Carolina Plays For The Little Title

Confess now, most of you Carolina fans were so disgusted with Tar Heels play last night you went to bed before Rhode Island gave the game away. If there was ever a prime example of Carolina's entire season was the last time out in regulation. Rhode Island had missed four free throws and Carolina has a shot to win in regulation.

Roy calls time out to set up this wonderful play which turns out to be dribble the ball until the clock gets low and throw up a desperation shot. Boy wasn't that their entire season in one play? I have heard from several Carolina fans today that told me their play was embarrassing last night and yet they won. Carolina plays for the title with three letters NIT.

Duke on the other hand is the favorite in this weekends final four of the four letter tournament the NCAA. I'll be pulling for Dook but this is no sure thing. If they play as bad as Carolina did last night they will be home Sunday. I picked Duke to make it to this game but to lose to Kentucky. They are the only team that I picked to make it to the final four.

Softball at Rocky Mount managed to go seven innings Wednesday night against SouthWest Edgecombe but lost 17-0.

Baseball dilemma: Thursday they have a conference game at Hunt and you would suspect Benton Moss takes the mound for the Gryphons. Then Saturday they play Smithfield Selma in the first game of the South Johnston tournament. If I have a choice of the two wins I want this week is both conference games. We won at Nash Central and then there's tomorrow at Hunt. You can bet SS will bring their #1 starter against Rocky Mount Saturday.

Just the way the schedule has played out, we will probably have to throw our three and four pitchers in the first game of the tournament. This game Saturday will go a long ways in telling you how strong Rocky Mount really is this year. If this year's team is better than last then the hitters have got to start producing. You can't wait until your third at bat to figure out a good pitcher and expect to score seven in the seventh every game. You know that every team is going to save their best for Rocky Mount.

Gryphons Win Conference Opener

If you wanted to see weird baseball tonight's Nash Central- Rocky Mount conference opener was a good place to be. Matthew Berry doubled to open the game and came around to score on a fielder's choice by Collins Cuthrell. The next five innings nobody touched home place.

Hobbs Johnson carried a no hitter into the sixth inning helped by a missed play pop up in fair territory in which the Gryphons were able to throw to second and get a force play. Two other pop ups in foul territory were not caught and the second wound up scoring the tying run for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Jeremy Sloop held the Gryphons to three hits over the first six innings but ran out of gas in the seventh when the Gryphons had seven straight runners reach base, six with hits an one base on balls. Johnson now sporting a seven run lead gave up his third hit of the night to lead off the bottom of the seventh and Parker Helms came in to close out the Bulldogs.

Michael Whitehead had two hits and two rbi's. Matthew Berry had two hits and a ribby. Spencer Bell's double in the seventh drove in a run. Collins Cuthrell had on hit on the evening and two rbi's. Thomas Berry a couple of hits and two rbi's. Parker Helms also had two hits.

The Gryphons win their tenth game of the year and are now 1-0 in the Big East. They travel to Hunt Thursday night before they open the South Johnson Baseball tournament Saturday morning at 11.00am.

Hobbs Johnson struck out twelve and gave up three hits in getting the win. Parker Helms shutout Nash Central in the seventh but does not get the save even though the game was tied going into the seventh.

Up the hill Nash Central Lady Bulldogs beat the Lady Gryphons in softball 16-0. Gryphon softball has a 4.30 game Wednesday afternoon against SouthWest Edgecombe which was rained out Monday.

Duke's Women Fall Short

If you watched the Duke women's game last night for the chance to go to the final four then you missed one of the best games this year. Duke took on Baylor lead by Brittany Briner a six feet eight inch player who can play. Briner last night had fifteen points eleven rebounds and nine blocked shots.

This was a game of Duke trying to go inside to get Briner in foul trouble. The first eight minutes Duke couldn't get close enough to see the goal much less make a shot. Finally when Duke started hitting from beyond fifteen feet they got into a rhythm and had as big as a nine point lead. Midway in the second half Briner finally got some help from her teammates and Duke stopped making the outside shots. Baylor 51 Duke 48.

The big question is, is Briner good enough to upset Connecticut and stop their at this point seventy some game winning streak? I think she is good enough but I don't see Baylor as a team being good enough to stay with the Huskies.

Rain washed out Rocky Mount girls softball Monday. That game has been moved to Wednesday night at home. Tonight softball and baseball begin conference play with a trip to Nash Central.

Spring sports like winter has the vacation for Easter Which is next week. School is out starting Friday and all of next week. When it is over it's all conference games until early May when the seasons are over and playoffs begin.

I failed to say any thing about this yesterday but wasn't that a great picture of Mike Gainey all smiles in the paper Sunday?

There is one thing about the NCAA basketball championship tournament I really like. There is no Dick Vitale doing the games. The NCAA tournament's best announcer is Gus Johnson. I don't know how he always gets the down to the wire buzzer beaters.

The best color guy is Mike Giminski. The G man is a Raycon guy during the season and CBS picks him up during the playoffs. Vitale has for so many years been the lead ESPN color analyse. He has always been hype and high fives. Don't look now but Jay Bilas is the best at ESPN. He knows every player in the country and gives you the facts not the hype like the over the hill Vitale.

Three Pointers

Saturday night Kentucky shot 32 three pointers in their NCAA lost. They made four. Even at my old age put a blind fold on me and point me in the right direction I can make five three pointers in 32 tries.

