Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Night at the Museum

Everyone has a bucket list. Those things you would like to do or see before you die. My bucket list ain’t too exotic. I have no desire to jump out of an airplane, swim with sharks, meet the Pope, you get my drift. My list is much less complicated and much easier to accomplish. I had a chance to check off one of those bucket list items last Friday night. Over the years I have had folks tell me you have to see a football game at Russellville. I had heard a lot about the facilities and was anxious to see the place. I can you that this place I call the Bedford bowl, is nice. I have been to a lot of places to see high school football, including South Georgia, but I have ever seen a high school stadium with jumbotron, instant replay, and up to date player’s pictures and stats after a play. Also there’s the mansion in the end zone that serves as a field house. I understand the baseball facility is a site to see as well. I would suggest, however, to the good folks in Russellville to take the next batch of pork sent from your guy in Montgomery (Roger Bedford) and get a playing surface like Milton Frank as your field was beat up a little last Friday. Of course any natural turf field is showing wear this time of year anyway. As for the game, Russellville played well and pulled away from Athens in the 2nd half. I can’t see either team beating Cullman or even Hartselle in the playoffs. In fact, if the golden eagles don’t find a way to do a better job of protecting Rivers, Boaz might take them out first round. Now on my bucket list is to see a high school game in Texas. Anybody up for a road trip?

Well it’s the 10th and final week of the regular season. This is the week where it is hard to figure out who’s playing well and who is not. With rare exception, using a tie breaker down the list (about letter G), this week’s games mean nothing. If you’re Madison Academy or Cullman it means trying to finish with a perfect record. If you’re Hartselle, it means trying to get back in the W column before playoffs start. This is an extremely tough week for head coach. Example: I once had a volleyball Dad who was also an assistant football coach mad because the head coach would not cancel or change his week 10 game so his players could go to Pelham to watch volleyball finals. The quote from this dad was “this game don’t mean anything since we’re not in the playoffs” even though that particular team was still playing to finish 6-4 and a winning record. Even more unbelievable is that this dad is still coaching football. My point to all of this is how a coach prepares for this week. If your team is not headed to post season, how do you motivate, especially when the mommas and papas are not motivated? Do you preach the “last game” motivation speech? What if you are good, wrapped up a post season spot, and playing a team that is not a rival? Do you rest some kids that might be a little banged up at the expense of losing? Then what about those games that may be a rivalry like say, Decatur vs. Hartselle. Both of these teams are locked into playoff sports and both play in different “A” classifications. On paper, this game should be a good’un but, will it be? How will the coaches play it?

Interesting games this week should be Decatur at Hartselle, Cullman at Austin, Albertville at Guntersville, Vinemont at Sardis, and Tanner at Elkmont. Don’t know if any of these will be barn burners but they have the potential to be good. If your thinking of attending, be sure to check the schedule as there are a bunch of Thursday games this week. Coaches like to play Thursday so they can scout 1st round playoff opponents on Friday.

Talk about a messed up region, what about 3A Region 6 and 4A Region 7. Three way tie at the top between Pisgah, Sardis, and Susan Moore in 3A Region 6 and three way tie for 2-3-4 in 4A Region 7 between Fairview, North Jackson, and Plainview. The tie breaker using total victories of defeated opponents in class and above may make week 10 an important week. If Sardis could beat Vinemont, they might get the number 1 seed in 3A Region 6. That won’t be easy though as Vinemont has already locked a 3 seed in Region 7 and has a pretty good football team. NJ may be in the best shape to get the 2nd spot in 4A R7 since they play in class on all of their out of region opponents while the other 2 teams have played down in classification on weeks 1,5 and 10.

I had Hartselle and Madison Academy on upset alert last week. Defense keeps you in every game and MS has a good one so I was not surprised when MS actually did beat Hartselle. MA won a tough game over Colbert County but may pay a big price with some key injuries which is something they have been able to avoid this year. I still think Hartselle has a chance to go deep in playoffs but after seeing what Cullman did to Mountain Brook, it’s hard to figure that anyone in 5A north will beat them. Hard to say how far MA can go. I just can’t get a good read on how good any of the 3A regions in the north are this year. I do know R8 was down but don’t know if R7 is much better. MA will play Danville first round and I do think they will win that game as the wheels fell off Danville mid-year. The hottest team in 3A north right now may very well be Elkmont.

