TCL Signature Series Shreveport - Elite Doubles

For those who have attended a TCL Signature event, you walk away with a variety of experiences. First timers may be in awe of the size of the event with usually well over 100 courts set up, not to mention having more than 1000 plus players, many times closer to 1500. All trying to play well enough to reach the podium, take home a nice piece of woodwork usually created by the Knabes, and pocket some of the $50,000 in payouts. The players who have played in several of these tournaments will all say it's a grind and a battle just dealing with the mental stress it may bring on. Not to mention the fatigue of being on your feet for hours upon hours putting most players on the couch on Sunday recovering from a bad case of cornhole coma! The most experienced players know. They just know. They know going into it there will be challenges dealing with board conditions, bag choices and the demand of throwing several hundred if not over a thousand bags over the 3-day event. For the Elite Division, TCL brings nothing but the best to this type of event. In years past, maybe many years past, you might be in a game where your opponent may be a bit outmatched, and you get a fairly easy win. Not these days. Not this event. The Elite Division in TCL is an absolute gauntlet where each game can be fiercely competitive. The first Signature event of TCL's 15th season took place recently at a venue many players call their favorite. The Shreveport Convention Center with a Hilton hotel attached and within walking distance to restaurants, Casinos and the popular Sand Bar providing everything needed to put on a highly entertaining event, and TCL again did not disappoint.

The main event showcasing the top players is Elite Doubles. This division has several Pros along with top tier players from all across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana. Before the event, I scrolled down the list of teams registered to see which teams I thought may have a chance to win and I really couldn't come to any conclusions. There are simply way too many awesome players, several that I don't get a chance to see play. Saturday things got started early in Elite Doubles with Pool play in the morning session and based on how teams finished, you could see who was playing well and who was on the struggle bus. Fletcher Jonson and newcomer William Cobb earned the top seed and a first-round bye in bracket play. Chase Lester and Levi Haddock, two outstanding young players from Northeast Texas, were seeded number 2. As the bracket play progressed, a couple of upsets along the way occurred including 18th seed Bryce Forbes and Tye Thompson taking down 2 seed Lester and Haddock...in 2 games. TCL plays best of 3 in the winner's side, so Forbes and Thompson didn't mess around. Another potential favorite lost their first match as Terry Swiney and Matthew Morris took down Justin Burton, Jr and Rylann Claver in 2 games. Skipping ahead to the winner's semi-finals, Oscar Maierena and Victor Alday matched up against Madden Franco and Luke Anderson with Franco and Anderson taking the match in 3 games to get to the finals of the winner's bracket. The other semi-final had Grant Upchurch and Cayhill Isom defeating Forbes and Thompson in 3 games. This would set up a winner's bracket final between Upchurch and Isom against Anderson and Franco with Grant and Cayhill winning in 2 games. The last two rounds of the deciding game for Madden and Anderson were fatal as Isom collected a 5-point round and Upchurch securing the win with a 9 piece against Franco. That put Upchurch and Isom in the finals, but Anderson and Madden weren't done yet. To get back to the finals they would have to beat Victor Alday and Oscar Mairena...again! This game was well played with Alday and Madden basically going bag for bag shooting 10+ ppr's. Luke got the better of Oscar scoring 17 of the 21 points helping them advance to the finals.

Elite Doubles is typically the final match played and always has a large and rowdy crowd on hand watching and cheering on their favorite teams. For newer players, this environment can be very unsettling and can wreak havoc of their nerves. The veteran players who are accustomed to the main boards, seem to handle it better. Watching this final I didn't see any player being bothered by the atmosphere as all four players were laser focused for this match. The first game saw a lot of back-and-forth scoring with the scored being tied at 11 after round 14. The next two rounds Upchurch and Isom would collect 6 more points to increase their lead to 17-11. In exciting fashion, Anderson and Franco scored 3 straight 4-point rounds to win game one 21-17.  Even more fireworks in game two as Upchurch and Isom opened up a huge 19-4 lead after 19 rounds. In an incredible comeback, Luke and Madden scored the next 17 points to pull off the massive win. The championship deciding third game had Upchurch and Isom leading 17-6 only to have Franco and Anderson come back and take a 18-17 lead. That lead didn't last long as Upchurch would eventually put them away with the 21-18 victory. This matchup was a great example of shot making and perseverance by both teams as they overcame many obstacles and deficits. Hats off to these guys as they gave everyone an awesome show. Congratulations to Grant Upchurch and Cayhill Isom on their win.