Kentucky trailed almost all of the second half and the one thing three point shots have done to basketball is given us the mentality that the three point shot is the quick fix. They have the best big man in the country and who by the way was having a good game and you can't get him the ball.

I hear executives from CBS are jumping out of windows in New York city now that the Duke-Kentucky rematch is history. If they had of played each other in the semi's of the NCAA which would have happened if Kentucky have of held up their end of the bargain. How many times this week would we have seen the Hill to Laettner last second shot from 1992. CBS goes from their biggest ratings game ever to probably the lowest rated final four ever.

College baseball fans now that basketball is beginning to wind down you had better realize quickly that North carolina and North Carolina State are near the bottom in the ACC baseball standings.

Much like basketball when they play each other in a three game series in two weeks the loser will probably be in last place. Carolina has no pitching and State who I saw play yesterday seems to be just good enough to lose.

When the baseball game was over Brooks and I walked across the street at watch State finish up a tennis match with Georgia Tech. This was my first look ever at college tennis and let me tell you those guys are good.

This is the last week before the Easter vacations for high schools and for high school baseball it's the first week of conference play. Tuesday the Gryphons start at Nash Central both softball and baseball will be playing at the same time Tuesday night.

Next week Rocky Mount will play in an Easter tournament not played at Gryphon stadium. They will be playing in the South Johnston tournament.

Duke Makes It to Final Four

Baylor playing in Houston is like Duke playing in Greensboro, a Home game for the Bears. Despite having a home crowd against them Duke took care of business and the ACC will send Carolina to the final four of the NIT and Duke to the final four of the big dance the NCAA.

This is the eleventh trip to the final four for coach K and I would label this team #11 of best Duke teams to make the final four but they are there. They are the only surviving #1 seed left in the tournament which will have two #5 seedsfor the first time ever in the final four. Duke will match up against a #2 seeded team in West Virginia who will be going to the big dance for the first time since a guy named Jerry West lead the Mountaineers.

Duke 78 Baylor 71

The "Rocky Mount Telegram" had a good feature today on the Rocky Mount State Championship basketball team. Nick Cammarota the newest member of the sports team has done a great job since coming to Rocky Mount. Let's hope baseball will give him another shot at a second state title in his first four months in town.

I told you in my Saturday blog I was pulling for Amanda Griffin, a junior at Northern Nash to win the Rocky Mount Junior Miss and she did. I was off watching N C State lose to Miami in baseball but both of the rest of my house hold was there.

Jerry Lewis has poster children for his telethons for MD and Amanda should be the poster child for the Nash County Relay. While in junior high Amanda and her family found out that she had cancer.

Her entire fight was supported by her church Red Oak Baptist and Red Oak Middle school. Today Cancer free Amanda plays on the basketball team and Soccer team that I know of. I was told that is was every emotional for all those who were there supporting her Sunday afternoon when she was announced as the winner.

Greenfield's Victoria Vesce was first runner-up and Southern Nash's Michaela Bauer was second runner up.

I think some of you have seen the Relay for Life show on WHIG-TV which I host leading up to the relay on April 23rd. It's on at 6.00pm every Monday night and any time a cancer survivor like Amanda does well surviving cancer it can only help others when they hear that they have it.

Good going Amanda!!!!

The Elite Eight

Duke has beaten Purdue 70-57 to keep the ACC alive in the NCAA Tournament. Regardless of what color your team wears you must give it up to coach K. I have not thought Duke could go very far in the NCAA tournament but coach K inserted Brian Zoubek into the starting line up with about nine games to go in the regular season. Why would any one do that. Zoubek who has been a career five minute and five fouls player is averaging over ten points and 8.5 rebounds since he has been inserted into the lineup. All of a sudden Duke might be the best defensive team left. They will surly be tested Sunday playing Baylor in Houston.

Friday night was one of those nights that Brian Goodwin would like to forget. North Carolina playing Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill Brian struck out the first four times he went to the plate. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth Brian comes to bat with the bases loaded and one out with a chance to be the hero. The only ball he hit fair all night was a line drive to the shortstop who doubled up the runner on second and the heels lose 2-1.

If there is one thing noticeable in the NCAA basketball tournament is in the close games the last two minutes the referees are swallowing their whistles. looks like the NHL who will not call a penalty the last two minutes of a game.

Sunday afternoon at the Dunn Center is this years Junior Miss . There are eleven girls from the area trying to follow in the foot steps of Hannah McMillan who after winning the Rocky Mount Junior Miss last year won the State title earlier this year. She will compete for the national title in June.

The eleven girls are Michaela Bauer from Southern Nash, Margaret Braswell of Northern Nash, Mary Chambliss of Faith Christian, Jenna Gardner from Nash Central, Amanda Griffin of Northern Nash, Lauren Jackson from Rocky Mount Prep, Ana Joyner from Nash Central, Heather Joyner from Nash Central, Victoria Vesce from Greenfield School, Melanie White from Nash Central and Morgan Bishop from Rocky Mount High.

I do not know any of these girls, however I will be pulling for Amanda Griffin from Northern Nash. I have never spoken to Amanda but I know she plays on the basketball team and is having a successful high school career. My reason for pulling for Amanda is she is a cancer survivor. Back when Amanda went to Red Oak middle the entire school pulled for Amanda during her fight with cancer.

