More to Life than Playing Games

Despite the final score, the North Carolina-N.C. State wome'ns basketball game was well worth watching.

The game was carried on Fox Sports Carolina which is channel 49 on the Suddenlink Cable.
The opening was a tribute to Kay Yow, who continues to fight for her life fighting breast cancer.

Both teams before the game circled the midcourt circle and Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell led both teams in prayer for Yow.

The victory in overtime was Hatchell's 800th victory. When ask after the game what it meant to win 800 games coach ,Hatchell said 'it meant nothing when you look at what coach Yow is going through. This is only a game. '

Another example was when Jim Valvano fought for his life Coach K at Duke stepped up for Coach V.

Despite being bitter rivals ,when one side is in need, rivalries stop to help the other.

I remember several years ago, it was the year that Carolina beat N.C. State 17-9 in football in Raleigh that the game went down to the wire ,so no one had left there seats until the last play. I remember as I was filing out looking back to the center of the field and about half the players from both sides had gather and the middle of the field and gave thanks to God. I remember thinking then that despite rivalries every one are friends except when the games is going.

I told you three weeks ago Jan. 11 might be Wake Forest's night against Carolina. Just finished - the Deacs beat Carolina 92-89. Jeff Teague scored 34 for the fourth-ranked Demon Deacons . I know some Carolina fans are ready to jump from the top of the Dean Smith Center, but if Wake and Carolina stay healthy, both could make the final four.

The NFL Divisional Playoffs are in the books with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia moving on.

Two facts - one an old reliable and the other one strange. In all four playoff games, this weekend the team committing the most turnovers lost.

All four teams that scored first lost. So much for a good start.

In case you didn't know, there are no sports this week for Rocky Mount High School until Friday because of exams which will run Monday-Thursday. Action resumes in basketball Friday at home versus Southern Nash.

Finally, tonighy,I think I have an answer for SSP, who last week asked whether Dudley Whitley ever coached at Fike. I have a reliable source that tells me he never did, but he did play for the Wilson Tobs back when the Tobs were afiliated with the Milwaukee Braves minor league system.

Panthers' Quick Exit

The first five plays of the Carolina Panthers-Arizona Cardinals playoff game, the Panthers sliced through the Cardinals exactly like the experts predicted.

Sometimes quick scores can can give you the impression that it is going to be an easy game. It was an easy game for the Arizona Cardinals as they sliced up the seemingly slow Carolina defense. It seemed as though the Cardinals were decoying Jake Delhomme all night. Arizona made mincemeat of the Panthers, 33-13.

The Saturday game that proved to be the slugfest was the AFC playoff contest as Baltimore outhit Tennessee, 13-10. Tennessee fumbled twice inside the Ravens' 20, but the difference in the game was ECU's Chris Johnson suffering a sprained ankle. The rookie running back sat out the second half and without Johnson, the Titans could not find the end zone in the second half.

Both of the teams who had byes loss.

Today Philadelphia will try to continue the bye teams' losing as it plays the New York Giants in the 1 p.m. game and then the San Diego Chargers look to do the same to the Pittsburgh Steelers at 4:45.

We are down to six teams and the Western division teams who come in with the worst two records are still alive.

Oddly enough, who do you think the hottest team remaining in the playoffs is? The San Diego Chargers. They have the longest current winning streak at five games. San Diego has the worst record of any team in the playoff.

Clemson with a victory over N.C. State today has won their opening 16 games. Once again, the Wolfpack has very poor backup point guard play and they lose again because of it.

Duke won at Florida State. The beating they laid on the Seminoles was worse than the eight-point difference at the end.

I just have a feeling the winner of the Carolina-Wake game tonight will be the ACC champ.

I have failed to mention this, but my final tally in the bowl picks was 17-17. Embarrassing!

I know many of you know that Curtis Rushing has retired from the Nash-Rocky Mount school system. During the football season, he helped the Gryphons during the latter half of the season helping B.W. Holt's staff. Friday night, he was on the sidelines helping Grover Battle and the Northern Nash girls. Rushing also assisted Battle with his Nash Central Middle School football squad.

I ran into Chad Smith today at the Shell Rapid Lube. We chatted about his future plans. He told me that he attended the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Goldsboro Friday night for Holt.

I really wish he would stay in the area.

