Big Weekend In This Houseehold

Having a graduating senior in high school those last couple of weeks before the big day brings on several culminations of life leading up to graduation.  Friday night the Tar River Children's Chorus had their annual end of the year concert.  This year happened to be the 20th year since the Tar River Orchestral Society decided to fund a Children's Chorus.  It also mark the last time that Morgan would sing with the group as she will age out.

We have been in the group nine years and have traveled all over the east coast singing with the Chorus.  The Children's Chorus leader is Patsy Gilliland.  I think we all hope that when our time has come and gone in this life there will be someone to say that my life was better because I was a part of it.  I can tell you this Patsy being a part of my family's life the last nine year has certainly  enriched ours.

Tonight The Debuette Club is having their Presentation Ball at the Dunn Center.  Morgan has been in that since ninth grade.  The club is a public service group and she will receive a $2,500 dollar Scholarship tonight having performed more public service hours than any other senior.  Her four years she has given more than 400 hours back to help making Rocky Mount a better place to live.

Fourteen seniors will be presented and I will have to  wear a Monkey Suit tonight.  I have been instructed that I can't go to the Alumni game because Pat knows if I go to see any of the game I will be there to the end.  If I did that my funeral would be about Tuesday.

The Big east has finished it's sports season as Hunt was knocked out of the baseball playoffs last night by South Brunswick  7-0.  This will be the first time in quite sometime that at least one member of the Big East/ NEW conference hasn't gotten at least to Eastern Regional.

Yesterday's results in track  had the Fike girls finishing second in the state behind the champion North Buncombe. Rocky Mount finished 21st, Southern Nash 31st and Nash Central 55th.  The boys were lead by Fike finishing 5th.  Then it was Hunt in 18th,  Rocky Mount and Southern Nash 19th and Nash Central 32nd.

One Final Time

Growing up in Ahoskie our most hated rival was Edenton. If you lived in Edenton or Ahoskie in order to win the Old Albemarle Conference football title you had to beat both of us .  You had to beat both or the one you lost too was going to win the title.  If was such a heated rivalry that in 1965 and 1966 they had an old timers game where the legends suited up and continue the debate of who was best.  In 1965 at Edenton they won 7-0 and in 1966 Ahoskie won 13-7.  Even the rivalry games were close like the varsity games were.  When Ahoskie High became Hertford County in 1988 Edenton and Ahoskie had won 23 games each and tied twice.  By the time of the third Legends game insurance had become an issue and there was never another game.

Saturday afternoon at Gryphon Stadium those that help make Rocky Mount into a baseball school will lace on the old shoes and get the gloves out of the top of the closet one more time.  Forty two players had promised to play and six old coaches will argue with umpires one more time.

 The closer the game gets to happening all of a sudden people  begin to come up with excuses.  Terrell Hudgins may have the best one as he is getting a try out with a Canadian Football league team.  People have come up with excuses like they decided to get married at 4PM Saturday.  Yes the closer the game comes, all of a sudden people realize they must be crazy to think they can still hit that little ball  much less think they can still run to first base.  I bet half of them can't even run to first any more but they are going to give it a Gryphon and Blackbird effort one more time and say good bye to the home of five State Championships.

Pregame ceremonies  begin at 3:15 and the game will get underway at 4PM.  Hope and pray that one side will will out right and they don't have to play extra innings.

Southern Nash's relay team won the 4x200 in the State Championships at NCA&T today.  They ran in 1:29.32.  The four members were  Terron Huffman,Tracey Coppage, Sextus Vane and Dylan Proctor.

Faith Christian lost in the semi finals of the state Private school playoffs to Lawrence Academy in Fleming Stadium today 9-1.

Track And Field Friday

The State Championship in track and field in 3-A gets underway Friday at North Carolina A&T.  Rocky Mount's Paul Lilly who has a chance to get points in four events  and just might win a couple of events has an outside shot at being MVP of the meet if he does well.

Hunt is in the third round of the Baseball playoffs and meet South Brunswick Friday night at Brunswick.

Faith Christian School goes after a shot at the State Independent School baseball title when they meet Lawrence Academy at 1pm Friday at Fleming Stadium in Wilson.  The winner of that game will take on the Greenfield Wayne Country Day winner which is also being played at Fleming.  The two winners collide for the title Saturday.

Tonight North Carolina State beat Florida State 10-5 as the last weekend of the regular season of college baseball is here.  Carlos Rodan who is State's sensational freshman walked nine batters in six innings but gave up only three hits to pick up his ninth win of the year.   State trailed 4-1 when Ryan Matthews belted two home runs to give the Pack the win.  The win clinches at least third place in next week's ACC baseball Tournament for the Wolfpack.  Carolina will be second if they win two of their games this weekend against Virginia Tech.  .

Next Thursday May 24th is the Rocky Mount High School Athletic banquet for all athletes in the 11/12 school year.  The high light of the evening will be the basketball team receiving their State Championship basketball Rings.