I have unintentionally ignored Sparkman all year. Thinking about it, how can you be that big a school and not have a competitive football team. Sparkman, in the last reclassification, was the 4th largest school in the state behind Bob Jones, Hoover, and Murphy. How long has it been since Sparkman was a threat in football. I mentioned Hazel Green last week but really think Sparkman situation is harder to figure. I mean Sparkman girls have it figured out. Look at their basketball and softball programs. How hard would it be to find some good players out of a student body of over 1,600?

This week the volleyball champions will be crowned in Pelham. Grissom and Huntsville in 6A and Catholic in 3A qualified from the Huntsville area. Volleyball is alive and well in this area. Thanks to the club programs, should remain strong for years to come.

Want some good Barbecue? Try Mary’s in Maysville. By far the best I have eaten in this area. Pulled pork is the real deal. If you go though, don’t plan on eating inside. They do have a few picnic tables outside or you could just use the tailgate of a truck like we did.

Take a raincoat if you’re going to a game this Friday evening. Thursday you should be okay but Friday looks wet. To quote Shakespeare from The Tempest: “What impossible matter will he make easy next?” All I can tell you is to wait until next time to find out. Just saying……!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

What Miss Daisy says, goes!

I got a comment from Ms. Daisy last week that said my blog was too long. What Ms. Daisy says goes! So, I will try to cut down the length! The problem I have is that I have so much to cover and people that know me, a lot to say. Well, to use an old entertainment adage, "always leave’em wanting more"! Besides, Ms. Daisy is a whole lot better cook than I am a writer and I like to eat.

Some regions winners have already been determined with still a week left in region play. Congrats to R.A Hubbard for 1A Region 8, Lexington (had did you lose to LCHS anyway) for 2A Region 8, MA for 3A Region 8, Pisgah for 3A Region 6, Cullman for 5A Region 6, Hartselle for 5A Region 8, and Bob Jones for 6A Region 8. Some of these could lose this week but will not matter due to head to head over the 2nd place teams in the region.

Games to watch this week that will affect who wins their region are; Vinemont at Hamilton for 3A Region 7, North Jackson at Fairview for 4A Region 7, Brooks at Deshler for 4A Region 8, Clay-Chalkville at Gadsden City for 6A Region 7, and Sardis at Pisgah for 3A Region 6. These games will either decide the region winners or help to decide. If Sardis can beat Pisgah, this will force a 3-way tie for the region winner.

I have told you what we know, now to what we don’t know. Who’s going to win this 4A Region 7? Talk about topsey-turvey! I wrote a few weeks back that this region could look different in a few weeks and does it ever. Guntersville woke up after 2 straight loses and is now tied with Fairview for the lead. Meanwhile, North Jackson has lost 3 out the last 4. The problem for Fairview is they host North Jackson this week. NJ could be a very dangerous team that, if they play like their capable, can beat anyone. A lose by Fairview and a probable win by Guntersville over Priceville will result in a 3-way tie for 2nd thru 4th in this region between Plainview, Fairview, and NJ. Out of region play will determine the tie breaker. Fairview may be in good shape here but their season opening win over Vinemont may not be counted because Vinemont is 3A.

Talk about having your post season chances hanging on one week. Both Buckhorn and Lauderdale County went from being in the playoffs this time last week to most likely being left out. Buckhorn would have been in great shape had they not gotten upset by Huntsville last week. Now, Huntsville should get the 4th spot in 6A Region 8 with a win this Friday over Hazel Green. A great turn of the season for the Panthers who have left a few scratching their head this season. The Buckhorn-Austin game should be a good one but will not matter with a Huntsville win since they have head-to-head over both. Lauderdale County is another team that is just too hard to figure out. They were alone in 3rd place a week ago and went to Colbert County last Friday and played poorly in the 2nd half which all but eliminated them from post-season play. It is not hard to understand how you lose to CC at CT Manley, but the earlier loss to Colbert Heights and MA at home have really put a huge dent in LCHS post season plans. Will be interesting to see how they perform this Friday as they host Elkmont, one of the hottest teams in N. Alabama. They have to win and hope Sheffield beats Colbert Heights which is not likely since Sheffield is 0-6 in region play.

