Not a bad day off

I chose to go out to Parkers Chapel on my day off Thursday. The Lady Trojans played Bearden and, although I expected PC to win, I still wanted to see the game and keep some stats.
It was a good couple of hours. Parkers Chapel looked good in its mercy rule victory.
Dana Gray was red-hot, scoring 20 points in the first half, including four 3-pointers in a row. Freshman Savanna Langston continues to improve and the Lady Trojans forced some turnovers with their press.
Overall, it was a good game for the local team - a performance I was glad I saw.
It was a fun night overall, actually.
At halftime, former Union All-Stater Jeni (Saunders) Martin shot free throws for charity. Jeni missed the first free throw. Actually, it was a practice shot and she air balled it. But, she proceeded to hit 8-of-10, including probably the last five or six in a row.
She actually showed a better touch than she did in high school. Her sister Teri Poole was almost as happy as she was when Jeni made the game-winning shot in the state tournament as a senior.
Seeing Jeni and both her sisters was a fun reminder of those ol' Lady Cyclone days.
Like I said, it was a fun night all around. Mike LaRue let me sit at the scorer's table - an honor normally reserved for white people. The ladies running the clock fed me chicken fingers and fries and, when PC triggered the mercy rule, one of the women started singing a mercy rule song, "Run the clock, run the clock, yeah, yeah, run the clock."
You won't find entertainment like that on TV.

Sit and win or start and lose?

A pair of former Union County girls are on opposite ends of the Gulf South Conference, playing very different roles for their respective teams.
Julie Smith, who is coming off knee surgery, sees limited minutes at Arkansas Tech. Smith has been used mainly as a shooter off the bench and she leads the conference at 59.3 percent from 3-point range. The Golden Suns, by the way, are 16-2, tied for first in the West Division and ranked 24th in the nation.
Maranda Parker, a true freshman, has started 12 of Ouachita Baptist's 17 games. She's averaging 27.1 minutes per game and putting 5.7 points and 3.2 boards while playing guard. The Lady Tigers, however, are languishing near the bottom of the league. They beat SAU on Saturday to improve to 1-4 in league play. SAU, which includes Ellana White, is 0-3.
I asked Parker and Smith to compare their positions. Here's the question:
Would you rather get just a couple of minutes on a first place team or start for a last place team?
"Why can't I play minutes on a team that at least goes .500?" asked Parker. "Well right now, I'm doing the last one which I still like because I never thought I would be starting as a freshman. yet I want our team to do well. I don't want to lose all the time. so really neither situation is any fun. because yeah, I would enjoy celebrating with my teammates and stuff after a big victory; it still wouldn't feel the same because I didn't play a major part in it. And, losing all the time just gets more and more frustrating and the team gets discouraged more after a loss. I guess I would rather play more than anything and at least fight for my team."
"Thanks for asking hard questions," said Smith. "I believe either situation would be a little upsetting. Winning is great, but I still get disappointed when I don't get to play as much as I want. On the other hand, I hate losing. I've played on winning teams my whole life, and as much as I want to say it doesn't mean that much, I can't. Don't get me wrong, I want to play as many minutes as I can, but I can learn a different role if need be so my team can be successful. I have been able to go to Florida twice. The last trip was for the NCAA Regional Tournament. Even though I did not get to play because of my injury, it was still a great experience. I hope I can be apart of it again this year. All in all, I have really enjoyed my experience with the Golden Suns, and I am glad I've had the opportunity to be on a winning team."

Hit My Music

I sat in the hospitality room at Dual State with Camden News sports editor Kelly Blair the other day. We discussed, among other things, who we felt were the best wrestling tag teams in history.
I gave it a little thought and decided to unveil the most prestigious list in the history of sports entertainment.
Here is my list of wrestling's best ever in a host of categories:

Tag Teams
5. Afa and Sika – The Wild Samoans
4. Four Horsemen – The Andersons
3. Dudley Boyz
2. Freebirds
1. Road Warriors

Female Wrestlers
5. Fabulous Moolah
4. Cheerleader Melissa
3. Madusa Micelli
2. Molly Holly
1. Lita

