out of the cold and into the warm gym

Well as much as I enjoy high school football, I do love it when we can finally get into the warm gyms. And though football is usually King in Gwinnett County, basketball is actually my first love on the high school level. Well there are a few good reasons. First and foremost it's nice and comfortable in the 68 degree gym. It's fast paced. It's an hour and a half. Well 3 hours if you count both games. We're closer to the fans. And there are many more reasons.
But one of the most important reasons is the coaches and the teams. We are very good when it comes to boys and girls basketball. When I say We I mean Gwinnett County. Let's look over the last 10 years in this sport. I know football had a lot of state champs and good teams but basketball was just as successful. Norcross boys, Collins Hill girls, Wesleyan Boys and Girls, GACS girls, Parkview girls and South boys and don't forget my alma mater in 2000-2001 the Berkmar Patriots. Look at some runnerups in South Gwinnett girls, Duluth and Parkview each made final four appearances as has Mill Creek. Meadowcreek girls had a run at the state title. Of course ask South it's hard to compete when you are playing a team with Maya Moore on it. Dani Kubic had a little part of not letting the Mustang girls win a title. If you take all our teams that made the finals and semifinals you would have a lot of teams that could compete with anybody in the country. Look at players from those teams. Maya Moore who has only lost 4 games in 6 years, is one of the top players if not the top player in the country right now. Look at Jodi Meeks who is playing for Milwaukee Bucks. How about Lou Williams who was a starter for the Philadelphia 76ers before he injured himself. How about Anne Marie Armstrong who won 3 state titles at Wesleyan and is now starting at Georgia. And these are girls and boys in the past. Look at this year. We have Erin Hall at Wesleyan continuing to help make the Lady Wolves a power. Angie Hembree has the Norcross Lady Blue Devils looking to join the mix with a great team. Mill Creek will be strong again and on the boys side the Blue Devils are strong and in AA let's not count out a tough GACS team coached by a great coach in Eddie Martin. How can you not like the up and down action and the comfort of watching it. That is why I am ready for some hoops action.

Season Going smoothly

Just as i thought the season has the teams that I thought woul make it, save one or two. Who would have thught that after 15 years The Parkviw Panthers would not make the playoffs. Cecil flowe has made the playoffs in every year he has coachsd. They had a few injuries this year causing the mighty Panthers not to go to the dance but with them out, let's another team in. This year it's the Dacula Falcons and South Gwinnett Comets. South went 4-6 last year and this year finished an astounding 9-1. They have some great athletes and with a great quarterback like Kent Rollins this team could go deep into the playoffs. Maloof's Falcons finished as the 3-seed and could be poised to make a run. Brookwood gets a rematch with McEachern and after the 32-32 drubbing in the Corky Kell, it wouldn't surprise me if the Bronco's win a game or two. Grayson, well nuff said. They are strong on defense and still have Ean "Pinball" Pemberton and of course two new faces in Jones and Frank Bebbs.
That brings me to region 7-AAAAA. The Norcross Blue Devils fell short with a loss earlier to North Forysth but the top 3 could all be around come final four time. In fact, if it plays out hte way I think it will it could be an all Gwinnett Final Four and Championship. North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge and Collins Hill have 4 losses all year in 30 games. Collins Hill went 8-2 and should have been 9-1. Even t 9-1 they would have finished as the number 3 seed in the region. Imagine one loss and finishing third. That tells you how strong this area is.
Then we go to AA and A with two teams with the same nickname. The Wolves of Wesleyan are on a 22-game win streak and Buford has won 39 out of 40. In fact the one loss earlier this year to Lovett, I think will make them stroner. They now know what it tastes like to have a loss and I don't think they liked it. I am predicting 3 state titles in football this year. Wesleyan should repeat as does Buford and then I feel it coul be either GRayson or North Gwinnett. South and Peachtree Ridge also cold make a deep run. But don't count out Collins Hill. And even though Brookwood went 5-5 this is a new season. don't count out experience. Coach Crews will have his team ready and with a back like Julian Suber this team could surprise you. At any rate, the season went smooth and look forward to round bacll. But let's hope the gridiron plays at least 5 more weeks.

Football is in full force

Well after a long summer football season arrived and as expected the local teams are well the local teams. Once again, the top teams are the top teams and the bottom teams are the same. Grayson is really good this year. I just love Ean Pemberton. We have called him Pinball for years because he bounces off people like a pinball. The game this week with South Gwinnett should be really exciting. The Comets have a wide open style and have scored 147 in 3 games averaging 49 points per game. They scored 49 in all 3 games. But they haven't come across a defense like that of the Rams. When you got three guys like Shawn Green, Joseph Champaign and Terry Williams, this Rams team could post a lot of shutouts this year. They gave up 1o points to Camden County and zero to both Warner Robins and Dacula. The 10 to Camden were gift points. After a fumble at the 20-yard line Camden kicked a field goal and also earlier had blocked a punt for a touchdown. It would not surprise me if Grayson gave up maybe 20-30 points the entire season. That is if they get by the high octane of South.
Then you have North Gwinnett with there high powered offense led by junior quarterback C.J. Uzomah. What an athlete. My predictions are the Bulldogs and Rams are headed for a battle. However, there is an X factor. They are the Peachtree Ridge Lions. Although they got spanked by Lowndes County, don't count out the Lions. It should be fun down the stretch. Collins Hill, Parkview, Brookwood and even Norcross or Mill Creek could be a spoiler as the year moves on. I am looking forward to the rest of the season. Let me know what you guys think.

Who will be this year's Grayson or Peachtree Ridge

Every year some team from Gwinnett County seems to come out of the woodwork and be a power not only in Gwinnett but state wide. This year will be no different. Last season Grayson went undefeated and had 3 great playoff games before falling in the semi's to Peachtree Ridge. The Lions also had a great year. They started off 0-2 before making it to the championship game at the Dome. So the question is who will be this year's Rams and Lions? Well my answer is Rams and Lions. Although the other teams are very good this year, which will make the Rams and Lions even better, both will be playing in early December.
Grayson returns a great runningback in Ean Pemberton. They return Shawn Green, Terry Williams and of course a big line. Peachtree Ridge returns a good quarterback and has some equally good skill players coming back and of course two great linebackers that were overshadowed last season in Tanner and Tyler Botts. Brookwood and Parkview have improved but a new trend has come and it's the Rams. Collins Hill, Norcross, Mill Creek and North Gwinnett are all very good but in the end watch for the Lions. Where can you have 8 teams battling for supremecy in one county and then get into the state tournament and it's like playing against lesser teams. This county is so loaded. So watch the others make a good run as well. But as they say to be the man you have to beat the man and right now the man is Grayson and Peachtree Ridge. They'll both be there at the end. You can count on it.