Now cancer free Amanda is living proof that we can live normal lives when ever we hear the BIG C word. I only know Amanda because of the Nash County Relay For Life and what she went through while at Red Oak middle. She is a living example of the only way to live is to fight with all you have and she did and she will be on stage Sunday.

Good luck to all and especially to Amanda.

Championship Tee-Shirts Are Here

That first Monday night in April when the NCAA national champion is crowned, before the winning team cuts down the nets they will be sporting national championship caps and tee shirts. That's what happens when corporation like NIKE are involved.

The high school level there are no billion dollar corporation spending the money so that when Rocky Mount cut down the nets at Rocky Mount High School in the early hours after celebrating a championship no one had on a winner tee shirt. But, of course this is high school and the shirts are here. Mike Gainey ordered tee-shirts and they arrived yesterday and are on sale at his office for $10.00. I had to unload a bill for Morgan last night so she could wear hers in school today.

Championships are special regardless of what level they are on. My career I have called three state championship football games and rooted for the winner once. Now I have been twice in high school basketball calling the winning team both times. I have been behind the TV mic for two games in the Babe Ruth World Series, once in Wilson and once In Quincy Massachusetts. I made the call when the Babe Ruth team won the state title right here in Rocky Mount in 2004.

Even last summer I was doing the PA for Nash County American Legion when they won the east title which put them in the state tournament. Back in the 80's five times I did Junior college Regional finals and twice made the calls as Chowan advance to the national tournaments in Kansas.

It doesn't mattter what level it is when you take on all comers and when it is over you are the last team standing it is special. Even the casual fan who the only time all year they saw Rocky Mount play was in Chapel Hill walked out of the Dean Dome with their buttoms about to pop off their shirts.

Announcers whether it's radio, tv or the PA man thinks he's part of the team. We get to go behind the scenes and find out more about the kids than the average fan who couldn't recognize any of them on the street.

I think back to each championship I have been part of I remember I had the same feeling at each one. That feeling of being the best. I have never once even said to myself, boy this championship would be a lot better if it was the 4-A championship.

I just don't know how a National championship can get any better than this.

Another Shut Out

This spring the teams that play run-catch and hit at Rocky Mount High School are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Baseball, one of the top teams in the state continues to impress holding their third straight team to zero runs. Softball another ten run loss.

Parker Helms pitched the first four innings and Jeremy Trevathan the final two innings as Gryphon baseball wins 10-0 in six innings.

I think we all know that if you look at the summer recreational league in Rocky Mount, it is tilted for boys. If you were a girl and wanted to play softball then you played in Nashville. Slowly that is changing but the results needed take years to produce quality softball players.

Baseball is on the rise in Nash County in part because of funds provided by Richard Sarmeinto with the travel leagues. Babe Ruth baseball was the first result of all these kids playing all over the world on weekends. Babe Ruth teams in the last ten years have played in several World Series after winning state titles and Southeast regional titles.

High school baseball have shown the fruits of all this baseball playing with Northern Nash twice playing for the eastern titles and Rocky Mount winning a state title, all of this within the past three years. Legion baseball last year made it to the state tournament for the first time in decades while the Rocky Mount junior legion team finished third in the state.

The changeover to fast pitch a few years ago has effected the areas most who didn't take softball as serious as those that did. It is very difficult to teach a pitcher how to throw fast pitch in three weeks and when you don't see good fast pitching in practice it is hard to even learn to hit fast pitch. Pitching machines throw fast but they can't simulate the whipping action that a pitcher uses.

There is hope for softball. Their lack of experience right now has resulted in all but two games ending by ten run rule. Pitching is getting better, their hitting is improving and their is no lack of desire from this group. The score board doesn't show it yet but softball is getting better. maybe be as this year unfolds they will see a win or two.

Tashawn Mabrey was named to the AP all state basketball team Wednesday. I don't think there was any way that Tashawn wasn't going to make all state team regardless of how Rocky Mount finished in the playoffs but his last three games in the Regional and State Finals with the whole state watching made all state a no brainer.

ECU has hired former Carolina Basketball player Jeff Lebo as their new basketball coach. Basketball in Greenville is the #3 sport behind football and baseball. If Carolina continues the tradition I bet the Heels play in Greenville in the fore see able future. I wonder when was the last sellout for basketball?

Pitching Comes Through

Michael Whitehead's single drove in Hobbs Johnson and Rocky Mount had the only run they needed in beating Webb High school in Oxford Tuesday. Taylor Clontz had a double for the only other hit that the Gryphons could muster.

When hitting is non-existent who do you call for? Yesterday, Hobbs Johnson took the hill for the first four innings and Benton Moss finished up the last three as the Gryphons down Webb 1-0.

Today at 4.30 the Gryphons play their last so called tune up game before conference play begins at Nash Central next week. Roanoke Rapids is here a 19-0 loser to the Gryphons last week at the RR.

Last week I gave you and update on local players playing baseball throughout the south and of course we have so many I can't keep up with all of them without your help. Richard Sarmeinto reminded me of Edmond Gravely who is playing at Newberry College. I know that Cameron Ramsey plays at Wake Tech. One big problem for some of these schools is that don't have stats on line and Cameron falls in to this category.

