Duke Makes It to Final Four

Baylor playing in Houston is like Duke playing in Greensboro, a Home game for the Bears. Despite having a home crowd against them Duke took care of business and the ACC will send Carolina to the final four of the NIT and Duke to the final four of the big dance the NCAA.

This is the eleventh trip to the final four for coach K and I would label this team #11 of best Duke teams to make the final four but they are there. They are the only surviving #1 seed left in the tournament which will have two #5 seedsfor the first time ever in the final four. Duke will match up against a #2 seeded team in West Virginia who will be going to the big dance for the first time since a guy named Jerry West lead the Mountaineers.

Duke 78 Baylor 71

The "Rocky Mount Telegram" had a good feature today on the Rocky Mount State Championship basketball team. Nick Cammarota the newest member of the sports team has done a great job since coming to Rocky Mount. Let's hope baseball will give him another shot at a second state title in his first four months in town.

I told you in my Saturday blog I was pulling for Amanda Griffin, a junior at Northern Nash to win the Rocky Mount Junior Miss and she did. I was off watching N C State lose to Miami in baseball but both of the rest of my house hold was there.

Jerry Lewis has poster children for his telethons for MD and Amanda should be the poster child for the Nash County Relay. While in junior high Amanda and her family found out that she had cancer.

Her entire fight was supported by her church Red Oak Baptist and Red Oak Middle school. Today Cancer free Amanda plays on the basketball team and Soccer team that I know of. I was told that is was every emotional for all those who were there supporting her Sunday afternoon when she was announced as the winner.

Greenfield's Victoria Vesce was first runner-up and Southern Nash's Michaela Bauer was second runner up.

I think some of you have seen the Relay for Life show on WHIG-TV which I host leading up to the relay on April 23rd. It's on at 6.00pm every Monday night and any time a cancer survivor like Amanda does well surviving cancer it can only help others when they hear that they have it.

Good going Amanda!!!!

The Elite Eight

Duke has beaten Purdue 70-57 to keep the ACC alive in the NCAA Tournament. Regardless of what color your team wears you must give it up to coach K. I have not thought Duke could go very far in the NCAA tournament but coach K inserted Brian Zoubek into the starting line up with about nine games to go in the regular season. Why would any one do that. Zoubek who has been a career five minute and five fouls player is averaging over ten points and 8.5 rebounds since he has been inserted into the lineup. All of a sudden Duke might be the best defensive team left. They will surly be tested Sunday playing Baylor in Houston.

Friday night was one of those nights that Brian Goodwin would like to forget. North Carolina playing Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill Brian struck out the first four times he went to the plate. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth Brian comes to bat with the bases loaded and one out with a chance to be the hero. The only ball he hit fair all night was a line drive to the shortstop who doubled up the runner on second and the heels lose 2-1.

If there is one thing noticeable in the NCAA basketball tournament is in the close games the last two minutes the referees are swallowing their whistles. looks like the NHL who will not call a penalty the last two minutes of a game.

Sunday afternoon at the Dunn Center is this years Junior Miss . There are eleven girls from the area trying to follow in the foot steps of Hannah McMillan who after winning the Rocky Mount Junior Miss last year won the State title earlier this year. She will compete for the national title in June.

The eleven girls are Michaela Bauer from Southern Nash, Margaret Braswell of Northern Nash, Mary Chambliss of Faith Christian, Jenna Gardner from Nash Central, Amanda Griffin of Northern Nash, Lauren Jackson from Rocky Mount Prep, Ana Joyner from Nash Central, Heather Joyner from Nash Central, Victoria Vesce from Greenfield School, Melanie White from Nash Central and Morgan Bishop from Rocky Mount High.

I do not know any of these girls, however I will be pulling for Amanda Griffin from Northern Nash. I have never spoken to Amanda but I know she plays on the basketball team and is having a successful high school career. My reason for pulling for Amanda is she is a cancer survivor. Back when Amanda went to Red Oak middle the entire school pulled for Amanda during her fight with cancer.

Now cancer free Amanda is living proof that we can live normal lives when ever we hear the BIG C word. I only know Amanda because of the Nash County Relay For Life and what she went through while at Red Oak middle. She is a living example of the only way to live is to fight with all you have and she did and she will be on stage Sunday.

Good luck to all and especially to Amanda.

Championship Tee-Shirts Are Here

That first Monday night in April when the NCAA national champion is crowned, before the winning team cuts down the nets they will be sporting national championship caps and tee shirts. That's what happens when corporation like NIKE are involved.

