Now that Darlington and the high school season in the rear view mirror, I can catch up on some emails. The world of sports is vast, both national and local and it's tough to keep everyone happy, but we do the best we can. I also enjoy letting our viewers know why we do the things we do. So here are this month's questions:
Anita writes:
Why is there sports shows for High School football and basketball, but no reports for any other HS sports, such as baseball, soccer, etc. Are these not just as important? Thanks
Anita - I seem to get these questions all the time. After finishing up the spring sports season, I can give you the best explanation possible. We have had a lot of high school baseball, softball and soccer fans that have voiced their displeasure with our lack of coverage in the months of March and April. In recent years, we've made it a point to focus on the post-season in the spring sports and we really went all out in covering the post-season. We were able to get to a number of teams who made great runs in the playoffs. The logistics of getting from diamond to diamond or soccer pitch to soccer pitch makes things very hard to devote a show to these sports. On Saturday afternoon, I was in Pawleys Island and had the opportunity to participate in John Fox's charity golf tournament at Caledonia. After the event, I went to Waccamaw High School for the Warriors quarterfinal game against Barnwell. I got there with 25 minutes to go in the second half in a scoreless game at approximately 3:00 pm. In a thriller, the Warriors scored a 1-0 win in quadruple overtime. I left the school at 4:30 pm and arrived at our studio at 5:15 pm. Simple math dictates that I invested 3 hours for a 20 to 30 second highlight clip. No complaints here, it was great to get a sudden death game winning goal and the folks in Waccamaw were awesome and grateful for the coverage. But unlike football or basketball where you can get to multiple locations in a span of 2 to 3 hours, it is much more difficult to do that in other sports. On Monday, we had three local teams playing for softball state championships. South Florence and Johnsonville were both playing around 6:00 pm. We had to choose one or the other as we would not have gotten signficant highlights for both.
For high school football, thanks to our tremendous sponsorship we are able to get 8 to 10 shooters to help us put together our 50 minute show. After that, we are a two man department trying to do our best to cover 34 high schools.
Jack Lutes writes:
That's it, I'm done watching WPDE!!!!
Though I totally enjoy watching "most" of your 6, 10 (and sometimes 11 PM) news programs, I can honestly say today, I have watched for the last time. And you can thank your so called sports director, Rich Crampanis for that.
Today, he covered golf in Hilton Head, tennis in Charleston, High school lacrosse, NBA basketball in Boston and Braves baseball. No mention of our local pro baseball team, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. I understand that people are interested in all the sports and believe me, I enjoy hearing the results of all the other events but would it hurt to at least mention last night's score or a few words about tonight's game?
Come on, give us a break and at least mention our local guys. He fails to mention them more than he does mention them.
Count me as a new viewer for another (newer) local station. They might not have the news and weather coverage of WPDE but the sports coverage has to be better that what you try to pass off as quality sports reporting.
Jack Lutes
Jack was fired up and I called him directly. On this particular night, the Pelicans were playing at 7pm and we didn't do a story at 6pm. The modern news cycle usually dictates a rundown with entirely fresh material. There are some times when we have a big local story at 11pm that we would re-run the following day at 6pm usually with a different twist to it. In the old days, the local TV sportscast would be one of the few places along with the newspaper to get your sports information. The fact of the matter is that you can get the scores of the Pelicans on their website, the Carolina League's website as well as the newspaper. We make it a point to report their score on the 11pm news if they are on the road and we continue to go to nearly every home game during the season. What I find ironic is that Hags and I have been to more Myrtle Beach Pelicans combined than just about anyone (media, front office, etc). That's why I was a little miffed that Jack was coming down on us. You can criticize us about some things, but saying we don't cover the Pelicans well is a little out of bounds. Jack wrote a nice email back which I appreciated and we will continue to do our best in giving extensive coverage of the Birds in 2009.
Carol Colaner writes:
Yesterday,May 13 St James high baseball won their game so to go Lower State Championships.A local team and not a mention on your sports news ?????
Carol - plain and simple we did not get a score called in. We made it a point to focus on the winner's bracket games in our coverage during the playoffs and did not shoot the Saint James win on Wednesday night. Here's the other dilemma we have. I am anchoring the news at 6 and 7pm. I couldn't get to the Finway Park until 8pm and I'm sure the game is nearly over. Congratulations to the Sharks on a great season - I'm glad we were able to get to their district win over Myrtle Beach
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
The area's greatest athlete passes
Over the weekend, Felix "Doc" Blanchard of Bishopville died in his Texas home at the age of 84. If Blanchard was playing during the ESPN and internet era, he would have been as big a name as Tim Tebow. The Army running back was the first junior to win the Heisman and won back to back national championships in 1944 and 1945.
