I'm Rooting for Mike Fox

This Wolfpacker is one guy who would really like to see Mike Fox win a national championship with Carolina baseball.

My son Brooks went to Mike's baseball camp while he was at North Carolina Wesleyan and the final Friday parents are invited to come watch your kids play. Brooks was on what looked like the best team after they had played one game. You played three inning games with a Wesleyan pitcher and catcher and you got one swing when you batted.

During the second game the best player on Brook's team slapped a teammate while they were batting right in front of Mike and all the parents that were there. Mike grabbed that young man by the collar and I am saying to myself "oh no Mike may killed him in front of all us parents".

Mike took the young man over to the bleachers where the parents were sitting and told him sternly "you sit hear don't move and don't open your mouth" until I tell you you can'.

With their best player missing Brook's team did not win that tournament that day. When the games were over Mike went over to the young man and explained to him how his selfishness has hurt his teammates and Mike made the player apologize to all the players and parents in attendance.

Right then and there I became a Mike Fox Fan. He never got angry with the young man but showed him the value of getting along with your teammates.

Carolina breezed through their regional and await either East Carolina or South Carolina. The Heels have almost won the world series in each of the last two years but didn't. I sure would love for Mike Fox get a national championship.

I tried to watch the Florida State /Ohio State baseball game in order to watch the crawler to see how Carolina and ECU were doing. Florida State scored 21 runs before Ohio State could get eight outs. Looked like a little league game. The final score was FSU 37 Ohio State 6. A football score.

The ACC is doing very well with only Boston College and Miami eliminated so far. Their biggest problem for BC was losing the 25 inning game Saturday which took seven hours to play and then playing in the loser bracket game first thing Sunday. Miami lost to Florida twice over the weekend.

Carolina, Virginia, and Florida State swept their regional. Clemson,Georgia Tech will play today trying to make the Super regional. The conference is 15-6 so far in all games.

Of all the ACC schools who played this weekend Virginia sure has the whole country talking. They beat the best pitcher in the country Friday and dominated the rest of the weekend.

ECU held on last night and will play South Carolina again tonight with the winner playing Carolina this weekend.

Unique community

Last Night daughter Morgan was part of the ninth graders presented at the Deb-u-ette ball held at the Dunn Center. Rocky Mount is a city of three public high schools basically within the city limits. We are a big town but a small city.

Between the ninth graders and seniors a cross section of our community was there. Every school was represented both public and private. In the gyms and on the ball field we are adversaries. In church we sit side by side. We work together, play together and live life together and as Northern Nash was the last surviving team in the playoffs we cheered together.

Despite fights against annexation Rocky Mount is a good place to live together.

North Carolina looks as though they will move on to the super regional next week. They still need one more win.

East Carolina's pitching doesn't look good enough to get them to next weekend. A Carolina-ECU matchup looks bleak.

Virginia has looked great and Florida State is playing well. Elon is alive today but in the losers bracket.

The Orlando Magic sure made Cleveland look like the Lebron Cavaliers as he got no help from team mates at all.

I am sorry to say this but I just have a hard time looking at Kobe Bryant and being able to admire his talent. He is selfish, takes terrible shots, and yet he makes most of them.

I guess Kobe is why I have lost interest in the NBA. I can't stand why four players go get out of his way and then he takes a twenty five foot shot. That's not good basketball to me.

I don't know whether you saw this or not but Boston College and Texas played the longest college baseball game in history last night. Twenty five inning and it took seven hours to play. Texas beat BC 3-2. Poor BC goes in the losers bracket having used up most of their pitching in one game.

You know I don't like the high school playoffs with so many teams involved. South West Edgecombe girls softball team is what the experts will point to when they say everyone has a chance. SWE got knocked out of the softball playoffs Friday night in the fourth round. They were the #4 seed from the NEW-6. They lead the entire game only to lose to Triton in the last inning. A victory and they would have made the state championship Tournament at Walnut Creek this weekend

You know what they say. When the game starts everyone has a chance.

Northern Swept Bt Eastern Wayne.

Eastern Wayne wins the Eastern 3-A Finals tonight in Red Oak 11 to 1 over the Knights of Northern Nash. In the process they avoided maybe the best left handed pitcher in North Carolina high school or college in TylerJoyner.

It is just the way the schedule dictated the pitching as Joyner having pitch seven innings Wednesday night just to get the Knight to the eastern Finals finished his high school career at first base and got one of the two hits in the game for Northern.