Eye Candy (Valets & Managers)
5. Miss Elizabeth
4. Stacy Keibler
3. Fallen Angel
2. Missy Hyatt
1. Sunny

Bad Guys
5. Ernie Ladd
4. Abdullah the Butcher
3. Scott Steiner
2. Buck Robley
1. Jake Roberts

Good Guys
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin
4. Shawn Michaels
3. The Rock
2. Kerry Von Erick
1. Dusty Rhodes

Best on the mic
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin
4. Michael Hayes
3. The Rock
2. Dusty Rhodes
1. Ric Flair

Silent But Deadly (Don't speak. Don't need to)
5. Kabuki
4. Sabu
3. Kamala
2. Abdullah the Butcher
1. Great Muta

Best Gimmicks
5. Evil Undertaker
4. White Boy Challenge
3. Million Dollar Man
2. Goldberg, who’s next?
1. The People’s Champ

Worst Gimmicks
5. Doink the Clown
4. Red Rooster
3. Mr. Ass
2. Great Kahli
1. Anything involving Sid Vicious

Best Cliques
5. The Von Ericks
4. Hart Foundation
3. DX
2. NWO
1. Four Horsemen

Best Finishers
5. Widow’s Peak
4. DDT
3. Van Daminator
2. Heart punch
1. Stunner

Worst Finishers
5. Stratusfaction
4. Diamond Cutter
3. Last Ride
2. Rock Bottom
1. Pedigree

Best Submissions
5. Tazmission
4. Crippler Crossface
3. Figure Four
2. Sharpshooter
1. Ankle Lock

Best Entrances
5. Gangrel through ring of fire
4. Goldberg
3. Chris Candido – Back in black
2. Triple H
1. Freebirds – the originators

Best wrestler
5. Chris Benoit
4. Harley Race
3. Ric Flair
2. Ricky Steamboat
1. Kurt Angle

Best High Flyer
5. Superfly Jimmy Snuka
4. Sabu
3. Jeff Hardy
2. AJ Styles
1. Rob Van Dam

Most Overrated
5. Hulk Hogan
4. The Miz
3. Chris Jericho
2. Trish Stratus
1. John Cena

Most Underrated
5. Justin Credible
4. Gangrel
3. Lance Storm
2. Carlito
1. D-Lo Brown

Best Comedians
5. Ernest “The Cat” Miller
4. Edge & Christian
3. DX
2. Roddy Piper
1. The Rock

Most Effective Moves
5. Thumb to the eye
4. Blatant choke
3. Low blow
2. DDT
1. Rake across the eyes

Most Useless Moves
5. Tarantula
4. Worm
3. People’s Elbow
2. Spinarooni
1. Chest chop

Baddest Brothas
5. Tony Atlas
4. Ernie Ladd
3. Booker T.
2. Thunderbolt Patterson
1. Junkyard Dog

Baddest Rednecks
5. Dick Murdock
4. Stan Hansen
3. Terry Gordy
2. Big Bossman
1. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Pretty Boys
5. Gino Hernandez
4. Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert
3. Michael Hayes
2. Jimmy Garvin
1. Kerry Von Erich

Guys I’d Least Like To Fight
5. Bam Bam Bigelow
4. Vader
3. Undertaker
2. Ox Baker
1. Abdullah the Butcher

Overall Greatest of all Time
5. Dusty Rhodes
4. The Rock
3. Kurt Angle
2. Triple H
1. Ric Flair

Dual State under way

Congratulations to the three Union County teams who advanced at Dual State this week. Parkers Chapel, Norphlet and Strong won with three totally different types of performances.
The Lady Trojans had a tough draw but showed some toughness and a little bit of spunk with their first round win over Hamburg. The Lady Lions are a feisty squad and pushed Parkers Chapel physically.
I've questioned the toughness of Mark Young's girls. They showed me a little something, something. I liked what I saw.
The Lady Leopards weren't pushed or even pressed as they crushed Dermott. Dermott had a decent girls program just a few years ago. The Lady Rams have definitely fallen off the girls basketball map, however.
Norphlet didn't have to break a sweat. But, give 'em credit, they beat a bad team down just like you're supposed to.
Wednesday, Strong looked like it was going to make quick work of Summerfield. But, the Lady Bulldogs blew a 17-3 second quarter lead and actually trailed by five a couple times in the second half.
What looked like a laugher turned into a bonafide dogfight. Of course, nobody beats the Lady Bulldogs in a dogfight.
Strong prevailed, making hustle plays down the stretch. I swear, I've never seen a team shoot so bad, yet score so many points. Strong made one shot from outside the lane. I'm not even playing. They made one shot outside of the paint the entire game.
In a game of H-O-R-S-E, I'm taking Parkers Chapel. In a track meet, I take Norphlet. But, in a game of basketball, it's hard to overlook a team that can win a game while shooting like crap.

