Giving Thanks-Turkey And Football

I am going to look at my picks for Friday night today instead of on Thursday because of the holiday. Last week I was a dismal 1-2 picking Roanoke Rapids and North Edgecombe and this week we are back with a Big East game which has been topsy-turvy all season.

Tarboro @ East Duplin: This may be bad luck for the Vikings but after last week they convinced me to stick with them through the next two weeks. After having picked against them last week Tarboro fans may want me to pick against them again to bring them luck. My biggest concern about this game is it is a road game.

The only game we can even think about comparing is that East Duplin did play Rocky Mount the third game of the season and if the Gryphons had any offense at all they could have won that game but lost 14-0. The Gryphon defense held their own but if I recall East Duplin started every drive in the game on the Rocky Mount side of the field. If I can make a judgement just on that alone I don’t think East Duplin can out score Tarboro.

Vikings 21- East Duplin 7

Now here we go with this weeks Big East game of the week which seems to occur rather often during the playoffs. Hunt won the earlier meeting at Hunt 28-10. That was the first conference game for both. If you look at the Knights offense then and now they have made enough strides to be able to win this game. Somewhere along the way the Knights will need a pass play to pull them out of a hot frying pan. In this case the same might be said of Hunt.

If this was to be an offensive game I think that Northern’s defense will hold down Hunt better this time over their last meeting due to the fact that Northern’s offense is helping the defense by occupying the clock now over when these two played eight weeks ago.

Northern 27- Hunt 21

The Big East will send a team to the eastern final again as the conference is 3-1 against outside competition and 1-1 against each other and after Friday night two Big East teams will have been knocked out of the playoffs by other Big East teams.

Jammin 99 will carry the Tarboro-East Duplin game. Since that is the longest trip for our two local teams that is probably a good game to carry on the radio.

Andrew Morales, Matt Williams and Drew Gorham were named to the all region soccer team. They were the heart and soul of Gryphon soccer team that won the most games in a season 22. Drew Gorham was also voted the Defensive player of the year in the Big East and Coach Drew Nic was voted coach of the year.

Six Gryphons were named all conference team. Joining Morales, Williams and Gorham were Paul Lilley, Mark Gray and Robert Chambliss.

Raleigh Native Josh Hamilton was voted the MVP of the American League yesterday. I don’t know whether there is any MOJO here or not but Philip Rivers who spent four years in Raleigh playing for N C State has a shot at being MVP of the NFL.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski won his 800th game at Duke last night as Duke won the championship of the O’Reilly Auto Parts classic beating #4 Kansas State 82-68. Carolina won over Asheville but not impressively 80-69

We are celebrating Thanksgiving. It is a time to be thankful. We have so much in this world now-a-days to be thankful for that we forget that this cell phone, cable TV, and computers world we live in didn’t just happen and here it is. Soldiers fought for the privilege for us to live this way. Farmers grow the crops that we go to the grocery store to buy. We all have to remember Harris Teeter just doesn’t have all this food in the back room to go get when we want it.

We must be thankful to our creator who has blessed us with all that we have and yes he keeps providing to us even when we let him down.

Have a wonderful holiday whether you get one day off or get a four day holiday but let’s remember to be thankful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING