How Are They Doing On The Farm?

I express concern last week that Collins Cuthrell needed to show the power he displayed at UNC Pembroke if he was going to impress any Major league  team to pick him up.  Friday night he had a multi home run night for the first time.  His average is 321 but his home run total stands at four.  That is impressive enough when you consider four is second on the team in Florence Ky.  One player has five home runs but he has batted twice as many bats as Collins.  So far Cuthrell has knocked in 17 runs in only 78 at bats.

Brian Goodwin is slowly getting his batting average up as he has reach 239 as with the Fourth of July all minor league teams that started in April have reached the halfway point.  Brian has two homers, three triples which leads Harrisburg and has Twelve doubles.

Hobbs Johnson is 5-4 in Buloxi Ms pitching for the Shockers. His ERA is 3.36 with 72 plus innings pitch. He has struck out 63 but the WHIP has to improve.  That is walks and hits per inning.  So far he has allowed 57 hits and his walks are 34.  That's a whole lot of base runners per innings so Hobbs needs to get his walks down to about three per nine innings pitched.

Benton Moss in his third outing pitching for Hudson Valley got tagged with his first home run.  Three appearances he has pitched 5.2 innings given up three hits  walked two and struck out seven. That is an ERA of 3.18.  When you don't have many innings in the books one bad inning can send your ERA from zero to 3.18in no time flat.

Two other players who have  Rocky Mount connections.  Whit Merrifield playing AAA for Kansas City's team in Omaha is playing left hitting 285.  He has hit three homers, three triples and eighteen doubles.  You would think those type numbers would be numbers get you called to the big leagues but he is still not listed as a top twenty prospect for KC.

John Wooten playing in the Carolina League for the Washington Nationals in Potomac is hitting 241. He has five homers a triple and fourteen doubles.

Fast Out Of The Box

Carli Lloyd  scored three times in the first 16 minutes of the finals of the World Cup as all the mystery was gone and the USA win their third World Cup beating Japan 5-2. Lloyd's hat trick was the fastest ever in World Cup history  and it was the first ever in the final match.

Despite and easy victory Japan gave Hope Solo her toughest game scoring just before the half which broke 540 minutes since the U.S. had surrendered a goal. They had several chances putting pressure on the U S  defense after the U.S. Headed a  second half goal cutting the score to 4-2.  The seven games the U.S. Played they were scored on three times.

I enjoyed watching the Women's World Cup more than when the men played.  The men dribbled one on one too much where the women actually pass to open team mates which makes for a much more wide open attack.

Could somebody please tell me how eating hotdogs is considered a sport.  I think there are many people that have seen me eat quite a bit in my time  but watching someone eat 62 hot dogs in ten minutes is not my cup of tea.  The winner consumed over 17,000 calories.  The one question I have is why are the winners always skinny people?

Latest update on Wilson Post 13 American Legion  season. Rocky Mount's Blake Helms suffered his first loss of the season in the final regular season game 5-3 to Kinston.  Post 13 finishes the season 14-2 but most importantly 10-2 in division play and that creates a three way tie for first between Kinston, Wayne County and Wilson.  Wayne County wins a draw to be top seed and Wilson gets second.  They both get byes in the opening round Kinston gets third and play Windsor in a two out of three with the winner playing Wilson Wednesday night in the semi-finals.

Women's Open This Week

This week the Women's US Open will be in Pennslyvania in Lancaster.  In our household we will pay more attention than ever before because cousin Lauren Doughtie will play in her third open.

What does it mean to play in just one.  During my golfing days when living in Ahoskie and a member of Beechwood Country club our pro was Dan Herring.  He was the club pro but anytime around the men's US Open the membership would always ask Dan about the club pro Dan Herring  that had qualified for two Opens.  He actually made the cut in the 1954 Open at Baltusrol. He also qualified for the first U.S. senior Open.  I heard him say more than once that just qualifying for the Open was what it was all about.  It was our countries National Championship.

Lauren will be playing in the Open for her third time.  While a junior at NC State  she qualified for the open for a top finish in one of the national amateur championships sponsored by the USGA.  She failed to play the weekend but the highlight of that Open was playing a practice round with Annika Sorenstam who in 2008 was the number one women's golfer in the world.

Her senior year at State she won one tournament and at the time she graduated State she was the best golfer there in the short history of women's golf at NC State. She joined the Futures Tour mid year 2009 and spent two full seasons in 2010-11 learning all about the weekly grind of a pro golfer.  Out of the blue in 2011 Lauren qualified for her second Open  by having a spectacular 36 hole day and failed to make the cut .