Countdown is on

Well I am not like these guys that start the countdown the day after the season ends. Of course I am a fan of all sports so they all run together. However, when school lets out I start a countdown to football season. And with the first game being on August 21st I think the countdown can begin. It is now 32 days away or basically one month and one day away. My company Play-by-Play Advertising will be broadcasting the Buford Wolves as the very first game. You can go to our website at www.thecoachescorner.net and see the game. In addition we will have a game of the week replay as well. This will be a game that is aired the following day and will stay up for a week.
The schedule we have set is second to none. We will have Mountain View and Archer in the first game for both schools. Brookwood vs. North Gwinnett will be big. North has beaten the Bronco's for the last 4 times they have played. Watch out Bulldogs Brookwood will use that as a motivater. I have the South and Grayson game as well as Buford and GACS plus Collins Hill and Peachtree Ridge. The teams are again going to be strong and remember it all starts in 32 days. We will have a 5-person team once again with myself on play-by-play and the Deacon Frank Fore as the color commentator. We have Mike Dusty Rhoades as the Technical Engineer and the lovely Terri Blumen and Rebecca Keaton manning the camera's. We will have another camera running at the other game. I am very excited about football. The sponsors are coming on board again and this year we have some new ones. I look forward to talking about Esecuritynet 360 and Beef O'Brady's and of course my older ones like Britt's, S & S Ace Hardware and of course Breda Pest Management. So watch out Gwinnett County here comes the coaches corner. We'll be here sooner than you know it.

Summer seems slow

Well for a person in my field the summer seems to be a slow time of year. Maybe after covering all the sports for 10 months out of the year I was ready to be lazy. But it seems I am missing some things. I missed GGBL like I have done in the past. I missed 7 on 7 and AAU basketball. There really is plenty to do in the summer. I found out they had summer baseball for a lot of the high school teams. One in particular is Mountain View. The new school will be opening this year and my best friend Frank Fore has a rising 9th grader Peyton who will be going there. He has played travel ball for years and i have been covering him for the last 4 years in the GGBL on the Collins Hill travel team. He would always bat aroud .400 and hit a few homeruns, steal some bases and play steller defense. Well this year he played for the summer team at Mountain View. Well all he did against much better competition was bat .450, play shortstop (he was a second baseman for most of travel ball) and bat first, second or third in the lineup.
I keep joking that I am going to be his agent when he is a senior. Now I don't know if it's a joke. I compare Peyton to a rising senior at Mill Creek, Greg Brody. Brody started as a freshman and was a short kid around 5'6 or 5'7. Peyton was always small but seems to hit a growth spurt. Greg Brody is about 5"11 or so now and put on a few pounds and actually has some power. He was the leadoff man for most of this year after batting last his first few years.
I can't wait to see Peyton and how he develops. They may struggle being a new school but I will say with a coach like Jason Johnson, who is a former Florida Marlin major league pitcher, the Bears will be fine. So if you think Summer is slow just get out and look. there is plenty to keep a journalist or photographer or videographer busy with high school kids. Just think though only 4 weeks or so before it all starts back for real.

25 year reunion brought back memories

Well I went to my 25 year high school reunion this past weekend and boy did it bring back memories. I saw a couple of guys that were on the basketball team. Steve Shulte and Steve Curl. Shulte sells prosthetics and Curl is a manager at Kroger. Both are around 6'6" and look like they can still play. The were absolutely awesome back in the day. They went to tiny Coker College in South Carolina. I had never heard of it until they decided to go. They also went with another Berkmar grad in Greg Dirst.
This college was a gateway for Berkmar. I was comparing these guys to some others from Gwinnett. They were good but when I see guys like Jon Nordin, Jon Griffiths, Brian Keickeisen, Yaw Gyawu, Major Wingate and some of these guys, I just have to say they got a little better now.
Yesterday the Lakers won with Kobe for the fourth time. People are comparing him to Michael Jordan. Well that is a different story but there is no comparison. Just like there is no comparison to the big guys of today in Gwinnett County. Look at Collins Hill. They had three players at 6'8, 6'9 and even 6'10". This team was huge. Look at Norcross in the past few years with Gani Lawal and Al Farouq Aminu. Plus Peachtree Ridge has had some major size. What are they feeding these guys. Meadowcreek had a kid that was 6'10 in Mark Veezy. These kids get scholarships to much bigger colleges than Coker. Nothing against Coker but in today's game, size matters. I believe the game is becoming a guard oriented game but you still need a big man for rebounding.
So when you see these teams during summer AAU games or beginning in late October, watch for the big man. If you are like me it will bring back memories of the day of Shulte and Curl.

Get ready football is just around the corner

Well every year i go through a lull in the action but before you know it, it all starts again. I start in mid August with football and here in Gwinnett County we have some pretty good teams. Just look at last year where two of the four teams in the final four were from Gwinnett with Peachtree Ridge and Grayson. In years past it was Brookwood, Parkview and North Gwinnett. And throw in a Norcross or a Collins Hill and you have the making of a county that is loaded. Then we went to Basketball and once again we are loaded. Girls had Collins Hill, Central Gwinnett in the early part of the decade, Parkview and now Mill Creek and Duluth plus Berkmar have been pretty dog gone good. Then baseball with Wesleyan and Brookwood and throw in a few others and this county is strong.
I love all the sports but by playoff time I am getting burned out. I am ready for the next sport. That is true here in the summer. Baseball is over and I needed the break but I need something to tied me over till football. AAU or little league is good stuff but really isn't the same. This year we should be great again in football. It's just around the corner. Ean Pemberton will still be around but no Mikey Tamburo or Michael Box or Brandon Jacobs or any other big time player. I am sure some will come out of the woodworks. Charles Perkins will be fun to watch. Keep in mind we thought the same thing the year before last. I can only hope this year is as good as the last two years. If I am a betting man, I bet it will be. Just stay tuned to our blogs and we'll keep you posted plus we'll have our predictions. It's just around the corner. See ya then.

To be the man, You have to beat the man

I have taken a week or so off and now am back. I have gone to many high school baseball games and have drawn the conclusion I didn't think I would. To take a line from one of the great wrestlers of all time Ric Flair "to be the man you have to beat the man." And that holds true for even sports on the high school level. As i was going through the season I thought that Brookwood would be a little down after losing all those great players from last year's championship. If you remember they made it to the final four the year before and then won it all last year. This year they returned Ronnie Freeman, Michael Brown and Matt Adams but that was it as far as major contributors. And then you look at Wesleyan and they only returned a handful of players from last year's championship team. But both are back in the final four.
And in my opinion, which Blogs are just that, opinions, I think both have great shots at winning a title again.
Brookwood went down to a familiar place in East Coweta. The Indians were looking for revenge again. This is the third time the teams have met in the playoffs and for the third time the Bronco's bucked the Indians right out of the playoffs. Cam Bedrosian was 10-0 on the year. If you look at the kid's record over the last few years he only has 3-4 losses and all have been to Brookwood except one or two. Again I say, to be the man you have to beat the man and these Brookwood and Wesleyan teams will not be easy to eliminate.
I watched two dominant games with Wesleyan and Schley County. The Wildcats came into the series with a great 24-5 record and had simply destroyed all their opponents but then they ran into Devin Stanton and Drew Fithian. These two guys only gave up 2 hits together in 14 innings. I can sum it up in one word....Domination. They just dominated. All I have to say about both teams making it back to the final four is this....Gwinnett County is strong in all sports and that will continue because they will all reload and not rebuild. There are too many people in this county and the good ones will go to the places where winners are. So I may be writing this same kind of blog next season too. But for now, Good luck Wolves and Bronco's. We're pulling for you.

South Georgia North Georgia debate

Well it's that tme of year again and the debate never ends. Who has thebetter spors South Georgia or North Georgia. Well here is my opinion and having lived and seen both, I will give an unbiased opinion. Yes I am in the North Georgia part of the state but I lived in Augusta and Perry for many years and traveled all over south Georgia to see many good athletes.
I remember living in Augusta and remember Mike Kelly the former Georgia Tech star fom Westside Augusta. I remember Eddie Lee Ivory from Thompson who set many records at Tec. I remember covering Rod Ladd and Robert Shannon from Vienna and Shannon from Jakson. Then I covered other guys from south of Macon and believe me these guy were special. Lakista McCullers played at N.C. State and many compared him to MJ. Called him Baby Jordan. However, the North part of Georgia has produced some good ones that I have seen as well.
How about Stinchcomb's from Parkview, Quincy Carter and all the Southwest Dekalb guys. What about Jamal Lewis or Brandon Philips or Chris Neson or Jermaine Phillips. Remember Ezra Williams from Marietta or even Eric Zeier from Marietta. So the debate continues. But I would say that keep on debatng because for everyone you tell me about from the souhern part of Georgia we can find one from the Northern part of Georgia.
If you ask me, we are tied and will continue to be tied. Granted it runs in cycles but for now I feel the North is a little ahead but the south is close behind. But isn't it fun to debate it. With these high school playoffs going on now, let's see who takes the most crowns and that could determine the leader...for now.

Let the Playoffs Begin

Well Gwinnett County will be well represented in the state baseball playoffs. We have seven AAAAA teams in the tournament to go along with two AA/A teams. I will break down first the AAAAA teams and the matchups as I have seen all 8 teams that qualified including South Forsyth, who won region 7-AAAAA. Yes they are good. But the time i saw them, they were beatable. They got beat at Turner Field by Mill Creek. I really thought Mill Creek was the best team in the region and they came in fourth. That was amazing. They will have to go to South Gwinnett to play coach Steve Teschner's South Gwinnett Comets. This should be a great series. I hate to see either team lose. I will break it down. In game one it will probably be Matthew Grimes vs. Nick Blount on the mound. Blount throws hard and is an outstanding hitter while Grimes is a hard thrower that can mix it up. Watch for a tough 3-2 victory by South. Then Sean Handlan should battle Jake Adcock. Handlan is a great player that can give you a strong 5 innings with Kevin Caldwell coming in to sew it up. But i think Mill Creek bounces back to take a close 3-2 win and even the series at 1-1. That leaves Caldwell to start game three and I feel this might be where South comes out on top. Great first round matchup with South eeking out a 4-3 win to win the series 2-1.
In a matchup of 2 vs. 3 you got Parkview vs. North Gwinnett. This is a great series too and I think Wyatt Brown edges Parkview starter Zack Olsen in game one. And then in game two North squeezes by as well to win that series. Brandon Jacobs is pitched around for the most part and I feel the depth of the Bulldogs will prevail. The other 2 vs. 3 is Collins Hill vs. defending state champ Brookwood and Collins Hill beat them earlier this year 4-2. However, Brookwood improved and they are the defending champs. I love Collins Hill's team and I think it will go three games. That third game could be pivotal as Collins Hill is loaded with pitchers. That's where the defending champs should take it on the chin.
That leaves Grayson, the 4-seed battling No. 1 ranked South Forsyth. Well let's say they will go three games as well and as much as I hate it, that team is strong. South Forsyth in a squeeker. I hope I am wrong on that one. Good luck teams. We'll catch up to the rest of the county in the next blog. i am excited. As they say, "Let the Games Begin."

Woodson HAS TO GO

Mike Woodson has to go. he just stands there when the team is playing awful.
What does he do during practice. Why do the Hawks look so bad. I just don't understand why the team can get out and run and be high flying and take it to the hoop and then they play like crap and stand around. He doesn't use a bench. Get players in the game that can run. If that's not the style you want to play and you want to pound the ball inside then get the players to play that style. This coach uses Joe Johnson 44 minutes per game. Joe is dead tired. I can't understand why you have 12 men on the team and you use 7 or 8.
The Atlanta spirit I think just doesn't want to win. And to make matters worse, I think the league doesn't want them to win. Duane Wade. Kobe Bryant and Lebron James get all the calls and the league wants them to face each other. Ratings I guess. But it should be based on FAIR refs. It is mind boggling to see the Atlanta guys getting mugged and then a little touch foul and you call a foul on us. Woodson has got to learn to use his players better and to get the team motivated when they are playing bad. Please find a real coach and maybe we can advance past the first round.

Fans all over umps

Being in the pressbox at the local high school games gives me an angle for the balls and strikes that is a lot different than being down in the bleachers. I hear these parents all over the umpires about balls and strikes. Being an umpire is a very difficult job and most of the time, these umps are pretty good. There are a few times that the umps are a little inconsistent. But the other day I heard some fans really get all over the umpire behind the plate. This guy was pretty good. But to the fans they were not happy. And they were winning. Well until later in the game. Then the other team came back and started hitting the ball and scored 6 runs over the last few innings to blow the game open.

The fans need to let these umpires do there job. When they are yelling and screaming at the umpires, it makes them mad and then you might not get the calls. It is a very tough job to do. But some people think the umpires are partial. Believe me, they don't care who wins or loses and all they want is a good game. Until you've done it, let them do their job. Beside it makes the person yelling and screaming look really "Bush" League. Hopefully we'll see some good well played games and then the umpire won't even be noticed.