Greatest player ever?

I was flipping the channels the other morning at about 3:30 as I always do. I stumbled across the Australian Open with top-ranked Roger Federer tied with his opponent 3-3 in the fifth set.
I know a lot of folks don't like tennis. But, anyone who likes sports and competition, I defy you to stumble into this match at this point and not watch it.
I'm not hugely interested in men's tennis. I just assumed, because the tennis people tell me, that Federer is the greatest player of all time. I've never really watched for myself, though.
Okay, now I understand what those folks are talking about.
The man was brilliant, especially on big points. He waited for his opportunity and when his big-serving opponent slipped up, the match was over.
Just like that.
It was a great match. More importantly, I got to see why Federer is the most dominant athlete in the world at his sport.
While I'm in the tennis mode, I watched Serena Williams lose to Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals. It bothers me that anytime one of the Williams sisters lose, the American announcers question their effort, heart, desire, preparation, etc.
Everyone can have a bad day. But, apparently that's not allowed for the Williams sisters.
Just as appalling is the lack of respect given to Jankovic, who played some darn good tennis, yet was given little to no credit for the biggest win in her career.
I don't watch tennis often and, after listening to the American slanted coverage, I remember why I don't get more into it.
Sorry, I'll talk about basketball next time.

Girls basketball - frustrating

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Refereeing a basketball game is a thankless job that I want no part of trying to do. I try not to criticize people who do something I know I could not do.
However, it just frustrates me how often local refs use the bail out calls during girls basketball games. You know the calls - traveling and jump ball.
Those are the only calls you'll see throughout most girls games and it's getting more and more frustrating. I don't understand how a girl can make the same exact move that a boy makes, and she draws a whistle while it's a no-call in the boys game.
I don't understand how a girl can get a defensive rebound and have three defenders jump on her to force a jump ball. If she raises her elbows or tries to protect the ball and keep the defenders off of her, the girl gets called for an offensive foul or even a flagrant foul.
This doesn't happen like that in the boys game.
I don't understand why the shooters and ball handlers aren't protected in the girls game. You can push a ball handler out of bounds and it's either a no call or, more likely, traveling.
A lot of fans like to say girls don't have the same skill level as boys. That's not always the case. Sometimes girls aren't allowed to play the same game as the boys.
As a fan, that's frustrating.
* * *
Thursday was a busy night around the Gulf South Conference.
At Arkansas Tech, Julie Smith hit a pair of free throws in the Golden Suns' 78-70 win over Christian Brothers.
Maranda Parker scored eight points with five rebounds, two assists and four steals but Ouachita Baptist still fell to UA-Monticello 62-54.
Southern Arkansas University's Ellana White scored her first college points, hitting a 3-pointer in the Lady Riders' 77-59 loss to Henderson State.
Also, the coach at Carl Albert confirmed Brittany Johnson will be a medical redshirt this season.

In the record books

Former Union County standout Julie Smith etched her name in the Arkansas Tech record book on Tuesday. The sophomore hit eight 3-pointers in a 113-33 win over Rhema Bible College in Broken Arrow, Okla.
Smith, who led the way for Tech with a career-high 24 points, set a new single-game Tech record with eight three-pointers in the game, breaking the old mark of seven set by Dawn Grell against Arkansas-Monticello in 1994.
Smith was 8-of-9 from 3-point range and scored her 24 points in 16 minutes of action.
“Julie is a great three-point shooter,” said Arkansas Tech coach Dave Wilburs. “If she is open, she’ll knock it down. We’ve seen it in practice every day and tonight we saw it in a game.”
Smith, who played at Union and El Dorado before graduating from Hot Springs Lakeside, currently leads the Gulf South Conference in 3-point percentage. In 10 games, she’s hit 14-of-22 for 63.6 percent.

