All good things must come to an end. Another Nomberg marathoner. Say what?

Hey sportsfans!

The Lady Knights took on the Sulligent Blue Devils this past Thursday night in the Northwest Sub-Regional round of the Class 2A playoffs. Sulligent High School (20-11) is located in Lamar County in western Alabama. Its name is in honor of Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, member of the United States Senate from Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, with 9.4% unemployment in a population of 14,564. Its county seat is Vernon and it is a prohibition or dry county.

The Blue Devils feature a 6' Allstar C/F Senior Laura Ashley Dean with all the skills to play on the next level. They also feature lefty shooting twins, Precious and Miracle Bonman. No joke.

Below is the letter I recently penned to Emily that discusses this game:

Dear Emily,                                                                February 14, 2013

Wow. What a game! You guys took Sulligent to the wire tonight. This was the best game of the year. Bodies flying everywhere. Hustling from whistle to whistle. Lots of communication all game. This sub-regional tournament game at Altamont tonight was a real treat for all of us in the stands. Although you guys came up a bit short on the scoreboard, once all the emotions subside you will hopefully realize just what the team accomplished this season.

With no seniors or juniors, this year's team consisted of three sophomores, some frosh, two eighth graders and a seventh grader. Prior to the season, except for Morgan this group of newbies had very little varsity experience. Good athletes, some excellent. But never having played together as a team. To finish 15-6, area regular season and tourney champs, and to reach the sub-regionals is just outstanding.

Think back about the team camp you guys attended last summer at Birmingham Southern. Now compare how you guys played then to how you played tonight. No comparison. Back then you were a collection of athletes learning your way. Junior varsity teams were giving you guys fits at that camp. You looked lost. Lots of arguing and very little positive communication on the court. Tonight you guys played like a real team. A force to be reckoned with. Coach Matt molded you guys this season into a really good team. Next season you guys should be recognized as one of the upcoming coming 2A squads.

Now back to tonight. You are so young and inexperienced that I do not think you realized who or what you were up against. You were charged with guarding one of the best 2A players in the state. #22 is a senior, almost 6' and has all the tools of a college player. Having scouted her earlier this week, she showed some serious skills against Cold Springs, the best 2A team. Tonight she was harassed all game by you along with the double teams. She did not have her best game.

Against constant double teaming and a tough press, you helped limit #22 to way below her season averages. Wasn't even close. She was not the reason her team won tonight. They had to rely on others. You have a lot to be proud of. You all do. What a resume' builder tonight was for the team and you. Tonight was a growing game. Now you know what it's like to play in a pressure playoff game. Games like this will help you next season and beyond.

I'm glad you were emotional after this game. It shows how much you care. I know it hurts. Let it. Remember tonight in the back of your memory. And then move on. Time for bigger and better things. Lacrosse practice is Saturday morning. Coach Tim is expecting you for track practice on Monday.

In closing, a round of applause is in order for the members of this year's squad: Taylor Young, Katie Wright, Morgan Smoke, Katie O'Neal, Molly Kauper, Lilly Sharp, Aarthi Namasivayam, Cat Harris, Emily Taylor, you, Coach Dahlgren and Coach Matt. Kudos.

Can't wait for next season.
Love,
Dad

Em took Friday off from sports. Saturday morning she was on the lacrosse field practicing with her team. No rest when you are 14! Games begin at the end of the month. Both girls are also in pre-season for track and field. The first meet is in a few weeks. Sid's Show of Shows is also opening in two weeks.

During this past beautiful Saturday morning, Lilly "Five Minute Miler" Nomberg took the mean streets of downtown Birmingham for the annual Mercedes Kids Marathon. While being escorted by Sid the Kid (seen below in the 2004 Race), unlike the UD Misplacement Event of 2005, Lilly was not subjected to being separated from her cousin. Lil was awesome as she covered the mile in record time.

Having a great week: The Colorado State men's basketball team is at #24 in this week's AP poll, the first time the Rams have been ranked in the poll since 1954. Danica Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole Sunday, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any race in NASCAR's premier circuit. It's by far the biggest achievement of her stock-car career. The University of Alabama women's gymnastics team got its 106th straight victory over Auburn on Friday by a score of 197.650 to 196.575.