Baseball Talk

Well we know there are different languages and different dialects for this country but there is also a new language called Baseballeze. I will give you the words and then the definitions.
Let's first start with a common phrase heard at the game.
"Hey Blue that was terrible." This means the umpire, commonly referred to Blue because of the most commonly used Blue Uniform and of course the person didn't agree with the call.
Then there is "C'mon Kid." Now this could be used even in the major leagues. Kid is usually a younger player or even a rookie. I'm 42 so a 38-year old veteran might be a kid to me.
Also there is the term "Hey Two Five watch it close." Well the person is probably wearing the number 25 on his jersey. In baseball it is not uncommon for people to call the players by their number, even if it's a family member at a high school game.
Then there is a saying "Good Eye." this means that the person up to bat is able to tell if it's a ball or a strike and takes a close pitch.
Can of Corn. Now this is a good one. Can of corn is referred to an easy fly ball that the outfielder is camped under to make the catch. It is originally said because farmers back in the days when baseball was invented would stack the corn up high and when a customer needed on they would get it to fall and would be easy to catch. We use corn because the outfield may be called the corn field. it was first used by an announcer named Red Barber in the 50's.
Barber had many sayings that are coined and used today. One is a Rhubarb. This means there is a heated argument. "Back, Back Back" is a saying that is even now used by Chris Berman to describe a ball that could get out of the park. Also another commonly used phrase is "Baseball is a game of inches." That means the ball could have bounced a different way and the result may have been different.
There is a website that has so many different explanations and lingo that is really cool. It's www.baseballfarming.com and you really need to check it out.
Some of the lingo in there would really crack you up. I would want you to go to it and then go to a game and use it. It will make the people think you are a baseball efficienato. You might be called a grandstander. That is a "showoff" of sorts. These are just a few of the terms but go to the site and check it out and let me know what you think. Then let's meet at the game and see what the crowd thinks.

Tidbits from a big weekend

Well Friday night as I was leaving for the Brookwood/South game I got a call from my friend Frank. He said I have two tickets to the Gwinnett Braves. Well how could I refuse. I got my wife and we headed over to the game. I had to check out the new P.A. announcer. You see I went to the audition for it and felt I aced it. Well I found out later they hired a former police officer with no experience. I was a little disappointed but wanted to see what I got beat out by. Well I knew he'd be a little nervous as anyone would be....including me. Here you are at tryouts in front of three judges;. But at the game you are in front of 10,000 people.

The announcer got off to an inauspicious start. He said first for the visiting Gwinnett Tides. Well we know it's the Norfolk Tides. I never heard #7 leading off until the second batter batted. When Clint Sammons was up Van Pope was still on the matrix board. Yes this might not have been his fault however, make us aware of it. Also the organ player was playing "charge" while we were on defense. Hmmmm. Not his fault but the glitches were far to many. Sure there are kinks and I understand but it also was quiet for about 4 innings. Then to his credit he started getting a little more enthusiastic. Yes were losing through most of the early innings but that place needs to be jumping. I mean it's the announcers job to be vocal and get the crowd into it on every single batter. Believe me you can keep a team in the game if the crowd is into the game. The players play harder. I was an announcer for Berkmar Football in 2004. This team was playing it's rival Parkview and I heard from the Parkview coaches that I got on their nerves and they wanted to come up and stangle me. I took that as a compliment. They actually said it kept Berkmar on the field with this much more powerful team. Another example was when I did the announcing for Central Gwinnett I had a Loganville parent ask if I could come do the announcing for them.

The announcer did a good job but for a AAA minor league baseball team they need to have someone that was more vocal. It's early. I hope he does well and gets better. After the Gwinnett Braves lost all three games this weekend, they need it. It's a team effort.

I also would like to say that I had T.J. Smith from Berkmar find me this weekend on facebook. Good kid. I hear he's playing at Clark Atlanta next year. He is currently in California at a junior college. I wish him well.

And Congrats to the Mill Creek baseball team. Went down to see them at Turner Field and they played a great game against the No. 1 team in the state South Forsyth. The Hawks pulled out a 4-3 victory over the War Eagles. Greg Brody knocked in two runs with a triple and Jake German knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. It was a long but fun weekend. Hope to have more like that soon.

Nothing like baseball

Well baseball completed it's first week and I have enjoyed my first week of fantasy baseball. Actually am leading the league I'm in but a few things upset me about some of the rules. Like Stolen bases and saves. I could pick 3 guys that get saves and really rack up the points. And my team has but 4 stolen bases and out of 8 categories I lead by a wide margin in 6 of them. But those two categories I'm weaker in and lost points. So after today I trail by .5 points. You get 10 points for first, nine for second, eight for third. So after last night I had 59.5 points and one of my competitors had 60 points because he outscored me by 11 points as he has 13 stolen bases and 9 saves. Heck the teams have only played 7 games. I have K-Rod the best closer and he has only one save. I have Roy Oswalt and he doesn't have a win yet. This fantasy league stuff is fun. It really gets you watching all the players.
Nelson Cruz has been a great addition for me. He has a stolen base and 4 home runs. I don't like having to pull for Johan Santana and K-Rod or Shane Victorino but hey I guess if Santana and K-Rod and Victorino can do all the stats against the Marlins or each other that will be okay. As you know I am a Braves fan and Yunel Escobar and Omar Infante are on my team too. Yunel has done well for my team. I hope he can keep it up. Infante also is doing good for me.
Wow nothing like baseball season. Just need some more speed a few more saves.

Doing Highlight Video helps get you noticed

Well I have done many highlight video's for athletes around the county and today I got a call from Delano Howard. Senior that is. He asked if I could do a video for him on Delano Howard Jr. I said well of course. I found out he was in North Platte, Nebraska. I am thinking to myself "Wow that is far." I couldn't imagine going that far to a junior college but I see he did very well.
It got me to thinking about some of these stars that didn't go on to success on the next level as far as D-1 schools or pro's. I am wondering what they are doing now.

I had a friend in 7th grade named Mark Thigpen. I thought he'd be a superstar and be playing a sport for money one day. Well I found him on Facebook and he said he got injured and now owns his own company making team apparel and logo's in Augusta. We'll give his company a plug. It's called Custom Images Inc. located in the Augusta and North Augusta, S.C. area.