On the road again

The Arkansas Activities Association announced the sites for the upcoming basketball regional and state tournaments. I am not a happy fat man.
Our 2A regional tournament will once again be in hostile territory as Caddo Hills was awarded the event. Mt. Ida hosted the regional last year, giving teams from the other conference an obvious homecourt edge.
If teams from the 7A East want to get to state, they're going to have to be tough and not expect a lot of breaks. I'm not worried about Strong's girls but Parkers Chapel, in particular, will have to show a lot of determination and desire and prove it can fight through adversity.
The Lady Bulldogs have done this in the past. The jury is still out on the Lady Trojans.
Smackover will also have to win on the road if it wants to get to state. Centerpoint is, once again, the host of the 3A Region 4 Tournament. The Lady Bucks laid an egg in the first round of the regional last year. Like the Lady Trojans, they still have to prove they can overcome some bad breaks and just gut-out a win.
If we get some teams through the regional, Jessieville will host the 2A State Tournament (I like) and Cave City will host the 3A Tournament. As far as I'm concerned, Cave City might as well be Islamabad.
Cave City?
***
For all you Marandalynn Parker fans, Saturday might be a good chance to see the former Lady Bulldog playing at the college level. The price is certainly right.
The Ouachita Baptist University men’s and women’s basketball teams open Gulf South Conference action Saturday at Bill Vining Arena against Delta State.
Admission to both games is free with perishable items to be donated to the Arkadelphia Food Bank. Free popcorn will be available with a purchase of a drink.
“I feel like this is a good opportunity for Ouachita to engage with and give back to the community,” Tigers Director of Athletics David Sharp said.
The Ouachita Baptist women’s game tips-off at 3:00 p.m. against No. 2 Delta State, with the men’s contest to follow at 5:00 p.m.

It ain't great but it's free

Yeah, yeah, I haven't posted in a couple of days. Hey, this stuff is free. What other writer shares their brilliance with you for free?
I saw a good game Tuesday when PC lost at Strong 39-36.
It was a good, hard-fought game between two solid but flawed teams. Both squads missed too many free throws for my taste.
The junior high game between the two schools was actually much better played down the stretch with big, big, huge, monstrous shots knocked down by multiple players on both teams.
Strong's 53-52 win on a shot at the buzzer ended Parkers Chapel's 26-game junior high winning streak.
In other senior high games Tuesday, Smackover beat Harmony Grove 57-20, Norphlet beat Bearden 50-36 and El Dorado won at Sheridan 39-33.
On Friday, while I'd love to see Smackover's league matchup against Lake Village, I'm gonna go back to El Dog to see if the Lady Wildcats can beat Lake Hamilton. If El Dorado wins, it will be in the hunt. It's a big game.
I'll catch up with Smackover in the next few days. I want to see England's Sharnice Reed, who scored 49 points in a 68-66 loss to Lake Village last week.
This is already a strange season. I've never gone into January without a dominant team in the area. That is the case this year and, no, I don't like it.
Hopefully, someone will get hot down the stretch.

It takes one parent

El Dorado coaches Corey Smith and Henry Harrell gave me more reasons to not be a basketball coach.
The coaches talked about some of the players' parents, including one who was unhappy, not with the amount of shots their child was taking but with the amount of shots one of the other children was taking.
Another parent was not pleased with the way the starting lineups were announced. He felt his daughter should be announced last.
But, just when you're about to lose faith in all humanity, Coach Harrell told me the story of another parent. The daddy called Harrell and told him his daughter skipped the team's practice to go shopping.
The daddy informed the coach that he talked to his daughter and told her she needed to be at practice. The girl said she'd rather go to the mall with her sister.
The daddy then told the coach, "Handle it however you want to handle it."
Finally, an old-school parent - I thought they were all gone.
I love it, not only does the father drop dime on his child, he tells the coach he's okay with whatever punishment he deems satisfactory.
I guess for every three parents who just doesn't understand what a "team" is all about, there is one who still gets it. It's that one parent who keeps coaches from losing their minds.