I stumbled across Wesley Joyner(Northern Nash) is playing at Mount Olive. He has two hits in three at bats this season. Eric Mull from Rocky Mount Academy also is two for three for Charlie Long at NC Wesleyan. I also found Rocky Mount's Gabe Brown on the Roster at Lenoir CC and two of his teammates are Patrick and Zach Barnes from Faith Christian. By my count that is twenty one ball players from this area extending their careers at the college level. If you know of any more please feel free to let me know.

Carolina is heading to the Big Apple to play in the semi-finals of the NIT. Just looks to me like in the NIT Carolina has been aggressive and not playing to lose. just shows the pressures theses kids play under following a teams National Championship.

The Charlotte Bobcats won their thirty sixth game of the season last night which is the Bobcats franchise record. Barring a collapse the Bobcats are going to make their first NBA playoffs this year.

The Process Of Life

Gryphon baseball returns to action today when they visit Webb high in Oxford. They will be home Wednesday hosting Roanoke Rapids.

Softball lost at Southern Vance 11-1. Our daughter Morgan who is the score keeper missed yesterday's game as we had a visit to doctors in Chapel Hill. We did look to our left as we passed the stoplight at the newly named Gryphon Dome which was formerly known as the Dean Smith Center.

I started working at the radio station in Ahoskie the summer just before my senior year in high school. Upon graduation, I become a disc jockey spinning the hits of the early 1970's. life was grand, as in a real small town like Ahoskie that crazy guy on the radio was known by every body who could pick me up on the radio.

Love popped into the picture in 1976 and there is all of a sudden this realization that this great life being a disc jockey has a lot of fringe benefits but money is not one of them. My first real job was selling washing machines at our Sears catalog store. Friday's you could find me in a booth calling football which now is my hobby.

Many of you know Wes Bradshaw. Much like me he has this affliction and passion for calling sports on the radio. You can throw being a PA announcer into the category, it's like radio but not heard as far.. His parents have been much more forgiving than mine were.

I think that time has come in Wes's life where that reality sets in when someone becomes special in your life and it is decision time on your future. Wes called me last night and we dicussed our plans for football coverage next fall. He also told me that he had given up his part time job of cutting meat in Pinetops and had a real job. A job that was going to interfere with ball games.

I know from experience that when something else gets in the way of a ball game your life is spinning around. For Wes, that something else must be love.

His life and mine have several parallels. If his continues like mine then he will have a game or two in which he has to work and will miss a game. Then that dreaded, I can't do it at all this season because my work won't let me.

Man, what we all go through in that thing called the Process of life.

Class Reunion

My wife Pat had her 40Th high school reunion Saturday night and we ventured back home to Ahoskie to see the gang. I married an older woman so I need for you to understand that this was her 40th. Mine's next year. haha.....

Life leads us down many paths in our life and my biggest disappointment is now for me 39 years later I have very little contact with those who I grew up with, who looking back now meant so much in my life.

Even though this was my wife's class I knew all these people in school and played ball with many of them. So, it was a reunion for me too. There was a tape playing over in the corner of all the football games for the class of 1970 which at the time had me mostly sitting on the bench. I am making arrangements today to get a copy made for myself. Football was king in Ahoskie back in the 40's,50's and 60's and film is still available all the way back to 1946.

Among the many I talked with was "Skeeter" Bryant who played guard on the football team. I was his backup. Yes, all 135 pounds of me played line when I got in the game. "Skeeter" who now lives in Alamance County tells me that he goggled my name and up popped "From The Pressbox".

That day I had done a story about Spencer Barrow a former Ahoskie player who went to Carolina on scholarship only to meet Chris Hanburger in a one on one drill and broke his leg never to play for Carolina. That day I mention that as an eight year old, Spencer had been my favorite player when he played for AHS and even as he became a big city lawyer in Raleigh I had kept track of him.

I hope whenever I write any thing in this column that I never take myself serious. I try to give you information but the day I think that your life will not be worth living until you have read this column then I have lost my purpose.

I try to say what I feel from my heart and I know sometimes I leave off a coma, say ain't when I shouldn't. One of the teachers there Saturday night was Dot Powell . One of her sons Whit was one of my great friends in school. I never had a class in English in high school with her. My first year at Roanoke Chowan C C I had her in english. Our first day we had to write a paper on what we wanted to do in life. I said that I wanted to write a book. Her reply to me was that as much as I liked to talk and with the passion I had I could do it. Only after I wrote it let her check my grammar!

The ride home Saturday night Pat and I were convinced that if there is going to be a 40th reunion for my class of 1971 we will be there. It was a ball of fun seeing everybody!!!!

Gryphon Baseball Has Found A Groove

Parker Helms got the call to the mound Saturday and he responded with a four inning one hit performance and sparked the Gryphons to their seventh win of the season. The 11-0 five inning game with Tarboro combined with the 19-0 white wash of Roanoke Rapids and a 7-1 win over Rose, the Gryphons dispensed these opponents by a 36-1 score.

Matthew Berry went 3-3 with two doubles, three runs scored and two rbi's. Benton Moss was 2-2 with a booming three run homer and he scored twice. Michael Whitehead was 2-3 and his first hit was a perfect hit and run play where he hit a shot to the short stop who had vacated the area to cover second base.

Spencer Bell and Thomas Berry each had a hit for the Gryphons. Jeremy Trevathan pitched the fifth inning by striking out the side. Helm's victory today makes the fourth starter to win a game on the season and if the Gryphons continue to get pitching effort from Helms and Trevathan as #3 and 4 in the pitching rotation this team can go far.

