Very Entertaining

The final four is set.  Two teams from the Southeastern conference, Florida and Kentucky.  Wisconsin representing the Big Ten and Connecticut representing what ever is the name of their conference is called now that they weren't ask to join the ACC and thrown out of the Big East.  U Conn is one school at the wrong place at the wrong time and yet they are heading to the final four when nobody from the ACC or Big East will.

I have found it very hard to watch much of the tournament when everyone That I would cheer for is home.  The biggest problem I have is the poor offensive out put by most of the teams using the the excuse that teams are playing great defense.

You see I don't see very many teams that know how to attack and defense.  If they can't get down before the defense sets up and get a layup the basic college offense is pass the ball outside the three point line and shoot.  Way back in the day when basketball players wore shorts to play basketball I was taught that every pass had to have a purpose.

You just don't throw it over in the right corner and stand and watch.  You follow your pass by setting a screen. I hate the basketball of clear out and let me go one on one and take a bad shot.  Basketball offense of today is slam dunk and three pointers.

There is no doubt that AAU basketball, the one and done  college players have hurt college basketball.  The NBA can be blamed for the one and done but you know there are rumblings in the NBA the 19 is too young and they need to up the age limit.  The NBA players Union would have to sign off on that but why would a NBA player want young players on rosters taking their jobs ?

While we are talking about great offense, why would anyone want to pay extreme prices to go to and NBA game where the final score was 83-78.  The losing team in the NBA should average at least 95 points a game.  How many teams in the ranks even score 100 once in a while.

Despite how awful the games have been they have been so close that the endings  many have been extremely great at the end. When we cut the TV off at the end or walk out of the stadium to go home the only thing that matters is that we were entertained.  This NCAA tournament surely has been that.

Northern/Fike Tops In Big East

Every one has two games in the books after the first week of conference play in Big East Baseball and Northern who has given up only two runs in their first two games finds themselves tied with Fike who has has scored 15 in their first two.

Good thing that Northern has only given up two runs they have managed only five themselves but behind shut out pitching from Derrick Carter thet beat Southern 2-0 on Friday.  Fike put 13 on the board beating Nash Central 13-3.  Hunt beat Rocky Mount 6-1.

Hunt stands 1-1 tied with Nash Central.  Rocky Mount and Southern are 0-2.  Rocky Mount has scored single runs in ther two losses while Southern has scored only one in their two.

College sports those that their season are in the fall have spring drills just like football does.  For the second Saturday the Doughtie's have spent the day volley balling today in Virginia Beach Virginia.  Last Saturday was at NC State.  Two weeks from now in Richmond Virginia.  Spring volleyball you play only two games instead of two out of three during the season.

So far Campbell has played NC State, NC Central, Virginia Tech, Davidson, Hampton, Wake Forest, Norfolk State and James Madison. We have won eight games and lost eight.  Greg Goral will be in his second year next fall and his plans are to make Campbell VB a conference winner in the Big South and plans to compete against the best where ever they are.  He is taking the Camels to Long Beach California the weekend after Labor Day and the Doughtie's are checking air line and hotel deal.  Look out the Price is right here we come.

Hunt Beats Rain And Gryphons

The threat of rain forced The Hunt-Rocky Mount baseball game to be moved up from 7pm to 4 pm at Hunt on Friday afternoon.  Both teams entered the contest having lost their conference openers earlier this week and both found themselves needing to get on the winning ways and neither wanting to start 0-2 in conference.  Friday Hunt pounds out 10 hits while the Gryphons collected only three and Hunt wins their first conference game and goes to 1-1 while Rocky Mount drops to 0-2.  Next action for Rocky Mount is Tuesday night when they Host Fike.

Now that the winter sports season is over the standings are out in the latest Wells Fargo standing through all fall and winter sports.  Hunt riding a conference championship in boys basketball and two second place finishes in swimming they have the Big East lead with 114.5 points.  Fike and Rocky Mount are tied at second with 107.5 points.  Fike won men swimming during the winter while Rocky Mount took first in wrestling and women's swimming and second place in both girls and boys basketball.  Southern Nash is fourth with. 96.5 , Northern Nash 91 and Nash Central 85.5.

