With Owens gone, where do we go from here?

 

Published in the December issue of the Madison County Journal. To subscribe to the Journal visit http://www.mainstreetnews.com/

By Dallas Bordon

For those who added to their Christmas list for a coaching change in the Madison County football program, their wish was granted a little over three weeks early. In the meantime, those who stood behind Coach Randall Owens and his efforts didn’t wish for the same outcome, but figured it was time for a change. The resignation of Owens now leaves the BOE with the task of filling another football head coaching job at Madison County.

Owens steps down after eight seasons that saw the Raiders post a 36-46 record and make appearances in the playoffs in 2005 and 2006 during that time. After starting his Raider career with a record of 26-16 in his first four seasons, his teams managed only 10 wins in his next four seasons and had the Raider faithful voicing concerns for a changing of the guard. Owens, who will temporarily remain the athletic director at Madison County, leaves the sidelines prior to the Raiders moving into a new classification system that will have them listed as one of the largest 4A schools compared to being one of the smallest. The change of classifications should favor Madison County in the upcoming seasons but the changes will have to take place under a new head coach.

I am not one nor will I ever be one to write anything bad about any coach in our school system. I have always tried to respect our coaches and I know their jobs are tough. That does not mean that I always agree with what they do or how they do it. I am right there with most when it comes to second guessing a coach at times. But admitting that point, I do know that there isn’t a coach around who is perfect or makes the right choices all the time. If that were true, there wouldn’t be so many coaching changes around us today. I can imagine that a coach’s job is very tough. The job can be difficult and the demands are not easy for any coach to fulfill. It could be simple on the other hand; win all your games or at least over half for a few years, get into the playoffs or win a state title and your job is safe. On the other hand, post a 10-30 record in four years, which included a 3-17 record in the past two years and you become one of the latest casualties of football coaching. In such a demanding sport as football is to us in the South and the need to be a winner, there is little room for error. We demand perfection and we demand wins. So now where do we go from here? What will our demands be for the person that fills the vacancy of Owens who becomes Madison County’s fifth coach to exit since the departure of Brady Sigler in 1989.

There are many questions to be answered in the next few weeks or months. What will our expectations be of the new football coach? How much support to the MCYA, a program which many feel Owens failed at supporting, will the next coach be willing to give? Will this next coach install the right personnel on the field? Will he produce wins, make the right play calls? The list goes on and on.

To date (according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association) Madison County has no region titles or state championship trophies to put in the trophy case. Other coaches prior to Owens, dating back to Ralph “Red” Simmons in 1961, have all made attempts to bring home the hardware. During those years Madison County has posted an overall record of 152-167 that includes just nine winning seasons and seasons finishing at .500. So needless to say, we’re well overdue.

Dallas Bordon is the former sports editor for The Danielsville Monitor/Comer News and a regular columnist for The Madison County Journal.

College Bowl Season

Little Caesars Bowl: Purdue 37 Western Michigan 32
Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Temple 37 Wyoming 15
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio 24 Utah State 23
New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana-Lafayette 32 San Diego State 30
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl: Marshall 20 Florida International 10
Poinsetta Bowl: TCU 31 Louisiana Tech 24
Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State 56 Arizona State 24
Hawaii Bowl: Southern Miss. 24 Nevada 17
Independence Bowl: Missouri 41 North Carolina 24
Belk Bowl: NC State 31 Louisville 24
Military Bowl: Toledo 42 Air Force 41
Holiday Bowl: Texas 21 California 10
Champs Sports Bowl: Florida State 18 Notre Dame 14
Alamo Bowl: Baylor 67 Washington 56
Armed Forces Bowl: Brigham Young 24 Tulsa 21
Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers 27 Iowa State 13
Music City Bowl: Miss State vs Wake Forest Dec. 30
Insight Bowl: Oklahoma 31 Iowa 14
Car Care Bowl: Texas A&M 33 Northwestern 22
Sun Bowl: Utah 30 Georgia Tech 27
Hunger Bowl: Illinois 20 UCLA 14
Liberty Bowl: Cincinnati 31 Vanderbilt 24
Chick-Fil-A-Bowl: Auburn 43 Virginia 24
Ticketcity Bowl: Houston 30 Penn State 14
Gator Bowl: Florida 24 Ohio State 17
Outback Bowl: Michigan State 33 Georgia 30
Capital One Bowl: South Carolina 30 Nebraska 13
Rose Bowl: Oregon 45 Wisconsin 38
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State 41 Stanford 38
Sugar Bowl: Michigan 23 Virginia Tech 20
Orange Bowl: West Virginia 70 Clemson 33
Cotton Bowl: Kansas State vs Arkansas Jan. 6
Compass Bowl: Southern Methodist vs Pittsburgh Jan. 7
Godaddy.com Bowl: Arkansas State vs Northern Illinois Jan. 8
BCS National Championship: Alabama vs LSU Jan. 9

Remembering "The Barn"

Column published in The Madison County Journal. To subscribe to the Journal visit http://www.mainstreetnews.com/

By Dallas Bordon

There’s no place like home. Now that basketball season has tipped off I can’t help but remember the old days of Raider basketball in “The Barn.” I’m of course referring to the former home of the Red Raiders; the old high school gym that sits in the parking lot of the Lady Raider softball field.