At The Buzzer

I arrived at Northern Nash's gym at about 6.15 last night and the JV boys game had just started the fourth quarter.

The gym was already filled. Most of the time it takes at least halftime of the girls game to become standing room only but not last night.

What that jammed packed gym saw were two games that went right down to the last shot to determine a winner.

The girls action saw the Lady Gryphons hold on as Northern tried to tie and could not. I never found out what was the problem was, but at one point in the third quarter, there was a dispute at the scorer's table. I think each book had different information and RM's Dyonna Battle was ruled to have fouled out.

The Lady Gryphons are now 9-4 and 1-0 in conference play .

In the night cap....

The score was tied at the half 40-40. The end of the third quarter saw a 55-55 tie. Octavious Lyons put back a missed shot at the buzzer to send the Northern's gym into a sea of Knight fans as the Northern defend its home turf 64-63 over the Gryphons.

There is no telling how many people would go watch if there was a gym big enough for these two teams.

In the second quarter, Alonzo Sharpe recorded his 1,000th point. Later in the quarter, Tashawn Mabry went over 1,500 for his career. Charles Alston, who sat beside me tonight as I did TV and fed me the stats on the game, said that is only the second time in Rocky Mount history that two 1,000-point scorers have been on the same team.

The Gryphons dropped to 7-7 and 0-1 in conference play.

Tonight

Nash County will have their home boys featured on TV. The NFL playoffs are back in full focus as the Carolina Panthers will play host to the Arizona Cardinals. Former Northern Nash (Class of 2001) standout J.J. Arrington, the Cardinals' kick returner and third-down back, will try to take down the Panthers and ex-Southern Nash (Class of 1998) star Julius Peppers. The Panthers are double-digit favorites tonight in Charlotte. Fox will carry the primetime game.

Today's NFL action kicks off at 4.30 with the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans. That game will be the CBS game. The nightcap starts at 8 p.m. from Charlotte. In their brief NFL playoff career, the Panthers have never lost a home game.

ACC basketball action starts full tilt this weekend. After Carolina's loss the other night, are we in for a basketball season where just about every team will win half its games?

The Wake-Carolina Sunday night will tell us a lot about this season.

College football ends finally

Florida has defeated Oklahoma for the BCS title, 24-14.

The biggest thing I got out of the game to me was that the Heisman Trophy has become more hype that fact. Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford, the last two winners of the trophy, were average at best.

Neither was superman as the media made both out to be.

Carolina rebounded from their lost to BC. There is never a good loss, but I think the Heels got was good shot of reality that they aren't as good as they think they are.

Carolina played Bobby Cremins' College of Charleston team Wednesday and I would like to tell you how I know Bobby.

Back in the 80's when I lived in Ahoskie, I did the Chowan Braves basketball on the radio. Then, with Bob Burke as coach, they were a power in junior college basketball.

Junior college was the outlet for the kids who could not get into D-I programs because of grades. The system has changed and it is not that way any more.

Burke was from Queens, N.Y. and played college ball at Guilford College at the same time Bobby Cremins, also from Queens, was playing in the ACC at South Carolina.

They both gravitated to coaching and by the late 80s, Burke is at Chowan recruiting all of these D-1 players who needed to graduate from a JC to play in the ACC.

I think over the years, Georgia Tech got two Chowan players and I interviewed Cremins on the radio once while on a recruiting trip to one of Chowan's games.

If you remember, Cremins quit at Georgia Tech and signed up at South Carolina. After a couple of days, he reneged and stayed at Georgia Tech.

I got a call early one evening from Burke from his home in Murfreesboro and he asked me to come over. When I arrived, Cremins was there. I spent a couple of hours listening to two Yankees and the Queens talk New York talk.

In order to get away from all the media that was hounding him over quitting South Carolina after two days, Cremins escaped to Burke's home in little Murfreesboro, N.C. He stayed several days and no big time media ever heard he was there.

Today, Cremins is coaching in Charleston, S.C. and Burke is a scout for Nate McMillan and the Portland Trailblazers. McMillan was an All-American point guard for Burke at Chowan before his N. C. State days. By the way, McMillan is the best point guard that I have ever seen, but that is another story for another day.

Going from the fast lane to a flat tire. Boston College loses to Tommy Amaker and Harvard.