The high school level there are no billion dollar corporation spending the money so that when Rocky Mount cut down the nets at Rocky Mount High School in the early hours after celebrating a championship no one had on a winner tee shirt. But, of course this is high school and the shirts are here. Mike Gainey ordered tee-shirts and they arrived yesterday and are on sale at his office for $10.00. I had to unload a bill for Morgan last night so she could wear hers in school today.

Championships are special regardless of what level they are on. My career I have called three state championship football games and rooted for the winner once. Now I have been twice in high school basketball calling the winning team both times. I have been behind the TV mic for two games in the Babe Ruth World Series, once in Wilson and once In Quincy Massachusetts. I made the call when the Babe Ruth team won the state title right here in Rocky Mount in 2004.

Even last summer I was doing the PA for Nash County American Legion when they won the east title which put them in the state tournament. Back in the 80's five times I did Junior college Regional finals and twice made the calls as Chowan advance to the national tournaments in Kansas.

It doesn't mattter what level it is when you take on all comers and when it is over you are the last team standing it is special. Even the casual fan who the only time all year they saw Rocky Mount play was in Chapel Hill walked out of the Dean Dome with their buttoms about to pop off their shirts.

Announcers whether it's radio, tv or the PA man thinks he's part of the team. We get to go behind the scenes and find out more about the kids than the average fan who couldn't recognize any of them on the street.

I think back to each championship I have been part of I remember I had the same feeling at each one. That feeling of being the best. I have never once even said to myself, boy this championship would be a lot better if it was the 4-A championship.

I just don't know how a National championship can get any better than this.

Another Shut Out

This spring the teams that play run-catch and hit at Rocky Mount High School are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Baseball, one of the top teams in the state continues to impress holding their third straight team to zero runs. Softball another ten run loss.

Parker Helms pitched the first four innings and Jeremy Trevathan the final two innings as Gryphon baseball wins 10-0 in six innings.

I think we all know that if you look at the summer recreational league in Rocky Mount, it is tilted for boys. If you were a girl and wanted to play softball then you played in Nashville. Slowly that is changing but the results needed take years to produce quality softball players.

Baseball is on the rise in Nash County in part because of funds provided by Richard Sarmeinto with the travel leagues. Babe Ruth baseball was the first result of all these kids playing all over the world on weekends. Babe Ruth teams in the last ten years have played in several World Series after winning state titles and Southeast regional titles.

High school baseball have shown the fruits of all this baseball playing with Northern Nash twice playing for the eastern titles and Rocky Mount winning a state title, all of this within the past three years. Legion baseball last year made it to the state tournament for the first time in decades while the Rocky Mount junior legion team finished third in the state.

The changeover to fast pitch a few years ago has effected the areas most who didn't take softball as serious as those that did. It is very difficult to teach a pitcher how to throw fast pitch in three weeks and when you don't see good fast pitching in practice it is hard to even learn to hit fast pitch. Pitching machines throw fast but they can't simulate the whipping action that a pitcher uses.

There is hope for softball. Their lack of experience right now has resulted in all but two games ending by ten run rule. Pitching is getting better, their hitting is improving and their is no lack of desire from this group. The score board doesn't show it yet but softball is getting better. maybe be as this year unfolds they will see a win or two.

Tashawn Mabrey was named to the AP all state basketball team Wednesday. I don't think there was any way that Tashawn wasn't going to make all state team regardless of how Rocky Mount finished in the playoffs but his last three games in the Regional and State Finals with the whole state watching made all state a no brainer.

ECU has hired former Carolina Basketball player Jeff Lebo as their new basketball coach. Basketball in Greenville is the #3 sport behind football and baseball. If Carolina continues the tradition I bet the Heels play in Greenville in the fore see able future. I wonder when was the last sellout for basketball?

Pitching Comes Through

Michael Whitehead's single drove in Hobbs Johnson and Rocky Mount had the only run they needed in beating Webb High school in Oxford Tuesday. Taylor Clontz had a double for the only other hit that the Gryphons could muster.

When hitting is non-existent who do you call for? Yesterday, Hobbs Johnson took the hill for the first four innings and Benton Moss finished up the last three as the Gryphons down Webb 1-0.

Today at 4.30 the Gryphons play their last so called tune up game before conference play begins at Nash Central next week. Roanoke Rapids is here a 19-0 loser to the Gryphons last week at the RR.

Last week I gave you and update on local players playing baseball throughout the south and of course we have so many I can't keep up with all of them without your help. Richard Sarmeinto reminded me of Edmond Gravely who is playing at Newberry College. I know that Cameron Ramsey plays at Wake Tech. One big problem for some of these schools is that don't have stats on line and Cameron falls in to this category.

