As the old saying goes, “And now we welcome the New Year, full of things that have never
been”. And I know that 2026 will definitely create memories for all of us so let’s get things
started with the first Shots column of this, the sixth year of award-winning articles!
Hopefully, everyone is sufficiently recovered from the holiday activities with family, friends,
and neighbors. Not to mention that all ill-fitting clothing items and those gifts that weren’t quite what was wanted have been returned satisfactorily. And those New Year’s resolutions survived the first few days of January!
A reminder that this Friday evening, the 9th, is the sixth annual Greenville High School “Night of Champions” as championship Wave and Lady Wave teams from the past are honored. Being recognized at the boys basketball game with Tippecanoe are the following teams:
1970 Boys MVL Track and Field
1972 MVL Baseball
1984 GMVC Softball
1990 GMVC and Sectional Wrestling
2004 GWOC West Girls Basketball
2006 MML Boys Tennis
2007 District, Regional, and State Champion Softball
2011 District Baseball
Participating members are asked to register in the old GHS Study Hall between 6:00 and
7:00 with presentation to the crowd between the junior varsity and varsity games at
approximately 7:15. It’s always a great occasion so hopefully once again there will be a good turnout!
Browns fans are rejoicing while Bengals supporters can’t believe that Cleveland defeated
Cincinnati in the NFL season finale, 20-18, a game that the Bengals pretty much dominated
throughout. Myles Garrett of the Browns set an NFL single-season sacks mark with his 23rd of the year, a takedown of Joe Burrow as the Bengals finished a disappointing season at 6-11, while the Browns ended 5-12. The head coaches of each franchise should rest uneasy over the next few days as their futures are determined by ownerships. The NFL playoffs begin this Saturday so the next few weeks should be exciting for all football fans!
Well, I correctly picked the first round winners of the College Football Playoffs before falling
short in second round predictions the past few days. I had faith in both Indiana and Oregon
winning, but with Miami (FL) upsetting THE and Ole Miss knocking off Georgia, my perfect
record was spoiled. That pairs the Hurricanes of Miami and the Rebels of Mississippi in
Thursday night’s Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, while Oregon’s Ducks face the Hoosiers of IU Friday
night in Atlanta at the Peach Bowl. The winners will advance to the National Championship
game in Miami on Monday night, the 19th. Who do I like to make the ultimate game? I’m thinking Miami returns home with a chance at the title versus the Crimson and Cream of Indiana!
With the college football “transfer portal” opening last Friday, here’s an example of the new
“Wild West” of big-time recruiting and roster building—IU will replace Heisman-winning
quarterback Fernando Mendoza, with this year’s record-producing signal caller, Josh Hoover
from TCU, to go along with Michigan State’s top receiver and Boston College’s featured running back. And most other “schools” will add to their teams with similar acquisitions, all with salary caps of up to (at least officially) $25 million! Quite a change from the late ‘60s when it was room, board, tuition, and $15 a month for laundry expenses!!
As the crucial month of January arrives in high school basketball circles, let’s take a look at
league and conference leaders. In the Miami Valley League, the boys standings are topped by Butler at 8-0 and Tipp at 5-0 (the Red Devils got off to a late start as a result of making the Final Four in the football playoffs) in the Miami Division, while West Carrollton at 6-2 heads the Valley Division. A huge matchup looms Tuesday as Butler hosts Tipp at the SAC. In girls play, Stebbins at 7-2 leads the Valley with Tipp at 8-0 and Butler 8-1 in the Miami (Greenville’s Lady Wave are 5-3).
In the WOAC the Tri-Village boys are tied with Preble Shawnee at 5-0 with Franklin-Monroe
close behind at 4-1. The Mississinawa Valley girls, at 6-0, set the pace, with T-V second at 5-1.
Valley View’s boys lead the Buckeye Division of the SWBL at 4-0, while Brookville and
Waynesville post 3-1 marks. On the girls side Waynesville is 6-0 followed by Brookville at 5-1 and Oakwood at 4-1.
In Three Rivers Conference action, it’s Miami East girls holding an advantage at 7-0 trailed
by Bethel at 6-1, while it’s a dogfight at the top of the boys standings. Troy Christian is 5-0 with Lehman Catholic and a tough Northridge squad, both at 4-0. Troy Christian has a murderers’ row this week, traveling to Northridge Tuesday evening, then hosting Lehman on Friday before ending the gauntlet at Tri-Village Saturday.
Meanwhile, the MAC sees the St. Henry girls, along with Versailles, holding 3-0 records with
Minster, Marion Local, Coldwater, and Parkway all at 2-1. On the boys side of the ledger,
there’s a three-way tie among Delphos St. John, Versailles, and Marion at 2-0 with St. Henry at 1-0.
It should be an interesting next six weeks as the regular season continues, leading up to the OHSAA tournaments!!
Finally, here’s a reminder for all of you basketball aficionados, particularly those who keep
the scorebooks and statistics. While attending the Greenville boys game at Eaton the other
night with good friend Brian Stickel, we pondered two situations when it comes to official
statistics. In one, if a player is fouled while attempting a shot and misses, that player is NOT charged with a Field Goal Attempt. In the other, if a player misses a foul shot but the opposing team makes a lane violation during the shot, we all know that the player is awarded another shot. But did you know that the missed foul shot is erased from the scorebook and does NOT count as a Free Throw Attempt. Straight from the NCAA official rule book to you! Have a great start to the New Year!!
