all things Haley and all things All MIddle Georgia football

So the word is out now.
I have talked about it forever and wanted to do it for the last three years but the time has come.
I am writing a book
I know I know, what could you possible write a book about ?
I have had two ideas for a book in the last six years. The first one was about a coach who lost his first 20 games as a head coach and got fired, then got another head coaching job about 10 years later. Well he lost 10 more games in a row the next year. To make matters worse his son was the starting quarterback. All I needed was one win that next year and I had a book.
He lost 10 more games and got fired with 40 straight losses as a head coach.
No story to tell because I needed one win from hos son at quarterback.
I often thought that my first attempt at a book would have to be about swimming, and maybe even the perils I put my kids through growing up. I think I have told you before that I totally sucked at being a parent until about 10 years ago. But in the big picture, who wants to read about how much I sucked. I mean my kids grew up fairly normal and one of em is even a swim coach. So he grew to love that pool.
Then she came into my life as quickly as sitting at the press table at a basketball game. She was a fairly normal looking 15 year old girl who was a pretty decent basketball player. She wasn't great, but she wasn't the focus of the game either.
I heard that first year that she had Cystic Fibrosis but I didn't know what it was. I probably didn't know what it was until three years later till I did my story on her.
A life changing story, for me at least.
So, with her consent and her parents support, Haley Gordon will become a book.
The only thing is, I had no idea how to write a book.
Enter Rick Limpert.
Rick Limpert the number one sports gadget guy in the world who gets paid to do reviews on all sorts of things. These people have him review luxury vacation spots or basketball gadgets, and everything in between. I envy the guy.
I met Rick at the professional tennis tournament in Macon a few years back and by the end of the first year we were friends. The next year, because I knew he has written books, I pitched my Haley book idea to him.
He liked it.
And now two years later, we are all in on the project.
No really, we are all in to the point that we have a title and we have taken pictures for the cover.
Stay tuned for more info.
I have to congratulate that Macon Telegraph for a stellar job on All Middle Georgia selections. I mean how difficult is it with some of the choices they had to make. Jake Fromm is a second teamer and Bradley Hunnicutt is honorable mention. But they got it right because Khari Lane had a magical season. Zach Harvey was a second teamer ? Yes this year he was because Ahmad Barron and Lynn J Dixon had to be first team guys. I studies the selections and could not find one pick that did not deserve to be where they were.
So here comes basketball folks. Have a great holiday

Macon Basketball

I saw a very interesting basketball game Friday night and it proved once again that the basketball in this town is very good.
But what is the message when over 500 people were turned away at the gate because the gym was already filled to capacity.
I knew that I would need to get to the Westside-Central game very early for several reasons. Sure this is a huge rivalry, maybe the best high school rivalry in the city. But add to the fact that a Central player left for Westside this year just added to the entire night.
So, I arrived at Westside at 6:00 pm and had to park in front of the school because the place was already packed.
As I got near the main gate, I saw probably 500 folks in line waiting to get in and none of them were happy. I don't really know what the slowness was caused by, but I am thinking it was because every one of the people had to buy a ticket, wait in line, and then go through the metal detector.
Thankfully I was able to get in with my press pass.
During the girls game their was some sort of altercation going on at the front entrance and I later learned that the fans had pushed a door off the hinges and fans were flying through the opening. That lasted for a few minutes before security and coaches were able to put a stop to it. Pepper spray seems to stop most things.
The game itself lived up to most of the hype. Khavon Moore led his team early and Westside jumped out to an early lead, and Central transfer Kentrevious Jones dominated the entire night. But Central, with no one on the court taller than maybe 6'3 just battled and battled all night and came out with the win.
Antarius McCoy has been a mainstay for the Central basketball team since the 9th grade, but he has never really got the credit he deserves. He is a prolific three shooter, but Friday night he showed so much more on the basketball court. He went inside to score, and showed the ability to get to the free throw line the entire night. But the leadership he showed during Westsides runs were what I noticed. His face never changed one time and he was a true leader on the court.
If I had to take one coach in Macon to win a game it would be Central coach Andre Taylor. That's not to say that Macon is not loaded with excellent basketball coaches, but it is quite obvious that Coach Taylor is a special man. Those kids gave him everything they had.
I know it is before Christmas and basketball games at this time of year don't really show what kind of teams everyone has, but I feel like it is a safe bet that Westside and Central will have great years, and Khavon and Big K will not be challenged as being the best two players in Macon.
One thing is for sure, no matter what it costs, the next time these two teams play needs to be at a larger venue. I think you would have about 6,000 folks coming to watch these two teams.
I have not seen anyone else play this year , but it looks like Northeast is somewhat better than they were last year, while Tattnall upset ELCA Friday night. Watch out for Jimmy Marshall, who is finally fully recovered from an ACL a few years ago.
That's if for today. More to come on high school basketball

can they ? will they ?

ELCA is the beast that everyone wants to beat.
Wesleyan actually got two chances to do it this year, and played them close the first time, but ELCA blew them out 35-13 last week. ELCA ran for 342 yards and they held Wesleyan to only 48.

So, how do you beat ELCA ?
I am not sure that you do. However, how does any one team that is maybe not as talented as the other pull an upset ?
The answer to that is turnovers and taking advantage of every opportunity.
I feel like Wesleyan had some chances early, but had to settle for two early field goals for a 6-0 lead instead of 14-0.
ELCA is going to score points. They have done it all year and there is not reason to believe they wont this week. But Tattnall has talented players who are play makers and of they can force a few turnovers then they have a chance.
Tattnall will have to move the football consistently and in all reality, they have struggled at times against good teams. However, when they have had to score this year they have found a way.
The urgency has to start at the very beginning of the game. They cannot fall behind in this game.
Yes Tattnall is in for quite a battle, but who can possibly say that these guys are not ready for this. ELCA has been on cruise control, coasting through everyone, while Tattnall has had to battle for every yard over the last two games.

I am glad that Tattnall is still playing. They have kids on that team that deserve the chance to play college football and several of them are not loaded with offers. Are you telling me that Tattnall does not have at least five players or more that should have multiple offers ? I am not going to name them because I will forget someone, but off the top of my head I can think of 5 or 6 that can play at the d1 or d2 level.
Maybe this game against big time competition will get a few of them a few more offers.
My mind will be on the "Square" friday night, and I will never ever doubt they they will play their best game of the year and try to slay the dragon.

Mary Persons also lived to play another day with a very impressive win and who is to say that they cannnot keep winning. They will have a difficult time this week against Cartersville who is 13-0 on the year.
Macon County and Khari Lane and his 50 touchdown passes will have a home game against undefeated ECI, who has a quarterback with 32 touchdown passes. This may be the most interesting game to watch and expect it to take 45 to win the game.
Peach County at 12-1  runs into GAC who also comes in at 12-1 but Peach is at home where they are very tough to beat.

WHY Tattnall Square won and a few tidbits

I watched Tattnall Square play friday night from the comfort of my living room and a few bud lights.
It was honestly the first high school football game I have payed to see in like, nine years.
And it was worth every penny.
I was fairly sure after the first quarter that Tattnall may have a difficult night, Calvary was big in the backfield and physical on defense and I would have to say they looked like the better team early. But as they have done all year, Tattnall found a way.
Leading the way early was Vasco Sanders. I  firmly believe that the team that scores first in an evenly matched high school game often wins. If that is true Vasco may have had the biggest play of the year when he blocked the field goal. I saw it and I saw the replay, and it was amazing. The guy should get offers just from the athleticism he showed from that play.
I saw Tattnall's offense get ripped a little bit early with the hits they were taking. But Miles Morris came up with a huge throw to a wide open Antoine Davis for a long touchdown pass for the second huge play of the game. Yes he was wide open , but the qb got rocked pretty good and still made the pass and Antoine caught the ball. How many times have you seen UGA receivers drop wide open passes?
So we get to the half in a tie ball game and Tattnall had like 70 yards rushing. So they come out and run the football in the third quarter and the miracle man gets going. Barron for 32 Barron for 25 and a score. Tattnall leads.
That Barron touchdown was the third big play of the game.
I cant remember everything that happened after all of this, but I know Calvary went on about a nine minute drive to tie it, and then both teams punted, and I remember a big third down pass on 3rd and 9 to Jimmy Marshall from Miles Morris that would have to go down as the fourth big play of the game.
A few plays later Destin Mack rips off a 17 yard run on another third down to give Tattnall the lead.
Big play number 5.
I wasn't so sure that Calvary would not answer that score and god knows they tried but Christian and Sean, and Dayton and Calvin, and Antoine, and all the others, well, they said no and came up with a stop when they had to. .
After that stop the stupid Calvary Day announcer was calling it a night and said the game was over. But hey I can count and figured that Tattnall needed a first down to end it. About that time the miracle man, you know the 5'7 170 pounder with the heart of a 6'3 220 guy, ends it with an 81 yarder.
Ball Game and its over now.
We will talk about next weeks game next week but it will be david vs goliath for sure. But hey, who says it cant be done, or wont be done. Good, Better, Best right ?
My hat is off to Northside, Peach County,Mary Persons, and Macon County for keeping Middle Georgia alive.
Did you know that Khari Lane from Macon County has thrown 50 touchdowns this year with only one interception?
Sorry I hat to throw that in because its a staggering number
See yaal soon

Tattnall and a few other things

I do not profess to be an expert on Calvary Day, the team who will try to  end Tattnall Squares undefeated season.
I know they are undefeated also
I know that Rick Tomberlin is one of the best coaches in the state
I know that they are run oriented
And I am fairly sure that they will end the season friday night
You see Tattnall is a team of destiny this year
and you just cannot mess with a good destiny story

Here is why I think it is a destiny issue
First of all last years coach decides to ditch Tattnall tradition and run the spread offense. He didn't decide this at the beginning of the year, he decided it in the middle of the year.
I was not around Tattnall much, but I am sure that went over well (no)
So that coach decides to leave or realizes he better leave and Tattnall hires a young guy, who will run the wing-t, a more Tattnall like offense. Chance Jones had the experience at a major private school, Prince Avenue, and was ready to be a head coach.
Tattnall was smart enough to go after him.
Now here is where the destiny to the story comes in.
Ronnie Jones retired I think right before Chance got the job. You know Ronnie Jones, the guy who won so many football games running this little offense and winning with whoever he had running the football. I mean the man has  329 wins.
You know Ronnie Jones, he is also Chances dad.
One can only imagine how that phone call went
Chance "Hey dad you know I got the Tattnall job and I was wondering if you wanted to be on my staff ?
Ronnie "Well you know, this is your show now and I am sure you don't need me hanging around and getting in your way. Plus I have all these other plans so I just don't know about it.
Chance: "Please "
Ronnie "I don't own anything but green shirts Chance, but if you really want me to , ok I will do it.