Northern's number two pitcher in Brandon Denton pitched 6 plus innings last night but was not involved in the pitching decision in the 6-5 lost to Eastern Wayne in Goldsboro.

Faced with an elimination game coach Eddie Loesner called on David Whitman to pitch and heading into the fourth inning I don't think any one could have asked for more from Whitman. He was down 2-1 but Northern was in the game until a five run rally in the fourth by the Warriors knocked Whitman out. He was replaced byJeremy Lucas who got six straight batter out and worked until the seventh inning.

The lone Northern run came in the second inning when Brandon Denton reached first on a throwing error advance around to third and a squeeze bunt by Mike Williams which rolled past the pitcher and Williams beat it out for an infield single.

On the night Eastern Wayne collected seven hits but were issued eight free passes five of them intentional walks and two hit batters.

Northern finishes 19-9 on the season .

I heard tonight from Don Johnson that John Haggerty of Northern Nash was behind the plate umpiring today in the LSU-Southern NCAA playoff game that was televised on ESPNU. I saw a few innings of that game but did not realize John was behind the plate.

I saw on the crawler on the bottom of the TV screen that the Denver Broncos have waived J J Arrington. J J had just signed with Denver since the Super bowl. He must have an injury. It's curious getting cut even before summer camp starts.

Congratulations to Brian Goodwin of the Rocky Mount Gryphons being named the Gatorade North Carolina High School Player of the year.

The day of June ninth is a big day for Brian. That is the day of the Major league baseball draft. Whether he plays for Mike fox next year or plays minor league baseball Will be determined by high up in the draft he is taken. There is still a good chance he will be drafted in the first round. I would suspect if he is the money will be enough to start pro ball right away but if he is second round or more he will probably wear the Carolina blue for a while.

It will be interesting to see when Tyler Joyner is drafted.

We haven't Seen Nothing Yet

Education is feeling the crunch of less dollars. Every county is not being asked but basically being told you must make cuts because you are not going to be getting the money that you have from the past.

Being politicians you always want to make cuts where the least people will be hurt. In the case of North Carolina where is the obvious and easiest. The double dippers. We have a system in North Carolina where we don't reward people for long tenured service. When your thirty years are up there is no incentive to stay.

So there is a teacher shortage. How does the state remedy that shortage but rehire teachers who are retired. It would make a lot of sense to me to give a gradual increase in retirement benefits for a teacher to stay thirty eight years instead of thirty. As it is now we not only pay for their retirement but also pay them to come back and teach.

I guess you are wondering what this rant is all about. John Gay the athletic director at Fike has resigned now that he has thirty years in and is leaving Fike. Fike has lost their football coach boys basketball coach and now the AD and girls basketball coach.

All of these cuts will effect sports as much as any area in the school system. Just look this year at Pat Smith at Rocky Mount. This season he had two volunteer coaches helping him. Tom and Hank Jones truly love Gryphon athletics. You know Gryphon football didn't have a full staff last year.

Cuts are coming. There is no denying that.

It would not shock me at all to hear the state say in order to save thirty million state wide that four days a week school days could happen. Think of the gas money saved it they went to a four day a week and one hour a day longer.

All of this pressure to make cuts puts stress on the lives of those who know deep in their heart that they could be one of the cuts. My industry has been under that threat since the fall of last year. It has now hit the education business.

Our economy is showing signs of recovery but in the state budget business it is how much money do we have on July 1st of each year that counts. So what ever cuts happen will last until at least next July.

Don't be surprised More cuts are coming. I can see the day just like travel league ball. If you want to play your parents must get you there, the county will not provide travel. Laugh if you will but I can assure you it has been talked about in some conference room some where.

So John Gay at Fike and Pat Smith are retiring. Don't be surprised at any other name you might hear.

Game One Heart Break

The Knights of Northern Nash with the help of faulty Eastern Wayne defense found themselves ahead 5-0 after four innings of play tonight in the opening game of the Eastern 3-A baseball championships in Goldsboro.

Through the first four playoff games and the first four innings tonight Northern pitching had allowed just one run for thirty one innings of playoff pitching.

Tonight a ghost from Rocky Mount high as John Wooten Senior first baseman for the Warriors hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the fifth inning for Eastern Wayne. Wooten who is headed to Greenville to play for Billy Godwin at East Carolina is the son of former Rocky Mount high Great Sonny Wooten. Wooten was a member of the Rocky Mount American Legion team that won the state baseball championship in the early 70's and after playing pro baseball settle in Goldsboro.

