My Heisman Ballot

I spent a good two hours going back and forth with my Heisman ballot. I logged on to the secure site two times and hit the back browser as I went back and forth. I said it last year and I will say it again that the Heisman needs to expand the voting to a top 5 ballot and have five finalists go to New York each and every year. I'm glad that five players are going this year.

I'm started the weekend with six options and had it narrowed down to four by Sunday night. Tim Tebow was my first place vote for the last two years and Colt McCoy probably would have had my vote if there wasn't a Big XII title game. Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska was the guy I left off that I wanted to put on. I'm both relieved and very happy that he made it to New York in the final five as he totally deserves it. I watched him in person at the Gator Bowl last year and I can't see why he won't be the number one pick in the draft. I blame Suh for my stressful Sunday night. I had four guys that I wanted to put on the ballot and three spots - it's as simple as that. I think it's fantastic that there is a defensive player that is a legitimate contender for the award. I also think that if the Gamecocks had reached the SEC title game, Eric Norwood could have been in the same situation with a monster game on national TV.

Now on to my ballot:

at #3, CJ Spiller - Clemson. In nine years of voting, I have never voted for a Gamecock or Tiger until now. I saw Spiller in person twice this season and numerous times over his career. When he returned the opening kickoff for a TD against South Carolina, I was ready to put him first on my ballot, but then the Gamecocks defense took care of that. Spiller only produced 18 yards on the ground in that rival game, but he bounced back with a Heisman worthy performance in the ACC Championship game. So why is Spiller on my ballot? Quite simply, he is the most dangerous big play man in college football. I don't know why a coach would kick or punt to him knowing that there's always a chance he can bust one. If it weren't for the Gamecock defense, Spiller would be in New York. If CJ put together two big games to close out his senior season, he would have been in New York. I thought he deserved to be in New York on Saturday night and I'm sorry that my vote didn't help that cause.

#2, Mark Ingram - Alabama. Ingram's best game statistically came against the Gamecocks and it was awesome. Racking up yards against South Carolina's and Florida's defense and the clutch factor in the SEC Championship game are all major check marks towards hoisting the Heisman, but two rough games (Arkansas and Auburn) are the ultimate reason he ends up 2nd and not first.

#1, Toby Gerhart - Stanford. College football is not a perfect world (see the BCS and no playoff!) I was not going to penalize Gerhart for not playing on championship Saturday. He stepped up against ranked opponents and week in and week out. His worst game was at Wake Forest (82 yards), yet he still averaged nearly five yards a carry in that game. I don't know if Gerhart will have enough juice to win it, but I feel like he'll be a great representative of this great award.

I don't know who's going to win on Saturday, but it should be interesting to say the least.

On the Horizon

I'm not grading out when it comes to updating the blog, but for good reason. These are busy times in the sports world. Here's what we have coming up in the home stretch of the 2009 year:

WPDE Zone Plays of the Year: Beginning on Monday, November 9th, carolinalive.com will have the 2009 Zone Plays of the Year. There are six categories and six finalists in each category. It's always great to see all the great video we've captured during 11weeks of football and it's fun to see which communities rally and get their fans to stuff the ballots with votes.

Cliff Ellis Show : Our final David Bennett Show airs on Sunday November 22nd. On the following Sunday, November 29th we will have our first Cliff Ellis Show. We'll look back on an exciting November for the Chants highlighted by a trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the Duke Blue Devils. We'll take the month of December off and return with shows every Sunday at noon beginning on Sunday, January 3rd

10th Annual WPDE All-Zone Banquet: The banquet will take place on December 10th, and our special will air on Sunday, December 13th on WPDE. This year we are incorporating a North Carolina All-Zone squad as well as a SCISA player of the year. We'll announce the Zoneman Finalists in mid-November and see if Everett Golson of Myrtle Beach becomes just the second two time winner of the Zoneman, joining Marlboro County's Syvelle Newton.

North South/Mr. Football Special: This will air on Sunday December 13th right before the Zone Banquet at 1:30 pm. This is a statewide special that airs in Columbia, Charleston and Greenville and spotlights the exciting week for the North South All-Stars here in Myrtle Beach. In addition, we'll profile the finalists for Mister Football and talk with the 2009 winner.

On Christmas Day, we'll look back on the top 10 local sports stories of 2009. We'll also post this on carolinalive.com as well to look back on another great year of local sports.

So there you have it - a full plate and we're looking forward to another exciting playoffs on the gridiron.

WPDE Fantasy Football

In case you wondered if the love for the pigskin extends outside of the sports office, you need to look no further than the WPDE Fantasy Football League. Besides making our weekly Palmetto Picks along with you on palmettopigskin.com, we have a 12 team league that's going five years strong.

I have always said we should televise our fantasy football draft, as it is 90 minutes of hilarious entertainment (we may need to put a few beeps in there to keep it off cable!) The highlight for me is having Ed Piotrowski hurry people along with his picks and then watch time stand still as he pours over sheets and takes his time to make a decision. It wouldn't be a WPDE fantasy football draft if that didn't happen!

Rather than bore you with who got who, I wanted to share with everyone some fantastic team names in our league: My squad is called Technical Difficulty, but it can't hold a candle to these teams.

