Local man saw Bonds make history

By Joe McAdory

I’m not sure how many locals attended Tuesday night’s memorable baseball game in San Francisco, but I know of one.

My friend Shane Tarno of Phenix City just happened to be in the Bay Area this week, where his girlfriend surprised him with tickets. She gave him much more than tickets to a Giants-Nationals game. She gave him history.

To say you saw a man break the all-time home run record in-person is something you can tell your kids and grandkids about. For years, we saw replays of Hank Aaron’s magical 715th shot to surpass Babe Ruth. Now, that torch is passed to Bonds, whose shot to right-centerfield will be replayed over and over again. But to see that home run in person, experience the atmosphere and be part of something truly special, is absolutely amazing. Shane doesn’t need highlight reels to watch No. 755 over again. All he has to do is close his eyes and remember what he saw.

Turn on the AC!

By Joe McAdory

It was hotter Wednesday at 2:52 p.m. than any other time this year. According to the thermometer at the Lee County EMA, the temperature blazed at 102 degrees. That’s sick. This isn’t Death Valley.

The year’s previous high was 99.4 degrees way back on July 1.

Forecast for Thursday calls for more of the same. Ughh!

If anyone wonders, the high heat index Wednesday 109. The wind chill factor was a cool 102.

AU’s 2001 loss to Alabama worst in the streak

By Joe McAdory

During my streak of 98-consecutive football games at Jordan-Hare Stadium, I have seen a handful of what many would perceive as bitter defeats for Auburn. Some may have been shocking, others were simply great games that other schools simply won.

Here’s what I perceive as Auburn’s five-most memorable losses during my streak:

1. Alabama 31, Auburn 7 (2001): Considering the Tigers were overwhelming favorites against the Tide, it’s easy to see how the result was a shock. Not just that Alabama won, but by the margin of victory. Alabama’s Santonio Beard and Ahmad Galloway tore holes in Auburn’s defense, while the Tiger offense was left without a plan when Carnell Williams was injured early in the game.

2. Georgia 56, Auburn 49, 4 OT (1996): This goes down as the highest-scoring game at Jordan-Hare. Once overtime began, Georgia had the upper hand as Robert Edwards and Co. ran over the Tiger defense. However, Auburn should have won the game in regulation. The Tigers led 28-7 in the second half, sacked Georgia quarterback Mike Bobo on what should have been the game’s final play, then allowed a long touchdown pass to tie the score at the end of regulation.

3. USC 23, Auburn 0 (2003): Complete domination by a team that shared the national championship with LSU. Auburn entered the game with title dreams and left the stadium wondering how to get a first down. That loss set the tone for the rest of what was a disappointing 2003 reason to most people despite eight wins.

4. Georgia 37, Auburn 15 (2006): I’ve never seen Auburn more thoroughly dominated, particularly by an inferior team. How can the team which beat LSU and national champion Florida lose to a team which lost to Kentucky and Vanderbilt? 37-15 sounds bad, but it could have been much, much worse.

5. Georgia 24, Auburn 21 (2002): Great game. Auburn had leads of 14-3 and 21-10 and dominated for three quarters, but couldn’t keep Georgia out of the end zone with the game on the line.

Next week: My Auburn all-streak team (1992-present). Yep, the streakers.

Area’s drought appears to be worsening

By Joe McAdory

Remember in late May and early June when it didn’t rain a drop for 20-something days? Well, we may have had a few raindrops here and there in the last few days, but other than that it’s been bone dry. A five-minute rain shower doesn’t help when its 95 degrees outside and whatever rain falls to the group is evaporated within minutes.

How bad has it been lately? The total recorded rainfall by the Lee County Emergency Management Agency this month is 0.16 inches. Through Sunday, the rain official rain gauge of the Lee County EMA has not recorded more than a tenth of an inch for 25 consecutive days. August is generally the area’s dry month, so it appears we’re moving into the worst of the drought. If you want to check out the area’s official weather stats, head to the EMA’s Web site at http://www.leecoema-al.org/

What’s going to happen to the landscape of East Central Alabama if this arid trend continues? Seen any cactus lately?

Let the gas pumps work as all-night clerks

By Joe McAdory

Got an idea.

We can fill our gas tanks these days and pay for the fuel without having to go inside the store thanks to the magic of credit/debit cards. But we can’t do this at 2 a.m. when some gas stations have already closed for the night. Well, why not? Why can’t we have gas pumps that stay on all night and allow credit/debit card-paying consumers the opportunity to purchase gas 24 hours per day? They can’t steal the gas since it’s being paid for on the card, which must be approved before pumping can begin.

This way, stations can make more money by selling gas all of the time and won’t have to pay clerks inside to operate the store all night since the automatic gas pumps are electronically handling operations.

I’m sure there’s a reason why this is not already being done, but I still think it can be considered.