Wooten's slammer made it 5-4 and Northern was able to hold the lead until the bottom of the seventh. After walking the leadoff runner in the seventh Northern's head coach Eddie Loesner Pulled starter Brandon Denton in Favor of senior Mike Williams who had to face John Wooten as his first batter. Wooten hit a shot to second baseman Mike Smith who knocked the ball down tossed to second and Wesley Joyner's throw to first got a double play. Two outs and no one one. The very next batter drills a home run to tie the game. Then the next two batters get back to back doubles and in a matter of a few seconds Northern's opening game victory turns into a stunning loss.

Game two is tomorrow night at Northern where the Knights find themselves in a must win to survive mode. Eddie Loesner is really in a major pickle. Having pitched Tyler Joyner last night just to get to tonight's game he must find someone to help get a win Friday and maybe pitch Joyner Saturday night.

If there was one area that the playoff game against Rocky Mount showed was that Northern had two great pitchers but were very thin looking for a third starter. That third starter must come through for Northern Friday night in order to play back in Goldsboro Saturday night.

Tonight was a good night to have played the game in Goldsboro as thunder storms rolled through Rocky Mount at what would have been about game time in Goldsboro.

If luck has any thing to do with winning right now Northern could use a rain out Friday and then play a double header if necessary at Northern on Saturday. That way they possibly could use Tyler Joyner and Brandon Denton some on Saturday.

Game two is Friday night at Northern at 7.00pm

Joyner pitches gem

Tyler Joyner pitch a two hit shut out as the New-6 will return to the eastern finals in baseball for the third year in a row as Northern Nash Smacks Webb high 6-0. Brandon Denton supplied the muscle hitting a three run homer. Tyler Clark and Tyler Joyner also double for the Knights.

In four playoff games so far this year Northern Pitching has allowed only one run.

Due to last nights rain out Northern will not have any practice time as they travel to Eastern Wayne Thursday night to open a two out of three playoff series against the Warriors. Game two will be Friday night in Red Oak. If necessary a third game will be played Saturday back in Goldsboro.

This is the second time in three years that Northern has played in the eastern finals losing to C B Aycock in three games in 2007.

I think we can all assume that Brandon Denton will pitch Thursday for the Knights and the big question is there any chance that Tyler Joyner can pitch any more this week after pitching seven inning complete game tonight.

Good Luck Knights!

As Northern carries the banner for Nash County and the NEW-6 word comes that Pat Smith has resigned as baseball coach at Rocky Mount.

The seven years that Smith has been in charge of Gryphon baseball he has lead them to four conference titles and a State title.

I am surprised but not shocked at the announcement. In fact I was surprised that he came back this year after winning the title last season.

Looking back at those first two seasons when it looked like the grizzly old veteran coach was not going to get the players to play his way but in the end averaged over twenty wins a season the last four and won the state title.

Good luck on the golf course Pat.

There's No Cardiac Canes

Trying their best to stave off eliminations the Carolina Hurricanes ran into a team that is improving every time they step on the ice.

Eric Staal's early goal gave Cane's fans hope but a relentless offensive push by the Pittsburgh Penguins proved to be too much as the Pens sweep the Canes 4-0 with a 4-1 win tonight in Raleigh.

The Canes played their best game of the series but it was no match for a Pittsburgh team who will be returning to the Stanly Cup Finals for the second year in a row.

Northern Nash never got an opportunity to play round four in the high school baseball playoffs as tonight's game was rained out in Oxford. They will try again Wednesday night at Webb High School.

If Northern can win over Webb they would be forced to start the Eastern Finals Thursday night in Wayne county against Eastern Wayne who was a 6-4 winner of West Brunswick.

Way back during the football playoffs I complained there were too many games in order to win the championship and it is even worse in baseball. There is no reason any team should be forced to play four games in one week for the sake of making money for the NCHSAA.

Ever since they made the eastern finals a two out of three all teams have been forced to play with this format. Last Thursday night at the Rocky Mount sports banquet Pat Smith had a novel idea. Let the eight conference champions play a two out of three each round.

What that would have meant that the playoff game between Northern and Rocky Mount would have meant you are in or out so both would have used their aces to just get in the playoffs.

This format makes a lot of sense to me. It means that you would only play three games per but the negative would be it might take twelve games to win the title if every series took three games to win.

There is no perfect answer but the the format now smells.