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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL BROWN From page iB the Eastern Division, the SEC championship - forget the national championship - seemed way far off the radar. I was more worried about how we can avoid a trip to Shreveport or - best-case scenario - our 20th meet ing in the last 10 years with Wisconsin in Tampa. The six-game winning streak that followed was great. Loved seeing Florida and Auburn put in their place. But I couldn’t shake that whole ‘too little, too late’ feeling. As the autumn season drew forward I didn’t pay much heed to the BCS or any other national polls. That is, until a quick glance showed me that, somehow, someway, Georgia became a top 10 team. Is it cool to do the ‘o-ver ra-ted!’ shout to your own team? I didn’t think so. For those like me who didn’t do a week-by-week watch of the BCS standings, here’s a little review. The first BCS poll didn’t come out until after Georgia’s narrow, last-second win at Vanderbilt the week after the debacle at Tennessee. On that list, the Bulldogs were No. 20 (Ohio State and South Florida were 1 and 2). Coming off a bye weekend, visßHimmHSPMmmoncomißCTS, HOMETOWN HAPPENINGS NWBmms-HWBmoomiww-wwmumßTWistMm KC FRESH AIR PURIFIERS -r There's nothing quite like walking outside and taking a deep breath of fresh, clean air after a thunderstorm. Wouldn't you like to be able to step back inside and enjoy that same fresh air all the time? We would like to introduce you to Fresh Air by Eco Quest: By duplicating the \ same processes nature uses to clean the air outside, Fresh Air by EcoQuest 1 M keeps indoor air fresh and clean-smelling day and night. Collectively known iii••i/ . i i . j as SynAirG™, these processes work together synergistically to eliminate smoke and odors as well as kill bacteria, mold and mildew in unoccupied areas. Call NOW for a FREE trial offer! Like Clean water, fresh air is essential to Independent Distributor our we U Now, having the fresh air Elton & Verneaze Tucker _ you want is as easy as pressing a button ; (478) 92 3-6187 • (478) 923-4111 fmh A f r byEcoQuest™ | www.TryFreshAir.com/eltontuckcr ■ t DOT PHYSICALS PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICALS DRUG & ALCOHOL TESTING WORKERS COMP INJURY CARE QCCUfATDNAL A Service a* Houston Healtmcari Hwy 127 &. Moody Road 478-988-1853 the BCS moved Georgia up two spots to No. 18 (Ohio State and Boston College were 1 and 2). This is where things get interesting. It’s Georgia- Florida weekend. The Bulldogs stun the world by first charging the field on the first touchdown and then proceeding to disman tle the defending champion Gators. The BCS poll comes out the next day, Oct. 28, and Georgia jumps eight spots to No. 10. To add some perspective to this, these are the teams ranked 10-17 in the poll where the Bulldogs are No. 18: Hawaii, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Southern California, Florida and South Florida. One week later, Georgia jumps all of them to No. 10, and these are the schools now No. 11-18: Virginia Tech, Michigan, Connecticut, Hawaii, Texas, Auburn, Alabama and South Florida. South Carolina wasn’t in the poll at all. Neither was Kentucky. Missouri did jump to No. 9 (a six-spot move), and Southern Cal dropped to No. 19. So that’s where it start ed for Georgia. After the Troy game we stay at No. 10 (gee, we did better when we weren’t playing at all), and then it’s No. 9 after beating Auburn. We’re No. 7 with a win over Kentucky. When Arizona State, Kansas and Executive Suites PLUS GWEN KIRKLAND PRESIDENT 349 Margie Drive Warner Robins, GA 31088 Phone: (478) 971-4378 Fax: (478) 971-4973 Email: kirkwdtc@aol.com 2QQ7 Chamber Christmas Parade Winners 155020 |5502l LSU all lose Thanksgiving weekend, Georgia beat Georgia Tech and jumped to No. 4. What really bothered me, aside from Tennessee con tinuing to get the big wins to keep the Bulldogs out of the SEC Championship Game, was that the highest SEC team in the BCS poll at the time of this big game isn’t in the game. LSU fell from 1 to 7 with the Arkansas loss, but I’m supposed to believe that Georgia should be in the discussion of the national title game without even playing for its own con ference crown? But I do believe in the end Georgia is the second best SEC club at the end of this season. Both LSU and Georgia are sitting right now with two losses, but I can swallow all pride and say the Bulldogs 100 percent lost their two games. We like to talk about the best this and that of the Mark Richt era, but I would say that game with UT was one of the three worst defeats in his tenure. At least LSU had their chances in overtime, which means they did as much right as wrong in those even tual losses. So some changes are defi nitely in order. Not with the BCS. That’s way out of one school’s control. And besides, this contract between the conferences, the stadiums The Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the winners of the 50th Annual Warner Robins Chamber Christmas Parade. The winners are as follows: Best Commercial Float- Raccoon Stone & Tile Works Best Creative Float- Brownie Troop #222 Best Leased Float- The Party Store; and Best Religious Float- Shirley Hills Baptist Church. Judging for this year's Parade was provided by the Civitan Club of Warner Robins. The judging criteria were based on