ONE WIN AND WE'RE IN; ROAD TRIP II The weekend's game with Mississippi State presents the biggest opportunity for advancement than any game of the season for the Hogs. A victory means the SEC West championship and spot in the SEC championship game on December 2 against the Gators of Florida. A win also takes away a little of the pressure of having to beat LSU to clench the SEC West crown the day after Thanksgiving. With all this on the line, it didn't take much persuasion for several of my banker buddies and I to put together a spur of the moment road trip to Starkville. Its only 4.5 hours from Searcy and its a 1:30 kickoff so it just made sense. Besides, there is no television broadcast of the game this weekend so we had to go. It also a goal of mine to try and visit every conference venue that the Hogs play against in the next few years, so I was an easy sell when approached about going. We called the Bulldog ticket office and purchased our tickets in section U, row 56 and will join several thousand Hog fans that have scarfed up tickets in the last few days. If this road trip is anything like our trip to Auburn on October 7, it will be a great weekend of football. The Bulldogs scare me because this will be an opportunity for them to play the role of spoiler; or at least make it more difficult for us to get to Atlanta. Coach Croom doesn't care about spoiling our day. He simply wants to win a football game. His program needs more victories than the one he stole from Shula 2 weeks ago. A win against the Hogs and then against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl would give his team a much needed boost going into the offseason. The Hogs are focused and have approached practice and this week's all important game in a very businesslike manner. Their quiet leader on defense, Sam Olajubutu called a player only meeting Tuesday and stressed to the team the need to stay focused and play one game at a time. When Butu talks, the players listen. My prediction is the Hogs win by 3 TD's, 35-14. We leave at 6:00 am Saturday. I'm not ready for this magical season to end.

HOUSE SOLD
Just an update since many of you knew I have been trying to sell the house for most of the year. My 6 month sales contract was to end with Remax on November 30 and I had been telling myself that if the Hoggard team couldn't sell it, it wouldn't be sold. They are terrific at what they do but the truth is, the real estate market is a little soft right now in Searcy. As the deadline approached, I had prayed hard, and others as well, that God would find me a buyer. A couple of weeks ago, after being encouraged by the preachers at DT church to stretch in the area of personal contributions, I decided to double my weekly giving. I confessed to God my lack of faith in him being in control of the situation and asked him to forgive me. The next week, I got my first offer in nearly 2 years with 3 different realtors. A blessing from God? You better believe it. We close next week. Be careful what you ask for.  ¶ 9:35 PM