The front of the old gym has the “Class Of 1966” stamped high above the main entrance but the walls surrounding the old barn have seen its share of exciting times dating back to the late 50’s. Many former players, fans and students can recall the noise level in the building reaching a point to where you could feel it in your chest. A high level of cheering and taunting that was so loud that you were lucky to hear the blowing of the referee’s whistle.

I moved to Madison County in 1987 and witnessed my first Madison County game in the barn the following year. I’ve attended many high school basketball games at much larger schools while living in Augusta, but nothing compared to the noise level of those games in that old Madison County gym. The success of the (26-3) 1988 Raider team filled the barn full of parents and fans not only from Madison County or the opposing team followers but from surrounding counties. Basketball fans trying to catch a glimpse of Charles Wilkes’ 1988 Raiders who went on to win the state championship by defeating Marist 73-60 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta. Those followers, either pulling for Madison County or just those interested in watching that title team play, came in groves hoping to see the rafter shaking slam dunks from Arlando Bennett and Keith Gantt. I have heard the stories of fans being turned away at the doors because of the filled capacity of the building that included standing room only. I can remember the cars forced to park roadside along Madison Street because of the filled parking lot. The excitement level of those years was something to see. Names like Bennett, who went on to play for Georgia, Sheila Collins, a member of the 1981 state champion 30-0 team, who ended up at Tennessee under Pat Summitt are just a couple of names that had the crowds jumping. So many games and so many players that wore the Red & Grey are etched in the memory of the old barn.

Not to be lost in the memory bank was Coach Leon Fitzpatrick’s years which included a 164-17 run during the years of 1978 through 1985, twice being ranked at number 3 in the state polls. The boys’ success in the barn included a 23-3 1981 season under Phil Thornton capped off with Wilkes’ state champion ’88 team. 

 One vivid memory I have of a game in the barn was a comeback win against Monroe in the mid 90’s. Trailing by seven points with 10 seconds left, the Raiders rallied with the help of two straight three pointers from Ron Kelley. Kelley ended the game hitting 2 of 2 shots from the free throw line that gave Madison County the win and kept them in the rankings. That wild comeback sent fans pouring onto the court. It was like a scene taken out of the movie “Hoosiers.”

There are only a few of the older gyms like the barn left that are still in use by high schools. Old rival schools such as Franklin County and Hart County are among two of the older gyms still in use today. Royston’s play by play radio announcer called it a “Coliseum Slam” from Keith Gantt that was part of the region title run for Madison County in 1988 at the Lion’s Den in Franklin County. Despite Raider memories held in that old gym like Gantt’s monster dunk that night, nothing compared to what happened in “The Barn” on many nights.

Dallas Bordon is the former Sports Editor of the Comer News/Danielsville Monitor and a regular columnist with the Madison County Journal.

What's recycled in Georgia, stays in Georgia

Published in the Madison County Journal a month ago. To subscribe to the Madison County Journal visit www.mainstreetnews.com

By Dallas Bordon

Suki Janssen is the Recycling Coordinator for the Athens/Clarke County Government. If you visit her office you might see anything from a lamp stand made of glass bottles to a flower pot made of bottle caps that hold aluminum flowers made from shredded coke cans. These are among many more reusable items that prove the point; there is a use for almost everything that we might toss into our trash cans. Over the years recycling has been a popular growing industry. While Janssen’s office decorations might just be a minor use for items, there are many other products we throw away daily that can be recycled into reusable items such as the carpet we walk on. 

There are some people that might not understand the importance of recycling. It’s not just the tossing items into bins for recycling that Janseen views the importance of but it’s also the facts such as how it helps Georgia’s economy and helps save landfill space. Most residents don’t realize that recycling creates jobs for Georgians. Workers are used to pickup, transport and sort items at many facilities around Georgia such as right here in Athens.