Not having a great week: It was announced this by the IOC that Greco Roman Wrestling  will be dropped dropped from 2020 Olympics. Wrestling has been part of the Olympics since the 1896 Games in Greece. Three Alabama Crimson Tide football players have been arrested on felony burglary charges for attacking and robbing two students, while a fourth player was arrested for using a stolen credit card. In its first game since Nerlens Noel suffered a season-ending ACL injury, Kentucky lost to Tennessee 88-58 on Saturday. It was the Vols' biggest-ever margin of victory over the Wildcats.

Happy Purim!
More awesome birthdays to celebrate this week and next.
Have a great week everyone!
The Sports Guy

Class 2A, Area 13 Champs. A new era begins.

Hey sportsfans!

"If you keep it close, the refs will take the game over." Observed the wise sage, Mack (#10, guard) Krell. Monday night was a prime example. The refs must have been watching a different game than was being played on the court. More about this later.

In the second round of the area tourney at Altamont, the Lady Knights (14-5) decided to treat the fans to a real nailbiter against Vincent. Down 9-1 in the first quarter with Morgan on the bench with two fouls, the team was all out of sorts from the beginning. Vincent was playing its best game of the year and was all business. They held our guys without a field goal until the five minute mark of the second quarter. Slowly climbing out the hole, heading into the half the girls were down just 13-10 but had three players on the verge of foul trouble.

More of the same in the third period. It was as if the Lady Knights were already looking past the team they had beaten twice this year. Most coaches will tell you that it is very tough to beat the same team three times in a given season. This mentality almost caught up to the Lady Knights. Almost.

Down by eight again starting the fourth period, the girls realized their season would be over if they didn't get to business in the final eight minutes. Coach Matt must have gotten their attention in the quarter changeover because they blitzed the visiting Vincent squad 16-7 in the final period. Clinging on for dear life in the final three minutes, the Lady Knights took home the 33-32 victory at the buzzer.

This was Em's "Michael Jordan flu game." She was fighting a cold while alternating breathing techniques just to grab enough air as she hauled it up and down the court. Coming off the bench, Em chipped in four points, including the go ahead points with two minutes to go. She played most the game and was a warrior. Within thirty minutes of the game ending she was fast asleep for the night. Twelve hours later she emerged to take meds, Gatorade and back to bed.

Now back to the refs. These stripes were just awful. Granted my hoops career officially ended after 9th grade, but I recognize stuff. If it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it sure isn't a mongoose. These three stooges must have had a vendetta, just not sure who it was against. Time after time, the ref furthest away from the play would call the foul against our girls. The home team twice as many calls as Vincent. It was embarrassing. How a ref forty feet away from a play can see through three players to call a hand check is just head shaking. Thankfully Coach Matt had the girls mentally prepared to play through the adversarial calls. I hope they retire soon.

By squeaking by Vincent, the Lady Knights earned a birth in the Class 2A, Area 13 Championship game against Fultondale. Since the two teams made it into the area finals, both teams are assured to make it to the next round of the playoffs. On Saturday afternoon the two teams collided for the third time this year with the  rights on the line to remain home to host the subregional round later this week.

This was a much different game from earlier in the week. The Lady Knights came out running from the opening tip and scored in the first minute of play. They built a 23-18 lead at half largely on the inside play of Molly (10 points), outside shooting by Cat (10 points) and tough trapping defense by Aarthi, Taylor, Morgan nd others. I bet #32 for Fultondale is still having nightmares about Aarthi. Playing without their strongest shooter, Fultondale dressed only seven. This lack of depth played a big part in the second half.

By the fourth quarter the Fultondale players were holding their sides and gasping for air. The Lady Knights are in great shape and it helped them pull away for a 43-35 victory and capture the area crown. This is Altamont's 8th straight Area Tourney Championship. Even with several meds onboard, Em was not 100%. She played sparingly, but did contribute on both ends of the court. She hit a nice 10' jumper in the third and snagged a couple of boards.

Not too many who know this program would have expected these girls to do so well this year. Much credit to Coach Matt for guiding these girls into a very good team. What a great year of maturation, improvement and team work. Regardless of far much further they go in the tournament they have much to be proud of. The future isvery bright for this team.

Now at 15-5 (10-0), the Lady Knights will host the loser of the Cold Springs / Sulligent area final this upcoming Thursday night at Altamont. If you do not have Valentine's Day dinner plans, please consider joining us on the hill for the 7 pm tipoff.

As if dance, voice, theatre, volunteering and working are not enough, on Friday Sid the Kid embarked on a new endeavor. She has joined Em with Coach Tim's ranks on the track and field team. She is not sure which events she will compete in yet. Here are the girls last April when Sid almost ran at Cold Springs. Shades of things to come. Stay tuned ....

