Women’s World Cup – WWC or WWE? September 26, 2007

The U.S. women’s national team is tough, surgical staple tough. In Saturday’s quarterfinal game against England, defender Stephanie Lopez took a foot to the head and had to have five surgical staples placed in her scalp. What happened next is the astonishing part – she went back into the game after only being off the field for 80 seconds. Are you kidding me?!

And then in a game against North Korea, this happened: (yes that is blood streaming down her face)

Abby Wambach took a shot to the head that required 10 stitches. Did she go to the locker room to cry? No, she was back out on the field 10 minutes later with 10 stitches in her head! That is some serious smack down matched with unbelievable toughness and it’s all real.

These aren’t girls kicking the ball around, no sir. They are women with strength, determination, and guts. If it were me I would be on the sidelines laying down hugging a soccer ball, whaling in pain.

So ladies what about you? Have you ever been injured and gone back into play? Share your pain and glory!

Christi

Slow Pitching, Fast Tournament September 21, 2007

Slow pitch softball is on stage this weekend at the Northwest Rankin High School softball tournament. The five teams battling it out in a fast-paced, one-day tournament this Saturday are; Morton, Puckett, Eupora, Madison Central and the home team Cougars.

Madison Central’s new head coach, Kayla Watkins, will try to get the Lady Jags back to district play, but she will need the leadership of seniors like Melissa Kaye Byrd and Kristen Herrington if they want to get past Northwest Rankin in the first game of the tournament.

The Eupora Lady Eagles will most likely have ace Kayla Young on the mound to throw her perfect rainbow pitches against Puckett. and give her another win on the season. She currently has 13 wins, the seventh most in the state.

Morton will have to play back-to-back games at the tournament against Eupora and then Puckett, but they know how to play hard when game time calls. They beat NW Rankin in a two-game series earlier in the year.

Puckett could be the sleeper team with pitcher Kayla Christman, who has started every game on the mound for the Lady Wolves and lead them to a 12 -1 record. Yes, she can pitch every game because it’s slow-pitch ball.

The host team, Northwest Rankin, will play their stellar pitcher Victoria Bass who has 11 wins on the year. If the Lady Cougars can capitalize on their home field advantage, she just might add four more wins to that record.

I remember my days on the diamond playing an all-day tournament. I would sweat through my sweet visor, my jersey would be the color of the Oklahoma red dirt, and I would have a salty lip from eating way too many sunflower seeds.

So if you need a change of pace from college football, head over to the Northwest Rankin High School tournament on Saturday.

Hey batter, batter what are your predictions? Who will win the tourney?

– Christi

Northwest Rankin Tournament

9:00 Puckett vs. NWR

10:30 NWR vs. Madison Central

12:00 Eupora vs. Morton

1:30 Morton vs. Puckett

3:00 Madison Central vs. Eupora

4:30 Madison Central vs. Puckett

6:00 NWR vs. Eupora

7:30 NWR vs. Morton

Game of the Week – Take Team William September 19, 2007

In this week’s Sonic Game of the Week, Provine vs. Wingfield, expect to hear the name William A LOT. Sure hope the Public Address Announcer brings his A game!

Provine has scored 110 points in their last three games thanks to touchdown runs from William Moore, a fumble return from William Crump, rushing yards from Willie Hawkins and dual rushing and receiving performances from William Amos. Told you, that’s a lot of Williams in the playbook! The coaches can probably just yell William from the sidelines and watch a play unfold. The Provine Rams can run the ball, throw the ball, play solid D and operate their special teams. Wingfield will have to be on their game if they want to stop the Williamssss from scoring over 43 points, the amount the Falcons have averaged in their first three games of the season.

Game strategy:
Provine Rams – stop the run to stop the Wingfield Falcons. With 293 rushing yards and only 2 yards passing on the year, the single threat comes from running back Samuel Randall. The Rams have to get to Randall before he gets to the end zone to keep points off the board.
Wingfield Falcons – the Falcon coaches better come prepared and utilize some creative play calling combined with solid defense if they want to compete. Their front four and secondary will have to play all 100% all four quarters to contain the Rams. They can light it up!

Who do you think Will(iam) win the Sonic Game of the week?

Christi

Lady Law September 14, 2007

Big props go out to Mississippi’s own Sarah Thomas. On Saturday she will become the first woman to officiate a football game in the former NCAA Division I-A, now called the Football Subdivision, as a line judge in the Jacksonville State vs. Memphis game.

From Walnut Grove, Sarah has officiated high school games for 11 years, including two state championship games. She is the only woman out of 21 alternate officials chosen to referee one, possibly two, conference games within the C-USA this season.

