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A-Rod making comeback of all comebacks (8/7/15)He's back. Whether you like him or not, Alex Rodriguez is having an more than respectable season with the New York Yankees. After being sidelined for much of the past three seasons to either injury or self-induced suspensions for PED use, the 40-year-old third basemen is having his best season at the plate since 2010 and he's got the Yankees on top of the A.L. East...
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Support for Sportsplex must continue (6/26/15)The Blytheville Baseball Softball Boosters Cal Ripken and youth softball seasons are coming to a close but action at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex will continue throughout the Summer months. American Legion baseball will continue through July and in just a couple of weeks, the Sportsplex will have the attention of a large chunk of the nation as Blytheville will be the home of the Cal Ripken 12U Regional Tournament...
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Cards taking "getting an edge" to new territory (6/19/15)Since the dawn of sport, competitors have been trying to gain an edge on their opponent. Even as far back as medieval times, jousters were known to sabotage the diets of their opponents horse or try to modify their boots so they would stick to their saddle in an effort to keep them from falling off of the horse...
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Jordan vs. LeBron: The Flu vs. Power Nap (6/4/15)The NBA Finals begin Thursday night. It's been over a week since either Cleveland or Golden State played a game. The historically long time off has allowed for plenty of "filler" conversations to take place. One in particular has been hitting the airwaves with authority. LeBron vs. Jordan...
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Successful spring for several local seniors (5/25/15)Armorel's 10-0 defeat of Taylor in the 1A state championship game Friday afternoon at Baum Stadium capped a incredibly successful spring season. Not just for the Tigers but for all three area schools and especially their seniors.
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Tigers on a familiar journey (5/18/15)The Armorel Tigers are headed back to a familiar place. With their 10-0 drubbing of the County Line Indians in five innings Monday in the 1A state semifinals, longtime head coach Charlie Brown and his Tigers will be in the state championship game for the fourth time in five years, and for the second year in a row.
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Mount Rushmore of coaches in the Final Four (4/4/15)In recent years, the NCAA basketball tournament has produced its share of upsets. In fact, since the 2006 run of George Mason to the Final Four, followed by back-to-back championship game appearances from Butler, to Virginia Commonwealth in 2011 and last year's Final Four that included a seven, eight and nine seed, it's been hard to tell what an actual upset is or who really is a "Cinderella."...
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March Madness becoming more predictable (3/28/15)March Madness is halfway through its second weekend and at this point I'll give the tournament a C+. It started out with A+ potential on the "maddening" scale. With two 3 vs. 14 upsets in the first few hours of the tournament last Thursday, a coach falling off of his chair followed by a controversial call sending a controversial No. 11 seed UCLA past BYU it looked like the tournament was on course for another bracket-busting finish...
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It's been a frustrating week for local hoops teams (2/21/15)With Thursday night's loss to the Nettleton Raiders, the Blytheville Chickasaws' postseason hopes are about as slim as Kevin Durant. At 5-6 in the 5A-East, they trail the Raiders (7-4) by two games but Nettleton owns the tiebreaker because of their two wins over the Chickasaws. ...
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Weather wreaking havoc on local hoops (2/19/15)Well, once again, the weather is playing havoc on the high school basketball schedule. All across the state, district tournaments and conference schedules are being shuffled around as schools and coaches desperately try to get games played before any further weather disturbances...
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Several legacies at stake in Sunday's Super Bowl (1/31/15)Another year, another Super Bowl. The two weeks between the conference championships and Super Bowl always seem to drag a little bit and this year may have been the longest yet. Usually, the story lines don't heat up until the two teams arrive at their destination but this year it started nearly right after the Patriots beat the Colts for the AFC title with "Deflategate." That was followed up with the silence of Marshawn Lynch...
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Great Fitzini makes a few predictions for 2015 (1/3/15)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, will once again look into my crystal iPad and see what will occur in the sports world for 2015. There is no need to waste time by watching the games. All of the major outcomes will be given in this column...
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Moody doing tremendous job captaining Pirate ship (11/25/14)And then there was one. The Osceola Seminoles are the last remaining Mississippi County football team alive in the playoffs. The 'Noles defeated conference rival Melbourne last Friday, 14-7, and advanced to the quarterfinals to take on Charleston while the Gosnell Pirates lost in dramatic fashion, 7-6, to Arkadelphia...
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Chickasaws chip in to help Pirates' playoff push (11/20/14)"We really appreciate Blytheville letting us use their field house," said Pirate head coach Gary Moody. "We needed to work on some things and we were able to have two good practices to start the week thanks to them." As for my NEA Fantasy team, Chico's Bail Bonds, I avenged an earlier season loss to Team Corleone. ...
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Chickasaws complete remarkable turnaround (11/17/14)Football is still going on for half the county this weekend. Blytheville and Rivercrest had their seasons come to an end Friday night, while Gosnell and Osceola had fairly easy first round wins and are both one game away from the quarterfinals.
