Check out the story I did on Scotland High graduate Parker Bangs for the Fayetteville SwampDogs' website:
http://goswampdogs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=603&Itemid=16
One other thing, my blog as the Wilmington Star-News' "ACC Insider" is up and running. You can find it at http://acc.starnewsonline.com/. My first assignment is this weekend from the ACC's football kickoff media event in Greensboro, Ga.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Home Run Derby was a hit
I tried my best not to enjoy Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby.
I complained that the best power hitters in the game weren't in it. I moaned that the biggest stars no longer cared about it (even Alex Rodriguez blew it off, despite the opportunity to perform before his home fans in a historic home stadium potentially hosting its last big event). Most of all, I whined that it had become the baseball version of the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest -- an event that was once a good idea, but had far outlived its usefulness.
Then Josh Hamilton stepped up to the plate and my perspective changed drastically.
Suddenly it didn't matter that the field included a pair of second basemen, a leadoff hitter and one of the Desperate Housewives (Don't worry, I know it was really Evan Longoria, not Mrs. Tony Parker). All I knew is that this once-troubled kid with arms like a longshoreman, an electric smile and a 71-year-old former coach for a pitcher was hitting the ball out of sight with every swing he took.
What an amazing story -- even if ESPN tried as hard as it could to spoil the moment, as it usually does, by going overboard trying to tell it. I mean, did we really need to hear about Hamilton's unwanted tattoos THREE times during the telecast?
The only real injustice is that the Texas Rangers' star didn't get to go home with the trophy he so richly deserved. But as the eventual winner -- Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins -- conceded, "it was Josh's show" and that's all people are going to remember for years to come. Even with the anticlimactic ending and ESPN's annoying coverage (lowlighted by columnist Rick Reilly's insulting comparison to the number of white guys in the competition to a "Kiwanis Club meeting") it was an entertaining show that renewed my waning enthusiasm for the Home Run Derby.
I complained that the best power hitters in the game weren't in it. I moaned that the biggest stars no longer cared about it (even Alex Rodriguez blew it off, despite the opportunity to perform before his home fans in a historic home stadium potentially hosting its last big event). Most of all, I whined that it had become the baseball version of the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest -- an event that was once a good idea, but had far outlived its usefulness.
Then Josh Hamilton stepped up to the plate and my perspective changed drastically.
Suddenly it didn't matter that the field included a pair of second basemen, a leadoff hitter and one of the Desperate Housewives (Don't worry, I know it was really Evan Longoria, not Mrs. Tony Parker). All I knew is that this once-troubled kid with arms like a longshoreman, an electric smile and a 71-year-old former coach for a pitcher was hitting the ball out of sight with every swing he took.
What an amazing story -- even if ESPN tried as hard as it could to spoil the moment, as it usually does, by going overboard trying to tell it. I mean, did we really need to hear about Hamilton's unwanted tattoos THREE times during the telecast?
The only real injustice is that the Texas Rangers' star didn't get to go home with the trophy he so richly deserved. But as the eventual winner -- Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins -- conceded, "it was Josh's show" and that's all people are going to remember for years to come. Even with the anticlimactic ending and ESPN's annoying coverage (lowlighted by columnist Rick Reilly's insulting comparison to the number of white guys in the competition to a "Kiwanis Club meeting") it was an entertaining show that renewed my waning enthusiasm for the Home Run Derby.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Shopping with the enemy?
OK, so I was up in Smithfield at the Outlet Mall this afternoon shopping for some comfortable shoes for my son Paul to wear at work and who do I run into? N.C. State basketball player Brandon Costner.
The enigmatic star wasn't really in a talking mood, probably because we were in the Nike outlet store at the time and State is an adidas school. But he did acknowledge me long enough before grabbing a pair of shoes, paying and disappearing out the front door to say that despite rumors to the contrary, he has every intention of coming back and playing this season.
You Wolfpack fans -- especially my radio partner Allen Smothers -- will be happy to know that Costner looks lean and strong. He said he's looking forward to having a big junior year.
He's going to have to bounce back for State to have any chance of being good next season. With the distraction of J.J. Hickson gone to the NBA, maybe coach Sidney Lowe will remember that he has an All-ACC caliber player in Costner on his roster and will give him a chance to shine rather than burying him on the bench for long periods of games as he did a year ago.
Of course, it's also incumbent upon Costner to not become a brooding baby when things don't go his way. We'll see how he's doing four months from now when the season begins, but for now at least, he sure looked happy and ready to go.
The enigmatic star wasn't really in a talking mood, probably because we were in the Nike outlet store at the time and State is an adidas school. But he did acknowledge me long enough before grabbing a pair of shoes, paying and disappearing out the front door to say that despite rumors to the contrary, he has every intention of coming back and playing this season.