You take the recycling of plastics for example. Georgia’s recycled plastic industry employs 36,398 Georgians with a payroll of $874.7 million and accounts for $1.55 billion in annual product sales in Georgia. Georgia’s glass industry employs approximately 600 Georgians and the paper industry employs 25,000 plus Georgians and accounts for $10 billion in annual product sales in the state.

Statistics also show that the most valuable recycled item is aluminum, in which 48 thousand tons of cans are disposed of in Georgia, has an estimated market value of 80 million dollars. The aluminum recycling industry in Georgia employs more than 100 people and has an annual payroll and tax contribution of $7,000,000. “What’s recycled in Georgia stays in Georgia.” Georgia has many recycling centers throughout the state that handles our recycling needs. With the huge number of facilities in Georgia, the product such as aluminum cans are usually recycled and back on the store shelves within 60 days. And when you think of the impact of one recycled can here’s a fact for you; recycling one can saves enough energy to run a computer for three hours. Also, recycled aluminum conserves 95 percent of energy it takes to create cans from raw materials.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of recycling paper. 1.9 million tons of recycled paper is thrown away each year right here in Georgia. Forty percent less energy is used when making paper out of recycled materials instead of using trees. Seventy gallons of water is conserved when using recycled materials to create paper. Just think about this; recycling five pounds of paper conserves enough water to offset the water you use in a typical shower in the morning.

Like paper and aluminum cans, the recycling of glass serves a huge purpose to all of us. An estimate of 240,000 tons of glass is thrown into landfills each year in Georgia. The manufacturing products from recycled glass conserves one third of the energy it takes to manufacture the same product from raw materials. Next time you flip on a 100 watt bulb think about this fact; recycling one glass bottle conserves enough energy to light that 100 watt bulb for four hours.

Another type of bottle, the plastic type, one recycled bottle alone conserves enough energy to run a television for 1.5 hours. Right here in our state, one million tons of recyclable plastics are thrown away each year. Of the plastics recycled over twenty five percent of all number one plastic bottles are part of that carpet you might standing on while reading this column. One half of all polyester carpeting is made from recycled plastic beverage containers right here in Georgia.

So there’s a risk we take next time we toss a recyclable item into the convenient trash can. “What’s recycled in Georgia stays in Georgia,” in one means or another.

Dallas Bordon is the former Sports Editor of the Comer News/Danielsville Monitor and a regular columnist for the Madison County Journal.

To Read This Column Dial "0" Now

Published in "Opinions" section of The Madison County Journal (November 2011). To subscribe visit http://www.mainstreetnews.com/




By Dallas Bordon



If you know the extension please dial it now. Your call is very important to us; please continue to hold. We are experiencing a high volume of calls; please continue to hold. Your estimate hold time is 7 minutes.

Whatever happened to the days when you called a company and actually talked to someone soon as they answered? Some of the younger people of today might not remember times as such, but at age 45 I can remember that there was a time of hearing a real person say “Thanks for calling may I help you?” It seems now that when you want to call a utility company or most larger businesses you’re faced with having to tell a computer or answering service what your needs are.  Some companies will only allow you to leave a message and they will call you back. In the greeting message you might hear something like “All operators are busy at the moment.” Which I can understand that might be the case but I have been greeted with that same statement no matter what time of day I call. Is it true that customer service is that busy at 11 o’clock at night?

I am all for new technology, computers, facebook, twitter, email, and even voice greetings to a certain extent, but when I am faced with a problem concerning an issue with utilities or even cell phone service and I need to talk to a human, it’s nearly impossible without first having to select option after option. Raise your hand if you’ve been there or better yet, dial “0” now.

When businesses first began using recorded methods of answering phones they were not nearly the hassle they are today. It was simple at first. You dialed the number; one recording came on asking you to enter maybe one or two options. Now, those options have multiplied and by the time you actually get a live person, you’ve already entered your life story.

Just last week I had to place a call to my insurance company. Following the greeting, I was hit with the following greeting. “Thank you for calling (blank). If you know the person’s extension you are trying reach please dial it now. If you don’t know the party’s extension you are trying to reach please listen for the following options;  for sales press 1, to file a claim press 2, for a quote press 3, for home insurance press 4, for auto insurance press 5, for all other calls press 6.” After making my selection I was hit with a round of entries to make. “Please enter you full account number, please enter your telephone number including the area code, your birth date, the spelling of the first 3 letters of your last name.” After making my entries I was hit again with a recording that was telling me “We’re sorry, your entry does not match our record. Please call back at a later time. Goodbye.”  So I go through the entire process again. Finally I make it through to a live person only to hear the customer service lady ask me all the same questions. Needless to say by the time I was finished with that process, I almost forgot the reason why I called.

