For Carolina The Hole Gets Deeper

If you thought the Carolina Calmity was getting closer to resolution and just maybe their response to the NCAA was coming soon, Carolina announced that they have discover more violations in Women's basketball and men's soccer.  Is their any sport program at North Carolina that has not been caught cheating any where on campus?

I hate to have to say this but just maybe this discovery made about corruption at Carolina just maybe the worse in NCAA history.  SMU received the so called death penalty in the 80's and the scope of the goings on in Chapel Hill make SMU look like amateurs.

The NFL preseason is underway and seems as if all the games are being played in Half empty stadiums.  No wonder why should any fan be forced to buy two home preseason game tickets as part of your season ticket package.

The games are played with starters playing mostly under ten plays and the rest of the game played by players living a dream not expecting to be any where near a professional field a month from now.  Some will make it and to just be on a special teams will earn a half million dollars.  The only people who watch after the starters leave are family members of those players trying to make the team.

Year before last NC State had three starting quarterbacks starting in the NFL.  This year Tarboro High has three players trying to make an NFL.  Takoby Cofield the 310 pound rookie from Duke is trying to make the Washington Redskins as a free agent.  Shaun Draughn is still playing special teams for the Cleveland  Browns and  Todd Gurley still trying to stay healthy as the number one pick of the Rams.

Cofield and Draughn are waiting for August 27th which is first cut day for all teams unless any teams says this guy is not what we are looking for and give you your walking papers on any day.  Todd Gurley does not have that type of worry.  All he is thinking about is staying healthy until the Rams say let's see what you can do and that just may not come until opening day.

The Head Knocking Begins

Last night all four Nash County public schools met in Baily as Southern Nash was host for seven teams who took turns against each other.  It seems as though there is a trend going that each Nash County school is taking turns hosting this jamboree.

Southern Nash hosted West Johnson, Bertie, Southeast Halifax as well as Rocky Mount, Northern Nash and Nash Central.

When you have four teams on opposite ends  of the stadium a field can get torn up real quick and unless you have a great grass specialist on staff the field my not recover unless the weather is right before for some their first home games next week so it is nice that each school takes a turn hosting the event.

Every team had their moments when the coaches can go back and show players this is how we want you to execute and when you do this is what happens good for us.  There is plenty of here is the way it is suppose to be done so let's go and work on  this some more until we get it right.

Rocky Mount scrimmaged Goldsboro Tuesday night and the offensive had a very good night and the defense held their own.   Last night will be the last time to hit others until the real deal starts next Friday night.  Do you realize that Monday all fall sports other than football can start their fall season.

Seems to me that Dustin Johnson has become in major golf the  sprinter who In long distance races is suppose to sprint out ahead of the the pack and his job is to make those behind run faster not sprint as fast as the the rabbit  but makes them pick up the pace. The sprinter fades away at some point in the race and the elite have a nice race  times because the rabbit pushed them to force their pace faster.

Watching the British Open they flashed on the screen that in the last eight majors that Johnson was -32 in the first two rounds and twenty over in the last two rounds.  I like Johnson and think he is really good for golfer but in order to move up in the world of golf to elite he must take Thursday's six under maintain and make it grow so  by Sunday he can call himself a major winner.

The Modern World Of Manhood

They say that boy when I grew up that sure was the good old days.  My Granddad use to tell the story about walking to school three miles up hill both ways. Those were the good old days.  There was a time  when a handshake was a contract because your word was your bond.

This week the New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith apparently pointed his finger into the face of another Jets player who claimed Smith needed to pay back to him an  airplane ticket and one night's lodging when Smith failed to show for a football camp benefit that Smith promised to be there.  Assuming the claim is correct not only did Smith not meet a promise made but he didn't even to call to explain why he was a no show.

Now here Smith is the struggling quarterback of the Jets with a new coach in town and he has no guarantee that he will be the starter so what does he do but threaten the 6th round draft pick with what can you do about it so what.  Now that Smith is out six to ten weeks with a broken jaw because the linebacker showed Smith what he could do about it.

Question, do you want somebody like Smith leading your team?  Someone who has proven you can't trust him plus he is stupid to confront someone he owes money to and pretty much say so what to the debt.

Now let's look at our very own Cam Newton.  This week upset with a cornerback intercepting one of his passes and as he runs toward the end zone  he is laying it on to Cam about his throw being picked off.  Newton chases the cornerback to the end zone and fisticuffs breaks out and punches are thrown.

Now the question for the Carolina Panthers is  this.  Can you expect a quarterback where you just dumped millions of dollars that gets upset over a practice interception? Now remember both the offense goes up against the defense every day so if anyone knows what the play might be when you line up it would be your very own defense.  The same thing applies for the defense lining up the quarterback should know what the defense is doing too.   So practice interception occur all the time in practice.

So how smart of a quarterback is Newton  if he is willing to run down to the end zone and start throwing punches which could actually break his hand?  If he will lose his cool in practice what will he do throwing an int in the fourth quarter of a playoff game?

