Rocky Mount boys basketball team heads into the Nash County Tournament as the only boys team still undefeated. The Gryphons disposed of the Rampants of Rose High Friday night 56-42. They will meet Southern Nash in the opening round Wednesday night.
The other boys game will feature Northern Nash and Nash Central. The Knights have a 500 record as they face off against the Bulldogs at Nash Central. Already the Knights have put 4 games in the win column after having won only once all of last season. This week will tell the Knights how far they have improved since last season and will give them a good look at just how well they may do when conference starts
The Lady Gryphons had little problem with Rose on Friday winning 76-40. They will take on Southern Nash Tuesday night at Nash Central. The Lady Gryphons lone loss was at the hands of South Central who still remains unbeaten on the season. Everyone totally expects Northern Nash Lady Knights to be waiting Thursday night but they must first meet the home team Nash Central. The Lady Knights remain undefeated and they have not had a fourth quarter yet that they were pushed. I think they are averaging winning by about 40 per contest. The Nash County Tournament is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at Nash Central.
Still no official word yet on the new football coach at Northern. I think you might be hearing the word first part of the week.
Carolina struggles to beat ECU in the Dean Dome. I don't know how many years Roy Williams has left as coach of the Tar Heels but Jeff Lebo sure did look mighty comfortable sitting on the bench while he and Roy Williams talked before the game. There is no doubt for Carolina fans this years team does not have that big man under the basket with nine foot arms that can swat any shot up close to the basket away.
State is beginning to look more like the team everyone expected this year. If they are lacking one thing it is that big man which I just talked about Carolina didn't have. If State did they would be awesome. All the hype this year about the three incoming freshman the least talked about was T J Warren. He is by far the best of the three.
Tonight I will be appearing with Wes Bradshaw on WHIG-TV during their All New Sports Show at 8.00pm. We were suppose to wrap up the high school football season and we will probably do that but our focus will now be more on the life of Charles Austin. If you have satellite remember it will be streamed on WHIG.Com. I think Wes is planning to open up the telephone lines and let everyone tell their tales about how Charles effected their lives.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
He Made An Impact
Today many in this area especially those from the sports community will be saying good bye to a friend. Charles Alston was a 1976 graduate of Rocky Mount Senior High School. Early on he helped with the afternoon edition of the Evening Telegram. This last year he helped with the Nashville Graphics. His main job was working in the Home and Garden department at Sears. He worked at Sears so long that as the elder statesman who got to pick first on which day off you took each week and you can bet if there was something important going on concerning the Rocky Mount Gryphons that was Charle's day off. He planned vacation around State Championship weekends just in case one of our teams was there.
He never married and his life away from work was the Gryphons. Any sports record that you might know about anything to do with the Gryphons Charles Alston is the person who researched it to come up with that stat. Charles goal was he wanted to have a stat on any sport about Rocky Mount High that there was a history to look up. He spent hours pouring through the archives at Braswell Library for box scores of baseball games. Do you know how much time that must take and Charles was no where near finished?
2001 First Media decided to start doing all football, basketball and baseball games of Rocky Mount High. Having only moved here in 1995 I knew very little of the history. Yes I knew of Danny Talbott, Phil Ford and the likes but I knew nothing of the Hank Jones's of Rocky Mount history. My very first broadcast of Gryphon basketball I had Charles as my halftime guest and as long as there was Gryphon's on the radio Charle's was there with me. later we changed over to the game of the week and included all schools of the area but for about four years Charles was my right hand man.
Coming back from a ball game one night Charles had recently started the Web site of Rocky Mount and we talked about me doing an opinion about once a week on the site. In August of 2008 Charles set me up with this blog and this has been a daily thing for me since. On and average day now this site has grown to where around 125 people read this on a daily average.
