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Church News - Continued
Minister’s Corner
is the same yesterday, today, and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8). We don’t have a lot of “fore-
vers” in our lives anymore. Of course, very
few things are actually eternal, but we’re los
ing many aspects of life that we thought
would at least be around for a long, long time.
Whether it’s celebrities who have been part
of our lives for many years, political figures,
family members, institutions, freedoms, long-
held societal values - times are a-changing.
Therefore it’s reassuring to know that our
God is still the same. There are tndy “fore-
vers” in relation to Him that we can still
count on. He still loves us, in spite of all we
have done to distance ourselves from Him
and in spite of our world’s rejection of His
guidance as to what is best for us. God is still
good and just, even as we face the conse
quences of our rebellion against Him and
judgment for our sin. God is forever faithful.
Not one of His promises will fail. His Word
is still true. What He says still goes, even if a
growing number of people seem to disagree
with Him. He is still seated on His throne as
the Ruler of all things. He hasn’t been over
thrown. He can’t be impeached and removed
from office. And He’s still the Judge over all
the earth before whom we’ll be standing to
give an account of ourselves one day.
Forever. Less and less in this life seems to
fit that description. Maybe that’s a good
thing. Could it be that some of us were cling
ing to or depending too heavily on some of
those aspects of life that are now being al
tered? Maybe these changing times will spur
us to cling more tightly to that which doesn’t
change. Let’s draw closer to the Lord. Let’s
stand firmly on His Word. Let’s claim His
promises. Hold tightly to Jesus, the One who
is forever the same.
[Rev. Tony Elder is a North Georgia na
tive who serves as a pastor and author of the
daily devotional book, Everyday Encounters
with the Lord” and serves as the Executive
Director of the National Association of Wes
leyan Evangelicals. He may be reached at
revtelder@aol.com.]
Uy
January 17 -
January 23
January 17th:
On this day in 1988, the
Washington Redskins and Den
ver Broncos punched their tick
ets to Super Bowl XXII in San
Diego. The NFC title game saw
Washington put an end to the
Minnesota Vikings' Cinderella
postseason with a 17-10 vic
tory. Redskins' quarterback,
Doug Williams, became the
first African-American passer
to lead a team to the Super
Bowl. Williams completed just
nine of 26 passes, but threw for
two touchdowns, including the
go-ahead score to wide re
ceiver, Gary Clark. That touch
down capped an eight-play,
70-yard drive with just over
five minutes remaining. Still,
the Vikes had plenty of time to
respond with a game-tying
score. Wade Wilson drove
Minnesota's offense to the
Washington six, but was faced
with a fourth-and-goal situa
tion with 56 seconds left. Wil
son threw a pass to Darrin
Nelson at the goal line, but the
ball was batted away by Darrell
Green and the Redskins hung
on. Out in Denver, the Broncos
faced the Cleveland Browns in
a rematch of the 1986 AFC
championship meeting, which
was known for "The Drive".
Although John Elway engi
neered another last-minute
touchdown march in the '87 en
counter, it was still remem
bered for "The Fumble", which
led to Denver winning, 38-33.
The Broncos built a convincing
21-3 lead, but Cleveland rallied
behind Bernie Kosar and
Earnest Byner. Kosar com
pleted 26 passes for 356 yards
and three touchdowns, includ
ing one to Byner, who made
seven catches for 120 yards.
Byner also added a rushing
score before finishing with 187
yards from scrimmage. The
Browns tied the issue at 31
when Kosar hit Webster
Slaughter on a slant, but Elway
retaliated. He drove Denver's
offense to his third touchdown
pass, a 20-yarder to Sammy
Winder, with four minutes re
maining. The Broncos had the
lead, but Cleveland had the ball
and immediately put Denver's
defense on its heels. Kosar
completed pass after pass and
the Browns ate up yard after
yard before bringing the ball to
the Broncos' eight with 1:12
left. Byner took a handoff and
appeared as though he would
stroll in for the tying score.
However, he was stripped at
the last minute by Jeremiah
Castille, who also made the re
covery. Like the Redskins
hours earlier, the Broncos
saved the day with a stand of
their own.
January 18th:
On this day in 1958, Willie
O'Ree became the first African-
American hockey player to
take the ice of an NHL game.
The 22-year-old winger made
his debut for Milt Schmidt's
Boston Bruins, who defeated
the Montreal Canadiens in a 3-
0 shutout. This was one of two
games O'Ree appeared in dur
ing the 1957-58 campaign. He
went on to play 45 more with
the Bruins during the 1960-61
season, where he recorded four
goals, 10 assists and 26 penalty
minutes. O'Ree spent the rest of
his career in the minors before
retiring in 1979, but returned to
the NHL in 1998 to become the
league's Diversity Ambassador.
He was inducted into the
This week in
Sports History
by Ethan Swiech
Hockey Hall of Fame as a
builder in 2018.
