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thejenkinscountytimes.com
The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, July 5, 2023 - Page 9
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BRAD ASBURY
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By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor
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IT 11 : Times
pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
Under the
Bleachers
Dead week has begun in
all Georgia High School
Athletic sports. This is
the week that practices
must cease during the
summer months. Players
and coaches in several
sports have been practicing,
playing scrimmage games,
and preparing for the
seasons ahead. After a
month of work, coaches
and players take a break.
Once the break is over, it
will be full steam ahead for
the rest of the summer.
In five short weeks, the
Jenkins County football
team will be on the field
for their first scrimmage
game of the year. The
softball team will soon be
taking the field for the first
regular season game of
the year on August 10 th .
While August seems to be
far away, as fast as the days
fly by, we will be in the
middle of the season.
The Atlanta Braves have
had a record year, which
may be an understatement
of the week. Several
players are on track for
an historic year such as
Ronald Acuna, Jr. and
other Braves
players. Three Braves were
named to the starting role
for the 2023 All-Star game.
Sean Murphy, Ronald
Acuna, Jr., and Orlando
Arcia won the starting role
through fan votes.
There is one Brave who still
stands as one of greatest
players in MLB history,
who will be hard to top
in the history book. Hank
Aaron is arguably one of
the greatest players to
ever wear a Braves jersey.
During the 1956 season in
the month of July, Aaron
batted .424 with 21 extra
base hits. This was the best
individual perfomiance
in a calendar month. This
performance will be hard
to top.
The way too early top 25
was released recently by
Sports Illustrated. The top
5 may have a shocking
factor, especially to local
Georgia Bulldog fans.
From 5 to 1 is Texas, LSU,
Georgia, Alabama, and
Ohio State. The Bulldogs
who are back-to-back
National Champions and
coming off an undefeated
season would have been
thought to be the favorites
to win again this year.
However, the early
standings are showing
different. Sports bring out
the best and sometimes
the worst in everyone!
When you are Under the
Bleachers, no doubt you
can hear the best and the
worst coming from the
crowd! There will
always be “armchair”
coaches, “couch”
quarterbacks, and
“bleacher” referees who
can see the play perfectly
from the stands. Remember
when you are at the game,
in the stands, or even
watching from home to
show kindness and let
your words be “seasoned
with salt.” Maybe we can
simply, “think before we
speak.” Or, as one cartoon
that I read said, “Never
miss an opportunity to
keep your mouth shut.”
Maybe it also comes down
to one simple concept:
love one another. We read
in the Scriptures, “A new
command I give you: Love
one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love
one another.” Love goes
a long way in preventing
strife and heartache.
Two more observations
from Under the Bleachers
also relate to love but have
nothing to do with sports.
First, do not throw trash out
your windows or onto the
ground. Keep our county
clean. Secondly, probably
my biggest pet peeve now,
simply put if you do not
have a handicap parking
sticker and especially if
you do not have a handicap
stay out of the handicap
parking spots. Often those
spots are taken by people
waiting for another or too
lazy to walk an extra few
feet. Just be courteous and
kind and love one another!
Rant over! Enjoy a week of
sports. Enjoy “dead” week
coaches and players. And
above all love one another!
What's for
Supper?
Waiting outside the gates
of Truist Park, the home
of the Atlanta Braves, the
smell of ballpark food
arrives to the senses of fans
waiting to enter. I often
wonder if they have a fan
blowing the smell in the
direction of those waiting
to go in. Once you enter the
gates, you are hungry from
smelling popcorn, burgers,
and so much more. Every
ballpark in America is
unique in its food offerings.
There is something for
everyone, from the basic
foods to the most lavish;
it will all depend on how
much you want to eat and
ultimately how much you
want to spend!
During the 7 th inning
stretch fans loudly sing
the old song, “Take Me
Out to the Ballgame.” One
line says, “Buy me some
peanuts and cracker jacks.”
Ballparks have beyond
well beyond the days of
just simple peanuts and
crackerjacks and have
substituted for items such
as the 2022 Championship
Burger. This burger was
not your ordinary burger.
