Sports Editor

What a great weekend.

Does it get any better than Mother’s Day? Really. OK, you don’t have to answer.

But I’m serious. I want to give a big shout-out to all the moms out there holding down the fort while us husbands do our thing. Without you, we’re lost. No doubt.

I especially want to recognize my wife—the Busy Girl—for all she does for me and our two girls. Without her, not only do I not have any clean clothes, I wouldn’t know how to survive.

Other than taking my wife out to eat at Outback for her special day (can you say cheese fries ... mmmmmm), Mother’s Day was pretty uneventful. We did nothing. And when I say nothing, other than breathing and the occasional blinking, I mean nothing.

It was the perfect day. And she enjoyed it, too. I think.

Oh, you want to read about sports? OK.

*** The Opelika High baseball team is riding high after sweeping Prattville in the semifinal series of the Class 6A playoffs. The Bulldogs will now take on Hoover in the best-of-three series beginning Friday at 10 a.m. in Montgomery. The first game will be Friday. The second game is Saturday at 10 a.m. and the if-needed game is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday. All games will be at Patterson Field.

What are Opelika’s chances? I’d say pretty darn good. The Bulldogs are 41-2. That’s impressive, I don’t care who you are.

Opelika’s got a deep pitching staff and can hit up and down the lineup. And it doesn’t hurt to have 13 seniors, all of who contribute, on the roster. There’s nothing like leadership to go along with talent.

My guess, Opelika sweeps Hoover. No disrespect to the Bucs, but this Opelika team is a team of destiny. And it’s hard to get in the way of that.

*** Collin Mickle pretty much summed up what’s going on with AU head baseball coach Tom Slater in today’s story.

Auburn AD Jay Jacobs said he’s going to wait until the end of the season before he makes any decisions on Slater’s future at Auburn. I think that’s fair. Let the season play out, then make the call.

Either way, it’s not an easy call. Regardless of what the popular opinon is.

But, and everyone who’s ever worked in this profession knows, a coach is only as good as his record. And in the “what have you done for me lately?” world of college athletics, if that record (the bottom line) isn’t good, then it’s only a matter of time before you’re shown the door.

Fair? Hey, it has nothing to do with fair. College sports is a business. Period.

*** Three cheers for the triple play.

In case you haven’t heard, Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history on Monday night against Toronto.

I’m all about the triple play. It’s kind of like Moe’s Triple Lindy, but without the guacamole. Tasty.

Sports Editor

Like high school sports?

Good.

There’s going to be plenty going on in the Opelika/Auburn area (and around the state) this weekend.

Let’s see ... The Class 4A-Area 6 softball tournament starts today at Beauregard. Tomorrow, No. 1 Opelika will host McGill-Toolen in the quarterfinals of the AHSAA Class 6A playoffs in the best two-of-three. Also tomorrow, the Class 6A-Area 8 softball tournament begins at West Ridge Park in Opelika, the AISA state softball tourney gets cracking in Montgomery and the state track and field meets begin at Gulf Shores (4A-5A-6A) and Troy (3A-1A).

Oh, and Saturday, the Auburn High boys soccer team hosts Fairhope at Duck Samford for a quarterfinal playoff game, while the girls team travels to Mary Montgomery.

College baseball fan? Auburn hosts Mississippi State in a three-game series this weekend at Plainsman Park. First pitch of Game 1 is slated for 6 p.m. Friday.

There’s enough going on this weekend where if you don’t want to cut the grass or do any yard work, you can find plenty of excuses not to. And I here the golf courses are pretty nice this time of year.

So do yourself a favor, get out and take in a ballgame or two and save the yard work for another weekend. That’s what I’m going to do.

*** Well, we’re not going to have a playoff, or even a plus-one game, any time soon in college football.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

Money talks. And the BCS and bowls generate a lot of dollars for colleges and universities.

But it seems to me, the only schools and/or conferences who are for a plus-one or playoff are the schools/conferences who have been burned by the BCS. Maybe the reason the Big Ten and Pac-10 don’t want a playoff—and are using the Rose Bowl as a cover—are because whenever they have a team close to being “the best” they always get a nod into the national title game.

Did Ohio State really deserve to be there last year? Discuss.

Anyway, for now, we’ll have to deal with more bowls and less on-the-field problem solving.

Sports Editor

I was in Talladega this past Sunday for the Aaron’s 499. No, I wasn’t covering it. I was there as a spectator.

For the first time since, well, I can’t remember, I attended a sporting event with a ticket and not on a media credential. And it was fun.

My brother hooked my dad and I up with tickets ... actually, my brother’s fiance bought him three tickets for Christmas. Anyway, it was a boys weekend, and we took full advantage.

I took off Friday, and hung out with the guys on my back deck. Good times.
Saturday, we went golfing. Really good times. Although I couldn’t hit my driver to save my life, I still had a good time. And I didn’t walk, which is always, always a plus.

Sunday we went to Dega. We left out early to beat the traffic, and guess what ... we did. Seriously, on the way there and on the way back we didn’t sit in one bit of traffic. Jealous? I know you are.

My brother’s got GPS, and I don’t know what he did, if he tapped into some time-space continuum, but we zipped right in. It was glorious.

Our seats were even better. We were 19 rows up right at the entrance to pit road. We could see turns 3 and 4, the tri-oval and the start finish line. Plus we got a great view of the first (or last, depending on how you look at it) pit stalls. I’m still amazed at how those guys can change four tires in under 18 seconds.

The section we sat in was “Anniston” but I think it was a misprint. We were in, as the nice lady behind us said, “Junior Nation.” Actually, the entire Talladega Superspeedway is Junior Nation.

There was one guy in front of us who, and I’m not making this up, screamed “Go June Bug ... whaaaaaaaaoooooooo” and held up three fingers every time Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove by. I’m talking EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

And it got funnier every single time he did it. He was taking it so seriously, but even the die-hard Junior fans behind us were cracking up.

In all, it was a great time. No traffic. Good seats. And no sunburn. Extra bonus.

*** In 2009 NFL draft news (I know you can’t wait for that. You’re holding your breath already), Scout Inc.’s Todd McShay is picking Auburn University defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks to be the fifth overall pick to the Bengals. Don’t believe me, look.

Sen’Derrick is good. Really good. But the ‘09 draft is a long, long, long, long, long, long, way away. I could be the fifth overall pick by then. Hey, I’m eligible for the draft, it’s been three years since I was in high school.