The Heyyyymakers: Allyson Floyd - Allyson's catchphrase is a southern belle "Heyyyy". Great name

The Franchise: Ed Piotrowski - the defending champ and the nickname I coined for the glue of WPDE 10 years ago. It's been 10 years, but Ed still isn't comfortable with the lofty title.

The Rubes: Graeme Moore - another nickname I gave to our young and ambitious reporter. He had the #1 overall pick in our draft (getting the number from a crumpled piece of paper in a Green Sea-Floyds football helmet). He went against the grain and picked Tom Brady and probably got the most ribbing for his interesting picks.

and the team name of the year goes to WPDE weekend anchor Mola Lenghi:
Back to you Myra......

Last month, Ed and I had the chance to play in the Know Your Score celebrity golf tournament at Long Bay to help raise money for Prostate cancer. Among the celebrities on hand were Craig T. Nelson, the great actor from Coach, Blades of Glory and many other films and TV shows. Realizing he was in the presence of a local superstar in Ed Piotrowski, Nelson hammed it up to our cameras and hammed it up with Ed joking about the weather and then totally ad-libbing and tossing back to the studio with the now infamous "Back to you Myra!"

Mola was on the desk when this happened and even though he was totally making it up, who knew how close Myra was to Mola. So no matter what happens, Mola has wrapped up the title for best Fantasy Football team name in 2009. Who would have known that Craig T. Nelson would have such an impact on our fantasy football league???!!!!

Angry College Football Fans: It's not our fault!!!!!

It seems as if I write this blog every college football season, but it needs to be mentioned as often as possible.

Like many of you, I'd love to be watching the Georgia/Oklahoma State game right now, but unfortunately, ABC has us showing the Baylor/Wake Forest game. WPDE knows the passion of college football fans in our area and that's why our management has secured the SEC regional package (the 12:30 pm Saturday games that air on CW 21) as well as additional college games whenever we can carry them (two CCU games will air on CW 21 as well).

Our general manager, Billy Huggins, was well aware that fans here would much rather see Georgia/Oklahoma State than Baylor/Wake Forest. For the past 10 years I've been working at WPDE, the 3:30 ABC game has always been the ACC game in the regional lineup. It doesn't matter if #1 is playing #2 in the nation, if there is a 3:30 game, we will have the ACC game - mark it down - it will be that way the rest of the season to the best of my knowledge.

Our GM requested to air the Georgia/Oklahoma State game and offered to put both games on (Baylor/Wake on WPDE, Georgia/Oklahoma State on CW21). ABC turned that request down.

I don't know what else we can do as a station. If we had the ability to choose the 3:30 or 8:00 pm Saturday games on ABC, I'd put a poll on our website every Monday and announce which game got the most votes on Wednesday and tell the network which game we want. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

A lot of times when you call and complain to the station on the weekend, there are not a lot of people working and fans get more frustrated by not getting a straight answer. This is the straight answer. It doesn't make it any better and it will not fix the problem. It probably is of little consolation, but WPDE does care about its college football fans and we do the best we can to communicate our programming before the game to let people have a chance to find a way to watch the game.

If anyone wants the number to ABC to complain, I'll get it in the office and Monday and be more than happy to pass it along on this blog post.

HS Football Coaches Survey

During End Zone/PPP Media Day, we asked the coaches to fill out a survey with a variety of questions. There were no names put on the answer sheets so no one can be linked to a certain answer, but the results were definitely interesting. Below are the results and I'll break down what my thoughts are on each subject.


Should High Schools test players for steroid use? 47 % YES 53% NO

This is a bit surprsing to me as it points towards a steroid problem at some area high schools. It would be tough to get the funding and guidelines for a steroid testing program at the high school level.

Do two a day practices in pre-season need to be adjusted due to heat concerns?
44% YES 56% NO

Over the summer, the national high school trainers outlined a highly reccomended schedule for starting high school football workouts in the preseason in an effort to avoid a heat related death. South Carolina has not adopted any policy, while the NCAA has it set up that you can not have two a day workouts on back to back days. It would not surprise me at all to see the NCAA policy trickle down to every high school. The hope is that it doesn't take a death of a high school player in the Palmetto State to force the issue.

Does South Carolina do a sufficient job of recruiting our area? 56 % YES 44% NO

In my ten years at WPDE, this has been an underlying theme. It seems as if the Gamecocks come into the recruiting game late when it comes to players from our area or they do not pay much attention to them at all. Right now, Cliff Matthews of Cheraw is the jewel recruit of this area who went to USC. It is unfair of me to be too critical of the Gamecocks recruiting staff - it seems to me that they are recruiting our parts just as much as everyone else, but they are usually on the short end of the stick when it comes to the elite players from our area.

Does Clemson do a sufficient job of recruiting our area? 79% YES 21% NO

All you need to do is simply scan the Clemson roster to see the success the Tigers have had in our area. From Derrick Hamilton to Anthony Waters and Michael Hamlin to current Tigers Quandon Christian, Jaron Brown, Jonathan Willard, Scotty Cooper, JaMarcus Grant and Malliciah Goodman, Dabo Swinney and his staff have been able to get our elite athletes to come to Death Valley.