In 2004, Mark Haggard and I decided to take on the project of profiling the 15 greatest athletes from the Pee Dee and Grand Strand. We selected a panel of local experts who had a lot of experience and insight in our area to vote on the top athletes from our area. As always, lists like this are subjective. Here is the list we had in 2004:
WPDE's 15 Greatest Athletes of the Pee Dee and Grand Strand
#15: Reggie Sanders (Florence) - MLB
#14: Anthuan Maybank (Georgetown) - Olympic Gold Medal
#13: Buddy Baker (Florence) - NASCAR
#12: Terry Kinard (Sumter) - NFL
#11: Jumpy Geathers (Georgetown) - NFL
#10: Willie Puddin' Head Jones (Dillon) - MLB
#9: Bobo Newsom (Hartsville) - MLB
#8: Pearl Moore (Florence) - women's basketball (FMU)
#7: John Abraham (Lamar) - NFL
#6: Levon Kirkland (Lamar) - NFL
#5: Harry Carson (Florence) - NFL
#4: Cale Yarborough (Sardis) - NASCAR
#3: Freddie Solomon (Sumter) - NFL
#2: Bobby Richardson (Sumter) - MLB
#1: Doc Blanchard (Bishopville) - Heisman Trophy winner
We did this project five years ago. A couple of interesting things. First, our top three athletes came from what would now be considered outside of our viewing area. If we were to do this list again, we would likely exclude the Sumter players, but keep Bobby Richardson as he lives part of the year here on the Grand Strand. At the time, Harry Carson was not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but now he is. I always thought that Carson and Cale Yarborough should have been higher on this list.
Five years later, there would be new names that you would argue could make the top 15list:
Raymond Felton (Latta) - NBA
Ramon Sessions (Myrtle Beach) - NBA
Albert Haynesworth (Hartsville) - NFL
Lawrence Timmons (Florence) - NFL
Robert Geathers, Jr. (Georgetown) - NFL
Dustin Johnson (Myrtle Beach) - PGA
This was a fun project that gave us a great history lesson on our area when it comes to athletes. Doc Blanchard was a very private person and we were fortunate enough to talk to him just outside of Manning when he came to visit his sister. Blanchard never got to play in the NFL, because he chose to honor his military commitment. If there's one thing this project taught us, this area is a fertile ground when it come to elite athletes. Perhaps a couple of years down the road, we will re-visit this project and update our 15 greatest athletes from the Pee Dee and Grand Strand.
Just to put Blanchard's legacy in perspective. Imagine if a modern day Heisman winner went #3 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the draft and went to Iraq or Afghanistan instead and never played pro football. That's what Blanchard did to serve our country and a lifetime of "what if" when it comes to professional football.
In 2004, Mark Haggard and I decided to take on the project of profiling the 15 greatest athletes from the Pee Dee and Grand Strand. We selected a panel of local experts who had a lot of experience and insight in our area to vote on the top athletes from our area. As always, lists like this are subjective. Here is the list we had in 2004:
WPDE's 15 Greatest Athletes of the Pee Dee and Grand Strand
#15: Reggie Sanders (Florence) - MLB
#14: Anthuan Maybank (Georgetown) - Olympic Gold Medal
#13: Buddy Baker (Florence) - NASCAR
#12: Terry Kinard (Sumter) - NFL
#11: Jumpy Geathers (Georgetown) - NFL
#10: Willie Puddin' Head Jones (Dillon) - MLB
#9: Bobo Newsom (Hartsville) - MLB
#8: Pearl Moore (Florence) - women's basketball (FMU)
#7: John Abraham (Lamar) - NFL
#6: Levon Kirkland (Lamar) - NFL
#5: Harry Carson (Florence) - NFL
#4: Cale Yarborough (Sardis) - NASCAR
#3: Freddie Solomon (Sumter) - NFL
#2: Bobby Richardson (Sumter) - MLB
#1: Doc Blanchard (Bishopville) - Heisman Trophy winner
We did this project five years ago. A couple of interesting things. First, our top three athletes came from what would now be considered outside of our viewing area. If we were to do this list again, we would likely exclude the Sumter players, but keep Bobby Richardson as he lives part of the year here on the Grand Strand. At the time, Harry Carson was not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but now he is. I always thought that Carson and Cale Yarborough should have been higher on this list.
Five years later, there would be new names that you would argue could make the top 15list:
Raymond Felton (Latta) - NBA
Ramon Sessions (Myrtle Beach) - NBA
Albert Haynesworth (Hartsville) - NFL
Lawrence Timmons (Florence) - NFL
Robert Geathers, Jr. (Georgetown) - NFL
Dustin Johnson (Myrtle Beach) - PGA
This was a fun project that gave us a great history lesson on our area when it comes to athletes. Doc Blanchard was a very private person and we were fortunate enough to talk to him just outside of Manning when he came to visit his sister. Blanchard never got to play in the NFL, because he chose to honor his military commitment. If there's one thing this project taught us, this area is a fertile ground when it come to elite athletes. Perhaps a couple of years down the road, we will re-visit this project and update our 15 greatest athletes from the Pee Dee and Grand Strand.
Just to put Blanchard's legacy in perspective. Imagine if a modern day Heisman winner went #3 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the draft and went to Iraq or Afghanistan instead and never played pro football. That's what Blanchard did to serve our country and a lifetime of "what if" when it comes to professional football.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Sports Guy and I agree!
One of my favorite stops on the internet is to read Bill Simmons columns on espn.com. The Sports Guy hardly needs an endorsement from me, but if you haven't had a chance to read his stuff, you definitely should. I wonder if he gets paid by the word, because if that's the case, he's a very rich man. The Sports Guy recently wrote a column breaking down the MVP race in the NBA starting from 450 and working his way to #1. Now, he didn't actually write about all 450 players, but he came close enough. Here's what he wrote about our two time WPDE Mister Hoop Zone Raymond Felton from Latta:
51. Raymond Felton
The guy I'd pursue this summer if I ran an NBA team. Ten weeks of trade rumors bounced off him and he never held a grudge. He has lottery pick pedigree (fifth overall in 2005), and if we've learned anything over the years, it's that many blue-chip point guards take awhile to "ferment" (for lack of a better word). He's one of the five or six best people in the league by all accounts. I've never seen a Bobcats game where he didn't play as hard as he could. The arc of his first four years looks exactly like Chauncey Billups, and like Chauncey, his game will open up once he starts making 3s. Just a lot to like. Someone will steal him this summer just like Detroit stole Billups in 2002. You watch.
