The week before the busiest week of the year. (Still kindof busy.)

During Monday afternoon the Lady Knights were clobbered by Indian Springs. I really think it's Springs way of getting back at Altamont for the continued beatings they received in every other sport during the year. They had better get in their licks now. The Lady Knights will be back next year, better than ever.

During Tuesday night the Bad Girls took on the Moody Heat at Homewood Park. Although they lost by a score of a gazillion to 12, the Bad Girls played inspired ball while batting in the last inning. However, the 2 1/2 innings prior were just terrible. I mean, just plain awful.

Maybe it was because some of players were not able to attend the game. Maybe because Coach Rodney came late to the game. Maybe it was a full moon. Who knows. Whatever the reason, the girls just had an off night. While on defense, they dropped easy popups, overthrew bases, made silly throws and had brain cramps that prevented them from doing the right thing. Many times. I guess every team is permitted one bad game a year.

Emmy was active at the plate and in the field during this game. She played her usual stellar defense at second base. At the plate she was hit by a pitch and knocked in a rib on a single. It wasn't until Moody had score eleventy-million runs in the first three innings before our guys got serious at the plate. They scored ten runs in the final frame as they made nice bunts, stole bases and recorded timely hits. Too little too late. On to the next game ....

Wednesday afternoon the Lady Knights played against Vincent Lady Jackets. In a wild one, the Knights played well but came up short, 26-17. The team could have / should have won this game. Not the classiest fans from Vincent. On a close play at the plate, the Vincent catcher failed to touch the plate on a force out. Her cleat was a few inches in front of the plate as the ump's keen eye lasered in on this and he correctly called our runner safe at home. At the time of this play, the score was tied at 5. The Altamont fans noted the play and cheered while the Vincent mamas were not pleased. In fact, one woman looked over at us and made an "L" on her forehead and shouted "whatever." It was very funny, actually.

The Lady Knights will play later this upcoming week in the area tournament. It will likely be played in Leeds. While the team is much improved, we do not look for them to go very far this year in the tourney. Who knows? Crazier things have happened. Sid will not be playing. Her healing pinky is not ready for action.

Friday evening found us under the stars and lights (actually, lightening) in Homewood, as the Bad Girls took on the Fairfield Lady Tigers. As the thunder, lightening and rain inched closer the teams squeezed in only nine outs of softball. We hit the parking lot on the run as the rains announced their immediate presence. Fun nonetheless as Emmy made the most it. Playing shortstop, she made once nice fielding play. She walked and scored in her only at bat. With play suspended, the Bad Girls were trailing 9-7.





Saturday morning should have been a busy time in Homewood as Emmy's team were scheduled to play a doubleheader against Leeds. We assume these games will be rescheduled for another date. Em does have at least three games on the calendar for this week. Not sure how many she will play in though.

Having a very good week: Ellis Bellis, Rosey Toasy turned one, and Gavin aka "Get serious!" turned three, this week. Happy birthday to you both! Former Vandy and current Rays ace David Price (3-1) struck out nine and walked one in his first complete game this weekend against the Blue Jays. Even more impressive is that he is now 9-1 in his career against the AL East.




Can't wait for the week to be over: Sid and Em. They are pumped about their upcoming dance recitals.They cannot wait to get on stage for friends and family next weekend. Having worked all year for these performances, we cannot wait to see how far they have progressed. I bet we will be blown away.

Certainly you've seen this video by now. Incredible leap over the catcher to get home safely. Fordham's Brian Kownacki leaps the catcher to score in a big time comeback win against Iona. (Video courtesy of the Fordham athletic department) WFUV's Gregg Caserta on the call. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW0bb2wxH5Y&feature=player_embedded

Saving up as much sleep as possible for the busiest week of the year,
I remain,
The Sports Guy

Lady Knights win. Bags Girls big comeback victory. UD's big fish.

As Altamont's softball season is winding down, the Lady Knights are still working hard. The team was in three games this week against area foes. With the addition of Yurisha (on loan from the tennis team), the Lady Knights are finding more confidence and executing more like a team. It's nice to see how the players are improving. Making plays on defense. Running at proper times on the bases. Bunting!

The Black and Gold took on Ramsey in a doubleheader Tuesday at Comer Field on a beautiful spring afternoon. The first game started out exciting enough but not in a good way. In the first inning Siddy G fielded a throw from catcher at second on a steal but the ball tailed away causing Sid's bare hand stop the throw. This resulted in Sid breaking a bone on her right hand pinky. Season over. Ouch. Coach Keith shuffled the lineup and the team played hard, but the Lady Knights took a loss in both games. Of course Sid is bummed but she's handling it like a real trooper.

