The Open It Surely Different

The U S Open gave us an opportunity to watch the National championship  of golf in prime time.  Watching golf live at ten pm is wonderful.  As far as I am concern  today's regular TV programming can go in the garbage can so any time sports that are important to me can be watched live during the 7-11 pm time frame is fantastic.

The World Championship of golf The Open gives you the extreme opposite.  Wake up at Six and turn on the Telly.  So far however about all the golf that we have been able to see are replays of Thursday and wind.  Not only is it early golf but at 5pm the Open is just wrapping up as the sun sets in Scotland.

How in the world is that possible since we know Scotland in five and a half hours  ahead of the east coast of the U.S?  Let's get out our map and find  out  why.    The first reason is Scotland is at a latitude of 56 degrees.  Rocky Mount is 35 degrees.  The goggle button tells me one degree of latitude is 69 miles.  Saint Andrews is not only five and half hours ahead of us but is also nearly 1450 miles north of us.  Boston is only 540 miles north of us.

Just a look back at science class and the closer you get to the North Pole the longer the sunlight and sunset in Scotland is around 10:30pm.  If someone asked you where Denmark was you would probably say that that is near the Artic Circle.  St  Andrews is due west of the northern part of Denmark across the North Sea.  Just a little adjustment to the northeast is Norway.

Watching the Open is different  from any other sporting event.  This wind deal leaves me setting the record button as already the British Open will play the 4th round on Monday.  Here we head to Sunday golf knowing Sunday is not the end.

Halfway home Dustin Johnson is the leader.  His history from being penalized for grounding his club in a bunker and three putting from 12 feet to lose this year's U.S. open  you would think Johnson would fall off a ledge never  to be heard from again.  Yet, he is the leader.  Kinda pulling for him just because of his perseverance.

Tiger Woods  use to set records all most every time he played golf at how well he played the game.  Today he sets records at how poorly he is playing.  His driver has always been long  but never accurate.  He always  whenever he hit his irons  he always hit them pin high and his putter was perfect from eight feet in.

His driving is the same but he no longer can count on his accurate irons or his deadly putting.  There will be days still when all three work the same day but for all three to work together for four days I think Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors is safe.

One More Chance

According to the Wilson Post 13 website Post 13 victory earned Wilson a Spot in next weekend's American Legion State Tournament in Salisbury.   Post 13 will play a winner take all one game against Garner who beat Raleigh 7-6 Friday.  The single game will be at Fleming Stadium in Wilson  Sunday night.  This will be the last Senior Legion  game any where in eastern North Carolina this year.

All they are really doing is deciding who is the area one champion and who is the runner up as Garner now that they won the Area One west  division is in State Tournament also. It was suppose to be a two out of three but here is what has happened.  Both teams are in next weekend's tournament so both coaches value rest over wearing their pitchers out in a meaningless series when one game winner take all will suffice.

Monday-Tuesday and Wednesday will be Allstar week at the NC Coaches Association meetings.  Monday is basketball night and there is no player or coach from Nash County playing in the girls game.  The only Big East player in basketball is Hunt's Josh Willingham.  Basketball is the main course of entertainment  Monday Night.

Tuesday belongs to soccer and the girls game is first up and once again no player from Nash County will be playing.  Three girls from the Big East will take part.  Fike will have two players Katie Stokely and Mary Love Taylor.  Hunt will be represented by Eynde Frazier.

The first Nash County product on display will be Northern Nash's Tristan Marshall as he will be playing in the second soccer game of the Tuesday Night double header.

Football is the only game in town Wednesday and the new coach of Nash Central Chris Lee will be on the sidelines.  He is officially listed as Louisburg Coach as when the all star rosters were picked Lee was the head coach  at Louisburg High.

The lone Nash County football player  on the field Wednesday is Southern Nash's Aramahs Martin.  The one good thing about the coaches convention is when they all return home high school football practice starts August First.

One Step To Go

Just a week ago Wilson Post 13 was down 0-2 in the Area one Eastern semi finals with Kinston and the season was on the brink.  Thursday night Post 13 beat Wayne County 7-6 to sweep the area one finals and in doing so have won six games in a row after having to win three sraight again Kinston just to play Another day.

Thursday night Raleigh and Garner were tied two games a piece and the winner of that series meets Wilson and the winner there earns a spot in the state tournament.  That series is only two out of three and starts Saturday the winner starts play in the state tournament July 24 In Salisbury.  Further down the road the North Carolina State champion will play the Southeastern regional in Asheboro and of course the World Series  is always in Shelby.

The British Open is considered the world championship of golf.  Very few courses in the USA look like Muirfield.  Some of the worse courses in the States look better than St Andrews.  So golf in Great Britian is completely different than the U S.    Sunday Jordan Spieght won on the PGA tour in Chicago and flew all night to Edinburgh.  Easter week in 1979 I was a chaperone on a school trip that took French Students to London and Paris.

Our flight from Kennedy in New York took off from on then Pan Am flight at 9:15 pm on a Saturday night and the six hour flight arrived at 9:15 on a Sunday morning. Edinburgh Scotland flight is approximately the same. Being my first flight on a jumbo 747 and a lot of water to swim in I never slept one second on the flight over.