Then I covered a player in Perry named Ken Sikes. He got drafted and went to the minor leagues for a while and now after 8 years in the minors he works for Blue Bird in Fort Valley. He told me on Facebook that he has gotten into the real world now. Haven't we all. I also noticed that Sy Jones from Perry, who pitched in the state title game in 1991 is now a baseball coach and teacher at FPD in Macon. Anther player I covered in Perry Marvin Stokeling is now in Atlanta and does promotions for a young rapper.

Delano still wants to play D-1 and wants to be closer to home. I think he can do it. He's a quick shooting guard that played alongside Louis Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers in high school. I didn't realize he also played against Ty Lawson of North Carolina fame in a game against Oak Hill and actually helped his team come back to win that game. That was probably one of the best games I have ever seen.

So if you want to find out where one of the stars was when you were a kid, do a search on Facebook and you will probably find out they are in the corporate world. But Delano still young enough to make it and I hope he does.

Doing these video's really help you get seen. These guys made an impact at college and now are in the real world but if you want to really get noticed the highlight video's are a very good way. My company Play-By-Play Adverising has done video's for Chica Okoli from Brookwood who ended up at Samford. We did a video for Rob Wadley from Duluth, John Sizemore of North Gwinnett, who went to Army, Ean Pemberton this past season from Grayson, Donnie Moon from North Gwinnett, Jesse Garcia of Peachtree Ridge, Eric Josovitz, who went to West Georgia and many more.

So if you are not the star of the team but still want to get seen, check us out on our website at www.thecoachescorner.net and then give us a call. You can be seen too.

Umpires usually get it right

Unlike basketball, where the refs miss a ton of calls, baseball umpires are usually pretty close every time. I got to see a great game from Collins Hill and Mill Creek on Wednesday and there were a few plays in the game that I questioned. However, the umpire talked to me later and explained the rules and the calls and now I see where he was right on.
The first play I questioned was a play at the plate. The runner was clearly out but after the umpire was about to call the runner out, he ruled safe. All of us in the press box and the Collins Hill fans were wondering what is going on. Well here it is. The umpire saw the catcher bobble the ball and was in the kids way or what they call obstruction before he had control of the ball. Once he got control of it, yes the runner was out but you have to get control of it beforehand thus that allowed the next base which in this case was home plate. If you are in the line of the plate and get the ball and control it right into the mitt well yes you can block the plate but like I said, there was a slight hesitation or bobble and that allowed the runner to get that next base.

The other close call in the game came on a double play. It looked like a routine 6-4-3 or short to second to first double play but the runner was sliding into second and had his leg above the knee of the secondbaseman. The rule states your feet have to be down below the knees and at the bag. In pro or major league baseball you can slide outside of the base as long as your arm can grab the base. In high school baseball, you have to slide directly at the bag and with your feet down. That meant the runner going to first was safe.

So there are two rules we learned. Barnes and Noble has a ton of books on rules of the game. I think I am going to go check it out...Or I can maybe use google and find some here on the net.

Will Meeks be 1st rounder

I had the priviledge of seeing Jodie Meeks for 2 years at Norcross. He was phenomenal. I remember in the playoffs how he just took over the game. And of course they won a state title. Now they played Beach, who had upset Wheeler but that was still on the grand stage at the Gwinnett Arena.
But going to Kentucky and playing in the SEC i never dreamed he'd be that good. I heard he lit Tennessee up for 54 points this season. I tuned in at halftime and he had 26 points. I knew he would have a big game. Of course being a channel flipper I was going back and forth to other events. So when I turned back and he had 50 I decided to watch the rest.
So that leads to the question, is he a first rounder. I think so. Is he a top 10? Well that I don't know. In fact I hope he isn't because maybe he could land with the Hawks. Let's do our version of a Mock Draft and see. Here are my top picks.
Blake Griffin - Oklahoma
Tyler Hansbrough -North Carolina
Ty Lawson - North Carolina should he declare
DeJuan Blair - Pittsburgh
Hasheem Thabeet - Connecticut
Al Farouq Aminu - Wake Forest (if he declares)
Of course that is another story for our Gwinnett products and for that matter Norcross grads
James Harden - Arizona State
Stephen Curry - Davidson
Earl Clark - Louisville
Jeff Teague - Wake Forest

So that is a mock top 10 and could Meeks be in there? Well let's see if he could fit in the next 5-10 players selected. The Hawks will probably pick around 18-20th. So will Meeks be available?

Cole Aldrich - Kansas
Greg Monroe - Although I question this one too and that will be for a later blog as to why.
Brandon Jennings - Italy
Darren Collison - UCLA
Tyreke Evans - Memphis
Jordan Hill - Arizona
Kyle Singler - Duke
B.J. Mullens - Ohio State
And now Jodie Meeks.

So I do think he could go in the top 20. That was actually 19th and his stock is rising as others begin to fall. Meeks is definitely a first rounder. He has poise and can shoot free throws. He can shoot it from 3-point range and he can take it to the hole. If he doesn't make the top 10, he definitely will be in the second ten. I know if I were there in the middle of the first round I would consider him a lot. He is a winner too. He knows how to win. Granted this year was tough on him but trust me, Jodie Meeks will be making a good living if he decides the NBA is for him.

March Madness finally over

Well my bracket was busted big time. But who didn't know North Carolina would make the final four and actually win the title. I had a sentimental place for our Gwinnett products and Chris Allen made us proud down here in Lawrenceville. Every time I see his name and where he's from it made me proud. To think that Chris was a kid with long dreadlocks and a super nice guy that repected my wife and me. I remember him coming over to us while in attendance at the region tournament and saying "Nice to meet you." and "It was a pleasure meeting you:" to my wife. You don't find kids like that any more. Especially athletes. But ever since then Allen has been one of OUR favorites.

Back to my bracket. Yes I had Memphis, UConnecticut, Louisville, North Carolina and Villanova advancing further than they all did. Who would have thought Michigan State would go that far. I may like Allen a lot but Louisville was on a roll. I liked Wesley Witherspoon and thought his team had enough to win the title. But Missouri got hot for a game and knocked him out. That killed my bracket. I did say Villanova would beat Pitt. But you'd have to be under a rock somewhere not to realize the Tar Heels were on a roll and would destroy them, provided they got past Oklahoma and Blake Griffin.

But I heard a stat and this is phenomenal. North Carolina won all six games by an average of 20 points or more. Sure the first round game is always a blowout but to beat teams like Oklahoma, Villanova and Michigan State all by 20 is saying something. Yes the final score was 89-72 but they led by 21 at halftime and then put it on cruise control.

I should have known the Tar Heels would dominate. Roy Williams is a great coach but sometimes during March Madness we go with our heart. Next year I'll go with the brains and if some of our Gwinnett products make it to the dance maybe I'll pick them a round or two and then go back to reality and pick the best team. If Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington are back, look for UNC to repeat. I wouldn't pick against them this time.

