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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2008
Highlights of MLB from 2008
W hat a great year
2008 was for
major league
baseball. Although my
beloved Braves failed to
launch, we saw many great
moments throughout both
leagues. I have endeavored to
bring the biggest moments to
you here at year’s end:
John Smoltz racked up his
3000th strikeout. In 1923,
Walter Johnson became the
first pitcher to reach 3000
strikeouts. Smoltzy became
the most recent member of
this club. He is one of sixteen
to do it.
Ken Griffey Jr. became the
6th player to reach 600 home
runs. Griffey Jr. is not only
a great ballplayer, but also
a great human being. Good
guys do win.
Manny Ramirez became
the 24th player to reach the
500 home run mark. Some
day I'll research how many
of those have flown over the
Green Monster.
Chipper Jones became the
43rd player to reach 400 home
runs. At 37 years young, he’s
looking better than ever.
Albert Pujols became the
118th player to reach 300
home runs.
On Aug. 14th, Mark Kotsay
hit for the cycle. Now this
may not seem like much to
most fans, but it is a tre
mendous feat. Each year in
the majors, perhaps only one
player hits for the cycle.
The Chicago White Sox
tied an existing record of
clobbering four homes runs
in a row. Thome, Konerko,
Ramirez and Uribe join a
very elite club here.
Two more no-hitters went
into the books. One by the
Red Sox’s Lester and one by
the Cubs’ Zambrano. Number
256 and 257, respectively.
Major league baseball initi
ated the play review on ques
tionable home runs. Sadly,
commissioner Bud Selig
approved this new
rule. I see this as the
beginning of a slip
pery slope. I predict
the review scenarios
will gradually be
expanded. What a
lousy rule.
Greg Maddox
announced his retire
ment. At 42 years
young, Maddox
decided to hang it up
after a Hall of Fame
career. Maddox threw
john w.
rieken
•Preacher Roe,
St. Louis Cardinals
and other teams
•Tom Tresh, New
York Yankees
•Ed Vargo,
Umpire
...and I save the
most devastating
loss for last: Skip
Caray.
Skip came to
us decades ago, a
young sportscaster
for
twenty-three years, amassing
355 wins (that’s 15.43 wins
per season). For years he was
the lynchpin of the Braves
rotation. Maddox is another
example of a nice guy finish
ing first.
Yankee Stadium and Shea
Stadium are retired. Another
sad day in baseball history.
These two relics (Yankee was
the second-oldest stadium in
the majors) will be missed by
all true baseball fans.
Baseball’s Hall of Fame
inducted Rich (Goose)
Gossage. The Goose played
for nine major league teams
during his 22-year career,
winning 124 games and los
ing 107 games. He finished
with a 3.10 era. He did this all
as a reliever. His 310 saves is
second only to Rollie Fingers
in MLB.
Now the sad highlights. I
hate doing this. More than 50
major league players passed
away in 2008. Space does not
allow me to list them all, but
I mention a few I remember
quite well:
•Buzzie Bavasi, Los Angles
Dodgers GM
•Bruce Dal Canton, Atlanta
Braves coach
•Doc Ellis, Pittsburgh
Pirates
•John McHale, Former
Milwaukee Braves GM
•Bobby Mercer, New York
Yankees
•Johnny Podres, Los Angles
Dodgers
following in the footsteps of
his father, Harry.
Skip combined a vast
warehouse of knowledge and
a very, very dry sense of
humor to produce a delightful
description of the game.
In one moment he could
be belittling a call-in fan for
asking what he considered to
be a ridiculous question and
then as kind and patient as a
saint to the next caller.
His mastery of sarcasm
and cynicism was second-to-
none. He became noticeably
upset when a fan mentioned
his father.
I always thought that he
was mired in Harry’s legacy
(the good and the bad) and
lived a lifetime making peo
ple believe that he was his
own man — and he was. He
became very content when
he broadcast with his son,
Chip, sounding as proud as a
peacock.
I miss Skip but will
remember his baseball
voice and baseball mind.
And I will always remem
ber his humorous attacks on
the Georgia Department of
Transportation.
Listening to the Braves"
games will never be the
same.
John Rieken is an avid
baseball fan and contribut
ing columnist for the Barrow
Journal. E-mail comments
about this column to jriek-
en @ windstream. net.
Barrow night planned at VGA basketball
Barrow County Chamber
of Commerce members,
employees and their fami
lies will be able to attend
two University of Georgia
basketball games at a dis
counted rate.