What kind of an impact has Charles Alston had in the area. If this blog can be any indication my top three blog days as far as how many have look at it on a daily basis is telling. The most viewed day was the 24 hours after the basketball team won the title in 2010. 550 people viewed this blog that day. Just this year when both basketball teams played in Regional finals 499 hit this site. The next week when the boys won their second title 475 people came to read my view. Monday night and the next 24 hours there were 455 hits on this site the 4th biggest day.
I have read many people who would love to see something named for Charles and I am all for it. The football press box at the Athletic Complex is one of the best press boxes for high schools in the state. Yes the Gryphon's no longer play there but as the city tries to use that football facility and of course the Viking Down East Classic will be an annual event there. NC Wesleyan after thought and the locker rooms are refurbished should use the Complex. Charles Alston spend many a night there and I believe next year during the Viking Down East Classic would be a great time to name the press box in his name.
He never married and his life away from work was the Gryphons. Any sports record that you might know about anything to do with the Gryphons Charles Alston is the person who researched it to come up with that stat. Charles goal was he wanted to have a stat on any sport about Rocky Mount High that there was a history to look up. He spent hours pouring through the archives at Braswell Library for box scores of baseball games. Do you know how much time that must take and Charles was no where near finished?
2001 First Media decided to start doing all football, basketball and baseball games of Rocky Mount High. Having only moved here in 1995 I knew very little of the history. Yes I knew of Danny Talbott, Phil Ford and the likes but I knew nothing of the Hank Jones's of Rocky Mount history. My very first broadcast of Gryphon basketball I had Charles as my halftime guest and as long as there was Gryphon's on the radio Charle's was there with me. later we changed over to the game of the week and included all schools of the area but for about four years Charles was my right hand man.
Coming back from a ball game one night Charles had recently started the Web site of Rocky Mount and we talked about me doing an opinion about once a week on the site. In August of 2008 Charles set me up with this blog and this has been a daily thing for me since. On and average day now this site has grown to where around 125 people read this on a daily average.
What kind of an impact has Charles Alston had in the area. If this blog can be any indication my top three blog days as far as how many have look at it on a daily basis is telling. The most viewed day was the 24 hours after the basketball team won the title in 2010. 550 people viewed this blog that day. Just this year when both basketball teams played in Regional finals 499 hit this site. The next week when the boys won their second title 475 people came to read my view. Monday night and the next 24 hours there were 455 hits on this site the 4th biggest day.
I have read many people who would love to see something named for Charles and I am all for it. The football press box at the Athletic Complex is one of the best press boxes for high schools in the state. Yes the Gryphon's no longer play there but as the city tries to use that football facility and of course the Viking Down East Classic will be an annual event there. NC Wesleyan after thought and the locker rooms are refurbished should use the Complex. Charles Alston spend many a night there and I believe next year during the Viking Down East Classic would be a great time to name the press box in his name.
Friday, December 14, 2012
App State Keeps It In House
There seems to be this trend in sports regardless of what sport it is colleges like to pick their very own to be the next coach. That's what Appalachian State has done in picking their new head football coach replacing the 24 year coach and three time National Champion Jerry Moore.
The Mountaineers have called on their only quarterback who lead them to their only undefeated season in the history 1995. He also happened to be the offensive coordinator for Jerry Moore and also quarterbacks coach. Today Scott Satterfield was named the new head coach in Boone.
Tonight Winston Salem State plays for the National Championship in D-2 football. They will be trying to finish the season 15-0. They meet Valdosta State a team that has won the title twice this century.
Jeff Lebo is taking his ECU Pirates to Chapel Hill tonight to meet the Tar Heels in basketball. I don't think this is the first time that he has been to the Hill since he started coaching but I not quite sure about that.
Today for sure the seven Catholic schools of the Big East gave notice they would with draw from the Big East This will eliminate a big Chuck of the original members St Johns, Georgetown, Seton Hall. Don't look like there is going to be much of a Big East for ECU to go join now.
Skip Holtz has already been hired as the new football coach at Louisiana Tech. I think Skip was without a job 30 minutes maybe.
