I am currently a member of the University of South Alabama softball team here in Mobile Alabama. This weekend, February 7-9, myself and my team traveled down to Clearwater Florida for the spring softball opening tournament. The tournament was called the NFCA Division 1 Leadoff Classic presented by Rawlings. South Alabama softball was one of 16 teams participating in the tournament. The list of the teams includes South Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Kentucky, Liberty, Louisville, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Missouri State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Texas State, Illinois, and the USA team. We competed and played in a total of 5 games within the 3-day span of being down in Clearwater Florida. Our first game was on Friday, February 7^th against Texas State. Texas State is a competitor in the Sunbelt conference located in San Marcos Texas. The final score to the season opener between South and Texas State was 5-2 with Texas State clenching their first win of the season. The next game was also on Friday, February 7^th against the Missouri tigers. Missouri is a part of the SEC conference and is located in Columbia Missouri. The ending outcome of game two of the Clearwater Leadoff Classic was 7-5 with Missouri coming out with the win. The next set of games for the South Alabama Jaguars came the following day, Saturday February 8^th against Minnesota and Illinois. Up first was Minnesota who is in the Big Ten conference located in Minneapolis Minnesota. This was a nerve-racking game for the jags as they fought a 0-0 ball game until the 6^th inning. The umpires were terrible all game, not giving anything to the jags and calling all plays to best benefit Minnesota. Things fell apart in the 6^th inning putting the Gophers on top 10 – 0 for the final score. It was a heartbreaker for the jags, but they had to bounce back for the next game facing Illinois. Game two of the day following the match up against Minnesota was a face to face game between South and the fighting Illinoi. The University of Illinois is located in Urbana-Champaign which is in east Illinois. Illinois play and compete in the Big Ten conference. The game between South and Illinois went back and forth for the entire 7 inning game. When one team would go up a run the other team answered back. Unfortunately for South Alabama they lost another close one, the final score being 5 – 4. Heading into the final game of the weekend, South Alabama finished up their last game on Sunday, February 9^th, against Notre Dame. The fighting Irish are located in Notre Dame Indiana and are a part of the select few who are in the NCAA FBS Independent Schools. This was another close game for South Alabama. The final score was 3 – 1 with the Irish on top. Overall it was a rough and challenging weekend for me and the South Alabama squad. We faced some very difficult teams that are in the top 25 of the NCAA Division 1 rankings for college softball. They had the top of the line pitching, hitting, defense and coaches. Walking away from the weekend, our team learned a lot and got better mentally and physically. For hitting, we must swing at better pitches, have a better approach at the plate, and have a fundamentally sound swing. For defense, we need to clean up the errors, talk more when on the field, and keep our head and eyes down on the ball. We are heading back to school, ready to fix our mistakes, work hard, and get better for ever other game we will play this season. Keep reading throughout the spring season to get more updates on the South Alabama softball team. GO JAGS!!

Sometime during the early hours of Sunday morning on January 26^th, 2020, basketball legend Kobe Bryant was involved in a deadly helicopter crash in the northern Los Angeles area according to a news source. Kobe was accompanied by his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, along with seven others on board of the helicopter. Los Angeles times noted that the main cause of the crash was due to weather conditions. It was very foggy on the day of the crash causing the helicopter to fly lower than usual, resulting in the crash into the sides of a hill within the Los Angeles California area. The helicopter went up into flames causing a brush fire and leading to the deaths of a number of people. For the sports industry, this news has shocked and devastated many individuals across the world. Many refer this man to “The Black Mamba” which describes a large, highly venomous snake that can move with great speed and agility, mocking Kobe’s ability on the basketball court. Kobe was a lasting legend and a powerful leader and role model for all sports across the board, not just basketball. He wore the number 24 on the back of his jersey and his name and number will be talked about for years as he is considered one of the best players of all time on the court. The number 24 wasn’t Kobe’s first choice but he explained that when he was headed into the Lakers 2007 season he wanted a fresh start and a clean slate for his new team and his new mindset. The number 24 was for growth and to look forward to a successful future after his good buddy Shaquille O’Neal was traded. Some standout accomplishments that most people remember Kobe from are his Best NBA Player ESPY Award (2008 & 2010), NBA All-Rookie Team (1997), Multiple NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, multiple All-NBA team, and as you can imagine… many more achievements and awards can be added to this very short list. Kobe was a buzzard beater, a team player, a leader, and a guy that absolutely loved the game of basketball and played every game with his whole heart. I don’t think anyone ever doubted his ability to shine and his ability to make such a strong impact on everyone around him. From my experience watching him play I could tell he loved what he did, and he gave 110% every outing he made on the basketball court. Along with his incredible achievements, Kobe’s impact moved beyond the court to people’s everyday life. His name and skills started the tradition that is something as simple as yelling “Kobe” when shooting a paper ball into the trash can. Outside of basketball, Kobe was married to his wife, Vanessa Laine Bryant, of 37 years and together they had 4 daughters, Gianna (13), Natalia (17), Bianka (3), and Capri (7 months). Kobe openly showed his love and support for his wife and kids no matter where his basketball career took him. He helped coach his daughters and attended their games much like they did for him. Along with being an amazing basketball player and father, Kobe had a good heart and helped out normal citizens as much as he could when they needed it. It was reported that Kobe was a witness of a car accident in the California area. It was told by TMZ Sports and even caught on video that Kobe Bryant was seen getting out of his car and assisting the victims who were involved and injured in the car crash. To me this proves how pure and genuine Kobe’s heart was and it also shows his character. He was a good man that held nothing but the best intentions for himself, his family, and everyone else around him that he came in contact with. It is a true tragedy for the sports world and my heart breaks for all of the families who were involved. Kobe was an amazing basketball player and I know that he will be forever remembered as one of the best to play the game. Rest in peace Kobe #24!!

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.