TCL's next Signature Series event will be played the first week of December in Mesquite Texas and as always you can expect another great event. Grab your partners, break in those new bags and get your throws tuned up as we will see you there in a couple of months!

Till next time, Y'all throw 'em straight! 

14th Court Session, Docket 001001 Case 323245

"All Rise, the 177th Court with the Honorable Judge W.I. Zard is now in session". "Y'all may be seated. Good morning, we are here today to argue the case of The Narrative of Young Players vs Older Players and who has any type of advantage based on age, employment status, family responsibilities and such". "I will allow opening statements for both stating their position, then providing evidence, hopefully accurate evidence, followed by closing statements. In conclusion, you, the jury can decide for yourselves if either may have any type of advantage based on the evidence provided. Keep in mind that this case is not to cause any division between the parties instead it may be to help each delegation understand the position of the other."

Sorry y'all, I am far from a judge and certainly have no idea how courts operate. I thought it would make for a fun start to a discussion that is indeed something that has been talked about in certain cornhole circles. Some believe that it may be difficult for older players who have 8-5 jobs, families and responsibilities to compete with the teenage or early 20-year-olds due to them not having jobs, children or much responsibility outside of throwing bags. I will be using information that I have gathered through conversations as well as my own experiences and observations. I promise we won't have any low-speed chases, bloody gloves and certainly no predetermined verdicts! This is all for fun and hopefully a read you all will enjoy.

"Attorney for the Youth, you may make your opening statements." "Ahem, thank you your Honor, Folks let's try and paint a picture of a typical day for someone who may be in school, or perhaps not employed. We all know the stress that can be involved for these kids as they maneuver thru a day full of sitting in classrooms listening to some blue haired teacher discussing proper pronunciations and comma placements. Learning fragments and the difference between and a neutron and a proton, maybe they are confused as to why they can't get A x B to equal C. Figuring out if they want to eat in the cafeteria or scamper over to Chick Fil A for lunch, all the while pondering a clever way to get Susie Clinkstone's attention. Some may spend the last hour or so of the day in a practice session for a sport they may play before heading home to do homework or work on projects. Others may have chores they must complete each day before anything else is attempted. Then, if they wish, can spend time throwing bags for a bit before they go play in a local switch or event nearby. When they get home some may get online and play video games until they fall asleep, making the getting up early part of their day more challenging. Those that are out of school with no job can get up when they want and do whatever they want. Some throw bags, for hours it seems until they have darn near mastered the craft. Pretty nice gig if you can get it! Kids these days may seem like they have no worries at all but that may not always be the case. Peer pressure can be tough to deal with and kids can be brutal towards each other. Going to school and having to face mental challenges and sometimes bullies isn't pleasant and sometimes the effects can be hidden. As much as it seems that kids may have an advantage because they have no job or responsibilities, they too can have tough days and feel the pressure of dealing with things unknown to most. Let's not even mention physical appearances, bad hair days or not having the shirt you wanted to wear because it wasn't clean. All in all, kids have it pretty good however they still have things going on in their lives that may wear on them and having the ability to throw bags for hours each day isn't all it's cracked up to be...or is it. Thank you, your Honor".

"Adult attorney you may step forward". "Thank you, sir. Folks I will explain to you something similar to what an adult may have on their plate each day and in most cases, you will see a comparison to what you may encounter on a daily basis. Adults with jobs, kids, mortgages and other bills, have a large number of things they may deal with. Let's start with getting up in the morning. Not only do they have themselves to get ready for work, but they sometimes may also have to get little Timmy dressed, fed and off to daycare or school before they even think of a sip of coffee, or brain food as some may call it. They must navigate safely through rush hour avoiding school zones and other adults who are driving as if they're late for work. They may have to venture out on Highway 80 near Forney...need I say more. Once they arrive to work, they are met with 642 emails on their computer, all requesting something that needed to be done yesterday. They get through the morning escaping various meetings, or not, and skedaddle their way to lunch with a couple of co-workers who can't decide where they want to eat. Back to work and finally they are done with work, for the moment, and they hurry home just in time to pick up Timmy from ball practice. Dinner, oh man, what are we going to eat, Timmy is starving! Throw in a frozen pizza while on the phone with the roof guy who says he will be there in 15 minutes to look at you roof that was damaged in the recent hailstorm. You avoided the other 8 calls as they appeared to be spam, or an in law wanting something...who knows! After dinner you help Timmy with homework...I don't remember having to write book reports like this...wowser! Why am I doing it while Timmy is twisting his phone sideways looking at tik toks? If you play cornhole, or try, maybe you have a league night or just want to spend an hour or so practicing, this is your chance. You go outside and set up boards and start throwing only to have Timmy run outside saying he forgot a science project that was due the next day...ugh, the absolute worst! On top of these type of days, you may have to spend an hour or so shopping for groceries, getting online to pay bills. Doing various other things around the house like cleaning, mowing, repairing things that may need to be repaired, sewn or bandaged! I realize there are many parents or older folks who may appear to have things way more organized than this but certainly you get what I'm putting down...right? The older more mature cornhole player has experienced things in life that may have helped them prepare better, help them handle situations better thus giving them some sort of advantage. Unless you are one of the lucky ones who have it all together, you know the challenges we are facing each day. Thank you, your honor".

