Let's Catch Up

Big weekend of sports while I was away let's see if we can catch up.

The Big East will send a conference team to the state finals for the second time this year as Hunt beat Chapel Hill in game three of the Eastern Baseball finals. They will play East Rowan this week for the state championship. They join Rocky Mount's basketball team as the other state finalist.

Pitt Community College lasted but two games in the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction Colorado. The college baseball season ended for Jim Leggett, Zack Woodley and Mike Williams Nash County players with the two losses.

Lenoir Community College lost in the JUCO World Series Div II in Enid Oklahoma. Local players Zach and Patrick Barnes along with Babe Brown finished up their seasons.

Brian Goodwin is now the only local player still playing college baseball this spring as North Carolina will be playing in the NCAA baseball playoffs. They are headed to the Oklahoma Regional. They will be joined by N C State who makes it and will be in the Coastal Carolina Regional. Sitting out a week did not hurt the Tar Heels as they made the tournament field and Boston College who lost two of three at the ACC tournament did not get in.

I don't care how far the ACC expands but any time they have a tournament they have to play it in North Carolina. Basketball just isn't a basketball tournament for the ACC unless it is played here. The football championship game has tried Atlanta and Florida but can't get anybody to go. I bet they have a record crowd next year in Charlotte. Speaking of record crowds the baseball tournament had it's biggest tournament ever. Even when they weren't playing their was a nice turnout for every game but when the only North Carolina team played and that would be N C State, the place was nearly full for everyone of their games including Sunday's first sellout in ACC history.

I did not see any sports to speak of at all this weekend. I did however see from 11.00pm until 1.30am Saturday night/Sunday morning's Wolfpack ACC tournament baseball game. If you didn't hang around until the end like I did there was a play in the championship game just like it in both games.

Saturday night a Wolfpack Runner was trying to score and a throw coming into the Virginia Tech catcher was up the third baseline and the catcher interfered with the Wolfpack runner without the ball. The Wolfpack runner was called out after he was tagged by the Gobbler catcher.

Sunday almost exactly the same thing happened and the Wolfpack catcher was called for interference. By the way the Wolfpack catcher is ok after getting out of the hospital with a concussion. Same play but two different calls.. I do think the Florida State runner should have been tossed from the game and the run was legal up to the tackle at home plate.

Hank Jones has a twenty three man American Legion squad right now and is letting everyone get their chance to make the team. It is almost like spring training. He will cut the squad later this week as conference play start next week. Legion's first home game is scheduled for Saturday.

We will catch up more Tuesday.

Tar River Time

The Tar River Children's Chorus is leaving at 7.00am Friday morning to travel to Charleston South Carolina to preform this weekend in the Piccolo Spoleto Music Festival. Tar River is much like following you kids when they play ball and this weekend is the big tournament for Tar River.

I started doing this blog on August First of 2008 and during that time I have missed very few days of putting something on here. This trip however will sideline me until Monday night when we return.

I hope that a TV and a computer are unknown in South Carolina and for three days I lose contact with the outside world.

That first month when we started writing here I was about the only person that knew anything about this blog but I want to thank each of you that have given me a few seconds of your day to read what I post here. There is a core group of you that are with me everyday.

My household I am lucky because my wife goes to bed with the chickens and Morgan is sideline at 10.00pm on school days to get off the computer. So the computer is mine after ten each night and by that time most games are over that you might want to know about.

You know it is funny the way technology has changed the world. Use to be that the phone was the hot item in a house, now everyone wants the computer you can have the telephone. Still Morgan talks on the cell phone and at the same time talks with someone else on Facebook. What a world we live in.

Have a great Holiday weekend!

Legion Season Underway

Post 58 American Legion season has started quicker than those at Rocky Mount High school would have like. Gryphon players would still like to be in the state high school playoffs but a quick exit from the tournament has allowed Post 58 to get some games in this week which had originally been left blank hoping one team from the area would still be in the playoffs.

Last Saturday coach Hank Jones and "Baseball"Britt Johnson held tryout" and last night Post 58 traveled to Durham to play a double header to open the season. Post 58 won the opener 7-2 but lost the night cap 3-2 .

Had an e-mail from Don Fish when I got to work this morning telling me he was up late last night having just gotten back from Asheboro where son Ben Fish and Xavier Macklin are members of the Wilmington Coastal Plains team this summer.

