FINALLY Three Tied At Top

Southern Nash was able to finish off what they could not do Friday night as the weather delayed second half of the opening Big East  football for the Firebirds  and Golden Demons is over.  Southern Nash tied 21 all at the half scored twice  and jump to a 35-21 lead and made it stand up as the as Southern Nash Joins Hunt and Rocky Mount at 1-0 in Big East play.  Southern Nash gave up a score to Fike with under eight minutes to play  but 35 was enough as the Firbirds win 35-28.

We all as fans make our opinions and assumptions on who we think will be good or bad in any season.  Nobody thought that Rocky Mount would still be unbeaten and facing Hunt would be as big as this game Friday night has become.   Almost after every game fans every where keep saying well we will have an idea about Rocky Mount after this Friday night and for sure we will say it again this week.  We will have a good idea about Rocky Mount after this week..

 They needed more seats tonight at Northern Nash as Rocky Mount and Northern squared off in Big East soccer.  A standing room only crowd saw Northern score in the first half and Rocky Mount score in the second and neither scored in overtime.  Northern 1 Rocky Mount 1

The final week of the volleyball season finds Northern Nash and Rocky Mount both 5-3 in the conference and neither has been eliminated as of yet from finishing in a tie  for first place.  Rocky Mount has Southern Nash and Northern on the docket this week.  Northern has a real task ahead. They play Fike the one time loser and then Rocky Mount.  Should Northern Knock off Fike then the winner of RM/NN could get a share of first if Hunt beats Fike Thursday.

Rocky Mount lead in the Wells Fargo Cup race from the fall right on through the entire school year last season.  Looks as if the fall is any indication this is going to be a tight race with several teams changing places.  Fike seems to have the early lead with Soccer and Volleyball.  Northern Boys look to be the best in Cross Country.  Rocky Mount and Fike the top two in girls CC.  Tennis has Nash Central and the Price sisters on top with Rocky Mount second.  Football is wide open but  Hunt seems to have the edge at this point.    Who ever comes out the leader after the fall will be the team that finished well in the other sports that they didn't win.

Heard Sunday in church that A B Whitley was on the prayer list.  Called A B Tonight to find out whats going on with the defensive coordinator of the Tarboro Vikings.  A B has had surgery on an old high school football injury that has crept up as he seems to keep getting older.  He has missed the last two weeks which are the first two conference games for Tarboro.

I made mention last week that Tarboro in order to go deep in this years playoffs needed to improve their defense.  Whitley coaching by phone with head coach Jeff Craddock the Viking first team held Greene Central scoreless last Friday.  I asked A B how long he would be out of action and his foot recovery is another two to three weeks but last Thursday while trying to hobble around the house he hurt his back and now he has two ailments to get fixed.  A B hopes to be back by the SouthWest Edgecombe game.

Hard To Beat TV

I know the NFL was on the other channel but I could hardly take my eyes off the golf today.  The final day of the Ryder Cup and the U S of A could have gotten the Cup back from the Europeans but some of the best Europeans players played  some of their best golf ever when they needed to, to hold on to the cup.

Disappointing to say the least but how can you not love the drama.  There is no doubt in my mind the Masters is the best golf TV event in the world.  Sure both of the Opens are super events but when the Ryder Cup is on every other year it shoots right past both the US Open and the British as they call it The Open.

Every thing we do in life we should try the best we can but there are those times when you tried but the other guy was better.  If you are taking notice anyway the top golfers in the world are not all American any more.  If you are a newcomer to the Ryder Cup that has taken on more meaning ever since  they decided to change the Ryder format from the U S versus Great Britain to U S Versus Europe.  Whole new ball game since then.


Cousin Lauren Doughtie needed to win the final event on the Futures tour schedule today and then wait to see where the top ten fell in the money earnings.  For only the third tournament this year she had three rounds par or better but which was a score of three under par for the weekend and it was only good for a tie for thirty.  When they add up the final money listing for the year she will be about 17th which will not earn her LPGA card this year. 

Lauren has just finished her third full year on tour and is heading in the right direction as she has been 49th, 29th and somewhere around 17th  this year.  So far in her Futures Career she has one career win and a second.

Todd Gurley is tearing it up for the U Of Georgia Bulldogs as he scored three times in UGA win over Tennessee last night.  I know  a lot of Tarboro folks were upset when Channel Five started showing the Tornado tracking over Moore and Hoke Counties right in the middle of the game.

Another former Viking is quietly doing well at his next level.  Today Shaun Draughn was the #2 back for the Kansas City Chiefs and after the game was out of hand got into action in the fourth quarter and Draughn had one of the six turnovers the Chiefs had losing to the Chargers.

Giant Leap For Gryphon Man Kind

Sort of  this is a play on words of the first man who set foot on the moon  Neil Armstrong who  died less than a month ago.  The Gryphons of Rocky Mount ended a seven game conference losing streak as they open the 2012 Big East conference race with a heart stopping, thunder rattling 13-6 victory over Nash Central.  Most who had paid to see it were not there in the end as rain and thunder sent folks scurrying to their cars while Nash Central tried desperately to score a touchdown the last few seconds.

