Appalachian State, and Other Sports Notables

"It's football time in Tennessee," as John Ward used to say. I was pleased to hear the current Tennessee announcer keep that phrase alive the other night at the beginning of the broadcast of the Tennessee--California game, even though Tennessee lost the game! And it's football time everywhere else, too--especially in Boone, North Carolina! The folks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, probably had never heard of Boone, North Carolina a few days ago; but they have now! Appalachian State, the defending Division I-AA champion in college football, went up to Ann Arbor and came away Saturday with perhaps the biggest upset in college football history! Michigan had been touted as the probable Big Ten champion for 2007 by a lot of folks, and a likely contender for the BCS national championship. But Appalachian State stayed with the Michigan guys stride for stride throughout the first half, and then pulled away to an eleven-point lead before Michigan threatened to shatter the dream. Michigan scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter which made the score 31--26 in favor of the Mountaineers. Michigan went for two points and missed. But with under two minutes to go, Michigan scored another touchdown to pull ahead 32--31. They went for the two-point conversion again, but again, failed to make it. With just over a minute to go, Appalachian got the ball again, but with no time-outs left. Still, they drove down the field, and kicked a field goal. Michigan had one more shot, but had their attempt at a game-winning field goal blocked. And Appalachian State won the game 34--32! This was a football fairytale ending, if ever there was one! Of course, Division I-AA teams have beaten the bigger schools before; but never has a Division I-AA team defeated such a highly-ranked major college football power. I've heard the last few seconds of the play-by-play from the Boone, North Carolina, radio station! It was great; but just like the Boise State win over Oklahoma, I'd love to have the whole thing on cassette or at least hear a recording or see it on ESPN Classic! The kids in Boone tore their own goal post down and carried it to the chancelor's house after the game! What a great thing for college football! You gotta love it, if you're a real fan of the game! ******** I heard today that this will be the last year that the Braves will be telecast on WTBS, in the form we've come to know. (I guess that means they'll still carry some Braves games in the future, but not as Braves announcers, or in the present format. So 31 years of Braves fun on the "super station" come to an end. That's kind of sad for a lot of us who live outside the Atlanta area. Some of the changes that have come about in media coverage of major league baseball teams in recent years have not been good for the fans or the game! I may have more to say about this in later blog entries.