You Wolfpack fans -- especially my radio partner Allen Smothers -- will be happy to know that Costner looks lean and strong. He said he's looking forward to having a big junior year.
He's going to have to bounce back for State to have any chance of being good next season. With the distraction of J.J. Hickson gone to the NBA, maybe coach Sidney Lowe will remember that he has an All-ACC caliber player in Costner on his roster and will give him a chance to shine rather than burying him on the bench for long periods of games as he did a year ago.
Of course, it's also incumbent upon Costner to not become a brooding baby when things don't go his way. We'll see how he's doing four months from now when the season begins, but for now at least, he sure looked happy and ready to go.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Local sports update
The Fayetteville FireAntz have taken another big step toward putting together a championship-caliber team for the upcoming season by coming to contract terms with high-scoring left winger Justin Keller. A 6-foot, 195-pound Saskatchewan native, the 24-year-old Keller contributed 13 goals and 25 points in 21 games after being acquired in a trade with Huntsville. His 70 points, overall, ranked fifth in the Southern Professional Hockey League, one fewer than FireAntz team leader Tim Velemirovich.
Keller's arrival in Fayetteville was a key factor in the FireAntz's late run to the SPHL semifinals. He proved to be the steadying influence the team's top line of Velemirovich and Rob Sich had been missing for most of the season. Keller is the fifth player to be re-signed by the FireAntz, joining goalie Chad Collins, forward Marc Norrington, defenseman Lawne Snyder and player/assistant coach Corey Hessler.
Keller's arrival in Fayetteville was a key factor in the FireAntz's late run to the SPHL semifinals. He proved to be the steadying influence the team's top line of Velemirovich and Rob Sich had been missing for most of the season. Keller is the fifth player to be re-signed by the FireAntz, joining goalie Chad Collins, forward Marc Norrington, defenseman Lawne Snyder and player/assistant coach Corey Hessler.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Who says it's a slow time in sports?
OK, so I spent most of my holiday weekend playing "Rock Band" with my wife and daughter on my son's X Box. I admit it. The damn thing is addictive. But in between my wicked guitar solos on Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" and the eternally long "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston -- my fingers still hurt from trying to pick my way through that one -- I did manage to watch a little sports on TV.
Who said we've entered that mid-summer dead zone between the end of the NBA Finals and the opening of football training camps? Between the compelling theater of Joey Chestnut's dogged sudden-death victory against Kobyashi in the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest and the emerging soap opera of Brett Favre's rumored comeback and A-Rod's impending divorce, there was plenty going on to keep us all busy.
As it turned out, the real guilty pleasure of my long weekend was tennis, a sport I could usually care less about.
Like a rubbernecker slowing down to check out a wreck on the side of the highway, I seemed strangely drawn to it -- first, the Williams' sibling rivalry on Saturday, then the epic five-set battle between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the men's final on Sunday. I'm not sure the drama and the rivalries will renew my interest in tennis the way it was when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were at the top of their games, but it will probably entice me into tuning in again when the U.S. Open rolls around in September. With Tiger Woods missing from the PGA Tour for the rest of the year, it promises to be a better watch than golf's two upcoming majors, the British Open and PGA Championship.
As for the soap opera updates, I can't say that I'm surprised to hear that Favre has begun to get the "itch" to play football again. He proved he can still play last season and I had a feeling that he eventually be haunted by the interception he threw on what would have been his final career pass in overtime of the NFC championship game.
The fact that his interest in returning was leaked to ESPN and played up so big tells me that -- no matter what team management is saying officially -- the Packers want and need No. 4 back in uniform this fall. My guess is that they've seen enough of heir apparent Aaron Rogers in summer workouts and minicamps to realize that he's not good enough to get the job done.
Don't be shocked to see Favre back with the Pack soon.
There was once a time when I looked down on star athletes coming out of retirement to squeeze out one last bit of glory from their careers. But my view on the subject has changed drastically during the past few weeks. I know what it's like to have something you love and have done for most of your life suddenly taken away from you. I know what it feels like to be sitting idly at home, wishing you could go back out and do it just one more time. As long as there's somebody out there willing to give Favre or race car driver Mark Martin -- who recently came out of semi-retirement to make one last run at an elusive Sprint Cup championship for team owner Rick Hendrick next year -- a shot, why shouldn't they be encouraged to come back? Personally, I'll be rooting for both of them.
As for me and my career "comeback," I have agreed to take on the job of ACC writer for the Wilmington-Star news. It's only a part-time position in which I write 3-4 columns and stories for them each week during the football and basketball seasons, so I'll have plenty of time for other interests -- including one here in Fayetteville involving the three local minor league teams. I'll fill you in on the details as they develop. Let's just say things are "Up & Coming!"