Does Coastal Carolina do a sufficient job of recruiting our area? 70% YES 30% NO
The Chants have picked their spots well and have stolen some players from our backyard, starting with Aundres Perkins of West Florence in the first recruiting class. From there, All-Americans Quinton Teal of Marlboro County and Brad Poston from West Florence started a tradition that includes names like Racheed Gause, Chris Walls and Carolina Forest's Tommy Frasier. The biggest challenge for David Bennett and his staff is to convince the 'tweeners that they are better off playing at Coastal Carolina for four years than to sit on the bench in the ACC or SEC for two to three years. The Chants track record of producing 4 NFL players in six years should be sufficient in accomplishing that.

Is there a drug problem at your school? 32% YES 68% NO
I exepcted this number to be a little higher. It's encouraging to see that the majority of our schools are not dealing with this.

Do too many teams make the playoffs? 29 % YES 71 % NO
I would be giving a "Yes" vote to this. It seems as if the first round of the playoffs has too many lopsided affairs. I'd like to see region champs get a bye in round one and let 2 and 3 fight it out.

Are you pleased with the way the SCHSL governs high school football?
85% YES 8% NO 7% Undecided

I would have thought there would have been more "No" votes especially since some of our schools have been disciplined by the league over the years, but Jerome Singleton should be happy with this number.

Who is the coach in our area who you respect the most?
Chuck Jordan, Conway: 23.5%
Jewell McLaurin, Lake View: 11.7%
Burney Bourne, Waccamaw: 5.8%
Tim Renfrow, Socastee: 5.8%
JR Boyd, Lamar: 5.8%
Nate Thompson, Carvers Bay: 5.8%

I don't know this for a fact, but I assume that nearly all of Horry County and the beach area voted for Chuck and rightfully so. Beyond his ability to coach young men on the gridiron, Jordan has literally built the Conway program into something special. He was the catalyst behind the new fieldhouse and he has sent countless players onto college and given them an education that they might not have gotten if he wasn't there. There are so many outstanding coaches in the area who got votes like Jackie Hayes of Dillon, Darryl Page of Wilson and Jeff Calabrese of Hartsville who are worthy of being on this list as well.

Where do you think the HS football state championships be held?
Columbia: 79%
Doesn't matter: 9%
Coastal Carolina: 6%
Home site: 6%

No brainer here. The beach schools and even the Pee Dee have the longest trek to Death Valley. Williams-Brice Stadium is smack dab in the middle of the state and is the most logical place to play the state championships.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge you face as a coach?
Money/support: 20.5%
Attitude/commitment: 20.5%
Parents: 11.7%

I would have thought parents won this before we started, but both money and attitude make a lot of sense as to great challenges.

Our high school football previews begin on Monday, August 3rd and we are working on expanded web coverage as well as some new segments this season. Until then, Hags and I will take turns living in the edit bay and getting ready for the 2009 season.

The Way We Get By

Prior to coming to Myrtle Beach in 2000, I spent four and a half years in Bangor, Maine as the sports director of the ABC affiliate in town. When I wasn't scraping ice or dodging moose, I was working alongside a great group of people. The tin building we effectionally called "Circle 7" was far from a premiere broadcasting facility (we thought it could serve well as the center of a Stephen King novel), but there were so many talented folks who worked hard to get out of the snow and on to other stops in their career.

Two of my friends behind the scenes, Aron Gaudet and Dan Ferrigan, wanted to have a career in film making. I always thought the TV business was a tough racket, but go ahead and try and make a film and then figure out a way to get it to the big screen without the help and power of a Warner Brothers or some other big studio.

Aron and his fiance, Gita Pulapilly, found the subject for a documentary. Aron's mother, Joan, was living by herself in Bangor and was going around the clock to Bangor International Airport to greet troops as they were leaving and coming back to Iraq.

The Way We Get By took four years to make and is much more than the storyline outlined below. Three subjects are the focal point of the film and it's just as much about how the troops help keep them going as it is the amazing story of the dedication they have to saluting the armed forces and what they do for their country.

Here's what makes this film tremendous. There's no political agenda whatsoever and it gives a respect to the elderly that doesn't get enough credit in society.

Sure, I'm biased - after all both Gaudet and Ferrigan are 11 year members of my Maine Media Roti League and the round the clock promoting of the movie has Aron's Goodfellas in an uncharacteristic struggling season, but this is a great film. The photography and editing is top notch and weaves the story without the typical documentary that has the booming voice setting the table for each segment.

The Way We Get By will be airing across the nation on Veteran's Day on PBS stations and is continuing to work its way around the country winning numerous film festivals. I hope to get it to play at the Myrtle Beach Film Festival. Anyone with a military connection in their family will be touched by the movie.

Look - the next 50 blogs I write will be about sports. For me to step out of my universe and be genuinely moved by a non-sports documentary says something. On a personal note, Aron and Dan were behind the lens when we did a series of Sports Challenges in Bangor. It is amazing to see how far they have come. It's a great lesson to believe in something and see it through even though when things look bleak. I have so much admiration at the perserverance when lack of funding jeopardized the movie ever getting to the screen. Sometimes you get so immersed in a project you can stress yourself out wondering if anyone else will get what your trying to say. Aron and Dan and the rest of the crew didn't give up when times got tough and the result is a pile of awards with more coming.

