Columns

It’s April and the first official football game of the 2012 season is still almost five months away.

However, David Wagner’s mind is already on the Aug. 31 date on the calendar. On that date, Wagner’s Bulldoggs will open the new season against Jackson County on the road. It will be one of two non-region games for the Bulldoggs, who will also play an old rival when they face Monroe Area the following week, also on the road. [Full Story »] 

There’s no denying the world was a different place in 1989.

It was more than a generation ago and we no doubt have forgotten just how much has changed in that time. On a hot, early summer night in 1989 I graduated from high school. That event is supposed to help steer the path you will take and it couldn’t have been more true for me.

My class had the honor of hearing Furman Bisher speak that night, something which I had a hand in. My small class was tossing around names for a possible guest speaker a couple of months before our big event and while I don’t remember any of the suggestions from anyone else, I do remember the name I threw out: Furman Bisher. [Full Story »] 

The Apalachee High School weight lifting team has done it again.

The Iron Cats claimed another state title Saturday when they won the 5A championship hosted by Rockdale County High School. In the past seven years, AHS has won five state titles with the other two years being runner-up seasons.

Coach Shane Davis is a firm believer in the weight room. If you visit the weight room facility at AHS, you see a group of dedicated athletes being driven by a group of dedicated coaches. Heck, it even motivates me to do something and believe me that’s saying something for this over-the-hill 40-year-old who struggles to get out of bed in the morning. [Full Story »] 

You have to like Mike Cavey. The Apalachee High School baseball coach is one who always tells it like it is. If his team is not playing well or living up to its potential, he’ll tell you.

Now, he doesn’t single out players for bad performances (the Wildcats win and lose as a team), but he’s not one to gloss the situation over when the outcome is not the desired one.

It’s a refreshing attitude and one that makes talking with Cavey about this program enjoyable. This past Sunday evening, Cavey and I spoke about his team’s fast start to the 2012 season. Just as Cavey will tell it like it is when things aren’t going right, the coach was quick to praise his team for what they have done in the early stages of the new campaign. [Full Story »]