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Column: Tough draw for Blytheville in playoff opening round (11/13/14)The Chicks needed the win to advance to postseason action and the Colts just wanted to ruin a perfect conference season for their county rival, Osceola. Gosnell had no problems on its final game posting a school record, 74, against Harrisburg. As for Chico's Bail Bonds, thanks to a huge performance from Dez Bryant across the pond against Jacksonsville, I soundly defeated Team He Hate Me and moved back into third place at 6-4...
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Column: Blytheville, Gosnell took different roads to playoffs (11/11/14)For the first time since 2011 both the Blytheville Chickasaws and Gosnell Pirates will be in the postseason. Gosnell locked up their bid weeks ago but for the Chicks, it came down to last Friday's regular season finale at Forrest City. Considering what Blytheville endured in the week leading up to last week's game starting with their loss to Paragould the week before, I'm still trying to figure out how the Chicks won that game. ...
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Column: Playoff positioning on the line for local teams (11/6/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. There are plenty of good matchups this week with all four county games having playoff implications and one (Blytheville at Forrest City) might as well be a playoff game because the winner moves on and the loser packs it in for the season...
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What a crazy weekend of football (11/3/14)It was another crazy weekend of prep football around the county. Before I comment on the Blytheville game, let's take a look at the other games around the county.
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Column: Senior Night at Blytheville and Gosnell Friday (10/30/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. Gosnell and Blytheville both had tough weeks on the road last week but both should get back on the winning track this Friday as they return home for Senior Night at their respective schools...
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Local teams look to rebound after tough weekend (10/27/14)It was a rough weekend for area football teams. The Gosnell Pirates suffered their first loss of the season up in Pocahontas, and the Blytheville Chickasaws were shut out by No. 1 Batesville on the road.
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Chicks, Pirates both have tough games this week (10/23/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. Gosnell and Blytheville picked up big wins last week as the Pirates stayed in first place with their win over Highland and the Chicks kept their playoff hopes alive with a rout of Valley View...
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Local teams pick up signature wins (10/20/14)The prep football season continues to heat up. Blytheville won its second game in a row in a 49-14 rout of Valley View, while the Gosnell Pirates went on the road and made a huge statement in a 20-12 win at Highland.
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This week key to Chicks' playoff hopes (10/16/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title.
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High school, college football seasons heating up (10/13/14)The temperatures might be cooling off here in the Mid-South, but things are just beginning to heat up throughout the prep football season this week.
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Column: Game at Tech feels like a must-win for Chickasaws (10/9/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. The Chicks lost a big one last week and Manila won their first game in two years while the Pirates keep rolling along undefeated. ...
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Prep football season reaches halfway mark (10/6/14)Five down, five to go. It's kind of hard to believe but the prep football season is already half over.
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Blytheville, Gosnell favored in Week 5 matchups (10/2/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. Blytheville (3-1, 0-1 5A-East)...
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Local teams try for good start to conference season (9/25/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. Blytheville is 3-0 for the first time in five years while Gosnell opens the 3-4A season on the heels of a 29-29 tie. I heard tie games described as "like kissing your sister."...
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Local teams ready to begin conference slates (9/22/14)The conference season begins Friday night, and if it's anything close to how the non-conference season wound up, it's going to be an exciting year of football for Blytheville and Gosnell.
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Commentary: Chicks, Pirates close out non-conference play (9/18/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. Blytheville and Gosnell are both 2-0 for the first time since 2008 and I'm predicting they will both be 3-0 after this weekend. I'm moving on up the NEA Fantasy board after my 30-point shellacking of Caught Red Hernandez. Team "He Hate Me" is up next...
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Local football teams off to best collective start since '08 (9/15/14)Prep football is in its second week and there is plenty to be excited about around this end of the county.
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Column: Chicks, Pirates both try to improve to 2-0 Friday (9/11/14)I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another week of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. I missed just one last week with the relative upset of Paragould over Rivercrest. ...
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Football season gets into full swing (9/8/14)This past weekend was one of my favorite times of the year, as high school, college and pro football got into full swing. I have my Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Mondays and now even Thursdays covered for the next few months.
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Commentary: Writer predicts Blytheville, Gosnell to win openers (9/4/14)I'm back. Yes, I, The Great Fitzini, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Sage of Sages and Sports Prophet Extraordinaire, am back for another year of predicting prep football games and defending my NEA Fantasy League title. The first week of the season is always one of the toughest weeks...
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Commentary: Pete Rose should remain banned from baseball (8/28/14)This past Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of Pete Rose's lifetime banishment from baseball. Every few years, the topic of whether or not Major League Baseball should lift the ban comes back into the spotlight. I remember that summer vividly -- watching the news every night for updates as it became clearer and clearer that Rose had done the unthinkable. ...
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Commentary: LeBron is the big winner in NBA free agency (7/16/14)Every four years, while the sports cycle is in a little bit of a dead period, the world comes together to watch a great Mid-Summer classic. No, not the MLB All-Star Game. Not the World Cup. It's not the Olympics either. Yes, it's the LeBron James Decision. In 2010 he took his "talents to South Beach." 2014, he's "going home" to Cleveland...
