight do not include
Auburn and Tennessee.
All right, I’ll admit it, I
might not pull for South
Carolina because I always
like to see you know who
get beat.
So, on Jan. 8 I’ll be in front
of my TV doing the unthink
able, pulling for Florida to
beat Oklahoma. For the
record, my prediction is:
Florida 44- Oklahoma 38.
One more thing just to
set the record straight. A
few weeks ago in my
Thanksgiving column I made
the reference that watching
soccer was like going to the
dentist — it was slow and
painful.
Of course, I meant den
tists’ other than the one I use.
Dr. Fay Burnett and her staff
always make you feel com
fortable and there is absolute
ly no pain whatsoever when
she works on your teeth.
I hope this correction will
make amends for my previous
oversight and will keep her
from performing a 12-hour
procedure without Novocain
the next time I have to come
APALACHEE BASKETBALL
Wildcats suffer two-point loss
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
One stat stands out from
Apalachee High School’s
two point loss to Hart County
Saturday night.
The Wildcats were just
7-of-20 from the foul line.
When you lose 54-42, missing
13 free throws will prove to
be a dagger through the heart
every time.
“All in all, we did not play
well offensively,” AHS coach
Kevin Morris said. “We didn’t
convert several 3-on-2 and
2-on-l attempts in the first
half.”
On the other end of the
court, Morris said his team did
play well defensively.
“I am not much for moral
victories, but we beat them
everywhere but on the score-
board,” the coach said.
Dennis Whitley paced the
Wildcats with 21 points while
DeVaughn Kilgore added 15.
The loss dropped AHS to
2-3 overall.
“They pressed us a good
bit,” Morris said. “They make
you play up temp, we did not
have a lot of turnovers that
were forced. We did it our
selves.”
The loss was a particura-
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KEY PLAYER
Apalachee’s John Ansley and the Wildcats will look to
get back on the winning track this week.
Photo by Jessica Brown
ly tough pill for Morris to
swallow since his from Hart
County.
“That makes it hurt a little
more,” the coach said. “Fosing
to them always leaves a bad
taste in my mouth.”
The AHS Wildcats were
scheduled to play at Monroe
Area Tuesday and will host
Foganville Friday. AHS lost
to Foganville by four points
earlier this season.
The Wildcats will also trav
el to Commerce Saturday for
a non-region game.
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Lady Wildcats fall to Hart on road
in.
Winder resident Randy
Blalock is a contributing
columnist for the Barrow
Journal. E-mail comments
about this column to rblal-
ock@ mindspring, com.
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Despite trailing by just
five points at halftime, the
Apalachee High School girls
basketball team was unable
to keep track in the final
16 minutes and fell to Hart
County Saturday 58-35.
The loss was disappointing
to coach Michael Parks who
said his team was unable to
play with the same level of
intensity in the second level.
“We talked about making a
run at halftime but then went
out and saw the game get
away,” the coach said. “We
had 31 turnovers and most of
them were in the second half.
I’m not sure if it is inexperi
ence or what.”
The first half was competi
tive throughout and Parks
felt his Fady Wildcats had
a chance to perhaps emerge
with a win.
“We were right there with
them although they really
had a height advantage on
us,” the coach said. “Our
inexperience did hurt us I
think. We still were able to
play with them.”
Trailing by 12 after the
third quarter, AHS saw its
chance for a win fade away.
Facreasha Mayweather, a
freshman, was a bright spot
for the Fady Wildcats with
11 points, nine of which
came in the second half.
“She did not give up,” Parks
said. “She brings the basket
ball up the court, breaks the
press and gets rebounds. She
plays hard the entire game.
We need others to step up as
well.”
Parks is looking at mak
ing some adjustments to
his starting lineup. Already
Ashley Goley has been in
the starting five the past two
games and more changes are
likely, the coach said.
“We have to cut down on
our turnovers,” Parks said.
“Turnovers are a major
weakness for us. We will
keep looking for the right
combinations and look to
keep our intensity up for four
quarters.”
The Fady Wildcats were
BATTLING FOR
POSITION
The Apalachee High
School girls basketball
team will host Loganville
Friday.
Photo by Jessica Brown
scheduled to travel to
Monroe Area Tuesday and
will host Foganville Friday
at 7 p.m. before traveling
to Commerce Saturday. AHS
defeated the Commerce Fady
Tigers in the season opener
this year.
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