Let me mention a top coach in N. Alabama. How can you not be impressed with Coach Jacobs at Elkmont? He graduated a great bunch of seniors last year and really only had a few returning starters from last year’s Region 8 championship season. Yet, his Red Devils are sitting at 6-2 and will earn 2nd in the region and home field advantage. Jacobs has proven over the last 3 years to be one of the most consistent coaches in North Alabama. Remember, at places like Elkmont, you generally don’t have a lot of “move ins” so you basically have to play the hand your dealt each year and grow your talent from within the community. A lot of times, coaches don’t get enough credit for this. Some of the best coaching jobs year in and year out are in rural community schools.

Talking about coaches! Hey Colbert County, still ready to run Coach Gross off over there? If so, I know a bunch of schools that would love to have him. Here is a coach that has brought much needed discipline to one of the most tradition rich programs in the state. Lost some to graduation, ran a few off and his team has taken their lumps this year. But, look out now as they’re 4-2 in the region with a game against MA game this Friday. Don’t know if CC can win and this may be one of those rare opportunities MA would have to get a win at CT Manley, but it looks like they are starting to play a lot better over in Leighton. Baring injuries, CC will be battle tested for the playoffs due to their out of region schedule. No one plays a tougher one.

What about Hoover losing to Vestavia Hills last week? Looks like the Bucs will now finish 2nd in 6A Region 6. For those that count, that is the first region loss for Hoover in over 6 years, not counting forfeits that occurred in Rush’s last year.

Congrats to Hazel Green for snapping the state’s longest losing streak (26 games) by beating Chelsea last week. HG is one of those communities that is hard to figure. As good of athletes that live in north Madison County, and due to their proximity to Huntsville they have “move ins” each year, why can’t they field a decent football team?

Welcome to the party! How about Catholic of Huntsville announcing they will establish a football program at the new High School that is going to be built by Indian Creek. Following the same plan of Decatur Heritage by bringing in the sport to coincide with the building of a new school just adds more excitement to N. Alabama High School Football. With this announcement and Westminster getting serious about football, exciting times ahead for private schools athletics in the Huntsville/Decatur area. Competition of those athletes wanting to attend private schools may heat up.

Key Games to watch this week: Clay-Chalkville at Gadsden City, Athens at Russellville, Etowah at Boaz, Mountain Brook at Cullman, Brooks at Deshler, North Jackson at Fairview, Vinemont at Hamiliton, Sardis at Pisgah, and Lamar County at Winston County.

Upset alert games: Hartselle at Muscle Shoals and Madison Academy at Colbert County. MS has the best linebackers in 5A Region 8 and a good defense can keep you in games. MA has to play at CT Manley and have never won there.

A little hardwood news. As official practices begins for the upcoming season, word out of Bob Jones is they have lost one of their returning starters from last year’s state runner up team, for the upcoming season or at least until post season with a torn ACL. Expect BJ to potentially struggle early with this key loss and due to some players still participating in football by the time basketball tips off.

Food: I had a sweet young lady tell me I left off a good pizza joint in my “bully’s best of” last week. I agree that Sam and Greg’s, downtown on north side of the courthouse does have a good pie and I will put them in with a tie with Big Eds as number 3 on my bully best pizza around list. By the way, looking for a good sandwich for lunch, go to Redstone Arsenal Golf Course grill and get the prime rib sandwich. It is the special for the month of October so hurry and get one before the month is over. It’s a good’un!

Get out and catch some football Friday night. Weather should clear by kick off time. Best value for your dollar is High School athletics. Just Saying…..!!!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I'm a gonna write a letter, gonna a mail it today.

