04/16/08 - New Story

I'm embarking on a new story about some local mixed martial arts fighters. Not that MMA is original or groundbreaking, but I suppose the readers of the Free Lance-Star haven't seen it too much in the paper and I've never shot it before. But I will make every effort to avoid the ubiquitous fighter-taping-the-hands photo that tend to appear in stories about contact sports! I won't make a promise though... Anyway, this is Adam during a workout at The Lab, a mixed martial arts studio here in FredVegas.

04/08/2008 - Justin

I've already posted this elsewhere but I like the frame and I felt like it fit the mission of this (long-dormant) column.

The jersey belonged to Justin Whitaker, a North Stafford student and member of the Wolverines baseball team. He died last week after a long battle with cancer. The team has kept his jersey in their dugout for the entire season.

8/15/2007 - Football season begins

Louisa County High School football players gather at the end of practice on August 15, 2007. The Lions lost most of their starters from the 2006 team that went to the state final.

The column has sort of faltered for a variety of reasons and I think at this point I might just keep it an online venture. Sign up for RSS updates to stay on top of things here... Thanks for looking!

07/06/2007 - Team Building

Coach J.C. Hall makes it a point to remind his Courtland football players to touch the sign above their weight room during a summer conditioning session on July 2, 2007. By the end of the season, such exercises in teamwork are rote, passed on by veterans to the youngest players. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)

06/26/2007 P-Nats Pennant

It's been a while but we are back in biz...



Dave Wilson, of Sacramento, CA examines a pennant signed by Potomac Nationals players before a game in Woodbridge on June 21, 2007. Wilson, a Marine attending a class at Quantico, said his goal is to go to every baseball stadium in the country and get a pennant. He asked a player to take the pennant into the clubhouse and was pleasantly surprised that the Nationals, a single-A affiliate, have full size pennants like the major league clubs that can fit more signatures. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)

Pardon the Interruption!

Amid covering the Virginia Tech tragedy, preparing for my wedding in 10 days, moving and a personnel crunch at work, I haven't been able to turn out a column for a while. Apologies for my slackness but don't worry - I'll get back on top of things soon!

04/03/2007 - Backyard Football

Cousins Ronnie Fortune, 12 (left), and Jaden Preston, 7, throw a football with Fortune's father Ronnie Fortune at their grandmother Linda Parker's Fredericksburg home on Friday, March 30, 2007. "They just play, play and play," said Parker. "They take a break and then play some more. They're out here every single day, it doesn't matter how cold," she said as the cousins dropped their football and started shooting hoops in the backyard.