By Nick Nunn
Staff Writer

The MCMS basketball program faced Youth Middle School and Putnam County this week. The girls lost to Youth 25-26 but beat Putnam 28-16, while the boys lost both games: Youth, 32-45, and Putnam, 44-50.
Although both teams beat Youth Middle School earlier this year, Morgan County was outscored by Youth last week in both games.
The girls game was close throughout. No quarter ended with either team possessing more than a two-point lead.
In the last minutes of the game, Morgan County was slightly ahead, but three made free throw shots by Youth put them ahead 26-25 with 24 seconds to play.

Despite being able to gain possession of the ball in the time remaining, Morgan County could not score again, losing by one point to Youth.

Tatyana Davis’ 16 points led the team, with Salina Fortune adding four points to the total.
The boys got off to a sloppy start, missing eight free throw shots in the first quarter alone.
Lamarcus Stokes pulled the team along, making three two-point field goals and six out of six attempted free throws for a total of 12 points during the game, but Morgan County trailed Youth consistently by approximately 10 points the entire game before losing 32-45.

The teams traveled to Putnam County last Friday night. The girls took an early 9-3 lead in the first quarter and never let up, outscoring Putnam 28-16 over the course of the game.

Tatyana Davis made 18 of the team’s 28 points, and Autumn Woodard followed up with four points.
“Putnam is a tough place to go and play as we seem to always get into foul trouble whenever we go there,” said Coach Brian Cousins. “We were able to overcome foul trouble and turnovers to get the win.”
However, the boys suffered a 44-50 loss, their second to Putnam this season.

By Nick Nunn
Staff Writer

The Morgan County Middle School wrestling team had two important events last week. Tuesday, Jan. 8, the team beat Elbert County in a dual 47-34, making them league champions for the second year in a row. In league dual matches this year, Morgan County went 7-0.
Then, last Saturday, the team traveled to George Walton Academy to compete in the League Tournament, where they took third place.
On Wednesday, the middle school wrestling team had their last match of the season, competing in duals against Monticello and Jefferson. The results of these duals will be included in next week’s edition.

Printed in the January 17, 2013, edition.

When is it in a child’s best interest for its parents to kill it? One Chinese father believes he has found one instance that action is justified.
Well, sort of...
A 23-year-old named Xiao Feng quit his job at a software development company in China after only three months because he was, reportedly, unhappy with the work.
With little else to do, Xiao promptly went home, turned on his computer, tuned into some online gaming, and dropped out of the workforce.
Leaving the adult world behind, Xiao gave up his quest for gainful employment. His father (who goes by “Mr. Feng” in all of the reports) decided that he would have to take extreme measures to break his son free of his crippling addiction.
After contemplating the ifs for a bit, he came up with a clever solution: kill his son.
Well... kill his son’s character.
So, Mr. Feng sought out and hired “online assassins,” who would kill his son each and every time his son logged into games with his character.
(That’s the job I want! Why didn’t they ever tell me in middle school that I could make money by killing people in video games? Heck, most people pay on a monthly basis to get to do that!)
Anyway, after seeing his character killed upon login time after time, Xiao began to get the feeling that something was wrong. Xiao asked around the gaming world a little before he unearthed Mr. Feng’s plot.
Instead of beating around the bush, Xiao went directly to his father to confront him, insisting that he had no intention of quitting before he found fulfilling work.
Hmm. That’s one way to do it.
I’m still waiting on the report that says that Mr. Feng upped the ante and hired a real assassin for his son...

Printed in the January 10, 2013

By the time this column is published, one of two things will have happened: either some of the best players of this still fresh century will be denied a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame during their first year of eligibility, or the most notorious stars of the “juicing” era in baseball will be given a plaque in Cooperstown.
And, yes, we are talking about the same players.
The Hall of Fame inductees for 2013 were announced Wednesday, and Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa are on the ballot for the first time this year. There has been considerable discussion within the sports writing community about whether these athletes deserve their votes.
The 600-plus votes that are cast yearly rest in the hands of 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and, if Bonds, Clemens, or Sosa hope to get in this year, they will need votes on at least 75 percent of the ballots to be elected.
Most of the controversy this year surrounds Rule No. 5 in the voting guidelines, which states: “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”
Members must decide whether athletes fall short of these criteria –integrity sportsmanship, and character, in particular – because these athletes were suspected of taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Failing to meet that mark would make them ineligible to receive members’ votes.
Garry D. Howard of the Sporting News stated that he will not vote for players suspected of using PEDs – this year. Howard acknowledges that all three will eventually receive a place in the hall but this year they have to “pay the piper.”
Howard’s reaction amounts to little more than a petty whack on the hands. What is the difference of a year when it comes to an immortal enshrinement?