I hope you all got a laugh with the previous paragraphs as I did my best to give you some idea what each may go through on a daily basis. Now I would like to give you some evidence I have gathered just for this story. I went and looked at the results for the Signature events for this year and jotted down the finishers for each. What I found was clear and it really isn't close. If you look at who won Singles and Doubles in the Open Division, there is one person over the age of 30 who has won either event. Johnny Govea won Doubles with Logan Chamberlain in Shreveport at Signature Series 1. Now there have been several who placed in the Top 10 including Brandon Gregor who played with Klaydon Powell and finished 3rd in Shreveport. That same event Fletcher Jonson finished tied for 7th in Singles while tied for 17th were Brandon Gregor, Scott Beck, Ernest Hererra and Donnie Greer. Signature Series 2 in Irving had Johnny Govea and Logan finishing in 2nd, Fletcher and Ernest Monarca coming in 4th. Mason Terry tied for 5th with his partner Caleb Franklin while Jake Whatley and Brandon Marinez tied for 9th. Signature 3 in Mesquite had Govea and Josh Heilman in 5th, Kyle Francis and Fletcher tied for 7th, Brandon Gregor and Cowboy Kevin Meza tied for 9th. Kyle also finished tied for 9th in Open Singles. In Elite Singles Jake Whatley finished tied for 5th and Hererra tied for 9th. Lubbock Signature Series had Grant Upchurch and Oscar Mariena finishing tied for 7th and in Elite Singles Blake Holly came in tied for 13th. Waco had Derek and Bryson Goode coming in 3rd, Matthew Morris and Josh Murdock tied for 9th and Jake Whatley and Dillon Randle also tied for 9th. All of these finishes are respectable with something definite being displayed. Signature 1 Singles went Hayden Morris, Kobey Alley and Logan Chamberlain. Irving had Sammy Soto, Justin Burton, and Grant with Doubles being won by Kale Harrell and Chase Lester over Logan and Johnny. Sig 3 in Mesquite it was Justin Burton, Alex Ibarra and Caleb Franklin. Doubles were led by Burton and Payton Lopez, Cannon Hatcher and John Miller(over 30) and Grant with Brendon Bennett. Lubbock Sig Sammy, Burton, and Tye Thompson won Elite Singles and in Doubles it was Sammy and Kale over Tye and Tanner.  Waco had Levi Haddock, Kale Harrell and Chase Lester in Elite Singles and in Doubles Cannon and Tanner Gibson beat Tye and Blaine Frerichs.

Only one Champion over the age of 25. Every event was won by someone under the age of 25 and except for a couple of cases, it really wasn't close. Sure, the older player can compete and finish near the top, but they just can't quite get to win. Many older players do very well and on any given day can beat any player regardless of age but these facts that I just listed show us that the younger players are either simply better, or somehow some way, have a distinct advantage. What that advantage may be, who knows. Do they have more time to practice? Do they have more stamina? Have they simply perfected more shots?

In closing, these are the facts, young players have dominated the podiums this year and as valiant as they're efforts have been, the older players just haven't been able to crack the code. I wrote this to share different points of view and your comments are welcome. This is pretty much opinion related with some facts to provide some backing. I myself have played sports for over 50 years and once, believe it or not, was a young, hungry and feisty competitor. I played many sports in my day having more success than not and I have been able to compete with the best in cornhole but not against the younger players. My best years were in 2019 and 2020 and that is about the time the younger players began their climb to the top. Don't fret, this old guy recently found a few ounces of gas in his tank and may be making a little stab at competing again soon! 

Hope y'all enjoyed this story and look forward to more soon including some player spotlights that I will be putting together soon!

Take it easy and throw em straight!