One great play to report was one that Coach Keith unknowingly borrowed from the movie Major League. With Addison on second and one out, Alexandra looked to bunt the ball up the first base line. As soon as the ball left the pitcher's hand, Addi took off stealing toward third. Alexandra laid down a perfect bunt up the line allowing Addison to score standing up. Alexandra was also safe at first. This play was similar to the one Tom Beringer pulled off in the 1989 movie. Great play executed by the Lady Knights.

Tom Beringer and Charlie "Wild Thing" Sheen in Major League.


On Thursday, the team took on Carver High at their field near downtown. I am pleased to report the Lady Knights took home a 14-3 victory! They jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning and held on for the win. What an exciting game. I am very proud of Sid for attending the game and rooting on her team from the dugout. I'm sure it wasn't easy for her.

The team is entering in the final week of the season. Three games are planned. Although the win/loss record doesn't look so hot, Coach Keith is very proud how the girls have worked together to become a team. At the beginning of the year these guys looked like a rudderless ship with no sense of direction. Several of the players have really stepped up to help guide the team to respectability. Hopefully they will bring home another win or two this week.

The Bad Girls were in action on Sunday in a doubleheader against Mountain Brook. Emmy and crew split a doubleheader against the Yankees (15-7 loss) and Cardinals (16-15 win). The win was exciting as the team score seven runs in the final inning for a huge comeback victory.

Emmy played second base and shortstop in the games. She made some nice plays in the field including one where she stopped a ball on the third base side of second and then scrambled back to the bag to make a force out. It was a great play as Emmy showed her wide range and heads up play on defense. At the plate Em knocked out three hits, recorded two RBI and scored two runs, including the tieing run in the second game win.




Here is one of the better softball cheers of the year I have heard. Made me chuckle.
bang bang. choo choo train
wind us up and we'll do our thang
no reese's pieces or peanutbutter cup
mess with us and we'll kick your butt!
ooo we got it! ooo ooo we got it!

You never know who or what will show up in the Bronx for a game.


This past weekend TSG, UD, Brad "I can't even catch a cold out here" Cain and James "I have caught everything except a red" Harris had a big time landing some reds, trout, whitings and drums in Apalachicola Bay. Big fun! Capt. Jr. Holland and his forty plus years of fishing lore kept us entertained. I previously fished with him some years ago. We heard the same jokes this weekend. Some things never change. The only really funny one he told us (as we trolled in about four feet of water) that if we happened to fall out of the boat, to not get too excited. We should just stand up. Here's a photo of Dave's big catch below.



Having a stellar week: 92k faithful watched the A-Day game in Tuscaloosa. Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no-hitter in Rockies' history. Of course it was against the Braves.

Would like to forget their week: ESPN cut away from the A-Day game before the game concluded. Although it was just a spring scrimmage, I'm sure the Bammers will shout their displeasure to Bristol. The Atlanta Braves . How embarrassing. The Mets and Cardinals played a 20-inning, 6-hour and 53-minute marathon in which a closer got the win, an outfielder took the loss, and a starter nailed down the save. In his lawsuit against Texas Tech, Mike Leach claims school officials conspired to fire him to deny him an $800,000 bonus. Does he remember who put Adam James in a shed?

Lucky but not really. Steeler QB Big Ben needs to grow up. What a terrible example. Needs to be suspended. Stay classy Ben. You have a $100 mil. contract riding on it.

Dance practice. Dance practice. Dance practice.
One month of school left. Can you believe it?
Have a great week everyone!
The Sports Guy

Play ball! Duke!! Pizza!!! Bad Girls Rule!!!!

On Monday, finally, finally the Major League Baseball season began in earnest. Some big highlights to share. White Sox ace Mark Buerhle effectively won the 2010 Gold Glove for pitchers with a sensational no-look flip between his legs to nail the runner. "J-Hey" had a fabulous debut for the Braves, including a looong homer in their 16-5 win over the Cubbies. Jamie Moyer won a game in his fourth decade in the bigs. Pujols hit two. CC took a no-no into the 8th against the Rays. (So what else is new?)

The only way to describe it is that Duke survived Butler. Barely. Duke was the only team Butler allowed to score at least 60 points in any tourney game. They needed every point Monday as they escaped with the national championship, 61-59. This game was exciting to the very end as the score was never more than a six point spread. Not until the final half court prayer at the buzzer had missed its mark could Duke fans exhale. I think some have yet to let out that breathe. They think the shot went in! Great game.