So Chance locks Ronnie down.
Then the craziness starts. Bryan Way retires as the WRHS football coach and he has his time in in the public school system. I have known Bryan Way since high school  and I know he is 54 years old, just like me. Yes WRHS class of 1980. So what do men do when they "retire" at 54 ?
According to my wife, they get another job that maybe doesn't have as much pressure as the one before. So Tattnall gets Bryan Way, a former offensive lineman, to coach the offensive line and teach at the school. So lets add another 92 wins as a football coach to the staff.
Jim Massey gets fired for not being able to win basketball games at Mount de Sales, which was a tall order to do because MDS has been on a downward trend athletically, but look what happens here. Jim Massey looks around and rings Tattnall's phone. Jim Massey, probably the best AP history teacher in town,(both my kids attest to that) and maybe the best assistant coach around here, ends up at
you guessed it, Tattnall.
I have known Jim for 25 or so years. He once called me on a Saturday morning and asked me to go to a UGA-Auburn game at Auburn and I said sure. So we get to Columbus and I am driving and I am like where do we go now? Jim is a very smart man and he said I have no clue but follow that car with the Auburn flags on it, he is probably going to the game. So  we followed that car for 50 or so miles into the  dark night of Alabama until that car pulled into their driveway. Not a good thing for us, but we eventually found Auburn Alabama.
John Garrett Abernathy is a MDS graduate that I know well and he adds that youthful enthusiasm to the staff as well as someone who just ended his college career.
And he ends up as another piece of the magical Tattnall pie.
Ahmad Barron , what can I say. In the spread , he would have been just another player. In the wing T, he is the miracle man. Vasco, Zion, Jimmy, Antoine, Destin, Miles and that offensive line will produce more success Friday night.
The holdover from the last staff, Travis Absher, has a defense with Christian, and Sean and Dayton and Calvin and so many others that have stopped folks when they have to.
A bunch of seniors not quite ready to play a last high school football game ?
Its destiny I'm telling you
Tattnall 23
Calvary 16
My hat is off to Stratford for giving Tattnall all they could handle last week. I truly believe the Eagles are a top 5 team in the state and just ran into a very difficult matchup. Macon football is so much better this year than it has been in a long time, and it is time for everyone to support the one school that is left from our town

Pics of the week

I know everyone has been waiting all week for me to finalize my picks for the week.
It has been a very good week numbers wise for a small town bloggers like me, with upwards of 600 hits this week, as I head towards the magic 20,000 number.
These picks this week were somewhat agonizing, because as I looked at them, I realized many great high school football players will play their last football game.


Northside however will not be one of them. I used the word cupcake at least once last week and I believe the Eagles get the cupcake award this weekend with an easy win over Langston Hughes.


Jones County however was not so lucky. They get Buford, who is always good and this year is no exception , as they are 10- on the year. The only loss was to Roswell who is undefeated. If any coach in this area can go on the road and get a win, it is Justin Rogers, but I don't think it will happen. Hunnicutt to Singleton happens for the last time Friday night. But what a run those seniors had, basically turning Jones County into a football power.


I fought myself over the Mary Persons -Heritage game also. Heritage has lost three games this year, but they put up tons of points. Brian Nelson wins football games every year, and has some great players on both sides of the football. But my gut says that the Bulldogs will give up too many points to a passing offense to win. I believe Zach Harvey and Malik Herring  have their season end Friday night as Heritage edges them in a close game.


None of that for Peach County however. I believe they get an impressive win


FPD has been under achieving all year and end up with the football team nobody wants to play in Eagles Landing. It wont be pretty as Eagles Landing knocks the Vikings out of post season play


I am also fairly confident with my picks of Jefferson beating West Laurens and Pepperell taking out Dodge County, while WACO wins a close game over Chatooga.


John Milledge and JT Wall win a close one over Gatewood for the GISA state championship.


I guess I have to make a pick on Tattnall and Stratford. I have leaned towards both teams over the last week, but I believe I knew on Monday who I would pick. I was working in a story and talking to a coach who had played both teams and I asked him who would win, and he did not think twice about it.He gave me reasons why they would win and I guess I bought in. I am sure I will be getting pictures of the scoreboard if I miss this pick , but after much consideration, I will go with a Sean Brown led defense and a Ahmad Barron, Jimmy Marshall led offense to win a very very close game over Stratford.
Lets go with Tattnall  20 Stratford 17

Tattnall will win because ?

First of all, I never said yesterday was the FINAL choice of who I thought would win the Tattnall and Stratford game.
But many of you assumed that I was picking Stratford after yesterday and many of you sent quality messages to me in my twitter mailbox.
Thank you to all those who cared. I am glad that people are reading.
However yesterday was just a tease as to whom I think will actually win.
that's not saying today is another tease, but I will say that I will blog again tomorrow
HMMM did I tell you anything ?
It should be ok that some people doubted how good  Tattnall was early in the season. Their first six opponents ended the year with a combined 12-50 record. That is about as bad as it can get. But guess what ? The last four have a combined record of  27-17, and if you take Washington Wilkes out of the equation , the other three schools Tattnall played is a combined 23-10. That's not to bad.
So, while coasting and resting and developing through a terrible early season schedule, Tattnall is battle tested , with wins over playoff teams Twiggs County, FPD, and Stratford in three consecutive weekends.
You see Tattnall is a team of destiny, because they played a crappy, terrible, horrible, disgustingly easy schedule, but all that did was give them the confidence they needed after a four win season a year ago. Wins make believers and I feel like that is what has happened to them this year.
And that is why they will take down a very good Stratford team on Friday night.
Lets take a look at the offense. Tattnall runs the wing-t and they have moved the ball against almost everyone. They struggled to run the football against FPD, but when it got down to crunch time, they pounded the ball at FPD with Ahmad Barron over and over again. I was watching the last few drives and I was like, hey they are running the football out of the conventional I formation with a fullback and a running back. No said Chance Jones, they were still in the wing-t it was just an older version of it that they thought would work. Now who else can do that ?
I said the key word for Tattnall already. Barron. Barron, the best back in Macon this year by far, came through against FPD, he came through against Stratford, and he has had a spectacular senior season. He is obviously the key. However the Trojans are not a one trick pony on offense because they have Zion Blasingame, Antoine Davis, Destin Mack, and Vasco Sanders, all capable running backs who can make a difference in a big game like this. But what I think makes them special is that last year, Miles Morris was throwing the ball all over the place with success, and he has quality weapons on the outside with Jimmy Marshall and Calvin Slaughter to throw the ball too. I believe Tattnall throws it a little bit early to open things up. And I believe that Jimmy Marshall could do a lot more than just block in this game.
I worry about the defense a little bit, but Christian Rodgers and Dayton Steinmeyer are proven seniors who have been around forever. Remember Stratford only scored three points against them the last time they played.
Tattnall will not be out coached despite having a first year guy at the helm. I have talked about that enough. But they sure wont lose any coaching battle with that staff.
So how in the world can undefeated Tattnall lose this game at home in front of 10,000 screaming fans. As of today, I am not sure they can.
But hey, don't believe me , go see it

why the Eagles will fly friday night

Stratford Academy and Tattnall Square are both very very very good football teams.
And to tell the truth it is really sad that they have to play so early in the playoffs.
But its happening this Friday night, and both teams could not be more excited.
Let me get one thing straight.
In a story earlier, one of my comments was that these two teams hated each other.
I was wrong. They do not hate each other. I have had so many people tell me that from both teams over the last three weeks that I truly believe it. But one thing is for sure and that is that they respect each others football teams. (they may save the hate for another Macon school)
But make no doubt, both teams want the W in the worst way on Friday night.
Right now I think the game favors Stratford. I mean Tattnall needed a small miracle two weeks ago from miracle maker Ahmad Barron to get the win, and the fact that the final was 7-3 leaves Stratford confident.
Does it make Tattnall uneasy ? I think maybe that it does.
I saw the Eagles manhandle Holy Innocents, who was supposed to give Stratford a great challenge. But I saw a defense that hit HI early and often, and I believe, basically made the other team not want to play anymore. I don't know it for sure, but I feel like Stratford is peaking just at the right time.
Lets start with the offense.
Mark Farriba is going to run the football. If the run doesn't work , he will change it up and RUN the football. When he is in desperation mode, I think he will run the football. Kasey Sanders is rugged, Russell Mole is so fast, and Tyler Jordan is a mixture of them. They are also blessed with a quarterback in Noah Hill, a game manager who is capable of making big plays. I mean , I truly believe that they will score points against Tattnall.
The Stratford defense however, is what  makes Stratford special. Tobe Umerah deserves everything he is getting right now as a junior, but one look at them in person makes one realize very quickly that Umerah is not the only stud they have on defense. Jourdain Irvin, all 250 pounds of him, has made life miserable for opponents, and Jonathan Siegel all 155 pounds of him, hit a Holy Innocents player so hard that it was maybe the best hit I have seen this year. Stratford hits and then hits some more.
They are truly a scary bunch.
Lets not forget that they have a weapon at kicker. Jake Jamison only kicked extra points last Friday, but he has a big leg who could make a difference in a close game.
So what I am saying is, if anyone in Macon thinks that Stratford cant win this football game, they are dead wrong.
I cannot imagine the crowd, and the atmosphere for this game. It will be something the players wont forget. When I brought it up to some Stratford players, they were gleaming with excitement over the rematch.
So am I picking Stratford for the win ? Today I am , but hey I have a few more days. I will say that my pick has been turned in already, but hey that could change.
Its going to be one hell of a game, with two great coaching staffs, and the best fans in Middle Georgia.
Go see it, you wont regret.

why tattnall and stratford is the game of the year

Yep I really believe that Tattnall and Stratford is the game of the year for this area.
Why ?
Well I will tell you why
This is the biggest game if the tear in this area because we have two teams separated by a 10 minute drive on a slow day and both teams are very very very good.
What else do we need and what other games will match the hype of this one.


