Like Johnson, Hickory is perfect

The Arizona Diamondbacks' Randy Johnson is not the only one these days who can turn in a perfect performance. The Hickory High baseball team recently put the cap on a perfect regular season (19-0) and in doing so laid claim to the No. 1 seed in the District 10 playoffs which were scheduled to start May 21 at Erie's Jerry Uht Park.
Coach Gary Hinkson's Hornets had all the ingredients to fulfill such a tremendous season -- clutch hitting, a solid defense and excellent pitching to go along with a mindset that perpetuated nothing but winning. The Hornets have already made their mark this season and are to be congratulated for reaching back for that little bit extra. An undefeated season doesn't come easily.
The showing this season by the Hornets left little to be desired and Shenango Valley fans are highly appreciative of the effort put forth by both Hinkson and his players. It was something to be mighty proud of. At this stage all we can say is "Go Hornets."
Johnson's gem
I did catch Johnson's gem, too, on the Turner network out of Atlanta. Wow! What a performance.
In the late innings, even Braves' fans were on their feet and cheering for the Diamondbacks' ace. That's the way it should be.
Every pitch from the eighth inning on was dramatic and Johnson kept mowing 'em down. After the last out, Johnson raised his glove to the heavens and thanked his Lord. He was mauled by his teammates.
That's what sports is all about.
Heavyweight drama
A couple of months ago. I figured the world heavyweight championship would fall directly on the head of that 6-foot-6 Ukrainian guy, Wladimir Klitschko. He had all the makings of what I thought would be the next titleholder. Wrong.
He folded like one of those cardboard boxes I have stored in the attic of the garage. His championship aspirations ended abruptly when underdog Lamon Brewster decked him twice in the fifth round on April 11 in a bout in Las Vegas. That disaster may have ended Klitschko's boxing career.
Everything was in readiness for Klitschko to step in and take over following Lennox Lewis' retirement. Now, there's a vacancy that may take some time to fill.
Who's around?
Well, there's Mike Tyson, who in all probability won't be ready until he fights a couple of warm-ups in August or later (and there's talk about George Foreman coming out of retirement to tangle with Tyson). Don't forget Roy Jones, Jr. There was some talk, too, of him putting on a few pounds and going heavyweight but he was stopped last time out.
Then there's old iron-sides Evander Holyfield and a guy named Ruiz who should have retired a long time ago. Oh, yes, there's one other guy, one named Vitali Klitchko, brother of Wladimir. He's still kicking around in the heavyweight department, however, Wladimir at one time was supposedly the better fighter of the two, that was until his demise by Brewster.
Not much of a field but that's the way it shapes up.