Many businesses may use that tactic to encourage us to use their online service instead. Paying bills online is convenient. Ordering movies online or gifts at Christmas is very convenient and saves time. But the hassle and irritations of contacting live people at businesses by phone is something a lot of us could live without. The “Thank you for calling (blank) how may I help you?” greeting has been lost in the age of technology. The ways of today might make one wonder what the ways of tomorrow will be like and will those ever so changing ways technology eventually put us all out of jobs? Dial “0”now if you agree.

Rivals.com Top 10 Recruiting Class 2012

1. Texas
2. Michigan
3. Alabama
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Texas A&M
7. Auburn
8. Florida
9. Clemson
10. Miami

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

BCS Standings Dec. 4

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings
RK	TEAM	AVG	PVS	RK	PTS	%	RK	PTS	%	AVG	A&H	RB	CM	KM	JS	PW	%
1	LSU	1.0000	1	1	2875	1.0000	1	1475	1.0000	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.000
2	Alabama	.9419	2	2	2723	.9471	2	1399	.9485	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	.930
3	Oklahoma State	.9333	3	3	2654	.9231	3	1367	.9268	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	.950
4	Stanford	.8476	4	4	2504	.8710	4	1286	.8719	5	4	4	5	8	10	7	.800
5	Oregon	.7901	9	5	2372	.8250	5	1232	.8353	8	12	5	8	10	9	6	.710
6	Arkansas	.7687	8	7	2163	.7523	7	1112	.7539	5	7	8	12	5	4	4	.800
7	Boise State	.7408	7	6	2236	.7777	6	1128	.7647	9	9	6	7	12	12	8	.680
8	Kansas State	.6827	11	10	1733	.6028	10	878	.5953	4	5	7	4	4	5	5	.850
9	South Carolina	.6553	12	9	1833	.6376	9	971	.6583	10	8	12	11	9	8	9	.670
10	Wisconsin	.6374	15	8	2060	.7165	8	1085	.7356	14	15	10	15	16	19	12	.460
11	Virginia Tech	.5190	5	11	1498	.5210	11	835	.5661	13	13	11	13	14	21	17	.470
12	Baylor	.4977	17	16	1228	.4271	16	599	.4061	11	10	17	10	6	7	11	.660
13	Michigan	.4794	16	12	1447	.5033	12	789	.5349	15	11	16	9	19	22	18	.400
14	Oklahoma	.4603	10	19	933	.3245	19	437	.2963	7	6	9	6	7	6	10	.760
15	Clemson	.4218	20	14	1351	.4699	14	657	.4454	16	19	15	18	20	17	13	.350
16	Georgia	.4119	14	18	1095	.3809	18	538	.3647	12	14	20	16	11	11	14	.490
17	Michigan State	.3883	13	13	1428	.4967	13	735	.4983	21	20	13	21	24	24	22	.170
18	TCU	.3869	18	15	1245	.4330	15	631	.4278	17	22	14	19	23	18	15	.300
19	Houston	.3504	6	17	1132	.3937	17	542	.3675	18	16	19	14	21	25	19	.290
20	Nebraska	.2606	19	20	717	.2494	20	402	.2725	19	17	18	17	25	23	20	.260
21	Southern Miss	.1918	24	21	711	.2473	21	366	.2481	24	0	22	22	0	0	16	.080
22	Penn State	.1305	21	23	383	.1332	23	189	.1281	23	21	21	20	0	0	23	.130
23	West Virginia	.1233	23	22	522	.1816	22	278	.1885	25	0	0	24	0	0	0	.000
24	Texas	.0876	22	25	6	.0021	NR	1	.0007	19	18	0	23	13	13	24	.260
25	Auburn	.0584	NR	24	15	.0052

