Newspaper Page Text
PACE 2B
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008
OUTDOORS WITH SKIPPER
AMERICA’S GAME
Limit already met by young hunter
H e is one of the nic
est young fellows I
know.
I used to hunt with Alex
Mikle when he was seven,
down near Lexington, Ga. His
dad, Keith, grandfather Joe,
all of Monroe, and I enjoyed
hunting together for a couple
of years, before they sold the
leased land we were on.
This past Saturday, on the
opening morning of gun sea
son, Alex, now 11, had a great
morning. Sitting with his dad
in a tree stand on a friend’s
property in Barrow County,
Alex was ready with his 243.
Daylight was just break
ing, when dad pointed with
his fingers to his eyes, and
then pointed to a figure some
10 yards away. It was a three
pointer.
Alex raised his rifle, but the
deer was looking at them. The
gun became heavy, as he tried
not to move, and Alex was
relieved when finally the deer
looked away. He could lower
li
skipper
smith
it for a minute
as it walked
around a tree.
Raising up the
gun once more
he squeezed the
trigger, and his
first buck of the
morning was
on the ground.
They stayed in
their stand to
see what the rest
of the morning
would bring. They then saw
three does, then two more
does and three behind them.
Sounds like there were deer
everywhere. Grandpa Joe —
Alex calls him PaPa — was
hunting nearby in another
stand.
A gunshot rang out nearby,
and they saw two bucks com
ing towards them. At first they
were running and then began
walking. They sized them up
and decided that the second
buck was the biggest.
The bucks went behind a
STEADY AIM
Young Alex Mikle shows what his steady aim
brought on opening day.
thicket and then came
out. That was when Alex
fired again, and took this
deer in the neck. It was
an eight pointer. High
fives between dad and
son were the order of the
day.
Knowing Papa was still
in his stand they called
him on the phone, and
told him they would just
stay put to give him a
chance to bag a deer.
Papa replied, “Go on and
get your deer.”
When he arrived on the
scene, there were more high
“fives” between Papa and his
grandson.
Asking Papa what he had at
his stand. Papa said “only two
mules.” A quick trip to Wal-
Mart was taken for a camera
to record this great hunt. The
deer were loaded in the back
of the truck for the trip to the
processor.
That nice eight pointer is
going on the wall, and I imag
ine it will be in Alex’s room.
The three pointer will have an
“European mount.” “Got my
limit of bucks for the whole
season” Alex told Papa.
Well, it’s does only for
Alex, but maybe he can be a
guide for his dad and grandpa.
Congratulations Alex, for a
great hunt and great shooting.
Let me know about your
outdoors story.
Skipper Smith is an
outdoors columnist for The
Banks County News. His col
umn appears weekly. Let him
know about your outdoors
or hunting adventures at
706-677-1520.
The Evolution of Baseball — Part III
I n my Evolution of Baseball
series, Part One examined the
size of ballplayers over the
past one hundred years by compar
ing the starting rosters of the Braves
from 2008, 1958 and 1908. Part Two
examined the size of ballparks since
1908. Here, Part Three examines
other aspects of the game and how it
has affected the ballplayers. I think
you’ll be surprised about all the ma
jor changes over the years to a game
we all think of as very traditional.
The distance teams travel has
changed greatly over the past 50 years. Base
ball used to be an Eastern-Midwestern sport.
That all changed in the mid 1950s when the
Dodgers and Giants moved out of New York
and into California. Rapidly, other franchises
moved west to Seattle, the Bay area, Los
Angeles, Arizona, Texas and Colorado. The
following decade saw teams moving into the
south.
Several factors led to this migration, the
greatest being the commercial airline industry
which made coast-to-coast travel much faster.
It was possible to travel in less time, after the
rise of the airlines, from Los Angeles to New
York via air, than it was to travel via train (the
usual method of team travel) from Chicago
to New York. Although the time barrier was
broken, what did not change was the time
difference from coast-to-coast. That differ
ence is four hours, and the adjustment to the
time change creates a terrible strain on the
body. Before west-coast play, the greatest
time difference was one hour: from Eastern to
Central time.
Night baseball, which has all but dominat
ed the game since the early 1960s, has also
placed an added strain on the body. Sleep pat
terns are difficult to establish in many people,
and going from time zone to time zone play
ing night ballgames has got to be tough.
Many players have grown smarter about
their health, while others continue to abuse
their bodies via the Mickey Mantle model or
steroid use.
The relatively new field of sports
medicine caters to professional
athletes and promotes conditions
for longer and healthier careers.
Torn ligaments of the 1950s meant
a sure end to a player’s career. Not
so anymore. If players avoid drugs
and excessive use of alcohol, their
natural health will probably remain
satisfactory well into their 40s.
Much more money equals players
less willing to play past their prime,
either by choice or natural decline.
Directly responsible for this is the
Free Agency rule, which, thanks to Curt
Flood and Marvin Miller, led ballplayers out
of indentured servitude and into the free capi
talistic market. Players now earn a minimum
salary as a rookie — $327,000 per year, give
or take a few thous — and the sky is the limit
for super stars who earn up to $12-14 million
a year. Frankly, if I earned $12 million for
just one year, I'd retire and enjoy life living
off investments. (A 4% return per annum on
$12 million is $480,000.1 could do OK on
$480,000.)
In the early years of the sport, ballplay
ers did not wear gloves or helmets. Catchers
wouldn’t be caught dead with facial protec
tion (like the goal tender in hockey of years
gone by). Slowly, equipment began to evolve
and specialty equipment — the first base
ments mitt, for example — followed.
One now finds special sunglasses, batting
gloves, helmets, ankle protectors, chest pro
tectors, teeth guards, “hockey-style” catcher’s
face masks, and a plethora of other hardware
that one can suit up with.
I watched in fascination, once, as a strike
out victim shed all his gear on the way back
to the dugout. First his ankle guard, then his
elbow pads, then his extra-shield helmet, then
his batting gloves. This operation took about
a minute and two batboys to recover the trail
of debris left behind. However, the result is
positive: players are much more likely to
survive a beaning or foul tip.
See Baseball on page 3B
john w.
rieken
DNR accepts
Youth Deer
Hunt forms
The Georgia Department of
Natural Resources announces
that applications will now be
taken for the annual Banks
County Youth Deer Hunt to
be held at the Windmill Farm
location.
Applicants should be of
hunting age and not over 16
years of age, and must be ac
companied by an adult. Adults
must be at least 18 years old.
All participants, youth and
adults, must possess a Hunter
Education Certificate before
application will be accepted.
All other eligibility require
ments and hunt rules are listed
on the application.
Applications can be picked
up at the Banks County Ex
tension Office, Shuler’s Great
Outdoors - Commerce loca
tion, and the Commerce Wal-
Mart store. Applicants will
be entered in a drawing for a
chance to participate in the
hunt that will be held Nov. 28
and 29.
All applications must be
completed, signed and submit
ted to the Banks County Exten
sion Office located at 413 Evans
Street in Homer no later then
4:30 p.m., Nov. 4. The phone
number is 706-677-6230.
Applicants who are drawn
for the hunt will be required to
attend a safety and orientation
meeting to be held on Nov. 9
at 12 p.m.
Preview
continued from
page IB
“Our defense will have
to be prepared for different
things,” Armstrong said. “Fan
nin County is going to be very
physical up front.”
The Rebels enter this week’s
game with only one setback on
their resume. Fannin County
lost a one-sided contest to Jef
ferson earlier in the season.
Armstrong said his team is
healthy overall other than the
usual bumps and bruises play
ers have at this point in the
season.
“We should be ready to go,”
he said.
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