originality, costuming, adherence to the parade theme and k overall appearance. The Civitan Club presented the winners l with their trophies at a meeting on December 4, 2007. The Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce would like to express appreciation to * the following 2007 Christmas Parade Sponsors: mjKMB s ' RIBBONf 12/18 @10:00 am Church’s Chicken 520 Courtney Hodges Blvd., Perry 12/18 @4:00 pm Spherion Staffing of Middle Georgia, 311 Hwy 49N, Suite 80A, Byron 12/19 @7:30 am Governmental Afairs meeting @ CoC 12/19 @2:00 pm SBOM for On-Site Technical Support, 1534 Watson Blvd. 12/20 @5:30 pm BAH sponsored by Colonial Bank, 701 Lake Joy Road. Register by Tues. 12/18 SPORTS and the television networks isn’t like one for a coach, who can sign one 10-year deal with one school, and then two weeks later resign to ink a new 15-year deal with another school. But Georgia needs to shake some things up with its schedule. When I first conjured up a solution, it seemed pretty easy. But this is major college football, which by rule isn’t supposed to be easy. The Georgia-Georgia Tech game needs to be moved to the start of the season. It really serves neither side any purpose to have this rivalry match-up in late November. It could, though, be a great motivational tool for the off season, something to assure the focus and intensity will be there on those hot sum mer days. Another game Georgia needs to move - preferably to the spot now occupied by Tech - is the Eastern Division game with South Carolina. All Bulldogs would agree that we’ve seen too many times how an early loss to South Carolina mess es everything up for the rest of the year. It was the loss to the Gamecocks this year that ended up hurting us more than the Vols game. And as usual South Carolina does nothing the rest of the season after beating the Bulldogs. Why can’t we be SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2007 ♦ the ones catching them on a four-game losing streak? Herein lies the prob lem. What would be nice is if Georgia Tech played Clemson (though they are in separate ACC divisions, they play each other every year) at the same time as Georgia-South Carolina. But they don’t. So a direct swap - putting the Clemson- South Carolina rivalry clash in early September alongside Bulldogs-Jackets so Tech can play the Tigers in late November - can’t happen. Non-conference games should be played early, but we can’t do any switch ing around with upcoming schedules because teams like Georgia sign and set non-league games years in advance. One school moves a game, the next thing you know schedules are being shuffled from Miami all the way to Seattle. So, like the BCS, we are stuck with things staying the way they are. The focus now for Georgia is on those Hawaii Warriors in the Sugar Bowl, which is back where it belongs in the Big Easy. Hey, I’ve heard from one source how he always wants to see us play somebody from far off in the bowls. Can’t get any further than the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Maybe somebody will find a way to mix poi with jam balaya. j Sprint together with Nextel Sun Mark Community Bank AWT Vinyl Siding SAIA Publishing Company The Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce would also like to express sincere appreciation to the many participants, volunteers, staff and family members who played a big part in making the 2007 Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade a huge success! Thanks for helping to make this year’s event the best yet! Business After Hours New Members, Established Members, and Guests Please join us! Sponsored by; To be held at Colonial Bank 701 Lake Joy Road, Warner Robins Thursday, December 20,2007 from s:3opm to 7pm Please RSVP by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 18,2007 No cancellations after 5:00 p.m. December 18th Registration fee - SIO.OO per Chamber member Late registration - $15.00 per Chamber member Non-member registration fee - $20.00 per person November Small Business of the Month Award Presented to On-Site Technical Support 1534 Watson Boulevard Wednesday, December 19,2007 at 2:00 pm Come join us in celebration of their achievements and successes! DECEMBER 21 ST . 11:30 am to 2:30 pm - W.R. Chamber office CLOSED for stafyjkr * DECEMBER 25TH W.R. Chamber office CLOSED for Christmas holiday f SWIMMER From page iB currently qualified for the National Championship.) “He’s going to be a solid fit into that team,” Nelson said, adding he expected Morgan to not only com pete in sprint events, which he does now with Houston County, but - with some weight training added to his regimen - some lon ger events, “even the 1,650 (yards),” Nelson said. As far as those sprint events with the Bears, Morgan, who was named to the All- Houston County team two years running, competes in the 50, 100 and 200 Free events and has qualified for state in each for the past three years. “Josh was a leader for the team (which over the past three years has had a record to date of 178- 5) in an official capacity last year,” said Houston County swimming Head Coach Jamey Richardson, “and leads the team this year with his effort, desire and performance. “He is dedicated not only to excelling himself, but he wants all the members of his team to devote them selves to superior perfor mances, too.” In other words, they too are his lifeblood - in the water. 57448 3B