Volume 291

(All opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author. In no way does this reflect the opinions of members of the Tri-C Youth Athletic Board or any others affiliated with the program.)

The Giants and Patriots have earned the right to advance to the Super Bowl to be held on February 5 at Indianapolis. Both conference championships were exciting, if not perfectly played, games. It only goes to show that even at the highest level the simplest of plays can turn into defeat. I wonder how Billy Cundiff and Kyle Williams felt Monday morning. If it would have been me in their position there would have been very little sleep.

Many individuals will be involved in contests or pools to pick the winner or the score of the Super Bowl. We are not exempt to that either. For the seventh year we will offer a Super Bowl contest for our readers and visitors to our website.

Below you will find the rules for the contest. The prize will be a $75.00 gift card from Grumpy’s Smokehouse. As always my pick is found on the Communications thread on the website, entitled Super Bowl Contest. You may either enter in that manner or email your prediction to me at brm48@hotmail.com.

I realize that the smart money is on New England, but I always go with the NFC Champion. Both teams could easily be sitting at home on February 5, but both also seem to win even if it is in a less than perfect manner. It should be a good one.

To enter you simply have to predict the winner and the number of points each team will score. The one who picks the winner and is the closest in predicting the score will win the contest.

Remember, to enter the contest, use the communication forum, or email your prediction to me at brm48@hotmail.com. We will take entries up until 12:00, noon, on February 5.

As in previous years we will go with the following to determine the winner in case of a tie.

1. The person who entered the contest first.

2. A Sumo wrestling match at the halftime of a selected Tri-C basketball game.

3. A coin flip.

I will do my best to try to avoid duplicate scores and will inform those with the same score as soon as possible. Although, I have an advantage of having the first entry, I would gladly forfeit the prize to be the host of a Sumo match between certain Tri-C Board Members or former members. Now that would be a great fund raiser!

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It is among the saddest of sports stories in discussing the death of Joe Paterno. Paterno, was more than just a coaching legend, but a true leader and role model to many a young person in Pennsylvania and the entire nation. It is a shame the end of his coaching career and the horrible issue that led to this will cloud his legacy. People are quick to judge others and many people look at a story and say, well I would have not acted in that manner or I would have done this or that. To that I say baloney. We do not sometimes know how we would handle a particular situation. Child molestation is such a foreign thought to most of us we are sometimes more in denial of such a thing occurring. A person from Paterno’s generation has a very hard time believing something like this could happen.

This is not to fully excuse Paterno; he should at least have taken the initiative to follow up with his superiors after he reported the incident. Yes, he probably could have done more, but his was an act of omission and not commission. Jerry Sandusky is the black heart here, not Paterno. For this writer, I am going to remember Joe Paterno as one of the greatest football coaches ever and not in any way in disgrace.

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Another person passed away this week and I must share my thoughts with you about him. His name was Alvin Roberts. He worked for my father and later a co-worker with me. He was a legend in the field of rehabilitation for the blind and one of the most remarkable people that I ever had the pleasure of knowing. Even though he was totally blind at birth, he saw more than almost anyone I ever knew. In years past, some of you may remember seeing a short, rotund man walking around Carbondale wearing a large cowboy hat and using his white cane for guidance.

On occasion when I drove by where this pedestrian was walking I may have yelled out the window “Hi Alvin!” to which the response was, “Hi Roger.” As many people as he knew it was always a wonder to me how he was able to identify and differentiate so many voices. He was also noted for walking into any neighborhood in any city. One time, a friend shared, that he recalled Alvin walking, alone, through the streets of Juarez, Mexico when they were on vacation together. Others had shared the fact that he would go walking in some pretty rough neighborhoods in Chicago. No one or no circumstance ever seemed to bother him.

Two stories that will stand out about Alvin both dealt with his relationship with my father. First, as prolific writer, Alvin wrote two books, as well as numerous articles and research papers for journals and periodicals. In one of his books, Coping With Blindness, he wrote about an experience that he and my father shared. In 1954, Alvin was thrilled that he got permission to buy a Braille Dictionary and wanted to take it to a blind teenager who lived in a rural area close to the Franklin and Saline County border. Alvin asked if my father would drive him to deliver the dictionary to the youth. Alvin had mentioned that the father of the youth was hostile toward strangers and did not particularly care for anyone from the school or state that had tried to help his son. This was good information for my father to have, but what he did not say was the size of a Braille Dictionary was. Having never seen a Braille Dictionary, my father thought in terms of a Webster’s, but if you multiply that one volume by about 70 you may have the number. My father took the time to load the dictionary in the trunk and backseat of our family Studebaker. When arriving at the home the child’s father told them to leave and take all those books off his property. According to Alvin’s recollection when his attempts failed my father was able to talk to the man about many varied subjects and as Alvin put it, using his sincere, expressive gray eyes and most charming smile won over a once hostile and angry individual. Of course my father had to unload the books. Alvin said it was one of the highlights and best days of his work career.