I haven't had the space to speak about Tom Suiter's extra effort award winner this week was Justin Hendricks of Faith Christian.  During my years of broadcasting sports I have been many times at Faith and Jimmy Hendricks as athletic director I have seen  his family there on many trips and have seen Justin many times.  You have to give Tom Suitor credit when he does a piece on any athlete he can get to the heart of the athlete being focused on.

After all the hype of both North Carolina and North Carolina State making it to the College World Series  last season and the possibility that they both could get there again this year their seasons have fallen on hard times since conference  play.  Carolina lost again Friday to be 5-5 in conference while State pending a suspension in the 6th inning for rain is  is 3-6.  After all the hub bub there is a real possibility that neither will make the ACC Tournament.

Sports Will Never Be The Same

A National Labor Relations Board has ruled the football players at Northwestern University can form a union if they choose to do so.  There is no way anyone can defend the antics of colleges and universities as they grow conferences so big for one purpose only to make more money.

I don't think any of us believe that the student comes first in college athletics.  Yet even though we know most are there hoping there is a professional rainbow around the corner and only a slight few will find both ends of the rainbow.  There are few and far between Benton Moss type players who think any thing less than a 4.0 grade point average per semester is a failure to him.

We know that athletes have special requirements in order to play their sports but I cannot support unions in college sports.  Any person on any type grant whether it is the Morehead or a football grant players have more benefits than any one else on campus.  First of all they are given an opportunity to learn a trade with out paying one dime for it.  They eat in a special dining hall and can get anything they want.  Whether they take advantage of the academic opportunities or not is up to them.  They are even provided special instruction to help them with their studies if they choose to use it.

I agree that players images should be their own and any likeness they should receive compensation for that but not a weekly salary.  If I buy a jersey with a players name on the back he should get his percentage.  Like any thing ever invented in this world thats purpose was suppose to be for the good of the world there is always somebody that can make evil out of good.
In this Northwestern case there sits the union expecting new union members who pay dues.  If it ever comes a day where players earn salaries the first thing as a university I would do is drop from our employees benefit package would be their free education.  If you are a football player find your own housing, no other university employee gets it.  If you are going to play football lunch time is from noon to 1pm and MacDonalds is just down the street.  Be back on time or you may lose your job.

You see we live in a world where laws are passed every day that are suppose to be for the betterment of the world only to find that it wasn't suppose to be like this.  The Old saying that the grass is greener on the other side is true while you stand on the other side.  Players before they vote need to make sure they understand what they are doing.

I know of a saw mill that had 39 employees and the union came in and the owner told the employees that if they voted the union in he would lock the doors.  The vote was 20-19 for the union.  The next morning when arriving to work the gates were locked and a sign reading out of business.  Now 39 people didn't have any green grass across the road because they were unemployed.

The real winners in all of this money grab in college sports are the TV networks.  If players unionize the TV executives will not be the people paying the salaries  but the colleges.  All of this will either lead to the end of college sports as we know it or the end of the big TV contracts.

Bulldogs Bite Gryphons

It was cold and windy which was about like every day has seemed in the last month and tonight Rocky Mount and Nash Central begin the Big East season on the Bulldogs home turf.  I love old movies especially ones with Walter Brennen is in it.  He is in one with Spencer Tracy called Rogers Rangers. There is a scene in that movie where they are traveling through a swamp and have to sleep in a tree.  Brennen wakes up upside down in the tree branch and makes the statement I'll slept in worse places but I can't remember where.  I am sure that I have been to colder baseball games I just can't remember when.

Tyler King pitches a complete game three hitter striking out 11 Gryphons, walked just two batters on the night and leads Nash Central to a 6-1 win over Rocky Mount.  Nash Central tagged Gryphon starter Cody Smith for one run in the first off a lead off double by Khalil Macklin and then an RBI single by David Sutton and Nash Central had a run  before the first out.

(DH) Zach Dutton drove home the Bulldogs second run in the third and added two more runs in the fifth with a double.  One run scored on a fielders choice by Matt Sikes while two more walk in with the bases loaded.

Rocky Mount only base runner was lead off batter Forest Bell as the first batter of the game but King preceded to get the next 12 batters until Blake Helms laced the Gryphons first hit of the game leading off the fifth.  Josh Carter got the Gryphons second hit one out later but no one crossed the plate after King struck out the next two batters.




