Tag Archives: Athletic Championships

Tourney Time & Jealousy

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The NCAA Tournament field has been announced and Game One has been played. A lot of Kentucky fans are upset about our path, but I’m not too bothered by it. Assuming the higher seeds advance, we’ll play East Tennessee State, Texas, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Duke, and Kansas. I’m not upset with this path because it’s the national championship tournament, meaning you are supposed to play tough teams, and I’d prefer to play teams from major conferences that I’m familiar with than the mid-majors and small conference teams that turn into Cinderellas. Given that no 16 seed has ever beat a 1 seed in the men’s tournament, I’m not worried about our only non-BCS conference opponent. I think the second round game, against Texas or Wake Forest, is a bit harsh for a second round, but both of these teams had less than spectacular endings to their seasons and slid down the seeding totem pole. Once we make it to the second weekend we are theoretically supposed to play the 15th, 7th, and 3rd ranked team to make it to the final game, which match up well with Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Duke.

I saw a kid with a Batman mask and white cape in Kroger the other day. I must say I was a little jealous because I wish I could still get away with a stunt like that. If I tried it people would probably grab their kids and cover their eyes like I was Cousin It or on the FBI Most Wanted list. I’ve actually had several conversation about being jealous of children lately because they are so carefree and easily entertained. We also had one about being jealous of Justin Bieber. How cool would it be to have done a video with Usher and Ludacris before you could drive?

Last weekend was Athletic Championships’ Gatlinburg/Sevierville event, which was a great event. At one point in time I was going to take my gym there and I think they would have enjoyed it. The hotel connected to the event center has a water park in it and I think it would have been a lot of fun for my Showtime girls. The event itself had some good teams from some well known gyms and a few from some smaller gyms I wasn’t familiar with. We did have a few legality issues during the event. Most of them involved when a pyramid connection needs to be made (at or below prep level) and what type of connection is required (arm to arm or hand to foot). Coaches, please learn the rules. It’s part of your role.

During the weekend in Tennessee we were reminded of Stephen’s fondness of Carrie Underwood and Chris Sipes’ ability to tell a story (not that we can repeat many of them, but they keep us entertained). The coaches party remained much more under control than I imagined it would. It was at a decked out cabin in the mountains and reminded me of a college house party. Since it’s still Lent I just observed the games and talked to people, some I’ve known for years, and some I met that night.

Congratulations to the Kentucky women for earning a 4 seed in the tournament along with numerous awards including SEC Coach of the Year, SEC Player of the Year, and SEC Freshmen of the Year.

Next is the Illinois Coaches’ Conference and some basketball with my cousin.

VIP in the ARK

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Last weekend we were in Hot Springs, AR judging for Athletic Championships. We had a smaller crew than normal, but had still enjoyed the trip. It started with the ride to Hot Springs from Memphis. 5 of us in same vehicle was a little cozy, but it beat driving by myself and we got to watch Charlie Wilson’s War, in honor of the late Congressman. Friday night wasn’t too eventful, just the group sitting around catching up after not having an event the weekend before, even though some of us were in Atlanta for CheerSport. Being a smaller event we didn’t get started early, leaving plenty of time for sleep and breakfast.

Saturday was the Kentucky versus Tennessee basketball game. Being the only Kentucky fan in the group I had to recruit Jenna to help cheer for Kentucky, but we were still badly outnumbered by the Tennessee fans. The game was enhanced by 2 things, the 55 inch TV purchased by one of the staffers after they found out they couldn’t hook up the X-Box or Wii to the TV in the room, and the VIP in the ARK halftime rap performance based on the song written during the breaks in competition.

Stephen performing VIP in the ARK.

The competition was normal. We had one serial puker, one mad coach, one confused coach, but overall everyone was happy. The drive home stunk. It started snowing as we got close to Memphis. The trip from Memphis to Jackson was miserable. It was blizzard like conditions almost the entire way. At one point everything went white like I was seeing the light.

I obviously made it. A short trip to Starkville is next.

Hello February

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February started with a bachelor party in Providence, at least according to my body. It was actually an Athletic Championship Platinum Event in which they were awarding their Cheerleading Worlds bids. Due to some weather issues we had 2 judges not make it to the event. Fortunately Kiera lived close enough to drive up. Unfortunately I had the pleasure of being put on both panels. It wasn’t really that bad, just long days, 153 teams per day. Congrats to World Cup and East Celebrity Elite on earning the paid bids. From what we could remember, World Cup Shooting Star’s day one score of 95.5 is the second highest this year using the Varsity Standard of Scoring.

While on the topic of Providence, I want to apologize for an incident that occurred. As judges, part of our job is to remain professional and there was a point in the weekend in which this wasn’t done. Even though most of you will never as much as hear a mention of what happened, I want to apologize on part of the judges on the panel, at the event, and on behalf of judges everywhere that try to do the right thing.

Between catching up with Donna, Lila, Justin, Derek, and JP on Friday, the Remember the 80′s party on Saturday, and the Casino on Sunday, sleep wasn’t really part of the schedule in Providence. Saturday had some outrageous 80s outfits I’ll try to get some pictures of from the other judges. At the party I had the pleasure of meeting the crew from Elite in New York. We sat and chatted until they threw us out. I enjoyed it and want to thank them. Sunday turned into Casino night. Thanks Cole.

Next is Cheersport. Nick & Becky, it was great meeting you guys and good luck in Atlanta.

O-H-I-O

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Columbus, OH, former home of my sister. Columbus was fun this weekend, in large part due to the comedy duo of Stephen Roberts and Chris Sipes. There are no words that can properly describe these 2 in action. An added bonus this weekend was Eddie Hollins, Ohio State’s cheerleading coach. He made sure we had a good time Saturday night. Thanks Eddie. One glaring omission was Lauren, who is dealing with something none of us should ever have to. We love you Lauren and can’t wait for you to get back on tour with us.

On the cheerleading side of things, teams are still sloppy and coaches still don’t understand or haven’t read the scoring system. You are missing out on some easy points and complaining about things that have been spelled out for you in black and white. Coaches, please do your homework. I may have to write an article for Spirit Post addressing this.

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to chat with Angie, one of the guy’s girlfriend. He did good and hopefully he realizes it. I may have to remind him.

On a different note, Kentucky should be #1 by the end of today and the Saints will play the Colts in the SuperBowl.

There are 2 outstanding questions from the weekend. How much did the pizza cost and how did it get in our room? Stephen?

Florida Lee

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Before leaving Mississippi I got some good news via email. I can’t go into it now, but will later. I was also asked an important question, “Why is it called a Florida Lee and not a New Orleans Lee or Louisiana Lee?” Good question coming from a 7 year old artist.

From there it was on to Chattanooga, TN for Athletic Championships with Jason Keogh and the Elzas. We aren’t supposed to say much about the competition so I’ll just say I was glad my days didn’t start at the crack of dawn and my panel was fun. There were a few people I haven’t seen in years and a few I met for the first time. At this point I need to take a moment to thank Brian Elza, for reasons clear to him, but few others. I also have to say if you ever get a chance to have a conversation with, judge with, or listen to Chris Sipes, you should take advantage of it. He is one of the funniest people I’ve been around in a long time, and possibly ever.

I’m now back in Lexington, catching up on everything and working on Aneris. Today has proven to be strange. A good friend got some extremely bad news. She’s strong enough to handle it, but is going to need a shoulder to lean on for a few days.

Just for the record, it’s a Fleur-de-lis.