To read the whole article, cut and paste this link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090415
Now, I'll take you back to the Janaury 14th posting I had on this very blog:
It is no coincedence that Felton's game has picked up since the trade rumors have started. 23 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and only 1 turnover against the Detroit Pistons that included the game winning jumper with .7 seconds left may be Raymond's finest effort as a pro. Whenever Raymond hears doubters, his determination raises to an elite level. I saw it in high school and in college and now it's the pros. If I'm looking for a comparison, the best I can come up with is Chauncey Billups who was a top 5 pick by the Boston Celtics and was eventually moved and became a great guard.
Felton is now a restricted free agent and it will be interesting to see which teams make a play for him and if the Bobcats will have the wallet to match an offer.
I am hardly a Peter Vescey or Bill Simmons. My NBA knowledge consists of two guys: Raymond and Ramon Sessions, who both proved they are on their way to long and fruitful careers in the league. This is not worthy of making one of Simmons marathon chats or mailbag sessions, but it's a moment for me. Simmons campaigned to be the Milwaukee Bucks GM and made some pretty valid points. I'm sure he'd agree with my assessment of Ramon's red hot play to close out the season.
51. Raymond Felton
The guy I'd pursue this summer if I ran an NBA team. Ten weeks of trade rumors bounced off him and he never held a grudge. He has lottery pick pedigree (fifth overall in 2005), and if we've learned anything over the years, it's that many blue-chip point guards take awhile to "ferment" (for lack of a better word). He's one of the five or six best people in the league by all accounts. I've never seen a Bobcats game where he didn't play as hard as he could. The arc of his first four years looks exactly like Chauncey Billups, and like Chauncey, his game will open up once he starts making 3s. Just a lot to like. Someone will steal him this summer just like Detroit stole Billups in 2002. You watch.
To read the whole article, cut and paste this link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090415
Now, I'll take you back to the Janaury 14th posting I had on this very blog:
It is no coincedence that Felton's game has picked up since the trade rumors have started. 23 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and only 1 turnover against the Detroit Pistons that included the game winning jumper with .7 seconds left may be Raymond's finest effort as a pro. Whenever Raymond hears doubters, his determination raises to an elite level. I saw it in high school and in college and now it's the pros. If I'm looking for a comparison, the best I can come up with is Chauncey Billups who was a top 5 pick by the Boston Celtics and was eventually moved and became a great guard.
Felton is now a restricted free agent and it will be interesting to see which teams make a play for him and if the Bobcats will have the wallet to match an offer.
I am hardly a Peter Vescey or Bill Simmons. My NBA knowledge consists of two guys: Raymond and Ramon Sessions, who both proved they are on their way to long and fruitful careers in the league. This is not worthy of making one of Simmons marathon chats or mailbag sessions, but it's a moment for me. Simmons campaigned to be the Milwaukee Bucks GM and made some pretty valid points. I'm sure he'd agree with my assessment of Ramon's red hot play to close out the season.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Rotisserie baseball: Fantasy baseball on steroids
With opening night in baseball almost upon us, I made a note to post my 2009 Roti baseball team on the blog so I can keep track of my team throughout the years. For the past 13 years, I've run a roti baseball league that was originally formed in Maine. Among the 10 owners in that original draft, none of us live in Maine anymore! We have kept the same group of owners for the past ten years.
Roti baseball is like fantasy baseball on steroids. When I graduated from college, I was getting into fantasy sports and bought the Rotisserie baseball book and decided to start a league. Fantasy baseball can have a stacked all-star team of elite players from both the American League and National League. Like fantasy football, you go pick by pick and simply select the best player that is available.
Here's the rules for our 10 team roti league:
American League only
$260 budget for 23 players - 2 C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI (SS or 2b), CI (1b or 3b), DH, 5 OF and 9 pitchers
you may protect anywhere between 5 and 12 players for each draft
10 categories
batting average, HR, RBI, SB, R for offense
Wins, Saves, ERA, WHIP, K's for pitching (WHIP and hits divided by Innings pitched)
You don't face teams in regular games - it's 10 points for leading a category, 1 point for last place in a category.
If a player is traded from the AL to the NL, you lose that player! If a player gets traded from the NL to the AL you can bid to get him on your team. The roster management and strategy is great. Like many teams in real baseball, you get into a spending mode when you have a chance at winning it all; if you are having a bad year, you trade off your high priced players for youngsters who can help you in the future.
Here's the great thing. On draft day, you can literally have any player you want. You simply need to outbid the other 9 owners. Many a championship has been won in the late rounds when you grab a young prospect for a dollar and he becomes a superstar. When you get a player, you get him on a 3 year contract. At the end of three years, you have to pay $5 more to re-sign him.
We held our draft last week. We used to have to get together in groups around the country and do some of the draft on the phone, some via chat room on computer and the day could be as long as 12 hours. Technology is finally in our favor in year three as we had a draft room with all of our rosters, available players at our fingertips. We were able to get the draft cranked out in just under 3 hours.
