11 MAR 07: AIR JORDAN
After a wait of several years, "Jordan basketball" returned to prime-time TV Saturday night. But it looked a little strange - because no one on the Jordan High School team wore number 23.
Jordan eliminated East Hall 65-53 to win the Georgia AAA boys' basketball title. There's only one bad thing about the Red Jackets' big win. The earlier start of daylight time means they lost an hour for celebrating.
The Red Jackets bring home Columbus's first state basketball title since Carver High in 1971. And the last time Jordan won a state basketball title.... well, I think that was the era when Dick McMichael was the school drum major.
The Jordan-East Hall game was fast-paced - so much so that Jordan led 6-5 after one MINUTE. There are some Ivy League games where that might be the halftime score....
And speaking of which - how about Jordan junior point guard Winford Ivey? He controlled the basketball better than most teenagers control sports cars after school.
Jordan won the title with quickness, outmaneuvering what the GPB broadcasters called a "scrambling" defense by East Hall. Leave it to the guys from the home of the scrambled dog....
Jordan had to rely on quickness, because none of its players are taller than six-foot-three. Platform shoes may be making a comeback, but they're not really good for shooting jump shots.
The Jordan Red Jackets put the AAA final out of reach rather early, by going on a 16-0 run over seven minutes of the first half. East Hall was so cold, you would have thought Buck Ice was down the street from THEIR school.
It was a bit disappointing to dial around the radio, and find no Columbus station carrying the Jordan championship game. But I really wasn't that surprised - because no station carried the opening home game of the Columbus Lions, either.
Thankfully, GPB showed the AAA boys' final on television across Georgia. But of course, that meant dealing with broadcasters who didn't really know the teams that well. Stu Klitenic coined the phrase "three guards and a cloud of dust" - but pinned it on the wrong team. So much for the online rumors about him returning to Atlanta television....
Analyst Herb White usually is reliable, when he fills in on University of Georgia radio basketball. But he mispronounced Jordan High School's name a couple of times before correcting himself. The Red Jackets didn't help, though -- because putting a player named Tim Jordan on the team simply asked for trouble.
The GPB announcers noted Gerald Turner is not only Jordan's head basketball coach, but the track coach. And did you see him go out on the court in the first quarter with a towel, to mop up sweat from the floor? That's how you know Jordan doesn't have the athletic budget of Columbus High or Shaw.
Jordan won every quarter in terms of scoring, and built the lead to seven at halftime. But Coach Gerald Turner admitted at that point he was concerned about missed free throws and too many turnovers. If basketball coaches didn't worry about something in the middle of a game, their bosses probably would reduce their salaries.
Jordan's Athletic Director appeared on TV at halftime, and showed off the ring he received when the Red Jackets won a state baseball title in 1971. He said for the last month, players have been touching it "like a holy grail." And then people wonder why we need Bible classes in public schools....
Did you see the game before Jordan-East Hall? Franklin County's girls wore uniforms with the word "team" on the back, where you'd expect player names to be. I'm not sure if that's an inspirational idea to provoke teamwork - or an intriguing way of saving money on buying new uniforms next season.
Because the game was shown on public television, there were a couple of breaks asking viewers to become GPB members. The offers were quite "old school," including a mug and a tote bag. I kept waiting for them to offer a leftover CD by the Three Tenors.
It's tempting to point a finger at Columbus TV stations and the Ledger-Enquirer and say, "Shame on you." This blog posted the final score of the Jordan championship game first, and no late newscast made it the top story. Maybe it's because I'm from a big basketball state - while in Columbus, basketball traditionally has been something to fill time until baseball season starts.
By the way, the Northern Little League baseball champions now have a monument in their honor. It was dedicated at Psalmond Road Friday evening, on the opening night of the new season. So is it too early to ask the managers, "What have you done for me lately?"
I received an invitation to attend the opening night of Northern Little League, by someone who promised it would include a fireworks show. I read the e-mail too late to change my schedule to attend. But wow - the only fireworks you normally see in youth baseball come when parents complain about their children not starting.
BLOG SPECIAL EVENT: The nomination time has ended -- and beginning today, you get to vote for the name of the Aflac duck! Since Aflac hasn't mustered its corporate might to sue us yet, apparently the insurance company does not object.
THE BIG BLOG QUESTION gives you five choices - three of which we've already mentioned here:
1. Alfred - making the duck potentially a servant on the order of Batman's butler.
2. Dinkles - inspired by TV meteorologist Derek Kinkade. Thankfully, Kurt Schmitz never called him that during the night of tornadoes.
3. Leaving the duck nameless - so we can focus more on the important word the duck is saying. He only wears that Aflac scarf on the dolls, for some reason.
Your other two options are named today for the first time - and both relate to Aflac's management:
4. Dan -- as in Aflac's CEO. Wouldn't that make for some interesting confusion, at board and shareholders meetings?
5. Amos -- which admittedly was my original idea. This keeps the duck in the corporate family.
E-MAIL UPDATE: Back to the schools we go, with a reply to Thursday's topic about allowing HOPE scholarship waivers:
I think college students who have the Hope Scholarship and flunk out should pay back what the interest would be on the amount of money they were given...There should be some penalty for taking the money under false pretense.. Can you believe there are remedial courses in college?..
Well, hold on here - the college students pay a penalty already, if they don't keep up their grades. Ask any parent who has to bail them out for a sophomore or junior year. And ask any student who gets chewed out by that parent.
Now a quick check of other weekend headlines, before we get to bed early:
+ A series of wrecks slowed Saturday afternoon southbound traffic to a crawl on Interstate 85 in Meriwether County. One witness told your blog there first was a car on fire, then a five-car pileup behind it - and then a three-car minor wreck in the wake of that. The way he described the scene, it was almost like a NASCAR race broke out.
+ Talbotton Road reopened to through traffic, after being closed several weeks for sewer work. But WRBL didn't tell the full story of the reopening - because 12th Avenue remains closed just north of Talbotton Road. Some of us DO look both ways as we cross intersections.
+ Chapman's on Wynnton Road announced it's going out of business. I'm assuming there will be some kind of farewell party - since this store has plenty of favors in stock right now.
+ Winn-Dixie announced it will rebuild the tornado-damaged store in Americus. Given the renovations this chain already has made at several stores in Columbus, that rumor of a sellout to Kroger seems to be fading like old supermarket signs on the Phenix City Bypass.
+ High school lacrosse made its Columbus debut, as the Columbus High girls downed Decatur 14-3 at Britt David Park. How on earth did Columbus High have a lacrosse team before Brookstone or Glenwood? Have plaid preppy skirts become that scarce?
+ Instant Message to Sarah Matthews of "Peanut Network News": OK, I think I know everything about Optimize Lift. Now please start investigating what put the salmonella inside the peanut butter plant in Sylvester.
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Because of the breaking basketball news and the transition to daylight time, our story about the one-legged man will be postponed until another day.)
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UPDATE 1....