The burger was a wagyu
beef patty with cage-free
pan-fried eggs, gold-
leaf-wrapped foie gras,
grilled cold water lobster
tail, heirloom tomato,
Tillamook cheddar cheese,
and truffle aioli on a toasted,
buttered bun served with
Parmesan waffle fries. This
was last year’s big money
item when it comes to
food. A fan could pick up
the burger for $151. The
price seems odd, but it was
to celebrate the 151 years
of the Braves’ existence. A
fan could pay $25,000 and
get a championship ring
with it!
This year, the high-dollar
burger has disappeared
from the menu, but the
chefs at Tmist Park ensured
that there would be some
different offerings. This
Judson Godbee and Joshua Asbury are pictured after the
mud mn. The mud run is one of the highlights of FFA Camp
competitions. Photo Submitted.
During the mud run, the girls “run” for the win through the
nasty mud pits. Photo Submitted.
Lohgan Walker, who will be a senior at JCHS smiles
for the camera after her 2 nd place finish in the shotgun
competition. Photo Submitted.
season, fans have been
introduced to the Georgia
BLT: Bologna, butter
lettuce, tomato, pimento
cheese, and garlic mayo.
Or one could elevate their
old-fashioned hotdog with
what is known as “The
Closer.” This is a beef hot
dog fried and wrapped
in mozzarella whipped
potatoes!
If a family of four was
adventurous, there is the
new “Cleanup Burger.”
The Cleanup Burger offers
four grilled beef patties
topped with hash browns,
hickory smoked bacon,
cheese, and a sunny egg
sandwiched between
buttermilk Belgian waffles
with maple syrup. Being it
is advertised to feed four,
the price of $26 is not a
bad ballpark option. There
is also the option for a
group of 8 to indulge in a
submarine sandwich! For
$76 this “not your ordinary
sandwich has carved-to-
order smoked turkey breast
topped with Red Dragon
cheddar cheese sauce,
applewood bacon, fried
green tomatoes, butter
lettuce, and avocado crema.
There are many other
offerings at Tmist Park that
you will just have to drive
to discover.
Baseball parks, football
stadiums, and basketball
arenas are like any other
business that offers food.
Every food stand in
one of these places will
seek to offer the unique,
the expensive, and the
shocking just to get fans to
buy!
Unfortunately, I am
not adventurous in trying
something new when it
comes to food. I enjoy the
simple! Chicken strips,
fries, or just a regular
burger will always “hit the
spot!” You could always
eat before you go to the
game and then load up
on peanuts, cracker jacks.
FFA Wins Big
While FFA camp competitions may not be sponsored by
the GHSA, you cannot tell the group of girls from Jenkins
County any different. In fun competitions like mud mns,
volleyball, softball, swimming, etc. the girls compete at a
high level. For three years straight the girls have won the
team of the week for their wins in athletic competitions.
They were named softball champions, volleyball champions,
and mud mn champions. They also had wins in other
individual and team competitions. The boys’ teams also had
some victories, but they did not win the championships as
the girls did. Congratulations to Jenkins County FFA and to
their “coaches” Pete and Carmen Bennett.
The FFA softball team known as “Twister Sisters” won the
championship softball game! Photo Submitted.
The Jenkins County FFA girls were “crowned” for the third
year in a row as The Team of the Week at FFA camp for all
their wins during the competitions. Photo Submitted.
Baseball parks are a place for peanuts and crackerjacks, but
it does not stop at those baseball games’ must-haves. Tmist
Park introduced the Cleanup Burger which is shown in the
picture. For $26 a person can indulge themselves in one
messy burger! Photo by Tmist Park.
and popcorn at the game!
One might say, “There
is nothing better than an
old-fashioned hot dog
while you watch a game!”
Or just maybe you will
be adventurous at one of
America’s numerous sports
venues!
What is your favorite
ballpark food? Regardless
if you ate at the Jenkins
County Recreation
Department or at Yankee
Stadium in New York City,
what is your go-to when
you enter the gates of a
ballpark? Email me your
favorite and tell me all about
it, it may just be featured
next week! My email is
pastorbradasbury@gmail.
com.