Shreveport September 2023 Signature Series

It's Shreveport time! Y'all ready for some Cajun food? BeauxJax across the river has the Loaded Crawfish MacNCheese and Red Beans and Rice and they are delicious! Herby-K's is a legendary place known for its' famous "Shrimp Buster" and has been around since 1936 serving up their award winning gumbo and fresh shucked oysters as well as the coldest beer in town. For those getting there early Thursday, Herby-K's has Happy Hour from 4:30-7:30 with $1 Fresh Oysters and $2 Chargrilled Oysters. The Noble Savage (shout out Shilpan Patel) is another great option for some great food along with the Blind Tiger. Have the urge to shake your groove thang? Consider a late night/early morning at the infamous Sand Bar. Got a itch to play some blackjack, craps or maybe play some slots? Several casinos are near the host hotels. How about throwing some bags with hundreds of your closest friends? This weekend TCL will be hosting the first Signature Series Event of the 2023-24 Season at the Convention Center in Downtown Shreveport, LA. If you're feeling a little deja vu, I get it, we all were here a few months ago for the TCL Conference Championships as this venue has become one of the best for these type of events. Its big enough to handle all the boards and allows plenty of walking around room as well as being within walking distance to several casinos, restaurants and bars. What else do we need! Let's Geaux!!

Bags will start flying Thursday evening with some Switcholio events and a "B" Doubles Dual State event that may be fun to watch. Also on tap will be a Women's Singles event that should be exciting as there will be several top tier ladies in this field. Some of the ladies who are registered include reigning TCL Women's Player of the Year Tracie Beeson, Crystal Infante, Haley Davidson and Denise McEvoy. Caitlyn Allshouse, Delaney Pillod have serious potential to win this event as well. A couple of names some may not have heard of include Lauri Engleman and Tracey Chamberlain. Lauri can flat out throw a bag and can't be slept on. Chamberlain...hmmm...that name may sound familiar. Yep, she is Logan's mom and a few years ago I was lucky enough to team up with her in a blind draw and let me tell ya, Logan gets his ability honestly! The lady who wins this event will have earned it as all of these ladies will be tough to beat.

Friday is for Singles and as usual, a lot of big time players are in this field. TCL Player of the Year Sammy Soto along with Justin Burton, Jr for starters.....sheesh need I say more! As of press time there are around 90 players signed up and of those 90, they're all good. As I scroll down the list of names I'm astounded at the talent TCL has these days. Seems like everyone is good and they all have a large arsenal of shots they can and will use to their advantage. With all the talented players and with just about everyone on the list being really good, it's difficult to try and include everyone on this list. Back in the day I could get away with mentioning a handful of names but not any more. I'll do the best I can and if I don't include your name, just go "Prime Time" on me at the next Signature Event and make it "Personal". I once had a guy ask me why I didn't write about him...I told him it would be easier for me to include you if you were getting your picture taken with a handful of paper and hardware at the end of the event  as opposed to a can of adult beverage! Haven't had him say anything to me about that any more...lol. Any who, other names that could win include guys like Logan Chamberlain, Cayhill Isom, Chase Lester and Grant Upchurch. There are several players that I haven't been able to see on the boards much lately but they seem be getting their pictures taken a lot. Those include guys like Cannon Hatcher, Fletcher Jonson, Scott Beck, Dylan Cernero and Jacob Whatley. All these guys can fill it up.Then there are the likes of Q Cohee, Reef Woodsen and Tye Thompson...shoot there are simply way too many really good players. Just this week Kevin Meza took down a Singles event beating Cody Brooks in a pretty strong field. Who is gonna to be the last player standing? We will find out soon enough!

Open Doubles has around 55 teams registered and all of them are good. With the way Kevin Meza threw Tuesday night, he and Mason Vega look like they will be a tough team to beat. Logan Chamberlain is teamed up with Johnny Govea who just welcomed a new baby this week! Hope he was able to get some rest! Johnny has played a lot of events with Edgar Cardenas but this weekend Edgar is partnered up with Justin Burton, Jr which is another super stout team. Sammy Soto is playing with the Silent Assassin Kale Harrell from Oklahoma and boy that team is scary looking! Multiple time State Champ Grant Upchurch is teamed up with veteran Matt Longoria and this could be a team to watch. Brandon Gregor seems to have gotten over his arm injury and is teaming up with the young upstart Klaydon "K Money" Powell. Speaking of young studs, Cayhill Isom is playing with Scott "Robocop" Beck and from the Tyler area Fletcher Jonson and Jacob Whatley are pairing up. Some teams to watch out for are a hot throwing Cody Brooks teaming up with Denise McEvoy and Luke Anderson matching up with Kobey Alley. Don't sleep on several teams including Chase Lester and Hayden Morris, Blake Holly and Dylan Cernero, Freddy Rodriguez and Flo Zamora and Tracie Beeson and Ernest Herrera as all of these players can sling a bag pretty darn good! As always there are a few teams who get hot and seem to come out of nowhere and there are also upsets. Open Doubles has the potential for major fireworks, you won't want to miss this event!

