About The Jenkins County times. (Millen, Ga.) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2023)
jenkinscountytimes.com The Jenkins County Times Wednesday, December 13, 2023- Page 9 912.531.5086 101 North Main Street Downtown Sylvania, Ca. IF YOU’RE WAITING FOR A SIGN THIS IS IT. WAR EAGRE BRAD ASBURY By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor for l i 11 : Times pastorbradasbury@gmail.com Under the Bleachers Bowl games start this week in college football. These games will continue through the new year, and they will include playoff games which will culminate in the national championship game that will be held on January 8 th , 2024. These bowl games sometimes provide great entertainment and one more game for your favorite teams. Unfortunately, bowl games are being hindered by the transfer portal and players sitting out the bowl game for fear of injury. The transfer portal allows players to seek out other teams without penalty, and the athletes are doing this before the end of their season has even come! The transfer portal is becoming veiy similar to free agency in professional sports. The NBA just finished its first-ever “In-Season Tournament.” The championship was won by the Los Angeles Lakers as they defeated the Indiana Pacers by a score of 123-109. Each player on the winning team was awarded a $500,000 cash prize! In Major League Baseball news, free agency has finally started to heat up. In addition to free-agent signings, there have been some trades. The most significant signing in free agency occurred on Saturday afternoon. Superstar Shohei Ohtani signed the largest contract in MLB histoiy. He will be making $700 million over the next 10 years. Putting this into perspective, if Ohtani were to donate one million dollars to eveiy person in America, he would still make more than 35 million dollars per year for 10 years. The age-old question will continue to plague the MLB over this deal as well as many other professional sports deals. That question will be, “Do athletes make too much money?” It is truly hard to justify large sums of money for playing a sport; however, it is the entertainment industiy, and it appears that there is no shortage of money to go around in the entertainment world. One issue that I have with large sports contracts and huge amounts of money being sent out to athletes is placing a value on someone based on the ability to make a basket, run fast, or some other attribute. Is the player forgotten when their skill is no longer useful? If they get injured, how are they viewed? Did you know that Christmas is about placing value on another person? Christmas is about Jesus, coming into the world to die on a cross in the place of man. God places a value on the life of eveiy man! He found that eveiy man was worth dying for so that they might be in the right relationship with God. May we praise God for His indescribable gift to us, and that gift is the life of His son. Time is slowly ticking by, and we are just days from a new year. This Christmas, buy someone the gift of sports tickets, sporting equipment, or some other way to enjoy sports. Encourage them to get out from “Under the Bleachers” and play or watch or both this year! Until next time, go hit a ball! Go catch a ball! Go do something, sometimes it is dangerous under the bleachers! Paid to Play: Are You Ready On October 2 nd of this year, the GHSA approved a bylaw that would allow high school athletes to profit from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. This decision will make a significant shift in the landscape of high school sports across our state. Presently, 30 other states in addition to the District of Columbia have passed a similar bylaw. The new bylaw allows high school athletes to sign endorsement deals, earn money from sponsored social media posts, and receive compensation for personal appearances, among other opportunities. However, it's important to note that these deals must not interfere with the athletes educational pursuits or the teams practices or competitions. Under the bylaw, athletes will not be allowed to link their NIL deals to specific achievements or performances, and they will not be allowed to use their school’s name, logos, uniforms or any other intellectual property. Many see this as a positive step forward as it will allow a level playing field for student-athletes who may come from lower-income backgrounds. Additionally, it will provide a pathway for athletes to build their brands and potentially earn money in the process. How does this work? For example, if an athlete’s photograph is taken while wearing an athletic brand, and that brand uses the photo to promote their products without the athlete’s consent, that athlete could claim the brand violates the right to publicity. Could this create an uneven playing field for schools that have lower budgets, or come from a community that does not have the resources to fund deals for athletes? Undoubtedly, this and other issues will arise with the new NIL deals. Athletes will have the potential to earn large sums of money. For instance, class of 2024 and University of Georgia signee Dylan Raiola of Buford, Georgia already has NIL deals worth $894,000; while Bryce James, the son of Lebron James has deals of upwards of $ 1.2 million. My opinion is very simple, “Let kids be kids for as long as kids can be kids.” Too often