College Football Bowl Schedules

2011-12 College Football Bowl Schedule

Bowl	Location	Date/Time	Network
Gildan New MexicoMWC vs. Pac-12	Albuquerque, N.M. University Stadium	Dec. 17 2 p.m.	ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato BowlMAC vs. Utah State	Boise, Idaho Bronco Stadium	Dec. 17 5:30 p.m.	ESPN
R+L Carriers New OrleansC-USA vs. Louisiana-Lafayette	New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Dec. 17 9 p.m.	ESPN
Beef 'O' Brady's St. PetersburgBig East vs. C-USA	St. Petersburg, Fla. Tropicana Field	Dec. 20 8 p.m.	ESPN
S.D. County Credit Union PoinsettiaMWC vs. Louisiana Tech	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium	Dec. 21 8 p.m.	ESPN
MAACO Las VegasMWC vs. Pac-12	Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium	Dec. 22 8 p.m.	ESPN
Sheraton HawaiiC-USA vs. WAC	Honolulu Aloha Stadium	Dec. 24 8 p.m.	ESPN
AdvoCare V100 IndependenceACC vs. MWC	Shreveport, La. Independence Stadium	Dec. 26 5 p.m.	ESPN2
Little CaesarsBig Ten vs. MAC	Detroit Ford Field	Dec. 27 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
BelkACC vs. Big East	Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium	Dec. 27 8 p.m.	ESPN
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop GrummanACC vs. Navy	Washington, D.C. RFK Stadium	Dec. 28 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Bridgepoint Education HolidayBig 12 vs. Pac-12	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium	Dec. 28 8 p.m.	ESPN
Champs SportsACC vs. Big East	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl	Dec. 29 5:30 p.m.	ESPN
Valero AlamoBig 12 vs. Pac-12	San Antonio Alamodome	Dec. 29 9 p.m.	ESPN
Bell Helicopter Armed ForcesBYU vs. C-USA	Dallas Gerald J. Ford Stadium	Dec. 30 Noon	ESPN
New Era PinstripeBig 12 vs. Big East	Bronx, N.Y. Yankee Stadium	Dec. 30 3:20 p.m.	ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music CityACC vs. SEC	Nashville, Tenn. LP Field	Dec. 30 6:40 p.m.	ESPN
InsightBig Ten vs. Big 12	Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium	Dec. 30 10 p.m.	ESPN
Meineke Car Care of TexasBig Ten vs. Big 12	Houston Reliant Stadium	Dec. 31 Noon	ESPN
Hyundai SunACC vs. Pac-12	El Paso, Texas Sun Bowl	Dec. 31 2 p.m.	CBS
AutoZone LibertyC-USA vs. SEC	Memphis, Tenn. Liberty Bowl	Dec. 31 3:30 p.m.	ABC
Kraft Fight HungerArmy vs. Pac-12	San Francisco AT&T Park	Dec. 31 3:30 p.m.	ESPN
Chick-fil-AACC vs. SEC	Atlanta Georgia Dome	Dec. 31 7:30 p.m.	ESPN
TicketCity Big Ten vs. C-USA	Dallas Cotton Bowl	Jan. 2 Noon	ESPNU
OutbackBig Ten vs. SEC	Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium	Jan. 2 1 p.m.	ABC
Capital OneBig Ten vs. SEC	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl	Jan. 2 1 p.m.	ESPN
Taxslayer.com Gator BowlBig Ten vs. SEC	Jacksonville, Fla. EverBank Field	Jan. 2 1 p.m.	ESPN2
Rose Bowl Game presented by VizioBCS vs. BCS	Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl	Jan. 2 5 p.m.	ESPN
Tostitos FiestaBCS vs. BCS	Glendale, Ariz. U. of Phoenix Stadium	Jan. 2 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Allstate SugarBCS vs. BCS	New Orleans Louisiana Superdome	Jan. 3 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Discover OrangeBCS vs. BCS	Miami Sun Life Stadium	Jan. 4 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
AT&T CottonBig 12 vs. SEC	Arlington, Texas Cowboys Stadium	Jan. 6 8 p.m.	FOX
BBVA Compass BowlBig East vs. SEC	Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field	Jan. 7 1 p.m.	ESPN
GoDaddy.comMAC vs. Arkansas State	Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium	Jan. 8 9 p.m.	ESPN
Allstate BCS National Championship GameBCS vs. BCS	New Orleans Louisiana Superdome	Jan. 9 8:30 p.m.	ESPN