She's the best

Well I must say my mind hasn't changed in 6 years. I saw Maya Moore as a freshman at Collins Hill and her team went 32-0 before they finally lost in the championship at the Arena to Stephenson. Well Maya went 125-3 over four years at Collins Hill with 3 straight state championships and now she is 71-1 on the College level with what's going to be a championship. 196-3 comes to about 98.5% of her games. If that's not incredible I don't know what is.

I was just thinking if Andy Landers or Pat Summit got Maya how would they do. I guarantee they would be the winning teams. Sure Tina Charles and Rene Montgomery are good players but Maya makes whoever is around her better. There is no doubt in my mind that those teams would be contending for a title had Maya chosen them over University of Connecticut.

Gino Auriemma is a good coach but I could coach a team with Maya Moore on it. She not only scores, 24 points against Stanford, but she rebounds (8 rebounds against Stanford) and she chipped in with 2 assists. She will usually have 5 or 6 assists with 8-10 rebounds. Oklahoma was thinking they would play them again. Well Louisville gets that honor. Either team would have lost by 20 or so.

Will there ever be another Maya? I doubt it. Not since Cindy Brogdon has there been a player of this caliber. So i guess it will be another 25 years. We'll see

Transferring needs to stop

Well another top notch player has decided to move and enter into another school. Well the parents of the kid decided to move. I saw where Chris Bolden, an outstanding freshman from Brookwood decided to move to Norcross. I know it's not for the academics of the school. It just seems that people are moving into Norcross, Wheeler, now Milton and schools like this so there kid can play for a winning team. But at what cost?

Richard Howell transferred to Wheeler last year from Central. Devonte White transferred to Centennial this past year from Central Gwinnett. Adrian Hubbard moved from Peachtree Ridge to Norcross in hopes of another state title. What does this say? Sure these programs are good but how can guys like Len Garner's North Gwinnett Bulldogs ever hope to make an impact with his home grown players. Basically he can't.

Is it fair? Well the GHSA doesn't have any rules about it. After talking to coach Garner about some of this subject, he thought a good idea would be if they transfer within 50 miles of the previous school they should sit out. I agree. Look at college. Guys have to sit out and I think the GHSA should prohibit stuff like this.

David Boyd at Milton had a few kids move in and I understand some parents of players that were there for a long time and grew up in the area weren't to happy. Yes, Boyd is a great coach and I like him a lot but when kids are moving into the area for the sake of winning a state title I just think it's crazy. I think winning one with guys that grew up in the area is more fun for the community. How can you go to a game and cheer your school on knowing you either A. recruited these kids or B. They come there just to get seen for a year and move on.

Take Kevin Minter who transferred from Berkmar to Peachtree Ridge in football. I really think that was a great move. I had someone from Berkmar tell me he would not have gotten the attention he needed to get a major scholarship from an LSU while he was at Berkmar. That's one thing. And he did help his team make the finals in football. He was an added piece. However, guys going to Wheeler, Norcross and all these places reminds me of the New York Yankees trying to buy a championship. I think a great team like South had with Kevon Jenkins, Reggie Brice and Mario Vasser was a great team that has played a long time together. South had some transplants in the days of Louis Williams. Mike Mercer transferred in. But overall it was a home grown team. Collins Hill's girls won it with Maya Moore but had a few girls move into the area like Jordan Jones. It's going to happen and as long as the GHSA allows it, it will continue to happen. Doesn't mean I have to agree with it. Now that Maya is gone you don't see any more girls begging to move into the area.

These parents seem to go to great lengths. They have to sell the house, buy a new house, change jobs or whatever else that comes with moving. Yes I'd do just about anything for my child but is it worth it. It is about getting an education and the athletics should be second. If they can go hand in hand that's great. We'll see what the GHSA does about it. Something needs to change.

Those were the days

Yes I remember covering the Parkview Panthers in the early part of this decade. The football team was super with Clint Sammons at quarterback and that big time wide receiver named Jeff Francoeur. He also was a great cornerback. I remember calling a game at Brookwood and he had two interceptions returned for touchdowns. What a game. Then they went on a nice run of 30-0 and two state championships.

Speaking of two straight state championships, he and Sammons both had two more on the baseball team. I remember going to Lassiter and they were talking some smack about how good their team was. I just kept my mouth shut. I was on top of the third base dugout with all the Lassiter fans. Well I finally had enough and started telling them about Francouer, Billy Howard, a good leftfielder named Green, a great shortstop named Tim Gustafson and Sammons. Then Francouer quietly smacked four home runs in the doubleheader. Those Lassiter fans were irate. It was actually kind of funny. I knew even when the bases were loaded and they brought in another pitcher Francoeur would deliver again. You could feel it in the air. I even made the comment they should walk him intentionally, even if it meant giving up a run. Well sure enough Superman came through.

And now when I watch the show on FSS about Francouer, you can see a part of me on top of that dugout while Francoeur rounds third base. Boy those were the days. Of course even after Francoeur and Sammons left, the Panthers continued the streak and made it 45 games in football and actually 46 with one the following year. The baseball team wasn't quite the same but it still is nice remembering the early part of this decade.

Coach needs to go

I have been a homer for Atlanta for 30 years now. I remember as a kid growing up in Augusta, Georgia listening to the Hawks on WSB at night and keeping score for Dan Roundfield, Tree Rollins, Rory Sparrow, John Drew, Cliff Levingston and Kevin Willis. I remember Mike Fratello and Hubie Brown and these Hawks were very exciting. They would make the playoffs every year and even one year made it to within one game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Fifty wins was not out of the question.

This team they have now is just as exciting. With talents such as Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Mike Bibby and even guys like Marvin Williams, Maurice Evans and Flip Murray this team could have made it further. But there is one thing holding them back....The Coach. When we got Mike Woodson I thought this was a good pickup. He was an assistant at Detroit and knew how to play defense. We are still a pretty good defensive team but he doesn't have a clue how to run this offense.

We are a fast break team and to do that you need more than 7 or 8 players. Look at Mike Anderson at Missouri. He just proved that if you get the guys out there and run the whole game it works. Why are we not playing Solomon Jones, Randolph Morris and Acie Law more. ZaZa Pachulia is a great help but yet he plays maybe 10 minutes or so a game. Our guys are worn out by the fourth quarter.

And we must have a mental block when it comes to playing the Celtics. Person for person we have as good or better players. But as a team, we will never advance and be considered an elite team. We don't get the ink or press time on ESPN or CNN or any other sports channels and I don't like it but I tend to agree. We are pretenders and not contenders and will never be as long as our coach doesn't figure out how to get guys 9-12 in the game.

