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Sports Columns

  • A perspective on life after an emotional week

    I was an emotional wreck for the better part of last week.
    Allow me to step away from sports briefly and share a couple of events that put so many things in perspective for me.
    While watching the first day of the Union County junior high basketball tournament at West Union, I received the painful news that a friend from college passed away the night before.
    I’m only 27, as was Jermaine. That’s 27 short years for him and many more from here on that his family has to live without him. He chose to end his own life. Why, only he knows.

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  • Big win for New Albany soccer

    Anthony Fernandez and the boys’ soccer team have been endured a lot of challenges during their time at New Albany. Playing for three different coaches in as many years and falling short of a state championship appearance, Fernandez said that one of the toughest moments came in losing in the first round of the playoffs last season.

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  • An exciting weekend of basketball

    The rather unpleasant weather and lack of games this week has given me plenty of time to prepare (and brace myself) for this weekend’s county tournament.
    Needless to say, I was back in the books again this week, trying to figure out the answer to the most-asked question I’ve received  in the last week: when was the last time West Union girls and East Union boys entered the UCT as the number one seed?

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  • Breaking down the Union County Tournament

    We’re quickly approaching my favorite weekend of the year, the Union County basketball tournament.
    The tournament will be held at New Albany, and boasting the number one seeds this year are West Union girls and East Union boys.
    At the time of seeding, the Lady Eagles were 13-4, and following West Union will be New Albany, East Union, Ingomar and defending champion, Myrtle.
    Using winning percentage to seed the teams, the Urchins hold the advantage over two seed Myrtle, followed by defending champion New Albany, Ingomar and West Union.

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  • Second half of basketball

    We are about to begin the second half of the basketball season, and by this time next week, we’ll have the bracket put together for this year’s Union County Tournament.
    Taking a look at where each team stands so far, the records, for the most part, are very close, so this weekend’s and next Tuesday’s games should sort out the seeding for the UCT.
    On the boys’ side, two teams sit at 10 wins so far, Myrtle and East Union. Both teams are currently at 10-6, and the Hawks already hold two wins over the Urchins from earlier this season.

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  • A brief look back at 2012

    This last year provided a lot of highlights for sports in Union County, and with the new year beginning next week, this is a good time to reflect on some of the biggest headlines.
    I’ll start with the retirement of Ingomar’s legendary basketball coach Norris Ashley. Stepping down from the job he held for so long was big news for the county, as well as his son, Jonathan, making the move from Myrtle to Ingomar to take his place.

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  • Holiday break from the sports world

    With Christmas only a few days away, that means all of us will have a brief break from the Union County sports world, myself included. This is the time of the year to remember what’s most important in life, and while I’ll be lost not working at games every night, I’m very much looking forward to being with my family and celebrating the season.

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  • Awesome second year of the Student Section Challenge

    “You do realize you’ve created a monster, right?”
    If I got a nickel for every time I’ve heard that over the last three weeks, I could probably retire. Okay, maybe not, but it would be close.
    The second annual Student Section Challenge came to an end on Tuesday, and I’m proud to report that every school had a strong showing this year.
    Which made this incredibly difficult for me to choose a winner.

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  • Hickory Flat to honor first state championship team

    Everyone around here knows and talks about New Albany’s three-peat in boys’ basketball during the 1980s. When I researched the county tournament last summer, I read about not only this, but I briefly touched on Hickory Flat, which saw a lot of success itself during this decade.
    As part of this year’s homecoming festivities at Hickory Flat, the Rebels are honoring the school’s first state championship, which happened 30 years ago in March of 1983.

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  • Rivalries and Twitter

    While facing the mayhem on Black Friday in Tupelo last week, my dad and I took a break, which means I immediately went to my phone to check up on things in the world of Twitter.
    Puzzled, my dad took my phone and scrolled through, trying to see what exactly it is that I find enthralling about the application. I then made the mistake of trying to explain to him what Twitter is and how important it is for me for work, etc. Needless to say, the conversation ended with no success and my dad simply shaking his head and surrendering my phone.

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Copyright © 2013

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