Ben went 2-4 while X man was 0-4 in the season opener. If you recall Xavier started last year at the Wilson Tobs but changed mid season back to Post 58 and finished the Legion season. The Coastal Plains League is a wooden bat league in which players who think they one day might play pro ball can start getting use to hitting wood over the ping of the aluminum.

X-man has as much potential as any player from our area to make it in pro baseball but he has had a hard time adjusting to wooden bats over aluminum. Summer college leagues are where these players try to make the transition to wood but it also gives them a chance to play 70 games against other college players at about the same level they are.

I didn't know there was such a thing but there is a division two in Junior college baseball and Lenoir CC has made it to the world series. That will send three more area players to playoffs this weekend at Faith Christian player Zack and Patrick Johnson and Rocky Mount's Gabe Brown will be traveling.

Turn the TV on and Boston College and Miami are in the12th inning in a 10-10 game. Being as frank as I can be here we are the second day of the ACC and there is only one team that has any pitching at all and that is Virginia. Next week when the Regionals begin Virginia may be the only team to win and make it to the super regionals. If any body else makes it to a super regional that tells me nobody else has pitching either.

Pirates Season Fading

ECU Pirates are in desperate need of winning the Conference USA tournament and get the automatic bid to the NCAA baseball tournament. Wednesday the Pirates took a big hit losing to Rice 11-3.

If the Wolfpack only needed one win to get in the NCAA tournament they got it Wednesday night out slugging Clemson 13-8. State's next ACC tournament game is Friday night against GeorgiaTech and if they win that they are in the Sunday finals. They still would have a game Saturday night against Virginia Tech.

Tar Heels liked what they saw today as in the opening game of the ACC Tournament Virginia beat Boston College. I think Carolina gets in the NCAA tournament by BC losing at least two of their three ACC Tournament games.

Who said Boston and LA were going to play in the NBA finals? Orlando won game five with Boston and now the pressure is really on Boston to win game six at home. The Celtics don't want to come back to Orlando again this year.

Lakers return home Thursday night for game five of the Western finals. That series with the Suns is tied 2-2 after the Suns played a zone defense and the Lakers couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

If you have ever been to any sporting event at N C State then you would know that one of their cheers is when one side of the fans yells Wolf while the other side responds with Pack. Tonight Brooks who is working this week in Hatteras and I text back and forth Wolf--- Pack to get fired up for the game. It must have worked for the Pack. I know we sent 50 text back and forth while the game was going on.

Hunt High begins the Eastern 3-A final series Thursday night against Chapel Hill. What a year for the Big East. Southern Nash played in the East finals in football, Rocky Mount won the basketball and Hunt is still alive in baseball. The Big East is one of the strongest sports conferences in the state and Rocky Mount won the Conference Wachovia Cup as the best Athletic program in the Big East.

Big East/New-6 Does It Again.

I know we can argue about how accurate this statement is until the gulf oil well freezes over but for the fourth year in a row the Big East will have a baseball team playing in the Eastern finals in the State 3-A playoffs.

I know the Big East is in it's first year but lets be realistic, all the Big East is, is the New-6 renamed with one new team. That one new team has made it to the Eastern finals as they beat Eastern Wayne Tuesday night 7-3 to advance to the two out of three Thursday where they will play Chapel Hill who beat Western Alamance 4-1.

Nice Turnout last Saturday for the Nash County legion team. I hear 28 were there including some from Tarboro who are eligible to play for Nash County since Tarboro will not field a team this year.

Members of the media are upset that the NFL awarded New York the Super Bowl in 2014. Seems New York is too cold for those who would rather be in 80 degree Florida in February. Just goes to show you the media are not really working people are they?

Let Me see if I can figure this ACC tournament out. The ACC coaches changed the format because they were running out of pitching by the championship game when it was a double elimination tournament. Now all teams play three games and the two with the best record in their bracket plays a fourth game for the championship. Name one team that has enough pitching to hold another to less than ten runs by the fourth game.

If I understand this right, If State beats Clemson Wednesday night then Georgia Tech Beats Clemson and State beats Georgia Tech then State get to the championship even before they play their third game Saturday against Virginia Tech.

If State loses to Clemson Wednesday and Clemson beat Georgia Tech Thursday, State is eliminated even before they play their Friday game. Can someone explain to me how this system is better?

Sure seems to me if all twelve teams play a single elimination tournament at least everyone is still alive while they win. Think about this, Start the tournament on a Monday and play three days of double headers. Thursday all six winner from the first three days play a triple header. By Friday there are three teams left. The three remaining teams have a drawing for a bye. The other two teams play Friday night with the winner playing the team that got the bye on Saturday for the championship.

