When the Tampa Bay Rays traded star pitcher James Shields to Kansas City just after the conclusion of baseball's winter meetings, the headline player headed to Tampa was star outfield prospect Wil Myers. Intriguingly, there was another name heading from Kansas City to Tampa that was made the trade a bit of an enigma: In dealing for Shields, a Santa Clarita (Cal.) Hart High graduate, the Royals sent another pitching Hart grad, Mike Montgomery, right back to Tampa Bay.

James Shields, a Hart High grad, was traded in part for another Hart grad — Getty

The deal is a rare prep alumni-swap in professional sports. While it isn't unheard of for alumni of the same college to be involved in the same deal, the odds of alums of the same high school being exchanged are exponentially longer. Just think of the number of high schools … it's staggering.

Though Shields graduated in 2000 and Montgomery graduated in 2008, both were coached by Hart legend Jim Ozella, who has served as the SoCal high school's head baseball coach for the past 13 years. Perhaps fittingly, both Shields and Montgomery won Foothills League Titles for Hart in their senior seasons; the school earned just one other league title in intervening years, in 2001.

Hart baseball coach Jim Ozella had 3 former pitchers traded in MLB deals within 3 days — Hart High Baseball

Naturally, the Royals-Rays trade must have caused some unique emotional turbulence for Ozella. Unfortunately for the coach, his winter trades weren't even done, either.

As noted by the Los Angeles Times, another former Hart pitcher, ex-UCLA phenom Trevor Bauer, was also traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Cleveland Indians two days later. Bauer was on the same 2008 Foothills League championship team as Montgomery.

After all that action, what would the pitchers' former high school coach have to say?

"Everybody loves our guys," Ozella told the Times.

It's always noteworthy when a team wins a big game on a buzzer-beater, but that happens almost every day. It's a much more impressive trick when a team wins on a buzzer-beater, and it didn't even have possession with 1.5 seconds left.

Incredibly, that's precisely what happened in Georgia — in double-overtime, no less — to help Tucker (Ga.) High edge past South Cobb (Ga.) High by a final score of 74-71. As you can see in the video above, both teams were bracing for the prospect of a third extra period when Tucker guard Devante Reynolds took things into his own hands.

South Cobb had the ball with 1.5 seconds remaining on the clock. With the ball already at halfcourt, there was every reason to believe that South Cobb could set up a quality final shot and, at worst, let the game slip into triple overtime. Instead, Reynolds darted forward out of nowhere to intercept a cross court inbounds pass and drained a deep 30-footer at the buzzer to earn Tucker an unlikely win.

While the sheer screeching elicited by the stunning turn of events can be tough on the ears, the highlight reel winner more than made up for the audio trauma. It will be hard to find a more decisive or impressive closing sequence from any game as the season unfolds, particularly given the tired legs that both teams were fighting through at that stage of the game.

Of course, the squads did get a momentary reprieve when the power at Tucker High went out, causing a delay and a scoreboard malfunction. You can see that and everything else that preceded Reynolds' final flourish in a complete broadcast of the game from PlayOn Sports.

Any fan of the NFL has seen Denver Broncos Hall of Famer John Elway's famous "helicopter run" for a first down en route to his first Super Bowl title. That was an all-time great moment in the NFL annals, but it wasn't nearly as great as one moment in California's CIF Division II bowl game on Saturday.

The player you see completing the remarkable run to the end zone in the highlight above is Junipero (Calif.) Gardena Serra High junior Adoree' Jackson, a receiver and defensive back who lit the annual bowl game on fire. On one play in particular, Jackson turned the game on its ear, taking a routine screen past, slipping past waiting hands like a snake and eventually going full Elway en route to the end zone, part of a 42-15 victory against Oakdale (Calif.) High.

Gardena Serra star Adoree Jackson — Rivals.com

As noted by the Los Angeles Times, Jackson was helicoptered into the end zone because his attempt to hurdle a defender met with some minor defensive interference.

"I didn't want to get tackled," Jackson told the Times. "I thought he was going to hit me, so I jumped up into the air."

Jackson played a key role in Gardena Serra's bowl victory, the school's first since 2009. He scored three touchdowns in the game, two on receptions and a third on a mesmerizing fake punt run on which the receiver took the ball 78 yards to the end zone, punctuating the impact play with a series of high steps.

For his part, Jackson's coach Scott Altenberg said that the junior was one of the more impressive athletes he had ever coached, some feat given the past Gardena Serra athletes who had played under Altenberg's charge.

In the aftermath of the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., there have been stories of bravery and compassionate leadership as a small American community deals with crippling grief. In the days since the shooting, an emphasis has rightly been placed on how Newtown needs to heal, a process that led to a trip to Connecticut by President Barack Obama, who spoke at a memorial service in the town on Sunday.

An exchange between the Newtown football coach, a fellow teacher and President Barack Obama — Twitter

The memorial service took place in the auditorium at Newtown High School, with various locations in the school used as prep areas for the press and speakers. Knowing that he would be on-site, one Newtown High teacher and the school's head football coach wrote a note to the president on the whiteboard in the football locker room, thanking him for coming to the town and for taking an active role in the tragedy's aftermath.

[Related: Sports world honors Connecticut shooting victims]

Neither Newtown resident expected Obama to respond (that much was made clear in the surprised tone of a tweet from Newtown football coach Steven George). It's questionable if they even thought there was a chance he would see the note, though they clearly hoped he would. It seems, both men underestimated the commander in chief, who stopped while passing through the room and responded right alongside the original note on the whiteboard.

As first noted by USA Today, you can see the two messages above, but the writing can appear a bit blurry through the camera lens. Here's the full text of what George and teacher Bob Pattinson and President Obama wrote to each other.

Dear President Obama,

The Newtown community is so thankful that you are coming to help us heal. In times of adversity it is reassuring to know that we have a strong leader to help us recover.

- Steve George, Teacher/Football Coach
- Bobby Pattison, Teacher

You're in our thoughts and prayers.

- Barack Obama

Granted, Obama's salvo was brief, but it was still powerful in its brevity. Most importantly, it said what all Americans have said, all they can say in the wake of such an unspeakable tragedy. Newtown is in everyone's prayers.

At this point, Missy Franklin is virtually universally revered as an American treasure, an international athletic superstar who happens to be more down to earth than nearly any girl next door. Throughout her rapid rise to fame, Franklin has refused to ignore her roots, first returning to Aurora (Colo.) Regis Jesuit School and returning to classes as if nothing had happened, then insisting upon swimming for the Regis Jesuit swim team just for the collegiality of doing so.

Now Franklin is finding a practical way to merge her overnight celebrity and down home ideals, volunteering at Children's Hospital Colorado in Denver to cheer up the struggle of sick Colorado children.

As reported by the Denver Post and 9News.com, among other Rocky Mountain sources, Franklin spent Thursday at the hospital making rounds, visiting every sick child she could while trying to lift their spirits. For some youngsters, Franklin offered up one of her Olympic medals to try on. For others, she cracked a joke.

[Related: Rival swimmer predicts Michael Phelps will return for Rio Olympics]

Yet the best indication of just how modest Franklin truly is came when one young patient told the swimmer that they had been told a celebrity would be visiting. The patient was thrilled Franklin was that celebrity, while the swimmer had her doubts.

"What if they are expecting Brad Pitt or Taylor Swift, and I come walking in?" Franklin told 9News.com.

The message Franklin delivered was clear: Keep fighting, no matter what. She delivered it from room-to-room, patient-to-patient, trying to encourage hope. Eventually her day culminated in a hospital party, where the patients got to dance and celebrate with Franklin and her Regis Jesuit teammates.

Clayton (NC) High's Logan Teem — News and ObserverThe town of Clayton, North Carolina is in a state of shock after Hogan Teem, a senior on the Clayton High baseball team, collapsed during an organized off-season workout and later died at a Raleigh hospital.

According to the News and Observer, Teem was jogging around the Clayton High School track on Thursday when he suddenly collapsed. Coaches and trainers were quickly called to the scene where it was determined that Teem would need medical support.

Teem was then rushed to WakeMed Hospital — according to Clayton High School principal Clint Eaves, Teem was in stable condition when he was being transported — where he was pronounced dead later in the day. The official cause of death hasn't been reported.

"Hogan was a very hard-working young man," Eaves told the News and Observer. "You talk to coach Houser and all you hear is how hard working he always was, doing everything he could to overcome obstacles and give his best effort."

The news of Teem's death left Clayton High in a state of disbelief, as the school canceled Friday's basketball games following the tragic news.

A suburban Illinois football coach was officially fired on Thursday after details emerged showing that he had issued truly disturbing comments about an opposing school competing for a state title that his squad had lost to. More disturbing yet is the fact that the coach earns his living by working as a mental health counselor.

Marian Central assistant coach Steve Spoden, third from left in the back row, was fired for inflammatory Facebook comments — Marian.com

As reported by McHenryCountySports.com, Woodstock (Ill.) Marian Central offensive line coach Steve Spoden was fired for comments he made about Lombard (Ill.) Montini Catholic High's football players, and the town of Lombard in general. According to the website, on Nov. 24, Spoden posted a comment on the Facebook profile of a Marian player that included a reference to "take a bat to the knees of Montini's football players" and "carpetbombing the town." The comment went live on the social media site just hours before Montini played for a fourth straight Class 5A state title.

Montini, which won the Class 5A title, knocked off Marian Catholic in the Class 5A quarterfinals by a score of 42-27 after Marian won the teams' regular-season matchup by a score of 47-24. Spoden has claimed that the post was not meant to be taken literally and was made in reference to his desire for the Hurricanes to get "one more shot" at Montini.

Still, the 13-year coaching veteran has acknowledged that he is guilty of a significant error in judgment and now must face the consequences of his lack of foresight.

"I made a huge mistake," Spoden told McHenry County Sports. "I need to own it. I have no one to blame but me."

While there are any number of disturbing factors about a coach even mentioning attacking opposing players with a bat, those comments are more troubling when considering Spoden's occupation. The veteran coach who has helped develop six Division I offensive linemen in the past six seasons also works as a mental health counselor in the Greater Chicago area, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In the immediate afterglow of one of the biggest prep losses of all time, the team at the short end of the scoreboard spent the entire day trying to escape national media attention while simultaneously attempting to move forward and put the 105-point loss in the rearview mirror.

Mike Epps took time in Indianapolis to visit Arlington High's girls basketball team after a 105-point loss — Getty

Yet there was one cameo opportunity that was too good for the Arlington (Ind.) High girls basketball team to overlook: Comedian Mike Epps stopped by unannounced to spend time with the team and try to cheer the players up.

As reported by the Indianapolis Star, Epps showed up for Arlington's team practice a day after the school's 107-2 loss to Bloomington (Ind.) South High. The campus call was an ideal opportunity for Epps to do something worthwhile while in town for a charity event thrown by Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne.

"I made it to where I did because I was losing all the time," Epps told the team and the Star, which was in attendance during his appearance. "I got cut from basketball teams. I took all my trial and tribulations, and all my losses, and I made something of it."

For their part, the Arlington girls already appeared to be on the right track for redemption. The Star reported that the girls were in a good, goofy mood when Epps arrived, with the comedian's unexpected appearance leaving them even more thrilled about their lot in life.

"You all seem to be doing just fine," Epps told the girls on Thursday.