There is a major breakdown in our society where men think they have to prove their manhood over an interception or because you owe someone money or even an apology.  Our society today our young men must join a gang where me and eight other people will prove our manhood and we will shoot you.  We have lost the valve of right and wrong.

Smith's  easy thing to prove his manhood was to write a check and pay the debt or a simple sorry man but here's why I wasn't there and I know I should have called when I knew I wasn't coming.  If he had of done that he would not have a broken jaw and still in the running to be the Jets QB.  If any of any possible replacements does great Smith may never see the Jets playing field again all because he wanted to prove his manhood.

All Cam Newton needed to do was get back in the huddle and show his teammates he was a man and showed his manhood by not being stupid.  Instead is there a Carolina Panther player who really can trust Cam all because Newton had to show his manhood.

The August Grind Down On The Farm

Baseball players especially those from our area trying their best to move up the ladder of minor league baseball are split into two groups.  Those that have spent since Febrary playing baseball against other pros, then those who spent the spring in college and now are in their early games of pro baseball.  We start this week with:

Benton Moss has appeared in nine games so far since joining the Tampa Bay Rays rookie league team in The New York Penn League called Hudson Valley.  Five of his appearances have been starts and has pitched 32.2 innings or about three and a half innings per appearance.  Has an excellent 2.76 ERA having struck out 35 and walked only eight which is one in every four innings pitched which is excellent.  His record is 1-2.

Hobbs Johnson has started twenty times pitching for Buloxi Ms. AA team for the Milwaukee Brewers.  His record is 7-5 having pitched 96 innings struck out 84 and walked 51.  His ERA stands at 3.31.

Collins Cuthrell playing in Florence Kentucky for the Freedom an independent team and looking to impress any major league team willing to sign him is in a slump.  His average has dropped to 246 and he still leads the Freedom with seven home runs despite only playing half the games his other team mates have played while he was still in the DII playoffs playing for UNC Pembroke.

Brian Goodwin still hanging around 225 playing centerfield at AA Harrisburg Pa.  This remains Brian's biggest obstacle to making it to the majors.  He has struck out 63 time is 339 at bats.  That one K every five at bats.  He is hitting 293 if you take away his strikeouts.  So if those 63 strikeout were 18 more hits which is 293 when he makes contact he would be batting 277.  Those type numbers get you up the ladder much faster.

Others of interest:  Isaiah White the Greenfield Academy player playing in the Gulf Coast rookie team for the Miami Marlins is stroking it at a 330 clip in 27games since the draft.

John Wooten the ECU- Eastern Wayne high product played this weekend in Zebulon and plenty of Nash County folks were there since John is the son of former Gryphon player Sonny Wooten.  He is hitting 250 playing the the A TEAM Potomac a minor league team of the Nationals.

Whit Merrifield playing for AAA Omaha the minor league team of the Kansas City Royals is batting 275 with four home runs playing the outfield for Omaha.  Merrifield who played at South Carolina is the son of former Gryphon Bill Merrifield..

Big East Coaches Say Central Will Win A Conference Game

 Monday was media day for the Big East Coaches as those that attended heard most coaches optimistic about the upcoming season and most did a good impersonation up of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichek as none told any secrets about any weakness they don't want everyone else to know about.

The voting was no surprise as Fike was picked 1st and Southern Nash Second.  Rocky Mount and Hunt received the same amount of votes to tie for third.  Now here is the surprise as Nash Central was picked fifth and Northern Nash 6th.

Nash Central who has a losing streak in the twenties something  and has not won a conference game in over two seasons.  There is belief that Nash Central has as good of talent as any team but coaching has been a major issue.  The Bulldogs  have a lighter non conference schedule and if they can break the losing streak by conference time they just may blossom into a viable conference foe for everyone.

If you analyze  the voting you would almost have to assume that coaches expect the Bulldogs  to win their matchup with Northern which if they end in a tie then the face off against each other would give the Bulldogs a better seed.   If any of the past few years is any indication anybody can win the conference title and in some cases with a least one loss.

Next year the NCHSAA is planning to realign going to 20 per cent of the teams being 1-A, 30 percent 2-A, 30 percent 3-A and 20 percent 4-A.  This Big East alignment is being looked at next year.  Fike, Hunt, Rocky Mount, Northern Nash and Southern Nash.  Nash Central will drop to 2A  and two new teams will join.  CB Aycock and Eastern Wayne.  If this is approved by the NCHSAA the conference would have seven teams and surly the Nash County schools would have a really close non conference tie in Nash Central.  Remember this is only a possible draft.

South Carolina came to Asheboro NC where the American Legion Southeast Regional was taking place undefeated.  The general conversation is they won't be undefeated long when they meet up with the likes of the Florida State champs, Georgia, Alabama Tennessee, West Virginia and North Carolina State champs and even the host team Randolph County who almost won the state title.