To see trailers, reviews, etc check this link out: www.thewaywegetbymovie


To see trailers, reviews, etc check this link out: www.thewaywegetbymovie.com

May Mailbag

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

The Angry Basketball Fan

The high school basketball playoffs are in full swing and each game becomes bigger and bigger on the road to the state championships in Columbia. I thought I'd pass along this email from "Batik" and respond:

It's a shame that you missed a very good game between Lake City and Darlington in Lake City Tuesday night. I thought WPDE might actually cover this game, but then I reminded myself that neither school has "Myrtle Beach" in its name. I used to really like your sports segment, but now it's just a joke. I really hate the you ignore so many high school athletic programs just to serve Horry County. It makes one think that the Horry County School District is a majority owner of WPDE.

Batik

I just wanted to share with you our behind the scenes thinking on how we choose what games to cover during the post-season. First of all, I'll give you the rundown of games we covered during Tuesday night's 11pm sportscast:

1. Marlboro County at Myrtle Beach BOYS
2. Georgetown at Wilson BOYS
3. North Augusta at Carolina Forest GIRLS
4. Kingstree at Dillon GIRLS

If you are keeping score, that is 4 Pee Dee schools and 3 Beach schools (if you want to get technical, 2 from Horry County and 1 from Georgetown County). Batik's argument that we are showing only Horry County games doesn't hold much weight when you look at that lineup.
As for the Lake City/Darlington game, there's no question it was one of the better first round games on the board. Here's how we came to the decision to show the four games we did on Tuesday night. The first thing you have to look at is logistics. I anchor the 6pm and 7pm newscasts which means I can not get out of the parking lot until 7:30 pm. From our Conway studios, that limits me to what I can cover with the games tipping off at 7pm. Fortunately, I was able to get to Myrtle Beach High with 3:00 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter and stay until the 6:00 mark of the 4th quarter. With the Seahawks building a double digit lead, I made the call to try and get the end of the Carolina Forest girls game. I was lucky enough to get to the Forest with 2:20 to go in the 4th and a tie game. If Myrtle Beach and Marlboro was a closer game in the 4th, I would have probably stayed the distance and got the end of this game. The other equation is Mark Haggard. Hags has the flexibility of going further away. From January 15 to the end of the regular season, Hags and I are in an evaulation mode. We gather as much information as we can on area teams and begin to construct our watch list for our All-Hoop Zone teams. Our goal here is to get a list of about 20 players that we can narrow down to 15 and form our All-Hoop Zone team for both boys and girls. As we arrive in February, Hags and I begin to look at that list and determine which players we have video/highlights of. We then make it a priority to get highlights of the players on this list. With the first round of playoffs, we have covered about 90 percent of our list. One team that we did not have video of was the Kingstree girls so we made it a priority to grab them in the first round of the playoffs. Kingstree happened to be at Dillon in round one and then we simply looked at what other game we could get and the jaunt down Highway 95 to Wilson was logical.
Here's the irony. If the Kingstree girls were at home instead of on the road, Hags would have went to the Lake City game and paired it up with the Jaguar girls. Unfortunately, that couldn't happen. We've been able to show the Lake City boys three times this year and they are an outstanding team. It becomes a simple math problem: 34 teams boys and girls plus about a dozen SCISA squads. That's 80 teams we cover in boys and girls varsity basketball. We get 2:45 for sports every night. We try to maximize our time and resources. We appreciate the passion that all of our local sports fans have for their hometown team.
I appreciate Batik writing in and am always willing to explain why we make the choices we do when it comes to our sports coverage. We can't keep everyone happy all of the time. I hope that Lake City makes a deep run in the post-season and we can give them the coverage they deserve.

Blame it on the Rain

Dustin Johnson hoisted his second PGA Tour trophy in Pebble Beach when officials cancelled the final 18 holes after two days of bad weather out west. There are some amazing stats that are now attached to the former CCU All-American.

* Dustin and Anthony Kim are the only two players under 25 with two PGA Tour victories

* Dustin is now 45th in the world and has qualified for the Accenture World Match Play Championships next week

* Dustin has qualified for the Masters and the US Open

* Dustin shot -15 under par, and amazingly, not one of his birdies were shown on the Golf Channel or CBS during their 9 live hours of coverage of the event

This has to be a first in the history of the PGA Tour! This wasn't a low level PGA Tour event - five of the top 15 players in the world were in the field and Dustin was invisible when it came to TV coverage. The tournament was played on three separate courses and the majority of the TV coverage was at Pebble Beach. This is one of two events on tour where celebrities and amateurs play alongside the pros for the weekend. As a result, you saw every Carson Daly bogey putt and the antics of Bill Murray and George Lopez and the actual tournament itself took a backseat. On Thursday, Dustin played Pebble Beach and was in a tie for the first round lead. The Golf Channel showed one sand save and one great recovery shot from behind a tree and a missed birdie putt. The winner of the tournament was on national TV for a grand total of 45 seconds. CBS, to their credit, was able to show two birdies on Sunday from Saturday's round during their rain delay coverage.

Has this ever happened in the history of the Tour? A young gun wins an event that is pretty high up on the food chain on the PGA Tour calendar outside the majors and not one of his birdies makes the telecast? If Tiger Woods shot -15 under over the weekend, why do I have a feeling that the CBS and Golf Channel folks would have figured out a way to get some cameras out to Poppy Hills or Spyglass. Same goes for Phil Mickelson or any other big name.

