Local Sports

I'm sure my busted bracket is not alone

March 22, 2013

Well that didn’t take long. The early games of the day I was looking like a genius with my picks being on the right side of all the close games.
When I suffered my first loss (Oklahoma State falling to Oregon), I felt I was still in good shape because I didn’t have the Cowboys going any further.
Then the big one happened. To be honest I never saw it coming and since I went to sleep fairly early, I never saw it period.

For the full column, see Friday's Malvern Daily Record.

The making of a champion, Part 2

March 20, 2013

Malvern Lady Leopards head coach Jess Martin and assistant coach Cleveland Gordon, who has been with the team four years, have a theory with their practices.
They aim to make the practices as hard as they can so when it comes time for an actual game, the players are having fun.
That’s not to say that they don’t occasionally have fun in practice as well.
Martin praises Gordon’s role on the team whenever he gets the chance.
“He is the enforcer — the bad guy coach,” Martin said jokingly. “He has a great rapport with the kids. He works hard and does a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed.”

The making of a champion, Part 1

March 15, 2013

What does it take to be a champion? One could say skill and determination — and they wouldn’t be wrong.
One of the biggest assets to a team on a championship run is emotion, and the Malvern High School Lady Leopards have plenty of that.
Emotion gives you that extra edge that makes you want it just a little bit more than your opponent.
When the Lady Leopards got knocked out of the tournament a year ago, the primary reactions I noticed from the team was disappointment verging on anger.

Poyen teams knock off Hot Springs

March 6, 2013

The Indian Baseball Classic in Poyen has drawn teams from classifications ranging from 1A (Ouachita High School) to 6A (Wilbur Mills University Studies High School) and from areas as far away as Woodlawn High School.
In back-to-back nights, teams from Poyen, in the 2A Classification, took on Hot Springs, which is in the 5A Classification.
On Monday evening, the Poyen Lady Indians played their first game of the year, downing the Lady Trojans 10-0 in just five innings.

For the full story, see Wednesday's Malvern Daily Record.