January 19th:
On this day in 2002, the
Philadelphia Eagles came into
Chicago and defeated the
Bears, 33-19, in the NFC Divi
sional Playoff Game. This con
test also took place right before
the famous "Tuck Rule" en
counter between the New Eng
land Patriots and Oakland
Raiders in snowy Foxboro. Ea
gles' quarterback and Windy
City native, Donovan McNabb,
continued his hot play. One
week after accounting for 251
yards and two touchdown
passes during Philadelphia's
Wild Card victory over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McN
abb returned to his hometown
and dazzled the Chicago
crowd. He threw for 262 yards
and two more scores, including
one to Duce Staley, who had
120 yards of total offense. Mc
Nabb also added eight runs for
37 more yards as well as the
touchdown run that iced the
game with 3:21 remaining. The
Eagles' defense was anchored
by linebacker, Jeremiah Trotter,
who finished with 11 tackles,
10 of which were solo, and a
pass defense. Philadelphia's
stingy unit also forced four
takeaways, including three in
terceptions, while limiting
Chicago to 10 first downs and
184 total yards.
January 20th:
On this day in 1968, college
basketball's "Game of the Cen
tury" unfolded within the con
fines of the Houston
Astrodome. The hometown
Houston Cougars, who were
led by head coach, Guy V.
Lewis, were ranked second in
the country. However, the
Coogs hosted the nation's top
powerhouse, John Wooden's
UCLA Bruins, who entered
this contest on a 47-game win
ning streak. The Bruins also
captured three of the last four
national championships, in
cluding back-to-back titles in
1964 and 1965. This matchup
was made possible through the
efforts of Coach Lewis, who
wanted to prove how far his
team had come to being a legit
imate NCAA contender. Lewis
looked like he made a smart
move as Houston took a three-
point halftime lead. The
Cougars rode the back of Elvin
Hayes, their 6'9" forward from
Rayville, Louisiana. Hayes
completely outplayed UCLA's
All-American center, Lew Al-
cindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar),
by converting 17 of his 25 field
goal attempts. He finished with
game-highs of 39 points and 15
rebounds while blocking three
of Alcindor's shots. Alcindor,
on the other hand, was just four
of 18 from the field with 15
points through 40 minutes.
Hayes won the duel of super-
stars, but more importantly, led
Houston to a 71-69 victory.
The significance of this en
counter also provided inspira
tion for college basketball's
future. Many of the games we
see today, particularly Final
Fours, take place in NFL stadi
ums.
January 21st:
On this day in 1954, the
East defeated the West, 98-93,
in the first NBA All-Star Game
to go into overtime. The Madi
son Square Garden crowd saw
Boston Celtics' point guard,
Bob Cousy, lead the East with
a game-high 20 points. Cousy
also posted 11 rebounds and
four assists through 34 minutes
of floor time. His efforts were
complemented by Baltimore
Bullets' center, Ray Felix, and
Celtics' teammate, Ed
Macauley, who logged 13
points apiece. Felix snagged 11
boards as well while Syracuse
Nationals' power forward,
Dolph Schayes got his hands
on 12. Although Felix and
Schayes provided nice work
near the glass, it was home
town hero, Harry Gallatin, who
snatched everything in sight.
The New York Knicks' power
forward registered a game-high
18 boards, making life miser
able for his opponents. Speak
ing of the opponent,
Minneapolis Lakers' small for
ward, Jim Pollard, topped the
West with a game-high 23
points. Lakers' teammate and
center, George Mikan,
recorded 18 points with nine
rebounds while Rochester Roy
als' shooting guard, Bobby
Wanzer, had 12 points and six
assists. The Western bench
stars featured Royals' point
guard, Bob Davies, and Fort
Wayne Pistons' center, Larry
Foust. Davies led the West re
placements with 18 points
while Foust hauled in a game-
high 15 boards.
January 22nd:
On this day in 2006, the late
Kobe Bryant willed the Los
Angeles Lakers to a 122-104
victory over the Toronto Rap
tors with his famous 81-point
performance. Bryant nailed
seven threes before going 28 of
46 from the field. He also con
tributed six rebounds, three
steals, two assists and a
blocked shot. Kobe's point-
total established a career-high
and the Black Mamba shattered
Elgin Baylor's Lakers' fran
chise record for points in a
game (Baylor scored 71 during
a 1960 encounter with the New
York Knicks, which LA won,
123-108). Bryant completed
the 2005-06 campaign as the
NBA scoring champ, an honor
he would duplicate in 2007.
