Schools & Sports

Texas Republicans are again trying to limit the ways transgender youth can participate in athletics.

According to more than one teammate and reporter, pitcher Phil Niekro most of the time did not know where his “trademark pitch” was going, and neither did the catcher, hitter, and umpire!

Congratulations to Phoenix Tumey from Henderson Elementary School for being named the Forney ISD Elementary Student of the Month for January. Mr. Tumey was recognized by the Board of Trustees at the regular monthly board meeting on Monday, January 11, 2021.

Brandon Perez is a name you need to keep an eye out for this offseason and the 2021 football season. After starting on varsity his freshman year, Brandon knew he had found something he wanted to pursue wholeheartedly.

I was 23 years old and a 1st year teacher/coach at my alma mater, Forney High School—APRIL 8, 1974—and I “got the word” that Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves had broken Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record. The only good thing I could think about it at the time was that he had done it against the Dodgers, probably the team I most “did not like” during my youthful years. (Grandpa and I were “Yankees Fans” and watched them every time they were on television when I visited him in Okarche, Oklahoma.)

There it was in the newscasts and newspapers on Monday morning. In the NFC Play-Off Game, two “old-timers” squared off against each other, and it was pretty exciting before the final whistle blew. Tampa Bay won by a score of (7—14—7—3——31) to (0—10—13—3—— 26) over Green Bay with two “experienced” stalwarts giving it their “alls” at the quarterback positions.

As football season “winds down” and play-offs begin, many folks, who have not been too interested in regular season games, seem to pay more attention as the stakes are higher and the games more competitive. Also, being a football fan is sometimes “the thing to do!” So, if you do not really know many of the TERMS, the following article will attempt to give brief descriptions of some “calls” you may see or hear. Keep in mind that this is a “layman” doing the describing of a few of very many terms!

About this time last year, I took one of the largest free ranging whitetail bucks of my life with my Texan big bore air rifle on the Dale River Ranch, situated on the Brazos River in Palo Pinto County. I dearly love hunting this area and have through the years amassed a storehouse of great memories here, both hunting and fishing with my friend Randy Douglas, the manager of the ranch. We’ve had some fine times during my visits which usually include some camp cooking centered around fresh fish landed from the river or a stock pond, venison or wild pork. This is ‘game rich’ country in general and, thanks to a great management/harvest plan by my friend Randy Douglas, The Dale River Ranch provides the hunter the very real opportunity to harvest deer, turkey, wild hogs and even Red Stag.

First things first: Barea says that “Dallas is my second home, man. It’s just special.” This was spoken as one of the “all-time fan favorites” (though an undrafted rookie) looked back on a Championship, 11 great and fun seasons, countless unforgettable memories, and numerous high spots in the Mavericks Record Books.

Earlier this month, eight North Forney High School athletes participated in National Signing Day. Representing several of the different aspects of Falcon Athletics, these young men and women are standout athletes from NFHS and are expected to be joined by other signees very soon.

Fourteen weeks after starting their season with a scrimmage against the two-time defending state champion Aledo Bearcats, the North Forney Falcons saw their season come full circle last Friday afternoon at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX. Taking on the Bearcats for a second time this season, this time in the area round of the UIL Playoffs, the Falcons saw their season come to an end in a 49-24 loss.

After a two-year absence from the playoffs, the MaxPreps #5 state-ranked (5A-DII) North Forney Falcons faced off against the #11 Denison Yellowjackets in a round one (bi-district) playoff game last

Don’t get me wrong; I was not a Boston Celtic fan, except for the times I watched with my Dad, because he really admired Bob Cousy and because he had watched a Celtic game or two in Madison Square Garden during the mid-1940s on a lay-over while on the way to “overseas WWII.” Oh, yeah, and we both liked watching the old coach, Red Auerbach, light up his “victory cigar.”