Dear Coach Jackson and the Buckhorn Bucks, on behalf of the city of Madison and the Bob Jones football team and fans we want to congratulate you on your team’s victory last Friday night over Oak Mountain. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for restoring the respect to our region that we lost the previous week. We know we dropped the ball (literally) the previous week and people all over the state, and especially in Birmingham, were again proclaiming that football at the 6A level in North Alabama was just not relevant to the overall 6A picture. I understand that with playoffs, rankings don’t really matter but we really thought we might be something special until we out punted our coverage (again literally) last week. I haven’t quite figured out what happened but have a sneaky suspicion that we got to reading and hearing too much about how great we were. While we tried to steal the game late in 4th qtr, only to have it stolen back from us on the last play of the game against a Region 6 opponent that is average at best and will not make the playoffs, your team beat a team from the same region that could get the 4th seed out of that region. Because of you, we now can look our self in the mirror and once again think about what we can accomplish this year. We may be headed for uncharted waters with this much football success in Madison so we will have to keep the players, students, mommas and papas (California Dreaming anyone?), and fans from getting the big head. That will be something our coaches will have to watch for over the next several weeks to keep us from doing the unimaginable, lose again in the regular season. In fact, if we win out that will help ya’ll and we always want to do the right thing (wink,wink)! Anyway, Coach Jackson, we sure do appreciate your team’s effort last Friday night. We love ya’ll, at least for now anyway! Sincerely Coach Kevin Rose!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me! This Aretha Franklin tune could have been sung in 6A Region 8 after BJ loss to Homewood. We did find out what it meant to BJ, a loss! I can’t decide what was a bigger shock; BJ losing to Homewood or Buckhorn beating Oak Mountain. I will give BJ some love though; they did bounce back nicely by trouncing Huntsville. Now BJ can thank Buckhorn even more by beating Austin this week and, if Buckhorn beat Huntsville and they should, Buckhorn can move into the 4th and final playoff spot. BJ, unless a complete collapse, should win out the remainder of the year giving them the region title. This week’s game with Florence and Decatur should determine who gets the 2nd spot. Both 1 and 2 are important spot to finish since it allows you home field and 3-4th from another region in the first round.

The 3A Region 8 winner is all but decided. Unless MA has a major melt down, they will win Region 8. Congrats go to Coach Cohu and his staff at MA. Keep it up coach and you may win the coveted Bully Coach of the Year award at the conclusion of the season. Who knows, he may be getting his 100th win soon. Especially if they use some of the math MA is prone to use when calculating victory totals for some of their coaches (see middle school). Just saying! Elkmont appears to be a lock for the 2 spot. The question in this region is 3rd and 4th. Lauderdale County is currently 3rd with Colbert County sitting in the 4 spot. CC and LCHS play this Friday and CC has MA in week 9. Lose these 2 and Colbert Heights or West Limestone could get that 4th slot. It has been a tough year for CC and not making the playoffs for the first time since Noah and his family went sailing in a boat, will not sit well for folks in Leighton.

The top 4 in 5A region 8 is pretty much set. The seating (1 thru 4) may change but Hartselle, Russellville, Athens and Muscle Shoals have locked the top 4. MS will most likely lose to Hartselle but the only threat of East Limestone creeping into the playoff picture would be for them to win out which includes beating Russellville this week and MS losing the next 2. Could happen but not likely. Hartselle would have to lose the next 2 games not to get the 1 spot in the region. That ain’t likely! Next week’s Athens-Russellville game could be for the 2nd spot and home field advantage in the 1st round. This game should be a dandy!

I wrote last week about 4A Region 7 and I think this may be the most exciting region in North Alabama. Fairview got past Plainview last week and remain underfeated so they do control their own destiny. But here is the mountain Fairview has to climb. This week they play Guntersville and then North Jackson the following week. Guntersville, after losing a couple of games, bounced back nicely last week and defeated NJ (hey I called this back a few weeks ago). The top 4, Fairview, Guntersville, NJ, and Plainview are all pretty much locked. What order they finish is not. The only sure thing is Fairview does not need help if they win out but that will be a tough chore. This will be the region to watch over the next few weeks.

The weather played havoc with last week’s games and perhaps played a factor in a couple of upsets and certainly made a few games closer than they should have been (see Johnson-Russellville). Some teams moved their games to Thursday, some played earlier (6 pm) than normal on Friday some played Saturday night and at least one played Monday night. Let’s hope this wacky weather doesn’t return for a repeat performance anytime soon.

Now on to food! Most folks that know me know that I know good food and good places to dine. The Huntsville Times has started a best of section in their Tuesday papers that list the best of various types of food. You don’t have to worry with that as I plan to give you Bully’s Best Of. Today, I will give you the best Pizza in the Huntsville area.

1. Terry’s – hands down the best pizza in Huntsville. It was dark and dreary times in the Huntsville when Terry’s closed their doors several years ago. Thank goodness for Star Market. Now I must caution you, the Star Market in Madison is much more consistent on their Pizza than the one in 5-points. Sometime you might get an over cooked crust or too much sauce at the 5-point location. Haven’t gotten one from Merdianville yet.
2. Mellow Mushroom – great pizza and they have a nice/new dining facility. I’m a big fan of the MM chain and have enjoyed the one in Huntsville several times.
3. Big Eds – Another great pizza tradition in the Huntsville area. Located just south of the University/Parkway intersection. Good pizza, just not at the level of MM or Terry’s.

