Lots and lots of candles. Top Ten ranking. Scholars Four tourney. Bowl season. Big year in sports.

Hey sportsfans!

While winning 8 of their first 10 games, the Lady Knights hot start was noticed by the voters as they are now ranked #10 in the most recent 2A Girls polls (out of 61 teams).  It's a familiar spot for them during the past several years. That's all good for now, but it does not mean a hill of beans unless they keep winning area games. 

This past weekend Altamont hosted the annual Scholars Four tourney. Randolph School in Huntsville (5A), Montgomery Academy (3A) and Westminster from Oak Mountain (1A) rounded out the field. This tourney has been played annually after fall finals during the past almost twenty years. 

The Lady Knights opened the tournament with an impressive 33-16 victory over Westminster. This is the second time these two teams played in the last two weeks with Altamont winning both games. Em played most of the game as she rotated between forward and center. This was not much of a challenge for the Lady Knights. 

During Saturday afternoon in the championship game, Altamont took on the Randolph Raiders. This one was not pretty. The bigger, faster and much taller 5A Raiders made our Lady Knights look quite pedestrian. Crawling, actually. During the first half the home team was 1 for 17 from the field and 4 of 10 from the line as they trailed 20-6 going into the half.

The second half was not much better. In the 42-19 loss the team never looked in sync. They ended the game  4 of 34 from the field. That won't beat a rec league team. This might have been the worst game of the season thus far. Maybe they should chalk it up to a post-finals letdown. Maybe more likely it's because the Raiders averaged 4-6" more height per player. The loss dropped their record to 9-3 (2-0). 

Em played tough in this game, maybe a little too tough. She caught a wicked elbow to the jaw in the first half and then late in the fourth quarter a point blank pass pancaked her face from two feet away. See below. Ouch. She's tough though. . 

No scheduled games for the next two weeks. The girls will have this week off from games and will resume with area games after the new year. Excellent time for a well earned break.

Very proud of the boys team that won the Scholars Four tourney by soundly defeated Randolph in the finals. They are currently ranked in the 2A Top Ten at #8.

Weather permitting Em will work on her lax skills in preparation for a big showcase in Atlanta in a few weeks. She's in Knoxville for part of this week at a youth group convention.

Happy Hanukkah! 

Did you see USA Coach Joey Jones catch a cleat to the nose in their bowl games against Bowling Green? Broken and bloody, he kept on coaching. Tough loss. Any bowls you are looking forward to seeing? In addition to the Rose and Sugar bowls, Chick-fil-A Peach (TCU-Ole Miss) and Capital One Orange (Ga. Tech-Miss St.) should be good ones. 

What are the most notable sports stories from 2014? How about these to name just a few: Little Leaguer Mo’ne Davis, Jeter's retirement, NFL dealing with domestic violence and concussions, Michael Sam comes out, Johnny Football’s daily news feed, Bumgarner's October,  College Football Playoff, Jameis Winston’s legal and campus problems, the fall of Donald Sterling, and UConn men and women capture hoops titles on back to back nights. Looking to more in 2015.

Besides sleeping, Sid is working on her skateboard and rollerskating skills during the break. Photos hopefully to follow.

That's all for now. Have a healthy and happy new year, everyone!

The Sports Guy

Chamillionaire has nothing on the Lady Knights. They just keep on rollin'. Siddy G is heading for a new record. Are you ready for 24th of Kislev, 5775?

Hey sportsfans!

Tuesday night the Lady Knights moved to 7-2 (1-0) on the season with a excellent win over Westminster High School - Oak Mountain. 

What's the opposite of good? Bad. That's how this game started for our girls. In the opening half they had way too many turnovers only to be supported by ice cold shooting from the field. Layups hit the side of the backboard. Air balls. Passes into the stands. Some underthebreath grumbling, and not just by the parents. I guess the players ate snickers bars while KP was giving them his best Vince Lombardi speech in the locker room. Clinging to a 20-18 lead at the break, some serious discussions must have been made.  

