DENTON RAMSEY/SPORTS EDITOR

As most of you know by now, I made a huge mistake last Saturday night here in Demopolis during Christmas on the River, and I would like to take this time to make an official apology.

First of all, I’d like to apologize to the city of Demopolis for my mistake.

I’m not going to sit here and make excuses for my actions – I just want to let the people of Demopolis know that I made a big mistake and I will be paying for it for a very long time.

Again, this isn’t an excuse, but I’m a good guy – I promise.

Last Saturday night was my first time to have any problems with the law enforcement officials of any town.

And my hope and prayer is it will be my last.

Secondly, I’d like to apologize to all of the sports programs in the West Alabama area that I represent on a daily basis.

I apologize to the players, parents, teachers, fans, and coaching staff of each and every school that I have ever attended (or attempted to attend) in order to get your team publicized.

I love the game of football, especially at the high school level, and I feel I have let every one of you guys down – and I’m sorry.

To Sweet Water and Demopolis – my deepest regrets go out to you guys.

For DHS, I spent almost the entire season on the sidelines, in the locker room, or on the practice field – and for the Bulldogs of Sweet Water, I spent a good amount of time with you guys as well.

And I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for the big game – trust me though, my heart was out there with you guys.

This past weekend, I rode out to Birmingham (while listening to the Sweet Water game on the radio) to watch the Demopolis championship game live on TV – and I even took game notes through the entire game, just as I would have if I had been there.

Maybe, for me, it was just a form of therapy to ease my pain of not being able to be a part of that championship.

But beyond all that – I’m very proud of our teams here in West Alabama.

I never had any doubt that the Bulldogs could win at the 1A level, and head coach Stacy Luker helped make the Cinderella story a reality this past weekend.

And for DHS – you know I never doubted you guys one bit.

Even when you guys were down (for the few seconds of time that happened this year), I knew you guys would come back to win.

Under head coach Doug Goodwin, nothing was going to stop the heart, desire, and talent of the DHS Tigers.

Congratulations to both of those teams.

Last, but definitely not least, I’d like to apologize to my workplace, family, and friends.

To The Demopolis Times – I apologize for letting you guys down.

Even when I’m not at work, I understand that I represent Boone Newspapers, and I’m sorry for the example I made of myself during Christmas on the River.

To my family and friends – please forgive my error of judgment.

In some ways, I feel I have been labeled with a “bad boy” reputation, and to a certain degree, maybe I deserve that.

But I’m no Ron Artest or anything like that.

I’m just Denton Ramsey – your friendly and loving local sports editor that loves sports more than anything else in the world (except for maybe women).

I digress.

At this point, I’ve dragged this column on for too long now – so I’ll try to go ahead and close things out real quick.

In short, I’m sorry.

I made a mistake and I am only going to grow from this life changing experience.

I just hope my fellow citizens in Demopolis can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

It’s time to move on, and there are more great sports to cover right around the corner.

But for now, let’s just bathe in the beauty of three state championships in the West Alabama area.