I took a look the other day at the RPI ratings for college basketball teams and Duke is #1. N C State maybe #25 in the voting polls but are 13th in the RPI. Carolina ranked 11th in the polls is 51st in RPI. If the RPI which tells more than anything how tough your schedule has been to date and Duke at 9-0 you would think that tells us Duke is going to be near the top all year.
State fans are disappointed with a 6-2 record but just maybe it is a sign that down the road they just might be as good as fans hoped. Carolina fans are not really excited about the team so far and if they don't look all that good playing a soft schedule what does that say for the whole season? Don't get all excited this is only the first month of the season and the RPI will juggle as time goes on.
The Mountaineers have called on their only quarterback who lead them to their only undefeated season in the history 1995. He also happened to be the offensive coordinator for Jerry Moore and also quarterbacks coach. Today Scott Satterfield was named the new head coach in Boone.
Tonight Winston Salem State plays for the National Championship in D-2 football. They will be trying to finish the season 15-0. They meet Valdosta State a team that has won the title twice this century.
Jeff Lebo is taking his ECU Pirates to Chapel Hill tonight to meet the Tar Heels in basketball. I don't think this is the first time that he has been to the Hill since he started coaching but I not quite sure about that.
Today for sure the seven Catholic schools of the Big East gave notice they would with draw from the Big East This will eliminate a big Chuck of the original members St Johns, Georgetown, Seton Hall. Don't look like there is going to be much of a Big East for ECU to go join now.
Skip Holtz has already been hired as the new football coach at Louisiana Tech. I think Skip was without a job 30 minutes maybe.
I took a look the other day at the RPI ratings for college basketball teams and Duke is #1. N C State maybe #25 in the voting polls but are 13th in the RPI. Carolina ranked 11th in the polls is 51st in RPI. If the RPI which tells more than anything how tough your schedule has been to date and Duke at 9-0 you would think that tells us Duke is going to be near the top all year.
State fans are disappointed with a 6-2 record but just maybe it is a sign that down the road they just might be as good as fans hoped. Carolina fans are not really excited about the team so far and if they don't look all that good playing a soft schedule what does that say for the whole season? Don't get all excited this is only the first month of the season and the RPI will juggle as time goes on.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Private School Dilemna
The big news last week from the NCHSAA was that the Board Of Directors voted to do away with the POD System. All the schools within the association will vote on that in the spring. A couple of other items were talked about and adopted waiting for a spring vote and they are related to the dominance of private school have during the playoffs.
No private school student can play sports at that school unless they live within the county in which the school is in or no more than 25 miles away. Any Private school who has appeared in the regional of any sport in six of the last eight years would have to jump up in classification if they have met this standard. That would move Cardinal Gibbons Volleyball who has played in the 3-A State Championship game every year they have been in the public playoffs will have to play in the 4-A playoffs next year. The NCHSAA is desperately making these changes to keep the entire body of public schools from asking another vote to try to vote out private schools. 85% of the voting schools last year voted to oust Private school but just enough obstained from voting to keep from getting the required number to pass on any vote.
Speaking of private schools the seven Catholic Basketball playing schools of the Big East agree in principle today to withdraw from the Big East. Every one of them play less than D-1 football so they are not concerned about football playoff money as other schools are and will go their own way.
Josh Hamilton now plays for the LA Angels after agreeing to a new Contract for five years worth 125 million. I hope the Angels don't have a bad weather year next year with all the salaries they have to pay for their free agents. Now that the New York Yankeees are in the save mode the Angels are now the most over paid team in the world.
Funeral Arrangements have been finalized for Charles Alston. The Visitation is set for noon Saturday at Pope Funeral Home on 325 Nash Street in down town Rocky Mount. The Funeral service will follow at 1pm.