Everyone knows about Hobbs Johnson and Benton Moss and their pitching but each when not pitching plays the field. Johnson in center and Moss in right. Yesterday Moss caught a screaming line drive which I don't care how good a defensive player you are, it was one of those that you take a deep breath after you catch it. Johnson hit one of those line drives to the Viking left fielder to had to go to the wall to pick it up. Each stole a base during the game I thought to myself boy the best two athletes on this team might be our two division one pitchers.

Tuesday the Gryphons travel to Webb High in Oxford and they return home Wednesday for their last warmup game with Roanoke Rapids until conference play starts the first week in April.

I hope this is not going to jinks this team but I believe they are better this year than last year. Time will tell us that answer.

I don't know about you but the Kansas loss in the NCAA tournament officially eliminated me from any thought of winning any pools this year. Good job Carolina winning at Mississippi State in the NIT. I didn't think they could do it. I thought both State and Carolina were going down yesterday. There is a rumor going around that Wake played last night. Who were those guys in black and gold?

A Little Bit of This And A Lot Of That

Gryphon Baseball plays at home today at 1.00pm. The Tarboro Vikings are in town. Girls soccer puts their undefeated season on the line at the Brittany in Wilson. They will meet Burlington Williams also Saturday afternoon. Tennis beat Hunt Thursday 8-1 to go to 2-0 in conference play. Softball is still winless.

Wake Forest is the only ACC team playing a second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday. They meet Kentucky at 8.15pm. The ACC is 4-2 after the first round with Maryland, Duke and Georgia Tech winning Friday.

Carolina plays in the second round of the NIT at high noon against Mississippi State. I think it is on ESPN 2. State plays on ESPNU in Birmingham Al at 5.00pm in round two against Alabama Birmingham. Should both State and Carolina win they meet next week in round three of the NIT.

I haven't given you much update lately on our local players playing college baseball. The last couple of weeks I have had basketball on the brain.

Brian Goodwin: Carolina -Had an eleven game hitting streak stopped on Wednesday but started a new one Friday night against Florida State. Brian has a hit in all four of Carolina's conference games. He is hitting 362 after Friday Night.

Xavier Macklin: NC A&T- The X man is following up his sensational freshman year right where he left off last year. Heading into this weekend X is hitting 371 with four homers and sixteen RBI's.

Brian Braswell: Campbell- hitting 400 in this his senior season for the 13-6 Fighting Camels.

Ben Fish: Campbell- Braswell's backup catcher at Campbell. Has been to bat nine times getting two hits but like he did at RMHS he has four rbi's with those two hits.

Alex Pearce: UNC Pembroke- has won the starting catchers job as a sophomore. Batting 238 right now and Pembroke is 18-4. rated 16th in their division. Big series this weekend at USC-Aiken rated #6.

Zack Woodley: Pitt C C- Has pitched four inning without allowing a run in two appearances.

Jim Leggett: Pitt C C- Has not allowed a run in two inning of pitching.

Mike Williams: Pitt C C- Has been converted to a pitcher and in three games pitched three innings.

Daniel Moore: NC Wesleyan- batting 294 for Charlie Long.

Tyler Clark: C Wesleyan- freshman hitting is up to 288.

Brian Allen: NC Wesleyan- batting 264 for the Battling Bishops.

Andrew Webb: NC Wesleyan- Webby is doing double duty. 2-1 as a pitcher and hitting 156 when he plays the field.

Chad Womble: NC Wesleyan- Pitched 15 inning to date. ERA at 4.80.

Heading back to Ahoskie tonight. My wife Pat is having her 40th class reunion. Boy she sure is getting old.

A Week Later

We have all had a chance to really let the State championship sink in, and here are just a few thoughts and reflections.

1. I like walking in and asking for a media pass that lets me walk all the way out on the North Carolina outline on the floor. Then it has my name on the pass.

2. I really like bringing the teams out and taking a team picture before the game. Everyone still thinks they can win, after the game not much for taking pictures if I was on the losing end.

3. I like one teams color guard presenting the colors and the other singing the National Anthem.

4. Sitting on the sidelines of any big arena like the Dean Dome is a completely different game from being in the stands.

5. I like giving the referees a plaque. It is an honor for them just like the teams playing. Every game, refs make weird calls but I don't think either side could complain about the officials in this one.

6. The supporters for the Gryphons were not all Rocky Mount High folks. You know you can fight with your brother but when someone else fights him, you are going to be on his side. There were a lot of Nash County folks there pulling for Rocky Mount regardless of the school loyalty.

7. Mike Gainey said he got a tear when he was able to put T J Walker in the game. Didn't we all.

8. I like the NCHSAA official who put every one's gold metal around each winning member personally, regardless of whether it was a player, coach or manager.

9. The walk down the hill to the parking lot was easier than the walk up to the Dean Dome.

10. Loved honking our horn when we passed the cheer leaders on the way home.

11. The line of red tail lights on 64 coming home, just like in the movie "Hoosiers".

12. Got a thrill seeing the Rocky Mount Police Department waiting for the team at the Nash CC on ramp. Escorting them home as CHAMPS.

13. Cutting the nets down in Rocky Mount.

14. "Sleepless In Rocky Mount" on a Saturday night during daylight savings time.

