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[ Woods 'n Water— 2B |
Perry sports
ftp Brian \
jEi Lawson
Sports editor
Despite the
record, I go
on picking
Just as I feared when I began mak
ing football predictions in this col
umn, my status as a sports wizard
diminishes with every loss.
People on the street shun me, my
two year old informed me the kids
at his day care all joke about his
daddy picking against the Miami
Hurricanes and coaches have begun
calling me, begging for me to pick
against their team.
I was pretty close last week.
Syracuse was three yards from beat
ing Miami but they didn’t, UCLA
beat USC by a point and Michigan
and Ohio Slate tied. I picked
Michigan and I picked USC, so
that’s three wrong, but only by a
total of eight points. Two games I
was way off on were Wake Forest
vs NC State and South Carolina vs
Clemson. I thought Clemson and
Wake would both win. Instead they
were beaten soundly. The only les
son I’m choosing to draw from that
is, don’t bet against teams experi
encing player rebellions against
inept coaches.
I got the Eagles, Bills and 49crs
right and the Redskins wrong. I re
ally thought Washington was better
than they showed Monday night.
Wrong again.
1 remember reading life isn’t about
the results it’s about the process of
getting results. So with false
bravado, an ever dimming faith and
the laughter of small children in my
ears, here I go with this week’s bold
predictions.
Georgia Tech at Georgia. Tech
has struggled lately and there arc
too many Georgia alums in Perry
for me to say what I really think
about them. Seriously, I can’t
justify a reason for picking Tech,
so I’ll go against my inaccurate gut
and pick the Jackets to win.
Florida at Florida State. Charlie
Ward is just about my favorite col
lege player this season, I like the
’Noles because they’re the HHJ
staff's team and Florida's best
linebacker is hurt. Without much
opposition, I'll go with FSU.
Notre Dame at USC. The Trojans
tend to play better against the Irish
after losing to UCLA. Notre Dame
has won something like the last
nine meetings between the two.
USC's defense was stung by UCLA
and they’ll have to rise to the occas
sion to stop Reggie Brooks. As an
Irishman with some national pride,
I hate Notre Dame. Go USC.
Now to the NFL.
Philadelphia at San Franscisco.
Suddenly, the Eagles' defense looks
mortal. Going into San Franscisco
is the wrong time to be struggling
on defense. Green Bay gained 400
yards against Philly two weeks ago
with a quarterback playing with a
separated shoulder. So what will a
healthy Steve Young and the NFL's
best offense do against them? The
signs all point to the 'Niners. I
like Philly in my gut though, so
we’ll sec who's right.
Minnesota at LA Rams. The
Vikings are getting a lot of points
from their defense. The Rams are
much better than they've been the
last two years. Minnesota may be
in cruise control for this one, so I
like the Rams.
New England at Atlanta. The
Falcons, possibly the NFL’s un
luckiest team this year, are catching
the Patriots at their highest point of
the season. The Falcons should
win, but there is little good happen
ing for the Falcons lately, so don't
be surprised by an upset. Look for
innumerable blitzes against New
England's rookie quarterback.
They'll work a lot better than they
did against Jim Kelly.
Miami at New Orleans. The
Saints, as has been their trademark
in the Mora era, are quietly playing
very good football. Both teams are
coming off big wins last week.
Look for a tremendous battle be
tween the Saints pass rush and Dan
Marino. Saints' are at home and
they have the better defense, look
for another NFC win.
Please see / GO, page 4B
Baseball card show here Dec. 5
By BRIAN LAWSON
Sports Editor
With the Braves relaxing at Club
Med, skiing at Vail and golfing in
Hawaii, John Niedcrkorn has the
answer for baseball fans suffering
from the off season blues.
As part of the Christmas at the
Crossroads festival Niedcrkorn and
his wife Wanda are sponsoring a
baseball card show Dec. 5 in the old
karate studio building on Main
Street.