Sam LaZear Signs With UGA Softball

 
Nov. 21, 2011


ATHENS, Ga. – University of Georgia head softball coach Lu Harris-Champer announced on Monday that Samantha LaZear has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Bulldogs.
LaZear, a 5-11, left-handed hitting outfielder from Danielsville, Ga., will join the Bulldogs from Madison County High School where she played for Doug Kesler. LaZear, a two-time All-State and three-time All-Region selection, helped MCHS win its region championship in both 2009 and 2010, and the Red Raiders advanced to the Elite Eight of the AAAA division in the Georgia High School Association state tournament in both 2010 and 2011. For her career, LaZear holds school record with 150 runs scored and 85 stolen bases. As a senior, LaZear batted .407 with 46 runs, 18 runs batted in and 30 stolen bases. As a junior, she set single-season school records with 56 runs and 40 stolen bases. LaZear plays travel ball for the Southern Force who she helped her team finish in the Final Four at the ASA 16U National Championships in 2010. In 2011, she helped the Southern Force Gold, coached by Kevin Stephens, to a top 25 finish in the 18U division of the Premier National Championships. A 2010-11 National Fastpitch Coaches Association High School All-American Scholar Athlete, LaZear will have earned by 10 varsity letters by the end of her high school career next spring – four softball, four tennis and two basketball. She is also a MCHS Wendy's High School Heisman award winner, National Merit Scholar and ranks at the top of her class academically.
“Sam is the fastest player we have brought in since Nicole Barber," Georgia head coach Lu Harris-Champer said. "We are thrilled to have her speed, defense and toughness joining our program next fall. Sam has incredible hand-eye coordination and rarely fails to make contact at the plate. She has the ability to bunt, slap and hit for power along with being a great student-athlete and the No. 1 student in her high school class at Madison County. We believe Sam is the best slapper in the 2012 class not only in Georgia, but in the country, and look forward to seeing her develop in our program.”
LaZear is the fifth of seven signees to be announced as part of the Georgia signing class that will join the program in 2012-13 joining Bryanna "Cricket" Blanco, Katie Browne, Geri Ann Glasco and Tina Iosefa. Georgia will continue reveal a new member of the signing class each day until all seven have been announced here on www.georgaidogs.com, on www.facebook.com/UGAsoftball and on Twitter @UGAsoftball.

Raiders Of Yesteryear..

I am starting a new column soon in the Madison County Journal featuring former Madison County Raiders or Lady Raiders. If you played for Madison County (any year) and would like to be part of these feature columns please contact me at dallasb32@yahoo.com
Include the years you played at Madison County, coaches names, sports played, any awards you might have won, and most of all - memories of your days on the fields and/or courts at Madison County. Also include where you are now and your occupation if you'd like to. Pictures are encouraged but they must be near excellent quality for the paper (1 photo only). Please include names of those in pictures. I hope to hear from you!

SEC's Most Obnoxious Fans:Poll from the AJC

The SEC's most obnoxious fans are:

• Florida. (33%, 1,472 Votes)
• Georgia. (21%, 914 Votes)
• Alabama. (19%, 865 Votes)
• Tennessee. (11%, 474 Votes)
• LSU. (8%, 344 Votes)
• Auburn. (4%, 194 Votes)
• South Carolina. (2%, 91 Votes)
• Ole Miss. (1%, 36 Votes)
• Arkansas (1%, 34 Votes)
• Kentucky. (0%, 11 Votes)
• Vanderbilt. (0%, 10 Votes)
• Mississippi State. (0%, 9 Votes)

AP Top 25 Football Rankings

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	LSU (60)	11-0	1500
2	Alabama	10-1	1440
3	Arkansas	10-1	1376
4	Stanford	10-1	1224
5	Oklahoma State	10-1	1206
6	Virginia Tech	10-1	1133
7	Boise State	9-1	1025
8	Houston	11-0	1018
9	Oregon	9-2	1008
10	USC	9-2	964
11	Michigan State	9-2	876
12	Oklahoma	8-2	819
13	Georgia	9-2	815
14	South Carolina	9-2	762
15	Wisconsin	9-2	714
16	Kansas State	9-2	682
17	Michigan	9-2	527
18	Clemson	9-2	515
19	TCU	9-2	456
20	Penn State	9-2	398
21	Baylor	7-3	383
22	Nebraska	8-3	155
22	Notre Dame	8-3	155
24	Virginia	8-3	147
25	Georgia Tech	8-3	77

BCS Football Rankings Nov 13

BCS Standings
RK	TEAM	RECORD
1	LSU	10-0
2	Oklahoma State	10-0
3	Alabama	9-1
4	Oregon	9-1
5	Oklahoma	8-1
6	Arkansas	9-1
7	Clemson	9-1
8	Virginia Tech	9-1
9	Stanford	9-1
10	Boise State	8-1
11	Houston	10-0
12	South Carolina	8-2
13	Kansas State	8-2
14	Georgia	8-2
15	Michigan State	8-2
16	Nebraska	8-2
17	Wisconsin	8-2
18	Michigan	8-2
19	TCU	8-2
20	Southern Miss	9-1
21	Penn State	8-2
22	Baylor	6-3
23	Texas	6-3
24	Auburn	6-4
25	Florida State	7-3