15. Being with the team Sunday night on TV.

16. The feeling that I still have a week later.

Gryphon Girls Soccer "Off And Running"

Soccer added another victim last night and girls soccer is off to a 6-0 start on the season. Six games into the season the girls have scored 20 goals which gives them a 3.66 goals per game average. That total doesn't seem all that impressive until you see that they have given up a total of three goals in six games. That's .5 goals against average per game. If you relate that to football they would be winning every game 24-3 and that is impressive. Keep it up girls!

When you have two division one pitchers on your roster like Rocky Mount's baseball team has, expectations can be unrealistic. So far reality is living up to the optimism. Today Rocky Mount beat Rose 7-1. The Gryphons have swept Rose for the second year in a row. Four of the Gryphon wins have been against 4-A baseball. Now 6-1 baseball is home Saturday at 1.00 pm as the Tarboro Vikings come calling. That lone lost was to the defending 4-A champs so this is a great start for first year coach Kent Cox.

Collins Cuthrell provided enough power hitting a three run homer and Benton Moss beat Rose for the second time this year. This stat is provided by Charles Alston. Benton Becomes the first Gryphon pitcher since 1998 to beat Rose twice in a season. The Junior is now 17-1 pitching for the Gryphons in his career.

Boys tennis has had a hard time with the weather so far this spring. It is hard to play tennis with a wet ball and going into tonight's match at Hunt the tennis team is 2-1. One of those victories was a conference win against Nash Central.

The Gryphons were leading the Wachovia Cup after the fall sports and winter sports did not slack up on bit. The way the spring sports have started the Gryphons may very well win the Big East Wachovia cup and possibly be in the top ten in the state.

Gryphon Bats Explode

Need to get with Charles Alston Mr. Gryphon sports encyclopedia but it is believed that today's home run out burst by by Gryphon baseball is a record just set last year. Rocky Mount used five home runs to swat the Yellow Jackets of Roanoke Rapids 19-0.

Spencer Bell hit a two run shot and Collins Cuthrell, Parker Helms, Jeremy Trevathan, and Matthew Berry all hit solo shots as the Gryphons acted like Hot Shot insect spray in clobbering Roanoke Rapids. Hobbs Johnson picked up his second win of the year going three innings in the five inning game.

Barring injury and the early results from the pitching this years Gryphon fortunes will hinge on how the bats do. This is the first time this year that the Gryphon bats have been blazing. Today's win brings the season to 5-1.

Rose will be at Gryphon Stadium Thursday at 4.00pm to make up the snow out the first day of the season, and Saturday Tarboro is here for a 1.00pm first pitch.

Softball is finding life hard. Today they lost 17-4 at Beddingfield.

Tashawn Mabrey and Darius McKnight make the all Big East first team. Danita Whitaker and Timishia Walker make first team for the girls. Danita shares the player of the year honor but I don't know how to explain why Tashawn who made all state this week is not Big East player of the year.

I just want to put to rest the rumor that the reason North Carolina played their NIT game last night in the old Carmichael Arena instead of the Dean Dome was not because they thought Rocky Mount was too hard of an act to follow at the Dean Dome. Even though the Gryphons are the best team to play there this year.

The Triangle area is buzzing this morning after both North Carolina and N C State won their NIT openers last night. If they win their second round games they will be paired up for round three. I hope Carolina fans don't think what they saw last night was improvement. They hustled last night something they have not shown all year. let's don't kid ourselves William and Mary would have buried Carolina in Willamsburg.

I hope when Carolina loses to Mississippi State it goes to the wire. I want Carolina to win but I don't see it happening. State travels to UAB and you can expect another 60-58 game which means they could win or they could lose. there is a good chance neither wins their next round game.

All The Pieces Must Fit

The 2009-2010 basketball season at Rocky Mount High soared to the pinnacle of success, a state championship. Despite the end result, not many had thoughts that a state championship was on the horizon.

There was talk of transfers coming into the program, but there was also a transfer who left and moved back to New York. The tallest on the team, the stud in the middle at six feet nine had gone. The Gryphons had Tashawn Mabry returning, but that hadn't proved to get us past the sectionals.

All you have to do is look to the college that plays in the house that brought the Gryphons their state title, Carolina and see that promises and hype don't add up to a gallon of gas.

A loss to 2-A Beddingfield rather early on the road would dampen any talk that this team had championship potential. Way back in 1983, N. C. State won a national championship but it didn't jell until Derrick Whittenburg went down with a broken foot. Six weeks without him and those off the bench stepped up and found roles on that team, including Rocky Mount's very own George McClain.

The same thing happened for the Gryphons. T.J. Walker's season-ending knee injury and Mabry's three-game absence gave players an opportunity to play bigger roles instead of watching from the sidelines or in the case most of the time on the court passing Tashawn the ball and being a spectator on the court.

In the rout of Northern Nash in Rocky Mount in mid-January, there was a sense that this team was coming together. Tevin Taylor, Darius McKnight and Billy Young were becoming a reliable point guard combination. Then there was the exam week, followed by snow that closed school for four days and it looked like big MO left and hid.

The second cycle in conference play the Gryphons were average, disgruntle players. A loss the first night back from the snow at Fike and then a tournament semifinal lost to Nash Central. This team will win their first game in the playoffs at home, but hit the road and then pack up the equipment until next year was the thought of many.

