Gary Stallard

Sports Writer/Columnist/Photographer

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

My favorite part of soccer is how they say they're gonna play two 45-minute halves. Then they add extra time to each half 'cause somebody got a boo-boo. Then the extra time ends, and they're all like, "We have no idea when we're gonna stop."

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

With the Chiefs advancing to the Super Bowl again, Taylor Swift will need just one more appearance to tie Jerry Jones.

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

@DannyWh87210651 Dude…look at us. How did the ladies stay away from us? ;) Merry Christmas, brother.

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

That Cowboys game is what happens when the NFL tries ‘shrooms.

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

@DannyWh87210651 Dude…how the hell are you?

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

@StephenWhit89 @lnjsports I got it. Just give me a couple hundred years to train. ;)

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

MEN’S BASKETBALL FINAL: Roadrunners 71, Strength ‘N Motion 59. AC leaders: K. Murray (21 pts., 9 reb.); C. Holzman (12 pts.); K. Morgan, X. Owens, N. Igiehon (10 pts. each); P. Johnson (4 pts., 8 reb., 7 assists). @angelinacollege

[AngelinaWBB @Lady_Runners]

Let's go Natasha

[AngelinaWBB @Lady_Runners]

One of only a handful of players in the country to make the WBCA and NJCAA All American Team. This kid is special.

[NCAA Baseball @NCAABaseball]

Just snuck it inside the pole! 🤏

#RoadToOmaha x 🎥 ESPN+ / @Nicholls_BSB

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

Dear NCAA: Please ban any post-game locker room celebration videos involving coaches tryna dance. As a rhythm-challenged individual myself, I find the images both disturbing and insulting. Thank you.

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

@lnjsports

[Traces of Texas @TracesofTexas]

The Texas Quote of the Day finds singer/songwriter @RodneyJCrowell describing how, growing up, he had to go get switches from the chinaberry tree in his front yard for his own whippings:

"Perhaps the most Philistine of all southern customs is the one that sends children in search of a suitable tool for their own bloody torture. According to Grandma Katie, the ritual's therapeutic value lay in the journey to and from. For the spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child-contingent, the heightened state of awareness brought on by the miscreant's sense of impending doom made every solemn step to the chinaberry trees an invaluable tool of heathen reform, and the a**-blistering that awaited your dutiful return of little importance. I loved my grandmother more than anyone in the world, but her defense of this practice was pure hogwash, and I told her as much. Once.

The only thought I could remember crossing my mind during all those switch-cutting expeditions was to choose as many weak, flimsy sprigs as possible in hopes my mother would lose interest in whipping me. Once, hoping that humor might dismantle her resolve to punish me for cussing, I tied a white dish towel to the broken limb. She laughed and beat the hell out of me anyway.

In possession of a firm, fresh-cut switch, my mother was nothing short of a left-handed Zorro. She liked the sound and feel of sliced air. Her interest in raising bloody welts on my behind bordered on the sadistic. To whip the daylights out of me and leave it at that was something she simply couldn't do. Until the markings on my butt were examined and pronounced of a quality in keeping with her high standards, the tanning of my hide was never considered complete. I can't help but think that it's a shame she didn't apply such perfectionism to other areas of her life."

---- Rodney Crowell, "Chinaberry Sidewalks." By the way, if you get a chance to read this memoir, do it. That Rodney was able to survive his childhood ---- the poverty, the beatings, Hurricane Carla etc... ---- and recall it all with such gentle humor and still come out loving his mother and father is a testament to the power of forgiveness and grace. The moment he starts to rant against the insanity that is trying to use an attic fan to cool a house in Southeast Texas, I was certain that Rodney and I are of the same people.

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

@lnjsports

[Angelina College Baseball @RunnersBSB]

‼️ REMINDER ‼️

[Franklin High School Girl’s Soccer⚽️ @girlsoccerfhs]

Very special week at Franklin as we will be hosting a playoff match on Friday and our goalkeeper @allygon04 will be signing her letter of intent to play college soccer at @AngelinaSocc! We are all very proud of you, Ally! Best of luck, work hard, and enjoy this new chapter⚽️🏆💪

[Gary Stallard @stallard_gary]

JUCO HANDSHAKE LINE: The coach on the right (Trenia Tillis) just lost a last-second, season-ending heartbreaker in the conference tournament. She’s genuinely happy for her opposing coach, Byron Coleman. Just like D1, right, @ColinCowherd? @lnjsports

[AngelinaWBB @Lady_Runners]

Matilda with the after practice jam! 🐰#hops

[Brandon Ogden @BrandonOSports]

No. 7 Lufkin wins their first district volleyball title by taking the fifth set 16-14 over Whitehouse. @etfinalscore

[Minnesota Lynx @minnesotalynx]

Welcome to Minnesota, @TashaMack04!!!

[Angelina College Baseball @RunnersBSB]

‼️Reminder‼️
Final Angelina College Baseball evaluation camp will be held Wednesday, June 16th @9am
Location: Roadrunner field at Larry Phillips Family sports complex. Walk up registration will begin at 8:15am.