News-Record.com

I was laid up sick for a few days last week, so I apologize for my disappearance. Back to business.

When I was over at the marathon on Saturday, I was surprised how young many of the participants were. By my count, at least 35 runners between the half-marathon and 5K were younger than 20. A couple were listed as 9 years old, an age at which I was about as interested in distance running as I was in campaign finance reform.

So, you young runners out there, what'd you think of the race? Do any of y'all run for your schools, too? And grown-ups, can anyone put into words what it's like to get passed by a pre-teen?

One anecdote that didn't make it in today's piece on new Smith football coach Rodney Brewington:

As the story mentions, one of Brewington's uncles, Ronald Medlin, is the head athletic trainer for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. Brewington spent so much time around the team growing up that he says he got on a first-name basis with many of the players.

It wasn't always that way, though. Once, a teenaged Brewington was in the training room while his uncle was massaging a player's leg. Brewington's uncle asked him who his favorite player in the league was.

"Oh, Terance Mathis!" Brewington said, spouting off the Pro Bowl wide receiver's statistics like his own phone number. Brewington had memorized everything about Mathis, it seemed, except one important detail. Before he could finish his recitation, the player on the trainer's table sat up.

"Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Terance Mathis."

"You would be amazed the things I have learned over 20 years," Brewington says now. "I've never seen a game from a fan's viewpoint. It's always been from an administrator's role."

We try to keep up with all the local athletes who are moving on to play a sport after high school, but with so many of you, some inevitably slip through the cracks. (If y'all would just stop being so talented, we wouldn't have this problem.) If we've missed you for whatever reason, leave a comment here or shoot me an e-mail so we can get caught up.