I look forward to seeing everyone and hopefully everyone has safe travels.

Laissez les bon temps rouler baby!!

Ryder Cup 2023

The Ryder Cup. TCL's unique event often described as "An event like none other" is upon us. For those who haven't experienced it, it is one of the most exciting yet stressful events most will ever play in. So much going on with Singles, Doubles and Team 8 all providing points for each team and the outcome of each event having so much on the line. It almost seems like every single bag is important and every game matters more than usual.  

Eight players on a team all vying for wins acquiring points for their team. Sounds easy right? The comaraderie and support for each other is at its highest peak for this event as you will see players cheering on their teammates with loud outbursts as players make or sometimes miss shots. The pressure of trying to get wins for your team can sometimes wear on players, some handling it better than others. The Team 8 event seems to be the most pressure filled as each player only throws one bag per round and with every player from both teams watching, that can be overwhelming. You don't want to be the player who throws the bag 26 feet 11 inches! 

Ryder Cup typically brings in a large number of players and has always been held in the middle of the TCL season however this year the TCL Season is starting off with it. I've seen it grow from just a few hundred players to well over 1500 players. Having been able to win it a couple of times this event has provided me with some very special memories. In my days of playing various sports, the championship teams I played on seem to be the ones that are cherished the most. I think back to the games played and the plays or shots that help provide the contributions to help those teams win. My first Ryder Cup win was one that may have put me on the map with TCL as I got lucky and hit a critical airmail for a win. The reason I'm writing this is to tell what I did just before the Ryder Cup the following year.

 I had given the same speech a few weeks prior to the Ryder Cup during a four man tourney in Tyler and even though we kinda laughed, I think it may have been effective. Along with my teammates Heath Mills, Kyle Verner and Shane Flesher, we gathered up outside the Tyler Indoor Soccer Center before the games began and I rattled off a speech that I'd like to say was the reason we won that event. In reality it may have been that Kyle, Shane and Heath were beasts back in the day and we just had a good day! A few weeks later at the Ryder Cup playing for East Texas and Captain Brad Jones, for some reason I felt the need to give the speech before the games started. In retrospect the speech may not have helped us much but for a few moments our team was fired up. We would've ran through a wall! It didn't take long for that fire to become a flicker as we were beat up pretty good on the boards, but the speech...man it was a good one! I'm going to share it for you and you all can take it however you want. You can enjoy the short read, you can allow it to fuel your energy to help you and your team do your best this weekend. Or you can simply let it take you back and reminisce and think back on recollections from good times you may have experienced. Enjoy!

For giggles, try to picture some short old gray headed guy with a fierce intense scowl staring at you with a piercing glare and a sprited conviction...growling these words....

Great moments are born from Great opportunities. And thats what we have here today folks. Thats what we've earned here today.... One game.... If we played most of these people ten times, they might win 9. But not this game...not today.... Today we hang with them. Today we throw with them and we shut them down because we can!! Today WE are the greatest cornhole players in the state of Texas. You all were born to be cornhole players, every one of you and you were meant to be here today! This is YOUR time. Their time is DONE, its over! I'm sick and tired of hearing about how great every other team is. Screw 'em. This is OUR time, now go out there and TAKE it!! 