January 23rd:
On this day in 1994, the
Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cow
boys set up the very first back-
to-back Super Bowl rematch in
NFL history. The Bills captured
their fourth consecutive AFC
crown by defeating Joe Mon
tana's Kansas City Chiefs, BO-
13. Meanwhile, the Cowboys
vanquished Montana's former
team, the San Francisco 49ers,
in the NFC title game for the
second year in a row, winning
38-21. Buffalo's victory was
spearheaded by Thurman
Thomas, who scored three
times before finishing with 186
yards on 33 carries. The Bills'
defense responded by knocking
Montana out of the game while
recording two interceptions
and four sacks. Down in Dal
las, the Cowboys closed out the
first half with a string of 21
unanswered points. Dallas'
scoring run was highlighted by
Troy Aikman's two touchdown
passes. One of those scores
went to Emmitt Smith, who
added a rushing touchdown be
fore compiling 173 yards from
scrimmage. The Cowboys' de
fense tallied four sacks, but the
crowd got nervous when Aik-
man was knocked out of the
game. Luckily, Bemie Kosar
came in and threw a 42-yard
touchdown pass to Alvin
Harper, officially slamming the
door on San Fran.
THURSDAY. JANUARY 21,2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3B
Rec. dept, baseball/softball
t-ball underway
County Recreation Direc
tor Brian Jones reported at
the latest commissioners
meeting that baseball/t-
ball/softball registration is
underway and will run
through the first of March.
Opening day is March 27,
tentatively.
“We’ve already had peo
ple register...so even with
the pandemic like it is peo
ple are still trying to get out,
have their kids play sports. It
still is a vital part of Pickens
County life.”
Jones reported pickleball
attendance has dropped off
since the pandemic num
bers. “It’s that 65 and older
crowd is not returning like
we thought it was going to.
It’s sporadic as far as pickle
ball goes, but the young peo
ple still seem to enjoy the
rec center,” he said.
Continued from Page IB
Gartrell: New Faces
“The scope of the actions should indi
cate to you that the number of violations
is significant, and the number of people
involved (is significant) — and deliberate
efforts to conceal these activities from
our compliance office,” said University
of Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plow
man.
To date, the head coach, two assistants
and seven other staffers were fired and
athletic director Phillip Fulmer an
nounced his retirement. All of this tur
moil occurs less than four years after
Fulmer helped sack and replace Tim
Curry as AD in yet another public embar
rassment to the program. Now, Vo Is fans
should expect significant NCAA sanc
tions soon.
Continued from Page IB
Sports betting bill introduced
Previous efforts to legal
ize sports betting in Georgia,
as well as casinos and pari
mutuel betting on horse rac
ing, have been handicapped
by the requirement that pro
posed constitutional amend
ments receive two-thirds
majorities in the House and
Senate.
But this year, sports bet
ting is being introduced as a
statue rather than a constitu
tional change. As such, pass
ing it only requires simple
majorities in each legislative
chamber.
Also, as a statute, the bill
could take effect immedi
ately upon the governor’s
signature, rather than having
to go before Georgia voters
in a statewide referendum.
Stephens’ bill would pro
hibit Georgians under age 21
from engaging in sports bet
ting. Wagering on high
school or college games also
would be forbidden.
Bettors would have to be
physically located in Geor
gia to place a bet, a require
ment that would be enforced
with geofencing technology.
The bill is modeled after
online sports betting legisla
tion that took effect in Ten
nessee last fall. In
November, its first month,
the Volunteer State gener
ated $131.4 million in wa
gers, yielding almost $2.4
million in tax revenue.
As a statute rather than a
constitutional amendment,
Stephens’ bill would have to
go to Gov. Brian Kemp’s
desk rather than bypassing
the governor and going
straight to Georgia voters.
Kemp opposes legalized
gambling and could veto the
bill. However, sports betting
enjoys bipartisan support in
the General Assembly.
The measure’s cospon
sors include three Republi
cans - Reps. Matt Dollar of
Marietta, Lee Hawkins of
Gainesville and Shelly
Hutchinson of Snellville -
and two Democrats, Reps.
Billy Mitchell of Stone
Mountain and A1 Williams
of Midway.
Sports betting also has
the influential backing of a
coalition formed by At
lanta’s four pro teams: the
Braves, Falcons, Hawks and
Atlanta United.
Continued from Page IB
Nettes’ busy week
nabbed 26 steals, only two less
than their season high vs. Copper
Basin.
Eleven Nettes scored, with
three reaching double digits.
Madison Powell led with 14, fol
lowed by Bella Howell’s 12 and
Cassidy Richard’s 10.
The JV Nettes had a good
week as well, snagging their sec
ond and third wins of the season.
They got their first win on the
road vs. Cedartown and followed
that last week with back to back
wins over Heritage and
Adairsville to move to 3-1 on the
season.
During the three game win
ning streak, the Nettes have aver
aged 30 points per game and
have been led by Jazmine Chas
tain, Ashaela Buchanan, and
Emily Southern in scoring.
The JV will be in action again
on Friday, January 22nd at NW
Whitfeld and Saturday, January
23rd at Dawson County.
Tempe Solomon, front, Jazmine Chastain (back) and
Leslea Tilley bring the bail down the court for the Nettes.
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recreation on our sports
page. E-mail news@
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32 Madison Powell and #23 Marlee McClure mov
ing the ball around for the Nettes.