Rotate and keep fresh people in the game. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Use time outs wisely. Doc Rivers did an excellent job of using his timeouts. Hawks cut a 17 point deficit to 11 with two 3-pointers and Rivers immediately called a timeout. They are the champs not because of the big 3, Garnett, Pierce and Allen. They are the champs because Doc Rivers is smart. Glen Davis is an average player. Mikey Moore is average. Eddie House is average. But with a great coach, they look like superstars. Atlanta will never be that with a coach that doesn't have a clue how to use them.

Take that starting unit and break it up into two good units. Throw a Morris or Jones in it and use some of the other guys on the second team. It's not who starts but who finishes. By the last 4 minutes of the game you can mix and match and put the best 5 out there to finish the game. These guys don't have ego's so much they have to start all the time. I think they'd rather win. Try it. I bet I am right on this one. But I guess we'll never know.

Price shipped to minors kills me

I was expecting big things from David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. Did you see what he did in the playoffs and in the one game the Rays won in the World Series? This guy is young but I know he isn't a flash in the pan. I picked him on my fantasy team and what do the Rays do? They send him to the minors.

Well, sometimes that could come as a blessing. Let Price go down and work on some things and watch what happens. Maybe he'll be a phenom like everyone is expecting anyway. This is my first time playing fantasy baseball and I am really excited. I have always watched the Braves and could tell you everything about them but I never really kept up with the stats from other players. Now I will.

Price may be gone to the minors but my pitching staff is excellent. Another big surprise will be Joe Saunders. That guy was 17-7 last year and the last 5 games had an ERA under 3.00. All I want from him is the same numbers. And he would be my number 3 or 4 pitcher. I have Johan Santana, Roy Oswalt, Scott Kazmir, Saunders and then battling for the 5 spot is Ted Lilly, Gavin Floyd, Bronson Arroyo and Joel Hanrahan. Plus I have K-Rod closing. Francisco Rodriguez should score me a lot of points. Wow what if he had 60 saves like last year.

It's crazy but I am a true Braves fan. I am going to have to pull for Santana when he pitches and K-Rod and then have the other New York Met's to lose. So if Santana goes 35-0 and K-Rod gets 35 saves I am in good shape. I really need the American League guys to do most of my scoring. Which I think they usually do. At any rate, this being my first year should be a lot of fun. Let the games begin.

Here we go again

I am still trying to find some old friends and of course i went to a great source....Facebook. I was able to find some of these people but for the most part still can't locate them. I remember playing little league ball with guys like Derk Lutcher and Keith Hagins and Keith Price. We were in Martinez, Georgia which was a suburb of Augusta. I remember Collin Cassedy. He was our quarterback on the Lions. Man we had a blast. We went undefeated until we played this team from Hiram. They had a girl on the team and guess what? We lost.

I will never forget that team. We had a great little runningback named Mark Thigpen. Man he was the fastest kid I have ever seen. I did manage to friend him on Facebook. I remember Collin as being a real quiet guy. He had red hair and freckles and wasn't really interested in the girls. But wow he had some that liked him. I moved away in 1981 the summer between my freshman and sophomore year. In 1986 I heard his younger brother was the quarterback at Evans and got in trouble for having a headphone on and talking to his dad, who was the coach at Evans. They had to forfeit the game.

Some of the other guys that I played ball with her Roger Shead and Randy Reese. They were pretty good as well.

Then after I graduated and went to college I met some other really good athletes. I still wonder what happened to them. I moved to Perry, Georgia and covered guys like Toriano Gilbert, Keith Newberry, Tazari Green, Jake Smith, Jimmy Dunlap, Ken Sikes, Sy Jones and Setarvin Jackson.

Perry was loaded with great athletes. I wonder if they ever made it big. I worked for a local paper and got to cover other athletes as well. Bobby Ellison from Manchester aka Blue Boy was awesome. Robert Shannon from Jackson played college ball and Lakista McCullers from Americus was called Baby Jordan. There was a guy named Rod Ladd that was from Macon County. He was a great shooter who went to VCU.

I really want to know whateverhappened to all these people. If anyone knows, please get in touch with me. I'm curious.

Fantasy Team for Gwinnett

Well I have my fantasy team for the pro's and I think I got a heck of a team. I got Johan Santana and Roy Oswalt. Plus I got David Price and Francisco Rodriguez. Then my top hitters are Prince Fielder, Yunel Escobar, Matt Kemp, Corey Hart, Micheal Bourne, Orlando Hudson, Ty Wigginton. I also have Gavin Floyd, John Hanrahan, Clayton Kershaw, Bronson Arroyo. Some more hitters are Nelson Cruz, Freddy Sanchez, Matt Weiters, Victor Martinez, Paul Maholm and Ted Lilly. I even have Jay Bruce and Miguel Cabrera. If I can't produce a winner out of that lineup than I need to see a doctor.

So with this team I was thinking about a Gwinnett County Fantasy team for this year. Here are some of my players. I would carry 20 players. These are my starters. Forrest Garrett on the mound from Norcross with Jake German of Mill Creek catching. Mitchell Williford in centerfield with Brandon Jacobs in left field. I'd have Nate Chong of Peachtree Ridge at third base and Taylor Forrester of North Gwinnett at first base. In right field I'd have Jack Buckelew of Collins Hill. Then I'd have Kyle Sanderson at shortstop along with Ronnie Freeman of Brookwood as my DH. He could also be a third catcher. My number two catcher is Brent Teschner of South Gwinnett. My second baseman is Morgan Ownbey of Collins Hill.

Some of my reserves are Jacob Timmie of Duluth, Kenny Belevance of Parkview as an outfielder, Michael Brown of Brookwood as my closer, Chris Hawkins of North, Michael Adams in centerfield backing up Williford. Then I'd have Reed Buck of Collins Hill as a long reliever. Grant Earls of Collins Hill would be a backup first baseman. Matt Adams of Brookwood would be my third pitcher. Who better to have in a three game series with it tied at one game each. Experience would be the key for Adams. Also Wyatt Brown of North would be another one of my pitchers and Peter Poole and Beau Buckler of Norcross would fill out my roster.

This is a fantasy team. I am not saying they are the best players from Gwinnett but that would be a heck of team. Boy we'd be hard to beat. Now how about someone filling out there team. I'd like to see and compare it to mine.

Next we will look at an all time Gwinnett Fantasy Team. I guess two players playing at the Ted would be on my team that's for sure. But there are some more good ones out there. One is about to make a team up in Bean Town.