Thank you all for your support and your concern. Trust me when I say that I enjoy writing for you even more than you seem to enjoy discussing what I write. You mean the world to me!
Who said we've entered that mid-summer dead zone between the end of the NBA Finals and the opening of football training camps? Between the compelling theater of Joey Chestnut's dogged sudden-death victory against Kobyashi in the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest and the emerging soap opera of Brett Favre's rumored comeback and A-Rod's impending divorce, there was plenty going on to keep us all busy.
As it turned out, the real guilty pleasure of my long weekend was tennis, a sport I could usually care less about.
Like a rubbernecker slowing down to check out a wreck on the side of the highway, I seemed strangely drawn to it -- first, the Williams' sibling rivalry on Saturday, then the epic five-set battle between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the men's final on Sunday. I'm not sure the drama and the rivalries will renew my interest in tennis the way it was when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were at the top of their games, but it will probably entice me into tuning in again when the U.S. Open rolls around in September. With Tiger Woods missing from the PGA Tour for the rest of the year, it promises to be a better watch than golf's two upcoming majors, the British Open and PGA Championship.
As for the soap opera updates, I can't say that I'm surprised to hear that Favre has begun to get the "itch" to play football again. He proved he can still play last season and I had a feeling that he eventually be haunted by the interception he threw on what would have been his final career pass in overtime of the NFC championship game.
The fact that his interest in returning was leaked to ESPN and played up so big tells me that -- no matter what team management is saying officially -- the Packers want and need No. 4 back in uniform this fall. My guess is that they've seen enough of heir apparent Aaron Rogers in summer workouts and minicamps to realize that he's not good enough to get the job done.
Don't be shocked to see Favre back with the Pack soon.
There was once a time when I looked down on star athletes coming out of retirement to squeeze out one last bit of glory from their careers. But my view on the subject has changed drastically during the past few weeks. I know what it's like to have something you love and have done for most of your life suddenly taken away from you. I know what it feels like to be sitting idly at home, wishing you could go back out and do it just one more time. As long as there's somebody out there willing to give Favre or race car driver Mark Martin -- who recently came out of semi-retirement to make one last run at an elusive Sprint Cup championship for team owner Rick Hendrick next year -- a shot, why shouldn't they be encouraged to come back? Personally, I'll be rooting for both of them.
As for me and my career "comeback," I have agreed to take on the job of ACC writer for the Wilmington-Star news. It's only a part-time position in which I write 3-4 columns and stories for them each week during the football and basketball seasons, so I'll have plenty of time for other interests -- including one here in Fayetteville involving the three local minor league teams. I'll fill you in on the details as they develop. Let's just say things are "Up & Coming!"
Thank you all for your support and your concern. Trust me when I say that I enjoy writing for you even more than you seem to enjoy discussing what I write. You mean the world to me!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Back among the living
For the first time in more than a month, I feel like myself again.
It might only have been a press conference given by Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to talk about his upcoming work with the U.S. Olympic team, but for somebody who has been sitting around idle as much as I have been lately, it felt like I'd been hooked up to a defibrillator and shocked back to life.
I was asked to cover Coach K's press conference for the Wilmington Star News. Here's the like to my column: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080703/ARTICLE/807020355.
It might be the first of many stories and columns I write for the Star-News. Then again, it might also be the only one. But either way, it was good to be back at work again. It's something I'll never take for granted again.
I hope you had as great a Fourth of July holiday as I did. God Bless America and God bless you all!
It might only have been a press conference given by Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to talk about his upcoming work with the U.S. Olympic team, but for somebody who has been sitting around idle as much as I have been lately, it felt like I'd been hooked up to a defibrillator and shocked back to life.
I was asked to cover Coach K's press conference for the Wilmington Star News. Here's the like to my column: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080703/ARTICLE/807020355.
It might be the first of many stories and columns I write for the Star-News. Then again, it might also be the only one. But either way, it was good to be back at work again. It's something I'll never take for granted again.
I hope you had as great a Fourth of July holiday as I did. God Bless America and God bless you all!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Still on Guard in Fayetteville
Judging from its 5-9 record and failure to qualify for the American Indoor Football Association playoffs, it would be easy to make the assumption that the Fayetteville Guard had a terrible season.
But it's an assumption team owner Richard King isn't ready to make.
In fact, like the rogue cadets in the climactic scene of the 1981 movie "Taps," King has instead chosen to "declare victory" despite all appearances to the contrary. The difference in this case is that King has a vaild argument. Despite making several major tactical errors and falling well short of its championship sucess of the past two seasons, 2008 was probably the most successful of the Guard's four seasons to date.