Look at the matchup
We have Tattnall Square, with a rookie head coach in Chance Jones, but a coaching staff with over 100 years of experience, and most of those 100 are as head coaches. Do we need to count the number of championships this group of coaches has played for ? I don't want to , but if you count region championships, we are counting on more than four fingers. Chance has his dad, Ronnie, in the press box, and how good a feeling that must be for Chance. I wish I could hear some of those talks. But Tattnall also got Brian Way to head to Macon after he retired from Warner Robins to do what he loves, which is to coach the offensive line. Lets throw in Jim Massey, one of the best assistant coaches in this area, and John Garrett Abernathy, who brings college playing experience and youth to the coaching staff.  Plus they were all smart enough to keep Travis Absher around to be the defensive coordinator.
That's pretty solid and add a bunch of seniors to the mix and you have a pretty good football team.


However, all of those intangibles may not be enough to get by Stratford. I know the Eagles have lost three games this year and lost to Tattnall a few weeks ago. But I saw them Friday night against  a team that was battle tested and ready to go and Stratford just basically whipped them in every way possible. I have seen Central,Westside, Howard, Southwest, FPD, HOCO, and everyone else around here except Northside, and Stratford was knocking people silly. I have heard it from players and coaches on both teams that the last time they played it was one of the hardest hitting games these two teams have ever played. Imagine what Friday brings.


Mark Farriba has found ways to win games this year. He will run it even if running it wont work. His teams will play defense. His teams will not be blown out. Oh my Oh my, this is going to be a game and a half.
I know you all want me to pick a winner already.
I cant do it.
I had a coach who has played both teams tell me who would win , but I cant pick it yet.
But it will be hard hitting, it will be loud, it will be spirited,
and it will be the game of the year in Macon Ga
I cant wair

I am just answering question

YES
That is it, I will just answer the questions that everyone wants to know the answers to about sports in this area.
I focus on high school but I can pretty much handle anything going on in the Middle Georgia area.
LETS START WITH AN EASY ONE
What Houston County teams will win this week.
Well that's easy for sure. Northside wins easily over Grovetown, but I am afraid that Warner Robins and Veterans both lose close games this week. But what do I know, I cant even win the pick-ems contest in the newspaper.


A report on Jones County: Ok my report says they have the coolest nickname in the area and maybe in the stats behind the Syrupmakers of Cairo. I would love to know where the Greyhounds nickname came from and I am sure its a great story. I worked in Jones County for 9 years and I don't recall seeing Greyhounds line the street running wildly through town. Then again I don't see Eagles flying through Warner Robins. Maybe some Demons, but no Eagles. Anyways, Justin Rogers is one of the better coaches in the area and he has a qb  (Hunnicutt) and a wr(Singleton) that are not quite ready to play a last game. So I like the Hounds to catch the rabbit and easily beat Wayne County.


How will the Macon public schools do this week ?
We only have two left and I think both of them have a great chance to advance. It is my belief that Westside, despite being a three seed has a better chance of winning than Southwest. Westside takes on Pierce County, who plays no defense, while Southwest has a home game against Brooks County, who is in the playoffs every year. I picked both of them to win.


Private school projections?
Well FPD would be done if the GHSA didn't stretch the class A teams to 24 this years instead of 16. I mean why not just put everyone in the playoffs. So we have teams still playing that should be watching.
FPD was a serious bubble team and I think they ended at 17, but they are playing Aquinas, who is not very good. I saw Aquinas barely beat Mount de Sales early in the year and they were not impressive. So yeah FPD will win a playoff game and everyone will be excited about it, and then, instead of a first round loss, they get beat in the second round to Eagles Landing. Then again, Aquinas is at home and they are thinking they can win this week. Ok whoever wins this game gets thrashed the next weekend.
Stratford would have made the playoffs anyways and they get a cupcake first round against Holy Innocents, and I expect that by the third quarter the clock will not be stopping. I still think Stratford is a pretty good football team, and I cant wait to fill you up on the upcoming round two game that features Tattnall and Stratford next weekend. Guess who I will pick to win that one ??


Will UGA upset Auburn this weekend -NO next question
Congrats to my twitter poll winners last week
Ahmad Barrons  gets 48% of the vote for the best high school football player in Macon, beating Tobe Umerah who got 38% of the vote. If this was a political race we would have had to have a runoff
The best quarterback in Macon went to Dalton Cox, who received 57% of the vote, followed by Jordan Slocum with 27% of the vote.
Barron easily won the best running back in Macon , taking 81% of the vote.
All of these twitter polls had right at 500 votes so that makes it somewhat legit right :)


Follow me at Stratford tomorrow night and everyone have a great week

this weeks winners

I am in a battle with several others in the Telegraphs high school pick-ems and I have a chance to at least pick up a few games on the leader, Brad Harrison. However , I could also lose a few games to him, Here is hoping for the best and here is what I see this weekend.
Northside- HOCO
Brad and Ryan Jordan go with HOCO in this game and I will admit, that thought never ever entered my mind. Although I grew up hating everything Eagle ish (except for my wife) I never even thought about picking against them in this game. Northside is a complete team and I think they may go all the way , while HOCO is just good enough to miss the playoffs this year. They have not been able to stop anyone, but  Jake Fromm will find a way to keep this game close
Northside 35 HOCO 30


Jones County - Stockbridge
Stockbridge is undefeated, Jones County is good but not great. I mean someone explain to me how they lost to Woodland 38-9 and only beat Ola 24-21. Stockbridge by the way, beat Woodland 26-10 and Ola 37-0. Justin Rogers would have to pull a rabbit our of his hat to get a win here and he usually saves those for the playoffs.
Stockbridge  34  Jones County 20


Central - Westside
All the leaders picked Westside and that is the correct pick. I don't think the Chargers have a chance to win this game. I mean I would be shocked if it was not a two touchdown win for Westside. But I have been wrong before once or twice. Westside and Savion Knowlton get it done in a must win game.
Westside 26 Central 13


Tattnall - Stratford
I wrote a lot on this game, and I will say its a big game for me because most folks picked Tattnall. Even with Zion Blasingame set to play, I still think its a terrible matchup for Tattnall going against a powerful front of Stratford. I will stick to my pick
Stratford 22 Tattnall 20


West Laurens - Upson Lee
I always lose West Laurens when I pick West Laurens so I am not sure why I am picking them to win on the road. I have seen both teams this year and Upson was impressive over Perry, but it was Perry. I saw WL stink it up against Warner Robins, so every thing says go Upson.
I cant do it
West Laurens 13 Upson Lee 10


FPD- MDS
FPD showed signs of getting healthy last week and I think that continues this week. Run the foortball Greg Moore and good things will happen. Its funny how the run sets up the pass isn't it.
FPD 41 MDS 10


Twiggs- Wilkinson
Twiggs has some anger issues and I know they have taken some beatings at Wilkinson in the past. Twiggs is for real and will roll in this game.
Twiggs 36 Wilkinson 13


Bleckley Co-Dodge
One team playing good, one team playing bad, one team needing a win worse than the other
Dodge 31 Bleckley 14
Perry -Mary Persons
Perry is better but still not in the class of a Mary Persons
Gotta take the Dawgs here
Mary Persons 30 Perry 10


Peach County- Pike County
Chad Campbell does not lose these games and his team will not look ahead to Jackson next week
Peach 34 Pike 22


Coach of the week from last week
Spoon Risper- The Seminoles went on the road and beat a good Pike County team. Everyone game up on Westside but they have won two straight and played Jackson tough , so they are primed to get a 3 seed with a win over Central. Spoon has got the job down with an inexperienced team and they are peaking at the right time.


Player of the week
Ahmad Barron_ ok so it was not his best game. He mishandled a punt in the first quarter that gave FPD three points. He dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. But when it was time to shine he did. He carried the ball almost every play in the fourth quarter and that is when he dominated. The guy is 5'7 and about 175 pounds but he is HANDS DOWN, the best back in Macon this year. If you have never seen him play, watch Darren Sproles play on Sunday and you have Ahmad Barron. The colleges are starting to notice him too. He will need a huge game Friday night against Stratford to get a win.

Stratford and Tattnall football- Does it get any better than that

Well well well look what we have happening at the end of the season.
A classic old school matchup between two teams that really do hate each other.
Oh lets not  hide it
Stratford and Tattnall do hate each other
Stratford has always been looked at as the wealthy school in Macon and Tattnall, well, maybe not so wealthy but more of a pick up truck bunch that's lives in North Macon.
They have played each other 48 times and Tattnall has won 26 times, something that doesn't sit well with Stratford.
However Stratford won last year 41-14.
Stratford is 6-2 this season and Tattnall is rolling around undefeated at 8-0. No one saw Tattnall being 8-0 this season and if someone claims they did they are lying.
Much has been said about the record of the teams that Tattnall has played this year. Yes its true, they have played a terrible schedule. Really it is worse than terrible. I mean most of the coaches that Chance Jones has coached against this year will probably get fired.
Tattnall has played four teams this year that are 1-7. They have played one team that is 2-6. The only teams they have played with winning records are Twiggs, who they caught in the third week of a FPD,Stratford, and Tattnall three game stretch, and FPD, who had been dismantled by Stratford the week before.
The total record of Tattnall opponents this year ? 
20-44
Now, lets everyone agree that Tattnall is coming off of a four win season, and really nobody knew that the teams they scheduled would be this terrible. They really can't be blamed for the schedule. All the Trojans can do is win the football games on the schedule and they have done that. But do they have chinks in the armor ?
Yes they do.
I saw FPD line up and run the football right at Tattnall- If you don't think Stratford is going to run the football right at Tattnall, then maybe you don't know Mark Farriba and offensive coordinator Cater Pierce. There is no doubt that Kasey Sanders,Russell Mole, Tyler Jordan and Drew Duehart will pose quite a challenge for Tattnalls defense.
I saw Tattnall unable to pass the football-They have not really tried to throw the football this year, but they had one completion against FPD. This tells me that they also will line up and run the football all night long. Now FPD held Tattnall down for a long time last Friday night and Stratford poses and even bigger challenge defensively with highly recruited Tobe Umerah, Tucker Massey, Jamie O'Quinn and Justin Griffin leading the way. But the guy I hear that makes the biggest difference for that defense is Jourdain Irvin. I have heard from two different coaches the guy cant be blocked.




