KILGOROUND
MITCH LUCAS

IF YOU HEAD out to R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium tonight expecting a soccer game, chances are you'll be out there alone.

Both Kilgore High School soccer teams have open dates tonight, and are back in action Friday, facing Pine Tree. The KHS girls do have a basketball game at home - they'll host Jacksonville, a 6:30 p.m. varsity-only night. The Bulldogs visit Jacksonville, a 5 p.m. freshmen game start.

Kilgore College basketball teams split with Lon Morris on Saturday (see our story on page 8 today), and are both at home again on Wednesday night, hosting Blinn, beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the women's game.

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I'D LIKE TO take the time to point out that there's a game on this weekend - a football game called the Super Bowl, in case you didn't know.

Of course, I'm being facetious. The coverage of the Super Bowl over the

years has gone from extreme to ridiculous, and it might be even more amplified this year because the New England Patriots are undefeated. If the Patriots can beat the New York Giants, win the title and finish the season 19-0, that would be quite a sports achievement - they really might BE the best regular-season team ever.

But think how they'll be remembered if they lose. They would have an 18-1 record, with the "1," of course, being the game that's seen by more people than any game in the world each year.

I'll be in the corner of the Giants. I'm not predicting an upset, mind you - I'm just rooting for one. My co-workers know I'm sick of hearing about how the Patriots are the best team ever. But this weekend in my column, I'm going to tell you, in my opinion, what the Giants have to do to pull off what would be the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.

Wow - all that, and it was actually a commercial for my first Sunday paper column in a long time. Don't forget about it, by the way.

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GOT THIS NOTE to pass along, as well.

The Kilgore College Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a professional management counseling/training service funded by KC and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), wants to make certain the public knows it's here, and available to help small businesses in all sorts of ways, including new business feasibility and start-up, business plan preparation, financial management and general management strategies.

Counseling is available for people who already have a small business, or for those who are considering doing so.

And they do this for no cost to your business.

The SBDC is designed to help local businesses survive, grow and prosper. The program is part of a nationwide system that links the resources of federal, state and local government to those of colleges, universities and the private sector to meet the specialized and complex needs of small businesses.

There's actually a startup meeting on Wednesday morning from 9 a.m. until noon at the SBDC boardroom in the City National Bank building in Longview at 911 NW Loop 281, Suite 209, across from Heritage Mitsubishi. You do need to call and register. Do so at (903) 757-5857.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY to Marsha Bradford, Anthoney Pennington, Pudge Griffin, Genna Enman, Darlene Breaux, Justin Ryan Hales, Matthew Floyd, Jonathan Stovall, Viola Burton, W.E. (Bo) White, Christie Copeland, Ron Walker, Jimmy Council, Vicki Hampton, Theresa Ward, Betty Sanches, Bill Holland, Donna Walker, George White, Alice Colbert, Jane Coward, Brian Holcombe, Dottie Littlefield, Shun Lawler, Cori Sherrod, Logan Edmondson, DJ Henry

A few famous people celebrating birthdays today include "Magnum P.I."! Actor Tom Selleck is 63 today. Also celebrating: Oprah Winfrey (54), actor John Forsythe (90), actor Marc Singer (of "V"; he's 60), actress Ann Jillian (58), actress Heather Graham (38), actor Nicholas Turturro (46) and actress Katharine Ross (68).