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I have just gone online to write this blog and I see that the greatest news man in the history of journalism news has died, PAUL HARVEY.

My first remembrance of him was in the mid-60s doing his news on TV. Hardly ever did he give an opinion only presented it, but you knew he was a conservative Midwesterner who thought like me.

It has become harder over the years to find a station in the area that carried him, but I knew that whenever I found him on the radio dial he would always say something like "self government will not work without self discipline." So true.

The closest thing to Harvey today is Bill O'Reilly. But, he can't hold Paul Harvey's jock strap. In honor of Paul Harvey....

Page Two and the rest of the story....

High school basketball playoffs are over for our local high schools and like football too many teams get in that don't deserve to be there.

During football season I suggested eliminating one round. There is no reason that a 2-8 team is in a playoff . In basketball, I say cut the field in half. Sixteen teams in each regional and play a double elimination instead of 32 and have a 5-16 get slaughtered in the first round. Just a thought.

Carolina looks like they got their groove back. But it was Georgia Tech.

Duke and Wake win on the road.

If State beats Maryland tomorrow night, it can still wish for the NCAA tournament but they need about a three-game winning streak to finish the season and about two wins in the ACC tournament. 20-12 maybe NCAA?

You know the economy is in bad shape when ACC Tournament tickets are on sale for face value. If you have never been, there may never be another chance. Tickets go on sale at the box office at the Georgia Dome Monday morning. I'm sure they are nosebleed seats.

Listened to the Carolina game some on the radio Saturday afternoon and heard that football season tickets are 15 percent behind last year. Times are tight everywhere.

The funeral for Grant Wilson is 3 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church. Please continue to pray for the Wilson family.

Finally, in honor of Paul Harvey,

GOOD DAY

Time To Put Away The Basketballs

One night after defeating Havelock by a 69-57 score in the sectional semi finals, the Lady Gryphons of Rocky Mount High fall at Beddingfield by the same score as last night 69-57.

There seems to me to be a disconnect for girls basketball by forcing the semi finals on Thursdays and no practice having to play the most important game of the year the very next night.

Why not give the girls a day of rest to prepare?

Next week during regional week games are going to be played Saturday.

RMHS girls finish the season 21-5. Having no girl taller than five ten or five eleven Pam Gainey has once again gotten more milage out of a team by playing to their strength(Quickness) over power inside.

The only boys representative still alive coming into tonight's games was Nash Central. They had the task of traveling to the defending state champions Kinston. Nash Central was in the game until the wire but fall 76-72 in the boys sectional finals.

Trey Sumler has 36 in his final game as a Bulldog. I think Sumler will be the NEw-6 Basketball player of the year.

The third team representing the NEW-6 tonight was Southwest Edgecombe girls. SWE had caught a break earlier in the week when they found themselves getting a home game when a #1 seed was upset but no break tonight as they traveled to Dudley and were eliminated from the sectionals 81-52.

So basketball season is over for the NEW-6. baseball starts Monday.

I understand due to the impending possibility of snow on Sunday night that Monday's opening day baseball game at Rose for the Rocky Mount Gryphons has already been postponed.

Least the folks in Greenville have TVs and are able to make a decision base on the forecast.

If you remember during football season the folks at Northern Vance were without knowledge of an impending hurricane and Rocky Mount's football game in Henderson was put off for a month since no one in Henderson knew a hurricane was coming. No TV's in Vance county.

The funeral for Grant Wilson the Rocky Mount High senior who died at home Thursday morning before going to school is scheduled for Sunday at 3.00pm .

Lets all pray together for the Wilson family and remember that none of us know when our time is coming.

Tragedy Strikes Gryphon Nation

Death is never easy to deal with especially when it is a child still in school.

Wednesday evening during halftime of the NCHSAA 3-A girls sectional semifinal basketball game Rocky Mount High principal Leon Farrow announced to the crowd that senior wrestler Grant Wilson had died that morning at his home.

No details are known at this time as to the cause of death. Farrow led the entire crowd in a moment of silence for the Wilson family.

Despite the somber moment, the Lady Gryphons took care of business in winning their sectional semifinal match up with Havelock 69-57.

The Lady Gryphons will travel to Beddingfield to play the last team they lost to (65-47 on Jan. 6). A RMHS victory will be a ticket to the regionals next week in Greenville.

The first quarter saw the Gryphon defense force the Rams into 11 turnovers, but a change made by Havelock of playing four guards and one big person changed the tide of the game. Leading 19-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Gryphons led by only three at the half 28-25 and by six at the end of three quarters.

