A Night Of Entertainment

If there was ever a thought that just maybe having a jamboree featuring all four teams from Nash County would work or not boy that got answered in a big way YES,YES, YES.  Nash Central hosted what is hoped will be an annual bash featuring Nash Central, Southern Nash, Northern Nash and Rocky Mount along with Southeast Halifax, D H Conley and Bertie.  If you think Nash County doesn't like football think again as even before we talk football fans came out in a big way.  Even though they would have loved a fourth visiting team people got their monies worth tonight as football is just a week away. Northern Nash had the soccer lights on as they held a soccer jamboree a couple of miles from the football.

Down highway 64 Rocky Mount held their annual 42 days late Fourth of July celebration featuring the Tams and I would say about three thousand show up for that.  The fire works show ended the  after work celebration to make up for the heavy rains that fell on July's fireworks.

John Wooten meet Hobbs Johnson. Last week right here on this blog we talked about John Wooten the son of former Rocky Mount Gryphon who was a member of the 1973 State Championship baseball team for Rocky Mount.  His son John is playing for Beloit and Monday night the former ECU baseball player who was drafted after his junior year went face to face with Hobbs Johnson who was making his third appearance since moving up to the Wisconsin Rattlers.

Johnson who seems to be destined to be a middle relief pitcher came in the game and one of the batters that Hobbs Johnson faced was none other than former Eastern Wayne and ECU Pirate.  On this night Wooten who has hit 16 home runs this year and is batting 242 face the former Gryphon and Carolina pitcher and the pitcher wins the battle as Wooten became the 11th strikeout victim in six innings of pitching so far for Hobbs Johnson since he has joined the Rattlers.  Hobb's three appearances since joining the Rattlers six inning, seven hits, 11k's and he has walked only one batter.  That adds up to a 1.50 ERA.  If Hobbs pitches like this next spring he may start out at Double A if not higher.

Long Term Contracts

The word theses days in college athletics is the bigger the better.  1953 the seven orginal schools that formed the ACC jumped from the Southern Conference because the conference was too big.  As time passed by the 1990's  the ACC schools made more money per each team in the conference from radio and TV than any other conference.

Along comes ESPN who wants to dominant everything sports with an array of channels to lure conferences to throw their conference sporting events to ESPN.  The SEC with it's football power  has passed the ACC in money in their pockets and with the ESPN money frenzy every college is looking to make more and more.  Get me a TV contract some way some how.

Our government works of the premise that we have so many people in this country paying taxes and as the year goes by and your tax dollar comes in they can pay for all the promises the government has made on the money they are expecting to come in.  When all the money expected doesn't come in then the short fall is borrowed to pay all the promises.  Now our government pays interest on the money borrowed so all that promised services now cost more when the government has to borrow.

Now what will happen if all this income promised by Nike, ESPN, EA Sports, Fox Sports, your name a network that is outlaying money for the next 20 years for any conference rights, what happens if all these advertisers cut back on spending and now ESPN or who ever can't pay on these promises.  Seems to me that all this long term promise is based on inflation tripling in the future.  All the Networks are running their business like the government on hope not money already in the bank.

How good does a long term contract work.  Ask the New York Yankees whether they got their monies worth from the 210 millions they will spend on A-Rod.  It might have worked the first five years but they would love to see A-Rod put down by MLB.   I see this game called Satellite, Cable TV hitting the point where people are not going to be able to afford the monthly cost to continue service.  When the viewers start going away  watching all these games on cable so goes the promised money and all these 16 teams conferences who wanted more money will wind up with less.  Unlike the government who borrows to pay promises when viewership goes down the hands held out waiting for their cut will find empty hands.

The Glorification Of Sports

Our country is more than 200 years old but sports in America is a relative new sensation.  Lacrosse is one of the first sports played by a group of people in this country.  Baseball has been around about 150 years.  Basketball and football came later.  Why is it then that the creation of this country no where in the Constitution of even in the Declaration of Independence is there a mention of sports? What is it that this country is so sports crazy?

The Olympics started from a military action when a runner ran 26.8 miles to warn of an invasion. The Olympics were started to see who could run the fastest, jump the highest and even throw two crazy spheres.  One was a metal ball that weighted 15 pounds and the other a disc that had no purpose to want to throw it.