All the squabbles were mending and by the second-round playoff, the Gryphons caught a break. An upset and instead of hitting the road in the second round, it's another home game. Detrail Jenkins was becoming a double-double man every night. Kenyatta Bullock was dependable hitting big threes. Terrell Hilliard and Tecoby Hines were playing like starters from off the bench.

The tranformation took over Mabry. He became the greatest scorer in Gryphon history, but still hadn't won much in the playoffs. Tashawn found the level that people predicted back in the eighth grade. Mabry's career he had been a scorer but the last month he became a great player. In the regional and state championships, Tashawn averaged 29 points and 10 rebounds plus five blocks a game. All of the pieces fell in place.

When all was said and done, Mike Gainey became a state championship coach. This is probably the hardest year in his life and somehow, the most rewarding. All you have to do is look toward Roy Williams this year and see that you just don't put five on the court and say bring me a title. The captain of the U.S.S. Gryphon was Gainey and the captain maneuvered this ship through many mine fields.

I said this on the radio Saturday night. The Nash County area has some of the highest unemployment in the state. People are struggling to pay their light bills. This team put a little pep in everyone's step to make us proud.

The Rocky Mount Gryphons: STATE CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Great time to Be A Gryphon

If the Gryphons needed any help from the stands and support to help push them to a state basketball title, they got it and plenty more Saturday night.

I am saying 7,000 Gryphon fans were there but there is no way to know for sure. The pep band added so much to the excitement. Back in my high school days we had a pep band an I think next basketball season there should be consideration of having the band at every game.

I have never seen so many gold towels that the fans were waving. I think everyone who wears blue and gold can be proud of our team and the actions of our fans in representing the city of Rocky Mount and Nash County.

The 750 or so that greeted the team back at the gym after midnight just goes to prove one thing, bad things don't always happen on a Saturday night and you can have a good time without drugs and alcohol.

This is the fourth basketball title for Rocky Mount High. It is the eleventh title in all sports with baseball having garnered five titles and football two. Just maybe #12 can come in early June as baseball is looking good in the early baseball season.

Hope you had a chance to watch the basketball team on WHIG-TV last night on the "Stretchlon Sports Show". That was just some of the spoils that go with winning it all.

I need to take a day off. Got up too early Saturday morning considering Saturday night turned into Sunday morning real quick. Day light saving time killed an hour, even sunday night after we got back home from TV station Morgan down loaded her pictures on my blog as it was later than I wanted it to be hitting the hay last night.

There will be a pep rally in school today at 2.00pm for the CHAMPS!

The ChampionSHIP & The Celebration

ChampionSHIP Belongs In Gryphon Land

Rocky Mount High school rode all the way to the Hill to bring home the state 3-A championship back to the MOUNT.

The Grypons jumped on the Spiders early and raced to a 22-12 lead late in the first quarter and all of a sudden Tashawn Mabry comes up gimpy and Rocky Mount lost all the MO they had going. Before the half ended Concord had trimmed the Gryphon lead to two.

Some where early in the third quarter Mabry decided pain or not it was time to go and the Gryphons went, building as much as a twelve point lead until a scrappy bunch from Concord did everything they could muster from JacQuise Moore who took game high scoring honors with 28.

Mabry who had six at the half collected 20 in the second half and 26 for the game earning the MVP of the Championship game. Mabry gathered ten rebounds and had a double double but he was joined in the double-double game by Detrail Jenkins with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Darius McKnight who earned the Eastern Champion award as the best player poured in 14 points and he was joined in double digits by Billy Young with 12.

You can not win a championship without unsung hero's and Marcus Jones, Kenyatta Bullock and Terrell Hilliard all gave us performances that we could not have won without them.

Concord wanted to make a living off the full court pressure but one of the keys stats of the game was the Gryphons committed only 15 turnovers. The smaller Spiders out rebounded the Gryphons in the first half 25-22, but it was all Gryphons in the second half winning the boards 25-12. Gryphons are State 3-A Champions 84-79 over Concord.

It is hard to tell how many folks were there tonight from Rocky Mount but my guess is 7,000. About 750 of those fans were in the gym at midnight to welcome the champs home. The NCHSAA will not allow any team to cut down the nets after their championship because there were four games there and they would have had to replace the nets at the end of every game. So the Gryphons cut down the nets at Rocky Mount High school at around 12.30am.

The clock said 12.58am when we arrived home. It is day light saving spring forward so it was actually 1.58am. I have to be at church at 8.00am so there will be no pictures tonight. Sunday afternoon we will display the Pictures Morgan took for the yearbook.

WAY TO GO GRYPHONS!!!!!!!!!! STATE CHAMPS

It's Time For The "SHIP"

I should have known. I normally rise every work day at 5.15am. I awake most mornings between 4.30 and 5.00 so I really don't need an alarm to get up. My Saturday's are the days to sleep late which might keep me in bed to 6.30 or so. But not this morning.

I'm ready to head to Chapel Hill right now, with a few side stops along the way. The Pack's ACC tournament victory near midnight last night made sleep almost impossible before 1 am. I was awake at 4.30 or so right on schedule. Breakfast is done shower is out of the way, all I need now is the car load from my house to get jumping. I have already changed out clocks so that problem will be out of the way when we get home after midnight tonight.

Win or lose tonight the team schedule is for them to get back to the gym around midnight. It would be nice if a caravan followed them home hopefully honking a victory honk. Like baseball there needs to be a crowd waiting at the gym win or lose.

