Sunday, July 10, 2011

Time To Squash a Rumor

 Thursday night while in the press box during a Legion game there was a conversation on the validity of the rumor whether the New High School was actually going to be Rocky Mount High or as rumors have it East Nash High School.  Friday I went to a very reliable source within the school system who shall remain nameless  who told me that the rumor was probably started by a Northern Nash or Nash Central person messing with some of their Rocky Mount friends.   The new high school; will be named Rocky Mount High School.

Several years ago I was in the ESPN College Basketball Pool like about three million other people and after the Thursday afternoon games of eight I was 8-0.  I went on the ESPN site and looked at the leader board and my name was listed on the top of the list as 1st place tied with about 300,000 others who were also 8-0. I liked to have had a heart attack seeing my name. How my named appeared I have no idea but the night session and my name was gone quickly.

This past Thursday Cousin Lauren was in the first group to tee off at the Women's U S Open and she parred the first hole.  If you were following the leader board her name was at the top of the list for that first hole. The second she bogied and started her decent towards the bottom of the leader board.  She shot 80 on Thursday and only got two holes in on Friday because of rain at the Open.

It is the hope of every golfer to play at the U S Open on Saturday and she was able to do that but only to finish her second round.  They always have high rough at any Open and Lauren hit only 40% of her 277 yard  drives in the fairway.  As they say playing in the short grass is the name of the game.

  Her Saturday score was 81  to give her a 161.  Last place was 165.  He had one birdie and five doubles bogies on her score card for two days.  Fifty years from now she will be able to say I played in the U S Open Twice.

Raleigh's Josh Hamilton is part of a tragedy that no one ever wants to go through.  Hamilton tossed a foul ball into the stands for a father to give his six year old son a Major League Souvenir and the father fell out of the the second deck trying to catch the ball to his death as his son watched.  Hamilton who has had a heroic recovery from drug addiction to make it to the highest level of baseball needs prayers for himself and the little boys family to get through this episode.

Received a call from good friend Gene  Taylor on the Friday or Fourth Of July weekend.  He wanted to know whether I had seen the UNC TV Thursday night edition of Weekend Now.  They ran a story on The Jimmy Hunter Museum that is now open in Hertford.  He knows how much I cherish my two summers he played Legion ball in Ahoskie.  There are two replays of that show and I was able to watch it that Friday night.

I was thrilled when the first picture of Jimmy that the camera focused on was him in his Ahoskie American Legion Uniform.  I was probably just ten feet from him at the time the photo was taken in 1963.  Can't wait to make a trip to Hertford to go through the Museum in down town Hertford.

Starting Wednesday night the City of Rocky Mount is hosting the Midget 9/10 year old Tar Heel Little League District Tournament.  Hope to be there with a camera to help bring the action to the Stretchlon Sports Show.  The first game will feature one of the Rocky Mount teams and they will be playing the Nash County All Stars from Spring Hope.  The winner of that game gets the other Rocky Mount All Star team in round two on Thursday.