I understand the appeal of showing the celebrity aspect. In the year round grind of the tour, it's a change of pace and there is a certain appeal for the non die hard golf fan to stop by and watch some A-listers hack it around. But it would have been nice for them to show just a sliver of the pros and set the stage for Sunday when the tournament would be decided. CBS abandoned the touring pros on Saturday with the premise that they would get back to normal business on Sunday. But then the rains came and we never truly got to see Dustin do his stuff in the final 18 holes.

Between Dustin's rainout and Matt Kenseth's anti-climatic rainout win at Daytona, the weather put a damper on a big sports weekend. The good news is that I don't think this is the last time we'll see Dustin Johnson contending for a win on the Tour.

Duke/UNC Update

It appears that we have a happy ending in regards to the Duke/UNC fiasco. Raycom Sports was made aware of the snafu we encountered with CW and has lifted the blackout on the ESPN telecast in the entire Florence/Myrtle Beach market. This means that regardless of your cable provider, you can see the Duke/North Carolina game on ESPN LIVE at 9pm. The Raycom feed will still air live on HTC Cable Channel 6 and off of digital antenna on CW 21.2

There are many times that programming issues do not have a solution or a happy ending. A special thanks to HTC for jumping on board with us right away and helping us come up with a solution to the problem. Our management did a fantastic job of working on a solution immediately and as a result, a very small portion of our audience will miss the game live instead of the lion's share of our viewers.

A recap of the schedule for Wednesday's Duke/UNC game

LIVE on ESPN at 9pm for all cable viewers in the Florence/Myrtle Beach market (blackout lifted!) - good call by Raycom/ACC

LIVE on HTC Cable Channel 6 at 9pm for Raycom/ACC feed

LIVE on CW 21.2 (off air digital antenna) for Raycom/ACC feed

one hour tape delay on CW 21 (10pm) for Raycom/ACC feed

Duke/North Carolina on CW 21

I have stated it many times before through emails and previous blog entries that the sportscasters of the world have no say in the programming on a television station. Many times, our management can be handcuffed as well and Wednesday night's Duke/North Carolina game is a shining example.
I'll give you the background of what's going on: As many sports fans know, there is no bigger regular season college basketball game on the schedule than Duke/North Carolina. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN, but will be blacked out in ACC markets. The game is scheduled to air on CW 21 at 9pm as part of Raycom's ACC package. Here's where we run into a problem. The CW network contacted my general manager, Billy Huggins, on Tuesday afternoon and said that if we pre-empt CW programming (which runs until 10pm), we will lose our affiliation and with that every CW program.
In a nutshell, CW is pulling a powerplay on us to air 90210 over one of the greatest rivalries in sports history. To our management's credit, we did everything we could to fix the problem. HTC is airing the game LIVE on cable channel 6 and the CW will air the game on a one hour tape delay at 10pm, but there will still be hundreds of phone calls expressing their anger and dismay. I'm with you! I'm hoping that anyone who reads this blog can understand that we were backed into a corner 24 hours before the game airs. Things will be confusing because people will go to ESPN and it will not be on because of the blackout, then they will go to CW 21 and see some bad acting at the Peach Pit and not Coach K and Roy Williams matching wits on the sidelines. Then they'll get on the phone and blast us.

I'm hoping anyone who reads this blog understands a couple of things:
#1: You should be mad - so am I!
#2: It's not the sports guys fault
#3: It's not WPDE management's fault
#4: HTC is awesome for getting it on channel 6 live
#5: I'm breaking up with the CW - no more Christmas cards, no more "hey that show isn't so bad", it's over.

If I was at home and didn't see the Duke/UNC game on at 9pm as scheduled, I would be befuddled and angry just like many of you will be. The explanation doesn't make it any better - it just gives you the background that you normally don't get when you call to complain.

To recap:

UNC/Duke LIVE on HTC Channel 6 at 9pm
UNC/Duke LIVE on CW 21.2 on digital antenna at 9pm
UNC/Duke on tape delay at 10pm on CW 21 if you don't have HTC cable

Signing Day 2009

Signing Day has become an unofficial holiday for football fans. I'm amazed at the way things have evolved. Ten years ago, you would be hard pressed to find any kind of coverage about where local sports stars would be attending college. Now, Signing Day has become an event.
When I first came to WPDE, we would visit a long list of schools and do our best to cram a long list of interviews into a five minute sportscast (usually double the time we get). Over the years, we've realized what a special day it is for area athletes and have done a thirty minute special.
It's great to see the future stars of college football come into our studio on their special day. More important than that, we are able to give every athlete on our board a chance to have their moment in the sun on TV. By having the signees come into the studio we can give everyone a chance to have that moment.
Hags and I are a lot like college coaches in developing our own recruiting board in the month of January. When it all got finalized, fifteen schools had 47 players sign on Wednesday. 43 of those players were able to come into our studio. To the coaches and families, we greatly appreciate you taking time to come to visit us during the day.
We started shooting signings and interviews at 12:15 pm on Wednesday. By 3:00, we had shot forty interviews. As the final three people came by, we had to turn around a lot of information in a short amount of time. It's a fun challenge, but a little stressful as the time winds down towards our 7:30 pm show. The end result was a chance for everyone to be part of signing day. All of these kids worked hard to get an opportunity to play college football and deserve some kudos. It is also great to give some of the small college kids some spotlight as they tend to get overlooked when it comes to media attention.
We have many kids going the junior college or prep school route. These are players that have the ability to play in the SEC or ACC, but must take care of business in the classroom. Hopefully, we will have more success stories like Allen Patrick, who went from Hutchinson CC to Oklahoma to the Cleveland Browns.
On a side note, I remember Signing Day 2004 when Lawrence Timmons signed his letter with Florida State. Now, he's a Super Bowl champion. Timmons was the first WPDE All-Zoner to play in a Super Bowl. I'm quite sure there will be many more in the coming years.