I saw Tattnall give up 29 points to a struggling FPD offense. Now lets give FPD credit. They are pretty good and they were coming off of a terrible performance. They were motivated to run the football and score points. Do I think Stratford will score 29 points against Tattnall? No I do not. Christian Rogers, Sean Brown, Dayton Steinmeyer and Vasco Sanders will not let that happen.  Tattnall will not have to worry about the pass on Friday night because Stratford cant and wont pass. This is a mans football game and both teams will line up and pound.
Tattnall also has taken some hits in the running game. Ahmad Barron is the best running back in Macon this year, but Antoine Davis is explosive and turned the FPD game around with a kickoff return. However he went out with what looked to be an ankle issue late last game. With Zion Blasingame iffy for Friday night Tattnall could be a little thin on what has been a solid bunch for them. But it is possible that all three of those guys will play at close to full strength.
Tattnall is on that three game Twiggs, FPD and Stratford part of the schedule, while Stratford played 1-7 Wilkinson County last week.
In other words, Tattnall is worn down a bit and Stratford is fresh.


So do you want me to tell you who will win this football game ?
I think I have a pretty good feel for it.
Some will not like my decision and others will not
Lets just say this is one of three games that I have went back and fourth on all week.
The other two are Northside over HOCO and West Laurens over Upson Lee.
As for Tattnall and Stratford well I will have to go
Stratford 24 Tattnall 21
Go see a high school football game. Its a great time of the year

another great week of high school football

GAMES OF THE WEEK
I want  everyone to know that I trying hard to win the Telegraphs picks, and after last week I moved into second place , just three games behind Brad Harrison. It seems as If I am doing well with the Macon schools and not so good with everyone else. But I am fired up about being back in the mix.
Coffee County vs Northside
I refuse to miss Northside for a third straight week. Northside at home is money in the bank, as they proved last week against Lee County. Of course I went with Lee County. No more mistakes on the Eagles.
Northside 34  Coffee County 14


Southwest vs Washington County
I am thinking huge region game here. One team is new to winning football games while the other one has been a power for years. As much as I want to pick Southwest, I just cant do it. I must go with the home team.
Washington County 20 Southwest 16


Mary Persons vs West Laurens
I have readers from both of these areas and my friend Doug is always giving me grief about not ever picking West Laurens. Well I picked them once and they lost so I have no faith in them.They have been playing much better football since a terrible loss to Warner Robins, but I am going with proven system on this one. If you want to be Mary Persons you have to beat Mary Persons, and Raider Nation is not ready for Zach Harvey or Malik Herring.
Mary Persons 23  West Laurens 13


Ola vs Jones County
High scoring game but I don't think Ola can match the firepower of Hunnicutt to Singleton
Jones 41 Ola 20


Harris County vs Veterans
Veterans is another game I lose every week and this week it could happen again. Thanks to Leyton Pinckney for making me look stupid when I picked against them a week ago. I wont make that error again. Pick the home team dummy
Veterans 21 Harris County 16


Tattnall Square vs FPD
I drank the FPD kool-aid and I liked it. But all of a sudden they are struggling to make the playoffs. I am not sure what the problem is because they still have weapons and I expect them to play the game of their season on Friday night against Tattnall. I mean these guys are almost playing for their playoff lives. Here is two things that I know for surre: FPD will right the ship and make the playoffs, and as well as they play Friday night (which will be pretty good) it wont be enough to stop the Tattnall train.
Tattnall 36 FPD 28


Westside vs Pike
Westside badly needs a win to secure a playoff berth. Pike County is pretty good and at home. No reasoning to this one except I love the Spoon as a coach in a big game.
Westside 22 Pike 20


Northeast vs Dublin
Two struggling football teams tell me to take the home team
Dublin 31  Northeast 20


Twiggs County vs MDS
Twiggs is probably still mad about losing to Tattnall and they will take it out on the Cavs
Twiggs 40 MDS 6


Wilkinson vs Stratford
Ok this is not an easy game. Hear me it is not an easy game for Stratford. Wilkinson is not bad, even though they have only one win. I am betting this is a one score game into the third quarter. Stratford will not take them for granted and will find a way to set up a huge game against Tattnall the following week.
Stratford 33  Wilkinson 22


Coach of the week for last week
Southwest and Joe Dupree with a huge win over Dublin. Southwest it seems has not made the playoffs in about 200 years and they are in a prime position to get in as a 1 or 2 seed this year. Go Patriots.


Quick hitting top 20-
20 - Sean Brown- Tattnall
19-Tyler Jordan - Stratford
18-Vasco Sanders- Tattnall
17-Jimmy Marshall- Tattnall
16-Titus Moore- FPD
15- Adrian Hardwick -MDS
14- Jordan Slocum- SW
13-Markess Burton -SW
12-Torrian McSwain- FPD
11-Christian Rogers-Tattnall
10-Qua Solomon- SW
9-Dalton Cox- FPD
8-Antonio Sanders- Central
7-Nick Singleton- Jones Co
6-Zach Harvey- Mary Persons
5-Jamon Height- Twiggs
4-Ahmad Barron- Tattnall
3-Bradley Hunnicutt- Jones Co
2-Tobe Umerah- Stratford
1 Malik Herring- Mary Persons


I am sure I missed some kids and feel free to tell me about it. We have a lot of great football players in this area, so I have not caught all of them. Obviously it is more difficult to pick defensive players because stats are not seen that much, but I did the best I could.

another high school week

I am trying to get on a roll with picking high school games and I think I have somewhat of a feel for Macon teams but I am missing badly with the others. I need some good weeks and hopefully this will be the week.

HOCO- Coffee County
I picked Coffee County to win this game and I am hedging a bit right now but I will stick with my original pick, although it would not surprise me if  Jake Fromm finds a way to get a win. HOCO has not been able to run the ball and Lee County was all over him the entire game. I expect more of the same and I will  go with the home team
Coffee 36 HOCO 28

Northside vs Lee County
Talk about a huge game with two great teams. Northside is at home coming off a loss, and Lee County beat HOCO. Can Lee County beat the big two ? I think so
Lee County 23 Northside 20

Stratford vs FPD
Both teams could not handle Twiggs, and FPD struggled against winless Wilkinson before opening things up late. Stratford wants to run while FPD wants to throw. Its really a tossup of who can put points on the board and I think 20 wins it. Can FPD win without running the football ? I don't think so.
Stratford 21 FPD 20

Tattnall vs Twiggs
My goodness is does not get easier with this one. I have been on the Tattnall band wagon all year but Twiggs is a different beast. Twiggs is battle tested and Tattnall is not but I believe Tattnall is a little quicker than Stratford or FPD. Can the defense stop those Twiggs running backs ? Maybe not. But I believe that Tattnall has a little more balance than FPD or Stratford.
Tattnall 23 Twiggs  21

WACO vs Dodge County
I think this one might be a bit easier to pick. WACO has won four in a row and Dodge County shocked Dublin a week ago. I think WACO on the road is risky, however I will take
WACO 30 Dodge 22

Upson Lee vs Perry
I am so happy that Perry is finding some success in Carl Dixons second year, but Upson Lee is a pretty good football team
Upson 24 Perry 14

Jones County vs Union Grove
Maybe this will be a win for me. Hunnicutt is healthy and dealing and Union Grove has struggled.
Jones 37 Union Grove 14

Jackson vs Central
This is a game that Central needs badly but Jackson beat Westside a few weeks ago and that is a quality win. Central struggles again
Jackson 28 Central 16

Mount de Sales- Wilkinson
Wilkinson is winless but MDS is struggling. Wilkinson battled FPD a week ago while MDS struggled. Wilkinson finds a win
Wilkinson 24 MDS 20
Thomas County Central vs Veterans
I have not hit with Veterans all year and they got beat up a week ago.
TCC 27 Veterans 14

I just realized I could have a 2 win week if things dont go right,

for my rankings I decided to add Jones County, Crawford County and Mary Persons and Peach County. I still don't want to fool with the Houston County teams so lets see how it goes with a top ten but not Houston County teams
10}Crawford County
They are sitting at 3-2 and need a win badly against Dooly County this week. I had to make them a top 10 this week because of the respect I have for what Greg Street had done with this football team. They are only a few years form losing 40 straight games and the eagles have 3 wins this year. That in itself deserves a top 10 ranking.
9}Central
The Chargers have to find a way to stop the bleeding but has a record of 5-2. Jesse Hicks is working hard to get some wins and make it to state but someone else besides Antonio Sanders has to step up for the offense
8}Southwest
The Patriots are 3-3 and have two straight wins over decent football teams. They play Thursday against Dublin. If they win they are in the thick of the region race. If not they are fighting for a playoff berth. Jordan Slocum and Qua Solomon are coming on
7}FPD- I love Dalton Cox, who is putting up numbers. But they have to have success running the football to win big games. Obviously they would be higher, but I added some very good football teams to the poll.
6}Stratford
The Eagles need a big win on Friday. They are winning with defense, which is good but have to put points on the board if they are to make a playoff run
5}Twiggs
I have heard from many coaches that Twiggs and JaMon Height are the real deal and they proved they can throw the ball a little bit against Stratford. Ashley Harden might be the hottest coach in the area,
4}Tattnall Square
The Trojans finally get tested but watch out for a sophomore quarterback Miles Morris to handle it. Jimmy Marhsall might break out in the passing game and I just don't think Twiggs will shut down Barron, Davis, Sanders and Mack. Look for the defense to play big against Twiggs
3]Mary Persons
a 5-2 record against a very tough schedule and a Zack Harvey led offense makes the Bulldogs a dangerous team. Oh and lets not forget Malik Herring
2}Peach County
Chad Campbell wins, its just what he does. They are 5-1 so far and go ahead and make that 6-1 with a date with Rutland coming next
1} Jones County
Jutsin Rogers wins football games. Bradley Hunnicutt wins football games. Nick Singleton wins football games. They are a dangerous team right now

