The Baylor Red Raiders led for 47:53 of the 48 minutes of their Division II-AA state championship game against Ensworth on Thursday night. It was the last seven seconds, though that left Baylor with a 28-21 loss.
It was a last-second fade pass that David Dingess wrestled away that provided the difference, and the catch was controversial at best.
It left the Red Raiders in tears and the Tigers with their first state championship.
Ensworth quarterback Drew Parker drove his team for the winning score by first running for 6 yards and then going 4-for-5 for 52 yards. The game's offensive MVP wound up 17-for-23 for 225 yards.
Baylor senior Jacob Huesman was 8-of-13 passing for 96 yards and led Baylor in rushing with 149 yards on 26 carries.
King returns to Cleveland
Wow, that felt like a little bit of revenge and a little bit of release. In truth, there's a real chance we'll look back LeBron James' overpowering return to Cleveland last night as a springboard moment for James and the Miami Heat.
Shuffling to an 11-8 start, the Heat were being criticized. Their coach was being put on the hot seat. The questions about chemistry would have mad a high school junior break out.
Then Thursday, James fashioned a 38-point, zero-turnover revenge fest in a blowout of his former team.
More than that, the entire team seemed to rally around James in a game that obviously meant a great deal to the two-time MVP as his former fans held signs that read "Quitness" and "LeBum"and chanted things like "Play like it's Game 5," in reference to James' lackluster effort against Boston last year.
NCAA president offers Newton statement
Mark Emmert, the NCAA president, has this to say on the organization's website about declaring Cam Newton SEC championship game even though his father sought payment for his services.
"We recognize that many people are outraged at the notion that a parent or anyone else could 'shop around' a student-athlete and there would possibly not be repercussions on the student-athlete's eligibility," Emmert said.
Emmert also was quoted as saying he was committed to "further clarifying and strengthening our recruiting and amateurism rules so they promote appropriate behavior by students, parents, coaches and third parties." He added the NCAA will "work aggressively with our members to amend our bylaws so that this type of behavior is not a part of intercollegiate athletics."
All valid points, but that is not going to satisfy the people that wanted Newton sacked and the Auburn dream season ended. In truth, though, regardless of what was or was not handled by the SEC or Auburn before the season, the NCAA was faced with two broad scenarios regarding a ruling on the alleged pay-for-play scheme that included Newton's father Cecil.
There was the way the NCAA ruled and the justified concerns about allowing family members solicit offers without the player knowing and little ramifications coming on the player. That leaves a sizable loophole that must be corrected with what will forever be known as the NCAA's Newton Law.
On the other side, though, was the shadiness of a conference rival being able to bring down a program by the recruiting violations that happened on another campus. If Newton was declared ineligible because of mistakes that happened at Mississippi State, think how the extortion and strong arming world have taken hold in the underbelly world of recruiting in the power conferences.
Baseball moves start
The Chicago White Sox signed Adam Dunn to a four-year, $56 million deal. Good move.
Eric Hinske decided to return to the Atlanta Braves. Good move for each.
Mariano Rivera and the New York Yankees appear to have a deal set, agreeing with the future Hall of Fame closer for a two-year, $30 million deal. Plus, word is that the Yankees are closing in on Derek Jeter, so free agency is off to a rousing start.
Tonight's prep football
Two programming notes for today:
First there will be no 2:00 Drill because of the South Pittsburg state championship football game, which starts at 1 p.m. Eastern and will be covered live on our twitter feed at www.twitter.com/timesfreepress.
Two, since there will be no 2:00 Drill, the Drill programming team has forced the 5-at-10 to tell you if you have any interest in college football recruiting, then you need to head to Calhoun tonight for the Yellow Jackets against Carver-Columbus in a Georgia state semifinal that will include more than a dozen major college prospects. Word has it that Alabama coach Nick Saban and Georgia coach Mark Richt are going to be on hand to take in the action.
Plus you know UTC will have someone there watching the Mocs newest recruit - Calhoun speedster Dustin Christian.
If prep hoops is your thing, there are few rivalries as special as the Howard-Brainerd hoops matchup that will reconvene tonight.