2012 she won her one and only pro event shooting 66 in the final round by making birdie in the final hole to tie and birdied the first playoff hole to win.  She then in the LPGA qualifying tournament at the end of 2012 tied with eight other people for the final spot  and won the spot to join the LPGA tour.

Her one year playing with the big girls didn't last as she failed to finish in the top 100 and she lost her card and rejoined the Futures in 2014.  All of 2014 and almost half of this season her scoring average has hovered near 74.5 and those scores don't put money in your pocket and doubt in your mind about if this is the end of the road in professional golf.

Then another qualifying US Open qualifier in Chapel Hill when she tied for first.  Her two tournaments since she finished 11th and 14th.  She is playing over the last six weeks her best golf since turning pro.  It gives all of us in the Doughtie clan that she might being playing well enough to play the weekend for the first time in the Open.

I will be watching closer than ever this Thursday  and Friday as Lauren tries to take another step in her golfing future.  To say the least her career at this point can be labeled as a journeyman.  Journeyman can't afford to live on any tour very long.  A weekend of golf in the U S Open  just might spark her to move up in confidence and money to play a little longer.  There is hope this week like no other Open because she is playing great golf right now but we all know, This is the Open.

Today We Celebrate We The People

July 4th, 1776 the congress of the United States agreed to the writings of Thomas Jefferson and it was called the Declaration Of Independence.  It was read publicly on July 8th, 1776.  It was an announcement of the American people that they would no longer live under the rule of England.  Those fore fathers fought for to give our country freedom.  Since then many have died defending our freedom.

During the Cold War in the late 50's or early 60's Nitika Khushchev told the American people that America would topple from the inside out.  It has taken nearly 50 years but his prediction gets closer every day.  A document in 1776 base on religious  freedom gets closer and closer everyday to be a mockery of the foundation of our country.

Our country has gone social media crazy.  If I were to ask a generation under thirty five years of age who the Vice President of the USA is they would not know.  If you asked them who the Lt governor of North Carolina is they wouldn't know.  This generation are the people electing people to office and they have no idea what the politicians stand for.

They also are the generation that has no idea about the word of God.  They smother their bodies with tattoos after the word says honor your body it is in the image of God.  We all have become the me generation.  I will do what I want to do regardless of the right or wrong of it.

Somewhere our country has lost it's way.  We no longer have leaders who believe in God.  They have allowed the basic principles to fall by the wayside.  Everyday that we let slide another principle's collapse  we lose just a little more of the Favor in the eyes of God.

As we celebrate our 239th anniversary of the Declaration Of Independence we the people if we want to celebrate the 300th have better turn back to our fore fathers wishes.  Bring God back to the forefront of our lives.  Without him the United States Of America is slowly  becoming a non factor in the world because our citizens are all about me instead of God.

This And That

The USA women will meet Japan for the World Cup title Sunday night.  The U.S. Women have played great defense in this World Cup and Japan will play due to England hitting one in the net for Japan.

Antonio Gates the soon to be Hall Of Fame tight end for San Diego Chargers who had earlier announce that 2015 would be his last will sit out the first four games for using PEDs.  This is a blood stain mark on his hopes for the HOF after he retires.

Trea Turner the former NC State shortstop once he finally got traded June  15th played ten games for the Nationals in AA hit 359 and he has been sent to AAA Syracuse.  His first 18 at bats yielded no hits but his first hit at Syracuse left the yard.  He has a real good shot at Syracuse as the shortstop there so far this spring the shortstop there now only was hitting 214.

Today is the third day of free agents signings in the NBA.  One thing has become apparent that Kobe Bryant in LA and Carmelo Anthony in New York are not players that other NBA players want to have as teammates.  They are perceived as ball hogs and their big money contracts don't allow either LA or New York  to have a great amount of money for other big named players.  Even when they do have the money those players don't want Amy  part of the Lakers or Knicks.

Watched the WRAL TV one hour interview with Coach K last night.  It is easy to see why K has the ability to recruit the top players in the country.  Jeff Gravely with Channel 5 did an excellent job handling the question.  Gravely ask a question at 68 years old how Coach K was able to be so fit.  His answer was he rode a bike,An indoor bike,  he explained he couldn't ride a bike on the streets because the other rival schools it might lead to too good and opportunity to take him out.  His other line was on his 14 acre estate  in Durham he had discover a fountain of youth the he and his dog  Blue swam in every day.