For the first time this year Rocky Mount was not the best team on the field in the fourth quarter but they were far superior in the first jumping to a 13-0 first quarter lead and half time score.  This win stops a seven game conference losing  streak  that goes all the way back to the Fike game in 2010 in which they won 14-7.  Rocky Mount still has one other streak going  as they have not score 20 in a conference game since the miracle pass in the Southern Nash  game in 2009 when they beat the Firebirds 24-19.

  Gryphons sure can take a  deep breath as they got a big win but you know as a coach, Jason Battle  has to be worried that the same old problem that live in the losing streak existed last night.  Couldn't score in the second half and Hunt is waiting next week.

I told you Hunt needed to score 40 to win and they did 40-0 over Northern Nash.  The Knights defense has given up points all year and 40 last night was not really a surprise, but where was the offense that has been able to score on every body?

That Thunder that rattled at the end of the RM/NC game was already rattling at Southern Nash at the half and they will play the second half at 6pm Monday night.  Once again Southern was generous with the ball allowing Fike to get  recover a few fumbles and kept Fike in the game at 21 each.

Tarboro had little trouble with Green Central 47-16.  Unlike the past few years at Tarboro I don't believe A B Whitley's defensive magic is working for this years Viking team. Still five weeks until the playoffs start to get better.

As expected Northampton had their way with North Edgecombe 50-14.  This team at Northampton is what use to be both West and East Northampton put together now.

SouthWest Edgecombe continues to lead the Eastern Plains as they rolled Beddingfield 32-13.  Tarboro has Kinston next week and people in Edgecombe County will then have a comparison game as both Tarboro and SWE will have both played Kinston.

Expected Word of God stopped Rocky Mount Academy's two game win streak as WOG won 54-0.  I wonder when was the last time that a B W Holt team got shutout?

If this was was The Ryder Cup then I scored five points as I was five for five in predictions in games that were finished.  I got a halve in the Southern/Fike game and we will have to wait for that result until Monday night.

Football Time

Big East gets the conference football schedule started tonight and there are some very intriguing games.

Rocky Mount at Nash Central:  Record wise Rocky Mount is the surprise team of the year for the improvement being 5-0 while Nash Central is the surprise team that record has gone down instead of up at 2-3.  They both have played one common foe in Hertford County both were at home and Rocky Mount won a close game while Nash Central lost a close one.

I suspect this is a close game and Rocky Mount has been as good as any team in the fourth quarter this year. I think the Gryphons win this game late 26-20

I am going to tell you right now that Hunt had better be in the frame of mind that in order to beat Northern Nash they had better be ready to score forty in order to win. If they show up thinking this one is in the bag it will be win for Northern.  I think despite Northern 2-3 and Hunt 5-0 this will be a good game.  I do how ever think that Hunt will find a way to win this one.  Hunt 41 Northern Nash 28

Southern Nash is 4-1 and Fike is 1-4.  I think we all know that when Southern holds on to the ball they can beat anybody and when they don't they can lose to anybody.  When this night ends Southern will have their first conference game whipping Fike 44- 34.

North Edgecombe travels to Northanpton.  N E Is 2-3 and Northampton 5-1. They have play a couple of teams  which comparing the scores  it would tend to favor Northampton. North Edgecombe loses 32-21

Tarboro travels to Greene Central  and this will only be the second road game of the year for the Vikes.   They should continue on that collision course with SouthWest Edgecombe beating GC.  The Vikings have scored at least 34 points in every game and I see no reason they can't again.  Tarboro 35 Greene Central 21.

SouthWest Edgecombe at Beddingfield.  SWE 3-3 and 2-0 while Beddingfield is 4-2 and 2-0.  Those two losses for Beddingfield were rather big losses while those same two games SWE played both Hunt and Southern Nash tough.  SWE goes to Beddingfield and wins 38-33.

Red Sox Trivia Question Dies

About three times a week I search the internet by going to my home town newspaper in Ahoskie and the first thing I look at are the obituaries.  This week I was disappointed to see the death of Tommy Umphlett.  Tommy was a 1950 graduate of Ahoskie High and he was recruited by every school in North Carolina to play football but he chose instead to sign with the Boston Red Sox. 

Dom Dimaggio the brother of Joe was the starting center fielder for the Red Sox for 11 years.  The spring of 1953 a 21 year old rookie by the name of Tommy Umphlett beat out Dom and started in center field for the Sox.  His rookie year he hit 316.  Bobby Richardson who was one of the great Yankee players of the 50's and 60's in his book wrote that Tommy Umphlett was the best defensive outfielder he ever saw. Umphlett's playing career lasted less than 500 games played.  He coached in the minors for several clubs up until 1970 when he came home to Ahoskie where I played high school baseball with his son Mike.  I had many conversations with Tommy over the years talking about pro ball.  The answer to the trivia question who replaced  Dom Dimaggio in center field for the Sox  in 1953 is a kid from North Carolina Tommy Umphlett.

Tonight in Volleyball Rocky Mount came from behind to beat Fike in five sets 3-2 while Northern beat Nash Central 3-0.