Understand Gryphon football player Damien Smith will play football at Campbell.

Finally tonight I can't get over this world we live in these days.  Both the Miami Heat and the L A Lakers are in real trouble and both teams lost Tuesday and Wednesday night in the last seconds when team mates missed shots.  Kobe Bryant and Lebron James  are being labeled for either passing up shots to feed a team mate or just for not getting open.

It is almost like everyone thinks that every shot at the end of the game is suppose to go in and only the superstars are suppose to shoot them.  Both cases the final shots were taken by players wide open and the shots just did not go in.  The media is making out as if James is scare to take the big shot  and Kobe is getting old because he can't get open any more.  Neither one of those players hits 50% of his shot for the season but the media thinks because it seemed Michael Jordan made every shot at the end of games they will make all their shots.  First off Jordan didn't make every shot he took at the end and Steve Kerr and John Paxton  were hero's in many games from their game winning shots.

Northern Falls In East Final

Just a couple of weeks ago the members of the North Carolina Athletic Association almost voted the Christian schools out of the Association.  Today Northern Nash found out what it means to meet one of them in the playoffs as they traveled to Raleigh to meet Cardinal Gibbons with the chance to play for the State Tennis title Saturday.  Cardinal Gibbons won 5-1 but the matches were closer than the score.  So far this spring other the the track and field runners that made it to the state meet Northern's tennis team has made it farther than any other team in the Big East this spring.  Northern's senior #1 player Michael Bracket plans to walk on next year at N C State.

Faith Christian got revenge with Trinity Tuesday as the opening game of the season  was an opening lost for Faith, however in the second round of the playoffs Faith Christian got their satisfaction and will move Friday in Fleming Stadium in Wilson to the final four of the Independent School playoffs with a 6-3 win.  They will play at 1pm. They will play the top seed  in the tournament in Lawrence Academy which is located near the recent discovery of the found Lost Colony in Bertie County.  The other semi will feature the host team Greenfield Academy of Wilson against Wayne Country day of Goldsboro.  Three of the teams playing in the final four are within 20 mikes of the stadium.  The finals will be Saturday between the two winners.

Hunt High was the only girls soccer team to win in the second round of the playoffs so who did they draw in the 3rd round?  White Oak the team that knocked out the Lady Gryphons 2-1.  Hunt lost in the third round 2-0.  After being 4-0 in the opening round the Big East winds up the playoffs with a record of 5-4.  1-4 against the Coastal as Hunt beat West Carteret in the second round.

Nash Central the only Big East team to make it to the second round in softball didn't make it to the third round as Havelock no hit the Lady Bulldogs.  Both baseball and softball at Nash Central lost at home by ten runs.  At least the softball team did make the second round.

The only Big East baseball team that is still alive we believe is Hunt.  They were scheduled to play Tuesday but we believe they got rained out and are trying to play tonight in round two of the playoffs.  The looks and the sounds outside my house right now I doubt they can play tonight.

I bet you didn't know this but several Carolina Panther football players including Cam Newton were at Hubbard Elementary School today helping fire up students for next weeks EOGs.

Josh Hamilton (You Got To Be Kidding)

Get out the Steroid checking machine as Josh Hamilton of Raleigh and the Texas Rangers is setting the pace that will break the home run record set by steroid user Barry Bonds.  In case you didn't know it Hamilton is checked twice a week from has past alcohol and drug addictions.  He even had a relapse of alcohol just before the spring training got under way.

I am a real fan of Josh Hamilton due to the fact he has openly admitted his past and tells you if fights urges every day.  How in the world can anyone with a closet full of skeletons produce the way he has and is doing.  If he keeps up this pace after thirty three games he is hitting 400- 18 home runs and 44 rbi.  If he were to stay at this pace all year he was hit almost 90 home runs  drive in more that 225 runs.  Both of those stats would be world records and there will be no I wonder whether he on the juice because we know he isn't with all the weekly test administered by MLB.

Now we all know he cannot keep up this pace and at some point in time he will go 0-20  not hit a home run for a month.  But with all he goes through every day just to try to live I wouldn't say normal life but to just survive you have to pull for the guy.  You know after the last fifteen years with all the tainted records because of steroids being used it sure would be nice that if someone who we know is clean would rip the juiced records to shreds.

Brian Goodwin who has missed the last month after his groin injury  in like the 7th game of his pro career in Hagerstown Maryland is expected back in Hagerstown soon.  The Washington Nationals have taken extra care to insure his injury has healed 100 percent.  He has probably been ready to play for two weeks but the Nationals see something in Brian that they don't want him playing injured all the time.  He has rehabbed back in the Nationals Florida camp.  It will be interesting to see whether he picks up the torrid pace that he set the first week in minor league baseball before the injury.

