Oh, come on now!

First, the Chicago Cubs are World Series champions after 100 years. Then, Georgia Bulldog football is on the verge of becoming THE major college power. And now this: The USA wins Olympic Gold in men’s curling?

What’s there left to joke about? The curling thing was a shoe-in for the next several years. Giant toothbrushes, making sweeping the kitchen floor look like an athletic event. Obviously we had a new Friday night sensation in the making … and now that might be true!

I suppose we will have to tear out that new 100-yard turf football field in the new indoor practice facility and replace it with a bunch of ice sheets. Those will be hard to maintain without A/C, but now there’s a standard to uphold, and we must do our part here in South Georgia.

So what’s next? A big run for the U.S. men in the World Cup soccer tournament? Oh, that’s right.

See, we get the Winter Olympics and the World Cup in the same year, just like we get the Summer Olympics, the presidential election and Feb. 29 all in the same year. But last year, that’s when nations qualified for the World Cup, and in October the U.S. shockingly lost that opportunity in an unfair 2-on-1 match against both Trinidad AND Tobago. And neither one of them are going either!

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Some old friends of mine have a little new family dog. It’s one they obtained during the recent holidays. As ardent Georgia Bulldog fans, they decided to name the pooch Kirby.

During the run of playoff games, a certain senior linebacker makes a game-changing play. So the daughter in the family declares that the dog’s name is Kirby Lorenzo Lamb.

But, you know what I think. Since these friends are from Houston County, there’s only one possible name for that little dog. That would be Kirby Lorenzo Roquan Javon Dominick Jake (yes, Jake) Sony Rodrigo Lamb.

The family I refer to, if not figured out yet, is the Lambs, and the daughter, Avery, is a sophomore pitcher for Valdosta State University softball. Avery is currently 5-0 for the Blazers with wins both as a starter and a reliever.

Back on Feb. 15, I went to Steele’s Diamond for the first time to take in a Valdosta State doubleheader when the Blazers hosted Flagler College out of St. Augustine, Fla. The objective was to show support for Avery in her college career after following and reporting on her play from Little League World Series champion (two times) to high school senior.

That is, of course, where I met the little dog that is quickly becoming the star of this column.

I do want to compliment Valdosta State for a good experience at these games. It’s a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere, and with the history of the Blazer softball program you know you are going to see good live competition.

Speaking of good competition that’s nearby, Valdosta State men’s basketball advanced to the Gulf South Conference semifinal by beating West Georgia at home Tuesday. Those semifinals are at Samford University in Birmingham. This team is 26-3 on the season having won 18 games in a row. Two of the losses – including the one that ended the streak – were to West Florida, a conference rival and also a semifinalist. West Florida is also 26-3 but lost to three different GSC schools. The finals are Sunday.

Here’s the question about how big Moultrie interest would be in a college team playing in Valdosta: Do I know any of the players? For VSU men’s hoops, the answer is probably no. Only one player on the roster is listed as being from Georgia (Decatur), and ironically he’s the only Blazer – if I’m reading this roster right – who’s there straight out of high school. Everyone else looks to be a transfer from places like Mississippi Gulf Coast, Armstrong Atlantic (which was absorbed into Georgia Southern), Florida Southern and even Division I Central Florida.

The place to go for familiar faces on the VSU campus is the baseball stadium, a neighbor of Steele’s Diamond. These Blazers did not get off to a good start in conference play when Delta State swept them at home last weekend. This team is also transfer loaded with only three of around 30 players signed out of high school.

Leading the Blazers in home runs is former Packer Ross Goforth. His third long ball came Sunday at home in the ninth inning of a 10-5 loss to Delta. He was the starting designated hitter, and his school before VSU was NW Florida Community College. Goforth’s teammates come from a host of junior colleges and D-1 clubs, including the Southeastern Conference.

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Getting back to college basketball, and UGA, as a Bulldog follower it’s been a season where I don’t know what to think about the program from day to day. Is it time to be looking for a new head coach, and if so from where? But wait a minute, didn’t the Bulldogs just sweep the Florida Gators and knock off nationally-ranked Tennessee at home?

The whole body of work will either doom it, or the recent success will save the near decade-long tenure of Mark Fox. There was still yesterday’s game with Texas A&M and a Tennessee rematch in Knoxville Saturday before the tournament.

Ah, the tournament. It’s always about getting into the big tournament, the field of 68. From a lot of the news about the sport as a whole, I actually like Georgia’s chances more and more. That has nothing to do with RPI or BPI, but more to do with FBI. In that case, a low rating … shucks, no rating at all … is very good. If action is taken soon, before the bids are given out, and a lot of major powers are declared ineligible, that could open the door for the Bulldogs … and even Georgia Tech!