By the time we arrived through customs and hotel it was after 1pm.  Our tour guide told us this being Easter that Westminster Abbey had a church service at 3pm.  With map in hand I lead a group of about ten and we walked about ten blocks to the church.   Later we happened by 10 Downy Street
And walked by Buckingham Palace.

You can believe I had no trouble sleeping about ten pm Sunday night in London.  Watching Speith charge out of the gate getting five birdies in the first seven holes it looked like not only were the holes harder through rest of the round but he looked a lot like me by the end.  He looked frazzled.  The time difference is hard the first few days.  Shooting a 67 in the opening round I bet he will be more rested as the week goes on.  All the golfers will have to worry about is the 40 and 50 mile an hour wind expected the next two days.

Rumors Revealed

The Rocky Mount scholastic baseball team had a game Tuesday and the final game of the summer was set for Thursday with both games against Hunt.  Instead they played a double header on Tuesday so the scholastic season is over and after the games Tuesday night Kent Cox the baseball coach at Rocky Mount told his players he was leaving Rocky Mount High and heading to Nash Central to be the assistant football coach for the Bulldogs.

Ever since late January rumors were in the air that Chris Lee the new football coach at Nash Central had asked Cox to join him as his defensive coach.  If you are unfamiliar With the situation Lee and Cox had teamed together as jv coaches under B W Holt  during Holt's tenure in Rocky Mount.  The six years that Lee was the offensive coach and Cox headed up the defense Rocky Mount jv's were 48-3.

Now if you are Chris Lee who would be the first person you would call when you become the head football coach of the Bulldogs.  Now if Cox is doing football in the fall will he be the baseball coach and of course would Tony Guzzo return as baseball coach at Nash Central and the answer is yes. Guzzo is staying so  in  the spring Cox will be the Bulldogs tennis coach.

So there is only one rumor left open.  Who will be the new baseball coach at Rocky Mount.  If you go to any baseball game of the varsity or this summer during the scholastic season speculation is running wild as if and when Cox left.  We will know soon if those rumors become as true as the Cox rumor going to Nash Central.

Starting last weekend the Rocky Mount Parks and Rec 11/12 year old little league all stars have been in Greenville playing in the district four tournament with the winner heading to the little league state championship.

Thursday the National Allstars lost their first game to North State 12-3.  Friday the American Allstars beat North State 7-4.  Sunday TarHeel an all star team from Greenville beat the Americans 10-9.  Monday the American team beat the Nationals 4-2 eliminating the National team.  Tuesday now in the championship against Tarheel the Americans beat TarHeel 9-8 setting up tonight's winner take all.

Tarheel the host team beat RM American 16-1 eliminating our boys.  Greenville has long been entrenched in the Williamsport Little  League and it has not been that long ago they made it to Williamsport and the Little League World Series.  This district win for TarHeel is the 28th time Greenville is sending a team to the state championships.

Wilson Post 13 has won game two over Wayne County and now has a 2-0 lead  after a 5-3 win tonight in Wilson.  They are one game away from the Area One title.  Reference to a statement about Post 13 never having played in a state championship series up until the year 2013 when they hosted the state tournament.  They finished second in 1942.

Allen Moving On

Saturday on this blog I told you that two baseball jobs were open in Nash County schools  in Rocky Mount.  Tuesday in the Rocky Mount Telegram you learned of one of the jobs and that was Northern Nash's Leonard Allen is leaving heading to Williamston.

I learned of this Friday night an  all the rumors floating around even before baseball season ended this was not one of them.  Allen leaving Northern comes completely out of left field for almost everyone unless you are in Leonard's inner circle.

He will be going to an area that could be considered a baseball community Williamston.  Jamesville  and Williamston Highs have been consolidated several years ago and the school was renamed Riverside and is located in what was the old Williamston  High just off highway 17 heading toward Washington.  I say the old Williamston High for if you are and old timer Williamson High used to be close to down town and the the new was built about 1988.

Patricia Haggerty stated in the Telegram that she would first look inside Northern for any candidate that may apply that would qualify for the job.  If Northern has to look outside I think the top of the Northern's  Want list would be Greg Clifton a former Northern assistant coach who for the past several year he's been the head coach at Faith Christian.

He would be a great candidate but Clifton has a very successful business which he takes care of and that leaves after school to coach Faith.  I would doubt he would be interested going back in the class room.  I think everyone knows Faith has the best kept baseball field in the area and that relates to Clifton's expert experience in in his business.

There is still one opening and that move I promised to hold the name until summer baseball is over.  Of course all the rumors have centered on both Nash Central and  Rocky Mount even when baseball season was still going strong.

Tuesday night was the opening game of the Area One East Finals.  Wilson Post 13 taking on Wayne County.  Two of what should be Post 58 players from Rocky Mount are just what the doctor ordered for Wilson.. Rocky Mount's Blake Helms took the mound and at the end of nine innings the score was tied 3-3 and Wilson coach Rusty Dail called on RMA pitcher M J Jones.