  Somewhere along the way America became addicted to sports.  Babe Ruth made $100,000 in one season before the the President of the USA ever did.  When asked why he made 100,000 Ruth bragged that he had a better year than the president.

Our addiction to sports puts normal human beings in a position where they want their team to win and if it means cheat to do it, then do it just don't tell me about it.  I will look the other way as long as you win but if you don't we will get someone who will win. 

When ever our athletes get too big for their britches we make excuses for them.  We have put them on a pedestal just because they can throw a ball, hit a home run or even make a shot and tear down a rim.  Somewhere along the way we as a society have forgotten what life is all about.  What really is important.  As long as we as a country worry about where we rank in world power we will continue to put importance of being the best.

It doesn't matter where it is a rocket, the stock market, if it  didn't make Sports Center high lites you are nowhere man.  We are suppose to be intelligent people.  I wonder if the Martians landed here tomorrow what they would think?

Head Knocking Time

Jason Battle put his second edition of the Rocky Mount Gryphons on display for the first time tonight at Rocky Mount High school as former Gryphon JV coach Chris Lee brought his Louisburg team to Rocky Mount for a scrimmage.  Those familiar with the old B W Holt Double wing offense thought that the old Gryphons were playing the new Gryphons as Lee who use to be the head JV coach when at Rocky Mount took the Holt offense with him to Louisburg.

The results for Gryphon fans was mixed  as the Gryphons introduced a pistol  offense some of the time to go along with the offense from a year ago.  There is plenty to be pleased about and plenty left to work on.  Today during the Media day held at Rocky Mount it was learned that most of the teams that have been invited to the Jamboree Thursday at Nash Central to scrimmage the four Nash County schools have backed out leaving only the four Nash County schools to scrimmage each other.  Don't think there is a coach in the county that likes that idea and unless some replacements can be found in a hurry the Jamboree Thursday is in trouble.  More later this week.

Today the Big East Conference coaches voted Hunt to repeat as conference champions. After an undefeated season and coach Raper departing for Northern Nash the other coaches still feel there are enough weapons left in Wilson to pick Hunt. Southern Nash was picked second and Rocky Mount Third, Nash Central fourth, Fike fifth and Northern Nash last.

You have to think that Randy Raper has plenty of bulletin board material for his Knights being picked last. I don't think in the last ten years at Hunt they have loss four games in a season much and Raper being the coach he is will not allow Northern to Finish last.  Northern had a very good jamboree last week and finishing last is not in their vocabulary this season. All thought that last year right down to the last week the conference was even and that might be even more so this year.

Tonight Wilmington Post 10 has won the American Legion South East Regional and have earned the right to head to the American Legion World Series next  week in Shelby. Post 10 lost one game during the regular season and so far during the playoff they are 16-1.  Randolph County who was the host team for the Regional proved to be a bad host. They were the losing team tonight losing 7-0 but during the Regional they went 4-2 only losing to Wilmington twice.

End Of the Golf Season

Jason Duffner has won the last major of the golf tournament of the season in winning the PGA.  Duffner the stiffed face player you can't tell whether he is on the verge of laughing or crying after every shot.  Over the past three years or so Duffner's name has been at or near the top of almost every tournament that he is in.  He's one of those walk up to the ball and wail away.  Just for that he is easy to like but until he lets loose with a little emotion every now and then he will be a hard player for the masses to follow and like.

I could care less about the rest of the golf season even though the tour championship playoffs will be starting in September.  Next week is really the last tournament of the year and they play in Greensboro.  I could not even tell you right now without looking it up whether this is the Ryder Cup Year or the President's Cup.  I will watch if it the Ryder but who wins the Tour championship or the President's Cup is of little consequence to me.  It's football time.

19 of the last 21 majors have been won by different people and it has been 22 majors since Tiger won.  He proved last week he still has plenty of kick left in his arsenal but the majors take accuracy off the tee, get it on the green and putt.  Last week Tiger was knocking down the the pins and had five foot birdie putts.   This week those ten foot parr putts were not close. Phil has never been an accurate driver and this week he was awful from the tee.  It is hard getting any score when you are trying to one putt for parr.  I would be a perfect example of that being a two putt bogey man that I am.

There are so many good players on the tour that from week to week it is hard to run up front all the time.  If you have ever noticed it seems that the really good players go about six weeks at a time when they are hot and can't miss.  Then they flatten out and somebody else steps up for a period of time.  Tiger over the last 15 years is the only exception to that rule.  He has reached the age where a bad tournament has him teeing off on Sunday's at 11 instead of 2:30.

