Hey, Tom.

What did you and your wife do on your 32nd weddinganniversary?

Tom went to a basketball game and covered the Copiah-LincolnCommunity College Lady Wolves as they battled for survival in theNJCAA Region 23 Tournament. Laurie stayed home Wednesday night,read THE DAILY LEADER, watched CNN, O’Reilly and other newsworthyevents.

Thank God for a dear, devoted and understanding wife!

Fellas, don’t take your wife for granted.

Take one look at me and you know Laurie is a great cook. Tomknows how to eat.

We have a dinner date planned but it might be after thebasketball season before the night out takes place. In themeantime, Laurie is content to admire that dozen yellow roses andcount the numerous blessings we have shared over the years.

If you like statistics, we have two grown children, stillmarried to their spouses; and four grandchildren. Talk about ablessing, how about those grandchildren.

Strange as it may seem, none of those grandkids are involved inathletics or share our passion for sports. Jessica, age 13, playedsome junior high basketball and ran track. Now she’s into creativewriting, music and singing.

Kallie Rose, age 11; and Sarah, age 13 also enjoy music andsinging. Aaron, the oldest at 17, graduates in May from ForrestCounty AHS. He has a band scholarship to Jones County JuniorCollege. Plays three horns and plays them well, too.

Meanwhile, Grizzly Goetz brings home the milk, bread and bacon,thanking God for the ability to work and make a living. Thirty-oneyears working at one newspaper is a milestone in itself. Certainly,the Jacobs family has been good to work for and verysupportive.

In our business, we enjoy working with the coaches and watchingthe players play the game. People don’t realize how much effort anddedication is required to excel in an athletic endeavor.

Hours upon countless hours are consumed by an athlete in anattempt to improve his/her skills. People criticize them when theyfumble the football, miss a basket or strike out. By comparison,the average fan has difficulty finding his car in the parking lot,not to mention the keys.

Co-Lin’s Lady Wolves (25-2) have accomplished much this season.Nationally ranked at No. 7, they have combined a nice mix offreshmen and sophomores to achieve success. Coach GwynYoung has produced another outstanding squad.

Sophomore post players Mindy Livaudais of New Orleansand Christy Brown of Zachary, La. give Co-Lin a powerful insidegame. Gwen Smith of Wesson runs the point. Sophomores Laurie AnnDavis of Natchez, Alexya Irvin of Brookhaven, Shaquita Smith ofUnion Church and Hope Mason of Hazlehurst give the Lady Wolvesextra depth.

Co-Lin’s freshmen are led by guard Tiania Burnsof Nashville, Tenn., the team’s leading scorer; and forwardLindsay Altman of Ruth who are in the startinglineup. Coming off the bench are Ayme Beeson ofCalhoun, La., Nikki Blakely of Brookhaven,Monica Townsend of Wesson, Sherkia Harried of Fayette.Roberta Johnson of Wesson sustained a knee injury early in theseason.

Last Thursday’s column was about Brookhaven productThomas Terrell. The muscular, 6-foot-8 seniorforward had led Georgia State to No. 1 seeding in the Atlantic SunConference Tournament and earned himself A-Sun Player of the Yearhonors.

Oops, Georgia State was ambushed in the semifinals of the A-SunTournament by Florida Atlantic. That leaves the Panthers (19-10) onthe bubble for this Sunday night’s NCAA selection party. ThePanthers won the A-Sun tourney last year and made it to the secondround of the NCAA after upsetting nationally-ranked Wisconsin.

Ole Miss (20-9) and Mississippi State (23-7) began their questfor the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship today.Hopefully, either the Rebels or the Bulldogs can reach the finals.Both teams are hot and both are expected to receive NCAA Tournamentinvitations no matter what happens in the SEC gathering inAtlanta.

Coach Rod Barnes led his Rebels to the Sweet 16 lastyear and was recognized as Naismith National Coach of the Year.They catch South Carolina tonight at 8:45.

Rick Stansbury’s Bulldogs have caught fire at the end ofthe season. They earned an opening round bye and face the winner ofthe Auburn-Florida game at 6:30 Friday.