Last night at the weekly cross country conference run in Red Oak Northern Nash won the team event with Rocky Mount second..  Rocky Mount's Mason Holt was the top runner with a winning time of 16:51.  This is the first time in a couple of years any Big East runner has broken the 17 minute mark. Nash Central's George Corbin finishing second followed by Stephen Whitehead of Northern Nash.

Rocky Mount girls won  with Fike second.  Nash Central's Michaela Williams was the winner with Lady Gryphon Nef Thig-pen Conyer 2nd.

Tonight on the mic for the jv football game which was a shootout as Rocky Mount beat Nash Central 48-30.

State Playoff Push Begins

If you know any football player who plays for any high school in the area that plays in the Big East you may have noticed a change in that player this week.  Positioning for the state high school playoffs for the Big East Starts Friday night.

High school OT .com has come out with their own computer rankings and Hunt from the Big East is the only team to make top ten.  Rocky Mount, Nash Central and Southern Nash all failed to make the 3-A top 30.   Everyone who has a ranking has a formula they go by and Rocky Mount out ranking both Nash Central  and Southern is somewhat of a surprise to me.  I would assume any ranking goes by who you have played and the Gryphons first five are just as tough as any and when you win them that even makes you higher.

Northern Nash beat Nash Central in Volleyball Tuesday while Hunt knocked off the Gryphons.  Right now everyone in the league is chasing Fike.  Next week is the end of the regular season and then there is the conference tournament.

There is a gigantic football game in the ACC this weekend and it is not the one you think.  Duke plays Wake Forest and the Deacs have beaten the Devils every time they have played this Century.  The Devils have their best chance to win this game in a long time.  The Devils still think they can get to a Bowl Game and if they do they have to win this game.

Fans are still tore out of their socket over the bad call made on Monday Night Football when Seattle beat Green Bay on the last play of the game.  So what happens today but the rumors are stirring that the NFL and the Regular Refs as close to an agreement to get them back on the field.

Most fans will say "yeah after Monday night the NFL Owners have come to their senses and are going to give the Refs what they want".  I doubt that is totally true.  Here is what I think is happening.  Most NFL officials are men who have really great jobs in life but their part time job pays them $150,000 a year on weekends.  The NFL regular season is now three weeks old and including the four preseason games that part time job that pays $150 thousand those refs have lost almost $50,000 of it.

Whether it is the NFL owners or the Refs they all should be embarrassed at what is occurring.  If I was an NFL official after seeing the no call on the pass interference n the in zone I would be chomping to get back to work because the fill ins are embarrassing me at what I do part time.

Roy, The Irish And The Refs

Roy Williams got the goods today that the biopsy taken on his kidney last week was not cancerous.  Praise the Lord for that good news.  I don't care who you pull for  but the way you feel about people has to stop when the game is over and worry about someones life.  I don't care who you pull for while the game is on everyone on the other side are bums.  After the game when reality sets in life doesn't rotate around a ball game but the way we treat people every day.

Roy Williams has been a great coach at Carolina and every where else he has ever been.  He has been good for the ACC and in that way alone he has been good for every team that Carolina plays.  He has not been good because he wins National Championships but the way he represents the University, The ACC any anyone who calls themselves of fan of any ACC school.  Next week they will check out his other kidney to make sure he is clear there too.

Notre Dame sent a letter of intentions to the University of Michigan that they will discontinue their football series in three years.  This is a result that ND has to make room for five ACC football games  in the future as part of the arrangement to join the ACC.  They will still need to trim back with some others.  They have traditional games with Southern Cal, Stanford, Navy, Michigan St and Purdue. Somebody else needs to be trimmed and who is it going to be.

I don't know whether you have ever heard the story about why ND plays Navy every year and for the most part pound them every single time.  The story goes that when the war started in the 1940's Notre Dame had lost so many students that they were on the verge of closing their doors when the U S Navy picked Notre Dame and other schools including Carolina to have Naval Officer Training on campus.  Notre Dame was able to stay afloat as a University because of that and out of gratitude to the Navy have played the Naval Academy ever since.  It will disappoint me greatly if they drop the Navy.

Looks like the refs in last night's NFL game really blew one last night or did they?  You know the NFL has this stupid rule that you must possess the ball all the way to the ground and the Green Bay defender clearly had the ball five feet from the ground.  The Seattle receiver after knocking a defender out of the way got his share of the ball on the way  to the ground and by rule the receiver wins ties.

I have heard one ref signaled TD while the other incomplete.  I saw a TD by one official and the other signalling to stop the clock.  What I have not heard one person say is this.  Is the replay official a part timer or is it the regular replay man from the NFL in the replay booth.  If the officials were dead wrong the replay man could of changed the call but he didn't. 

Don't give me this refs are killing the game.  Remember when San Diego lost a game when the ref ruled an incomplete pass when it was a fumble but since he had rule incomplete pass it could not be changed.  Last night after the game ESPN's Sports Center had the highest ratings in 17 years of Sports Centers.  So what do you think ESPN has done all day but show that replay 7,984 times because you are watching.  Stupid calls are great for the game because ratings go through the roof.