2015 Review The First Half

Let's look back that what happened locally on the sports scene in 2015 covered by this blog.

January:
Big East boys  Basketball started after one week with all six teams tied at 1-1

Angie Miller Nash County Athletic Director won the distinguished Service Award from the National
Interscholastic  Athletic Administration Association.

February:

Weather plays Havoc with high school sports as basketball sectionals could not be finished and regional were forced to play three games per night instead of two.

Wilson Smith Rocky Mount sophomore won the state championship in the 126 pound weight class in wrestling.

Even though he had nothing to do with local sports legendary UNC basketball coach Dean Smith died.  There are many people locally affected by his life.

Northern Nash girls basketball team completes and undefeated regular season going 21-0

March:

Spring sports went in some cases three weeks without a day of practice as weather continued it's hold on eastern North Carolina.

Former Gryphon TaShawn Mabry a senior at Tarleton State in Texas finished third in the DII basketball national Tournament.

April:

DeShawn Freeman former Northern Nash  and Rocky Mount Prep basketball  player signs with Rutgers to  play basketball his junior and senior seasons.

Derrick Carter Northern Nash pitcher pitches a no hitter in Easter Tournament in Wilson.

May:

Two Rocky Mount girl's relay teams win state championship races.  London Green, NyAna Edwards, Laneeza Sheppard and Teyanna Dressure won the 4x100 relay.  Green, Edwards, Sheppard joined Brittany Bickford and won the 4x200 relay race.

SouthWest Edgecombe golfer Cole Jefferies won the boys 2A boys golf state championship.

Benton Moss pitching career at UNC finished when Carolina failed to be named to the NCAA playoffs.  Moss finished with a career 26-6 record 81% winning percentage top ten all time at Carolina. Finish with 318 strike outs second all time.

Collins Cuthrell playing at UNC Pembroke is named Peach Belt  player of the year and is named DII All-American after batting 443 hit 25 home runs and drove in 74 runs all top ten in the country.

BW Holt resigns at football coach at Rocky Mount Academy

American Legion Season starts without Post 58 fielding a team.

June:

Terrell Hudgins named RMA football coach replacing BWHolt

Former North Edgecombe basketball player Montrezl Harrell  is 32nd player selected in the NBA draft going to Houston.

Collins Cuthrell former Gryphon signs with Florence Kentucky after not being drafted during MLB draft.

Todd Gurley signs with the St Louis Rams after being drafted 10th for the former Tarboro Viking.

Former Gryphon pitcher Benton Moss is drafted and signed with Tampa Bay.  Moss would also be named Academic All American

Tomorrow will will look at last half of 2015.

Heading To Belk Bowl

One of the good things about the Belk Bowl is you can get up the day of the game and drive to the game.  Extra treat today Is Carrie Underwood will be performing at fan fest two hours before the game.  Good friend and fellow Wolfpacker Andy Holt will be with me.  He and I went together to the ACC basketball Tournament this past season.

The weather forecast is calling for thunder showers which is always a possibility during football games when it is outside.  I will be prepared with rain gear and will  sit in any amount of rain unless lightning.

I think it was 1999 and the Wolfpack was playing South Carolina on ESPN Thursday night football and Lou Holtz was the coach at South Carolina.  There was a tropical storm passing through the area and it never had a bolt of lightning all night.  It did however pour down most of the game and I mean came down in buckets at least three quarters of the game.

I had one of those clear plastic Ponchos on and during the entire game  the only place I was wet was my feet where I was either standing in water or it was running down my poncho until it ended just below my knees.

The game ended and the Pack won 10-0 and as I am heading to my car a gust of win practically rips my poncho off and the last 100 yards as I was running  to the car I have no poncho at all and I was soaked through and through.

I have always been a person who stays to the last play and if it rains during the game I hope the walk back to the car I will now be wearing a hooded jacket it will still be on when we get back to the car.

North Carolina has played the ACC championship and now their bowl game The Russell Athletic Bowl as if last year's defense is back in uniform.  They gave up 45 to Clemson and 49 to Baylor.  Where did the defense that played do well all season go?

Scouting Report Carolina Panthers

18 consecutive regular season wins dating back to December of 2014.  The streak is over and now what can we expect for the Panthers?  What did the Falcons victory show the Panthers and any other teams that may match up with the Panthers the rest of the way.