Stats released by Major League Baseball who during the minor league season so far this year they have used a time clock where the batter had to keep one foot in batters box and the pitchers had to throw the next pitch in 20 seconds.  Last year minor league games took two hours and fifty six minutes.  So far this year games are down to two hours forty one minutes.    The clock is working.

One explanation about players from Rocky Mount in pro sports.  I went to the official site of MLB, AFL/NFL and NBA.  Where they were born not where they lived. I missed Mike Tyson all together which On a recent visit back home to see his parents I saw him.

Did You Know?

As if from the file "where are they now" we will look today at people from Rocky Mount that made it to the big dance of professional baseball, football and basketball.  I bet you will be surprised at some who made it but there is of course those we all know.  Ten players born in Rocky Mount have made it.  Five have been players in the AFL/NFL, four NBA and surprisingly only one from baseball.

First the only one in baseball:  Chuck Hinton .......Played 11 years in MLB baseball making the American League All Star team in 1964.  Career 262 hitter with 113 home runs.  Live in DC after baseball.

NBA:  Anthony Avent.... Played High school basketball  in New Jersey and at Seton Hall college. Seven years in NBA averaging 5.56 points per game.

Charles Pittmam:......Northern Nash High  played at Maryland and four years in the NBA averaged 4.7 points in career.

Phil Ford ........Rocky Mount, Carolina, and NBA rookie of the year in 1979.  Played eight years averaged 6.81 points per game.

Charles "Buck"Williams...... Rocky Mount, Maryland.  18 year NBA career.  All time leading scorer in Brooklyn Nets history.  Scored over 16,000 points and 13,000 rebounds.  NBA Rookie of the year 1982. Three time NBA All Star.

Football: J J Arrington..... Northern Nash, California Berkley,  four year career.  Played in 58 games
returned two kick offs back for touchdowns.  Rushed for 658 yards during career.

Wesley Barbour..... Played high school ball in Durham.  Went to Wake Forest number one draft pick of New York Giants in 1945.

Alva Stallings.....  Better known today in Rocky Mount as Don.  Rocky Mount, Carolina and the Washington Redskins.  Defensive end played nine games in 1960

Bill Mathis...... born Rocky Mount, Clemson. Play nine season New York Titans/Jets.  Member of 1969 Jets who won Super Bowl.  Rushed for 3589 yards in career.

Jim Clack....... Rocky Mount, Wake Forest.  Played on two Super Bowl championship teams while in Pittsburgh.  Finish 11 year career in New York playing for the Giants.

Wells Fargo Cup Tells The Problem

The NCHSAA released the final standings of the 2014/2015 Wells Fargo Cup state wide in each of the four division in North Carolina.   Each conference has a Fargo Cup champion and the points per conference plus the playoff points gives the overall champion per bracket.  Most private schools, charters and prep schools are small and just looking at the final standings tells a tale of the fight on going between some Wake County conferences and Cardinal Gibbons.

The final top ten in 1-A as the best overall athletic teams are number one Kernersville Bishop MCGuinness.  They are a private Roman Catholic school with 550 students founded in 1959.  Second is Community School of Davidson.  It is a public charter  school located in Davidson .  Third is Raleigh Charter a public charter school founded in 1999 with more than 550 students.  Fourth is Lincoln Charter of Denver .  It is a tuition free charter school. Sixth is Mooresville Pine Lake Prep.  Started in 2007 is a charter school with students from k-12.  Total enrollment is 1300 students.  Seventh is Winston Salem Prep.  It is a public charter school in Winston Salem with 320 high school students.

The  school that is second in Wells Fargo points in 2-A is Lake Norman Charter.  It is a public charter school in Huntersville which has grades 5-12 with 1600 students.  The larger the schools less and less are private, Prep and charter.  First in the cup standings in 3-A is Cardinal Gibbons.  It has an enrollment of 1420 students  and is a private Catholic school.  The number three school in the 4-A Fargo Cup is Charlotte Catholic.  They have only 1400 students.

Six of the top seven schools in 1-A are either prep, charter or Private schools. The number two in 2-A, number one in 3-A and number 3 in 4-A.  It is easy to see where the 4-A conferences in Raleigh are nervous  about schools who have no boundaries and are growing where the public school sector are limited to districts and only grow when the population in that district  grow.  The charter and prep schools have the same athletic advantages the parochial schools have.  All you are hearing
 About now is the fight with Cardinal Gibbons but with more charter schools opening everyday the public school sector will not support those schools staying members of the NCHSAA much longer either.