Again in the car together in the 1950’s my father and Alvin were driving to Springfield one evening. There was some road construction on this particular trip around Greenville and it was raining. At this point on the trip, Alvin said, “I think you made the wrong turn back there, Jack.” Having driven this route at least every other month for ten years, my father responded that he was going the correct way. After driving about 10 minutes in the wrong direction he realized his error and returned to follow the course as Alvin had instructed. It was one of those stories that always made my father and I laugh.

Martha and I attended his birthday party a couple of years ago and found him to be the same remarkable man that I had known almost all my life. Whenever others feel sorry for themselves, I like to think of Alvin Roberts. After my father appeared on a TV Show, sometime in the mid sixties, discussing his work and the agency he served, Alvin told my mother, later, that he “saw” Jack on TV. We laughed about it then that he used the word “saw.” In a true since he was right. He saw a lot more than most of us ever will.

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ODDS and ENDS

The next column I write will be from Florida. As I have shared with many, beginning Monday, Martha and I will be in the Sunshine State for the next two months. It dawned on me at the last meeting that I will miss baseball/softball registration and our evaluation. Also, it will be difficult to be away from the last three weeks of our basketball season. Helping with that program has been special to me over the years. Dave, Bill, and Russ, among others, have made this a great season and are to be applauded for their hard work. No concerns exist with me that things will not go smoothly in my absence. This community is fortunate to have a group of leaders looking out for the welfare of our children. Even though I will miss the Tri-C activities and my adult and younger friends, I must admit I am looking forward to Spring Training. After all I have a good feeling----THIS COULD BE THE ORIOLES YEAR!

Gabrielle Giffords stepping down from her Congressional seat is a sad bit of news for most of us. It takes a person of great courage to admit that this is the right thing to do. About a month ago when Time magazine named the protestors around the world as the “Person of the Year” my first thought was it should have gone to Gabby. What a profile in courage and what a remarkable story. I am sure the great mass of America wishes her nothing short of the best.

We, also, should be in support with our thoughts and prayers for Senator Mark Kirk, who suffered a stroke this weekend.

Bill Rosado informed me that we are going to have our annual Shoot-out and Coaches Game on February 25 at Tri-C Elementary. More information will follow on the website and to each coach. The monies raised through this event go directly into our building fund. It is the goal of Tri-C youth Athletics to be in a position in the next few years to build a multi-purpose type of gym to be used not only for basketball, but other sports as well. It is too bad that I cannot be in town for this event. I have been perfecting my slam dunk and feel that I would be unstoppable in the Coaches Game.

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SCORING LEADERS

BOYS A

1. Nik Lamb---------------------79

2. Christian Albert--------------52

3. Ryan Gaddis------------------42

4. Kestutis Lazdinis-------------35

5. Brandon Teal-----------------34

6. Alex Meade-------------------31

7. Matt Turner-------------------29

8. Markas Lazdinis--------------26

9. Connor Bybee-----------------25

10.Dante Boens------------------21

BOYS B

1. Trent Glidewell--------------34

2. Cedric Jordan----------------28

3. Haden Vaughn---------------27

---Luke Stritzel-----------------27

5. Peter Baker-------------------25

---Keenan Williams------------25

7. Tyler Bittle-------------------23

---Connor Hawkins------------23

9. Cody Rector-----------------20

10.Cameron Hall---------------17

BOYS C

1. Nick Brown--------------------33

2. Taylor Siemer-----------------28

3. Bryce Anderson---------------22

4. Ben Haake---------------------16

5. Max Poole---------------------14

6. Quentin Myers-----------------11

7. Keaton Rosado-----------------8

8. D’Andre Boens-----------------7

---Eric Bybee----------------------7

---Lance Thomas------------------7

GIRLS A

1. Caitlyn Culp-------------------61

2. Brittney Morgan--------------30

3. Taylor Morgan----------------24

4. Brittany Swain----------------22

5. Brianna Perry-----------------20

6. McKenzie Rogman----------16

7. Kate Crosby-------------------14

---Hannah Hooks----------------14

9. Georgie Ren-------------------12

10.Madilyn Billington-----------8

---Summer Rains-----------------8

GIRLS B

1. Abbey Crain------------------54

2. Madison Fleege--------------40

3. Megan Beach-----------------26

4. Emma Robinson-------------24

---Julia Stroud-------------------24

6. Alaina Reno------------------14

7. Maddie Campbell------------12

---Abigail Krumrey-------------12

---Mallory Sizemore------------12

10.Allie Hottensen--------------10

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The winner of our contest this past week is Jason Lamb. Jason knew that this year Drew Brees set an NFL record for most passing yardage in a single season. Congratulations Jason and thanks to all who entered.

Since I will be gone for a period of time we will not have our weekly contest until I return to beautiful southern Illinois in April. However, please, take the time to enter our Super Bowl Contest and be looking forward to our NCAA Basketball Contest in March

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Until next time,

Pay attention,

Hustle, and always

Use your “noodle.”