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Show N E W S Spanish Fork B2 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008 Covering what matters most Region change hard on schools Goose on the Loose Beardall redefining: ent Dave Boyack STAFF WRITER Popular television personality, retired RE. teacher, longtime Pony League coach, legendary softball player. With too many other titles to mention well known Spanish Fork resident George Beardall has finally come home to rest, or roost as some might say. Even though George "Goose" Beardall has finally retired after 33 years of teaching, he is doing anything but settling down. For those who get Spanish Fork Channel 17 'The Goose" still keeps busy doing his weekly television show "Goose In The Wild." Count this writer as a big fan. Beardall has the perfect personality to attract viewers as he shows off interesting things happening in the Spanish Fork area. With sidekick Bryce Walker doing camera and some commentary, many think it is only a matter of time before this fun and informative show hits the big time. Let's hope the Goose and his show stay local. Along with his show gig, Beardall keeps busy these days playing and coaching softball and baseball in his hometown of Span- Inside the Huddle Steve Taylor Courtesy photo / Bryce Walker, SFCN IN THE WILD: Spanish Fork's George "Goose" Beardall has retired from teaching and now hosts his own tv show on SF 17. ish Fork. Beardall might hold the record of playing longer than anyone in this area — 51 straight years and counting since he was a nine-year-old. He said he plans to keep playing "as long as I can run/walk and still swing a bat." We expect to see that happen for a long time still. Goose also leads by example as he has coached a Pony League baseball team for 37 years. Another activity that keeps him busy is his 45 LP record collection. Last count had the number of those vinyl discs at over 2,000. Sounds like time to start an oldies radio station in the area. Goose would be the perfect DJ. Beardall picked up his love of baseball from his father, Don, a gentleman who left a legacy himself in Spanish Fork. Don refereed basketball and baseball for over 20 years along with being the Spanish Fork High School athletics bus driver for 32 years. I'm sure Don is smiling when seeing all of the positive things his son George "Goose" Beardall brings to our community. Thanks, George! Now if you will excuse me, it's time for my favorite show. Maritza Allen / Spanish Fork News SF XC preps for Footlocker Lady Dons start pre-season at MV Dave Boyack STAFF WRITER On Saturday, Dec. 6,26 Spanish Fork High School runners will compete in the Western Regional Footlocker cross country championships in Walnut, Calif. To help prepare for this meet, these same runners competed in the UHSTCA pre-Footlocker race at American Fork High School on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008. With temperatures in the low 30s this brave crew took off for a 5K race against many runners from throughout the state. When the dust, or frost had settled, eight Spanish Fork runners came away medalists. Sophomore Spencer Hanson led the way with an outstanding overall third place finish, just behind Steve Morin of Lone Peak and Jason Lynch of Hillcrest High School. Spanish Fork's number two runner, Brandon Poulter, finished in 21st place with David Nester close behind in 23rd. Tanner Tagg and Spencer Vance also came away with medal-winning top 30 performances. On the girls' side, sophomore Ashley Phelps led the way with a 7th place finish with senior Bethany Carson coming in 11th. Senior Ashley Shelley was right behind in 12th place overall with senior Jenn Youd finishing in 25th overall. The top 30 finishers in each race received medals. With their pre-Footlocker experience under their belts, the cross country team will now see what the best in the west looks like at the very tough Mount San Antonio College course this weekend. Bryan Redd STAFF W R I T E R SPANISH FORK Chad Vest / Spanish Fork News TOP DON: Spencer Hanson led the way for Spanish Fork at pre-Footlocker. SAM'S PREP OF THE Brynlie Nielsen •Junior • Basketball Brynlie Nielsen is the daughter of Clay and Angela Nielsen of Spanish Fork. Only a junior, the 5'10" shooting guard is already in her third year on the varsity basketball team. She led the Lady Dons in scoring with 14 points against Mountain View. Nielsen said she thinks the Lady Dons have a good chance in region this year. "We have a lot of young talent... and our seniors are experienced and will lead us through/' she said. the Oil Change UP AND OVER: At 6 ' 1 " SF center Erin Redd towers over her opponent as she goes to the hoop for two. 552 N. Main • 798-7877 Opening night brings