Final Four. Rams > Bucs. 1948 > 1908. Destruction before the construction.

Hey Sportsfans!

Final Four.

Magical words to any high school sports team. A goal. A dream. Just get there. Altamont's volleyball team got there. Final Four at the Birmingham Crossplex. Great season. Just a little short of the big prize. In the semi-finals, the Knights lead the eventual State Champs, St. Luke's, 2-1 games, and ahead 16-15 and looking to close out the match, but could not hang on. Although St. Luke's won the thrilling match, the Knights have much to be proud. Highest rankings in school history by finishing in the top four with a 23-5 record. These girls should be very proud of their season and representing their school. Kudos to Ashley, Lucy and the other seniors who lead this talented group of athletes.  The following day St. Luke’s (46-14) won its first state volleyball championship, taking the Class 2A championship back to Mobile with after a 28-26, 25-11, 25-13 victory over Winston County.

Friday night we headed over to the Hoover Met for a nationally ranked match-up between #7 (MaxPreps) Grayson Rams from Atlanta being hosted by the #29 Hoover Bucs. Coming into the game Grayson (8-1) was ranked #1 in 7A Georgia polls. Hoover (8-2) was ranked #2 in the 7A Alabama standings. Both teams feature tons of talent who will be playing on Saturdays in the near future, and maybe some playing on Sundays years from now. It was great to catch up with former Northview teammate and friend #40 ILB Willie Banks. Willie went on to play at Troy State. His older son, Steven, is current defensive lineman and prospect for the Rams. 

The Rams had superior team speed  and were more disciplined during this game. Despite the refs' home cookin' (many ridiculous calls or no-calls), special team mistakes and turnovers doomed the Bucs. The final score was 36-14, but could have easily been more lopsided. The Rams took care of business when they needed to, even when the Bucs' band continued to play while the Rams had the ball. How rude!  

According to the late Coach Dennis Riddle, that Orange team from Knoxville are who we thought they were. Not very good. Butch Jones is not an SEC caliber coach. The Barners are getting better weekly. The Iron Bowl should be a doozy.  The Tide had better be prepared for Death Valley this weekend. With the Indians (last title was 1948) one game from becoming World Series Champs, Cubs  (1908) fans are already looking miserable. Pitching, pitching, pitching. Kluber, Miller and Company have been shutting down bats all post-season. MBHS Spartans lax girls team has been working out on Sundays this fall. They play in another tourney this December in Atlanta. Em has been attending the practices, but not ready to hit the field. She's instructing the defenders and hopes to be released back into the wild in a few months. Thanks Andrew!

Yea! Construction finally has begun at Altamont. New gym, driveway and much needed parking in the next few months.  Stay tuned ... While we are on this, if you would like to learn more about the project or to donate, just contact me. Or you can go online and donate directly. In the NEWS or COMMENTS section you can designate it to One More Lap.  www.altamontschool.org/giving. 

88 degrees in Birmingham for Halloween? Chocolate will melt. That's just plain wrong.  What's the over/under on how much pumpkin pie filler will Gavin and UR eat this week? More or less than 1/2 pound? Sid is hosting Mr. Hilltopper fundraiser this week. During this event Alpha Omicron Pi raises money for  the Arthritis Foundation. Mr. Hilltopper is womanless beauty pageant where all of the sororities and fraternities on campus each come up with routines and present one male as a contestant for Mr. Hilltopper.  Feast of the Roundtable is fast approaching. Sniff sniff. Signing Day is around the corner. Go Tars! What are you doing to celebrate LYB's birthday? I'm thinking rollerskating. Who gets to choose?

Save the Butterfingers for me.

Have a great week everyone! 

The Sports Guys

Dining under the stars. Southside Sukkah Stroll. HGA. Hilltop Homecoming. Piesman! 102 to 100.

Hey Sportsfans!

Saturday was Homecoming on The Hilltop. BSC v. Rhodes.  Pre-game meal was top notch! Thanks, Sid! AOPi had the best tent. No doubt. 

After Yom Kippur, Sukkot quickly follows. This holiday has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival. In modern times it's a great time to bread bread under the stars with friends and family. We celebrated different nights this week. The weather was kind.

We also walked the walk in the 17th annual Southside Sukkah Stroll. The kids are no longer kids. The adults are walking more slowly. What's up with that?

Heart Gallery's annual event was Friday night.

With Alex from Colorado this week announcing that she was committing to play at East Carolina, that makes 11 of 15  members of 2017 XTEAM to commit to playing lax in college. Here is the current list of schools: San Diego State, Ohio State, Vermont, Mercer, Arizona State, Rollins, Cal-Berkeley, Randolph-Macon, Army and SUNY-Purchase. Not too shabby. Impressive group of athletes. 

Are the Raiders really moving to Las Vegas? Smells like trouble. Josh Brown, the Giants’ kicker, admitted to domestic violence against his wife in a journal and emails, according to police documents released in Washington State on Wednesday. What a moron. Pearl Jam and Tupac are among 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees. Fans can cast one vote a day through December 5 by visiting Rock Hall. Announcement in December. Induction next April. Did you see Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer's bloody pinky? Drone attack led to ten stitches. Gross. None of the 4 teams in NLCS & ALCS have won a WS in the Wild Card era.  The hype for this World Series will be epic. Neither team has won the Series in decades. Just hope the actual games are fun.