Coulda. Woulda. Notice the arrows in the photo. What would have happened if Hayward's shot would have gone in and the refs waived it off? Anarchy for the ages!

The Lady Knights traveled to Tarrant to pick up from last Thursday's marathon. Thankfully the coaches agreed to a time limit for this game. Although the team took another loss, this was an exciting game.

Sid provided us with one of the highlights of the year with a super play in the third inning. With the score tied and the bases loaded, Tarrant's cleanup batter came to the plate. She was determined to break the game open with a big hit. Thankfully Mighty Casey didn't quite get all of it, but the pop up she hit was McGwire-esqe. The ball went up and up behind third base. Sid camped under it, but a funny thing happened as she was preparing to catch it. Sid semi-tripped over the ridge where the infield and outfield meet. This happened while the ball was about to land in her mitt. The ball did land in the web but only long enough for it to pop out of her glove and toward the outfield. Sid somehow dove and recaught the ball as she landed hard on the outfield grass. Super play! Too bad my camera reaction skills didn't capture it on film.

On Tuesday, the Lady Knights took on Walter Wellborn at Comer Field. Much like the first time these teams played, WW was just too strong. Their players (including the one with the neck tattoo) are just a very good team. Crisp throws. Advancing bases. Tough defense. Timely hitting. Sid did have two very nice catches behind third base for outs. She also pitched an inning just before the onset of erev pizza.

On Thursday the Lady Knights took on Shades Mountain Christian at their place. Sid played first base for the first time. She was natural. Playing like a vet, Siddy made several plays in the field. Although the Lady Knights lost again, each game has showed just how far the team has come in the past few weeks.

This weekend, Emmy and the Bad Girls (who wear poka dots on their socks) finally played real games. Friday night the team took on the 13-14 year olds from Huffman in a doubleheader under the lights. In the first game, the Bad Girls jumped out front in the first inning as they cruised to an 8-4 win. Emmy, the youngest player on both teams, started at second base and she payed great! She walked once, had two stolen bases and scored in the second inning.






In the second game, Em played second and made several heady plays in the field. She covered first base on a hit to the first baseman. Although it was a bad throw, Em showed she knew where to be and when to be there. Coach Rodney was impressed. Emmy also caught two pop ups and made a key out with the bases loaded. The most exciting play however was when she was at the plate. With a runner of second, she hit a ball about 8' in front of the plate. Running hard proved her well as she made three left turns and scored while the defense kept making overthrows. Boo scored standing up. Very exciting. Although the team lost this game, 9-8, they sure played well. Lots of good defense. One thing Coach Rodney was not expecting was Em's questions about the Infield Fly rule. I saved him from the long explanation by telling Boo we would discuss it on the ride home.






On Saturday, the Bad Girls took on Midfield Lady Rams in Homewood. On a glorious afternoon Emmy and her mates showed the Lady Rams how it's done on the diamond. The team looked great in a 20-0 shellacking. Emmy started at second base, batted three times and scored three runs. She contributed a single and also made one nice play in the field. They are 2-1 so far. The team is playing well and looks to play more games soon. Thanks to Sheri, Raquel, Leigh and her crew for rooting for Emmy.

Have you seen Sammy Gervacio pitch for the Astros? He has one of the more bizarre predelivery routines you will ever see from a pitcher. Watch him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB818XgSS-A&feature=player_embedded.

Having a great week: Our beloved Emmy J won the family NCAA hoops tourney pool. Not only did she correctly predict that Duke would win, but she also had the most number of correct wins. Braves phenom Jason Heyward introduced himself to the majors in the grandest of ways. He hit a homer in his first swing in the bigs. A 450+ footer into the Braves bullpen. Big things to come from this fellow. Let's just hope he's more Dale Murphy and less Brad Komminsk. This week Yankee greats Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Jose Posada became the longest trio of teammates to play together uninterrupted in North American team sports. Sixteen years they have been teammates. Pretty remarkable in today's era of trades and free agency. Looks like Tiger is having a good week. He looks undeterred at Augusta. For the first time in more than 10 years, a woman will play professional baseball in the United States this season. Eri Yoshida, a Japanese knuckleball pitcher, has signed with the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League, according to an Associated Press report on Friday. Yoshida, 18, played professionally in Japan last season and is set to join the Outlaws next month at Spring Training, the team said.

Not having a memorable one: Los Angeles Dodgers backup catcher Brad Ausmus was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his 17-year career on Saturday with what is being termed a pinched nerve in his back. The old stadium for America's team is about to become a pile of dust and rubble. With the push of a button on Sunday, more than a ton of dynamite blew up Texas Stadium into pieces.