Honorable mention goes to Donatos and Marcos Pizza. You can’t go wrong with either if you want pizza’s for a crowd. For pizza buffet try Pizza Inn in Madison. Decent pizza’s and they have soft serve ice cream. You always will score Bully points when you have soft serve ice cream.

It has been a while since I wrote about volleyball and feel compelled to mention since the area tourney’s are going on this week. Keep an eye on several Huntsville and surrounding area teams as there could be a few blue maps headed back from Pelham around Halloween time. If you like volleyball, below are some teams to watch.
1A – Athens Bible
2A - Westminister
3A – Catholic, Madison Academy, New Hope
4A – Guntersville
5A – Madison County, Arab, Hartselle
6A – Huntsville, Bob Jones, Grissom, and Hazel Green

By the time you read this, some of these teams could be eliminated. One thing is for certain, North Alabama rules when it comes to volleyball. There are some schools throughout the state that play good volleyball and could win Blue/Red maps but overall, the best volleyball is right here in NA.

It want be long now until we turn our attention to the hardwood. I hope to see several games but will be able to give a perspective on several quality teams as I will be keeping the game books for the BJ varsity boys this season. I look forward to getting back involved with High School basketball and I can’t think of anyone I would rather work with than Coach Petty. One of the best coaches in the state and is responsible for building the powerhouse program at MA. That being the case, Coach Petty will not be spared if his team starts to play poorly. BJ is one of the favorites to returning to Birmingham at the end of the season and I am looking forward to it.

One last thing, some have told me they can’t post comments to the blog without a google account. Didn’t realize this when I set this up. You can always email me with comments, stories, rumors, and of course disagreements to bullyben@hotmail.com. Won’t be able to catch a game this Friday due to a wedding but will keep abreast of the results and goings on. Hope to catch Terry Bowden and his UNA Lions this Thursday night though! Until next week, get me out of here Percy!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Oh the perils of fall break!

Having been around football coaches over the last several years, I can tell you this is the week they dread more than any other. The week of fall break! Why this week is any worse than other weeks during the season? Mental distraction more so than anything physical. By this point in the season, the athlete and coaches have an established routine that is gets totally hosed this week. Their established routine is in total disruption. Coaches don't have control of their kids compared to when school is in session and distractions abound. Players will sleep in (unless the team schedules practice early in morning) and then drag in to practice after lounging or goofing off all day and, coaches will tell you, the focus for the upcoming game is just not there. I know some coaches who try to schedule things on Friday so they at least of some control over that day and keep the focus on where it should be. Of course the solution to all of this would be to move the start of the football season up a week early, and give coaches 11 weeks to play 10 games. This would give each team a much needed week off and I bet that schools that have the fall break week (block systems generally don't have the whole week) would choose this week for their off week. Coaches do have the option to punt one of their out or region games and only play a 9 game regular season but that could be dangerous strategy if the “out of region opponents” tie-breaker is used. This is always the case in a 3-way tie where each team beat the other then the defeated out of region games generally decide the regions finish. Seems to me a simple fix but what do I know! Let’s get off the soapbox and move on.

I remember a few years ago I got the chance to see Randall Cobb play in the Tennessee state championship game when he played for Alcoa High School. I thought he was as good as it gets when it comes to an athletic QB who could run and throw. I figured he was at least a 4-star and could name the school he wanted to attend. What do I know! When I got home and researched, he was listed as a 3-star, not highly recruited and committed to Kentucky. I understand Tennessee got into recruiting him late but he stuck with Kentucky. I write this because sometimes something seems so obvious is not necessarily the reality. Why the Vols would let this good a player leave their own back yard (Alcoa High school is in the Knoxville metro area) to sign with another SEC school is something I can’t figure out, especially when you look at the lack of talent on the current Vol roster. This brings me to Stephen Rivers at Athens. Although a junior, you have to expect he is being looked at by a bunch of schools, especially in the SEC. Could he be headed west, say to UCLA? That is where his brother’s college OC, Norm Chow, is now running the offense. Following the pattern established when Philip graduated Athens, his dad would move to a location near the university that Stephen ends up playing for. Although the west coast is a long way from North Alabama, it makes sense as his dad could watch his youngest son play on Saturdays and his oldest son play on Sundays. This could be interesting to watch it all unfold next year as I suspect there are at least a few SEC schools will recruit Mr. Stephen Rivers. Having watched him once last year and twice this year, I think he is good, but again, what do I know! Oh by the way, Hartselle has a good looking football team. The best game I have seen this year was last week’s Athens/Hartselle game. A 10 point game but was decided late in the 4th quarter. Also enjoyed visiting with John Hannah (you Bama and Pro Football fans will remember him) and conversing with him about football.