Any more state champs coming

Well have we come to the end of our rope. Last year was so fun with Brookwood and Wesleyan taking home a state championship. Does that mean the well is dry. I don't think so. I think there are some more teams in this county that could put together a nice run and make a legitimate run for a title. Of course pitching is the key.

I think there are few key teams that could make a run at a title. Norcross has a dynamite pitcher in Forrest Garrett. He is a tall lefty that throws really hard. Add a Tyler Roach and Beau Buckler and a few others in the mix and Norcross could be primed to go far in the region. Doug Jones over at Mill Creek also has some pitching. I liked Matthew Grimes. He was pretty dominant against Parkview, especially after the first inning when he gave up some runs. But after that he shut them down.

Then I saw John Adcock from Mill Creek and if not for a 2-run homerun from Jacob Timmie of Duluth, Adcock would have given up only one run. Mill Creek is another team that could be ready to go further. Each year Coach Jones has his team in the playoffs and that is nothing to sneeze at in region 7-AAAAA. Now I hear South Forsyth is someone to contend with. Throw in Collins Hill, Peachtree Ridge, North Gwinnett and rumor has it North Forsyth is also pretty good. So making the playoffs in region 7-AAAAA will be a struggle and someone pretty good will have to pay to watch the playoffs. This region could make a team that good that when it comes time to play outside the region it may be an easier game.

I really like our teams in the county but I think day in and day out with region 7-AAAAA, this could keep the well running and provide us with another team making it at least to the final four if not to the championship. Peachtree Ridge has not been to the playoffs. They are the only team at the school not to qualify for a playoff spot and new coach Ryan Hanik has them playing well. They let two games slip away or they could be something like 7-1. They have some quality pitching and found a new one in Nate Chong. Justin Goetz comes from a baseball family as his dad Al once owned a batting cage and now scouts for Braves. The younger Goetz is really a good pitcher. The Lions have some quality bats in Chris Brunatti and Mitchell Williford. Williford can patrol the outfield like a true centerfielder and Brunatti has some good pop in his bat. Watch for them down the stretch and to finally get the monkey off the back and get into the playoffs. Then anything can happen.

Yes I am partial to Gwinnett sports but I just call it like I see it. I dare anyone to find not three, not four, not five but six great teams in one region that even a sixth place team could beat some other region's number one team.

So remember when it comes playoffs in AAAAA, look at where region 7-AAAAA team's are. if they are not contending this is one blogger who will be totally surprised.

County dominance moving to the Northeast

Being a neutral party I can tell you the dominance of the local baseball teams has moved from the south part of the county to the north part. If you remember the days of Parkview and Brookwood dominating in most all the sports including baseball, I believe the north part of the county has caught up and maybe even passed the south part.
Take a look at the teams; Norcross, Mill Creek, Peachtree Ridge, Collins Hill and North Gwinnett. I believe they all have past the teams like Parkview, Brookwood, Shiloh, South Gwinnett and Berkmar. Yes every now and then region 8-AAAAA will beat one of those teams but overall I think region 7-AAAAA has the talent to beat on a consistent basis the other.
I know in football they have that rivalries game and I think they ought to break it up by region and then we can have a true test. If you look at the rankings this year you have 3-4 teams in the top 10 and Brookwood from the other region has cracked the top 10 but I feel that is based on the fact they won it last season. And taking nothing away from them last season, they had a great and I mean great team. But no one else did. The entire region is loaded this year for 7-AAAAA. And that also includes South Forsyth, who I don't know a lot about. I do know they have 8 seniors back and all are college prospects.
Only time will tell but let's see come end of May who is still alive during the playoffs and who is not. I will say region 7-AAAAA will be. They are matched up with region 8 in the first round so that will give us our answer. Maybe they will prove me wrong. Only time will tell

Best place in America for High School Sports

Yes I am biased. But let's take a look at all the reasons to live here when it comes to high school sports. We Dominate. Nuff said. However, there are plenty of other reasons as well. I am going to address all the reasons you should enroll you son or daughter here and we'll look at it sport by sport.
First I am going to take Football. Buford has won 110 games this decade while losing only six. In fact they have lost to only 3 teams, Charlton County three times, Central Gwinnett and Commerce twice in 2000. Parkview and Brookwood had runs with greatness, South Gwinnett early in the 90's, North and Peachtree Ridge most recently and let's not forget Collins Hill made it to the Dome earlier this decade as has Dacula.
We've had numerous state champs in girls softball. Buford has won it now twice, Grayson won in AAA earlier this decade and Collins Hill and Mill Creek has won it. GACS has come close many times. South and Central Gwinnett both had wins in the championship.
Now to Winter Sports. My Goodness we've had a ton of championships in basketball both boys and girls. Berkmar twice earlier this decade, South and Norcross three times. Collins Hill five times on the girls side, Wesleyan six times, GACS two times and now Buford.
Baseball we had Wesley and Brookwood last season. So that is the big three in sports. I couldn't begin to count when it comes to swimming, soccer, golf, tennis, and especially wrestling.
Now that is the sports reasons why this is the best county. As far as the other reasons, we have Braves, Falcons and Hawks right down the road, Lake Lanier is close by as is Stone Mountain. Six Flags is not that far and we have three big malls. Nuff said. Gwinnett is far enough away from the city but still is a major metropolis. We have great academics and great people in this county. So when cnsidering an area to live you won't have to twist my arm to endorse this area. Just keep winning so I can continue to brad about Gwinnett

Spring Sports Are in Full Force

During football season, I really thought I was busy. I would prepare for a Friday night football game well in advance. Then I would edit the game to get it ready for television. I always thought things would slow down in the Spring. Boy, was I wrong. Not only is there high school baseball, but we have boys and girls soccer, golf, tennis and now even lacrosse. As many of you know, I stress on my show that I am the only locally produced high school sports show that covers all sports in Gwinnett County. So, in order for me to uphold my motto, I am so looking forward to covering these other sports.

I, being the sports-minded person I am, am really looking forward to covering lacrosse and becoming more familiar with the game. It must be a very active game and a player must need to be in great shape to participate in this sport. I heard that former NFL great Howie Long's son, who was an excellent quarterback chose to go to the University of Virginia on a lacrosse scholarship. This sport is really gaining popularity nationwide. Of course, we all know it really became more well known after the Duke scandal a few years ago.

Here is Gwinnett County, Wesleyan was the first to have a lacrosse team. Now, Peachtree Ridge, GAC, Collins Hill and a few others have made lacrosse a varsity sport. So, for those of you who think baseball and soccer are the only Spring sports, you may want to check out lacrosse. I know I'm looking forward to it.