Meanwhile, Sid is still busily preparing for the school spring show and the May dance recital.

Having a great week: Did you see the Notre Dame /Lousiville five OT thriller won by the Irish? Longest game in Big East conference history. Fun stuff. Great article on Jay Williams, former Duke star. /a-leg-rebuilt-a-life-renewed-for-jay-williams . Did you catch SNL's take on the blackout during the Super Bowl? Good stuff: SNL spoofs CBS

Not having a great week:  As the Seattle Mariners have been in discussions with Felix Hernandez about a record-setting extension, concern has developed over the condition of his pitching elbow, a source says. The team and its franchise player had talked about a framework of a deal that would pay $175 million over the next seven seasons. Pope Benedict XVI to step down. The 85-year-old pontiff, the first to resign in nearly 600 years, says his advanced age and diminishing strength have made it too difficult to carry on.
 

Many more special birthdays this month to celebrate.

Guess who arrives this week? Once hint: They rhyme with ditchers and batchers.

Summer plans are taking shape.

Have a great week everyone!

The Sports Guy

Area Regular Season Champs. 2/2/99 plus 5115 = 14. Scholastic x9. Ravens take SB47.

Hey sportsfans!

The Lady Knights biggest game of the regular season was this past Monday. At stake was the area regular season title. With Taylor out of the lineup again with a bum ankle, it was a real team effort to get the job done. Em, Cat and others shuffled around and played quite admirably. Morgan was her usual stellar self running the floor and converting umpteen steals into layups.  Katie and Molly played very well down in the paint. Cat's "power drives" and Em's hustle all helped the Lady Knights win over Fultondale.

With the win, the Lady Knights Varsity team captured the regular season area championship for the 7th year in a row! Considering three middle schoolers contribute heavily to the team's minutes, I think this title was not nearly as expected compared to years past. Far from it. Kudos to the girls! The team finished the season with an 8-0 record in the area. 

However, no rest for the weary! Playing in their third game in five days on Tuesday took its toll on the Lady Knights. The team took on the tough Holy Spirit Titans from Tuscaloosa in their last regular season game. The Titans love the fast break offense and press on defense the entire game. Their pressure was too much for the young Lady Knights to handle.  Since this was not an area game, it really served as fast pace scrimmage. They will likely see this type of game again later in the playoffs. The loss dropped the Lady Knights record to 13-5 on the season.

Sitting in first place in the area has its advantages. The Lady Knights are now privileged to be hosting the area tourney this week and they get to sit out the first round. They will play again late in the week against the 4th vs. 5th place winner.

Having a great week: On Saturday, Emily Joy Nomberg celebrated her 14th birthday. Yes, I said 14th! Emipalooza was a big hit.

Did you know?: The Caltech baseball team defeated Pacifica 9-7 on Saturday to end a 10-year, 228-game losing streak. First win in ten years!

Did you know, part deaux?:  Courtney Upshaw must really like the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In two years, it has been two championship games and two titles. The Baltimore rookie linebacker and the Ravens defeated the 49ers 34-31 for the Super Bowl title Sunday. A year earlier, Upshaw and the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated LSU 21-0 for the BCS championship.

Uncle Satchmo recently enjoyed a tour of and dinner on Petco Park in San Diego.

Not having a great week: Construction at the Birmingham Barons' new $64 million ballpark was delayed with the discovery of a 100-foot sinkhole at the ballpark's entrance. City officials say the sinkhole has been repaired but forced the relocation of sewer lines. Auburn University is planning one final roll of the historic Toomer's Corner Oaks this spring before the trees are removed.

The 7th-8th grade hoops team recently celebrated its undefeated season with a team dinner to Ichiban.

Haven't had enough of the BSC championship game? This is pretty good. Check out this video: Alabama-vs-Notre-Dame-Apollo-13-style

I would hate to sit behind this guy at UA hoops game.

Sid and Em were recently awarded nine combined  Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition Awards. Way to go, girls! Photos to follow.
The Baltimore Ravens won an exciting SB47.  Blackout. Ray's last game. Boldin was a beast. Jones was lightening fast. Niners just didn't get it done.
Pitchers and Catchers are coming! Pitchers and Catchers are coming! Pitchers and Catchers are coming! Pitchers and Catchers are coming! Pitchers and Catchers are coming!
Have a great week everyone!
The Sports Guy