excitement, nerves, and confidence that this 2008 team can be winners in Region 4. The Lady Dons unveiled their new road uniforms and a new attitude in girls basketball. The SF defense was impressive, but the offense sputtered and the Dons lost a hard fought ball game 3 3 ^ 9 . The first quarter was low scoring. The Bruins jumped out to a 9-2 lead. At the four minute mark, the Dons turned up the defense, held Mtn. View scoreless and closed the score 7-9 to end the first quarter. The Lady Dons' defense created a fast-break tempo and Bruin turnovers in the second quarter. Brynlie Nielsen provided a needed offensive spark. The Dons closed the gap with a 12-point quarter and overcame questionable officiating to trail 19-20 entering the half. The Bruins stayed consistent in the third with aggressive defense on the SF guards and successful outside shooting. The Lady Dons went back to a tentative outside passing game, scoring five points in the third quarter. Spanish fork trailed 34-24 at the end of the third. Foul trouble kept the Dons from any offensive flow in the fourth quarter. The Dons did open up the offense too late and fell 33-49 to a senior-laden Bruins team. "We did not take advantage of our height or team speed. We are a better offensive team than we showed tonight. Our nerves got the best of us," said Erin Redd. "We let the Bruins' guards bump and control our guard play. They disrupted our momentum. We did rebound and defend well, but could not convert. We showed confidence on defense and we will perfect our execution on offense. I believe this team can do great things," said Coach Aubrey Johnson. The Lady Dons were led by Brynlie Nielsen with 13, Shea Johnson 7, Remund and Redd with 4, and Merrill and Elliott had 3. The Dons had 19 rebounds, seven assists, three blocked shots, and seven steals. The Achilles' heel was 22 turnovers. The SF girls host Grantsville on Thursday, Dec. 4 and travel to Bingham Saturday Dec. 6. SALEM WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS TEAM WINS LOSSES Fibertel 6 0 Spiking Crew 4 2 Red Rock Ortho #2 4 2 Red Rock Orthodontics 2 4 PSTS 1 5 K&J Construction 1 5 The economy is in a slump. When will it improve? No one knows. One area where things have improved a little bit is the drop in gas prices. When prices got so high, we improved our habits, and out of necessity we cut back on our gas consumption. Even with a big drop in price, we still need to keep up the changes we've made, not only to keep gas prices low, but because most of us are feeling the economic pinch in other ways. With decreased tax revenues, the state has had to cut budgets for nearly everything it helps fund, including school budgets. With less money, schools will have to hold off on hiring new teachers. They will have to cut back on afterschool programs. They will have to really watch how they spend their money. • One way schools can cut costs is the way they run their sports programs. They can have boys and girls teams travel to events together, eliminating extra travel. They can hold .off on new uniforms. Another way to save money is to play teams close to home, avoiding long trips. The Utah High. School Activities Association is in charge of forming the regions in which high school teams compete. Recently, with the addition of some new schools, they formed Region 8 with all Utah County schools, making the furthest region trip for any team about 15 miles. This change seemed like a good thing, cutting do\vn on travel cost and time, saving money and keeping student-athletes a little less busy. It sounds like such a good idea, you would assume they would keep it that way next time they look at regions in 2013, right? Well, the UHSAA decided it didn't want to wait until 2013, and instead, they moved Provo High School back to Region 7, and added Uintah High School to Region 8. What? That can't be right. That makes no sense. Actually, it makes sense to the UHSAA. They were concerned that Uintah — a 4A school — would create seeding problems when state tournament time rolled around, because the region Uintah would compete in during the regular season is composed of ,3A schools. Depending on how you look at it, Uintah could have an advantage, ,' or disadvantage, by playing 3A schools for most, of the season, and then having to compete against 4A schools in the postseason. Either way, was this concern really worth the extra cost that will be involved by having them play; in Region 8? Every school in the region will n(ow have extra travel costs, and worse than that, Uintah will have to travel a.lot more by playing primarily Utah County schools. I believe the move by the l)HSAA was the wrong one, poorly thought out, and at the end of the day, one that needs to be reversed. ; |