Talking with O-Dog and Thig

The internet has become an invaluable tool to every form of media. The goal of our website is to not only provide the information you see on the newscast, but to enhance it as well. Late last week, I was able to talk with free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson of Darlington and former CCU All-American Tyler Thigpen with the Kansas City Chiefs. In the world of TV news, we can usually grab a few seconds of an interview and put it on the show. Thanks to carolinalive.com, we can give people our entire interviews and a chance to get more than the typical thirty second soundbite.

We were able to go a little bit longer with both O-Dog and Thig during our newscast, yet we weren't able to share all of the content we gathered. Click on the links below to hear O-Dog talk about staying in Darlington during baseball's off-season and his work with autism through his CATCH Foundation. Thig gives his thoughts on the uncertainty in KC and what he thinks the Chiefs should do with the #3 pick.

One other side note - on our newscast we are able to show file video of both Thig and Orlando, but in the world of internet video - we are not allowed to show any NFL, MLB or any other major sport video.

Tyler Thigpen interview on carolinalive.com

Orlando Hudson interview on carolinalive.com

Mister Hoop Zone trade rumors

I'm by no means a Kenny Smith or a Peter Vescey. When it comes to the NBA, I simply follow two guys, Raymond Felton and Ramon Sessions, who have four WPDE Mr. Hoop Zone trophies between them. Both players have been mentioned in trade rumors in recent weeks as both players are approaching restricted free agent status.
When it comes to Ramon, I'm thrilled that he has proven himself as an NBA point guard. When Sessions left school early and became a second round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks, he was immediately shipped down to the NBDL for seasoning. There are a lot of great players who get stuck in NBA purgatory and I feared that Ramon might be in that predicament, but the former Myrtle Beach Seahawk has taken advantage of the chance he got late last season and now he's going to get a chance to play in the league for a number of years.
The Raymond Felton story is a different saga and his name has been getting headlines in the NBA trade waters. This is Raymond's fourth season in the NBA and the #5 overall pick in the 2005 draft seems to be criticized much more often that he's praised. There's a couple of reasons for this. First, he's a top 5 pick in the NBA draft and that comes with lofty expectations. Second, he was drafted right after Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Chris Paul is the best point guard in the NBA. That's a fact. Deron Williams has averaged 15 points and 8 assists and game in his career - Raymond is 13 points and 6.5 assists a night. I think no one would argue that the Jazz are a better overall team than the Bobcats.
The knock on Raymond is that he's a poor shooter (struggling to get to 40 percent) and that he shoots too much. He's now got the label as a combo guard, mainly because the Bobcats put him in that role. Now, Charlotte has a dilemma. Raymond is a restricted free agent and could lose him with no compensation.
I hope the Bobcats trade Raymond. If you read the anonymous internet folks, they paint Raymond out to be a bust who is solely responsible for all of the Bobcats misforuntes over the past three plus seasons. Here's the Raymond that I know: on Saturday night against the Wizards, Felton was carried off the court in the second quarter when he rolled his ankle over a courtside photographer. Not only did Raymond return to the game, but he sparked the Bobcats to victory. When the Bobcats drafted a point guard (DJ Augustin) in the draft instead of a big man, Felton has been nothing but a mentor to the rookie. Augustin is quick to praise Raymond for showing him the ropes on numerous occasions. Other players would be threatened by a rookie taking their minutes. He's a great teammate and he's been durable playing through pain.
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.
No matter what happens, Raymond has a big payday coming his way. Perhaps the Mavericks fans or some other NBA team will appreciate Raymond's work ethic, leadership and the intangibles he will bring to a team.

Now that 2009 is here, I wanted to show you the list of the top 15 local sports stories of 2008. Hags and I put this list together and one of the great things about lists is that it sparks great debate. We had a few emails with suggestions on what we may have missed (Wilson/Lake City brawl, Darlington softball winning it all), but I think overall, this list proves that there is a lot of great sports to talk about year round.

15 Kristy McPherson nets over $400,000 on LPGA Tour

We begin at #15 where Conway's Kristy McPherson had a breakthrough year on the LPGA Tour. Playing in her second full season on tour, the former South Carolina Gamecock won over $400,000 in prize money to finish 47th on the money list. McPherson had the lead on the back 9 in the final round of the Northwest Arkansas Championship - she finished in a tie for 4th - her best career result on tour. In all, McPherson had 6 top 10's in 2008.

I did a story with Kristy about four years ago at Burning Ridge when she was first going out on the Futures Tour and trying to make it on the LPGA. I think I played about three holes with her and watching that horror show is probably why it took her a couple of years to get on tour. I happened to be working on the weekend she contended in Arkansas. Hopefully, Kristy can make the list again next year with her first LPGA tour win.