Only one team played four games and two played three. everybody else went home as they lost. it sure would make it more interesting than this mess they have now.

This and That

We have had a lot going on in the past few weeks and sometimes I want to comment on an item but due to space run out of time.

Ralph Sampson’s Son Robert has signed to play basketball at ECU. My take on this is I bet Terry Holland having coach Ralph at Virginia was a big reason this happened. 6’8” tall I don’t think Robert had that many offers.

The Associated Press did a revote on defensive player of the year. Brian Cushing had won the award but during the season had been hit with a four game suspension which he appealed. The appeals process ended when the NFL announced a couple of months ago that he will sit four games next year over what happen last year.

The Associated Press revote Cushing still won. My question is, if they voted to take the award away because he cheated why was any one allowed to vote for him the second time? It just goes to show that we all don’t care how you got good, just be good and we will forgive anything. If you are just a Joe Smo we will throw you under the bus.

Who is the Associated Press any how? When I first got into the business in the early 70’s everyone had an Associated Press machine where you read the news from. Everyone who voted for the award was from ESPN, CBS, NBC, and FOX. Does any body know an Associated Press person these days? I thought they went out of business.

I was told a long time ago that we all need a kick in the butt every now and then to keep us on the right path. The Florida Marlins shortstop Hadley Ramirez got a kick after not hustling after a loose ball in which he had booted. Ramirez mouth got him into deeper trouble but a couple of old Hall Of Famers had personal talks with Ramirez. Tony Perez and Andre Dawson. They both told him because of his ability he had to do more in showing examples to others.

I watched the Carolina softball team in the regional in Washington State over the weekend. I wish they would do something to give the batters an even chance. Pitchers especially really good ones dominate the game too much. Give me a 6-4-3 double play every so often. Carolina won one game while their pitcher was pitching a no hitter but Carolina had not scored either.

What girls softball needs is a good 8-7 game on a regular basis.

I heard the other day from an unofficial source that Rose High School athletic gas bill now that they play in the 4-A league with the Wilmington schools had gone up 50% from $14,000 a year in 2009 to $21,000 this school year. This increase is due to more miles driven to get to conference games over the price of gas going up.

Sly old Ron Vincent beat New Hanover in round three in Wilmington and now returns to Wilmington in round four. Both Hunt and Rose are still alive in their respective playoffs. Rocky Mount was 4-0 against both these teams this year but the equipment is packed up and put a way and they are still playing.

Leggett,Woodley And Williams Headed To World Series

If you have a child that you think is special in a sport these days whether it soccer, baseball or softball you start them at an early age traveling all over the state playing ball on weekends. Jim Leggett, Zack Woodley and Mike Williams have done that in their lives. Playing for Pitt Community College that have traveled a far this spring.

Most of the time on weekend excursions you can see family right there watching Mama,daddy, bothers, sister grand ma and grand pa in some cases all there watching hoping that this game will be special in their child's lives and it will be special in theirs too.

Boy have a got a weekend excursion for the Leggett's, Woodley's and William's family this weekend. Pitt community College swept a pair of games from Potomac State of West Virginia on Friday and Saturday and by winning those two games are headed to the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction Colorado.

Pitt begins play Saturday afternoon at 4.00pm in their first game in this double elimination tournament . The tournament runs from May 29- June 5.

Jim Leggett was a member of the Rocky Mount Gryphons state Championship team in 2008 and has not tossed many inning since his senior year after having shoulder surgery right after graduation.

Zach Woodley was a member of the 2007 Northern Nash Knights that made it to the eastern finals and was one of the main stay reasons Northern made it to the Eastern finals with his pitching along with Tyler Joyner. His freshman year at Pitt Zack had arm trouble and has also pitch limited innings.

Mike Williams was the third baseman in the 07 and 09 Knights in helping them reach the eastern finals with his bat. Williams was also the third baseman for Nash County's Babe Ruth Team that played for the world title in 2005 in Quincy Massachusetts. Since moving to Pitt Williams has been converted to a pitcher.

All three of our Nash County players just possibly could be the last three playing college baseball this spring pending whether Brian Goodwin and Carolina make the NCAA tournament or not. Nash county had 21 baseball players playing college baseball some where this spring and we will give you the final stats later this week on all of them.