Age Of Conspiracy Theories

In an age of conspiracy theories the national media thrives on portraying criticisms unfavorable to its narrative as a conspiracy theory while promoting the debunking of accusations exposing corruption.

To make a valid case either way there must be indisputable evidence.

Lincoln fans could argue for Rafael Pena, who scored 35 goals as a senior and led the Wolves to an appearance in the Class 3A State semifinals, but didn’t get an invitation to participate in this week’s All-Star boys soccer match. Were the votes really not there?

Meanwhile Prairie Grove fans could easily make a case on behalf of 2022 graduate Trinity Dobbs, who is in the All-Star girls basketball game. The statistics back up either argument.

Frustrated Prairie Grove fans witnessed over and over again “no calls” when Dobbs frequently drove to the basket and absorbed contact — a fact that can be statistically proven.

Dobbs attempted a career best 148 free throws when she broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore during the 2019-2020 season. She didn’t change her game yet her numbers declined in her junior season as the number of free-throw attempts peaked at 117, and even more significantly for Dobbs this past season as a senior. In her first 19 games she attempted only 64 free throws, an average of 3.4 per- game, an almost 50 percent reduction from her junior season.

That frustration was never more evident for Lady Tiger fans with Dobbs poised to score 1,000 points for her career in a Tuesday, Feb. 1 game against Gentry. From the onset factors worked to set themselves in array seemingly trying to prevent her from reaching the milestone.

Dobbs got in foul trouble and sat out a major portion of the first half after scoring a single field goal. Eight seconds into the third quarter Dobbs was called for a third personal and went to the bench. She didn’t return until the fourth quarter and sat long enough that she was out of the game flow.

Dobbs didn’t score again until finishing a drive to the basket with her left hand at the 5:38 mark, the first of nine points she scored in less than five-and-a-half minutes. Dobbs finished 3 of 9 from the field, 1 of 3 from 3-point range and 4 of 4 at the freethrow line to score 11 points — almost four below her average and yet she reached 1,000 points.

Four times down the stretch she brought Prairie Grove back to within at least three points, the last when she coolly swished a trifecta to pull the Lady Tigers within 39-36 with 13.2 seconds to play. They wouldn’t score again and Gentry won 41-36

In the aftermath of the boys game, Prairie Grove’s Landon Semrad, who was named to the West All-Star football squad but opted not to participate, admitted that he didn’t think the Tiger boys were getting their fair shake in that game either, and celebrated by throwing down a sensational slam dunk.

“It took out a lot of frustrations from the refs tonight. I’m not going to lie, you can’t depend on the refs to win you a basketball or a football game or whatever you’re doing, but there were some questionable calls,” he said.

After Semrad’s slam with 18.2 seconds to go put the finishing touches on Prairie Grove’s 67-48 win Semrad relaxed, saying he let go of the anger.

“It all evaporated away. It felt great,” he said.

Dobbs isn’t tall enough to pull off a slam dunk but there was another 3-year starter in the 4A-1 on the boy’s side whom fans wanted to see get an opportunity to make the most of his abilities in the district, regional and state tournaments — Berryville’s 6- feet- 8 center Weston Teague.

In high school basketball the referees are notorious for not allowing shot-blockers to excel and too many times Teague was whistled for numerous fouls on blocks that appeared clean.

In sharp contrast the Shiloh Christian boys and Pea Ridge girls appeared granted an almost unlimited license to block shots.

Both Dobbs and Teague ranked among the best basketball players in Class 4A and each was named to the West All-Stars, Dobbs to the girls squad and Teague to the boys. May each be surrounded by a shield of favor (Psalm 5:12) and may each function in the level attained by Esther when she procured favor in the sight of all who looked upon her (Esther 2:15) in their All-Star appearances.

Basketball fans want to see these stars at their best regardless of the outcome during the All-Star basketball games this week at Conway.

The All-Star girls basketball game tips off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Farris Center on the UCA campus, followed by the boys All-Star basketball game at 3 p.m.

— Mark Humphrey grew up among a vast extended family of the Crow Indians in south central Montana. His Indian name, “Sings With His Heart,” was given unto him by his late adopted father, Walter “Merle” Big Medicine (July 19, 1941 - Nov. 22, 2021), of Dunmore, Mont. Humphrey is a member of a federally recognized tribe. Humphrey’s poetry compositions derive from a rich spiritual and Native American heritage. Humphrey is a sports writer for the Enterprise- Leader. Opinions expressed are those of the author.