I stumbled across Wesley Joyner(Northern Nash) is playing at Mount Olive. He has two hits in three at bats this season. Eric Mull from Rocky Mount Academy also is two for three for Charlie Long at NC Wesleyan. I also found Rocky Mount's Gabe Brown on the Roster at Lenoir CC and two of his teammates are Patrick and Zach Barnes from Faith Christian. By my count that is twenty one ball players from this area extending their careers at the college level. If you know of any more please feel free to let me know.

Carolina is heading to the Big Apple to play in the semi-finals of the NIT. Just looks to me like in the NIT Carolina has been aggressive and not playing to lose. just shows the pressures theses kids play under following a teams National Championship.

The Charlotte Bobcats won their thirty sixth game of the season last night which is the Bobcats franchise record. Barring a collapse the Bobcats are going to make their first NBA playoffs this year.

The Process Of Life

Gryphon baseball returns to action today when they visit Webb high in Oxford. They will be home Wednesday hosting Roanoke Rapids.

Softball lost at Southern Vance 11-1. Our daughter Morgan who is the score keeper missed yesterday's game as we had a visit to doctors in Chapel Hill. We did look to our left as we passed the stoplight at the newly named Gryphon Dome which was formerly known as the Dean Smith Center.

I started working at the radio station in Ahoskie the summer just before my senior year in high school. Upon graduation, I become a disc jockey spinning the hits of the early 1970's. life was grand, as in a real small town like Ahoskie that crazy guy on the radio was known by every body who could pick me up on the radio.

Love popped into the picture in 1976 and there is all of a sudden this realization that this great life being a disc jockey has a lot of fringe benefits but money is not one of them. My first real job was selling washing machines at our Sears catalog store. Friday's you could find me in a booth calling football which now is my hobby.

Many of you know Wes Bradshaw. Much like me he has this affliction and passion for calling sports on the radio. You can throw being a PA announcer into the category, it's like radio but not heard as far.. His parents have been much more forgiving than mine were.

I think that time has come in Wes's life where that reality sets in when someone becomes special in your life and it is decision time on your future. Wes called me last night and we dicussed our plans for football coverage next fall. He also told me that he had given up his part time job of cutting meat in Pinetops and had a real job. A job that was going to interfere with ball games.

I know from experience that when something else gets in the way of a ball game your life is spinning around. For Wes, that something else must be love.

His life and mine have several parallels. If his continues like mine then he will have a game or two in which he has to work and will miss a game. Then that dreaded, I can't do it at all this season because my work won't let me.

Man, what we all go through in that thing called the Process of life.

Class Reunion

My wife Pat had her 40Th high school reunion Saturday night and we ventured back home to Ahoskie to see the gang. I married an older woman so I need for you to understand that this was her 40th. Mine's next year. haha.....

Life leads us down many paths in our life and my biggest disappointment is now for me 39 years later I have very little contact with those who I grew up with, who looking back now meant so much in my life.

Even though this was my wife's class I knew all these people in school and played ball with many of them. So, it was a reunion for me too. There was a tape playing over in the corner of all the football games for the class of 1970 which at the time had me mostly sitting on the bench. I am making arrangements today to get a copy made for myself. Football was king in Ahoskie back in the 40's,50's and 60's and film is still available all the way back to 1946.

Among the many I talked with was "Skeeter" Bryant who played guard on the football team. I was his backup. Yes, all 135 pounds of me played line when I got in the game. "Skeeter" who now lives in Alamance County tells me that he goggled my name and up popped "From The Pressbox".

That day I had done a story about Spencer Barrow a former Ahoskie player who went to Carolina on scholarship only to meet Chris Hanburger in a one on one drill and broke his leg never to play for Carolina. That day I mention that as an eight year old, Spencer had been my favorite player when he played for AHS and even as he became a big city lawyer in Raleigh I had kept track of him.

I hope whenever I write any thing in this column that I never take myself serious. I try to give you information but the day I think that your life will not be worth living until you have read this column then I have lost my purpose.

I try to say what I feel from my heart and I know sometimes I leave off a coma, say ain't when I shouldn't. One of the teachers there Saturday night was Dot Powell . One of her sons Whit was one of my great friends in school. I never had a class in English in high school with her. My first year at Roanoke Chowan C C I had her in english. Our first day we had to write a paper on what we wanted to do in life. I said that I wanted to write a book. Her reply to me was that as much as I liked to talk and with the passion I had I could do it. Only after I wrote it let her check my grammar!

The ride home Saturday night Pat and I were convinced that if there is going to be a 40th reunion for my class of 1971 we will be there. It was a ball of fun seeing everybody!!!!