Talk about crazy! Be careful what you say you might lose an ear. If I had been Jake Paul that would have been a concern. But then again Jake Paul never let Tyson get that close to him as the 27 year old Paul proved that youth was too much for the old man to handle. I have watched boxing ever since Casius Clay with his famous shuffle and lightning quick jabs took down all the best in the 60’s and 70’s. I watched him take a shot to the kidney in Richfield, Ohio, by brawler Chuck Webner, that landed him on his rear, stunned and hurt he got up and took care of business. But even as great as he was when age caught up with him he understood it was time to quit.

Tyson on the other hand is a different type of character. He actually felt he had a chance and doggone it he did have some moments, but in the end Jake Paul’s youthful energy and skills overtook the warrior. No biting, no dirty fighting of any kind, just hard work and determination from a 58 year old ironman. One of the wildest spectacles in recent sports history. An exciting fight that ended by unanimous decision in front of 70,000 spectators at AT&T Stadium.

Oh the pre fight hype drew attention at the weigh in when Tyson slapped Paul in the face. Betting in Vegas alone was around $100 million. The payout for the two contestants was not pocket change either as Paul’s expected take was around $40 million and Tyson earned a mere $20 million. Not bad for a few bruises and an hour’s work.

Tyson had not fought professionally since 2005. He entered the ring with a pro record of 50-6. Paul only five years into the sport improved his record to 11-1 with the win. Great entertainment. I hear Tyson might take up wrestling next; he’s looking for a job in education!

Let’s take a look at local high school sports. We want to keep an eye on everything going on this season as it looks like this will be the last winter season for four of our schools. With consolidation getting closer to reality in Wetzel County next year may find us with only two schools in the county.

We now know the 2024 Volleyball state tournament will be played with Magnolia making it in Class A. The event will take place next week at West Virginia State in Charleston.

Tyler Consolidated who played in Class AA all season long got a raw deal. They were bumped back to Class A by a circuit court ruling and took down St. Marys to earn a spot, however another court ruling from the Morgantown area bumped them back out in favor of St. Marys who was ordered to play Trinity, Tyler’s next opponent. St. Marys then defeated Trinity to move back into the playoff picture. From there everything started landing in court as the State Supreme Court of Appeals got involved which put things on hold.

However final rulings came down from the state Supreme Court of Appeals siding with the WVSSAC and turning back the authority to them to set the schedules and classifications. As a result the original playoff schedule was reinstated and playoff action began on Friday with #13 Valley high school traveling to # 4 Cameron and #12 Tyler Consolidated traveling to #8 Sherman for first round games. The sad part is it left Tyler Consolidated with nowhere to go in Volleyball as the Class AA state championships are over. The ruling also bumped the Silver Knights Cheerleading squad out of the competition. Not exactly where the blame for all this lies, but it sure did mess up a lot of expectations for one of the states best volleyball teams and a darn good cheering squad. It would be better if everyone would stay out of things and let those in positions of authority make the decisions. The end result being kids suffered. Hopefully this doesn’t carry over to winter sports!

Our two football teams both suffered defeat on Friday night and will now turn their attention to winter sports.

Speaking of winter! What a game between the Browns and Steelers last Thursday. By games end it was white out conditions. Why couldn’t they have held that one off until tomorrow. Would have been a great way to spend Thanksgiving!