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Sports Columns

  • End of the road for standout athletes

    Among the few downfalls to my job is watching the high school careers of the kids I follow come to an end. It has to happen sometime, but the longer I’ve been here, the tougher it is to witness this, especially when you’ve had a career as big as New Albany’s Jazmine Spears.
    I did not make any of the girls’ opening round playoff games on Monday, because of the long distance each of the teams made for their respective first round match ups. I regret this now, as Spears’ career came to an end in the 61-60 loss at Greenwood.

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  • Basketball postseason begins next week

    We’ve reached the postseason for basketball, and the division tournaments will start next Tuesday.
    Playing at Okolona, North Pontotoc and Ingomar, area teams will play for a spot in the north half tournament.
    East Union boys enter the division tournament at Okolona with a 2-3 record. Going based on the rankings from Max Preps, that has the Urchins in fourth. The Lady Urchins have seen much improvement this season and will enter the tournament with the hopes of advancing to north half; a feat they are capable of accomplishing.

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  • 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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