Learning how to compete

As far back as I can remember, and yes that is a ways back, I always enjoyed a challenge. Not sure why, maybe just to have something on the line or maybe trying to see if I could have some success at something. From a very young age I remember playing checkers with my mom and I never was able to beat her. I don't think I really understood strategy at that point but I quickly learned. Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning and she beat me a bunch so I either I was going to get pretty smart or I would find something else to play! Finding something else to play didn't require me looking far as the kids in my neighborhood would play pickup games of baseball, basketball or football. I can't remember my age but I was under 8 years old when I remember my dad throwing a wiffle ball to me as I swung a bat that seemed to be the width of a clothes hanger...just kidding. You all have seen those narrow yellow wiffle ball bats that came with a ball and the challenge was to see just how big a curve you could throw. Those balls moved! I was able to hit some here and there and that is my first memory of falling in love with sports. In the second grade during "field days", I won the potato race outrunning several classmates while holding a spoon with a gigantic tater on it. I suppose I had decent balance or coordination or maybe both as I didn't drop my tater like the others allowing me to win fairly easily. In the third grade my family moved across town to where I would meet a guy who would become a lifelong friend. Gregory Lee "Duke" Frazier was the first guy I met at Atkins Elementary and our friendship remains close even today, some 54 years later. Greg lived several blocks from me and often he would either walk or ride his bike by my house and many times we would walk to school together or I would ride on the handle bars of his bicycle. With no helmet. On those cold winter days it didn't take me long to figure out he put me on the handle bars to serve as a wind break for him. Dude was wise beyond his years at a early age! Greg and I would play kickball or basketball at recess and many days he would come to my house after school and we would play baseball or football in my back yard. We didn't care, we both loved competing and a few years later we both would make the 6th grade basketball team. I rarely played mainly because I wasn't very good but also because we had several really good players including Jimmy Blackwell who in the 6th grade was already a really tall kid. Like 6 foot 3 or 4 in the 6th grade and could flat out play. We also had a guy named Keith Grant who would play on our high school state runner up team. We won the city championship and I was awarded my very first trophy! I was so proud even though I can honestly say I didn't do a single thing to help with any of our wins! But I was on the team, we were city champs and I had a trophy! Little things folks, little things!

Before the basketball heroics, or lack thereof, Greg got me involved with our church's little league baseball team. I believe it was the summer after the 4th grade and playing organized baseball for the first time was very new to me. Previously all I knew was throwing with someone and playing in the backyard. This was the real thing with 9 players on both teams and everyone had a specific positions and stuff! Our coach was Mr. Jim Burson...a mountain of a man who during practices would take some swings and hit balls on top of our school. Those hits seemed like bombs and we all were wide eyed as we watched those balls soar. Several years later I drove by that school and saw the practice field and backstop where he would be batting and it really wasn't that far, but it sure seemed like a mile to us back in the day! I vaguely remember the first season but some things about where we played will never go away. The Baptist ball park was the place to be during the early summer as the multiple field complex, if you want to call it that, had a variety of leagues from little league, to middle and high school aged teams as well as men's and women's softball games being played. Anyone who played there will instantly be taken back to the dusty parking lot, the sounds of balls being hit, cheers from supporters and the smell. Oh who could ever forget the aroma of French fries and corndogs from the concession stands. We always looked forward to the after game dash to grab a "suicide" to help quinch our thirst. Good times y'all.

If I remember right, in our second season we had a pretty good team led by our star pitcher Greg and man could he really chunk it! There were others that I remember including Bill Martin, Lee Hooker and Lester Cochran to name a few. I remember several players and teams we played against and this particular season one of the teams we played against was Grace Baptist Church. Their pitcher was a big dude named Jody Blackwell, no relation to aforementioned Jimmy even though they lived down the street from each other. Big Ol' Jody was intimidating as he would have this huge swaying windup along with a nasty looking snarl as if he was about to throw a 96 mile an hour heater right at ya. He mustered all this effort into a scary looking windup leading to a fairly average at best fastball. Very hittable if he threw it down the middle but that is where the intimidation may have originated. If you were on deck and saw one of his pitches go over the umpires head or behind the hitter, you were usually too scared to even think about getting into the batters box, much less swing your bat! In a playoff game we faced Jody and his team and it would be a game I will always remember, almost as if I was there yesterday. A play happened that I call one my favorite plays of my ball playing career mainly because of my age and the impact it may have had on the final score of the game. I was playing first base, probably because I may have been one of the few players Mr. Burson trusted to catch balls either hit or thrown to me. Greg was throwing pretty hard that night and with 1 out and a runner on second base, Stan Paul Davis was batting. I don't know why but usually late in games you protect the lines to help eliminate extra base hits down the lines but I moved to my right a step or two away from the first base line right before Greg threw the pitch. Stan Paul swung and smacked a line drive to my right about head high and I can't explain why but I dove and extended my glove across my body, completely laid out parallel from the ground and snagged the ball for the out! I don't even remember landing but I knew I had the ball in my glove! The instant I hit the ground Bill Martin who was playing second base yelled for me to throw it to him as the runner who was on second, a guy named Howard McGraw, had taken off at the crack of the bat on his way to third and would have easily scored. While on my knees, I threw the ball to Bill who touch the base for the inning ending out. A loud cheer greeted us as we headed to our third base dugout but before I got there the coach for Grace, Johnny Blackwell stopped me. He knelt down to my level and as he put his hand on my shoulder he told me that was one of the finest plays he had ever seen. As he patted me on the bottom and I scampered towards my fellow teammates and was greeted by high fives and smiles as well as one from my mother who was proudly clapping for her son and his team. Man what great memories. 