No private school student can play sports at that school unless they live within the county in which the school is in or no more than 25 miles away. Any Private school who has appeared in the regional of any sport in six of the last eight years would have to jump up in classification if they have met this standard. That would move Cardinal Gibbons Volleyball who has played in the 3-A State Championship game every year they have been in the public playoffs will have to play in the 4-A playoffs next year. The NCHSAA is desperately making these changes to keep the entire body of public schools from asking another vote to try to vote out private schools. 85% of the voting schools last year voted to oust Private school but just enough obstained from voting to keep from getting the required number to pass on any vote.
Speaking of private schools the seven Catholic Basketball playing schools of the Big East agree in principle today to withdraw from the Big East. Every one of them play less than D-1 football so they are not concerned about football playoff money as other schools are and will go their own way.
Josh Hamilton now plays for the LA Angels after agreeing to a new Contract for five years worth 125 million. I hope the Angels don't have a bad weather year next year with all the salaries they have to pay for their free agents. Now that the New York Yankeees are in the save mode the Angels are now the most over paid team in the world.
Funeral Arrangements have been finalized for Charles Alston. The Visitation is set for noon Saturday at Pope Funeral Home on 325 Nash Street in down town Rocky Mount. The Funeral service will follow at 1pm.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tip In Keeps Gryphons Unbeaten
A missed shot tip in by Donte Battle with two seconds to go in the game gave Rocky Mount High a two point lead and Battle added two free throws as time expires as Rocky Mount escapes from Hertford county with out a loss on this very young basketball season with a 63-59 win..
It took all of the first and most of the second quarter before the Gryphons found the lead and by mid fourth quarter had extended the lead to 11 points only to see Hertford County tie the game late leading up to Battle's Heroics. Battle finished the night with 22 points. Michael Hines scored 12 followed by brother Mason with 11. Jaquel Bryant was the fourth double digit scorer with 10. Rocky Mount has another road game Friday night as they travel to Greenville to play Rose High School before heading to Nash Central next week for the Nash County Tournament
There was never any doubt as the Lady Gryphons jumped to an 11-1 lead and never looked back in beating Hertford County for the second time this season. J'Kyra Brown scored her usual 31 but this night she had plenty of help from Kelsey Daniels 16 points, Carmen Richardson 11, Destini Parker 11 and Sakeya Battle 11. Those five players scored all 80 points in a 80-40 romp over Hertford County.
Tonight ESPN announced that former Tarboro football standout Todd Gurley had won the Herbie Award as ESPN's top freshman football player in college football this year. Interesting that Johnny Football Johnny Mansiel the Heisman Trophy winner didn't win the ESPN award too. Gurley rushed for 1,260 yards this season and is the first Georgia freshman since 1980 to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. The last Georgia freshman to do it was a guy named Hershal Walker.
The NHL season has been cancelled all the way to December 31st. If I was the NHL and it's players I would be worried that there seems to be nobody that cares whether they play or not. Has anybody really missed it?
Today ECU Athletic Director Terry Holland announce that he will step down. Holland who came to Greenville in 2004 has done a very good job in his time with the Pirates. It is hard to believe that Holland is 70 years old. I remember when he played basketball at Davidson College when Lefy Driesell was coach. I know a lot of Pirate fans are disappointed that only football got into the Big East . If the Big East continues to fall apart there might not be a Big East for ECU football by 2014.
It took all of the first and most of the second quarter before the Gryphons found the lead and by mid fourth quarter had extended the lead to 11 points only to see Hertford County tie the game late leading up to Battle's Heroics. Battle finished the night with 22 points. Michael Hines scored 12 followed by brother Mason with 11. Jaquel Bryant was the fourth double digit scorer with 10. Rocky Mount has another road game Friday night as they travel to Greenville to play Rose High School before heading to Nash Central next week for the Nash County Tournament
There was never any doubt as the Lady Gryphons jumped to an 11-1 lead and never looked back in beating Hertford County for the second time this season. J'Kyra Brown scored her usual 31 but this night she had plenty of help from Kelsey Daniels 16 points, Carmen Richardson 11, Destini Parker 11 and Sakeya Battle 11. Those five players scored all 80 points in a 80-40 romp over Hertford County.