We are in the last week of Division one college baseball's regular season and unless four  teams fall apart over the next two weeks Florida State, North Carolina and N C State and Virginia  are all in line to host Regionals the first week in June.  FSU is second, Carolina fifth  the Pack eleventh and Virginia twelfth  in the updated as of today RPI.  State has not hosted a Regional since 2003 when they had to play the Regional in Wilson at Fleming Stadium  while Doak Field was being expanded. Clemson, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and ECU are all in the top 30 and should easily get births  to the College playoffs.

Last One Saturday/ Gryphon Alumni Game

It will be a celebration of all the glory encountered at what use to be called Memorial Stadium and then Gryphon Stadium.  In all five state titles were won as the Blackbirds and Gryphons played on the field.  Progress has hit us and for the first time ever every sport will be played on campus next year at the new Rocky Mount High School.  For Gryphon Stadium it's future name is unknown but we know Senior American Legion, Junior Legion and Babe Ruth will take over the field.

Part of the celebration every Blackbird or Gryphon who has ever played on that field representing Rocky Mount have been invited to come back  So far 37 have promised to come back and play and six former coaches are going to roam the coaches boxes one more time.

The ceremonies will start at 3:15pm when all the participants will be introduced.  I am sure if he were alive that he would have wanted to play and part of the pregame ceremonies a tribute will be paid to former Blackbird Darrell Johnson was was part of a state title in football and baseball but is still Missing In Action in Vietnam.  Admission is free and there will be grilled hot dogs on sale during the game with a proceeds going to the Gryphon  Baseball.

Those players committed to play are:          
Eddie Joe Lynch Class of 67           Jeff Collins Class of 74              Tommy Warrick Class of 74
Jeff Williams Class of 76                 Timmy Tucker Class of 79         Kevin Bunn Class of 80
John Kennedy Class of 80              Jeff  Newsome Class of 80        Eddie Coates Class of 83
Hank Jones Class of 86                  Gary Miller Class of 88             Marcus Mitchell Class of 91
J J Jones Class of 91                      Harold Joyner Class of 92         Jerry Smith Class of 95
Travis Matthews Class of 95          Jeremy Ward Class of 96          David Ange Class of 97
Eric Johnson Class of 98                Jason Battle Class of 98            Paul Jenkins Class of 2001
Carter Harrell Class of 2001          Sam Crisp Class of 2001          Braxton Hill Class of 2002
Adam Weaver Class of 2002         Jason Womble Class of 2004   Brandon Arrington Class of 2005
Will Johnson Class of 2005            Terrell Hudgins Class of 2005  Chad Womble Class of 2007
Grant Johnson Class of 2008          Jim Leggett Class of 2008        William Barringer Class of 2008
Chris Berry Class of 2008             Cameron Ramsey Class of 2009Dillon Cockrell Class of 2009
Carter Varnell Class of 2010

Coaches returning include  Pat Smith-Danny Weaver-Shelton Chesson-George Kelly-Jerry Carter and Dale Thompkins.

Come on out Saturday afternoon and laugh and have a good time for I am sure there will be a tale or two told as the afternoon goes on.  First pitch should be right after the introduction of the teams.  No telling how long it might take some of them to get loose.

Pack Moving Up

The University of North Carolina was the first University that a State government gave money in order to create.  It open it's doors in 1804.  Almost a century later the state government was spending money again to create a college and there are many who attended that still say they went to State College.  Since 1890 there has always been the second fiddle label to State over those who go to Carolina.

Carolina has for years used the moniker THE University of North Carolina.  Whenever possible they have tried to imply that the standards in Chapel Hill were beyond reproach and the Cow College was always little sister in importance and value to the State Of North Carolina.

Scandal has ravaged through Chapel Hill in the last two years.  The Honor Court and the Academic Standards are in questioned.  Yes during the last days of Jim Valvano N C State paid a price that a decision was made to devalue sports and bring an academic standard to the University that would meet the view of those in Chapel Hill.  Like it or not State's last twenty years on the athletic fields have been good but not outstanding.

Then a North Carolina State icon dies in Kay Yow and her sister soon arrives to run the athletic ship.  Debbie Yow is just about to finish up her second year as Athletic Director and there is a surge on the field and  Saturday more athletes graduated in one day in the history of the institution.  The answer is yes you can win and still go to class.  We have just found in the last couple of weeks that going to class is not necessary  at the Hill.

Now with a  new investigation looming in Chapel Hill Debbie Yow is finding money under rocks that no one knew of before her arrival.  She is demanding coaches put better teams on the field and across the board State is improving every where.  You know she called Gary Williams lazy and he was a National Championship coach for Maryland basketball.

Will Carolina at some point in time have to start looking back beyond 2007 which is as far back as I think they want to look and find out they are not the shining star that they have advertised.  While Carolina is embroiled in a major embarrassment under Debbie Yow's leadership State is on the rise and seems ready to take over the Flagship if Carolina keeps in denial and is not willing to get to the bottom of a mess.