The Report and what it means now...

I'm not sure if you all are baseball fans or not, but I have to admit that I am. I have been a long time Cubs fan since I played for the Cubs in my little league here in Oklahoma. I grew up watching Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, Leon Durham, Mark Grace, Shawon Dunston, Rick Sutcliffe, Lee Smith, Damon Berryhill, and others.

I hated seeing the Mitchell Report because it seemed that a part of my past and my love had been a lie. Watching some of the greats like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, as well as guys like Lenny Dykstra, is what I grew up doing. Now to see that it could all have been a lie. As a kid, I wanted a hero. I had my dad, who has always been a hero of mine, but you always wanted that "athlete" or "superhero" that you wanted to be. What if that hero wasn't really a hero after all?

What do you do if you spent all of your weekly allowance to go to the convenience store up the street, to get a new pack of cards, just in hopes that you may pull a Roger Clemens or a Barry Bonds card? I lived for those days.

I have to agree with Curt Schilling when he talks about these guys coming clean. I want them to have a clean name, for my boyhood dreams alone. I am now grown and realize that I'll never be a major leaguer, but I still have those memories and admirations of those players in my heart.

Adrian Peterson Sounds Off

That's right folks. We were able to get a one-on-one interview with Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Peterson, who is the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year in the NFL, discussed his great career at Palestine high school in East Texas. The 6-1, 217-pounder also explains how Texas high school football is a way of life.

Peterson, who is second in the NFL in rushing yards after 14 games, set records in high school and was the only freshman ever to finish second in the Heisman voting while playing at Oklahoma. A truly humble guy, Peterson expressed his determination to get better everyday in the NFL.

Anyone who has ever stood next to or had a chance to meet Peterson has witnessed the incredible stature of the young man. If the US were to create a clone army of super humans, then Peterson would be the mold.

His workouts? Endless. Determination? Abundant. His will? Unmatched..... And that is why he is where he is.

Austin Chadwick

72 points?? Seriously?

A team from Smith Center, Kansas scored 72 points in the first quarter of a game last weekend. 72 points in a quarter? I haven’t heard of a butt kicking like that since Walter Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan. All I know is that when I went to bed, Mondale had four electoral votes. That’s four more votes than I got and I didn’t even run for president.

That’s not even the most impressive number. What floored me is how they have yet to allow a point this season. They have outscored their opponents 640-0. To “0″?? Gimme a break! That is amazing! It is a rare find to have a high school team that can play both outstanding offense and suffocating defense.

There have been a number of great teams to play high school football. The decade of dominance by DeLaSalle, the Jenks dynasty, Shattuck’s still-building streak, and Smith Center’s streak of six straight championships. It’s great to see, but also leaves you with a wonder if parity has somehow skipped high school ball.

Look at the NCAA season. It seems that every week another Top 5 team loses and tosses a wrench into the BCS machine, but in the high school ranks, there seem to be the same teams dominating year in and year out. Last week, Mater Dei lost (#5 in the HSSTM Top 10), but it’s rare to see the top teams falter. Northwestern, Cardinal Mooney, and Union keep pounding away.

Would you rather see points, pounding defense, or parity?

6A Championship lined up!

It seems that just yesterday we were listening to sprinklers on our local high school fields and beads of sweat dripping down our brow. Now the frigid temps have officially moved in and it's playoff time in Oklahoma.

Another year, not much has changed in the state's largest class, 6A. Union and Jenks will face off again after beating Muskogee and Midwest City respectively. Union fought hard to pull of the 13-6 win over the Roughers on Friday night, while the Trojans rolled and ran over the Bombers on Saturday, 35-7. It seems to me that Jenks is playing at the top of their game right now and Friday night's championship game will be another to not miss. If you were at the game back in week 2, that ended in overtime, I think we can expect another game like that one. This is the last hurrah for quarterbacks Brandon Rogers (Union) and Mark Ginther (Jenks). These two outstanding play-callers have been facing off against each other since Mighty Mite ball. These two teams are definitely the top teams in the state. No question. It's Jenks and Union, then everybody else. This championship game will be played at Tulsa University on Friday night at 7:30pm. Trust me, you don't want to miss this game.