If I am a future opponent what would I try to do to beat the Panthers.  I would make Cam Newton beat me passing the ball.  Cam is less than a 60% completion passer. Sunday accuracy was a real problem.  Atlanta took away Cam's running lanes and missed too many passes that could have been completed.  If the Panthers have to win a playoff game totally having to depend on Cam's passing I doubt they can win.

The Carolina running game must be a major part of the Panther attack.  I realize That Jonathan  Stewart has been out for three weeks now and hopefully he is being protected for the playoffs.  There was no running game Sunday and with Cam forced to pass you could see than the receiving corp of the Panthers is not a group that scares other teams.

The front four for the defense is a  strong point.  Their linebackers may be best group in NFL so they are a strong point too.  The secondary has not been as good since the injury several weeks back to Binwikere Bene corner back.  They have lost with his injury their shutdown ability in the secondary.  Josh Norman Is a shutdown cornerback as long as he is covering outside receivers.  I would move my best pass catcher into the slot and make one of the other guys be on my best receiver.

The defense has had several lockdown games against bottom feeding teams and in three of the last four have given up 93 points.  It is vital the Panthers earn home field by beating Tampa Sunday.  
They have earned a first week bye and one home game but a victory Sunday would give the Panthers two home games if they win the first.  If they lose Sunday and Arizona wins Zona would earn the two game home advantage.  I don't care what team you are would you want to have to play at Arizona?

The playoffs will be the six best teams in the NFC so there will be no team that can't beat you if you don't play your best.  The Panthers need Stewart to play and be a factor in running the football to keep Cam's options to run available.  If the running game is working the Panthers will have a chance against anybody.  Without the running game there will be no Super Bowl.

What Would You Rather Be?

The Carolina Panthers lost their first football game of the season losing to the Falcons 20-14.  Would you rather go undefeated but lose in the playoffs?  Both Havelock and Eastern Alamance had great seasons going 11-0 during the regular season for Havelock a second round loss and for Eastern Alamance lost one step from the big game.

Rocky Mount lost two games during the regular season and both of their losses were to teams that went deep in the 4-A playoffs.  Today would you rather been undefeated in the regular season and lose in one of the five steps to the championship?  Does anybody any where in the state know what Rocky Mount's final record was, only that they were the the 3A state champs?

The case of the Panthers but the NFL in general the team that wins the Super Bowl is the hottest team playing when the playoffs start.  There are none hotter than Kansas City in the AFC and Arizona in the NFC.  I am afraid giving up the big lead against the Giants broke the momentum that the Panthers had going.

There is always the case of the team that matches up well against you loses to somebody else.  Part of the success of the Gryphons was getting the third playoff home game and avoided going to Havelock.    It would help the Panthers cause greatly if they beat Tampa This Sunday and if they meet make Arizona come to them.

The pressure of any streak whether it is a winning streak or a losing one can carry a heavy burden on any team.  Sometimes winning streaks teams play to keep from losing while losers keep looking for what is going to go wrong this week instead of playing the game.

There is one thing that winning hides sometimes is your faults.  One or two plays make a difference in every game.  You win you tend not to see how close you were to losing while losing you see how close you were to winning and what you have to do to win.  When you keep winning even when you don't play well you become immune to think you will never lose but one good slap back into reality to show you that you can be beaten might not be as bad as you think.  The way they play against Tampa will tell us if they learned anything.

Greatest Gifts Don't Always Require Money

Duke University won it's first Bowl game since the 1961 Cotton Bowl when they won over the Southeastern Conference champion Arkansas by a whopping  score of 7-6.  That game was seen by 70,000  plus people.   Arkansas was lead by future Hall Of Famer Lance Alworth.

Saturday two colleges known more for basketball played football in the the hallowed grounds used for baseball where the likes of Arod  plays in Yankee Stadium.  This is the fourth year in a row that Duke has played in a bowl and 41 points was not enough as the Devils had to make a field goal and had to watch as Indiana's kicker's kicked a ball that seemed by the end zone camera just three to four inches wide right but what complicated the call was the kick was higher that the goal post and the result Duke beats Indiana 44-41 in over time.

Sometimes you get Christmas presents that cost lots of money and then there are those that are priceless.   We open one gift at home and then load rest up to head to Stephanie's house in Wake Forest where we will open gifts Christmas Eve night with Steph's family.

My one gift opened Thursday after noon were letters.  The first letter was from Bob Burke retired basketball coach at Chowan College who has already invited me back to Chowan now University where on January 30th the court in the Helms Center will become Bob Burke Court.  I was the play by play voice of the Braves from 1981 through 1993 when Chowan was a national power in Junior College basketball.