Jammin 99.3 coverage will begin at 6.30 pm. Wes has a pregame chat with Mike Gainey already done that will be part of our pregame. If you are stuck somewhere in this world not in the coverage area WZAX they will be live streaming over the internet.

Time Warner will be taping the game but since the 4-A championship is going on live at the same time as ours I don't know which game will be live. More than likely the 4-A game. Some time tonight and Sunday you can go on line@ www.news14.com and see the Gryphons play.

They look a whole lot better live and in person in the Dean Dome. They need your help. If you were not planning on going, get an impulse, a spur of the moment thing. It is only 80 miles and $10. These moments only happen it seems every 28 years for basketball. If it is 28 years before they return to the big dance how old will you be then?

I will blog as soon as I get home. 1.00 am or so

Go GRYPHONS!!!!!!!

Twenty-four Hours To Go

Rocky Mount goes after its fourth basketball state championship Saturday night in Chapel Hill.

This is their first visit to the Big Dance since 1982. Concord, its opponent, just won it all in 2006 for its only title.

This game will hinge on whether we are as quick as they are. The Spiders have seven players who score nine points or more and will press all over the court. If we reasonable match up on speed team-wise, we will be all right. They don't have any height to match Mabry and Jenkins inside. Bottom line is we must protect the ball.

WZAX Jammin 99.3's coverage begins at 6.30 p.m. We will have a one-hour pregame show and will stay on through the interview process in the media room. Our thanks goes out to all those people who stepped forward to help us bring the game to you live.

We will have the team on WHIG-TV Sunday night at 8 p.m. We will show some of the game while we talk with them.

The baseball team went to the No. 3 starter today at home against Webb High School and the results were good. Jeremy Trevathan pitched five inning and got the win. Spencer Bell pitched the final two inning as the Gryphons went to 4-1 with a 10-1 victory over Webb.

All I can report to you tonight is heartbreak for the girls softball team. Leading 18-7, Tarboro scored 12 runs in the bottom of the seventh to win 19-18.

I don't know whether I will blog Saturday morning or not. It kind of depends on how fast my day starts. We have a soccer game to go to, to watch our granddaughter Madison play in Garner. Carolina plays baseball at 2 p.m and we will be in Durham to watch Brian Goodwin and Carolina play at Duke. I hope he didn't use all his hits up for the weekend tonight.

Just before I started blogging, Carolina was ahead in the bottom of the ninth 22-9. Brian was 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBI. I hope he has some hits left for me tomorrow.

I will be in the Dean Dome about 5. If I don't blog first thing Saturday, it will be after we return after midnight Saturday. I hope we will be at the gym waiting on the state champs . Midnight is their scheduled time to return to the gym. Be there, win or lose.

Morgan, who is the official Hi-Noc-Ar yearbook photographer for the state championship game, will be taking pictures and we will post them Sunday afternoon.

GOOD LUCK GRYPHONS!!!!!!!!!

Plans, Plans and More Plans

If you don't have a plan in life, you may find yourself going nowhere. WZAX Jammin 99.3 FM will be broadcasting the 3-A State Championship Saturday night from Chapel Hill. This week, after the Gryphon victory last Saturday in the East regional, at least 11 sponsors have stepped forward which will allow us (Wes Bradshaw and myself) to bring you the game from the Dean Dome.

This will be my second basketball broadcast of a state championship game from Blue Heaven. I was there in 2005 when SouthWest Edgecombe girls won the 2-A title. I have done a couple of football state title games and in baseball, a couple of state title Babe Ruth games and I have been privileged to do two Babe Ruth World Series title games in which Nash County has been involved. I don't care how many Super Bowls you do, every one of them is special and for me and Wes, doing these games are big moments in our broadcast careers.

WHIG-TV has met every requirement that TimeWarnerCable has required of them except one. They want the tape to record the Rocky Mount game in their hands at 10.a.m Saturday. Part of the problem is there will be four games for them Saturday and once they start their live feed to their Time Warner customers across the state, they don't want me banging on the the door of their truck with a tape for them to record on at 7.30 p.m. We are still working on that problem.

Mike Gainey, his coaches and players have agreed to be on the Stretchlon Sports Show Sunday night live at 8 p.m. - win or lose Saturday. Mike also told me today that they have two buses full of Gryphons heading to Chapel Hill. By the way, Rocky Mount will be the visitor in this game and will wear navy blue, so I think they want all Gryphons fans to wear navy blue Saturday night.

Those who attended the Eastern regionals, whether it was a boys game at ECU or a girls game at Rose High, know that Greenville is a really good venue for the regional. It's not too big, but just about the right size for the regional. However, there is a real possibility that Greenville will no longer host the regional.

University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, which has been the title sponsor for the last 10 years, from what I hear is pulling out as sponsor. That's too bad. Probably the best thing to happened to eastern North Carolina in the past 30 years was ECU getting the medical school.

University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina has branches out all over eastern North Carolina and it now owns many of the little hospitals around the East that feed into Pitt Memorial. What a better way to advertise that to sponsor something that connects the entire eastern North Carolina together. Last week, teams from Weldon, Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, Kinston and Pender County were just some of the teams that played in the regional.

If it doesn't stay in Greenville, it may very well go to Fayetteville and then. whenever we play in the regional, we will be making the long trips instead of heading just down the road as it is now. Sometimes you don't miss something until it is gone.