Player of the week
JaMon Height
Best running back in the area led his team to a huge win over Stratford
Coach of the week
Carl Dixon- The Perry head coach man handled Howard a week ago and he has the Panthers thinking playoffs. A win over Upson Lee puts them in a great position

this weeks game and power 7 rankings

I think you heard it here first that FPD was going to struggle with Twiggs County, but I did not think the Cobras could pull off the upset.
Boy was I wrong on that one.
I should have gone with my gut and went ahead with Twiggs in my picks.
But even though I thought FPD and the magic bubble would burst, I thought that the Vikings, with 55 players strong to Twiggs 31, would find a way to win.
But for some reason, with three linemen over 300 pounds, the ground game was anemic.
You gotta be able to run the ball if you  are playing football in this state,
Ok here are my picks for the games this week, and we have some tough ones.
HOCO vs Lee County: It is very tough for me to pick against Jake Fromm and all those receivers, Even with all the weapons in the passing game, the Bears can still run the football. I saw Lee County play Jones County, and sneak out a win, bur Bradley Hunnicutt, the best quarterback in this area not named Fromm, was hobbled the entire game. Fromm wont be hobbled and HOCO wins a tough game on the road, HOCO 31 Lee County 26
 Northside vs Valdosta: I don't know much  about Valdosta, except they have lost only one game. But hey this is Northside, the most dominant football in this area over the last 10 years or so. Gotta stick with the Eagles. Northside 24 Valdosta 21

Stratford vs Twiggs County: FPD could not stop the Twiggs run game, but Stratford is much better up front. Stratford is also battle tested. Those running backs will  have a hard time and I dont know if Twiggs can stop all the Eagle backs. It will be old fashioned football because Twiggs had 10 yards passing a week ago, which was 10 yards more than Stratford had.
In a close one  Stratford 17 Twiggs 14

Northeast vs Southwest: Northeast made my top seven last week and then got blown out. Jordan Slocum and Qua Solomon go off in this game. Southwest 34 Northeast 12

Central vs Peach County: Jesse Hicks has been winning games with smoke and mirrors but that wont win in this region. Antonio Sanders Jr, wont get loose in this game, and when he doesn't, the Chargers cant move the football, The Central slide will continue. Peach 34 Centra14

Veterans vs Bainbridge: Its a tossup but I will take a David Bruce team in most close game. Veterans 20 Bainbridge 13

Howard vs Perry: Barney Hester is at least a year away and Perry wins this one at home. Perry 22 Howard 16

Rutland vs Westside: Its a must win for both teams and I was not sure Rutland would get to two wins but they have. I don't see another as Westside is starting to get things moving. They lost to a very good Jackson team a week ago and will roll this week, Westside 36 Rutland 12

MDS vs Tattnall: Zion Blasingame will miss this game with an ankle, but Barron, Davis, Mack and Vasco Sanders had 340 yards rushing last week. MDS wont stop that run game, and if they do, watch out for Jimmy Marshall to bust out in a big way. MDS beat Tattnall a year ago, but this one will not be close. Tattnall 30 MDS 6

It is getting a bit hard to pick 7 Macon teams to put in my top seven. I guess I could sneak some others into the mix and I will do that next week if you want me to. I could add Twiggs, Crawford and Jones and I think all of these teams would make it, But I will stick to Macon this week.

7} I thought about adding Windsor at this spot but they got blown out last week. I had to take out Northeast because they got blown out last week, Howard ? well they got blown out last week.Mount de Sales got blown out last week, So by default, I will go with Rutland, who came up with a hard fought win over Kendrick last week. I will not claim to know anything about them, but head coach Mark Daniel, who got the job over some very qualified Middle Georgia coaches, gets the number seven spot before they lose to Westside.
6}Southwest- The Patriots are 2-3 and finally got out of the fog they went in after the Westside win by beating Dodge County a week ago.Slocum had a very good game and Solomon and Burton have been solid so far, but they have not found a way to run the football yet. That will change against Northeast,
5} Central- The Chargers take a big fall and I think the rest of the season will be tough for them. I think they will play Westside late in the season with a chance to make the state p layoffs as a four seed.
4}Westside is 2-5 but have played a  fairly difficult schedule. Savion Knowlton threw for 196 yards in a tough loss to Jackson and that bodes well for the Seminoles. There is no way I am betting against Spoon Risper to turn this thing around.
3}FPD-124 points in the first three games and 30 point sin the last two. The Vikings should get will against Wilkinson County, but they have to figure out a way to run the football and take some of the pressure off of Dalton Cox. The last two games they have a total of 100 yards rushing on 41 attempts. Thats not gonna be good enough as the season gets tougher. But I am sure that the Vikings are working hard on the run game this week and will be a  threat late in the season.
2}Tattnall Square- I think the Trojans are pretty good but they absolutely have not played anyone. I mean not anyone. But they can only play who is scheduled. This week it is a struggling Mount de Sales team that has been a disappointment so far this year. Tattnall seems to have a great defense, but its the offense that turns heads. We will find out soon enough though because after MDS they play Twiggs at home and then Stratford and FPD on the road. Time to step up Ahmad, Destin, Jimmy, Vasco, and Zion.
1}Stratford-a 4-1 record against a very difficult schedule lands the Eagles in the one spot. I honestly dont know much about them, but I know that they have a fantastic coaching staff and they found a senior, Russell Mole, who has barely carried the ball in his career to rush for over 200 yards last week. Everyone knows Tobe Umerah  and he leads the way for a defense that only gives up about 10 points a game. They are in for a battle with Twiggs, but Mark Farriba finds a way.

Coach of the week
Ashley Harden- Finds a way to get his undermanned Twiggs County team all the way to number one in class A public schools. What a great coaching job he has done with a down and out Twiggs team the last two years,

my sweet 7 and what i think happens this week

I know that most of you are here to see who my top team in Macon is for this week but first I thought I would talk about the games of the week for this week. I went 9-1 overall last week and I am looking to add on to that good fortune.


HERE are the games to be picked for the Telegraph.
Macon County vs Northside- It really is kind of a neat game because Dexter Copeland played at Northside and is coming in with a high scoring Macon County team. However it is Northside that they are playing and it will be a rout.  Northside 55 Macon County 28


Spalding vs Mary Persons- All I need to know about Spalding is that they almost beat HOCO last week.  Spalding 26 Mary Persons 20


Pike County vs Central- Pike is 3-1 and will be the best team that Central has played so far. I have picked Central to lose three times this year and they are 5-0 so I have not quite figured them out yet. Jesse Hicks is getting these guys to fight every game, but I don't think it will be enough this week
Pike 23 Central 20


Taylor County-Crawford County- I would love to be at this game. Greg Street had his kids believing that they can play with anyone and although they are much improved, I don't even think a huge home crowd can win this one for him.
Taylor County 36 Crawford 20
\
FPD- Twiggs - I would also love to be at this game. Ashley Harden will have the advantage of being at home for Twiggs homecoming and he wants to make a statement against FPD. I mean the entire population will be at this game and I bet Greg Moore is a little bit nervous this week. But I cant go with the upset.
FPD 31 Twiggs 23


West Laurens- Howard- First one to 17 wins. WL 21 Howard 7
Northeast -Dodge- Bruce Mullen turning the Raiders around again. NE 23 Dodge 21
Mount de Sales- Stratford- MDS is one of the most disappointing teams I have seen so far this year. I thought they would turn things around but so far, they have not shown the ability to be physical . Tobe Umerah and the Stratford D dominate this game.
Stratford 30 MDS 14
Wilkinson Co- Tattnall Square- Barron, Mack, Davis, Marshall, Blasingame, Sanders- maybe my favorite team in Macon right now.
TSA 41 Wilkinson 6


Now for my top 7
7-Northeast- moves ahead of several schools with a win last week. I think they will make it two in a row this week
6-Southwest- broke a three game losing streak last week with a win and Jordan Slocum had a big game. Look for that to continue s the Patriots fight to get into the elusive playoffs
5-Westside- They are still fighting but have to score some points.
4-Tattnall- Ok Ok I just got through saying they were maybe my favorite team so far this year. But I took a long look at my big four and I found that Tattnall has beaten four teams with a combined record of 3-16. I know they can only play who is on the schedule, but 3-16 is pretty bad. Plus it looks like another cupcake this week with 0-4 Wilkinson County. So despite having all of those weapons and a defense that has only given up 6 points,  this is the best I can do for them. Keep winning boys
3-Central- I don't know how they are winning. I mean they have very good athletes, but this win streak is due to Jesse Hicks. Give the man a raise. The teams he has played only have a 6-17 overall record, and I think the winning will end this weekend. But I would not bet on it
2-Stratford- Overall record of opponents so far is 12-5-1, which earns them the number 2 ranking. I really do not know much about the Eagles, but I know they have Umerah, who is being recruited by everyone, and I know they have a great coaching staff. I also know MDS will not be a problem for them this week
1-FPD- Yes they hold on to number one because Dalton Cox is by far the best QB in Macon, and Titus Moore and Maurice Gordon give him two big play receivers. But I am not sold on them yet and not sure even how they will do against Twiggs. But for now, they hold on to number1