Total attendance was up nearly 6,500. Sponsorships also increased. The team, once all the key elements were finally brought back together, was as competive as anyone in the league. And most important of all, the pool of red ink that has threatened to drown King since he began the Guard has begun to recede -- enough so that he's already making plans for next season and beyond.
"I like to tell people that the first year, I lost my shirt, then the second I lost a sock and last year, I lost another sock," King said Monday night on my weekly radio show (The PowerAde Pressbox with Brett & the Bad Boy, which airs from 6-8 p.m. on WFNC, 640 AM). "This year I'm not taking anything else off. I'll probably never make money (from the Guard), but I can see things starting to come around."
While that's certainly great news, King isn't ready to start celebrating. Learning from his own mistakes and those made by the Guard's predecessor, the Cape Fear Wildcats of arenafootball2, King has vowed to work harder than ever this offseason to keep the momentum going. And he's not going to wait to get started.
He's already extended offers to his team's nucleus -- including Charles Gunnings, running back Wilmont Perry and quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen -- to return next season while promising to get younger and faster in the defensive secondary, the team's biggest weakness this season. He's promised to raise awareness in the Guard and confidence in a skeptical ticket-buying public by increasing the team's presence in the community this summer and fall. He also plans to work with his fellow AIFA owners to strengthen and improve a league that was a marked improvement over the mess that marred the Guard's former affiliation with the National Indoor Football League.
The Guard's situation, though still a work in progress, now seems to have the same kind of potential as that of hockey's highly successful Fayetteville FireAntz. There were some growing pains early, not to mention a pair of failed leagues. But with a lot of hard work, a little luck, a group of committed investors and a sound business plan, the FireAntz have evolved into the model of mid-market, minor league sports consistency. It's a road map the Guard would be wise to follow.
"We've found a nice little niche and I want it to take off here in Fayetteville," King said. "I think that's happening."
I'll be honest. After the way this season unfolded, I had serious doubts about the Guard's future. I figured that this might be the end of the line. After hearing what King had to say Monday, I've changed my mind. Now comes the hard part, following through on that committment and turning words into action. If King does -- and I have every reason to believe he will -- then there's hope for the Guard yet.
But it's an assumption team owner Richard King isn't ready to make.
In fact, like the rogue cadets in the climactic scene of the 1981 movie "Taps," King has instead chosen to "declare victory" despite all appearances to the contrary. The difference in this case is that King has a vaild argument. Despite making several major tactical errors and falling well short of its championship sucess of the past two seasons, 2008 was probably the most successful of the Guard's four seasons to date.
Total attendance was up nearly 6,500. Sponsorships also increased. The team, once all the key elements were finally brought back together, was as competive as anyone in the league. And most important of all, the pool of red ink that has threatened to drown King since he began the Guard has begun to recede -- enough so that he's already making plans for next season and beyond.
"I like to tell people that the first year, I lost my shirt, then the second I lost a sock and last year, I lost another sock," King said Monday night on my weekly radio show (The PowerAde Pressbox with Brett & the Bad Boy, which airs from 6-8 p.m. on WFNC, 640 AM). "This year I'm not taking anything else off. I'll probably never make money (from the Guard), but I can see things starting to come around."
While that's certainly great news, King isn't ready to start celebrating. Learning from his own mistakes and those made by the Guard's predecessor, the Cape Fear Wildcats of arenafootball2, King has vowed to work harder than ever this offseason to keep the momentum going. And he's not going to wait to get started.
He's already extended offers to his team's nucleus -- including Charles Gunnings, running back Wilmont Perry and quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen -- to return next season while promising to get younger and faster in the defensive secondary, the team's biggest weakness this season. He's promised to raise awareness in the Guard and confidence in a skeptical ticket-buying public by increasing the team's presence in the community this summer and fall. He also plans to work with his fellow AIFA owners to strengthen and improve a league that was a marked improvement over the mess that marred the Guard's former affiliation with the National Indoor Football League.
The Guard's situation, though still a work in progress, now seems to have the same kind of potential as that of hockey's highly successful Fayetteville FireAntz. There were some growing pains early, not to mention a pair of failed leagues. But with a lot of hard work, a little luck, a group of committed investors and a sound business plan, the FireAntz have evolved into the model of mid-market, minor league sports consistency. It's a road map the Guard would be wise to follow.
"We've found a nice little niche and I want it to take off here in Fayetteville," King said. "I think that's happening."
I'll be honest. After the way this season unfolded, I had serious doubts about the Guard's future. I figured that this might be the end of the line. After hearing what King had to say Monday, I've changed my mind. Now comes the hard part, following through on that committment and turning words into action. If King does -- and I have every reason to believe he will -- then there's hope for the Guard yet.
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