"I began by collecting non sports
cards. My older son Jason got me
interested in the Garbage Pail kids
and I gathered an extensive
collection of those. Eventually my
wife said 'lf you're going to collect
something why not collect baseball
cards?’" Niedcrkorn said.
The Nicdcrkorns went to
Millcdgcvillc and bought 30 boxes
of cards in December 1988. They
went home, sorted the cards into
team sets and a new hobby was
born.
"The first show I ever went to, I
rented one third of a table from Paul
Kuhn of Warner Robins. I just
sold my extra cards and made 576 in
about four hours. I was shocked.
It was different than anything I'd
ever done before, it was fun and re
laxed to the point where I could
forget about my worries and I got
paid for it," Niedcrkorn recalled.
After regularly attending card
shows for eight or so months, the
Niedcrkorn
s sponsored their first show in
August 1989.
M , •
A# - - '■ ' ■ ■ *
L» § f a 1
The Perry recreation soccer nine and under All Stars. Coaches Myron Jenkins,
far left and Philip Gentry, far right. The team consisted of Brandon Curtis,
Nathan Skinner, Zach Yelton, Tommy Willard, Bill Sandefur, Philip Gentry,
Edward Rosner, Mitch Greer, lan Jenkins. Not pictured, Josh Crockett, Shane
Thompson, Daniel Lambert, Jason Heaton and Jerry Drazney.
Perry's fall soccer season
ends in qualifying tourneys
By BRIAN LAWSON
Sport* Editor
Perry's fall recreation soccer sea
son ended Sunday in Warner
Robins.
Two teams from Perry were play
ing for a chance to go the state fi
nals, but the 11 and under Suns and
nine and under All Stars were both
defeated.
The Suns lost to Millcdgcvillc 4-
1 and the All Stars were beaten by
the RAFB all stars 2-0.
"We had a good season all in all.
We just got beat at the end. We
were close at halftime (1-0), but we
had two players missing and we
couldn't substitute so our boys got
tired," Suns coach Lon Lower said.
The All Stars began play Saturday
morning but the field was deemed
unplayable and the game was
moved to Sunday.
The eight minutes of the game
that had been played on Saturday
were allowed to stand and the teams
went into the final 42 minutes of
Sunday's contest with RAFB lead
ing 1-0.
"There was some controversy over
their decision to let the goal and the
time carry over. The director of the
Saturday, a q
N0v.28,1992 I D|
"There is a lot of collecting done
in Houston County. It's a good
sports community. We had asked a
lot of people how they conducted
their shows and it was a case of ap
plying what we'd seen and heard.
Wc'rc now sponsoring three shows
a month. The first Saturday of ev
ery month in Warner Robins, the
first Sunday of the month in Al
bany and the last Sunday of the
month in Atlanta. My wife and
two sons handle all of the mailings
to customers and potential sellers.
There's no way I could do it with
out their help," he said.
Niedcrkom's father was in the mil
itary and spent his childhood travel
ling all over the world.
"The first experience I remember
having with baseball was watching
Hank Aaron hit a home run to win
the pennant for the Braves in 1958.
I asked my mom who it was that
hit the ball, she told me and I've
been a Braves fan ever since," he
said.
Niedcrkorn was happy the Braves
have been successful the last two
years, but he said if they start los
ing again he'll still be a fan.
"The chop didn't mean anything to
me. I’ve been rooting for them for
so long, I was just glad they were
in the World Scries,” he said.
Niedcrkorn came to Georgia while
serving in the Air Force. He was
stationed at RAFB in March 1972.
During his stay there, he met his
future wife, who hails from
Please see CARDS, page 4B
tournament said the eondiuons were
unplayable but he allowed the first
day's score to count. We played 42
minutes on Sunday and we played
real well but their defense was
tough. We got outshot by a wide
margin but we only allowed them
one goal," All Stars coach Philip
Gentiy said.
The only goal scored by Perry
over the weekend came from the
Suns' Josh Lower.