Finally in the fourth quarter, the defense started forcing turnovers again and the Lady Gryphons were sweet at the foul line - going 27-for-31 in the game. Havelock finished the game with 22 turnovers, seven coming in the fourth quarter.

RMHS senior forward Dyonna Battle had her career-high in points with 31, followed by another career-high by senior Arkeneshia Melton getting 23.

This will be the rubber game between Beddingfield and Rocky Mount. The Lady Gryphons won 71-68 in overtime on Dec. 12 at home, but they had to recover from an early 19-0 Beddingfield first-quarter lead.

Game time is 7 p.m.

This was victory No. 14 in a row for Rocky Mount, which is now 22-4 on the season. Beddingfield will defend its gym with a 25-3 record.

The NEW 6 Conference will have two teams playing Friday night as SouthWest Edgecombe defended its home court defeating Western Guilford 59-35. The Lady Cougars will travel to Greensboro Dudley Friday night in their sectional final.

The last boys team still alive is Nash Central as it plays at defending 3-A state champion Kinston Friday night.

The return of Tiger Woods was short-lived as former Wolfpacker Tim Clark knocked Tiger out of the Accenture World Match Play Championships Thursday.

Tiger outdrove Clark by 50 yards on every driving hole, but from 175 yards out, Woods didn't have the game to defeat Clark. Clark, one of the smallest players on the PGA Tour, ate Woods alive with his iron game in beating Tiger 4 and 2.

Gryphons fall hard

There is an old saying that says "it's not the fall that kills you, but the sudden stop." Wednesday night was a sudden stop for the Rocky Mount boys basketball team as it fell at Northern Vance 82-53.

This is the second year in a row that Northern has eliminated the Gryphons in the basketball sectionals.

The Gryphons finished at 17-11 overall on the season and had a nine-game winning streak snapped.

Nash Central is the only NEW 6 team that will make it to the sectional finals as it knocked off D.H. Conley 51-48 at Nash Central.

Up next for the Bulldogs is a trip to Kinston Friday. Game time is 7 p.m..

Fike made the trip down to Bertie and returned home a 21-point loser to the Falcons, 78-57.

The most difficult assignment of the night was SouthWest Edgecombe's, which made a trip to Greensboro and played Northern Guilford, but came home a loser, 83-62.

So after winning four out of five on Monday night, the NEW 6 tonight loss three of four.

The last two surviving ladies NEW 6 teams are in action Thursday night as both teams will play at home.

Rocky Mount's girls will face Havelock, a No. 2 seed from the Coastal Conference. Havelock is now 20-7, while the Lady Gryphons, winners of 13 in a row, are now 21-4.

Havelock was a former Big East Conference team member with Rocky Mount until the last realignment in 2005.

SouthWest Edgecombe gets a home game because its foe Thursday, Western Guilford, knocked off a No. 1 seed in Oxford Webb on Tuesday. SWE, as a No. 2 seed, gets the home game because WG is a No. 5 seed.

The long-awaited return of Tiger Woods was a good one today as he won his first match at Accenture Match Play Championships in Arizona. His entire career he has been money in the bank on putts of 10 feet or less. Tiger is hitting his early 30's now. He has been off for eight months recovering from knee surgery. It will be interesting to see if he continues to drain those 10-footers.

Lady Gryphs Get Defensive

I think I can sum up for you in just a few stats what told the tale tonight.

• Eastern Wayne had 11 turnovers before scoring its first point.


• Its first point of the game did not come until 2.26 left in first quarter.


• The Lady Warriors did not make a field goal in first quarter.


• Their first field goal came with 3.24 to play in the half.


• By their first field goal, they had committed 22 turnovers.


• By games end, EW had 39 turnovers.


• It had more turnovers than points - 33.


• The Lady Gryphons had 35 points at the half.

To say the least, the Lady Gryphons, the No. 1 seed from the NEW 6, represented the conference well as they flat out embarrassed EW 66-33. At one point in the second quarter, the score was 26-1.

FreshmanTia Hudgins was the only Gryphon in double figuures with 17. Off the benchh, Alexis Farmer led the rebounders with 11. Ten different Gryphons scored and 10 had at least one rebound.

Seven players scored at least four points and nine different players had at least two rebounds.

The Lady Gryphons play home Thursday night at 7 in the semifinals of the sectionals.

Fike traveled across town and lost at Hunt by a 53-51 score.

Nash Central, which took on undefeated South Central, fell 55-41.

Southern Nash on the road at Overhills lost a close one 44-41.

SouthWest Edgecombe advances to round two, but to its surprise, it gets a home game on Thursday after the No. 1 seed Webb Warriors lost at home last night.