So now it is time to concentrate on football.  I don't care high school, college or pros I like all football.  I have no idea how I got such a passion for football.  Back during my playing days I spent more time at guard and end than any other position.  End of the bench guarding the water bucket.  I at my mighty 135 pounds of solid  fear hated one on one drills because I was always going up against somebody 30 pounds bigger than me and my face always found the dirt.  I wish I had  the passion then that I have now.

What Took So Long?

A couple of days ago President Obama announced that Dean Smith has won the Presidential Freedom Medal which is the highest award given out by the United States to one of their citizens.  I grew up in a time when Charlie Scott became the first black basketball player at Carolina was National News, not because he was the #1 player on ESPN prospects list but was the first black player recruited at Carolina.

 Dean Smith was still trying to get Carolina basketball moving forward because in the early sixties Vic Bubus and Duke were held in higher regard  than this long nosed coach in Chapel Hill that we are ready to get rid of and now he wants to bring a black player to THE UNIVERSITY as Carolina fans think of themselves.  As it turns out Charlie Scott was the type player that put Dean Smith over the hump into becoming a basketball legend.  Forgotten is the courage it took for Smith still a coach floundering to do such a thing that helped change the world.

I'm in total agreement on Smith getting this Medal.  My question is this.  Smith retired from coaching in 1997.  Since he has been out of the lime light in retirement I don't think he has done much to add to what was done back then.  Why then wasn't he up for this award in 1965, 1975,1985.1997?  If he was worthy of such an award let him have it. 

Along the same lines. Most professional sports puts a five year waiting period on those who can be in the Hall Of Fame? I  have no problem with that rule but why if you don't make it the first time around why are players continually put up for the Hall Of Fame.  If you numbers from what ever your sport was couldn't get you in  after you had been out of the sport five years what made your numbers get better over time?  I would like to see Hall Of Fame's concentrate only on those eligible for the first time. They either make it or they don't.

Monday is the BIG East Kickoff for athletics in the school year 2013-14.  It starts at 9am in the cafeteria at Rocky Mount High school.  All six athletic directors will be speaking during the morning and at 10:15 the football coaches will have media day with sorts like me.  They will vote on who they think is the preseason pick in football and this year I'm picking Southern Nash.

The NCAA And It's Role

The United States Government and the NCAA are two sets of administrations that have superseded what their intentions were.  The US Government was for the most part is suppose to protect it's citizens while the NCAA was built to administer Championships of college athletics.  Both have out grown their usefulness because they do so many other things over what they are suppose to be doing no one has control of their direction.

You can say all you want about the Civil War but it was about States Rights first and foremost.  The NCAA is under attack from the 80 or so major football universities in this land over for the most part the NCAA not being able to control itself.  They have lied and cheated when handing out punishment to institutions because in order to catch any cheaters they have no power to get to the answers.  It has taken three years in the Miami case and they are no closer today to resolving the Miami case than they were the first day.

The first and foremost actions of the NCAA is to administer I think it is 89 championships.  Who is going to be the TV network to televise any one of them should keep the NCAA busy for the rest of their lives  Who is eligible to me is a States right case or in other words the conference which is a member of the NCAA should declare what their standards are and each institution in that conference live by that standard and you know this as well as I do if  Carolina is cheating the folks in Raleigh will Howl.  If Alabama is cheating Auburn will know about it.  This they are cheating so we have to too has to stop.

Power is a dreadful thing when in the hands of people who can't handle it whether it is the Federal Government or the NCAA.  I think  a hatchet job in Indianapolis and whittle the NCAA down to championships only is where the NCAA is needed to head.  Get out of the compliance business, get out of the selling jersey business.  If the colleges don't do something to cut the power of the NCAA down to size there just might be a Civil War and the top 80 Succeed from the NCAA and with it all the flow of all the big time money.  If that happens the NCAA will be no more than the NAIA.

They say that history repeats itself.  Does anybody remember why the ACC was formed in the first place?  All seven members that broke away from the Southern Conference thought that having 23 members in one conference was way too big so they formed the ACC.  Today it has grown back and heading to 16.  So this word called progress when put in hands of people get greedy.  The Federal Government, the NCAA or your local church progress means more money coming in.  Not many people know how to handle progress.