Only Picks Left To Do

Ok the high school and college picks are over and the only games left for this year are pro games.  Last week went 11-5  and there were some super match ups and once again this week seems as if every team is still alive for the playoffs.  I now stand at 121-66.

Dallas at Chicago:  What a match up to start the week off.  Both have been great and then both have had moments of who are these guys?  Cutler and Romo probably the two most abused quarterback in the NFL by the media.  Da Bears in a close one 26-24

Steelers at Cincinnati:  Isn't this the same m o as the Dallas/Chicago game? I want to take Cincy but I don't know.  Bengals 23-17

Indy at Cleveland:  Hoyers in for Cleveland but Indy can score too many for the Browns.  31-23 Colts.

Tampa at Detroit:  Seems Tampa plays everyone close and always lose, they will again.  31-20 Lions roar.

Houston at Jacksonville:  If I had a vote J J Watt would be NFL MVP.  He leads Houston to a win in Jacksonville.

Baltimore at Miami:  Here is one of those games. Both teams need this one.  Probably be hot and the fins wins 33-27

Jets at Vikings:  I think Jets have quit so Vikings win.  23-13.

Carolina at New Orleans:  After this one Panthers officially out of the playoffs.  Bree's beats Cam 35-21

Giants at Tennessee:  I think both coaches in New York get canned.  Titans 31 Eli  23.

St Louis at Washington:  This will be high scoring.  St Louis is team to look out for next year 38-35 Rams.

KC at Arizona:  KC is on verge of being out of playoffs while the Cardinals are on the verge of losing the division lead in NFC west.  Zona wins 23-20

Buffalo at Denver;  Bills are improved but they just can't score enough to win this game. 38-23 mile high.

San Fran at Oakland:  It is time to earn number one draft pick that means Oakland loses. 9'ers 31- 13

Seattle at Philadelphia:  This will be the game to tell you whether Seattle has a shot at going back to Super Bowl.  Philly 36-30

New England at San Diego:  This is the game we will know about how good the Chargers are.  This is a shoot out. Super Chargers 38 Patroits 33.

Green Bay at Atlanta:   Falcons have a shot still in NFC South.  They have a shot of getting blown out in this one but it will be a game for a while 41-30.

Home Opener Two Gryphon Wins

The Gryphon boys basketball took to the home court and for the first time in several years the Gryphons were not the tallest team on the court.  Hertford  County who has a history of athletic players were matched up well in tonight's match up.  What the Gryphon fans saw was a pesky defense that gave HC all they could handle.

Both teams pull down 35 rebounds but the difference was HC had 28 turnovers while the Gryphons limited their miscues to 15 and it lead to a 64-45 Gryphon Victory.  The tallest Gryphons on the roster stand at six three but it was the shorter guys outside who lead the way scoring in seniors Isaiah Alston  21 and Broderick Caudle 13.  Off the bench Arttavious  Richardson pulled down 9 rebounds while Alston grab 5.  Deshon Smithwas the only Bear to reach ten points.

All four of the public high schools in Nash County will be very similar in size which make for some very interesting basketball during the up coming Nash County tournament in two weeks.  Everyone's
Tallest players are around six three.

The Lady Gryphons roster does not show a senior on it but two returning inside playersKeyanna Spivey  and Tarmara Harper both know how to seal off defenders and were wide open most of the game underneath the basket.  The problem is the passers on the outside had a hard time getting to ball to both inside players.

Spivey lead the Lady Gryphons scoring 24 but there no telling how many she could have had.  Harper scored only six but she hauled down 15 rebounds while Spivey completed a double double with 10 boards.  The Gryphons out rebounded the Lady Bears 50-24 despite both teams being about the same size.  Both teams had trouble handling the ball as the Gryphons gave it to the Bears 26 times while the Bears were gracious 24 times.  Final Lady Gryphons 42-32 over the Bears.

Both Gryphon teams go to 2-1 and will host South Central Friday night in the Gryphon Gym.

The only other local score I have is Southern Nash boys beat Bunn 47-44.

Cofield Makes Third Team ALL ACC

Takoby Cofield the 310 pound offense tackle from Duke  the Redshirt senior from Tarboro is a third team all ACC selections.  If the ACC was a eight team conference from the past Cofield just might be first team but now that the ACC goes from Miami to Chicago and Boston third team is not bad.

That just might tell a little about why Tarboro won three straight titles when the have the likes of an all Conference college lineman in Cofield and an All American back in Todd Gurley playing for them.  Might also tell you a little bit about why the last two years they have not advance past the third round and the type players it takes to win state titles.

Went 2-0 in high school picks last week correctly picking both SouthWest and Tarboro to be bounced from the playoffs.  My high school finishing record for the year was 85-23.

Also the regular season is over in college for our local teams and my pick record in college games was 92-33.  I will pick every bowl game once they are announced next Sunday.  Heavy rumors abound that State and ECU may be matchup in the bowl game in Annapolis Maryland  what ever it is called.  If that happens then the winning team could truly say they are the state champions in North Carolina college football.