Bob and I had already talked by phone when he invited me a couple of months ago and as the letter started I thought it was an official invitation but the letter went into how important our broadcast of the games meant to the growth of basketball at Chowan.  Already water in my eyes there was another letter from Alexus Hill's family.

 Not sure at this point what's going on there was more.  Ashley Moss and the Moss family, BW Holt, Mike Gainey and the last letter was from daughter Morgan.  Seems that Morgan has decided to start a scrap book about my career in sports.  Stunned by the letters from everyone there is just not enough space or hugs that I can give everyone for their comments.

If there is one thing that has motivated me more than anything else over the years was when I would receive a comment from a grand mother who thanked me for doing the games when she could hear her grand son play because her health did not allow her to attend games.

Whether it was radio, TV  or the blog reporting the wins is fun but when someone tells you that you have effected their life in a good way you have reached the ultimate in what you were trying to do.  This motivates me to continue to do what ever I can.  Doesn't seem to be much radio left in the area,  WHIG TV I'm in the emergency role when needed.  Right now the blog is daily and there is so much good going on in the area to keep me busy. PA is like radio only you can see those that hear your mistakes.

If all goes as planned last child Morgan will graduate from Campbell University majoring in sports management.  That will be two of the children that will be in sports.  Somewhere along the way I have passed on my passion for sports to all of you who have listened, watch or read me daily.

I thank each of you who have heard or felt what I have tried to pass along to each of you.  There is many things in our area that people need to know.  Life is better when the good is spread.  Life can be boring when it is all bad news.

Finally to Morgan, this may be your greatest gift to me. Love You!

Twin County Pros

Today starts probably the most famous high school basketball tournament in America. The Holiday basketball tournament at Broughton High school in Raleigh.  It has grown so much in the 40 plus years that they now have so many brackets and teams it is hard to keep up with who is in what bracket.

North Carolina beat South Carolina in the Shrine Bowl game by the score 54-39.   There was good news for the Rocky Mount Gryphons in that game as Rose wide receiver Cornell Powell scored on a kickoff return  and a touchdown pass.  Just goes to show Powell could score on anybody.

Through Christmas Day Brian Goodwin playing Winter Ball in Venezuela for a team that is a half game out off first place.  Goodwin has had a really good season as in 153 bats he has struck out 28 times which is one in five times.  So far in his minor league career he has averaged one in three strike out per at bats which was taking away possible batting average.  This winter he is hitting 316 with three homers and eighteen RBI. Hope this is the type of play the Washington Nationals wanted from Brian when he was rated as their number one prospect.  Will be interesting to see if he is invited to the big club's spring training.

Pro bowl football player Todd Gurley a rookie one thousand yard rusher has made an impact on the NFL.  Gurley can now be seen on NFL related commercials.   Just over a thousand yards on the season he is third in the NFL in rushing and it is not out of the question that he could win the rushing title yet.  The Rams have two more games to play before the regular season and they are already out of playoff contention.

Now in his 14th NFL season Julius Peppers not only is heading back to the NFL playoffs but he is having what in his career is becoming what everyone expects from Peppers.  He has 34 tackles and 9.5 sacks on the season for the Green Bay Packers  and his career total sacks now stands at 135.  That ranks tenth all time in the NFL history.

One player Julius Peppers in the twilight of his career giving pride to the Firebirds of South Nash.  A rookie from Tarboro  giving the Viking faithful  a chance to see their star for years to come in the NFL.  Still a hopeful for the Gryphons of Rocky Mount looking to have a Major League Baseball player.

This Day Is For Jesus

We will take this day off from the world of sports because sports is part of this world and sports will have no part in our here after so today is a no sports day.

We honor the person who came to this world from a virgin there fore did not have sin in his genes.  Those living during the life of Jesus thought he was going to be king of the Jews never realizing he was not for earth that he would rule.

We have no idea the true date but December 25th  is the date use by Christians  to celebrate his birth. His birth was the first true Christmas of giving as the Wisemen brought gifts.  Time has passed and Christmas is more about making money than celebrating the Kings Birthday.

On this day  I hope you know what we really celebrate that one day for all of us there will be another life that Jesus has saved for us.  All we need to do is ask him to save a place for us.

Whether you stay home today or with family else where have a Merry Christmas and remember Jesus  on his birthday.

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas!