Behind the Mic

If the weather cooperates, the defending state 3-A champion Rocky Mount Gryphons will try to open the season Wednesday at 4.30 p.m. at home against South Granville. Thursday forecast looks much better.

I have been spouting out first downs and touchdowns on the radio since 1971. In that time frame, I've seen many a player pass by me in full view of the press box.

Not only have I gotten into games for free, but I have seen so many athletes perform. Most of them I had no idea while they were in high school that they would go on to bigger and better things.

On the home front while I was in the sticks of northeastern North Carolina, I saw Timmy Newsome play. Most of his high school career he had ankle problems and played defense. At Winston-Salem State, he became the all-time CIAA rusher and went one to become the starting fullback for the Dallas Cowboys.

There was one particular Monday night football game in which Howard Cosell stated that Newsome was a man among boys after he caught a screen pass at about the 50-yard line and proceeded to run over every Washington Redskin who attempted to get in his way.

The one thing that I always like about Timmy after a touchdown when others did their dances Timmy always handed the ball to the refs.

I was behind the mic for two Tarboro-Ahoskie games when Kelvin Bryant played for Tarboro.
The 1978 conference championship game was played in Ahoskie and it wasn't the yardage that Kelvin rushed for but the fumble rolling free in the Tarboro backfield in which Ahoskie was about to pounce on and put them in the lead late in the game. Bryant, who was the only Tarboro player anywhere close to the ball, as Ahoskie was about to scoop up the ball and score a touchdown Kelvin kicked the ball out of bounds, preventing a fumble. He got a penalty, but also a conference championship. Ahoskie didn't score.

In the 80's when I started covering Chowan College basketball, the best player that I saw was Nate McMillan. Nate played point guard at Chowan after graduating from Raleigh Broughton.
I never saw a better full-court passer in my life.

After getting a rebound or receiving an outlet pass, Nate could throw the ball to a teammate from halfcourt or more and hit his teammate in the air going up for a shot. I have always felt that Jim
Valvano never used Nate to his best ability while he spent his last two years at N.C. State.

In football you hear all the time he is a good deep passer, Nate McMillan was a full-court fast break passer. Today his number hangs in the rafters in Seattle or Oklahoma City. He was voted the favorite Seattle Supersonic of all time.

Coaches, players, gyms, ball fields, and stadiums. I have been in quite a few in my time. Whenever the old eyesight goes and I can no longer see the numbers on the jerseys, boy, do I have memories.