14 Myrtle Beach boys win 3A basketball title

At #14, the Myrtle Beach Seahawks stormed Columbia and captured the 3A boys basketball state championship. Thanks to 25 points from Jamere Valentine, Myrtle Beach routed Greenville 80-55 to capture the 3A crown. On the same day, the Myrtle Beach girls and the Hemingway boys fell short in their bid for state crowns, but the Christian Academy in Myrtle Beach, playing their first ever season of varsity basketball captured the 1A SCISA crown in Sumter.

What was more impressive than the state title game was the Seahawks upsetting Crestwood in Charleston the weekend before. This group embraced the team concept and it is what made them so dangerous. They had five or six guys who were capable of filling it up and there seemed to be no egos on the team whatsoever.


13 Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton pitch for Pelicans

Coming in at #13, two major league legends spend some time in a Myrtle Beach Pelicans uniform. On July 5th, 2 time All-Star and former 20 game winner Mike Hampton pitched five shutout innings for the Birds in a rehab start against the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Then in August, a record crowd of 6,599 came to BB&T Coastal Field to see two time Cy Young award winner and 10 time all star Tom Glavine toe pitch in Myrtle Beach. Glavine threw three innings as local fans got to see a future hall of famer pitch for the Pelicans.

Other than Marcus Giles and Steve Avery a couple of years ago, Myrtle Beach has not been the place for Braves regulars to go on a rehab assignment, but that changed when Glavine and Hampton came in to town. Both players were nothing but 100 percent class - they bought dinner for the entire team during their stay and no doubt gave the Pelican youngsters a glimpse of what's to come in their careers.

12 CCU opens 2008 season at Penn State, Chants go 6-6

The Chanticleers made history by opening the campaign at Penn State - Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions gave CCU a reported $450,000 guarantee to come to Happy Valley. Zach MacDowall's TD pass to Trent Usher gave the Chanticleers a moment of excitement trailing 14-7 in the 2nd quarter, but Penn State pulled away for a convincing 66-10 win. The Chanticleers had off the field distractions with player dismissals and arrests and an up and down 2008 season - finishing 6-6.

The CCU season taught Chanticleer fans the fine line between winning and losing. CCU led Colgate 19-3 early in the fourth quarter before a lightning delay changed the momentum completely. Three fumbles on special teams against Stony Brook changed a game that saw CCU dominate its opponent. Take those two wins and all of the sudden 8-4 doesn't look too bad.

11 Gamecocks win 7 games, reach Outback Bowl

The Gamecocks return to New Year's Day is top local sports story #11. South Carolina shuffled through three different quarterbacks in 2008, but a stingy defense gave the Gamecocks wins over Ole Miss and Tennessee on the way to seven wins. South Carolina was blown out by Florida and lost to archrival Clemson in Death Valley to end the regular season, but seven wins and a loyal fan base earned them a trip to Tampa and the Outback Bowl to face the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Gamecocks scored back to back Outback Bowl wins on New Year's Day in 2001 and 2002.

Now we know that USC didn't belong on the New Year's Day stage. Gamecocks fans have to be bitter after three convincing losses to close out the season. Simply put, USC needs an SEC caliber quarterback and maybe more importantly, an SEC caliber running back to have any chance of taking that next step. Stephen Garcia has three more years to prove if he can be that guy, but USC must find a stud in the backfield during this recruiting period.


10 Kyle Busch wins at Darlington

Kyle Busch dominating the Lady in Black is our 10th top local sports story. Kyle Busch had 20 wins in 2008, 8 in Cup, 9 in Nationwide and 3 in the Crafstman Truck Series. He led 167 laps under the lights at Darlington Raceway and one week after wrecking Dale Earnhardt, Junior in Richmond, embraced the bad guy role in NASCAR taking a bow after winning at the Track Too tough to tame

I remember being in Victory Lane and some folks from Toyota asking us to shoot some custom messages from Victory Lane from both Joe Gibbs and Kyle Busch. The result was getting a one on one interview with Busch and Gibbs. The only other time I was able to do that in ten years was when Ricky Craven won at Darlington. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

9 Jordan Lyles 1st round "sandwich pick" by Astros

Hartsville's Jordan Lyles is top sports story #9. The three sports star was a WPDE Zoneman Finalist in 2007 and a WPDE All-Hoop Zone performer as well, but it was his prowess on the diamond that stood out. After choosing baseball as his top sport, Lyles committed to play for Ray Tanner and the Gamecocks, but was then selected #38 overall in the MLB amateur draft by the Houston Astros. Lyles had a signing bonus just under $1,000,000 and is in the Astros minor league system trying to work his way to the big leagues.

I remember Jordan was a little stressed out about not getting a slew of major college football offers, but it wound up being a blessing in disguise. Apparently, Lyles went to Minute Maid Park in Houston right before the draft and was lights out in his workout and that sealed the deal for him. Great kid, great family - can't wait to see him in the bigs

8 Pelicans win 89 games, host all star game, Rocket manager of the year, DC passes

The Birds won 89 games, the most in franchise history. The Pelicans fell short in the Mills Cup Championship Series, but had plenty of great memories including hosting the 2008 Carolian League/California League All-Star game. Rocket Wheeler was named minor league manger of the Year by Baseball America. The club suffered a great loss when longtime pitching coach Bruce Dal Canton left the team in the middle season. He passed away after a bout with cancer in October.