AP Top 25 Football Poll

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	LSU (60)	10-0	1500
2	Oklahoma State	10-0	1432
3	Alabama	9-1	1380
4	Oregon	9-1	1326
5	Oklahoma	8-1	1230
6	Arkansas	9-1	1217
7	Clemson	9-1	1075
8	Stanford	9-1	1071
9	Virginia Tech	9-1	1000
10	Boise State	8-1	880
11	Houston	10-0	867
12	Michigan State	8-2	767
13	Georgia	8-2	756
14	South Carolina	8-2	706
15	Wisconsin	8-2	676
16	Kansas State	8-2	629
17	Nebraska	8-2	583
18	USC	8-2	564
19	TCU	8-2	402
20	Michigan	8-2	381
21	Penn State	8-2	320
22	Southern Miss	9-1	250
23	Florida State	7-3	107
24	Notre Dame	7-3	93
25	Baylor	6-3	68

Madison County Middle School Basketball Schedule

Nov. 29 vs Malcom Bridge (boys) 4:30
Nov. 29 at Malcom Bridge (girls) 4:30
Dec. 6  vs Elbert County  (boys) 5:00
Dec. 7  vs Elbert County (girls) 5:00
Dec. 9  at Hart County (both) 4:30
Dec. 13 at Franklin County (boys) 4:30
Dec. 13 vs Franklin County (girls) 4:30
Dec. 15 vs West Jackson (both) 4:30
Dec. 16 at Stephens County (both) 4:30
Jan. 7 vs Malcom Bridge (both) 10:00
Jan. 13 vs Hart County (both) 4:30
Jan. 14 at West Jackson (both) 10:00
Jan. 17 at Elbert County (both 7th grade) 5:00
Jan. 19 vs Franklin County (boys) 4:30
Jan. 19 at Franklin County (girls) 4:30
Jan. 20 vs Stephens County (both) 4:30
Jan. 23 at Elbert County (both 8th grade) 5:00

BCS Football Rankings Nov 6

BCS Standings
RK	TEAM	RECORD
1	LSU	9-0
2	Oklahoma State	9-0
3	Alabama	8-1
4	Stanford	9-0
5	Boise State	8-0
6	Oklahoma	8-1
7	Oregon	8-1
8	Arkansas	8-1
9	Clemson	8-1
10	Virginia Tech	8-1
11	Houston	9-0
12	Penn State	8-1
13	South Carolina	7-2
14	Kansas State	7-2
15	Georgia	7-2
16	Texas	6-2
17	Michigan State	7-2
18	Wisconsin	7-2
19	Nebraska	7-2
20	Auburn	6-3
21	Georgia Tech	7-2
22	Southern Miss	8-1
23	Cincinnati	7-1
24	Michigan	7-2
25	Baylor	5-3

College Football AP Rankings

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	LSU (59)	9-0	1499
2	Oklahoma State	9-0	1398
3	Stanford	9-0	1369
4	Alabama	8-1	1334
5	Boise State (1)	8-0	1288
6	Oregon	8-1	1184
7	Oklahoma	8-1	1138
8	Arkansas	8-1	1107
9	Clemson	8-1	979
10	Virginia Tech	8-1	885
11	Houston	9-0	804
12	Penn State	8-1	725
13	Michigan State	7-2	718
14	Georgia	7-2	657
15	South Carolina	7-2	654
16	Wisconsin	7-2	602
17	Kansas State	7-2	546
18	USC	7-2	502
19	Nebraska	7-2	491
20	Georgia Tech	7-2	340
21	Texas	6-2	313
22	Michigan	7-2	264
23	Cincinnati	7-1	206
24	Auburn	6-3	181
25	Southern Miss	8-1	161

See this clip: Westbrook honored by Tony La Russa

Madison County's Jake Westbrook was honored in front of the St. Louis Cardinals crowd after game 7 of the World Series.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19968275&topic_id=25589412&c_id=stl&tcid=vpp_copy_19968275&v=3

