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Houston Baily TJmmutl FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2006 The Home Journal's SANDLOT ON DECK High school basketball Today ■ Northside at JB Hawkins tour nament, teams and times to be determined Saturday ■ Northside at JB Hawkins tour nament, teams and times to be determined IN BRIEF Waterford to hold high school golf conditioning Waterford Golf Club will hold high school golf conditioning in January (Tuesday for Houston County, Wednesday for Warner Robins and Thursday for Northside). It is set to be held from 4- 5 p.m. For additional details, ask your coach or e-mail PGA Professional Krag Woodyard at pgaprokrag@pga.com or call him at 478-447-9399. YMCA has job opening for fitness director The Houston County YMCA is now accepting resumes for the position of full-time Fitness Director. Qualified candidates possessing a strong desire to build a quality program, man age their own department and be part of the national and local YMCA movement may submit their resume to Jim Mercer, CEO at jmercer@hocoymca.org. Salary and benefits are com mensurate with experience, education, certification and a proven track record. Resumes will be accepted until Jan. 5, 2007 with the position start date to be mid-to-late January. Red Cross to hold inagural bowling tourney The Houston-Middle Georgia Chapter of the American Red Cross will hold its inaugural “Roll into the New Year" Bowling Tournament Jan. 20, 2007. The tournament will be held at the Gold Cup Bowling Center on Russell Parkway and will start at 10 a.m. and last until 1 p.m. The entry fee is $l5O for a six-person team. It includes pizza and soda. Registration will be available on the day of the tournament. Visit www.middle georgiaredcross.org for a regis tration form or call 923-6332 to sponsor the tournament. Museum to host its annual walk/runs The 11th annual Museum of Aviation Foundation marathon, half marathon and 5K run/walk will be held at the Museum of Aviation Jan. 13, 2007. All three courses are USA Track and Field certified and all threes are also run on Robins Air Force Base. Runners and walkers whose registrations are postmarked by Jan. 5, 2007 are guaranteed, according to the release, a “quality colorful long sleeve shirt on race day." A $5 surcharge applies for registra tions after Jan. 5, 2007. Entry fees are SBO for a relay team, S4O for the marathon, S3O for the half marathon and $lB for the 5K run/walk. A variety of trophies/awards will be offered. The start time for the marathon and half marathon is 8 a.m. The 5K run/walk will start at 8:15 a.m. Each marathon and half-marathon runner will receive a medallion with ribbon as they cross the finish line. On-line detailed race informa tion can be found at http://robin spacers.org or www.museumo faviation.org. Race packets may be picked up at the Museum of Aviation Century of Flight Hangar on race day only between 6:30- 7:30 a.m. A picture ID is required at registration/check-in. To register or for more infor mation call Race Director John Hunter at 478-926-6686 (day) or 478-953-5335 (evening) or email him at hunterjh@cox.net. Or, contact June Lowe or Mary Lynn Harrison at 478-923-6600 or email MaryLynn.Harrison@m useumofaviation.org. Warner Robins squads sweep Dublin! By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer With nothing but Region 1-AAAAA contests facing them once the new year gets underway, Warner Robins High’s basketball teams put the 2006 part of the sea son to rest Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep at Dublin High. Pierre Miller hit seven 3- pointers on his way to 33 points as the Demon boys Robins Air Force Base athlete selected to All-Armed Services team By PAUL ROSS Senior airman, 116th Air Control Wing Public A ffairs Sometimes a little motiva tion is needed. This was the case for an Airborne Weapons officer who was recently selected for the All-Armed Services team after helping the Air Force team go 5-1 and win a gold medal in the All-Armed Forces tournament. Motivation for Tysen Pina, a first lieutenant with the 128th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, a unit of Robins Air Force Base’s 116th Air Control Wing, came in the way of disappointment when he was cut from his seventh- and eighth-grade school basket ball teams and it has stuck with him for years. “(Being cut) fueled me for a long time and I lead my recreation league teams both years in scoring and one to a championship,” said the Roswell native. “My dad coached me in eighth grade and I finally made the ninth grade team.” His motivation turned into a successful career includ ing many broken records at Sequoyah High School in Canton, four years of varsity at the Air Force Academy, selection to the All-Armed Service Team in 2004. And, he won the gold medal in the SHAPE International Tourney in Mons, Belgium. (Despite being selected to this year’s squad, Pina could not participate in the tour nament due to work com mitments.) “I had several offers to play in college but I chose the Air Force Academy because I wanted to be a pilot. Basketball has always been second in my life; when I was younger, base ball was my first love and as I matured flying became my passion but it was always there when I needed it.” The power forward and On OTs In football, the mercy rule in basketball and Marshall It’s just as the old saying goes: Some rules were made to be ... ridiculed. The arguments rage over and over that the state of Georgia - more specifically the Georgia High School Association - has rules here and there that make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sometimes I have to wonder if cer tain rules are put in the books with the hopes that they Matthew Brown Journal