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Column: America's success in World Cup is a good thing (7/1/14)Today (Tuesday) marks a momentous occasion in the world of sports. The U.S. takes on Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 on Tuesday marking the first time the U.S. has made back-to-back trips to the knock out round of the tournament. The U.S. team's recent international success has drawn much attention around the world and especially in the good ol' U.S. of A...
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Weather wreaking havoc on sports writer's habits (6/12/14)There's something missing. BBSB baseball and softball have not played a game in over a week and it's starting to take its toll on me. It's strange how the removal of something so common in your life can have such a profound effect on you when it's not there...
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Column: Not exactly a Willis Reed moment for LeBron (6/6/14)I could not believe my eyes. There is no way that what I saw last night in game one of the NBA Finals actually took place. No, it's not that the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat to go up 1-0 in the best of seven series. It's not that at 10:30 p.m. they were just beginning the fourth period...
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Brown builds another state championship contender (5/20/14)2014 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for longtime Armorel head baseball coach Charlie Brown and his Tigers. At least that's what he thought back in February. Actually, Brown probably thought about that months before February, like in May of 2013 shortly after the Tigers lost in the 1A state semifinals to Taylor at Taylor Field in Pine Bluff...
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Column: Pirates try to send Jackson out a state champion (5/15/14)Sometimes everything just comes together at the right time. At the beginning of the season, longtime Gosnell Pirate head coach, Bret Jackson, announced he was stepping down after the 2014 campaign. If you could attach the title "hard luck" in front of any coach's name, it would be in front of Jackson's...
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1A power Armorel eyes another state title run (5/14/14)It's that time of year again. Since I've been working at the Courier News, it seems every spring I've been writing about Armorel baseball and softball making deep postseason runs into late May. This year is no different. After the regional tournaments last weekend, it looks like both teams are in position to make plenty of noise in this week's 1A state tournament beginning Thursday afternoon and pitching will be the key to their success...
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Column: A lot of good baseball, softball this weekend (5/1/14)If you're looking for some good baseball this weekend, you're in the right location. The 3-4A conference tournament begins Thursday at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex while the 1A-3 East baseball and softball district tournaments begin Friday at Armorel...
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Column: Bizzare NCAA Tournament comes to an end (4/8/14)Monday night concluded one of the most, if not the most, bizarre NCAA tournaments that I can remember. Bizarre as in "Bizzaro World." Everything seemed backwards. Good was bad, bad was good. Up was down and down was up. Top seeds played like low seeds and low seeds played like top seeds. Freshmen played like seniors and seniors played like freshmen. It was madness in every sense of the word...
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March Madness strikes again (3/28/14)Well, I'm not going to be a billionaire. My Warren Buffett bracket busted before my kids got out of school last Thursday as Dayton upset Ohio St, 60-59, in the NCAA tournament's opening game.
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It's the most wonderful time of the year (in sports) (3/20/14)"It's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be much whistles blowing and everyone groaning, the upsets we cheer. It's the most wonderful time of the year." It's that time of year again. The time of year when Spring returns to the air (thank goodness) and to everyone's step, the grocery store snack aisles are crowded or empty depending on the inventory, stock in chicken wings, pizza and jalapeno poppers go through the roof and work production takes a serious dive...
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Commentary: News shows could learn a lesson from sports world (3/13/14)Social and non-sports related themes filled the sports airwaves in the month of February. From homosexuals in the locker room to use of the "N" word, actual sporting events took a back seat to social issues almost immediately after the Seahawks whopped the Broncos in the Super Bowl in early February and is now coming back as we approach March Madness and the NFL draft...
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Column: Weather adds more unpredictability to postseason (3/5/14)A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column about the unpredictability of high school athletics, in particular, end of the season prep basketball. I covered just about every aspect except one thing -- the weather. There's an old saying, "If you wonder if God has a sense of humor, just make plans." Well, plans were made for the state tournaments to begin on Tuesday, then Wednesday and now Thursday (If I were a betting man, I wouldn't bet on it.) I guess in this day and age, even God tries to get as much milage out of a good joke as he can.. ...
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Local hoops teams experiencing 'February Fury' (2/19/14)For those of you who thought this basketball season may have lost a little luster, the last two nights have produced some of the most exciting games that this area has seen in a long time. All three schools -- Armorel, Gosnell and Blytheville --won games in overtime and I was lucky enough to see two of them...
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Super Bowl has interesting storylines (2/1/14)Every year, the Super Bowl has a number of secondary stories besides who will win the game. Super Bowl XLVIII (48) is no exception. Two particular underlying stories have dominated the news shows these past two weeks and they don't even involve Richard Sherman's mouth...
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Column: Chickasaws turning around their hoops season (1/30/14)Reports of the Blytheville Chickasaws' demise have been greatly exaggerated. In just under two weeks, Jeff Flanigan and the Chicks have gone from a team just trying to get one win --in what was at that point a winless season -- to a team that is in the hunt for their first trip to the state tournament in two years...
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Let's hope the streak ends tonight against Batesville (1/17/14)The word "streak" is a very polarizing word in the sports world. It's either connected to something very good or something very bad. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak was a good thing. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-game losing streak was a bad thing, although it has provided humor for multiple generations of football fans through the magic of NFL Films...