Emmanuel College Basketball Schedules

2011-12 Women's Basketball Schedule

• * Conference Event
• % Scrimmage
• ^ Exhibition
• Home games are in bold

	Day	Time		Opponent	Score			Record
November
	4		@	TBA	Sumter, SC
			Morris College Tournament
	5		@	TBA	Sumter, SC
			Morris College Tournament
	11	8:00 PM	vs.	Southeastern College	Franklin Springs, GA
			Holiday Inn Express Classic
	12	3:00 PM	vs.	College of Coastal Georgia	Franklin Springs, GA
			Holiday Inn Express Classic
	14	6:00 PM	vs.	Morris College	Franklin Springs, GA
*	18	5:30 PM	vs.	(25) Belhaven University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	19	3:00 PM	vs.	William Carey University	Franklin Springs, GA
	21		@	Erskine College	Tigerville, SC
	22		@	North Greenville	Tigerville, SC
December
*	3	2:00 PM	@	(RV) Loyola University	New Orleans, LA
	9		@	TBA	Barbourville, KY
			Union College Tournament
	10		@	TBA	Barbourville, KY
			Union College Tournament
	28	5:00 PM	@	TBA	Lake Wales, FL
			Warner University Tournament
	29	5:00 PM	@	TBA	Lake Wales, FL
			Warner University Tournament
January
*	6	5:30 PM	vs.	Auburn University Montgomery	Franklin Springs, GA
*	7	3:00 PM	vs.	University of Mobile	Franklin Springs, GA
*	10	6:00 PM	vs.	Truett-McConnell College	Franklin Springs, GA
*	12	6:00 PM	@	(15) Lee University	Cleveland, TN
*	14	2:00 PM	vs.	(21) Shorter University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	19	6:00 PM	vs.	Brewton-Parker	Franklin Springs, GA
*	26	6:00 PM	@	Southern Wesleyan University	Central, SC
*	28	2:00 PM	@	Brenau University	Gainesville, GA
*	30	6:00 PM	vs.	(RV) Southern Polytechnic State University	Franklin Springs, GA
February
*	2	6:00 PM	@	Truett-McConnell College	Cleveland, GA
*	4	2:00 PM	vs.	(15) Lee University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	9	6:00 PM	@	(21) Shorter University	Rome, GA
*	13	6:00 PM	@	Brewton-Parker	MT. Vernon, GA
*	18	2:00 PM	vs.	Southern Wesleyan University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	23	6:00 PM	vs.	Brenau University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	25	2:00 PM	@	(RV) Southern Polytechnic State University	Marietta, GA
March
	1		@	TBA	Rome, GA
			SSAC Conference Tournament
	5		vs.	TBA	Franklin Springs, GA
			NCCAA Regional Tournament
	15		@	TBA	Winona Lake, IN
			NCCAA National Tournament

2011-12 Men's Basketball Schedule

• * Conference Event
• % Scrimmage
• ^ Exhibition
• Home games are in bold

	Day	Time		Opponent	Score			Record
October
	29	4:00 PM	vs.	Johnson & Wales University	W-82-55	stats - recap		1-0
			Live Audio
November
	5	12:00 PM	@	Morris College	Sumter, SC
	8	7:00 PM	vs.	Point University	Franklin Springs, GA
	10	5:00 PM	@	Carver Bible College	Atlanta, GA
	14	8:00 PM	vs.	Morris College	Franklin Springs, GA
*	18	7:30 PM	vs.	Belhaven University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	19	5:00 PM	vs.	(RV) William Carey University	Franklin Springs, GA
	21	7:00 PM	@	Point University	Atlanta, GA
December
*	2	7:30 PM	@	Spring Hill College	Mobile, AL
*	3	5:00 PM	@	Loyola University	New Orleans, LA
	12	7:00 PM	@	(22) Union University	Jackson, TN
	15	7:00 PM	@	Johnson & Wales University	Charlotte, NC
^	17	4:00 PM	@	Augusta State	Augusta, GA
			Exhibition
	29	2:00 PM	@	(1) University of Pikeville	Babson Park, FL
			Webber International University Tournament
	30	2:00 PM	@	(19) Evangel University	Babson Park, FL
			Webber International University Tournament
January
*	6	7:30 PM	vs.	Auburn University Montgomery	Franklin Springs, GA
*	7	5:00 PM	vs.	(RV) University of Mobile	Franklin Springs, GA
*	10	8:00 PM	vs.	Truett-McConnell College	Franklin Springs, GA
*	12	8:00 PM	@	(RV) Lee University	Cleveland, TN
*	14	4:00 PM	vs.	(12) Shorter University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	19	8:00 PM	vs.	Brewton-Parker	Franklin Springs, GA
	24	7:00 PM	vs.	(2) Mountain State University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	26	8:00 PM	@	Southern Wesleyan University	Central, SC
*	30	8:00 PM	vs.	(20) Southern Polytechnic State University	Franklin Springs, GA
February
*	2	8:00 PM	@	Truett-McConnell College	Cleveland, GA
*	4	4:00 PM	vs.	(RV) Lee University	Franklin Springs, GA
*	9	8:00 PM	@	(12) Shorter University	Rome, GA
*	13	8:00 PM	@	Brewton-Parker	Mt. Vernon, GA
*	18	4:00 PM	vs.	Southern Wesleyan University	Franklin Springs, GA
	21	7:00 PM	@	(2) Mountain State University	Beckley, WV
*	25	4:00 PM	@	(20) Southern Polytechnic State University	Marietta, GA