Round w Macon Ga football rankings

Let me start  week two of the Macon Football rankings by saying I did not cover a Macon football team last week, but I did see a lot of highlights.
Let me also state that Jake Fromm is the best high school football player I have even seen, and this is someone that saw a WRHS running back named James Brooks gain 381 yards on 9 carries in one game. Fromm is amazing and is easily the best show in this area.
But we have many many "shows" in this area. Bradley Hunnicutt and the Jones County Greyhounds are once again on the move, and I would have to say, if you are debating going to one high school football game this year, go see the Hounds play at Jones County. It is the best place to go as far as fan support.
Ok now I will get to my new and updated Macon rankings
12) Covenant- We are talking an undefeated team from last year that made it all the way to 7 or 8 in my poll, but this year has been a different year. Quarterback Cody Farr is trying to keep his team competitive, but without Leon Simmons, who was going to be the bell cow this year but has been hampered by injury, the Rams have struggled. Still time for them however, to get healthy and make a run in the GICAA
11) Northeast-The Raiders are 0-3 and have only scored 25 total points this year, and they meet up this weekend with Central, which will make Northeast 0-4. They just cant score enough to win right now. The defense has been pretty good, giving up only 50 points thus far, but Central may hang 50 on them this weekend.
10)Windsor- The Knights move up a spot, even though they lost to Brentwood by a score of 38-20.I think they mainly moved up because Northeast showed that they weren't very good. I still like Windsor, with a 3-2 record because they can score points. Jonathan Osborn to Jaikez Mann and Marquise Jackson should work in any league. Coach Watts I urge you to throw it 25 times a game with most of the attempts going to these guys.
9)Rutland- The Canes are 1-2 on the year , but I am not positive that they will win again this year. The schedule gets much tougher, starting this week against Crisp County.
8)Mount de Sales- Adrian Hardwick is healthy and this weeks game against Aquinas is a critical step for this football team. Aquinas has been a powerhouse forever but by all reports, they are a little down this year. If Mount de Sales and Pinkney Gilchrist cant find a way to win this one, they wont find a way to make the playoffs this year. I picked against them, but I really think they can get a win.
7)Howard- the Huskies got that first win but it was not overly impressive, beating Rutland by  8 points. It is surprising that Barney Hester has taken a step back this year  from last years winning record, but if the talent isn't there, not much a coach can do about it. Howard is 1-3 and plays Veterans this week, which I think could be a close game. But I picked Veterans to pull away and get the win.
6) Southwest- Southwest was the darling three weeks ago when they upset Westside. They fell back to earth the next week when Manchester drilled them , but then lost to Central. I lost that game in the picks and was fairly confident that SW would win. But now the Patriots are struggling a bit, and have scored only 34 points in three games. Jordan Slocum is a sophomore quarterback with loads of potential but is 5-23 for 77 yards in three games, an average of 38 yards a game. JaQuavius Solomon had big play potential but had only 4 catches in the three games, but that is 4 of the 5 completions that Southwest has for the year. If the slumbering offense will wake up a bit, it could still be a good year for Southwest.
5)Stratford- The Eagles get an off week before facing a very good Lincoln County team. Stratford is 2-1 and haven't been real offensive so far, but Noah Hill is still learning how to play quarterback. they have only given up 32 points in 3 games however, and Tobe Umerah is a player that everyone wants.
4)Westside- The Noles dropped a spot because I all of a sudden have respect for Central . I really truly have no other reason
3) Central- What can I say about Central. I have picked them to lose twice and they won both time. They are undefeated and have found ways to win football games the last two weeks when their backs were almost to the wall. They embarrassed Mount de Sales early in the year, forced a fumble to win over Howard, and let Southwest come back from a 21-6 deficit before waking up and winning 27-20. There is no flash to this team but Antonio Sanders Jr. has over 400 yards of rushing in three games and has been almost the entire offense for the Chargers. They will get that fourth win this weekend against Northeast.
2)Tattnall Square-Its 67-0 after two weeks and with Pacelli coming up this week it should be like 110-0 heading into the Washington Wilkes game. Now I never want guys to look past opponents, but I am able to look all the way to October 21, when an undefeated Tattnall teams plays undefeated FPD. I think it is entirely possible. I mean Tattnall has not even played their starting quarterback yet, and when this happens, Jimmy Marshall will go off. But right now it's ground and pound with Barron, Davis, Blasingame, and Mack running all over people. You really cant look past a Christian Rogers, Sean Brown, Dayton Steinmeyer, Vasco Sanders led defense either. Good things to come for the Trojans.
1)FPD-Oh my oh my oh my, Dalton Cox has 768 yards of passing in 3 games. Titus Moore is a big play receiver who is averaging 80 yards a game in receptions and CJ is averaging close to 80 yards rushing a game. Not sure the Vikings are going to lose anytime soon.

high school football Macon rankings

Yes I have been rather lazy when it comes to getting a story up on here every week.
It's not that I don't want to
It's just nothing has really grabbed me yet
I have seen five high school football games so far this season and vey few things have made me want to write.
So what makes people read my blog ?
Well they want to hear about everything high school so today, I am giving them the very first Macon high school football rankings, and if I forgot a school please let me know.
12) Covenant- I have nothing against Covenant football and they are the smallest school on the list so its not uncommon that they would be picked last. The problem with a small school like Covenant is many of the better players go elsewhere, which is exactly what happened this year. They won a state title (albeit in the GICAA) and  their best player is at Georgetown, but they lost two or three other starters that they expected back this year to other schools in Macon. They have to depend on Leon Simmons for everything, but he has missed extended time with an ankle injury. When they get him back , expect the Rams to roll. Yes one player does make a difference.
11) Windsor - Windsor started off slow this year and got handled in the first game against a AAA team but has played well against schools in their league. I think Jimmy Watts will get this bunch into the playoffs for a least a second round game. He has one of the better skill players in Macon  with  Marquise Jackson and just has to continue to find ways to get him the football.
10)Northeast- I thought the Raiders would be better this year and I was very surprised that they lost to Rutland. I have not seen these guys play as of yet but it looks like the same old struggle for Bruce Mullen. The Raiders just cant get anything going earl yin the season.
9)Rutland-Mark Daniel knew coming in that things were not going to be easy and after Perry blew them out in the opener I was convinced that the Canes would go winless. But they beat Northeast and they are probably confident that they can take out Howard. If they do I will buy all readers a pizza. But congrats to Rutland and wingback Landon Miller, all 150 pounds of him, for finding a way to get a win.
8) Mount de Sales- I drank the Cavalier kool aid early and picked them to beat Central and Jesse Hicks let me know about it. It was not anything against Central I just thought Mount de Sales was way up this year. That remains to be seen. I must admit though I am worried about them after I saw Central just push them around the field.
MDS lost Adrian Hardwick, their best football player, early in the Central game, and right away it was obvious that without Hardwick in the game, they are once again only average. Hardwick is the speed guy on the football team and he is that important. I still believe De Sales is much improved and they will get back to winning this weekend.
7)Howard- The Huskies are struggling and they really don't have any answers right now. They had Central on the ropes but turned the ball over late and gave the game away. Avery Vining shows flashes of being a big play quarterback, but he may not have enough around him to make great things happen. They will however, get that first win of the season this weekend against Rutland.
6)Stratford- This is about the time I start making people mad. Why is Stratford ranked this low ?Well because it's early in the season and I just don't know much about them yet. I know they guys they lost and I see box scores and it looks like they are a very good defensive team but will have issues putting points on the board. Give Mark Farriba another three weeks and I am confident they will move up the list.
5) Central- Central is another team that lost the kitchen sink from graduation. Can Antonio Sander Jr. carry a football team for an entire year? That's a pretty tough thing to do, but that's what he has to do. I ranked three other public schools in Macon ahead of Central and I may be way off, but I think Southwest beats Central tonight. Still the Chargers will be in the mix when its time for the playoffs.
4)Westside- The Seminoles are having to work extra hard to get any offense going. The loss to Southwest was a huge eye opener and word is Westside is hurting at receiver after losing Dolphus and Mitchell from a year ago. Look for Savion Knowlton to start making plays and watch for Westside to find a way to score points.
3)Southwest- The Patriots got blown out a week after upsetting Westside but I feel like they lost to a pretty good football team. We really wont have any secrets after this weeks game against Central. This is a must win for them even though its the third game of the season. Its time for Jordan Slocum to start playing and put some point son the board, because if they score 20 a game, they will win most of the time.
2) Tattnall Square-ok ok maybe I am way off with Chance Jones being this good this early But I am simply crazy about this coaching staff and the experience they have with winning football games. I saw Tattnall play and they are explosive and that was without Miles Morris at quarterback. Ahmad Barron and Zion Blasingame are both explosive backs and they have a little sophomore who is just as good. (I will remember this name next time lol) But what makes Tattnall a threat is Jimmy Marshall a big tall speedy receiver who will give a lot of teams fits.
1)FPD- Let me explain how good FPD is this year. They are really really really good. They owned Howard in their opener and then they owned someone else a week ago and they will own Hawkinsville this week. Dalton Cox, a first year starter , is the best quarterback in Macon. Yes, I said it, he is BY FAR, the best quarterback in Macon. Bit he has explosive receivers that help and he als0 has running back that are good. Oh and did I mention that they have three linemen that weigh over 300 pounds. Greg Moore has been saying his prayers for a team like this and I think he is a top four team in class A