Here is who went for the highest dollar amount in our draft:
Josh Beckett, Red Sox pitcher: $52
Matt Holiday, Oakland outfielder: $45
Daiske Matsuzaka, Red Sox pitcher: $43
Here's my team for 2009, the * are players I protected from the previous year
* C: Joe Mauer, Min - $15
* C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Tex - $5
* 1B: Billy Butler, KC: $10
2B: Asdrubal Cabrera, Cle: $1
SS: Elvis Andrus, Tex: $22
3B: Hank Blalock, Tex: $12
CI: Brendan Harris, Min: $3
MI: Nomar Garciaparra, Oak: $1
DH: Luke Scott, Baltimore: $7
* OF: Mike Cuddyer, Min: $6
* OF: Jermaine Dye: Chi: $12
* OF: Adam Jones, Bal: $10
OF: Jason Bay, Bos: $40
OF: Hideki Matsui, NY: $19
* P: Joey Devine, Oak: $10
* P: Gavin Floyd, Chi: $10
P: Brian Fuentes, Ana: $40
* P: Justin Masterson, Bos: $5
* P: Jeff Niemann, TB: $5
P: Carl Pavano, Cle: $1
P: Andy Pettitte, NY: $15
* P: Joel Zumaya, Det: $5
* P: David Price, TB: $5
After our regular draft, we hold a three round minor league draft. I have had great success with minor league picks in the past. Salty was my first round minor league pick last year. My second round pick was Elvis Andrus. I made a huge mistake by not protecting him. I wound up paying $22 for him when I had him locked in at $5! Hope Elvis doesn't let me down.
I finished in 8th place last year and made a couple of trades for the future. I dealt Mariano Rivera at $40 to a contending team for David Price and Justin Masterson. I also dealt Gil Meche at $6 for Billy Butler and Jermaine Dye.
I had a good amount of money to play with on draft day which allowed me to get Jason Bay at $40 and Brian Fuentes for $40 - a top level outfielder and a closer. I was thrilled to get Blalock for $12 and Matsui for $19, I expected them to higher. My biggest concerns - starting pitching and stolen bases.
SB's is the main reason I overpaid for Elvis. Hopefully he can swipe 30-40 stolen bases and I get some help from Adam Jones and Cabrera. I've got some young arms, but injuries and the Rays sending Price to the minors is killing me right now. I'm looking at Devine and Zumaya on the DL to start the season, Price in the minors, and Justin Masterson in the bullpen. This will hurt my wins and saves. I need Fuentes to be a stud closer and hope that Devine and Zumaya can get saves later on in the season. I'm hoping that Carl Pavano is a steal and I find some young arms to start the season that can get me some wins.
Now that we've been in this league for 13 years, I wish I had my old opening day rosters so I could look back and see what kind of bargains and flops I've had over the years. Now, I'll check back in October and see if I can win my first Roti title. The best I've ever done is 3rd - maybe this is the year for Can O Corn.
Roti baseball is like fantasy baseball on steroids. When I graduated from college, I was getting into fantasy sports and bought the Rotisserie baseball book and decided to start a league. Fantasy baseball can have a stacked all-star team of elite players from both the American League and National League. Like fantasy football, you go pick by pick and simply select the best player that is available.
Here's the rules for our 10 team roti league:
American League only
$260 budget for 23 players - 2 C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI (SS or 2b), CI (1b or 3b), DH, 5 OF and 9 pitchers
you may protect anywhere between 5 and 12 players for each draft
10 categories
batting average, HR, RBI, SB, R for offense
Wins, Saves, ERA, WHIP, K's for pitching (WHIP and hits divided by Innings pitched)
You don't face teams in regular games - it's 10 points for leading a category, 1 point for last place in a category.
If a player is traded from the AL to the NL, you lose that player! If a player gets traded from the NL to the AL you can bid to get him on your team. The roster management and strategy is great. Like many teams in real baseball, you get into a spending mode when you have a chance at winning it all; if you are having a bad year, you trade off your high priced players for youngsters who can help you in the future.
Here's the great thing. On draft day, you can literally have any player you want. You simply need to outbid the other 9 owners. Many a championship has been won in the late rounds when you grab a young prospect for a dollar and he becomes a superstar. When you get a player, you get him on a 3 year contract. At the end of three years, you have to pay $5 more to re-sign him.
We held our draft last week. We used to have to get together in groups around the country and do some of the draft on the phone, some via chat room on computer and the day could be as long as 12 hours. Technology is finally in our favor in year three as we had a draft room with all of our rosters, available players at our fingertips. We were able to get the draft cranked out in just under 3 hours.
Here is who went for the highest dollar amount in our draft:
Josh Beckett, Red Sox pitcher: $52
Matt Holiday, Oakland outfielder: $45
Daiske Matsuzaka, Red Sox pitcher: $43
Here's my team for 2009, the * are players I protected from the previous year
* C: Joe Mauer, Min - $15
* C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Tex - $5
* 1B: Billy Butler, KC: $10
2B: Asdrubal Cabrera, Cle: $1
SS: Elvis Andrus, Tex: $22
3B: Hank Blalock, Tex: $12
CI: Brendan Harris, Min: $3
MI: Nomar Garciaparra, Oak: $1
DH: Luke Scott, Baltimore: $7
* OF: Mike Cuddyer, Min: $6
* OF: Jermaine Dye: Chi: $12
* OF: Adam Jones, Bal: $10
OF: Jason Bay, Bos: $40
OF: Hideki Matsui, NY: $19
* P: Joey Devine, Oak: $10
* P: Gavin Floyd, Chi: $10
P: Brian Fuentes, Ana: $40
* P: Justin Masterson, Bos: $5
* P: Jeff Niemann, TB: $5
P: Carl Pavano, Cle: $1
P: Andy Pettitte, NY: $15
* P: Joel Zumaya, Det: $5
* P: David Price, TB: $5
After our regular draft, we hold a three round minor league draft. I have had great success with minor league picks in the past. Salty was my first round minor league pick last year. My second round pick was Elvis Andrus. I made a huge mistake by not protecting him. I wound up paying $22 for him when I had him locked in at $5! Hope Elvis doesn't let me down.
