Love It Or Just Plain Crazy

Remember the last weekend in May I told you of my trip to the USA Baseball complex in Cary where I watched our three men from Rocky Mount a player Thomas Berry and two coaches Britt Johnson and Jim Leggett who were part of the Lander University Baseball team.  A 13 inning game in the game before the Lander 8pm game was delayed until 10:05 pm.  The last pitch finished at 1:14 and I arrived home at 2:45 just in time to take a nap and be at church by 8am.

N C State hosting the Raleigh Regional D I baseball playoffs this past weekend and what has turned out to be into the mid week.  I am all lined up to go with son Brooks Friday night to Raleigh and watch the Wolfpack in their opening game until I get this e-mail from Joe Bell stating that Post 58 Legion had picked up a  game with Ahoskie at home Friday.  I disappointedly stay to do PA for Legion but kept my eye  on game tracker following the Wolfpack.

An exciting Legion game made it worth staying to see and a three hour rain delay in Raleigh was only in the fifth inning when I got into the house Friday night.  11:50 the Navy /NC State game resumed and I was able to catch the last four innings on ESPN3.  The game did not get over until 1:38am  and as I cut off my I-Pad the word was Navy would have to play their losers bracket game at 1pm.

I arrived at the ball park at 1:15 expecting the Navy/St Marys game to be into the first inning.  Lo and behold the game was pushed back to 2pm to give Navy an extra hour since it was near 3am before they returned to their hotel.  All that did was give me an extra 45 minutes to burn up in the humid  90 degree temperatures.

The losers bracket game has reached the ninth inning about 4:45 and in tournaments when you have a ticket for every game you still have to exit the stadium and when they have cleared out the stadium they will let everyone back in about an hour before the next game which the State-Coastal Carolina winners bracket game is scheduled for 7pm. Brooks and I headed for food and wouldn't you know it sitting in the grill watching the Navy game it goes extra innings and does not end until about 6:20. 

Pack baseball twitter announces first pitch  for the state game is 7:20 and they will start letting people enter the stadium at 6:50.  While in the grill we were watching all the NCAA games going on including the ECU/UVA game.  Once the announcement was made to reenter the stadium at 6:50 we got up and left just as ECU was batting in the bottom of the ninth of their dramatic come from behind victory over Virginia.  Didn't see it.

Now back in the stadium it is always a bad sign while you are standing there and the grounds crew starts putting the tarp back on the field when it is not raining.  A gentleman with a megaphone walks around the complex and announces that severe weather is approaching and everyone please clear the stadium.  I just did make it back to the car when the bottom fell out and lightning that rocked the place.  Finally Twitter says play ball at 9:25 and you can reenter at 8:55.

Coastal Carolina pitched two kids that kept the Pack at bay  but here it comes again.  Coastal is ahead 3-0 top of the ninth with one out and here comes the  tarp out once again and the same guy with his megaphone.  This time some lightning but man does it rain.  Here it is 12:35 and I decide they are not playing any more tonight and head home.  I was just getting on I-440 when Tony Haines announces on the radio they will pick it up at 12:30 Sunday afternoon.

Brooks already had made the decision he wasn't going to the Sunday finish up game or to the loser bracket game so I have two tickets and I am going to tell you between the Saturday afternoon sun beat down and all night baseball I decided on the way home I was taking the day off from baseball to rest.

Luckily our work was off on Monday so we are back at the Doak on Monday to see the Pack beat Coastal in a must win game.  The forecast doesn't look good for Monday night so I give my ticket to Brooks and head home after the first game.  Even before the first pitch Monday night an hour an a half rain delay.  Later a 45 minute delay and finally again at 12:30 in the ninth inning rain sends everyone home and I cut off my I Pad without knowing whether they would finish or not Monday night. Didn't think they would and sure enough they came back Tuesday and finished without me.

Suiter Cuts Off His Mic

It wasn't that long ago we said good-bye to Tom Suiter from the every day 6:22 sports segment on WRAL- TV.   If you take notice no one retires from The Big Five.  All those from the past can be seen during special programs long after you no longer see them daily.

Tom still has been seen every week during the school year with the Extra Effort Award and two of his last segments he was here  in Rocky Mount giving the award to Forest Bell at Rocky Mount and Rebekah Beal at Northern Nash.  There is one thing that Tom Suiter will be remembered for, for the rest of his life and ours too.  Football Friday, for 35 years Tom has lead a team that brought every high school football team to everyone within the the cable signal of WRAL.

During my days doing play by play of Ahoskie High school football it was like the president was coming when word got out that the WRAL helicopter was coming to Ahoskie for a playoff game.  It has been like that for every school that ever had a crew from Football Friday in their house.  It is because of Tom Suiter Rocky Mount born.

Tom is a member of the North Carolina Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall Of Fame. The Nash-Edgecombe Twin County Hall Of Fame.   He has won two Emmys and in 1990 he was voted the North Carolina Sportscaster Of The year.

Tom and I have become E-Mail buddies over the years. All of us are faced at some point in our life with the wish to retire but I know from what little bit I still do in sports it is hard to give up what is your life.  Can you imagine from the time your get out of college  until the day you say it is over that you work in the same place for the same  people and you do such a great job That every person that has anything to do with high school football knows who you are and feel that if Tom Suiter calls your name that you made it on Football Friday.

Thank You Tom Suiter!!!!   Please send me your new E-mail address.