As teams began falling by the wayside  it came down to South Carolina and the host team Randolph County for the right to play in the Legion World Series which starts Thursday in Shelby.  Randolph who lost once over the weekend to South Carolina needed to win twice when it was down to two but they couldn't even win once over South Carolina losing 6-5 over the weekend and the title game 7-4.  South Carolina now heads to the World Series 24-0.

Bits And Pieces About Everything

We have told you earlier that Northern Nash has an all new inside to their gym getting a new floor and bleachers. You can add Southern Nash to the list of getting a new gym floor.  If you have been to any baseball game at Rocky Mount and sat behind home plate it was easy to see that the plate was not straight with the pitchers mount.  That is being fixed.

Saturday was the first day that players who had attended enough football practices could actually tackle.  Between now and Thursday teams will knock heads with each other.  Southern Nash will be hosting a football jamboree Thursday night and everyone will get a chance to hit somebody else.

The Washington Redskins and the Houston Texans were scrimmaging each other but before the conclusion a brawl broke out  and many players were slugging it out.  Just think most of those guys make at least a million dollars a year.  The ability to make money  doesn't make people any smarter.

Just about every local college football teams had their meet the players this weekend.  College football season starts For some the last weekend in August but most Labor Day Weekend.  If you scan the rosters of the so called Big Five college football teams in North Carolina (Carolina, State, Wake, Duke and ECU ) you will find only two players from Nash County.  Josh Sessoms a wide receiver for NC State and Southern Nash.  Duke has Quay Mann a safety from Northern Nash.

We are 11 days away from the start of high school football season.  Didn't baseball season just end yesterday?

This week is the last major golf tournament for this season the PGA.  TV tries to put the golfers on the screen that everyone wants to see.  It happened as Arnold Palmer who was the hard charging golfer who came to prominence just as TV was finding out golf was good for TV.  Palmer in the late 60's was on the screen  even when ten shots behind.  The Early 80's at 52 years old Palmer was tied for the lead after the opening round of the Masters but age caught up.

It also happened to Jack Nicklaus but he was a much better golfer in his forties than Palmer.  He contended and even won the Masters at 46 years old.  I am sure that if Tiger Woods shoots a great round either Thursday or Friday that is all you will see on Saturday and Sunday regardless of where he is in the standings.

Throughout the history of sports on television the networks go by the numbers.  Arnold Palmer caused the senior tour to be created because people wanted to see him.  Nicklaus was a villain early on in his career because he beat Palmer.  Nicklaus finally was so good for so long they fans started to appreciate his accomplishments.  Tiger's downfall started in his driveway and many people don't like
him now because of that.  Still millions watch TV when is is in contention  because he has been great.

The longer he goes without winning the faster the new faces in golf take space in front of the camera which at one time or another was Arnold Palmer's, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.  The best thing for the future of golf on TV is Tiger fails to make the cut so the new faces of TV can start their journey of being on camera for every shot.

Summer Baseball A High School Future Success

The 13u Babe Ruth Baseball teams success this summer is a continuing success that the so called feeder programs feeding to our high schools.  Since about 1990 the Rocky Mount Recreation teams have won many Tar Heel little league state  titles in the age groups from 9-12 years old.

During the late 90's Babe Ruth baseball took hold in Nash County  and more and more success took place and now13u, 14u and 15u teams were winning state titles and that led to finally winning Southeast regional titles.  Three straight years Regionals were won leading to sending teams to the Babe Ruth World Series.

Two of those years didn't have to travel far as Fleming Stadium in Wilson hosted the World Series.  One year it hosted 14u and the next the 13u.  The next year of 2005 13 year old of 2004 returned as state champions of 14u won the Southeast Regional in Greenville Tennessee and headed to Quincy Ma near Boston where they would finish second for the second year in a row.

Those three years of World Series benefitted both Rocky Mount and Northern Nash highs more than any others schools.  2007 Northern Nash played in the eastern Regional and in 2008 Rocky Mount won the state baseball title.

During the summer Post 58 American Legion team used the combined players mostly Northern and Rocky Mount sprinkled in a few other schools bests players and Post 58 makes it to the state tournament in both 2009 and 2010.   Post 58 won the state title in 1973.  Those days the tournament was where each step of the state tournament was won by winning  series like a three out of five series
Until there are only two teams left and Post 58 was the last team standing.

Recent years the Legion went  to an eight  team format double elimination tournament and 2009 was the first time Rocky Mount had made the eight team tournament in Greenville.  The next year in Asheboro the team the last of a Babe Ruth World Series players sent Post 58 back for a second straight year.

The last five years both little league and Babe Ruth have has success on the state level. The biggest difference more schools have divided up the players. This year's Babe Ruth team has seven different schools represented. That averages to about two players per high school which is not enough really good players to make any of our high schools any preseason favorite to go far in state high school playoffs.

Great teams have solid pitching four and five deep.  The batting lineup has at least five solid hitters and the bottom of the order gets  on base.  We are in a period right now that our local high schools don't  have enough of the ingredients to win state championships.  As long as the feeders keep winning there is hope for the future.