we push the children to grow up beyond their years, while never truly growing up. They are student-athletes and as student-athletes let us not put pressure on them to make money on their name. Secondly, I fear that, while there are no intentions for this to affect where students play ball; it appears that some would be drawn to a larger area looking for deals. In addition to these concerns, I often wonder if students who are under the age of 18 are capable mentally and maturity-wise of handling large sums of money at an early age. There is more to being paid than just being paid. With pay comes responsibility. Being paid means you are a professional at something. Therefore, they will move from being student-athletes to professional athletes at a very young age. I would also think that this could hinder a student from making wise decisions about college. Regardless, the decision by the GHSA to allow NIL deals for high school athletes is a significant one that will undoubtedly have an impact on the future of high school sports in Georgia. Only time will tell how this new policy will play out and what its long-term effects will be on student-athletes, their teams, and the high school sports community. Students Recieve Letterman Jackets The Sights and Sounds of the Season The gyms are filling up. The smell of popcorn fills the air. Whistles are blowing and crowds are cheering. This could only mean one thing: basketball season is officially underway. The Jenkins County War Eagles and Lady War Eagles have been busy on the court over the past two weeks. The War Eagles started their season off on the road on November 28 th against the Claxton Tigers. With many of the players just finishing football season two weeks before, there was little time to get basketball ready. However, the War Eagles who were preseason ranked 10th and now jumped to 7 th , jumped right into the season. In the first two weeks of play they defeated Claxton 50-33 and Treutlen 69-67. This past week, the War Eagles kept rolling. They had three blowout wins. They defeated Jefferson County 68-35, Johnson County 71-46, and Screven County 58-36. In the Johnson County game, the following scored for the War Eagles: James Allen 27pts, Tyrone Martin 7pts, ZZ Wilson 17pts, Javarious Gilmore 4pts, Tyree Abraham 2pts, Tyler Williams 2pts, Quavo Roberson 4pts, Tumani Chandler 2pts, Rashad Allen 2pts, and Ge’Marion Newton 4pts. The Jenkins County Lady War Eagles have played three more games than the boys team at this point of the season. The girls’ team started off with two games early in the season, dropping both. They lost 61-48 at EBA and 48-30 against Pinewood Christian. They got their first win of the season playing at Claxton with a final score of 42-36. In addition, the Lady War Eagles got in the win column at home against Treutlen with a final score of 59-39 and a win over Jefferson County 46-32. They did fall at Johnson County 51-48 and at Screven County 61-47. In the loss to Screven County, the following Lady War Eagles had these statistics: ShaNya Lake 13 pts, 4 assists, 7 Rebounds, Konstance Langston 16 pts and 2 rebounds, Nevaeh Campbell 11 pts, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals, Mya Abraham 6 pts and 1 rebound, and Jakhaila Oglesby 1 pt. In the win over Jefferson County, the following statistics were recorded: Sha’Nya Lake lOpts, 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 4 steals, Konstance Langston 18 pts, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, Nevaeh Campbell 12 pts, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 8 steals, Talaya Milton 4 pts, and Joyin Roberson 2 pts and 5 rebounds. The Lady War Eagles and War Eagles will be back in action on Tuesday, December 12th at Jefferson County and on Friday, December 15 th at home against Screven County. The girls’ game will take place at 6:00 PM both nights and the boys’ game will follow shortly after the girls are finished. Get out and support your War Eagle basketball teams! Boys’ Basketball Class A D-II 1. Portal (6-0) 2. Calhoun County (5-0) 3. Macon County (6-1) 4. Christian Heritage (5-1) 5. Greenforest (3-3) 6. Mitchell County (5-1) 7. Jenkins County (5-0) 8. Seminole County (4-0) 9. Terrell County (5-1) 10. Warren County (4-0) Screven County Fitness Ignite Your m ‘ Fitness Journey! Unlock Your Strength, Embrace the Challenge, and Transform Your Workout Routine Today! Facilities Subscribe Today ! (91 2)451 - NEWS (6397) • Weight lifting • Personal & Youth Training • Tanning Beds • Group Classes • Silver Sneakers Club FFA needs sponsors for increased competitions By Carmen Bennett, Special Contributor for The Times This year our chapter is seeking sponsors to help cover the cost of hotels for state finalists. Normally our chapter fundraising covers such costs, but this year our kids are showing out a little more than usual. We already have FIVE state bound teams. The hotel cost is significantly higher than in years past. If you would be willing to become a sponsor this year or renew your sponsorship from last year, please email Mrs. Bennett at carmenbennett@jchs.com. I know our kids would be appreciative. They have worked very hard to be able to compete at this level and we would very much like to be able to cover their expenses at least partially at state contests. As always, thank you for supporting our students throughout the years.