Sports Writer will never have to actually come into play. One such rule states that any state championship football game ending with a tied score after regula tion play does not go into overtime. Instead, the GHSA declares both teams involved as co-champions. It would easy to assume that such a rule was only recently installed along rL v S Warns* Robins girts 49. Dublin 36; Demons 72, Irish 62 points. Coach Chip Malone gave some playing time to substitutes at the end, but Dublin could only pull as Basketball: a part of life > n VrrruiTO—sill ** ‘JPtsSHBIi iPB t Hlf * • • B It Ji ¥ m' Mil if | j/ ek. jflHKjßv bbBB» m ,•. t. & -||sy | \ - B SHI^ ••• j B ms --145BB8WPB'- -J.. - IW— Hl——mifU l i 1 m jl .m... js a Contributed Tysen Pina, an Air Force first lieutenant and an Airborne Weapons Officer with Robins Air Force Base’s 11Gth Air Control Wing’s, 128th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, slam dunks the ball against the All-Navy team dur ing the All-Armed Services tournament recently. center competes for a few simple reasons. “(I compete) because com petition is in all we do in the Air Force and I feel basket ball sharpens my skills on the jet,” said Pina. “All the lessons learned on the court can be directly applied in the air. It’s the reason I love doing what I do, everyday is different and full of different pressure filled challenges, scenarios and crews. While basketball helps sharpen his job skills, his job helps him keep a good Sports topped the Irish 72-62. Warner Robins, which led 44-30 at halftime, had an advantage as big as 28 "I happen to have It on good authority that after that 2004 game in Hawkinsville, most of the people in the stadium had no idea there would not be overtime." with the advent of these expanded playoffs and the installation of the overtime procedure named after either Kansas or Nebraska. But it doesn’t look like that’s the case, not according to the archive list of state football champions at GHSA.net. This list shows that in the 1950 s there were three such championship games that ended in ties: Rossville- LaGrange (1955), Carrollton- '"We executed well on offense. We still didn't rebound the way I want us to, but we played good defense. We changed things up to try to throw them off balance." - Warner Robins boys head basketball coach Chip Malone close as the 10-point final. Kenny Willis had 12 points outlook on the game. “Flying also puts basket ball into perspective as just a game,” said Pina. “The loser gets to go home to their families, but in war the loser doesn’t go home. It kind of takes the pressure off of missing a free throw.” Before competing on the All-Air Force team the Pina keeps his skills honed with a rigorous training schedule. “When I’m getting ready for All-Air Force, I’m in the gym at 5:30 a.m. every morning lifting and getting Statesboro (1956) and Avondale- Thomasville (1958). After 1958, and before 2006, the records show three more instances of co-champions: Griffin-Valdosta (1978), Kendrick- Lakeside (1991) and Hawkinsville- Clinch County (2004). I happen to have it on good author ity that after that 2004 game in Hawkinsville, most of the people in the stadium had no idea there would not be overtime. My source told me that, when regulation ended, both teams gathered at their respective sidelines as if to discuss what to do in overtime. But apparently somebody knew different, and eventually the fateful announcement was made that there would be no more action. This year we had an unprecedent ed situation with not one, but two state championship games ending with a tied score. Again, probably not something the GHSA offices anticipated ever happening. and Ryan Reid 10. “We executed well on shots up before work,” he said. “I would play for three or four hours with the guys. Then go home to eat and lastly a distance run before bed time.” The accomplished ath lete’s success could not have been possible without those around him. “My supervisor, Capt. Scott Greathouse, was instru mental in helping me to get ready, he allowed me to work through lunch some days in order to get out an hour early so I could lift before SECTION B offense,” said Malone. “We still didn’t rebound the way I want us to, but we played good defense. We changed things up to try to throw them off balance.” The coach added that, in addition to Miller’s hot out side shooting, the Demons were able to score several transition baskets in the first half. The Warner Robins See S WEEP, page tB playing in the afternoons,” he added. “My squadron supported me the whole “My commander, Lt. Col. Joseph Schmidt, was at almost every game and fully supported the application process, my director of oper ations, Lt. Col. Christopher Edling, was in it all the way. It went all the way down to the airmen in my shop, Senior Airmen Timothy Walseth and Wallace Cloudy, where in on it.” Pina gives some insight See TEAM, page iB Does this mean that the powers that-be, at the annual meetings, must address this situation and take the appropriate steps? Or do they tell us, “It doesn’t matter if all five games in one year end in ties, this is the way it’s going to be.” Whether you individually agree with this policy or not, you have your reasons. Just like the GHSA has its reasons for setting things the way they do. I have been fortunate to cover four state championship football games in Georgia since the 2000 season with the team I was focusing on win ning three out of four. As much as games like these deserve winners, I have to wonder if it’s riguc altering how they play (like starting on the 25-yard-line) in order to determine something so important. Yes, the current overtime format does give each team equal shots at scoring. Whereas sudden death, See BROWN, page iB