"I'm planning on coaching again
in the spring. Some of our boys
will be moving up to 12 and under
and I'd like to sec more kids from
Perry participating in the program.
It would be nice if the city could
put in a soccer field and that way
we wouldn't have to play half of
our season in Warner Robins,"
Lower said.
"It's a great sport for kids. A lot
of kids are timid and shy when it
comes to contact sports like foot
ball. In soccer there is contact but
there doesn't seem to be the added
pressure that usually is associated
with baseball and football. Size
doesn't matter at all, and small kids
with endurance do very well. There
aren’t many other sports where a
Church page 3B
John Niederkorn, right, and his son Justin show some of the wares that will be
available at the Bases Loaded baseball card show in Perry December 5.
small kid is at no disadvantage,"
All Star Coach Myron Jenkins said.
"I’m very proud of our kids, they
had a good season. We just made
one mistake and even then their
player kicked the ball in from about
25 yards. We hustled and put in a
fine effort, but the base always has
a good team. We're real close to
being able to compete with
anybody," Gentry said.
"We've had tremendous support
from the parents all season. Soccer
parents seem a little different than
parents of kids in other sports,
maybe because the game is more
involving but they always seem
very enthusiastic and that makes a
big difference for the kids," Jenkins
said.
"Our kids were a little
disappointed with the loss but they
played hard. We'll be back in the
spring," Lower said.
Perry sponsors soccer leagues in
the Spring and Fall.
Anyone interested in participating
in spring soccer should contact the
Perry Recreation Department at
987-1911.
Journal
Perry Basketball season
mjay start Dec. 8 instead
By BRIAN LAWSON
Sports Editor
Perry's opening game of the
1992-93 basketball season may be
delayed a week.
The Panthers are scheduled to
open Tuesday at home against
Macon County.
But because Macon County is
still competing in the GHSA
Christmas in Olde Perry
5K Walk/Run set for Sat.
By BRIAN LAWSON
Sports Editor
On the morning of Dec. 5 runners
and walkers arc invited to partici
pate in the annual 5K Run/Walk.
The event is part of the Christmas
at the Crossroads activities and will
begin at 8:30 a.m. at the corner of
Ball and Carroll Streets.
Pre-registration for the run is $lO
and race day registration is sl2.
Applications for the race can be
picked up cither at Perry Hospital
or the Perry Area Chamber of
Commerce.
Event coordinator Marti Marchant
said the event provides an ideal op
portunity to exercise and get in
volved in the community.
"The studies show that cardiovas
cular exercise is essential for a
healthy heart and a healthy lifestyle.
We have been receiving calls about
the race from as far away as
Dahloncga and we arc hoping for a
good turnout. We'd like to see over
100 runners and walkers partici
pate," she said.
Runner* are getting ready to participate In this year's
5K Run/Walk. The 8:30 a.m. event is part of the
Christmas at the Crossroads festival.
football playoffs, Perry's opener
may he delayed until Dec. 8.
Their schedule calls for the
Panthers to travel to Montezuma to
play Macon County Dec. 8 in a
season opening home and home
series.
If Macon County is victorious in
their playoff game against Johnson
Pleae see DEC., page 4B
The race course begins by heading
down Ball Street, dicn a left turn at
Duncan Avenue, right at Forest
Avenue, right on Tucker Road, and
the finish line will be after another
right onto Ball Street.
The lop three finishers from each
of the seven age group categories
ranging from 14 and under, to 60
and over, will receive trophies.
There will also be class trophies
presented to the winners of the male
and female under 40, and the mas
ters (40 and over) male and female
fastest times.
Digital times will be posted at the
one and two mile splits and the fin
ish line.
Fluids will be provided during the
race at the mile and half marker and
the. finish line.
Refreshments will be donated by
local businesses to participants
after the race.
For more information call the
Chamber of Commerce at 987-
1234 or Marti Marchant at Perry
Hospital 987-3600.