high school football is here

I have taken some time off from blogging, basically because I ran out of things to write on.  Well I mean I could have thrown a  make believe golf tournament or a make believe battle of Macon , but I mean , that's a lot of work and I have been a bit lazy when it comes to my writing.
But with the rest, my creative juices are flowing over and I am ready to go.
I have covered high school football the last two Fridays and to be totally honest, I have seen more cramps than good football. I saw Windsor suffer hugely with a least  four kids cramping up in the second half and then I saw Westfield be destroyed by cramps last Friday night against Southland.
Westfield was winning the football game early in the second half and literally lost five players in about a three minute span. Once a guy goes out with cramps they are usually helpless the rest of the game and that is why the Hornets lost. Several of the kids tried to battle through the cramps, but they were pretty much useless.
Now my main question is why does one team cramp and the other team doesn't ? Is it conditioning ? Is it a veteran team playing against a young team  ? Or is it just luck ? I know the Westfield was playing with basically all new starters so do those kids not prepare by hydrating before a game like older guys do ? Or is it the coaches who have not prepared the kids for the temperatures that they will have to deal with on a Friday night ? I don't know what it is and I am looking for answers.
I have Tattnall Square and Wilcox County this Friday night and somehow I am betting that Tattnall will not have cramping issues. Oh sure they may have a few, but I an betting that it will not be a major issues. Why ? Well because they have a veteran coaching staff and a trainer who is the best trainer in the area, and I believe that between them, they will have these kids ready for the conditions. I firmly believe that. If I am wrong, I will let you know next week.
I am also looking forward to seeing the best talent I have seen this year. Tattnall has skill players galore. Even with Miles Morris not playing because of injury, they have Destin Mack, an experienced quarterback, and  Ahmad Barron and Jimmy Marshall to provide big plays. Barron is a favorite of mine and he is the closest thing to Darren Sproles that Macon has. He is electric and I know he is working hard to get noticed by colleges and he has a chance to be a pretty good college football player. But someone has to appreciate his skill set and what he brings to the table. I believe he will get his notice this year.
Marshall is a physical specimen at 6'6 and 215 pounds and he should dominate. It has not happened yet but I expect it to in his senior year. He is starting to get a lot of college interest and that should just add to the fire in his heart. Lets say he should be the closest thing to Quintez Cephus that Macon has to offer this year. Then again, he looks more like Steve Dolphus than Cephus. I will give you a more clear view of him after I see him play.
I'm also excited to see Tattnall's new coaching staff. Chance Jones, Ronnie's son gets his first head coaching job and it just so happens Ronnie retires from Westfield and ends up working with his son. Not bad getting 40 years of experience right off the bat. Then Chance adds Bryan Way from Warner Robins and adds another 30 years. To top it off he adds Jim Massey, a veteran coach who has a great way with kids, and by the way, has also coached for about 20 years. Chance has got to be smiling with a staff like that.
I will see all my Tattnall friends on Friday. Don't hesitate to talk to me and players done hesitate to drink lots of water all week. We don't want to see a crampfest

its been awhile

I have been away quite a long time haven't  I ?
I don't know if it is because I had grown weary of writing or because I just couldn't think if anything to write about but today, the creative juices started to flow again.
For me that's a positive sign.
For you, well I am not so sure.


So how do I know it's has been awhile since I have blogged ?
Well I have blown my eating right stage of my life about 6 weeks in, went on the same crap eating style again, and now am back on the right track again. Now that's a long time without blogging. Right now I am more determined than ever (hopefully that will last for awhile) and I am actually in the middle of a seven day Vegan detox thing that a co worker dared me to do. To say that it is a detox means I guess it removes all the bad stuff from your body. Well I will tell you without saying too much, stuff is leaving my body at a rapid pace, and I am assuming that is good.
Do I miss meat ? Sure I do , but the meatless really hasn't bothered me that much. I miss coffee creamer though. It was a good time to do this however because I love watermelon and peaches and god knows I am eating loads of them.
I know I know, whats it gonna be John. Are you gonna do this or not ? You cant write about it and then screw up a week later. OK OK OK I hear you. I am, on this day today, very motivated , and have every thought of trying to get way way way down weight wise. I am thinking 220, which is lower that I have been in, well about 25 years. Can I do it? Hell probably not. But I am going to try. Don't hate me if I fail though.
It has been so long since I have blogged that it is almost football season, and honestly I cannot wait. I mean the Corky Kell, UGA-NC, GT- Mercer, and so many other must see events are around the corner. We are only weeks away from seeing who the quarterback is at UGA. That's amazing stuff. I know I am not alone in wishing time would hurry up and rush by.
I will also keep wishing time will fly by because my daughter is in France right now, and at times I have problems focusing with her so far away. The Nice France disaster made it a bit worse but she was 8 hours away, at a fireworks show in Paris that night. I didn't worry too much, but I was glad to get that text the next morning. But what can I do. Stop her from chasing dreams ? I will never ever do that to either one of my kids. Lets think about it. The Orlando night club attack was five hours a way from us, so something bad is just as likely to happen down the street as in France. That is what I am telling myself. Live the dream and chase the dream
I will end this by talking about a friend of mine. Wes Blankenship from WMAZ is leaving Macon to go to work at WXIA in Atlanta and I am sad about that today. Wes is one of the good guys, as are most sports guys in this town and I will really miss seeing him on the sidelines and talking to him at games. I have played golf with him(he sucks worse than me) and I have eaten meals with him(skinny little guy but he can eat) I have teased him about how he possibly married this lovely woman he married and my wife has even told me to ask him if he had shorts on when he was doing a sportscast. (Yes he did, sports coat, tie, and yes, since he is sitting down, shorts on) I cant even tell you the number of times we have been at an event and I would ask people if they knew who I was with. They kind of looked at him like well yeah I recognize him but I am not sure. Well, now everyone knows him and he will leave his mark in Macon. I will never forget the fake broadcasting on WTSA. Take care and good luck my friend.

lets talk about what i think i know,and that is swimming

I know, go ahead and say it
Do you even know how to swim ?
Of course I do
But that really is not important to this blog or to my knowledge of the sport.
BECAUSE - this is a huge week to all fans of the sports because it is Olympic trial week.
That's where swimmers who have qualified go to one big swim meet and try to defy the odds and pull off a miracle swim to make the Olympic team.
It usually does not happen, but it always could happen.


My love for swimming happened about 16 years ago when my son started swimming for the Macon Waves. I wont bore you with all the details that most of you already know, but swimming was a path I had never envisioned for my kids. And when he started winning everything in sight, well I didn't handle it very well. I was the tyrant dad for many many many years and did not reform until Hayden turned 14. You think I didn't really change ? Go ahead ask either one of my kids ? They will tell you I did.
It is something that many parents, especially in the individual sports, need to do.
Why? well its simple, First of all, the child is not going to love it unless they are doing it because they want to, and secondly, almost always, your child is not going to be the best. There is always someone that is better. Even Ryan Lochte has his Micharel Phelps. It's a hard fact to accept, but its a true statement.
The Olympic Trials is going to be all over your TV this week and I urge you to watch it. In most races, only the top two finishers actually make the Olympic team. We have hundreds of great swimmers in the USA, but only a few make it to the Olympic team. I think like the top six will make it in the sprints, due to the relays, but many many great swimmers will get their hearts broken this weekend. For others, its just one last chance to swim on the national stage.
I am not going to sit here and tell you I know all the ins and outs of the Olympic trials and that I have studied and know exactly who will make the team. I have no clue. But I do have some favorites because Hayden has swam with them. I am a huge Lochte fan and this will probably be it for him. He is getting old. So is Phelps. It is almost time for the new breed of American swimmer to take over, with the Caleb Dressels and Ryan Murphy's playing big roles, along with the even younger Maxime Rooney and Townley Haas. And of course, my heart will be with the Queens swimmers at the Trials, with one of them, Matt Josa, having a shot to make the team in the 100 fly
I promise if you watch you will not be disappointed

The One the ONly , yes its Haley Gordon time

Haley Gordon is my favorite.
It has come to the point where I really cant even list the number of things she is my favorite for.
Bur let me see what I can come up with
She was the subject of my favorite story I have ever written (on the wall at my house)
She is my favorite sophomore in college (if she made it to sophomore status)
She is my favorite former female Tattnall basketball player (Ahmad Barron wins the male)
She is my favorite Tattnall coach (sorry Todd)
And you know, basically she is just my favorite, smiling, never would have known she was sick, young lady, who is vowing to just kick Cystic Fibrosis in the butt.
THAT is why I am writing about Haley again.
The 2016 Macon Middle Georgia walk for Cystic Fibrosis will be held this Saturday at Geico and I will be present because I support finding a cure for CF. I mean if Haley asked me to, I would walk across the state in my bare-feet, but Haley would never ask me that because she knows I am old. I do it because Haley is pretty awesome, and the fight for a cure wont stop.
I will be joined at the walk by my work family, which consists of maybe 12 people. I am sure most of them feel like they know Haley and her battle, because, well, I have told them about her. When I asked if they were interested in doing the walk, every single one of them said yes. My wife and her dental office did the same. They all know Haley as a patient, and jumped to do the walk also.
Haley admits that these days she struggles a little more with her illness. She has been sicker lately and she thinks its because she doesn't have the two hour basketball workout she had every single day when she was playing basketball. But she is still winning. Look at her facebook page and see how busy she stays. Look at her as a full time college student who is just like most kids and makes average grades. Look at her as a Tattnall assistant basketball coach, because her ex coach (Todd Whetsel) asked her to be there because basically, he knew she would always be there and he knows he wanted her passion on the sideline.
I read Haley's story the other day and she has dreams just like every other young woman her age. She dreams of getting married and having kids, of possibly getting her degree in special ed(c's get degrees)  and working in that field. She knows all of this wouldn't have been possible 20 years ago. And she knows that CF really really sux. There is currently no cure for the disease but great strides have been made in the treatment of the disease.
In closing I will say that Stephen, Robin and Allie, Haleys family are three of my favorite people also. They fight the battle with her. The strength that they all have is amazing.
IN closing I will say that Haley will rise up and win once again, and she will probably be the head basketball coach at Tattnall one day. I know that's not special ed but the girl is a born coach. I see her with a husband and four kids, and I see her with the huge smile that I always see her with.
If any of my 25 (smirk)readers would like to make a donation, please text me at 478-394-1155 and I will be glad to come and pick it up no matter where you are. I may even walk barefooted if Haley wants me too. Spread the word for me
I will see you on Saturday. Registration is 8:30 with the walk starting at 9:30