I finished in 8th place last year and made a couple of trades for the future. I dealt Mariano Rivera at $40 to a contending team for David Price and Justin Masterson. I also dealt Gil Meche at $6 for Billy Butler and Jermaine Dye.
I had a good amount of money to play with on draft day which allowed me to get Jason Bay at $40 and Brian Fuentes for $40 - a top level outfielder and a closer. I was thrilled to get Blalock for $12 and Matsui for $19, I expected them to higher. My biggest concerns - starting pitching and stolen bases.
SB's is the main reason I overpaid for Elvis. Hopefully he can swipe 30-40 stolen bases and I get some help from Adam Jones and Cabrera. I've got some young arms, but injuries and the Rays sending Price to the minors is killing me right now. I'm looking at Devine and Zumaya on the DL to start the season, Price in the minors, and Justin Masterson in the bullpen. This will hurt my wins and saves. I need Fuentes to be a stud closer and hope that Devine and Zumaya can get saves later on in the season. I'm hoping that Carl Pavano is a steal and I find some young arms to start the season that can get me some wins.
Now that we've been in this league for 13 years, I wish I had my old opening day rosters so I could look back and see what kind of bargains and flops I've had over the years. Now, I'll check back in October and see if I can win my first Roti title. The best I've ever done is 3rd - maybe this is the year for Can O Corn.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Spring football notes
Just a few local notes as spring football is in full swing at South Carolina, Clemson and CCU:
* Cliff Matthews getting some time at tight end
The former WPDE Zoneman Finalist has been one of Steve Spurrier's favorites and the Ball Coach says he wants the best 11 men on the field. Matthews will still be one of the keys to the Gamecocks defense , but it looks like we may see him in goal line situations. What Spurrier should realize is that Cliff has got a great pair of hands and would be more than capable of making some catches on play action in the end zone. I've got plenty of archive video of big Cliff making some great grabs during his days at Cheraw
* Spencer Benton breaks his collarbone
The Myrtle Beach Seahawk spent spring break snowboarding and broke his collarbone, but will still kick in spring practice for Clemson. The redshirt freshman is the front runner to take over placekicking duties for Dabo Swinney. Spencer is not your typical kicker - he's an excellent wakeboarder. I'm just hoping MTV's Nitro Circus doesn't invite him to try some stunts - Benton needs to stay in one piece over the next four years.
* CCU Pro Day on Friday, scrimmage on Saturday
There won't be the fanfare of last year when Jerome Simpson and Mike Tolbert worked out in front of NFL scouts, but CCU will hold a pro day this Friday with such prospects as Mario Norman, Britt Leggett and Ronnie Mason trying to make an impression.
* Cliff Matthews getting some time at tight end
The former WPDE Zoneman Finalist has been one of Steve Spurrier's favorites and the Ball Coach says he wants the best 11 men on the field. Matthews will still be one of the keys to the Gamecocks defense , but it looks like we may see him in goal line situations. What Spurrier should realize is that Cliff has got a great pair of hands and would be more than capable of making some catches on play action in the end zone. I've got plenty of archive video of big Cliff making some great grabs during his days at Cheraw
* Spencer Benton breaks his collarbone
The Myrtle Beach Seahawk spent spring break snowboarding and broke his collarbone, but will still kick in spring practice for Clemson. The redshirt freshman is the front runner to take over placekicking duties for Dabo Swinney. Spencer is not your typical kicker - he's an excellent wakeboarder. I'm just hoping MTV's Nitro Circus doesn't invite him to try some stunts - Benton needs to stay in one piece over the next four years.
* CCU Pro Day on Friday, scrimmage on Saturday
There won't be the fanfare of last year when Jerome Simpson and Mike Tolbert worked out in front of NFL scouts, but CCU will hold a pro day this Friday with such prospects as Mario Norman, Britt Leggett and Ronnie Mason trying to make an impression.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Gamecocks: Bubble likely burst
I'm not a licensed bracketologist, but I know one. One of my good friends works closely with Joe Lunardi and the maddening process of selecting the field of 65. Here's a look at South Carolina's resume as it sits on the fence:
Gamecocks Resume
21 wins, 10 in the SEC (SEC East co-champs)
RPI: 59 (as of Saturday)
key wins: Auburn, at Baylor, Florida
key losses: Mississippi State (twice), at Florida, Tennessee (twice)
wins vs. RPI top 50 = zero
When you break down the Gamecocks, you have to look at it this way. USC is competing for an at-large bid. There's no need to compare the RPI's of teams that have won automatic bids - just look at the competition for the at-large spots.
The first thing you have to start with is RPI (Ratings Index Percentage). Normally, an RPI in the 30's or 40's can make you feel strong about getting a bid. Teams have gotten into the Dance with an RPI in the 50's, but it's rare.
