Lady golfers amaze; don't count out FSU

The players of the LPGA were quite impressive last week at Mount Vintage Plantation Golf Club in Edgefield.

Competing in the inaugural Asahi Ryokuken International Championship, the ladies put in a show that convinced even the most skeptical golf fan.

As an avid golfer who can hit the ball a fairly long way, I was brought down to earth by the power of the LPGA stars. They not only can hit the ball prodigious distances, they can flat-out play.

But I bet I can still beat them in one-on-one hoops! That would restore my macho dignity - and if that doesn't work, we can arm wrestle.

Thank the Lord! The regular NFL officials finally came to an agreement with the league, which means football fans all can breathe again.

I'm not sure anybody else noticed, but there were far fewer blown calls without them in week one.

Florida State lost for only the third time in nearly 80 Atlantic Coast Conference games last weekend, and the Seminoles fell to a mediocre North Carolina team.

I am an FSU fan, so take this however you want, but think back to 1998, when the 'Noles looked very average in a 23-14 win over Texas A&M to start the season and then lost 24-7 at North Carolina State.

Just like they are now, after the '98 upset, pundits said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was over the hill; they said the dynasty was over. Well, all the Seminoles did that season was reel off 10 wins in a row, including victories over Southern California, Miami, Florida and Clemson.

Ultimately, FSU lost to Tennessee 23-16 in the 1998 national championship game.

Now, this year's team is very young and inexperienced, but don't jump off the bandwagon just yet.

The incredible displays of pride and patriotism have been overwhelming. It's great to see Americans rallying together behind our president; however, it's a shame that it took such a devastating tragedy for this national unity to occur.

I hope 10 years from now, when Bin Laden and all those like him are ashes, we still will fly flags outside of our houses and from our cars. And I hope at sporting events, the national anthem will still have as much meaning as it does right now - what a world that will be.

In closing, here are my predictions for this week's high school football games:

Evans at Lovejoy: Lovejoy is unbeaten while Evans is winless. Expect things to stay the same Saturday. Lovejoy 31, Evans 17.

Hephzibah at Greenbrier: The Rebels are coming off a huge win over Butler, but they will have a much tougher time with the Wolfpack. Greenbrier 21, Hephzibah 20.

Harlem at Cross Creek: The Bulldogs are vicious. They should shred the razorbacks. Harlem 34, Cross Creek 13.

Edmund Burke Academy at Augusta Christian: The Lions are starting to roll, and they'll steamroll EBA. Augusta Christian 30, Edmund Burke 16.

Ashley Brown's radio program can be heard from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday on News-Talk Sports 1630 AM. His e-mail address is AB@WRDWAM.com.