Romo who? Dak and Zeke are turning the Cowboys into America's team again. Both having outstanding rookie seasons.  What's going on with the Fighting Irish? Texas' OT win early in the season is no longer impressive. At 2-5 with remaining games against Miami, Navy, Army, Virginia Tech and USC, it would take an amazing turnaround for the Irish to avoid their first losing season since 2007.  At 8-0 for the first time since 1941 and ranked for the first time in school history, Western Michigan is looking to surprise many. Love to see  Piesman moments. Big guys need love too. Check out some highlights here: Piesman on Twitter. Check out Last Chance U's Ronald Ollie in his Piesman moment.  Go, Big Guy, Go! Did you see the very sweet marriage proposal by the Samford football player with help of his teammates? Pretty great:  With a little help from Ed Sheeran. Have you seen the previews on the story of Maccabi Tel Aviv team that won the 1977 European Basketball Championship? Looks great: On The Map!
 

Altamont Girls Volleyball team is Class 2A Area 10 Champs! Claire Lynton, Marinna Dorolek, & Lucy Pless on All-Area Team & Ashley Sharff named MVP! On to State!

Bama rolled again this weekend.  TAMU is no longer undefeated. Another NOT! Hope #4 gets well soon. He will be greatly missed. With a rejuvenated Fournette toting the rock with gusto, the LSU game looks to be a fun one in a few weeks.

Papa had fun at Orange Beach celebrating Susan's birthday and Bama's big win. 102 days until he turns 100. Amen.

Poor Larry King ...

Chili and Game One on the porch Tuesday night. Join me! 
Ricky Bobby! Ricky Bobby! Ricky Bobby!
Have a great week everyone!
The Sports Guy

 UD had a good birthday week with his alter-ego.

13th edition of Team Kate has Hope. 10 straight. Dores spoil Homecoming. #41. Battle of Circle City.

Hey Sportsfans!

This past weekend was the annual Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Birmingham. Once again Team Kate has Hope was well represented at the race.  TKHH was small in numbers but big in spirit! In the team's 13th year, the team has raised close to $150k in the fight against breast cancer. Thank you to everyone who joined the team and raised money. Very well done! 

Happy 41st birthday to UD! I am sure that lots of BBQ is in his future.
 

The Commodores (3-4) finally won a game they weren't supposed to win. Coach Mason got his first SEC road victory in the upset win over Georgia in Athens as they spoiled Homecoming for the Dawgs. Great win. Maybe they have some life left in this year's team?  Cubs v. Nats and Indians v. Jays. Anyone have these in their MLB  final four back in April? I sure did not. Lots of power in each lineup. Cubs / Indians Series would bring record tickets prices and awesome television ratings. Bring on the chili!  Very sad to learn of the recent death of Dennis Byrd. You may recall that Byrd was very badly injured while playing for the Jets in 1992. He later rehabbed and miraculously walked again. Tragically, this past weekend he was killed in a motor vehicle collision. Inspiring man.   Bama v. TAMU. Huge top 10 game this weekend in T-town. Game Day will broadcast from there a record 16th time. Hardest decision will be which tailgate to attend. Need to review the menus first! How many years in a row have the Crimson defeated the orange? UT has not beaten Bama since the I-phone debuted. After this year's whooping, the Tide now has a 10 year win streak. 

UR was NOT in Knoxville this past weekend.

(al.com photos)

Battle at Rip Hewes kicks off this upcoming Friday night. Tigers v. Cougars this weekend. Sadly, no playoff implications on the line this year. Just bragging rights and pride.  Northview (0-8, 0-5) has now lost 11 straight games dating back to last season. Dothan (3-6) holds a 21-17 advantage in the history of the rivalry that began in 1978. Tiger have won six of the last seven games in this series.

Dinners under the sukkah all week. Join us!
Is the election over yet? Good grief. 
Have a great weekend everyone! 
The Sports Guy

Chatham County. Bean Town. D3. SNLHWTP*. Ricky Bobby's on his way.

 Hey sportsfans!

With both girls on break, neither wanted to stay in the Magic City.  Em went to Savannah (Chatham County) on a school trip, and then went with STK to Bean Town. Mix in Mack, Ginny and others and they have a winner! Too busy for Red Sox playoffs games, the crew had big fun while avoiding Hurricane Matthew.

Meanwhile ... back in town. Huddy showed off his skills at Samford and BSC ...

 

 

... and Patty's favorite #35 with his D3 #24 ranked Hendrix College (5-0) invaded the Hilltop and took home a 47-17 winner over the home BSC Panthers (1-5). The high flying Warriors are averaging 45+ points per game. They did not disappoint their fans as they steamroll their way through the Southern Athletic Association.

A few weeks ago Rob and I took our cuts at taking batting practice at the Barons stadium. One of us looked and hit great. (He's wearing the red Barons shirt). The other one *Sadly No Longer Has Warning Track Power. Blisters and all, it was fun nonetheless. Thanks for the photos, Rob!

 

 

MaddyBum can pitch. MaddyBum can rake. But so can the Cubs. Up 2-0, the Cubbies look to break the Giants Even-Year streak of titles. More importantly, the Cubs look to bring home the title for the first time in more than a century. Ticket prices are off the charts. These guys (Epstein, Vedder, Madden) look like they are having fun.

Ricky Bobby. Ricky Bobby. Ricky Bobby. What's your Halloween costume? Sukkot costume? 

Typical SEC football weekend. Vandy disappoints. Bama rolls. Oh wait ... UF wimps out and refuses to play LSU despite no real weather issues. More great games on the horizon. 

Have great week everyone!
The Sports Guy