The next thing you look at is the SEC, which is definitely down this year. With Mississippi State in the SEC title game against Tennessee, you can surmise that LSU and the Vols are locked into the field. The Bulldogs can lock up a 3rd SEC bid or make a case for an at large by making the run to the SEC finals.
So the bottom line is this: if South Carolina gets an at-large bid, that means that four SEC teams will get invited to the tournament. Mississippi State getting two wins over the Gamecocks puts them ahead of USC in the pecking order. Most years, double digit wins in the SEC would lock you into the field, but this year, that's not the case.
The fact that the Gamecocks are 0-4 against RPI top 50 and they have lost three of their last four are two more strikes when there name comes up behind closed doors.
That's why I think, USC is heading to the NIT. Ultimately, they were one win short of making it. If they had beaten Tennessee at home or topped Mississippi State in Atlanta, it would have been a done deal. Clemson, who's RPI is in the 20's - should be a 5 or 6 seed come Sunday.
Gamecocks Resume
21 wins, 10 in the SEC (SEC East co-champs)
RPI: 59 (as of Saturday)
key wins: Auburn, at Baylor, Florida
key losses: Mississippi State (twice), at Florida, Tennessee (twice)
wins vs. RPI top 50 = zero
When you break down the Gamecocks, you have to look at it this way. USC is competing for an at-large bid. There's no need to compare the RPI's of teams that have won automatic bids - just look at the competition for the at-large spots.
The first thing you have to start with is RPI (Ratings Index Percentage). Normally, an RPI in the 30's or 40's can make you feel strong about getting a bid. Teams have gotten into the Dance with an RPI in the 50's, but it's rare.
The next thing you look at is the SEC, which is definitely down this year. With Mississippi State in the SEC title game against Tennessee, you can surmise that LSU and the Vols are locked into the field. The Bulldogs can lock up a 3rd SEC bid or make a case for an at large by making the run to the SEC finals.
So the bottom line is this: if South Carolina gets an at-large bid, that means that four SEC teams will get invited to the tournament. Mississippi State getting two wins over the Gamecocks puts them ahead of USC in the pecking order. Most years, double digit wins in the SEC would lock you into the field, but this year, that's not the case.
The fact that the Gamecocks are 0-4 against RPI top 50 and they have lost three of their last four are two more strikes when there name comes up behind closed doors.
That's why I think, USC is heading to the NIT. Ultimately, they were one win short of making it. If they had beaten Tennessee at home or topped Mississippi State in Atlanta, it would have been a done deal. Clemson, who's RPI is in the 20's - should be a 5 or 6 seed come Sunday.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
March Mailbag
Now that the Hoop Zone banquet is behind us, I am finally getting the chance to answer some well written and well thought out emails. I'd like to thank everyone below for writing in - it's a delight to answer folks who took the time to put together some great questions and concerns. So here we go!
Garrett Bateman writes:
To Whom it may Concern:
I am writing you this evening concerning the content and quality of your local sportscast. Quite frankly, I am sorry to say that I find it to be rather poor in content. The quality and knowledge is most definitely there and your knowledge and passion are present. However,many other things are sadly lacking. Let me explain what I mean.
I recently moved to N. Myrtle Beach from Phoenix, AZ. Phoenix has all 4 major sports represented in town. In addition, we had Arizona State,NASCAR,boxing, high school sports, golf, etc. They even had time to talk about NAU and that junior college in Tucson. My point is, they talked about local sports and still had time for national sports. That is something that is sadly lacking in your broadcast. You seem to solely focus on the Carolinas or past Carolina athletes now in the pros. Your national coverage is nil. While I do realize that there are not many Sun Devil, D-Back, or Suns fans in town, there are other teams out there. I can promise you that there are plenty of Cowboys,Colts,Rockies,Ohio State,Rockies,Pacers,Rays,etc, fans out there. Please devote sometime to national coverage. It is the only thing lacking in what is otherwise a fine news and sports program. Thank you for your attention.
Garrett:
First of all, welcome to the Grand Strand. You are right on the mark in your analysis. There used to be a time when we were able to show some national sports to go along with our extensive coverage, but those days are gone. Our philosophy has to be extensive local sports coverage. On weekends, we get afforded a little more extra time to show some national stories, but our goal is to have as much local coverage as possible. Quite frankly, there are so many places you can go to get the national sports starting first and foremost with ESPN that it doesn't make sense for us to try and cover the national scene. I can remember growing up that the local sportscast was the only way I could see Larry Bird or Tom Seaver, but things have changed. It is important for us to give viewers things that can not be seen on ESPN which is why what your wrote above is exactly what we are doing. You will still see national sports here and there from us, but honestly, we are being lazy if we show too many national sports stories. It's our job to get out in the communities and cover them through high school, college and our local products playing in the pros.
Howard Gump writes:
Why don't you cover High School baseball ?????
Karen has a similar question:
You give a "Mr. End Zone" award for high school football, a "Mr. and Miss Hoop Zone" for basketball, so what do you give for the high school baseball players? Why is it that friday nights during the fall and winter have full coverage for high school football and basketball, but there is very minimal coverage for baseball? We never see scores for the area high schools - they get replaced by the Pelicans or the Chanticleers. Please make an effort to give them coverage they deserve, after all, they work just as hard as the football and basketball players. Why don't you give the "Mr. Diamond Zone" award for the best area baseball player? Just a suggestion from a devoted baseball fan and a devoted WPDE viewer.