Sarah makes her living as a pharmaceutical rep, but moonlights as a football official, how cool is that?! She gets to blow a whistle and make game changing calls, or maybe she won’t be put in that position – either way I’m sure she will have critics asking: Will she be able to hold her own when she makes a controversial call against the home team? What if she gets hit by a player? Will the stripes compliment her figure? I mean seriously, if anyone asks those questions they should get a penalty for being stupid. She is going to dominate and make history for the ladies.

So what that she hasn’t ever played in a college football game, and she’s not a guy… she’s a woman so naturally she knows everything.

Christi

The Mistress September 12, 2007

She always shows up this time of the year uninvited, but certainly not unannounced. Our husbands have known she was on her way ever since they were dreaming about their fantasy teams back in June! Originally she would only come around on Sunday… now it’s Thursday, Sunday Night and Monday, allowing my husband to spend more time with her than ever before. And he doesn’t even try to hide her! He sits on the couch like he’s on a casual date eating chips and drinking soda watching her every move.

Who is this mistress? She is the National Football League; I like to call her the NFL for short. I’ve had to either embrace the NFL Mistress or deny her existence. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve decided to accept it and make friends with her. It was either that or deny my husband’s existence!

So I made a compromise, she can come around on Sunday afternoon and Monday night, but I have to keep an eye on her… and no matter the day or time the Saints play we can all watch. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy her company. The NFL mistress is competitive, entertaining, exciting, emotional, and tough – kind of like me.

Ladies give your husband’s his “air supply” when they say they can’t live without the NFL, but make sure he knows who is number one on game day.

Christi

High School Football – Tell Me More September 5, 2007

Hey sports fans and moms of the Quarterback club… tell me more. This is my first football season in the Jackson Metro area, and after week one it has become obvious that it’s kind of a big deal. Help me get my A game together with your Xs and Os, Explanations and Opinions.

* Who is the best football team in the area?
* What is the best rivalry?
* Who has the best school spirit?

Every week BankPlus Blitz 16 will feature the Sonic game of the week so let it be known that your team is the team to watch… and you might just find yourself or MVP son on TV. To get the ball rolling I’ll propose two match ups to watch this Friday night

Provine at Callaway
Picayune at Madison Central

Hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend!

Christi

Not Impressed September 1, 2007

College football is back! Can I get an amen? Something comes alive in all of us this time of the year. We all have our reasons for the season: the school spirit, the tailgating, the band, the Hail Mary’s or the underdog,

If you’re a STATE fan the latter would be your reason. Opening the 2007 college football season on a nationally televised game, the Bulldogs were the underdogs playing against the #2 team in the nation, LSU. I watched the game in the comfort of home on my couch with a roof over my head and had the option to change the channel, but I didn’t. As an underdog fan I was hopeful STATE could pull the upset of the season in the first game of the year, but sadly I was disappointed in the second half when it became obvious which team made adjustments. The Bulldogs game plan was one of survival.

Here are my game notes (from the couch). In the first half the series that could have given the Dawgs momentum came when Jimmie Holmes sacked LSU quarterback Matt Flynn on the LSU 2 for a loss of 8 yards, and then on the next drive the STATE defense stopped Charles Scott for no gain, forcing the punt. The cowbells were ringing, the energy was high, the offensive had the ball on the 45 and then…STATE Quarterback Mike Henig threw an interception. The momentum was gone, the energy sucked out of the stadium, the cowbells silent. That in a nutshell is how the rest of the game went.

I got a little excited when Coach Croom came out with the Flea Flicker! The flea flicker in the second quarter, are you serious? I love that play, it’s by far my favorite, but in the first half? That’s desperation.

And so the story goes. The desperation bulldogs lost 45-0 in a game highlighted by 6 interceptions from QB Mike Henig. I’ll give the guy some credit, he’s a tough player. Even with two broken collarbones last season he was making blocks and getting into the dog pile. I don’t think it’s smart, but I do think it requires heart.

It’s obvious the STATE Bulldogs are going to have to rely heavily on their defense, and the fans are going to have to rely on their faith to get them through the season. I know it’s tough to watch your team lose, but when it’s the first game of the college football season and the nation is watching, you should stick around until at least the two-minute mark. Instead the commentators do what they’re paid to do and commented on the lack of people in the stands. It was half empty with 14 minutes left in the 4th quarter! Let’s show some dedication STATE fans, your team needs it! I mean it’s not that bad, you could be a Murray State fan, their team lost to Louisville, 73 – 10! Or you could be Zach Smith – ouch. Hope you’re world is getting right again Zach.

Reporting from the couch, Christi Steckel. Back to you.

Let’s hear your thoughts on the game!!!!