Oddities: The Faulkner football team kicked off its season on Valentine's weekend. Huntingdon starts next week. Alabama State is up the Saturday after that. What universe are we in?

Basketball teams are canceling seasons before March Madness. It's COVID they say, but most had been having awful seasons anyway.

It's been a wacky 12 months since COVID derailed normal in our world and the sports world last spring.

Around this time a year ago, we were still doing normal. We had heard of the novel coronavirus but had no idea of what would follow.

No COVID clause here - a high school basketball game in the Birmingham area ended with a 6-4 final last week. The Parker boys beat Carver in a stall ball contest.

There is no shot clock in prep ball in this state. No excuse. Both coaches are to blame for allowing this travesty. Can you imagine having to watch it?

There was a 2-0 girls game played in the state in 2015. Bibb County beat Brookwood. The first and only basket was scored on the first possession.

Also last week, Tallassee won a game 1-0. It was not due to a coaching strategy but a COVID case at Brewbaker Tech. Forfeits are officially recorded that way.

By the way... Congrats to the Tigers on winning the area title for the third time in four years. They beat Pike Road in a game that was actually played.

Auburn lost to a Kentucky team that is now 6-13. Alabama scored 115 points in its win over Georgia. It was the most points a Tide team had ever scored in a conference game. Alabama is 12-1 in the SEC.

Yes, the sports year has been wacky. The Crimson Tide could actually land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It has fans quipping, "We're a basketball school!" Let's not get carried away.

The football team did have a kicker make every kick this past season. As good as Bama has been, their kicking has not been so much - until 2020.

No other college kicker was perfect last season - only UA's Will Reichard. He was a Groza Award finalist but was not the SEC's first-team kicker. He wasn't second team or third team either.

Even on the high school level we saw a kicker make every attempt. Clay Johnson did it at Tallassee last fall.

In a sports year full of oddities, we ask - what's next?

Can we at least finish the sports year first? The guys and gals in the spring sports didn't get that luxury in 2020.

Here's a good start to 2021. A baseball player for Wabash Valley, a college in Illinois, had three homers in his first five at-bats on opening weekend. They call that getting your money's worth.

How about that (as Mel Allen would say) for a philosphy? Make the most of the time you've got. Whether it's in sports or life, this corona thing has certainly put more into perspective. Yes that's overused - but it fits.

My fingers are crossed that the worst part of pandemic is behind us.

The craziness could continue though. If Alabama's basketball team could somehow match what the football team did it would be March Madness for sure. Madness indeed.