The games are desginated
as “Barrow County Night”
with tickets being $5 and
$1.
Tickets for the Lady
Bulldogs game against
Mississippi State on Feb. 1,
2009 will be available online
for just $1 through Jan. 29.
In addition, tickets for the
men’s game against SEC foe
LSU on Feb. 4 may be pur
chases for $5 online through
Feb. 3.
Tickets may be purchased
through the website www.
georgiadogs.com with the
promotional code barrow-
dogs.
For additional informa
tion or questions about
Barrow County night, call
706-542-9039 or e-mail
pcarden@sports.uga.edu.
Peach State Speedway plans name change
BY Brandon Reed
Peach State Speedway is
now history, at least in name.
The track, which was
recently purchased by a part
nership comprised of Jim and
Tony Gresham of Gresham
Motorsports and Gene
Roberts a former NASCAR
Cup Series crew chief and
current Gresham Motorsports’
late model crew chief for
driver Max Gresham, will
be re-christened Gresham
Motorsports Park.
It will be the fourth name
for the facility, which is tout
ed as the fastest paved half-
mile oval in the state.
The track opened as Jefco
Speedway in July of 1967,
hosting its first event, a
NASCAR sanctioned Late
Model Sportsman raced
dubbed the “Tiger 200.”
That first event, fittingly,
was won by “Tiger Tom”
Pistone of Chicago, Ill.
The track was later renamed
Georgia International
Speedway in the early 1980s,
then was rechristened Peach
State Speedway after the track
sold in the early 1990s.
According to a track press
release, the owners agreed that
the name change would fit the
new facility because of the
desire of the Gresham family
to bring the most professional
and exciting automobile rac
ing to the facility.
The release said the partner
ship will make needed chang
es to bring to the 41-year old
facility the best racing pos
sible for fans and drivers.
Track officials have also
announced that Dan Elliott,
brother of NASCAR Sprint
PEACH STATE NO MORE
Officials have announced that Peach State Speedway
will be renamed ‘Gresham Motorsports Park’ as part
of a series of changes coming to the Jefferson speed
way. More announcements are expected in the coming
weeks.
Photo by Brandon Reed
Cup champion Bill Elliott, has
been named general manager
of the facility. He has been
in racing almost all of his
life, from short tracks to the
highest ranks of NASCAR.
Officials said Elliott plans to
use every resource available
to make this the best racetrack
in the country.
”We plan to do an extreme
makeover, race track edition,”
Elliott said this week. “This
track once hosted some of
the most famous drivers that
ever raced and if anyone can
do that again I want to be the
man to do it and I want this to
be the track where new talent
is discovered.
“I am excited and proud to
be a part of the new Gresham
Motorsports Park and highly
praise the Greshams and Gene
Roberts for this awesome
opportunity.”
The track previously held
events for NASCAR’s Sprint
Cup events, which was then
called the Grand National
Series. In 1968, the series’
season finale was held at the
track, with Cale Yarborough
winning. The series would
visit the track again in
November of 1969, with
Bobby Isaac taking the win.
In 1983, the track’s signa
ture event, the World Crown
300, was held for the first
time.
Fittingly, the sale of the
track was official following
the conclusion of the 25th
running of the World Crown
on Nov. 9 of this year.
The new track owners plan
to unveil the facility’s future
plans after the New Year.
For further information and
to view the track’s current
updates, you can visit the
track’s website at www.gresh-
ammotorsportspark.com
AHS boys continued from IB
Morris saw his team make
another defensive stop as
Clayton Barber came down
with a key rebound.
After making l-of-2 free
throws for a two-point lead,
the Wildcats continued to use
their strong defense to force
another Towers offensive mis-
cue. After Barber grabbed
another rebound, the Towers
coach was called for a techin-
cal foul and by the time AHS
was finished at the foul line,
the lead was up to six points.
Dillon Moon paced the
Wildcats with 16 points in the
win Saturday.
“We didn’t shoot that well
in the first half,” Morris said.
“We were limited in the
number of attempts we had.
Our scoring was so low, not
because we turned it over but
because we didn’t get as many
attempts.”
The AHS coach said his
team did a much better job
on the defensive end in the
second half.
“We don’t do a lot of scout
ing for these types of tourna
ments,” Morris said. “However,
Towers had been putting up
some high scores so I was
pleased by our defense. It was
one of our better games.”
Following play at the
Oconee County tournament,
the Wildcats will open sub-
region play Saturday at
Habersham Central. Varsity
games are scheduled to begin
at 4 p.m. in Cornelia.
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