Who's Your ACC Coach Of The Year

Today the ACC will announce the coach of the year. First glance there is only one choice and that would be Roy Williams. The Tar Heels went from a 500 team last year to ACC regular season champs almost over night.

Let‘s think about this for a minute and I have to ask a question. What did Roy do to deserve coach of the year? He took almost two thirds of the season before Roy inserted freshman Kendall Marshall into the lineup as the starting guard. The best thing to happen to Carolina all year was when Larry Drew quit the team. Who was responsible for that? Larry Drew’s mother not Roy Williams was the decision maker there. The best thing that happened all year to Carolina Roy Williams had no control of what so ever. Talk about dumb luck but I don’t begrudge the Tar Heels. Every team has luck along the way in order to be successful.

Three or four years ago Dick Vitale under went throat Cancer surgery and he has cut back his weekly games. The last couple of times I listen to any game he was covering I have come to the conclusion it is time for Vitale to retire.

During the early days of college basketball on ESPN Vitale was college basketball’s version of Chris Berman “Boomer” who use to give everyone a nickname on Sports Center. ESPN is grown up now and they no longer need a Vitale who never gives you X’s and O’s while doing color only glorified banter.

I know most folks in Raleigh hate him but as far as color the “G” Man Mike Giminski is the best color man there is anywhere. I think the job of the color man is to analyze the game and “The G man” is the best. I also liked Billy Packer and I don’t know many others who did. Now that the NCAA Tournament is around the corner I hope our teams get Gus Johnson for play by play. I think his enthusiasm is good for the game.

The Michigan High school team that had a player die last week after having a heart attack during the team celebrating of an undefeated season started their playoffs last night and won. The parents of the dead player were in the stands cheering.

There is always a question about when to honor someone. Should we play or mourn? I think part of the process of recovery from death is to get on with life. There is no way to fill the void left in your heart whenever a loved one passes. We must all move forward with life and that void gets smaller through time but will never completely go away.

The first week of the spring high school sports calendar is over and today Gryphon baseball travels to Southern Wayne. The Gryphons won two of three games last week, but I don’t know when the last time Rocky Mount was so young. Kent Cox used two freshman and a sophomore on the mound last week. Back in the golden Age of Major League Baseball the Milwaukee Braves use to have Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. The Braves motto was Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.

This years Gryphons in order to compliment Benton Moss have to get some young arms to step forward quickly or this could be a long year. This will put pressure on the Gryphon offense to make sure they score enough runs not only to win every time Benton pitches but they can out score other teams when the young arms are throwing.

Girls softball is home today. JV girls start at 4.30 and the varsity quickly after that. The Lady Gryphons are trying to snap a losing streak that started at the end of the 09 season and continues after the first two games this year.