You know the ACC formed in 1953 when the ACC members said the old Southern conference was too big when they had 23 teams.  Well we are almost back some 60 years later to the conference being too big.  Wouldn't it be something if one day the pendulum swung back the other way and all the North Carolina D1 schools would form a conference, North Carolina, State, Duke, ECU, Wake, App St, W Carolina, Elon and Charlotte.  The way the TV money is driving sports these days Campbell, High Point , UNC W and anyone with a football program can get into the big money by being D1.

Tonight high school basket ball takes charge in the area as Rocky Mount host Hertford County.  All three other public high schools are on the road.  Northern at Southern Wayne, Nash Central at SouthWest Edgecombe and Southern Nash at Bunn.

Tonight Louisville will represent the ACC in the ACC Big East challenge for the first time.  Louisville is lead by Montrelz Harrell from Tarboro who if I was voting would vote him player of the year in the ACC at this point. Harrell is averaging almost 18 per game and almost nine rebounds per game.  Game time is 9:30 on one of the ESPN channels.

Endless Diaster In Chapel Hill

I have held off taking about this but how much more bad publicity can the University of North Carolina have?  Winning back the victory bell over Duke last week the traditional  painting of the victory bell which was now going to be light blue there was the spattering  blue paint on the Duke track which if anyone has ever spray painted knows it doesn't all the time hit it's intended target.  I think everyone from both programs just has to live with that aspect of the traditional painting when ever it occurs on the losers home field.

What is not acceptable is the spray painting of the locker room or any place else that is not part of the painting of the bell.  UNC has said they will pay all cost in what ever has to be done to get Duke's buildings back into their proper condition.  I ask why does the University have to pay it?  Let the vandals pay it and kick them off the team.

This is a case of vandalism and any person involved should be arrested.  UNC sports has come to the point that in order to win they must  provide fake classes for students.  Now they must pay whenever vandals break the law.  I do have to ask this, where were the coaches when all this painting of the locker room was going on?  If we must provide fake classes because they can't cut it in the classroom and now we must pay back their unlawful activity when  they are representing THE University of North Carolina how did any of theses people ever get to UNC?  What jail was all this football recruiting going on in.

It surely seems to me that the athletic program is totally out of control.  I just don't see how students in a locker room after a game were allowed to run wild.  There had to be no supervision or the coaching staff  agreed for them to do it.   Here is the saddest part of all.  Have you heard of any player involved in this suspended even  in the  game with State.  Suspension is too easy kick them out of school.  Any Carolina booster who allows his contributions to the football team or university to pay for this is as guilty of any person who vandalized.  It is time for all people who love Carolina to step forward and say enough is  enough.  It is time for those that love Carolina to take it back from the glory seekers.  Make Carolina an academic Insitution once again instead of the laughing stock of the NCAA.  Let me show you how they are laughing.

Now that State dominated Carolina on Saturday winning 35-7  social media has many digs at the Tar Heels.  Here is the best I have seen..  Carolina coaches asked their players to bring their A game Saturday  in the game against the WolfPack.  The players thought that meant no class on Saturday and didn't show up.

Gryphons Fight Cancer With Split.

The Rocky Mount Gryphon basketball teams played in Asheville Saturday in the North Carolina Coaches versus Cancer event held in Asheville on the campus of the University of North Carolina Asheville.  The girls action took place in the Justice Center which is the old gym at UNCA while the boys action took place in the new Kimmel Arena.

The girls were OnThe court early at 10am and the Lady Gryphons were sluggish at best and Hayesville took advantage to storm out to a big first quarter lead of 18-4.  The Lady Gryphons  fared better the second but still found themselves down by 16 at 32-16.  Better effort in the third trimmed the Hayesville lead to 45-32.  The fourth quarter was a 12-12 draw and the Lady Gryphons go down to defeat for the first time this season. 57-44

Across campus the boys were the second game of the day in the Kimmel Arena taking on East Chapel Hill.   The boys later start paid off as they were not as slugish as the Lady Gryphons and they rushed out for a quick 14-6 lead.  They increased the lead to 11 at the half at 33-22.  The Gryphons increased the lead to 19 at the end of the third at 54-35.  ECH won the fourth by a 21-13 score as the Gryphons win their first game of the year 67-56 over East Chapel Hill.

Amir Pittman lead the Gryphon attack scoring 19 points and also hauled in 12 rebounds. Isaiah Alston  lead the Gryphons  with five three pointers and Kenaz Cooper added two more.  Alston scored 17 points and Cooper  and 14 points.  The Gryphons are back in action Tuesday as they make their first home appearance when they host Hertford County who beat the Gryphon boys on a jump shot at the buzzer last.