Whatever happened at the half made all the difference. The Lady Knights woke up and shut down Westminster, limiting them to four points for the rest of the game. They were smothering on defense. The amoeba defense was all over the place. Although Westminster played eleven girls, sometimes subbing 4-5 at the time, our girls were not affected due to superior conditioning and mental focus. During one possession in the third period, the Black and Gold were so strict on defense they did not allow a shot during almost forty seconds before the other guys threw the ball out of bounds. Slapping the ground and staying in excellent basketball positioning, the home team was in sync. All during the second half they harassed Westminster's ballhandlers on many others possessions into turnovers that lead to layups going the other way. 

Emily played three different positions during the game, including center for a few minutes. She had great footwork, lots of hustle and played staunch defense. She's working on her shot from the perimeter and made some nice decisions getting the rock to teammates for easy scores. Her contributions may not show up directly on the scoreboard but are certainly seen from stands.

Once Altamont's finals are concluded, these same two teams will play again in the Scholars Four tournament this upcoming Friday at Altamont.

Last Friday night the girls played against area foe Southeastern High School from Blount County. This was a key area game featuring teams that had never played each other. Altamont started strong and never trailed in the game. In the 40-35 victory, Em put in six points as she rotated between guard, forward and center. At times she was assigned to guard a girl who was four inches taller and more than seventy-five pounds heavier. Em had success when fronting her; however, guarding from behind was not advisable. Live and learn.  This was a good win for the Lady Knights who are now 8-2 (2-0) on the season, and look to move into the 2A Top 10 rankings this week.

Sid survived her first semester finals and is now sleeping through December. Can't blame her. Big semester.  We've been putting food outside her door. It keeps disappearing so we think she's doing okay.  Just kidding, of course! She's doing great. 

How 'bout them Cowboys? They looked tough against the Eagles and now control the division. Adrian Peterson just doesn't get it. His appeal of his NFL suspension was denied on Friday, meaning Peterson has been barred from all league and team activities until April 15. I hope he starts listening and understanding soon. Johnny Football has a loooong way to go. Looked lost yesterday in his first start.

78 days until spring training days. Will the Braves add some more bats? 

Lauren Hill, the Mount St. Joseph University women's basketball player with an inoperable brain tumor, scored in her first official home game on Saturday against Franklin College.

As of Friday it's being reported that South Carolina has sold only 700 tickets of its 8,000 allotment for the Independence Bowl. I guess the fans are not looking forward to playing Miami in Shreveport on Dec. 27th. Can't blame them. I see Miami wining that bowl game. 

What's happening on the 24th of Kislev, 5775? This Tuesday night we light candles. How about you? We might light up to 25 menorahs this year. 

Have a great week everyone!

The Sports Guy 

Busy week for the Lady Knights. Homecoming sweep. Demise of UAB football program.

Hey sportsfans! 

Monday night's game against Shades Mountain Christian at home was another blowout. In the 52–13 victory, the starters played a little more than a quarter of the game, allowing the subs to get lots of valuable playing time. They played quite well. The win improved the team to record to 5-1 (1-0).

Tuesday night the team took on 6A Hewitt Trussville at home. In a rematch from a few weeks ago, the Lady Knights were looking to improve their play against the much larger school. Same results from last time they played. Loss. Glad to see them go away. 5-2 (1-0). Moving on. 

Friday night was Homecoming on the Hill. The lady Knights took care of Holy Family (no Springs girls team this year), 40-19, while the boys trounced Springs, 54-24. The girls improved their record to 6-2 (1-0). Area games are slated for this upcoming week.  

So sad that UAB killed its football program. Not enough money or support. This pretty much sums up the situation:

Sid is finishing finals early this week. Em starts hers next week. Will be glad to see Sid's smiling face around the house for a few weeks, 
Hanukkah is right around the corner. How many latkes can you eat? Might try grilled cheese latkes.
Em was invited to participate in lax recruiting showcase in Atlanta in a few weeks. Might do another one in Charlotte. Things are heating up in lax world. Trying to firm up her summer plans. 
Baylor and TCU are left out in the cold. The committee picked the correct Final 4. The bowls match-ups look great. 

Have a great week everyone! 
The sports Guy