Hey sportsfans!
Fifty years from now, many, many more will claim to have been inside Jordan Hare Stadium for the 2013 Iron Bowl. In reality, 90k were inside the stadium for the game and an estimated 75k more were on campus for the game. Much has been written about this epic game so I will not add too much more, but this has to have been the most exciting and memorable ending to a college football game ever. So much was at stake. Such an awesome last few minutes. Such an unpredictable result. Such passion and emotion!
Here are some links to some of the better write-ups about the game:
Greatest ending in sports.
Top 10 college football games endings.
Awesome fan reactions.
The Science of It.
Someone's ashes were spread on the field.
Murder after the game.
Classy Bama fan leaves tip for Auburn waitress.
Bama fans - things are going to be okay.
Last Sunday night we watched the student best the teacher. UAB vs. University of North Carolina at UAB's Bartow Arena. Current UAB Coach, Jarod Hasse, played guard for Roy Williams at Kansas in the mid-90s, invited his mentor to play a regular season game at UAB. On paper, this was no contest. UNC is a perennial ACC power with top recruits coming in every year. UAB is a middle of the pack Conference USA member with very little resume in comparison. Hasse is a second year coach for the Blazers with 22 wins in his short head coaching career. Williams has more than 700 wins in his Hall of Fame career. The Tar Heels have won five NCAA Tournament Championships (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009) which is tied for third-most all-time. In 104 years of hoops the Tar Heels have won more then 2000 games. UAB’s history is not even in the same ballpark.
The home town crowd saw a real treat as David again slayed Goliath. Big time. The Blazers came out punching and ran out to a 12 point halftime lead. With an enthusiastic crowd of almost 9,000 fans (about half were Tar Heels) the Green and Gold closed out the game in style with a four point victory. Big win for a scrappy team. Maybe UNC was overlooking UAB. They had just defeated defending champ Louisville the week before and were scheduled to play another powerhouse in #1 Michigan State later in the week. (Crushed the Spartans.) However, the Tar Heels did lose to Belmont (a very good small school) earlier last month. Either way, UAB was the better team this night. Great win.
USC has hired Steve Sarkisian. Breathe easy Vandy vans. Awful hire by USC. It's time to #AnchorDown. Hope VU ponies up to lock up CJF for many years to come. Back to back 9-win seasons is unprecedented at Vanderbilt.
All-World receiver and future first round draft pick, #87 JMatt, saved the Dores bacon yet again. His awesome 4th and 12 catch in double coverage kept the last drive alive against Wake Forest. This catch led to the last minute game winning field goal to push the Dores record to 8-4.
Em's Lady Knights took on The Holy Family Mighty Tornadoes last Tuesday night in area play. Playing at Holy Family's home box of a gym, the Lady Knights looked to continue their winning ways against this area opponent. The Tornadoes featured four starters who wore glasses. We recognized two players from last year, but nothing really memorable.
Things did not go well early on. The Lady Knights could not get into sync early in the game and found themselves down 8-2 at the end of the first quarter. Emily and Aarthi were battling against their guards for every possession, but our guys just could not convert layups or sink their free throws. As a result, the deficit grew to 20-9 by halftime.
With three starters each playing with three fouls in the third quarter, Em, Aarthi and Molly, were very careful not to dig a deeper hole on the scoreboard. On the strength of pressing the inbounds, the Lady Knights were able to pull within four at the close of the third period. Things were looking good; however, with a little more than six minutes left in the fourth period Em was called for her fifth foul and had to take a seat. Bummer. This did give the team to rely on others and it proved to be a good thing.
The team rallied the rest of the quarter and played some scrappy ball. With ten seconds left in the game, Aarthi stole a pass giving the team one last chance for the win. Tonight though it was not meant to be. None of the four attempts inside the paint found the bottom of the net. The clock expired during the frantic scrum with no basket being converted.
The 35-34 loss put their record at 1-2 on the season. This was their first loss to Holy Family in several years. The team must keep working on the fundamentals. Layups and free throws. Better days ahead for the Lady Knights.
Homecoming 2013. The annual grudge match against Indian Springs School took place this past Friday night on The Hill. Although Springs is 3A and Altamont is 2A, these two schools have had a heated rivalry for many, many years. Last year, the boys battled in an overtime thriller won by Springs at their place. Here is the recap from last year's thriller:
3 overtime thriller.
Historically, Altamont Lady Knights have had years of success against their rivals, Indian Springs. These two schools enjoy a mutual dislike for each other. Whether competing on the sports field or in the classroom, these kids are always keeping tabs on each other. Heaven help the rare student who transfers from one school to the other.
Em and her teammates were looking to keep their winning ways against Springs, but it was not meant to be this time. Despite a strong second half defense, the Lady Knights came up short on the scoreboard. This game belonged to Springs. The loss drops the Lady Knight to 1-3 (0-1) on the season.
Em had several boards and steals to go along with one free throw made. On a positive note, Katie returned to the active lineup and contributed several strong minutes. In fact, she pulled a rebound within ten seconds of coming in to play and established her presence. Caroline continued her strong play with ten rebounds and lots of great hustle. Lilly and Aarthi each had a few buckets.
Several of these Lady Knights are very new to the game. Recently recruited to the team, some have either never played organized hoops or haven't been on a team since they were very young. Coach KP hopes these new players will eat some minutes each game to let the starters take a breather. Still a long way to go for this to be successful.
The girls do have positive attitudes and that counts for a lot.
The team will practice the next two weeks around final exams. They play again in the annual Scholars Four Tourney in Huntsville at the beginning of the Winter Holidays.
The boys Homecoming game was a different story. The Knights came out on fire and showed who was Boss early on. They shot close to 80% in the first half with several threes that complimented a strong inside game. Justin and Alden were tough inside, and the four rotating guards were slick and smooth operators. Combining their hot shooting with a smothering defense pressured the Springs guards into many turnovers and bad shots. Racing out to a 14 point lead at the half, the Knights looked to put this rivalry game away in style. Coach Barry was still yelling nonetheless.
Well, our buddy (#10 in the program and #1 in our hearts) Mack "My mom says I can never go to Disney" Krell, wasn't buying what Altamont was selling. Undeterred by the raucous home crowd, Mack must have been loving the atmosphere. Clearly, after chatting up opposing players and students in the crowd, he knocked down four clutch 3s and dished out seven assists. Mack was willing his team back into the game even when others around him were not playing well. Springs pulled to within two points in the fourth before the Knights put the game away. Despite Mack's heroics, the final score was 44-34 with Altamont victorious at Homecoming. These two schools will pair off again in mid-January down at Springs. I bet that game will be closer at the end.
Auburn trounced Mizzou in the SEC Title game. It looked like a Pac-12 game. They looked nearly unstoppable on offense. Auburn v. FSU in the title game will be fun.
Looks like the Dores are bowling in B'ham on Jan 4th against the Houston Cougars in the BBVA Compass Bank Bowl. I'm now taking reservations for a pre-game BBQ at our house. Let me know if you're coming over!
Very proud of Sid for competing in the State Finals of the Trumbauer acting competition. Dance and voice recitals are next week. Part of Senior privileges means little to no finals. Way to go, Siddy!
Been awhile since we've been to Disney. Hmmm.
Have a great week everyone!
The Sports Guy
