Hoover took care of business in their semi-final game as they smacked Clay-Chalkville 44-20 in the 6A semi-finals last Friday night in Hoover. The Cougars had high hopes going into the game, but the machine-like performance of the Bucs was just too much. I think that is 13 times in 14 years that Hoover has gone to the Super Six. They will face an Opelika team they beat during the regular season.

McAdory, a team that came to Oxford in 2011 for the pre-season tip off game, stayed unbeaten with a big win over Muscle Shoals to advance to the 5A finals against Spanish Fort.

Carrollton , Oxford’s opening game opponent the last three years piled up the points again this year, averaging around 40 points a game. They were knocked out of the play-offs in the second round in a five overtime thriller.

It took less than 5 minutes after the Alabama-Georgia game last Saturday for my phone to start lighting up with people wanting to buy tickets to go to Miami and the Orange Bowl and see the Alabama- Notre Dame national championship game. Looks like the prices will be out of sight much like they were for the Rose Bowl in 2010. Somebody is going to make some money on those tickets if they are fortunate to have any.

One of the great memories of the Alabama win over Texas I had was meeting the people where we parked our rental car prior to the game. We had a parking place at the only house in the valley that held the historic Rose Bowl. There was pretty much only one way in and one way out and his house was at the bottom of the hill and was located a short walk from the front of the Rose Bowl.

His family had been living there for years and the memories from all the Rose Bowls were quick to bring stories and you could just feel the history in the air. My daughter was in the Million Dollar Band and the reason we forked over the money to get out there and enjoy her time at the Rose Bowl. To be there and see your daughter’s face light up as the band emerged from the tunnel in the pre-game was priceless as she beheld the spectacle on the field.

The Rose Bowl only had about 10 tunnels that you could enter the stadium by and they were narrow and it was hard to get in and out. The concession stands and bathrooms were outside the stadium and the concession stands had no roofs. It never rains they said, so no one really felt the need for roofs.

It is too bad the old Orange Bowl is gone, but I am sure there are many memories to be made in Miami and the renewal of the Alabama-Notre Dame rivalry will make it even more special as the Tide goes after number 15.