Wilson loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th but failed to plate any runs.  Wilson took the lead in the 11th inning  and then had to survive  a bases loaded two out jam but MJ Jones got the job done and post 13 wins game one of the best of five 4-3.

Sewing Seeds On The Farm

We are going to start today with the saga of Trea Turner.  Playing most of spring in the Padres organization knowing all the time he was the player to be named later in a trade going to the Washington Nationals.

Once in AA in a couple of weeks hit 339 and the Nationals moved him up to AAA. Where his first 22 at bats was hitless.  Sine then he has gone  16/32 to get his average to 276.  Sunday playing in the Futures game had a double and triple drove in three runs but did not get the MVP.  Unless Turner gets hurt in will be in Washington in August.

We have discussed this about Collins  Cuthrell as he is playing in Florence Ky in an independent league which means he does not belong to any team. After all the homers he hit this season at UNCP he needed to display that power in Florence.  He has started to do that as his homer total has jumped to six which is tied for the team lead.  What is impressive about being tied is the leader has played a month longer on the team than what Cuthrell has.  His average has dipped to 302  but the power is what will get him noticed by a major league team.

Brian Goodwin average is hovering at 234  with three homers, four triples and twelve doubles. He is still playing in AA Harrisburg and still rated as the National's  14th top prospect.

Hobbs Johnson's record now 6-4 on the season in Buloxi Ms playing for the Brewers.  He has pitched 78 innings  and his ERA is 3.58.

Benton Moss in the rookie short league New York Penn has pitched five times so far in Hudson Valley.  He has pitched 11.2 innings struck out 17 and walked only 5.   His ERA stands at 3.09.

Probably the most frustrated rookie pitcher in the American League is Carlos Rodon.  Three times this season he has pitched at least six innings given one run once and twice zero runs but in all three left the game with no decision as the White Sox scored only one run or none with Rodon on the mound.  His record is 3-2, ERA of 3.80. He has struck out 68 in 66 innings pitched.

Tonight Wilson Post 13 has come from no wins an two losses down to Kinston pulled their first win out of the hat Friday night to stay alive and tonight the pitching depth that they have shown all summer has paid off.  Wilson Post 13 has won three straight games and has won the series with Kinston 7-1.  No time to rest as they play Eastern Wayne starting Tuesday in a three out of five series with the winner earning the right to go play in the State Tournament.

  I think In past years I have heard this from some of the Legion people in Wilson that they had never played in the state championships when it was just two teams playing.  Since the early 2000's since the State  Tournament had gone to be eight teams the only time Post 13 has ever been in the Tournament was when the hosted the Tournament.  Seven teams have to win their region tournament to get in while the host city automatically plays.

Post 13 Still Alive

Wilson Post 13 is still alive in the Eastern playoffs beating Kinston 9-2 on Sunday.  The best three of five series with Kinston is tied two games apiece.  Losing the first two games of the series Wilson has bounced back winning Friday night and a big win on the road Sunday.  Game five has been pushed to Monday after a rainout on Saturday night.

The winner Monday starts a  three out of five series with Wayne County Tuesday at Wayne County.  One thing must happen Monday as far as Wilson is concerned and that is the game must be played. Should a rainout occur Monday night by rule if a series cannot be finished on time the team that wins the first game of the series win the series.  Since Monday night's game is in Wilson I suspect Post 13 would wait as long as possible to try to get the game in.

My life has been  dominated by sports.  I was eight years old before Ahoskie started any kind of city baseball for kids under nine.  All my life every Friday night I was at  a high school football game.  My fathers friends follow Ahoskie High and we were in the same conference with Edenton Williamston, Plymouth and  Hertford. Who ever won the conference we followed them too.

Back in the fifties the playoffs were played some where in between.  I remember in 1966 Ahoskie played Cary for the state 2-A title in Municipal Stadium in Rocky  Mount.  Ahoskie won 53-7.  So I have good memories of the old stadium whether it was being the Post 102 bat boy for three years
1963 was Ahoskie's only  Legion conference win.

  I remember my last year at  12 years old in 1965 we were playing Post 58 in Ahoskie.   Around the seventh inning a thunder storm came up and it was decided the next trip back to Rocky Mount we would finish that game before the regular game which happened to be the last game of the year with Rocky Mount.  In 65 Ahoskie was not very good around 10-10 on the year so  it didn't matter to us whether we won or not but Rocky Mount was still trying to win the league.  In those days only the champion went to the playoff.

The game was restarted right where the game was rained delayed but Rocky Mount chose not to pitch the same pitcher that was in the game when the delay occurred.  The game was tied in the ninth inning and Rocky Mount tried to pitch hit the pitcher who had been taken out of the game.

The Ahoskie coach Albert Vaughn let one pitch go to the batter when he called time, walked to the umpire behind the plate and said that batter had already been used in the game so he was not allowed to bat.  I do not remember Post 58's coach at the time but Albert caused what seemed like 30 minute delay until 58 put the right batter back in.  Ahoskie won the game on a suicide squeeze in about the 12th inning.  I think that lost knocked 58 out of the playoffs. Rocky Mount won the second easily. The memories of Legion ball.