The water is starting to be really clear for 3A, Region 8. With Elkmont’s win last week over Colbert County and MA's win last week of Colbert Heights, if both of these teams hold serve the rest of the year, MA will win region with Elkmont finishing 2nd. Elkmont still has a tough contest on the road this week as they travel to Colbert Heights and you can't go ahead and chalk up a victory for MA when they travel to C T Manly later but both can now control their own destinies. Even if MA loses one and Elkmont wins out, MA still will get 1st seed by virtue of their victory over Elkmont in week 2.

Cullman’s last hurdle for a region 6 championship could be this week's trip to Springville. I don't expect Springville to pull the upset but stranger things have happened. I haven't seen Cullman this year but I'm anticipating an exciting matchup in the playoffs if Cullman and Hartselle can both stay alive till they meet. This would be a "must see" game. Cullman plays in a 9 team region so they play their last 2 regular season games out region. Both of these games will be interesting. Week 9 they host Mountain Brook and week 10 go to Austin. If they finish their regular season 10-0, watch out! Hartselle still has Muscle Shoals left in the region and MS may have the best defense in Region 8 so they don’t need to over look that game. Hartselle will then end the regular season with Decatur and although that is out of region, still should be a good one!

Bob Jones had an opportunity for a "statement game" last week but blew it. Listening to the last several minutes on the radio as I was driving home from the Athens-Hartselle game, I couldn't believe BJ came from 2 scores down to take the lead with less than a minute to play only to blow it at the end. I ain't ready to jump off the BJ band wagon but was disappointed they fumbled (literally) the opportunity to tell the Birmingham area that BJ can play with that region. Although Homewood came in the game 1-4, they had lost to Hoover, Spain Park, Oak Mountain, and Vestavia Hills which are all good teams and playing in the best region in the state. With the exception of the Vestavia game, most of Homewood’s loses have been close games. This was an opportunity for BJ to tell the world that they were for real. Doesn't really matter since we have playoffs and if BJ is for real, and they can be, they will get the opportunity to prove it. I was just disappointed that this opportunity for folks in Madison to strut a little was lost. I think BJ is good and possibly a player, or two, away from being one of the best in the state. That is a good thing for N. Alabama which has the reputation, especially in 6A, as having weaker teams than the rest of the state. BJ can rebound with a win this week against Huntsville.

The most interesting games this week and the next are in 4A Region 7. Earlier in the year I had Guntersville/North Jackson as a potential must see game. Luster has fell off of Guntersville with their recent 2 game losing streak but this game still has the making to be interesting. The focus in this region has turned to Fairview which is undefeated and hosting Plainview this Friday night. Both Fairview and NJ are tied in first place with Plainview and Guntersville tied with 1 loss in the region. Plainview but beat Guntersville last week, scoring 25 points on perhaps, the best defense in that region. The next few weeks will be interesting. Next week Fairview goes to Guntersville and then ends region play hosting a game with NJ. If Fairview survives this week and next, the NJ game will most likely be for Region Championship. But, as has happened in the past, in 3 weeks, this region could look entirely different if Guntersville beats NJ and Plainview and/or Guntersville beats Fairview. I may head to Fairview this Friday to get a look at them!

Deviating from Football and to discuss my other favorite hobby, eating! I told you I would write when I eat somewhere that was good or bad. I had an opportunity to eat at Santa Fe Grill this past week in Hampton Cove. I had heard mixed reviews from folks that had dined there so decided to see for myself. For my visit, the food was not very good. Steak was tough and overcooked and soup/stew was terrible.

One last comment for the gear heads, go Mark Martin. Just saying……!