Last night, I did a wrestling match at Northern and talking with Dan Richwalski, the athletic director at Northern, told me that they have interviewed nine coaches from around 60 applicants for the head football job at Northern. All nine have head coaching experience.

Tonight it is the first night on conference play in the NEW 6 basketball season. Rocky Mount hops on their bicycles for the trip to Northern. If you don't already have a ticket, don't bother going. It is a sellout.

I'll be there filming for the Stretchlon Sports Show. Because the game is sold out, we will be on the stage. So come by to see me.

Frequent Flyer Miles

The Gryphons got back to their winning ways Wednesday night taking three games from Hertford County.

The boys played for the second straight game without Tashawn Mabry who is sitting with an injury. The final was Gryphons 66, HC 53. They get back above .500 at 7-6

The girls' game was highlighted by Dyonna Battle receiving recognition for reaching the 1,000-point club which she had done this past Saturday at Kinston. The girls won their eighth game of the year against only four losses.

I did not see it, but I was told the JV boys game was tied but the Gryphons make a mid-court shot at the buzzer to win.

I went to church Wednesday night and arrived at the boys game at what I thought would be near the end of the first quarter about 7:45 p.m. There was only one minute left in the third quarter when I arrived. The game was over by 8.15.

The refs must had had another game somewhere else at 9.00 p.m.

Snooze and you lose.

Another Gryphon athlete has been honored by the Rocky Mount Telegram as the Athlete of the Year in their sport. Corinne Fischer wins the honor for volleyball.

Retiring Gryphon volleyball coach Debbie Webb was named Coach of the Year for the Twin Counties.

I sat near Stephan Virgil last night and asked him of his prospect of trying for the NFL this season. He told me he would be returning for his senoir season next year at Virginia Tech. Stephan did tell me he is rated about the 12th best cornerback by the NFL right now, but at best that would only be third or fourth round. So he is coming back hoping to move up higher in the draft next year.

We all try to do everything we can to support our children. This past football season, Richard and Sandra Virgil were on jets following Stephan play football that covered several thousand miles.

They started the season driving to Charlotte to see the ECU game. There were three straight homes games in Blacksburg, Va. Then they made their backyard game in Chapel Hill which was the shortest trip all season to any game.

Starting on Sept. 27, they traveled to Lincoln, Ne., Boston, Mass, Tallahassee, Fl., Miami, Fl. The ACC championship game was in Tampa, Fl. which they drove to and they finished up back on a plane to see the Orange Bowl back in Miami on Jan. 1.

I guess all the flight attendants know them on a first-name basis.

Friday night conference play starts at Northern Nash.

Tonight I will be at Northern doing a wrestling match for the Stretchlon Sports Show.

Friday, there is a banquet in Goldsboro the George Whitfield Hall of Fame Banquet which B.W. Holt and the Rocky Mount 2008 baseball team will be among the honored guests. Holt will be inducted into Whitfield's Hall of Fame. This is part of an annual youth baseball clinic which has been held in Goldsboro for many years.

NCPreps.com has released its 3-A All-State state football team and the Gryphons have four players to the team. Keith Strickland, wide receiver, Nick Hahula as kicker, Whit Barnes as an offensive lineman and Chris Pittman at linebacker.

When you win, you get all the glory. On Monday, Jan. 26, the baseball team will again be honored by the Wilson Hot Stove League for its 2008 state baseball championship.

I hope the baseball team isn't getting fat off of chicken and barbecue.

NFL'S Best Part TWO

The lady Gryphons and boys were swept last night in basketball at Beddingfield.

Tonight with not much time to think about last night the Gryphons host Hertford County.

We will continue today with my ALL PRO NFL team. Yesterday were covered most of the offense. I did leave off tight ends so we will start there before we jump to the defense.

Tight Ends: There is no doubt the best in football is Tony Gonzales of the Kansas City chiefs. Once again 88 gets over a thousand yards receiving the only tight end to do that. 70% of his catches were for first downs. Second best Jason Whitten Dallas Cowboys

The good thing about defensive players is they all have some type of stats where offensive line men have nothing. In the case of each position I set up a point system based on tackles, sacks, int etc.

Nose tackles: Shawn Rogers Cleveland Browns. had 76 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Second Vince Wilfork New England Patriots.

