Last winter, the Lady Rockets became rare OVAC champs for three consecutive years since the conference implemented its playoff system to declare winners each of the classes. Conotton Valley had become a regular at OUE.

That bunch from the Bowerston-based school was also one of the most appreciative and celebratory of all OVAC champions, both boys and girls. Let’s face it, when Conotton Valley won a title, it was a chore getting them to leave the gymnasium.

Well, the chance of the Rockets winning a fourth straight OVAC crown has been wiped off the slate with the school’s decision to cancel its girls’ basketball season. While it may seem a bit late in the game to be closing the doors are the upcoming season, Conotton Valley opponents are now scrambling to fill those spots in their schedules.

Under head coach Chandra Myers, the Rockets captured their first OVAC playoff title in 2013 and returned most of that team to recapture the crown in 2014. Last season, the Rockets had one of best players in the state on their roster and she helped guide them to their third title.

Last season, they were led by record-setting Olivia Bower, a 6-2 senior who averaged more than 26 points per game. They won the OVAC as a third seed in 2015.

It’s sad to hear that any school is giving up any program, successful or not. Today, the numbers just aren’t in a lot of schools to pacify the needs of fielding teams. Losing numbers can happen easier than building the numbers.

MAJOR LEAGUE baseball finally closed the door on the 2015 season and it closed the latest chapter with the Kansas City Royals teaching all young athletes out there a very value lesson.

“The game isn’t over until the final out is made.” Or as Yogi would have said, ‘it ain’t over ’til it’s over.’

Down 2-0 coming into the top of the ninth, the New York Mets made the mistake of letting a pitcher make a late-game decision instead of the manager doing was he is paid to do make the tough choices.

And the Royals did exactly what you should do with your backs to the wall late in a game keep playing the game and keep trying to win.

Not only did the Royals battle back to tie the score at 2-2 in the ninth, they also had the confidence to attempt to put runners in scoring position every time one got on in extra innings. If you are going to run the bases late in a game on the enemy’s diamond, you need guts, heart, confidence and plain old determination. The Royals had all of those and that’s why they won.

Good pitching beats good hitting, but not when the good pitching throws too many pitches and gets arm-weary. That’s what happen to the Mets. Once they broke Matt Harvey’s hold on their hitters, New York’s all-star pitcher didn’t have the gas to recover and that’s considering the fact that he probably had no gas in the tank to take the mound in the top of the ninth.

In winning their first World Series in 30 years, the Royals turned the post-season into a teaching session. They did good teaching the lesson titled “Never give up; never quit.”

WITH THE REGULAR season of high school football coming to an end in Ohio and having just one week of life left in West Virginia, it’s a testament to our Ohio Valley teams to see so many advancing into the postseason.

The idea of Ohio continually expanding classes and the number of teams that make it the first round may be money, but when players know that they better chances to play beyond Week 10 that becomes an added incentive in games one through 10.