I am hoping to write more stories like this sharing some of my life's most enjoyable sports moments and I hope you all will find them interesting and amusing. I appreciate you all taking the time to read my blog and look forward to hearing your feedback.

Thanks,

Johnny

TCL League Championships - Friday's Events

Open Singles is loaded with exceptional talent here in Texas with several top level players. The past few years Grant Upchurch and Sammy Soto have arguebly been two of the best however each year there are other players vying for a chance to earn the title of State Champion. Grant and Sammy did what they had to do and both made it to the finals with each beating some really strong players. Grant battled his way to the king seat by beating Adrain Jackson, Austin Waskow and Mason Vega. The game against Vega was a good one as Grant outlasted Vega in a back and forth 24 round game that saw Upchurch throwing a 9.63 while Mason treked along at a 9.46 clip. After beating Vega, Grant defeated Nate Gallup and then faced Soto in the winners final. In that game Grant jumped out to a 5-0 lead maintaining said lead until the 15th round as Sammy slid ahead 14-13, however Upchurch went on to score the games final 8 points to get the win. Sammy defeated David Saenz, Zach Faulkner, Luke Anderson and Matt Martinez before losing to Upchurch. Once in the losers bracket Sammy got hot beating Luke Anderson 21-4 throwing a 10.71 ppr. Wowzer! That win put him in the finals and Upchurch just couldn't keep up with the hot throwing Soto. Grant threw well with a 9.72 ppr but Sammy was better at 10.44 in the first game as Sammy won 21-8. After spotting Grant a early 4-0 lead Sammy went on a 21-4 run to force a double dip game to decide the champ! Both players cooled off just a little but 11 straight rounds of throwing 10's Sammy came out on top winning 21-8 to earn a State Title. Luke Anderson finished third, Tye Thompson came in forth with Matt Martinez and Nate Gallup tying for 5th and if I'm correct, I believe this was the best finish for Martinez in a big TCL event. Jobu was playing at a high level all day and made a really nice run.

TCL League Championship - Recap of Thursdays Events.

In Shreveport, LA this past weekend there was a cornhole tournament. A big one. Texas Cornhole League held their League Championship Tournament and everything about this event was big. Being held in the Shreveport Convention Center the facility was plenty big with sets of boards lined up as far as you could see. The crowd even though the overall numbers of entrants may have been down, seemed big, loud and proud, in traditional TCL fashion. There were also big moments and big shots made by many outstanding players throughout the event. Things got ignited Thursday with the Youth Singles event and with a long list of exceptionally talented players the opportunity for some great matches were lined up from the get go! When the dust settled Mason Vega managed to hold off a determined Sammy Soto who had a double dip opportunity by winning the first game of the finals. Vega had earned the King seat by defeating Luke Anderson 21-7. While Mason waited to find out who his opponent would be, several really good players had some outstanding matches. Sammy who lost in the winners bracket to Luke Anderson, defeated Preston Isom in a very exciting game. Isom was down 12-5 before going on a 13 point run to take a 18-12 lead. The next two rounds Soto was able to score back to back 4 spots to retake a 20-18 lead before ending it on the next round to advance. Soto then beat Levi Haddock 21-0, Cayhill Isom 21-7 and Reef Woodson 21-5 to force a rematch with Anderson. In this game Sammy immediately jumped all over Luke taking a early 11-0 lead 2 rounds into the game. Sammy didn't miss another bag making 32 straight to take a 21-0 win putting him in the finals where Vega waited. The first game of the finals was a back and forth 21 round battle that had a few lead changes with Sammy eventually coming out on top forcing a deciding game. The final game was epic and definitely one for the books as these two warriors put on a tremendous exhibition of shot making and consistency. After 2 rounds of washes, Sammy holed all four of his bags for a 12 while Mason just missed a 12 throwing a 10. These two went back and forth trading 12's and 10's for several rounds with neither player being able to get ahead by more than 3 points. In round 15 Soto extended his lead by 5 going ahead 9-4 only to have Mason get 4 the next frame to make it 9-8.Mason got his first lead in round 21 going ahead 13-10. The back and forth scoring continued with both players throwing several 12's and trading lead changes until round 35 where they were tied at 19. Yep I said round 35. Two more rounds went by before Mason was able to get the win outlasting Soto in a draining 37 round battle. At certain points in this game both players were averaging well over a 10 ppr and ended up with Vega shooting a 9.89 and Soto with a 9.76. These guys threw a combined 35 12's making 75% of their shots. It was a awesome display of shot making and shows just how good these two are at putting a bag in the hole. Not many can do what these guys did Thursday. Rounding out the final 5 were Luke Anderson, Reef Woodson and Cayhill Isom. I'd say the future of TCL is in very good hands with all these youngsters coming up in the ranks.