Defensive tackles: Kevin Williams Minnesota Vikes. 60 tackles and 8.5 sacks. next best Darnell Duckett Kansas City Chiefs

Defensive Ends: Jared Allen Minnesota Vikings... Had 14.5 sacks but added 54 other tackles. Julius Peppers Bailey North Carolina, Rebounded this season with 14.5 sacks and 51 tackles. second team. Justin Tuck New York Giants and Mario Williams Richlands NC. Easily the most talented position in football. Andre Ware with 20 sacks not in top 5.

Middle Line Backer: Barrett Rudd Tampa Bay 137 tackles, three sacks, and three Ints.

Inside Linebacker: D'qwell Jackson 154 tackles, two sacks, and 3 ints

Outside Linebackers: James Harrison Pittsburgh Steelers. 101 tackles,16 sacks,4 ints, and 7 force fumbles. No wonder he is the NFL Defensive player of the year. Patrick Willis San Francisco 49's. 141 tackles, 1 int and 1 sack.

Corner Backs: Cortland Finnegan... had 5 int lead league in batted balls 21 which means he is on his man. Chris Gamble Carolina Panthers. 5 ints and one returned for touchdown.

Strong safety: Michael Griffin 7 ints and one returned to the house.

Free safety: Ed Reed Mr Ball Hawk 9 ints and two returned to the house

Kickers: There are not many teams that don't have a good kicker. Josh Brown Hit 94% of all kicks and 6 of 8 from more than 50 yards

Punter: Mike Srifres San Diego.. Averaged 45.7 yards per punt. 19 of his 51 punts were down inside 20 yard line 37%. The real number only 2.8 yards per return the best by 2 yards.

Come back player of Year: Jake Delehomme Carolina. Only played two games last year and had total reconstruction surgery in elbow.

Worst move of year: Jerry Jones first of all letting Pacman Jones even play at all this year but after he beats up a team security guard letting him continue to play. The man is Al davis twenty years from now.

Defensive player of the year: James Harrison Pittsburgh Steelers. Stats speak for themselves. Almost the best ED Reed.

This is the NFL in a nutshell. 5 of 6 Pro Bowl quarter backs not in playoffs this weekend. My top two defenders still playing. What does that tell you? Win with defense!

As they say in golf"Drive for show putt for dough". In football sell tickets with offense win championships with defense.

NFL's Best

The Rocky Mount Gryphons tonight travel to Beddingfield to begin the new year. This is a busy week of basketball as Wednesday they host Hertford County and finish off the week with the Knights of Northern Nash at Northern.

The NFL playoffs are in high gear and shortly they will be naming the All PRO Team. Here is some of my thinking for the offense.

Quarterback: Peyton Manning Indianapolis Colts. He didn't throw for the most yards but the Colts are just average without him. Second Best Philip Rivers San Diego Chargers. It is no longer LT's Chargers

Running Back: Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings. What needs to be said, this dude is good. Second best Michael Turner Atlanta Falcons. The Falcon turn a round was because Turner kept the heat off Ryan.

Wide Receivers: Andre Johnson Houston Texans. The Texans didn't get to play a home game during the first month of season because of a Hurricane. Their bad start cost Johnson a possible MVP of the league if they could have made playoffs. Second best Steve Smith Carolina Panthers and Wes Welker New England Partiots

Linemen: In a world of instance stats you would think the NFL could come up with some type of stats for linemen. Knock down blocks, sacks allowed, etc. You make your own picks on linemen.

Offensive player of the Year: Drew Brees New Orleans Saints. Is the best pure passer in football. Remember I said passer not best quarterback.

Kick returner:Darren Sproles San Diego Chargers. Probably the most exciting player in the league

Most Surprising Team:Miami Dolphins Look last year they won ONE game

Most Disappointing: New York Jets. In week eleven they were talking a superbowl between the Giants and Jets. Now Brett Farve's teammates have thrown him under the bus. Jets didn't even make playoffs or finish first or second in their division. Runner Up Denver Bronco's.

Best Move of year: Hiring Mike Singletary as coach of the 49's. Look out next year after they have a full off season with Singletary in charge. Second best Charger hiring Ron Rivera as Defensive Coordinator mid season. That move may win super bowl

Tomorrow we will look at the defense.