Howard and Karen:
Year in and year out, we get a small yet powerful niche of local sports fans who want more extensive high school baseball coverage. We are trying to make some headway in improving our spring sports coverage. It's true that the Pelicans and CCU baseball are in direct competition and that has an impact on what we can do. I am making an attempt of expanding our coverage on carolinalive.com. We will attempt to have schedules and results posted on each of our 34 team pages on carolinalive.com. The goal here is to get folks to email/call us with scores on a regular basis and build up some interest on the web. We will still go out and get highlights of regular season games. We have always geared up for post-season coverage and will continue to do so.
Karen, I would like to have a long term goal of taking the Zoneman/Mr and Miss Hoop Zone contact and expand it to every varsity sports. Mr. Soccer Zone, Miss Soccer Zone - Mr. Baseball Zone, Softball, etc. We need to get to a point where every single varsity coach can establish regular communication with us and we can organize it in such a way that we can ballot the top players in our area in every single sport. It's going to take baby steps and hopefully the addition of our high school baseball and softball schedules to our website is the first step. I would like to have a Mr and Miss Diamond Zone one day. If we can get 68 coaches to get on board, we will make that our next step.
A Hilliard writes:
Dear WPDE Sports Team:
I watch your sportscasts at least once a day. I pay special attention to any mention of Coastal Carolina athletics and it appears to me that your station is always highlighting every former Coastal athlete that has gone pro with the exception of Quinton Teal from Marlboro County. I am cognizant of the fact that Quinton isn't a high profile athlete, but if you check his stats or talk with the Panthers' personnel they think extremely highly of him. Of course being in the limelight is not Quinton's "thing". All he is concerned with is getting his job done and doing it well. Furthermore, and correct me if I'm wrong, but Quniton is the only Coastal player from your viewing area that has made it to the "big time". Another concern I have is WPDE's lack of coverage of Robert Ayers and his performance at the NFL's combine in Indianapolis. According to most NFL analysts, Robert is now rated as the number one defensive player in this year's draft. One expert ranked him as the best overall athlete in this year's draft. Robert chose WPDE to announce his college decision. I would like to think you would at least give him some recognition for what he has accomplished.
This neglect of athletes from Marlboro County is making me wonder if WPDE has prejudice against Marlboro County athletes in general. Hopefully, I am completely misguided in my opinions and possibly missed your reports on these athletes. I hope so, but if I'm right, please correct this omission. These are two outstanding young men who would deserve recognition even if they had not excelled in sports. And yes, you have probably ascertained that I am from Marlboro County and know both of these men well. Just ask Tonya Brown who her favorite teacher is. Thank you for your time.
Ms. Hilliard:
First off, if you are dropping Tonya Brown's name - that's good enough for me! I can't tell you what an invalauble asset Tonya is to our station. More important than that, she's an even better person! We're so lucky to have her at WPDE. I'm glad you dropped me a line as I can give you a definitive answer on both Mr. Teal and Mr. Ayers. First off with Robert - we have done two stories on him in recent months. The first one was when he recorded a QB sack in the end zone of the Senior Bowl. The second story was when he was at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. We were fortunate enough to get a satellite feed of his workout in front of NFL scouts and GM's and was able to show it the following day. We also previewed the combine and talked about the very thing you mentioned in the text above - it's a good chance that Robert will be a first round draft pick. We have already done an interview with Dean Boyd that we will run closer to the draft to talk about Robert's amazing progress. That makes a total of three stories we have already done with at least one more coming before the draft.
Now on to Quinton Teal. Your letter above is spot on when it comes to the former CCU All-American. Quinton does not like the limelight at all. He cringes when we ask him to do an interview and it has become a running joke with us over the years. I invited Quinton to be a guest speaker at our TD Club during the Panthers bye week and he backed out at the last minute. I invited him to come to our fundraiser dinner along with Tyler Thigpen and Mike Tolbert, but he said he was out of town.
I promise you, we'll keep trying! I may drop your name the next time he tries to get out of an interview with us. Quinton is a great kid and we're very proud of what he has accomplished.
Thanks again to everyone who has written in! Enjoy the March Madness
Garrett Bateman writes:
To Whom it may Concern:
I am writing you this evening concerning the content and quality of your local sportscast. Quite frankly, I am sorry to say that I find it to be rather poor in content. The quality and knowledge is most definitely there and your knowledge and passion are present. However,many other things are sadly lacking. Let me explain what I mean.
I recently moved to N. Myrtle Beach from Phoenix, AZ. Phoenix has all 4 major sports represented in town. In addition, we had Arizona State,NASCAR,boxing, high school sports, golf, etc. They even had time to talk about NAU and that junior college in Tucson. My point is, they talked about local sports and still had time for national sports. That is something that is sadly lacking in your broadcast. You seem to solely focus on the Carolinas or past Carolina athletes now in the pros. Your national coverage is nil. While I do realize that there are not many Sun Devil, D-Back, or Suns fans in town, there are other teams out there. I can promise you that there are plenty of Cowboys,Colts,Rockies,Ohio State,Rockies,Pacers,Rays,etc, fans out there. Please devote sometime to national coverage. It is the only thing lacking in what is otherwise a fine news and sports program. Thank you for your attention.