When I think of an athlete being the class of the field I remember Secretariat and the dominate fashion he won the Triple Crown back in 1973. Others that come to mind are Tiger Woods, Serena Williams and Wayne Gretzky. In cornhole here of late we've seen Grant Upchurch and Sammy Soto doing a number on folks the past few years. In the Seniors Division a guy stepped up and put on a show and simply put, was dominate. Scott Beck, the former Police Officer from Marshall, TX went 6-0 defeating Chris Hobbs 21-12 to win his first Seniors State Championship. For the tournament Scott was red hot throwing at a 9.61 clip per round throughout the event and had but 1 close game. That was a 21-20 win against Donnie Greer in which Beck battled from behind most of the game. Taking his first lead in round 14 at 17-16 only to give it right back the next round as Greer made the score 20-17. Scott got 4 points over the next 3 rounds to advance to the winners bracket finals against Keith Ledwig. Beck won that game 21-12 putting him in the king seat while Ledwig had to face Chris Hobbs. Hobbs was on a little bit of a roll after falling to Ledwig in the winners bracket beating Talley Oneal and Donnie Greer to get to Ledwig. Chris was on fire shooting a 9.43 and smashed Ledwig 21-2 in just 7 rounds putting him in the finals against Beck. The first 9 rounds it was all Hobbs as he held what seemed like a comfortable 12-0 lead however over the next 5 rounds Beck was able to tie the score at 12. The onslaught continued for Scott as he went on to score the games last 21 points beating Hobbs 21-12 earning Beck the title. Rounding out the top 5 were Ledwig in third, Greer finished fourth and Jim Abdella came in fifth. 

Another event that was played Thursday was the Women's Singles and let me tell ya, there was some very good players in this field. Denise McEvoy defeated Caitlyn Allshouse to get the win but her road to victory included some tough competition. Her first game was against current TCL Women's Player of the Year Tracie Beeson who is also Denise's Women's Doubles Partner. In a hard fought 18 round game McEvoy came out on top advancing to the next round to face Haley Davidson. Denise was crazy good that game shooting a 10.27 over 11 rounds shutting Haley down 21-5. Denise didn't let up the next game as she shot a 10 ppr beating Autumn Walker 21-0 putting her in the winners bracket final against Christina Espinosa. In a close tense game Espinosa started out with a 8-1 lead after 5 rounds however after 9 rounds her lead was only 10-9 as McEvoy battled back to close the gap. Christina held the lead until round 17 when Denise was able to grab her first lead at 20-17 and went on to secure the comeback victory the next round winning 21-17. In the finals McEvoy faced Caitlyn Allshouse who had a double dip in mind. Caitlyn won the first game 21-14 forcing a do or die game to determine the champ. In a  back and forth 20 round game Denise was able to score the games final 7 points over 3 rounds to complete her mission and give her a hard earned Women's Singles Title. Espinosa and Delaney Pilliod finished 3rd and 4th while Haley Davidson and LeeAnna Saxon tied for 5th.

Women's Doubles was also played Thursday with April Black and Heather Mullins going unbeaten to get the win. To get to the finals Black and Mullins defeated Loralei Barrientes and Celeste Alday 2 games to none in the first round. In the 2nd round April and Heather defeated Kayleigh Logan and Ashley Hawpe in 2 games to advance to round 3. There they beat Misty Goode and Sabra Howell advancing to the winners final against Taylor Rose and Delaney Pilliod. Black and Mullins were able to get the win putting them into the finals where they would meet up against Tracie Beeson and Denise McEvoy. The first game all four ladies were filling it up all shooting right at or better than 9 ppr for the game which ended with Black and Mullins winning a nail biter 21-20. Beeson and McEvoy lost their second round game and had to win several loser bracket games to stay alive but couldn't pull off the double dip as April and Heather won 2 games to earn them the Women's Doubles Title. This game was played in front a pretty good crowd that was nestled in and around the championship courts and created an awesome atmosphere. Rounding out the top 5 were Taylor Rose and Delaney Pilliod in third, Haley Davidson and Christina Espinosa in fourth and tied for fifth were Misty Goode and Sabra Howell along with Stacey Paup and LeeAnna Saxon. TCL always puts on a great event and with all these fireworks being shot off on Thursday, I expected Friday and Saturday's events to continue the trend. They didn't disappoint!