By Blake Ells Buddy Anderson still remembers the night his life’s path became clear to him. It was Jan. 12, 1968, and he was sitting in his father’s old pickup that he had driven to play in a high school basketball game. “It wasn’t completely overcast, but there were clouds,” he recalls, as if the date nearly 50 years ago were yesterday. “I had been struggling with … [Read more...]
It’s All Lemonade: Rebels’ Lemons Closing in on Major League Baseball Goal
By Rubin E. Grant Caden Lemons dreamed of playing baseball in the big leagues when he was a young boy. As he got older, his dream turned into a goal. Now, that goal is closer to becoming reality. Lemons, a 6-foot-6-inch, 175-pound fireballing right-hander from Vestavia Hills High School, was expected to be taken anywhere from the first to the third round in the Major League … [Read more...]
Spain Reign: Hawkins, Widra, Tedder Lead All-OTM Team
By Lee Davis Spain Park may have fallen short of its goal to win the Class 7A softball championship, but in every other way, 2017 was the year of the Jaguars. Coach C.J. Hawkins’ team compiled a 48-9 record, won its region and spent much of the season in the top three of Class 7A ranking. Spain Park also earned recognition as one of the nation’s best high school … [Read more...]
Golden Age: Champion Bucs And Rebels Lead All-OTM Team
By Lee Davis By any measure, 2017 was a golden season for Over the Mountain baseball. Briarwood, Homewood and Oak Mountain produced outstanding seasons. Vestavia Hills had a strong April-May push that nearly put it in the Class 7A championship finals, and Hoover brought home the big blue trophy, emblematic of the 2017 state title. As a result, the 2017 All-Over the Mountain … [Read more...]
The Island of the Blue Trophies: Area Teams Dominated Sports in 2016-17
By Lee Davis This story has been written so many times that it’s almost become a cliché, and here it is again: Over the Mountain schools dominated statewide athletic competition in the 2016-17 academic year. But that’s just the hometown sportswriter building up the hometown teams, isn’t it? Actually, it’s just the fact. Area schools earned championships in 2016-17 in sports … [Read more...]