Tonight ESPN announced that former Tarboro football standout Todd Gurley had won the Herbie Award as ESPN's top freshman football player in college football this year. Interesting that Johnny Football Johnny Mansiel the Heisman Trophy winner didn't win the ESPN award too. Gurley rushed for 1,260 yards this season and is the first Georgia freshman since 1980 to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. The last Georgia freshman to do it was a guy named Hershal Walker.
The NHL season has been cancelled all the way to December 31st. If I was the NHL and it's players I would be worried that there seems to be nobody that cares whether they play or not. Has anybody really missed it?
Today ECU Athletic Director Terry Holland announce that he will step down. Holland who came to Greenville in 2004 has done a very good job in his time with the Pirates. It is hard to believe that Holland is 70 years old. I remember when he played basketball at Davidson College when Lefy Driesell was coach. I know a lot of Pirate fans are disappointed that only football got into the Big East . If the Big East continues to fall apart there might not be a Big East for ECU football by 2014.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Following A legend
Can anyone remember who the coach was who replaced Vince Lombardi as coach of the Green Bay Packers? How about who replaced John Wooden at UCLA? Yesterday SouthWest Edgecombe announce that Jonathan Cobb will replace his father as football coach.
Dad Raymond has been a head coach in Edgecombe County (25 years)almost as long as Jonathan is old 29 years old . What might help is dad Raymond just might be a volunteer assistant next year. Has Jonathan got the genes in his body to win football games like dad? Only time will tell. Good luck Raymond in retirement and good luck Jonathan following a legend.
I was reading the article in the Telegram this morning and it is funny the way peoples lives intertwine and they don't know it. Johnathan talked about the saddest he had ever been on the football field was the night in 1991 when North Edgecombe lost at Gates County. I was there doing the game on the Ahoskie Radio station and Gates co. won 8-6. That was the night that Milton Shaw needed 86 yards to break the all time rushing record in North Carolina High school history. He got only 68 in his last game.
Northern Nash is putting the finishing touches on their interviews and there might be an announcement coming there before the week is over on their new coach.
Face book has been alive today with tributes to Charles Alston. It is very funny how death brings out the good memories about people. Even though in our soul we cry about his death there is this thing about people getting together to talk about the good times is therapeutic and helps us all get by.
I was reminded of a story today involving Charles, Wes Bradshaw, "Base Ball" Britt Johnson and Braxton Hill. Charles and I left Rocky Mount to go to a football game against Havelock. We picked up Wes, "Baseball" and Braxton in Greenville and the car load of us rode to the game. Now for those of you that know all of us this was a car load.
After the game we stopped at Denny's in Greenville and everyone piles out of the car and Charles is the last one out and everyone is standing behind my car and the springs on my car are just about on the ground. We all laughed about that for months. Wes and Baseball could sound just like him when they mocked him. We all picked at him, made fun at him and we all loved him. Yes death is painful for those left behind and yet the memories of the good times will last us for ever.
Dad Raymond has been a head coach in Edgecombe County (25 years)almost as long as Jonathan is old 29 years old . What might help is dad Raymond just might be a volunteer assistant next year. Has Jonathan got the genes in his body to win football games like dad? Only time will tell. Good luck Raymond in retirement and good luck Jonathan following a legend.
I was reading the article in the Telegram this morning and it is funny the way peoples lives intertwine and they don't know it. Johnathan talked about the saddest he had ever been on the football field was the night in 1991 when North Edgecombe lost at Gates County. I was there doing the game on the Ahoskie Radio station and Gates co. won 8-6. That was the night that Milton Shaw needed 86 yards to break the all time rushing record in North Carolina High school history. He got only 68 in his last game.
Northern Nash is putting the finishing touches on their interviews and there might be an announcement coming there before the week is over on their new coach.