Tarboro's loss in the third round of the 1-AA playoffs Friday brings about thoughts about playoff football.  Once the Vikings were finished with their non conference schedule they were 3-3 and all three losses  were to Washington a 2-A team, Roanoke Rapids another 2-A squad and Southern Nash a 3A team.  Tough schedules help players have to play at their best and by the time conference play starts you are tested tough and you see the results as Tarboro breezed in conference play and their first two playoff games.

Here is where over all schedule hurts when you lose to bigger schools.  By the third round Tarboro had to hit the road and play at a team with an overall better record but surely had not played the schedule Tarboro had.   If Friday's game had of been in Tarboro the score probably been reversed.

So it is a double edge sword playing bigger schools and over the years Tarboro has handled many of those games in the past.  When you don't win them it hurts your overall record for the playoffs.  Then there is one other thing too, moving to 1A hasn't been the cakewalk that most of us thought.  Don't care what level you are in there is plenty of cream at the top of every level.

Third Round Horror

There were only two local teams playing football on this Friday night and both teams were representing Edgecombe County and both were on the road.  Over in Elizabeth City the high powered speed of the Northeastern Eagles were taking on the SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars which this was a classic matchup of will speed or power win this one.

It did not take long as the Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to lead 7-0.  The Cougars responded by marching with their opening drive but a missed extra point and the water started pouring over the dam after that.  NE march with their second drive and the Cougars fumbled the kickoff and before you could blink it was 21-6 at the end of the quarter and 34-6 at the half.

It didn't get any better for the Cougars gave up two more scores and Northeastern went for a two point conversion to get the lead to 42 and the clock running.  When you are that far ahead get the game over and hope you have no injuries for the Eastern final.. Northeastern 48- SouthWest Edgecombe 6

Tarboro had a first quarter much like SWE as they found themselves down 15 to nothing in the first quarter against the defending 1-AA state champs James Kenan.  Both teams put scores on the board in the second to give Kenan a 22-6 halftime lead. 

Tarboro's defense stood tall in the second half and the offense scored but once as the defending state champs have beaten Tarboro 22-14.  This knocks every team from our area out of football for this season and it is now on to basketball.

Tonight now that Rocky Mount is out of the playoffs the basketball teams are in Asheville spending the night where Saturday morning they will be taking part in the second annual Coaches versus Cancer  at the University of North Carolina Asheville.  This is of course the North Carolina High school coaches Association high school version  in North Carolina of what the college coaches have been doing for several years.

The Lady Gryphons 1-0 on the season take on Hayesville a 1-A school  who will be playing their first game this season at 10am while the boys 0-1 will play in the second game of the day against East Chapel Hill. ECH is 2-1 having already beaten Hunt 54-49 and Carrboro while losing to Chapel Hill.

Friday night N C State won their 6th game of the season and are 6-0 for the first time since 2004.  They beat Boise State 60-54.  The Pack is second in the ACC so far if you are looking at RPI as Duke is 8th and State Top 30.  No other ACC team at this point have played any tougher schedule according to the RPI.

Sports Not All About The Glory

Every game when we celebrate victory over on the other side of the field is a team that lost a game.  Sometimes in order to achieve glory there are heartaches and pains to endure.  Two local athletes from this area have major injuries at their colleges and there are questions about their future sports endeavors.

Far from the spot light heard this week that MJ Gainey while playing basketball at Newport News Apprentice school has suffer the same knee injury that sidelined him his junior season at Rocky Mount high.  You may recall during the state championship game when Rocky Mount had the game at hand Gainey played the last minute still In a heavy knee brace and made a lay up near the buzzer which sent many in the stands to tears not only for the joy  of a Gryphon victory but for MJ getting in the game and scoring after being a major part of that state championship team.  This new injury may bring an end to MJ's basketball  career.

It was announced Tuesday that Todd Gurley underwent successful knee surgery which may have brought an end to Gurley's college career.  Gurley a junior at Georgia before his injury was in major conversation as the best college football player in the country.  Now a junior Gurley has the option to turn pro and may never play another down for Bulldogs.

6-2  last week on the picks which run my guess record to 85-30 on the season.   This is the last week of the regular season so this is last week of college picks this season.

Pack at Tar Heels:  I think this will be a good game as both team already bowl eligible.  Only thing they are playing for is this is the State-Carolina game.  Carolina 38-State 28

Deacs at Devils:  Duke offense struggling but Wake has no offense.  Duke 17-3

ECU at Tulsa:  A win is a better bowl game for the Pirates  38-23.

Pitt at Miami:  Miami is home 31-27

Florida at Florida State:  FSU field goal late wins it 31-21

Georgia Tech at Georgia:  Has the makings of great game.  Georgia at home wins. 33-28

South Carolina at Clemson:  Who is the  Clemson quarterback is the big question?  Clemson 28-26

Virginia at Virginia Tech:  a loss and VT has a losing record.  Tech 23 Virginia 21

Kentucky at Louisville:  Interstate rivalry goes to Louisville  38-27

Syracuse at BC:  BC isn't a bad team at all.  BC 24-19.