It's been a great month...

I know that this is a high school board, but I'm not just a sports writer, I'm a human too and so let me offer some of my highlights from the month.

It actually started March 31 when I got to cover Ashland native Brandon Webb on Opening Day at Great American Ball Park. Just a few days later, I was able to let the area know of the generosity of Chad Pennington's 1st and 10 Foundation and how much they have given to our area.

Skip forward one week and my daughter Kyra celebrated her first birthday (April 10). It was the first birthday in my life that ever made me feel older and it wasn't even my birthday...LOL.

The following days would unveil a week-plus of rivalries, great matchups and Sluggerfest.

One week later, I got to talk to one of the great baseball legends of our area -- Jack Cook -- at one of the best tournaments in our area -- the Jack Cook Wooden Bat Classic. I would love to see this tournament expand because all the players seem to love it.

I capped my month with Chad Pennington's 1st and 10 Celebrity Bowl in which I got to talk to Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith, who was just as in awe as I was that we were there with NFL Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett.

I'd like to see the May flowers that come from these so-called April showers.

GDT

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT....

...that basketball parents were bad, the softball parents of the area come back in and sweep the title right away.

OK, OK, so I'm exaggerating...sort of. 90 percent of the parents in sports are great to deal with and understanding of the situations that we go through on a daily basis. It is the other 10 percent that make it miserable.

Some comments are needed, but often mistimed and delivered in such a way that makes it impossible for any good to come of it. For example, if you leave a voicemail either (1) cussing or (2) telling me I need to wake up, do my job or some other form of attack criticism, chances are that your comments are less likely to be taken into consideration than someone that calls and explains politely their inquiries into the reasons why a story was or was not done on a subject.

It gets back to the Golden Rule...stuff learned in Kindergarten.

With that being said, I look forward to covering softball sectionals, which open this weekend. It is going to be a joy watching the sectional and regional battle here because chances are a state champion will come from the area.

I hope that the parents and supporters of the area put as much time into supporting their respective teams as they have flooding our office with calls over the last two weeks. If so, there will be record crowds and some softball venues.

Good luck to everyone and I will be there covering starting Wednesday.

GDT