Local Sports
October is best time of year for sports
By Brandon ShieldsSports fans in Alabama, we’d better enjoy it while it lasts because it’s only going to be here for a few more days.
The “it” I am talking about is the greatest time of year for those of us who love sports.
That is the reason why the month of October probably edges out March and December and early January as my favorite month of they year.
The four major professional team sports are currently competing in some way or another. While most of us around here do not care much for hockey, it is a tradition of mine to try to become a hockey fan until I get tired of looking for the puck and I turn the TV back to the mid-major conference college football game that’s on ESPNU.
High school football is in the final stretch of the regular season with teams fighting for position in the playoff races, which plenty of people in the area have a lot to watch with Cullman, Good Hope, Vinemont and Addison still in the thick of things.
Volleyball is getting close to the state championship level as the remaining teams will play the sub-state round Thursday, and cross country section meets are coming up as well.
College football is at mid-season as everyone around the nation begins to look at Rivalry Week in November and trying to determine how much of a shot their favorite team has of playing for the national title, playing for the conference title, playing in a BCS bowl or just playing in a bowl, period.
While the Associated Press released the results of a poll it conducted earlier this week that revealed America does not care as much about Major League Baseball as it has in the past, no one can deny the excitement of the World Series, which began last night with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers, the feel good story of 2006 in baseball if not all of sports.
We’re beginning to figure out the difference between contenders and pretenders in the NFL as recent playoff mainstays like Indianapolis are maintaining their regular season dominance while other teams like Chicago are back on the rise.
Basketball is starting up as college and high school teams have begun practice, and the NBA has played a few preseason games as storylines like Ben Wallace in Chicago and Isaiah Thomas taking over the Knicks on the sidelines are getting ready to unfold.
In addition to all that, NASCAR is in the middle of the Chase for the Cup, while golf and tennis are coming close to crowning their international champions for the year.
Yes, there are different times of the year that have their rightful claim to the most enjoyable time of the year, but I’ll take October over March Madness, Bowl Season, Super Sunday and any other time of they year any day of the week.
- Local Sports
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- WALLACE STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lions grab win in season opener
- PREP FOOTBALL: Tigers end Fairview’s season with rout
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PREP FOOTBALL: EARLY WAKE-UP CALL
There were no postgame celebrations. Just handshakes and somber faces as the players made their way off the field.
Cullman High had just defeated Wenonah 21-6 in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs, but the postgame vibe felt more like a Bearcats loss. -
PREP FOOTBALL: Red Devils ambush Eagles
ELKMONT — The Vinemont Eagles were ambushed Friday night at Boss Hill Stadium. With the game tied 7-7, Elkmont High exploded for five touchdowns in less than six minutes late in the first half en route to a 56-7 victory in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
- More than 40 local runners qualify for state cross country meet
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PREP VOLLEYBALL: Addison senior inks scholarship with Wallace St.
ADDISON — For the last couple years, Kaydi Langley knew exactly where she wanted to go to college.
After Thursday, Langley’s wish is now reality. -
PREP FOOTBALL: Postseason deja vu
Wenonah High versus Cullman. Sound familiar?
It should. These two teams played in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs last year.
And they’ll meet again tonight in the exact same scenario. -
TALKIN' PREPS: Playoff-bound Aggies keep moving in the right direction
FAIRVIEW — Outside the home locker room at Fairview High, the celebration was loud enough that you almost thought you were part of the team.
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RECLASS SHAKES UP AREA
No one at West Point High was surprised when the Alabama High School Athletic Association released its reclassification numbers for the 2010-12 school years.
West Point’s return to Class 4A was short-lived. When the ’10 football season begins next fall, the Warriors will be playing in Class 5A, Region 6 alongside Cullman, Hartselle and Walker.
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PREP BASKETBALL: Cullman uses late push to beat Clay-Chalkville
CULLMAN — Morgan Smith didn’t deliver a freshman performance in her second varsity basketball game.
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