The lone Gryphon run came in the sixth when Forest Bell singled to start the inning, Andy Morris walked both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Bell scored on a grounder by Sam Lilley.  The lone error of the game happened to start the Gryphon seventh but King killed any rally  hopes by striking out the last two batters.

Nash Central joins Northern Nash at 1-0  in conference play as they beat Hunt Monday at Hunt 3-2 behind the eight strikeout performance by Tyler Barrett.  At this writing have no word on the Fike at Southern Nash game tonight.

What Else But A Rainout

Rocky Mount and Nash Central will try once again Wednesday night to get there conference season started.  The All New Sports Show will be there Wednesday recording for  TV.  I will be there doing the play by play.

The major lead baseball season is already under way with a series last weekend in Australia.  Sunday night will be the true opening day and our three local players trying to move up the ladder in pro baseball will be heading to their minor league teams.

Brian Goodwin got to see what life is all about with the big club the Washington Nationals as he has spent the spring in Florida as a special invitee of the Nationals.  He is not on the 40 man roster of the Nationals but they kept in with the big club letting him see how it is done in the majors. Looks as if he will start back at double A but all the word is Brian is still on schedule to be the starting left fielder for the Nationals in 2015.

Hobbs  Johnson has spent the spring in Arizona in Phoenix at the minor league facility of the Milwaukee  Brewers.  They play their minor league games in the same stadium as the major league club Maryvale Stadium which seats 7,000.  Hobbs looks as he will start where he finished last season in Appleton  Wisconsin with the Timber Rattlers.

Xavier Macklin  still in hopes of that baseball dream has found a home for the summer in the Frontier League playing for the Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget Illinois which is near St Louis.  The Frontier League is an independent league which means their teams are not  associated with any major club but every player is  still hoping someone with a big club will see them and move them up the baseball ladder.  The season runs about 90 games and begins mid May.

NC Wesleyan is off to. a 7-15 start so far this season.  Freshman Spencer Ramsey is 4-0 pitching for the Battling Bishops.  Ramsey as a high school Gryphon was valuable as a short stop and until his senior year was seldom used as a pitcher.  Here at the next level plus his Legion experience he has become a main stay for Charlie along.  He is second on the team in innings pitched.

 There are three other players from the area playing for Wesleyan.  Northern's Tyler Clark, Tarboro's Chase Johnson and Nash Central's Dillon Moore.

Luster Gone

Rocky Mount Gryphons at Nash Central Bulldogs rained out tonight and has been rescheduled for Wednesday night 7pm. All four Triangle schools are home now having given it their best shot and all have been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. This is the first time since 1979 that a North Carolina school is not in the Sweet 16.  That goes all the way back to before the 64 team format.  I think any Big Four fan would remember the Black Sunday when Duke and North Carolina lost back to back in Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.  It was a day that all of North Carolina people were clued  to the tv as eight inches of snow had fallen and even if you didn't  like basketball  there was no place to go but watch both teams lose to St Johns and Penn.

Virginia is the standard bearer for the ACC as they are the only school left standing.  The ACC has had a team in the Sweet 16 ever since that double header loss in 79.  Most of those years that ACC team in the sweet 16 or better came from the Triangle. Not this year and with the lack of a North Carolina school left standing the interest in how it goes from here on out is meaning less to me.

The only interest left for me is the two brackets I am in and in one I still have all four of my final four picks still alive.  The other one I still have three.  That shows you right there how much confidence I had in our North Carolina teams.

We will now begin the process of who is going pro and who is going to be the the number one pick in the draft.  I think Jabari Parker needs another year.  Just don 't see where he is a difference maker for an NBA team. All of the national Dick Vitale can't miss NBA players one and done I don't see any can't miss pros yet. Every one needs to improve. I just do not see why pay inexperienced guys big time money to score 13 points a game in the NBA next year.If you are a high draft pick first or fifth you need to be the best player on your team. I just don't see any of these super frosh being those guys yet.  If Parker was to come back next year and improve the way TJ Warren did this year he just might be a number one pick next year.  Anybody that will pay any of this years freshmen have more money  than they know what to do with.

Big East baseball begins Tuesday maybe.  Pends on how severe the weather is and some forecast say Tuesday afternoon will be scattered so whether games are play or not is up in the air at best.