Last week's column

A reprint of my column printed in the Woodford Sun on Oct. 9.

Metalsmiths use extreme heat to purify metal, and the gunk that comes out isn’t pretty.

But the final product possesses a beauty unimaginable when simply looking at the raw ore.

The heat of athletic competition can also force some ugly gunk out of participants, and like metal refined by fire, sometimes the athlete ends up a better purified version of himself in the end.

I saw this process play out during the Woodford County – Johnson County football game.

Early in the third quarter with the Yellow Jackets trailing 40-20, Woodford senior wide receiver Alex Forkner dropped a short pass from quarterback Steven Duckworth. As the ball fell to the ground, a Golden Eagle defender drilled Forkner, knocking him hard to the turf.

Forkner, taking exception, sprang up and shoved the offending Johnson Central player.

The yellow flag flew, fluttering to the ground as the ball had only moments before.

The referee assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Forkner, pushing the Woodford offense back, and ultimately stalling the drive and killing momentum gained from the Jacket defensive stop minutes before.

“Get him off the field,” coach Chris Tracy yelled.

The next time I saw Forkner, he was sitting alone on a bench behind the Yellow Jacket sideline.

Eyes downcast.

Forlorn.

Yeah, the hit was a tad late. Probably unnecessary. But the whistle had not blown and the hit was within the rules.

Forkner was in the wrong.

And he knew it.

After the game, the Yellow Jackets gathered at midfield and I was standing next to Alex. J.R. Leach offered up a post-game prayer. There were some words of encouragement from the coach. A few words from Duckworth.

Then Forkner spoke up.


No excuses.

No self justification.

No whining.

Just a sincere apology from a young man who knew he’d messed up.

Moments like that fuel my love for sports. In the blink of an eye, I saw a high school student take a step toward adulthood. I saw an athlete purified by the heat of competition. Some ugly stuff came out, but a better version of Alex Forkner walked of that field that night.

Quick Shots

Oregon State’s upset win over number one ranked USC serves as a poignant reminder - you’ve got to play the games.

UK fans are feeling pretty good about their Cats. Kentucky is off to a nice 4-0 start and looked pretty good against Western Kentucky. But I watched part of the Alabama Georgia game, and I have a feeling the Wildcat bubble is about to burst.

I know not too many people in these parts care, but I’m really excited about the fact the hockey season starts this week.

This shouldn’t surprise me, but Terrell Owens is still an idiot. After having the ball thrown or handed to him 20 times (representing a third of their offensive plays) in the Cowboys’ loss to the Redskins, Owens implied the problem with the Dallas offense was that they didn’t get the ball to him enough.

A little message to NASCAR driver Carl Edwards – life is not a video game. Edwards intentionally bounced off the wall after flying past Jimmy Johnson on the final lap of the Camping World RV 400 in Kansas. Edwards hoped the wall would redirect him and prevent him from sliding sideways going into the finish.

"I always wanted to try that," Edwards said. "Now I know it doesn't work quite the same as a video game."

Quote of the Week

“I used to tell my quarterbacks, ‘You’ll only throw seven interceptions this season.’ They’d say, ‘That’s great. Is it the routes you run or the way I read the defense?’ I’d tell them, ‘No, when you get to six, you’re not playing any more.’ That they understood.”
-Lou Holtz


Puck to the Head

This week’s puck to the head flies at Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador for his little tirade upon learning of seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong plans to go for win eight next year.

Contador races for the Astana cycling team and won the Tour de France in 2007. Since Armstrong announced his plans to compete in next year’s tour, many speculate he may join Astana because of his ties with team leader Johan Bruyneel.

Apparently Contador believes his past performance entitles him a lifetime top-spot on Astana.

“I think I’ve earned the right to be a leader of the team without having to fight for my place,” he said. (Insert whiney voice for better effect.) “And with Armstrong, some difficult situations could arise in which the team would put him first, and that would hurt me.”

PULEEZE!

I’ve long believed that the push to take competition out of sports – you know, not keeping score and other such silliness – and rewarding every child just for showing up creates entitlement minded, self-indulgent brats.

I’ve often wondered if it would filter up to the pro ranks.

I guess it has.