Face book has been alive today with tributes to Charles Alston. It is very funny how death brings out the good memories about people. Even though in our soul we cry about his death there is this thing about people getting together to talk about the good times is therapeutic and helps us all get by.
I was reminded of a story today involving Charles, Wes Bradshaw, "Base Ball" Britt Johnson and Braxton Hill. Charles and I left Rocky Mount to go to a football game against Havelock. We picked up Wes, "Baseball" and Braxton in Greenville and the car load of us rode to the game. Now for those of you that know all of us this was a car load.
After the game we stopped at Denny's in Greenville and everyone piles out of the car and Charles is the last one out and everyone is standing behind my car and the springs on my car are just about on the ground. We all laughed about that for months. Wes and Baseball could sound just like him when they mocked him. We all picked at him, made fun at him and we all loved him. Yes death is painful for those left behind and yet the memories of the good times will last us for ever.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Gryphon Legend Dead
He knew every football stat and every baseball hit record and he could tell you who should be on the all time Gryphon team for any sports. He was the unofficial Sports Information Director for Rocky Mount High school. Charles Alton who everyone in North Carolina high school sports knew from somewhere and some time died today at age 54.
He helped get North Carolina Ihigh.com rolling for North Carolina High Schools as well as the care taker of the Rocky Mount High Web site. This website as you see it today was set up by Charles as I have no idea how to get all of this off the ground other than where to go and what to do to type a story. The Gryphon Grapevine was Charles personal account of Rocky Mount High. He had not kept that up to date this fall with his new work schedule.
Details are not known at this time but Alston who worked at Sears until it closed earlier this year and just this fall he was working at the new smaller Sears store. He failed to show up for work this morning and they went to check up on him.
If you wanted to know anything about Rocky Mount High School athletics Charles was the man if you wanted an answer. You would find him on his days off in Braswell library looking at old copies of newspapers to get more stats from the past. I don't know whether he ever played any varsity sports at Rocky Mount Senior High, I know he was in the band but there has never been anyone more dedicated to one place as Charles was to Rocky Mount High.
I had heard of Charles even before I moved to Rocky Mount and never met him until I started covering Rocky Mount basketball on the radio in the winter of 2001. Mike Gainey had told me if I wanted to know any thing about Gryphon basketball see Charles so I had him as a halftime guest and from then on Charles rode with me to every game for the next couple of years and even helped do color commentary when we only did the Gryphon Games.
Charles has two surviving brothers who live out of the area. We will let you know when details of the arrangements are made.
It's A sad day in Gryphonland
He helped get North Carolina Ihigh.com rolling for North Carolina High Schools as well as the care taker of the Rocky Mount High Web site. This website as you see it today was set up by Charles as I have no idea how to get all of this off the ground other than where to go and what to do to type a story. The Gryphon Grapevine was Charles personal account of Rocky Mount High. He had not kept that up to date this fall with his new work schedule.
Details are not known at this time but Alston who worked at Sears until it closed earlier this year and just this fall he was working at the new smaller Sears store. He failed to show up for work this morning and they went to check up on him.
If you wanted to know anything about Rocky Mount High School athletics Charles was the man if you wanted an answer. You would find him on his days off in Braswell library looking at old copies of newspapers to get more stats from the past. I don't know whether he ever played any varsity sports at Rocky Mount Senior High, I know he was in the band but there has never been anyone more dedicated to one place as Charles was to Rocky Mount High.
I had heard of Charles even before I moved to Rocky Mount and never met him until I started covering Rocky Mount basketball on the radio in the winter of 2001. Mike Gainey had told me if I wanted to know any thing about Gryphon basketball see Charles so I had him as a halftime guest and from then on Charles rode with me to every game for the next couple of years and even helped do color commentary when we only did the Gryphon Games.
Charles has two surviving brothers who live out of the area. We will let you know when details of the arrangements are made.
It's A sad day in Gryphonland
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