My tennis career,

I thank all of the readers who have stuck through my slow period. I am sure I will pick it up soon.
I am constantly looking for ways to move a little bit and that is what I will write about today.
I would have to start this blog with one simple fact.
I don't like to exercise.
At my ripe age of 54, it is very difficult to find anything I like. Walking has got to be the most boring thing on the planet, and I hate it. I have tried the headphones, walking with someone and  walking alone. I have tried to hypnotize myself into believing I like it, and it always comes back to  I hate this.
Golf is great but I mean its not like I am walking the course. Getting in and out of a cart and swinging a club to hit a little ball about 100 times is definitely exercise, but it is pretty boring alone too.
You see, that brings up the next issue.
I have very few friends.
I have lots of hey how's it going friends, but very few, hey lets go do something friends.
So, unfortunately for her, it falls to my wife to be my friend.
Now Debbie recently decided that she wanted to start playing tennis. I am not sure why but I think it has something to do with the cute outfits that tennis players wear. (Don't tell her I said that) Anyways, she started taking tennis lessons about a month ago, first from MY lifelong friend Robert, (he is one of 14 that read my blog) and then at the JDS tennis center. I followed her budding career and quietly sat in the background, not wanting to say much about it.
But in my mind, the tennis thing would not last more than a few weeks. You see, my wife tries hard, but she isn't overly athletic. I mean she is in shape, she can walk fast for a long time,but after seeing her play golf, I did not think the tennis thing would go well.
After about three weeks of it, we were sitting around one day with nothing to do, and I decided I would go hit tennis balls with her. You see, I think I can play tennis. Why? Well because I had a friend that played tennis all of his life, and I would occasionally go out and hit with him and he showed me a few things.  I mean that makes me good right ?
So we go out and hit the first time and as a expected, it was difficult. I was basically playing around and she was getting mad at me because of my snickering about her inability to hit the ball where I wanted her to hit it. I didn't even sweat that day. I got more exercise from picking balls up off the fence than I did hitting balls back. It was basically a way for me to get a little laugh. (I am so mean)
So amazingly a week later, she wanted to go out and hit with me again. So we went and I was doing the same thing, kind of giving a little bit of energy but not really, and this went on for about 30 minutes. By that time my wife had seen enough of my snickers. She looked at me from across the court, and told me that I was not all that and she thought she could beat me. She said that I don't even move for balls and I just stand there and wait for the ball to come to me. Then she made the challenge. Lets play right now because I will beat you.
So, I had been challenged, and it actually pissed me off a little bit. How dare her challenge me. Does she really think she can beat me? So I played her.
To make a long story short, I beat her 6-0, and she didn't win many points, but that's because I tried. It was not until we go to the car, in the middle of my bragging that I figured something out. "Did you really think you could beat me"I asked her as I wiped my face from the profuse sweat pouring down my face ?
She looked at me, and smiled that wifely smile, and said"Of course not, but I got you to move because I made you compete".
Damn guys I have a good wife
Next tennis story soon

summer time blues

Since the last time I have blogged, I have celebrated an anniversary, a birthday, been on a mini-vacation, and covered a state championship game. 

I will attempt to write a little bit on each.

I will tell you that blogging in the summer is harder because things arent really happening for people to read. I need a new audience.

Plus, I am struggling without Jamie Dickey.

I have now been married for 30 years, which is amazing for one fact only and that is the honesty that I found someone that will put up with me for 30 years. I know its not easy to put up with me. To tell you the truth, I am moody and my mind wanders. My folks at work know that too. I truly believe I have ADD and have had it since I was young. I just don't seem to be able to sit still and my mind like goes through all these creative thoughts and I want to act on them.

My wife and I went to Myrtle Beach for four days to celebrate and we had a good time, but I will say that Myrtle Beach is not Florida in any way shape or form. I will say that we will never go back, but we made the best of it. I thought a beach was a beach but a beach is not a beach when its an ugly beach and the town around it had 47 putt putt places and 36 all you can eat seafood places. And to think I only had 14 of them. SMH.

I did have some interesting new experiences. I went to a Brazilian steakhouse which was like the most amazing thing I have ever done. I mean folks bringing me meat every five seconds is fairly amazing. I would however, not make it your first meal after being on a diet for 55 days. OH MY GOD, a poor choice indeed.

I will  also say that Cory Bartholomew is the most amazing high school baseball player in Macon. He is amazing because he is basically the average Joe who has made the most out of his talents. Cory willed himself  and his Tattnall Square Trojans to a state championship. He gets the win in the first game with a complete game, an amazing fact to start with considering he had another complete game four days before and he threw 145 pitches in that one. I though he would be toast in the championship game because, well he was due to get ripped with the kid of load he had shouldered. Nope a complete game which he grinded all the way. So Tattnall leads the series 1-0 and Cory makes three errors in the next game because he is exhausted and it probably coast his team a win. So they go to game three and Logan Simmons pitches a shutout in his only game on the mound this year and Cory goes yard twice and the Trojans win. Cory Bartholomew just wont lose.

Braves and Robby and maybe a few more things

My Goodness
I think this is the longest period of time I have gone without blogging and it gets to the point of , hmmm am I going to do this anymore and I tell myself I want to so I tell myself I had better write something soon or all of my fans (11) will forget about me.
But to write, one must be motivated.
I could write about the Braves and what I think , but I mean, doesn't talk radio about cover that? We can listen to them beat up managers.
Ok I know you all want my opinion on the Braves situation, but I will do it as if someone is interviewing me.
Why will I do it that way ?
It just feels right.
Question: So John, since you are an avid Braves fan, what do you think of the Braves right now.
Answer : Well I think they are probably the worst team in professional baseball history and they will be very lucky to win 60 games this year. They have very few major league players on the roster right now, and I think management should be ashamed of the product that they have put on the field. I mean I know its a youth movement and we have loads of prospects, but prospects are just prospects until they advance and become real players. How are we to know that these prospects are as good as people think. I mean, the people that picked these prospects to be the future are the same ones that fielded the 2016 team that they thought would be somewhat respectable, so why should we believe in them?


Question: Talk for a minute about what you see for next year? I obviously don't know everyone but I assume the lineup will have Freeman, Albies, Swanson, Ruiz, and Mallex in it. Markakis will be gone, which means we will have two corner outfield spots to fill and that will be difficult. The pitching should be much better with an influx of young arms, but lets hope they stay healthy. As far as next year, well the kids might win 70 games if lucky. This is not a quick fix. The Braves may not have a wining record, in my opinion for three to four more years. But really, the Braves have dropped the ball because they have no great catching prospects, and no catcher at the major league level that can play. They put the farm on Bethancourt and then gave up on him. And lets not forget, this team has no power and really not many homerun hitters in the minors.


Question: Fire the manager ?
Answer: Sure lets blame him. Is he a good manager ? I don't really think so, but it wouldn't matter who was managing right now, they wouldn't have more wins. Ok maybe one or two, but not am amount that matters. I believe the Braves will probably fire him soon, let Pendleton do it the rest of the year, and then bring in someone fresh next year.


Last Question: Will you pay 9 dollars for a beer?
Answer: Nope but I will pay six dollars for a six pack and shot gun the entire bunch before I go into the park.


I have to talk a minute about one of my favorite interviews lately. Robby Watson from FPD was so impressive this week that I ended up talking to him for over an hour just because he is a neat kid. He attempts to win the shot put and discus today at the state track meet, and I feel confident that he would do it. He had to make a tough decision to give up football, an unpopular decision, to focus on track because he wanted to be active in sports at the college level. The plan worked because he is heading to Southern Miss next year. Yes that's D1 Southern Miss. Just goes to show that hard work pays off. He made the tough decision and it paid off for him. I could have dome a lot more with the story for sure. I have never had an FPD kid actually be indebted to Stratford before lol.


OK that should be enough for now. Give me some ideas for topics to write on my friends.

Macons loss

The Macon sporting world has suffered a huge blow this week with the loss of one of the better coaches in the area.
No he didn't die, he just left the profession.
Although death and not coaching anymore is almost the same thing.
I know I know, I have to get over this, but on a personal level this one is difficult to handle.
I mean seriously, I lost Prince and Jamie Dickey in the same week
How will I recover.
When I first saw Jamie Dickey at a Stratford basketball game, my first thought was wow, Stratford dresses the team manager nicer than the coaches. Wow why is the team manager standing during the game and yelling at his players and calling plays? This must be some training program that Stratford is using to motivate goofy looking young 16 year olds.
But that goofy looking 16 year old was Jamie Dickey, and he wasn't 16, he was like 27. He was the head coach at THE academy.
Jamie is a reader, a follower and s strong supporter of my blog. He has been the brunt of my humor on here on several occasions, including my make believe golf tournament, and I have commented on his clothes several times.
Jamie is a bit of a pretty boy.
Let me tell you how Jamie uses the media to his advantage. The man is smart way beyond his years. Since he is not coaching anymore, I can tell some of his stories.
Jamie always looked at my top 15 list of basketball and football players. Jamie asked me to keep a player off the list to motivate him. Guess what, the kid went nuts and had the biggest game of his career. The guy actually came up to me after the game and asked if he had done enough to make the list now. And there is Jamie Dickey, with that Opie Taylor grin looking back at me. That was all Jamie.
Jamie always, always, bargained to get his kids any kid of press he could. I mean , he bargained to get me to write about his players even on my blog. Publicity is publicity after all. I am guessing I could have got money out of the guy if I wanted to , because he would do anything for his players, but I never really took advantage of it like that.
Jamie shared information with me that was very helpful and we even talked on the phone like once a week during basketball season. I know he was schmoozing me, but that's ok. I mean the world needs schmoozers. I know he is genuine with it, and I know he is genuinely a nice man.
I will miss the baby blue pants with the white sports jacket and preppy shoes. I will miss the smile that is always on his face when he talks to you. I will miss the frustration when his team didn't quite win, I will miss his texts on what's going on at Stratford, I will miss all the little things he did to assist the press in getting what they needed. I know Mark Farriba will hire a great head coach, but he has his job cut out for him, because folks, Jamie Dickey is one of the special ones.
Like I said, losing him and Prince in the same week is almost too much to bear. I think I will go buy a raspberry beret and hope for some purple rain.
Farewell Jamie, you were one of the best.
Oh and by the way, I am glad you aren't going to be far away in case I need to text you