Only a few weeks until the spring recitals. Yes, I said recitals with an "s." The girls are in two different ones and Lilly is making her debut this year. I think the girls are in about a gazillion dance numbers between them, including one in which they moonwalk. As UD has commented, this dance recital weekend will be more like a dance recital tournament. Not sure how the girls will be seeded though.

Have a great week everyone!
The Sports Guy

Games. Games. More games. And some more practice.

The Lady Knights finally pulled out their hittin' sticks Monday against Shades Mountain Christian School at Comer Field. Too bad they had already dug themselves into a deep hole by the time they got serious about the game. It took until the fifth and six innings for the girls to put ten runs on the board, as they made a gallant comeback that fell just short. Despite losing another game, the team keeps improving in several areas. Well, mostly. Backing up throws. Throwing to the proper base. Base running. These things are improving, but still a long way to go.



Sid did well as starting pitcher. She pitched three innings, recording three strikeouts and made four plays from the mound. She gave up a few runs but pitched in control for most of her time on the mound. Addison and Sid switched positions in the fourth sending Sid to shortstop. At the plate, Sid got on base three times and scored twice.

On Tuesday the team took on the powerful Leeds Greenwave in a silly doubleheader. Not David v. Goliath. More like trying to kill a fly with a bazooka. Leeds must be an area foe because I really cannot figure out why these two teams played each other. Playing a team that has won the state title twice in the past four years made zero sense. To say the Greenwave was a great time was like saying Cookie Monster likes cookies. Well, duh. Captain Obvious meet yourself.




I've never seen a team with so many rituals, chants and hollars. It was almost comical. You should have seen the Leeds team drawing in the dirt, slapping high fives after every out and chanting whoopety-dos enough times to drive you nuts. Should have called delay of games on them many times. These girls were so good that some of the players even had three first names! Shelby Jo Ashley was powerful at third. Terri Blaine Sue was the right fielder. This is a small community where the girls play softball all year. In comparison, several of our player also play others sports or participate in other after school programs during the year. Lambs to Lions den.




Sid played short and was super busy running into the outfield over and over as balls got by our outfielders time and time again. She pitched in the second game until being relieved by Addison. All in all it wasn't a pretty day. Sid was moved up in the order to hit fifth.

On Thursday, the Lady Knights took on Tarrant High School on a beautiful spring day at Comer Field. OMG! This game was for the ages (or maybe I just aged). Four hours, ten minutes. Sixty runs (37-23 in a loss). Approximately sixty walks during 135 batters between both teams. One player was ejected for "bowing up" in a collision at the plate. (Way to hang in there Natalie!) Three runners (them) were called out for running violations. One batter (them) was called out because the other coach missubstituted. One player (us) pulled from her starting position for bad attitude. I could go on, but I digress.



Sid was a warrior. She pitched four innings. Recorded five strikeouts. Batted seven times. Scored three times. Hard to believe, but the team really is getting better each game. Some things are starting to come natural. They looked and played like a team at times. However, there is still such a looooong way to go.

Emmy Joy keeps on practicing and practicing and practicing. The Bad Girls are itching to play a real game. They have several scheduled soon.



Many are turned off by this year's Final Four teams. I say bah humbug to you all. These teams are there because they earned the right. Traditional powers are missing this year: Kentucky (too young and selfish), Kansas (too pompous), UNC (too young) and UCLA (just plain bad) did not make it. How can you not root for Butler (Hoosiers redeaux.)? For Michigan Stare (Izzo is a legend in the making.)? For West Virgina (Huggy Bear brings his alma mater back to the top.)? For Duke (Well, I get it about Duke. They're the Yankees of college hoops.)? It certainly beats continued coverage about Eldrick.

Having a great week: The Butler Bulldogs. What a great story. Regardless if they win or lose against Duke tomorrow night, their story is one for the ages. I see a movie about them coming out. Hopefully not Hoosiers, part two. Duke is also having a great week. Their first title match since '01. Should be a fun game to watch.

Not so good: Jesse James. (See Tiger posts.) ESPN's Erin Andrews is still dealing with wackos. I hope she finds a line of work that takes her out of the spotlight. Denard Span and his Mom. Check out this link: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Of-all-the-luck-Denard-Span-hits-his-own-mother?urn=mlb,231403. Our buddy MeyMey. We hope you heal quickly!

Mazol to tov to Liz and Jeff!
MLB season begins tonight Can't wait.
Have a great week everyone!
The Sports Guy