The NEW 6 girls teams are 2-3 during the first round and both RM and SWE get home games in the second round.

In the boys bracket, they went 4-1 opening night, but only Nash Central is home Wednesday night.

Rocky Mount boys travel to Henderson to take on Northern Vance Wednesday night in the sectional semis.

Dr. Barbara Holt, wife of Rocky Mount head football coach B.W. Holt, underwent surgery today at Duke. If all is well tonigh,t she may come home Wednesday. Please keep up the prayers for the Holt family.

Gryphons Get Revenge

It may have not been on the football field but the Gryphon Basketball team took out three years of football playoff pain tonight in whipping Western Alamance 77-55.

The Gryphon defense was so stifling on the Warriors that Coach Mike Gainey cleared the bench with four minutes to play in the first half with the score 33-6. The remainder of the game was played trying to keep everyone healthy for Wednesday night's game.

TaShawn Mabry took open shots from three feet from the basket the entire night but he played in limited time TaShawn had 30 points. Nick Hahula rained threes early and often during the opening salvo by the Gryphons and is the only other Gryphon to score in double figures with 11.

Philip Wilkins streak of double digit rebounds came to an end and no Gryphon had more than five rebounds. But tonight rebounds were not needed as the Warriors had trouble advancing the ball forward while Rocky Mount's opening blitz was under way.

Rocky Mount Travels to the #1 seed in sectional four Northern Vance Wednesday night who had a rather close game a 72-66 victory over 6-16 Bartlett Yancy.

Northern Nash traveled to Kinston to play maybe the best team in the east and Kinston probably proved it to Northern Nash with Kinston winning 83-35. At one point it was 40-9 in favor of Kinston.

Is the New-6 a power in basketball? Nash Central the only other conference member to have an opening round home game put away Eastern Wayne in the second half and advance to round #2 with a 62-43 victory. Nash central plays host to D H Conley Wednesday night.

The two conference surprises on the night belong to the #3 seed Fike Golden Demons who stunned Southern Wayne in Mount Olive 82-75. Up next for Fike is a trip to Bertie on Wednesday.

The #4 seeded Cougars of Southwest Edgecombe traveled to Spring Lake on the edge of Pope Air force base and beat Overhills by four points.

This means the top four New-6 basketball teams advance to round two Wednesday. SWE draws 25-3 Northern Guilford next.

Tuesday is the start of girls action as the lady Gryphons play host to Eastern Wayne Tip time is 7.00pm at the RM gym . There is a possibility that Lakia Bynum may be able to play Tuesday.

Tonight I must close with a prayer for Barbara Holt who undergoes cancer surgery Tuesday at Duke. All the Gryphon nation needs to pray for a good report for Barbara and BW.

Basketball Playoffs Start

Despite just playing Friday night, there is no time to celebrate a conference tournament championship as Rocky Mount hosts Western Alamance Monday evening at 7.

Every team is like a puzzle and this year's Gryphon basketball team took a while to get all the pieces in place.

Tashawn Mabry who during this eight-game winning streak is probably having the best period of what is becoming an illustrious Gryphon career.

Philip Wilkins has been close to double-digit scoring and rebounding during this streak.

Bobo Sharpe is approaching 500 assists in his career to go with over 1,100 points.

Darius McKnight has become a scorer and ball handler which was sorely lacking when the team was 8-10.

Nick Hahula continues to rain 3-point shots at just the right moment.

If the Gyrphons win Monday, they play the winner of the Bartlett Yancey-Northern Vance game which will more than likely be Northern Vance since they are 23-2 and at home.

The only way the Gryphons get a home game is if Bartlett Yancy wins which is not likely since they are only 6-15.

Tomorrow night is in all likelyhood the last home game of the year for the boys.

Despite being 20-4, the Lady Gryphons have a major injury to deal with since point guard Lakia Bynum was injured Friday night.

The girls start the playoffs on Tuesday. If they manage to defeat 9-15 Eastern Wayne, they play again Thursday against the Havelock-White Oak winner in Rocky Mount.

Tonight Duke defends home court and beat Wake Forest. To this point in the season, there doesn't seem to be a Big Four team that will make it to the Final Four.

However, Raleigh is hosting a first-round weekend and if Carolina and Duke can get to Raleigh then they both have a good chance for the Sweet 16.

Now, in retrospect, it may not have been such a great deal with all of Carolina players returning this year. They have all improved their offensive game but not a one has worked on defense.

I still like what I see in Wake. I know it is hard to believe, but the Wolfpack can still make the NCAA and have a good shot at finishing at 8-8 in conference play. Who would have thought that three weeks ago.