Garrett:
First of all, welcome to the Grand Strand. You are right on the mark in your analysis. There used to be a time when we were able to show some national sports to go along with our extensive coverage, but those days are gone. Our philosophy has to be extensive local sports coverage. On weekends, we get afforded a little more extra time to show some national stories, but our goal is to have as much local coverage as possible. Quite frankly, there are so many places you can go to get the national sports starting first and foremost with ESPN that it doesn't make sense for us to try and cover the national scene. I can remember growing up that the local sportscast was the only way I could see Larry Bird or Tom Seaver, but things have changed. It is important for us to give viewers things that can not be seen on ESPN which is why what your wrote above is exactly what we are doing. You will still see national sports here and there from us, but honestly, we are being lazy if we show too many national sports stories. It's our job to get out in the communities and cover them through high school, college and our local products playing in the pros.
Howard Gump writes:
Why don't you cover High School baseball ?????
Karen has a similar question:
You give a "Mr. End Zone" award for high school football, a "Mr. and Miss Hoop Zone" for basketball, so what do you give for the high school baseball players? Why is it that friday nights during the fall and winter have full coverage for high school football and basketball, but there is very minimal coverage for baseball? We never see scores for the area high schools - they get replaced by the Pelicans or the Chanticleers. Please make an effort to give them coverage they deserve, after all, they work just as hard as the football and basketball players. Why don't you give the "Mr. Diamond Zone" award for the best area baseball player? Just a suggestion from a devoted baseball fan and a devoted WPDE viewer.
Howard and Karen:
Year in and year out, we get a small yet powerful niche of local sports fans who want more extensive high school baseball coverage. We are trying to make some headway in improving our spring sports coverage. It's true that the Pelicans and CCU baseball are in direct competition and that has an impact on what we can do. I am making an attempt of expanding our coverage on carolinalive.com. We will attempt to have schedules and results posted on each of our 34 team pages on carolinalive.com. The goal here is to get folks to email/call us with scores on a regular basis and build up some interest on the web. We will still go out and get highlights of regular season games. We have always geared up for post-season coverage and will continue to do so.
Karen, I would like to have a long term goal of taking the Zoneman/Mr and Miss Hoop Zone contact and expand it to every varsity sports. Mr. Soccer Zone, Miss Soccer Zone - Mr. Baseball Zone, Softball, etc. We need to get to a point where every single varsity coach can establish regular communication with us and we can organize it in such a way that we can ballot the top players in our area in every single sport. It's going to take baby steps and hopefully the addition of our high school baseball and softball schedules to our website is the first step. I would like to have a Mr and Miss Diamond Zone one day. If we can get 68 coaches to get on board, we will make that our next step.
A Hilliard writes:
Dear WPDE Sports Team:
I watch your sportscasts at least once a day. I pay special attention to any mention of Coastal Carolina athletics and it appears to me that your station is always highlighting every former Coastal athlete that has gone pro with the exception of Quinton Teal from Marlboro County. I am cognizant of the fact that Quinton isn't a high profile athlete, but if you check his stats or talk with the Panthers' personnel they think extremely highly of him. Of course being in the limelight is not Quinton's "thing". All he is concerned with is getting his job done and doing it well. Furthermore, and correct me if I'm wrong, but Quniton is the only Coastal player from your viewing area that has made it to the "big time". Another concern I have is WPDE's lack of coverage of Robert Ayers and his performance at the NFL's combine in Indianapolis. According to most NFL analysts, Robert is now rated as the number one defensive player in this year's draft. One expert ranked him as the best overall athlete in this year's draft. Robert chose WPDE to announce his college decision. I would like to think you would at least give him some recognition for what he has accomplished.
This neglect of athletes from Marlboro County is making me wonder if WPDE has prejudice against Marlboro County athletes in general. Hopefully, I am completely misguided in my opinions and possibly missed your reports on these athletes. I hope so, but if I'm right, please correct this omission. These are two outstanding young men who would deserve recognition even if they had not excelled in sports. And yes, you have probably ascertained that I am from Marlboro County and know both of these men well. Just ask Tonya Brown who her favorite teacher is. Thank you for your time.
Ms. Hilliard:
First off, if you are dropping Tonya Brown's name - that's good enough for me! I can't tell you what an invalauble asset Tonya is to our station. More important than that, she's an even better person! We're so lucky to have her at WPDE. I'm glad you dropped me a line as I can give you a definitive answer on both Mr. Teal and Mr. Ayers. First off with Robert - we have done two stories on him in recent months. The first one was when he recorded a QB sack in the end zone of the Senior Bowl. The second story was when he was at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. We were fortunate enough to get a satellite feed of his workout in front of NFL scouts and GM's and was able to show it the following day. We also previewed the combine and talked about the very thing you mentioned in the text above - it's a good chance that Robert will be a first round draft pick. We have already done an interview with Dean Boyd that we will run closer to the draft to talk about Robert's amazing progress. That makes a total of three stories we have already done with at least one more coming before the draft.
Now on to Quinton Teal. Your letter above is spot on when it comes to the former CCU All-American. Quinton does not like the limelight at all. He cringes when we ask him to do an interview and it has become a running joke with us over the years. I invited Quinton to be a guest speaker at our TD Club during the Panthers bye week and he backed out at the last minute. I invited him to come to our fundraiser dinner along with Tyler Thigpen and Mike Tolbert, but he said he was out of town.
I promise you, we'll keep trying! I may drop your name the next time he tries to get out of an interview with us. Quinton is a great kid and we're very proud of what he has accomplished.
Thanks again to everyone who has written in! Enjoy the March Madness
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