Much deserved props for Rocket, but it is sad to say goodbye to DC. I know that both Hags and myself have gotten a wealth of knowledge from one of baseball's best pitching coaches. You couldn't find a more humble and respected guy in the clubhouse. He will be missed.

7 Haynesworth named to second straight Pro Bowl

Another Hartsville product makes the top 10. Albert Haynseworth's tremendous season comes in at #7. Haynesworth is regarded across the NFL as one of the best defensive players in the game. The Tennessee Titan has 8.5 sacks and 22 quarterback pressures this year, making him a Pro Bowler for the second straight season. Haynesworth suffered a knee injury in early December, but is expected to be ready for the Titans post-season run.

I wasn't around for Haynesworth's time at Hartsville, but there's no question he's the best defensive tackle on the planet. He's about to cash in a huge payday.

6 Amber Campbell competes in the Olympics

A Coastal Carolina Olympian is our 6th biggest local sports story. Amber Campbell was a five time All-American at CCU in the hammer throw. In 2004, she was literally inches away from making the US Olympic team, but after four years of hard work, Campbell represented the USA in Beijing. She finished 21st in the hammer throw qualifying, 1.5 meters short of reaching the Olympic Finals. Campbell plans to continue to train and try and make the 2012 London Olympics

I remember when Amber just missed out on Athens and couldn't be happier that she reached one of her major goals. A great person who will represent CCU and the US for years to come.

5 CCU Baseball reaches Super Regionals

At #5, The CCU baseball team's trip to the Super Regionals. Gary Gilmore and the Chanticleers have been NCAA Tournament fixtures, but they have never made it out of the first round until 2008. The Chants earned a #1 seed and hosted East Carolina, Alabama and Columbia at Watson Stadium thanks to a makeover that included extra seating. CCU beat ECU 24-11 to reach the Super Regionals for the first time in the program's history. North Carolina defeated the Chanticleers in Cary, NC to reach the College World Series. Gary Gilmore turned down a job offer at Auburn to remain at Coastal Carolina.

Gilly has been waiting years to take that next step. The weekend at Watson Stadium was magical and gave Coastal Carolina athletics another big boost. Kudos to Dr. David DeCenzo for getting Gilmore to turn down an SEC program and stay in Conway.

#4 Four former Chants on NFL rosters

Four former Chants in the NFL is top story #4. In April, NFL Scouts came to Conway to see Jerome Simpson put on his pro day workout. The former Coastal Carolina wideout dazzled in combines and earned himself a 2nd round pick in the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mike Tolbert went undrafted, but became the story of San Diego Chargers training camp. Not only did the former CCU fullback make the roster, but he's starting in the Chargers backfield with LaDanian Tomlinson - Tolbert's first career NFL TD came on Monday night football

Quinton Teal continues to be a key part of the Carolina Panthers special teams unit in his second season and Tyler Thigpen went from third string quarterback to NFL starter with the Kansas City Chiefs. Thigpen had his first career NFL win as a starter against the Oakland Raiders.

I often wonder if people around the beach realize how amazing it is for a program that is only six years old to have four guys on NFL rosters. Thig got invaluable on the job training and has gone from a guy who would have been a third stringer for the next 2-3 years to having a legitimate shot at being a starting quarterback in the NFL. Jerome will get his chance in 2009. Tolbert is a cinderella story and Teal has made a living thanks to playing specials teams.


#3 Ex-CCU golfer Dustin Johnson wins PGA event

Dustin Johnson's million dollar day is top local sports story #3. The former CCU All-American's rookie season on the PGA Tour got off to a great start with three top 15 finishes early in the year, but Dustin headed to the fall in danger of losing his full time Tour card. That all changed in Verona, New York.

Johnson's 3 under 69 got him to 9 under for the tournament and a 1 shot win over Robert Allanby. Johnson won just under 1.8 million dollars in his rookie season.

Dustin proved that he has the talent to be at the top of the sport. It will be interesting to see if he can take it to the next level which will be competing in all four majors. Once that happens, you never know.


#2 Tommy Bowden resigns, Dabo Swinney takes over as Clemson head coach

The end of the Tommy Bowden era is our 2nd biggest story of 2008. Clemson began the 2008 season with lofty expectations - a preseason top 10 ranking that quickly went away when Alabama dominated the Tigers in the opener at the Georgia Dome. Following a Thursday night loss to Wake Forest, Bowden resigned and Clemson gave young assistant Dabo Swinney the interim head coaching job with sites on luring in a big name. But Swinney brought excitement and enthusiasm to the program and guided Clemson to quality wins over Boston College and Virginia. Clemson's 31-14 win over South Carolina in Death Valley was Dabo's last chance to impress and it worked - The Tigers named Swinney as the permanent head coach.

Tommy was a nice guy and always great to deal with in the media, but it became obvious that it was time to part ways. Dabo's enthusiasm and excitement is translating in the recruiting circles and we'll see if the young coach can give Clemson a much coveted BCS berth.

#1 Dillon and MB win state football titles

And the #1 local sports story - Dillon and Myrtle Beach win state championships on the gridiron.

Clemson's Memorial Stadium was the site of two amazing performances.

Dillon leaned on its nasty Cats Defense and this 94 yard TD reception by Antwan Blue to shock Central of Pageland 7-6.

Dillon won its first state championship since 1947 - Jackie Hayes was overcome with emotion when the clock struck zero.

Hours later, it was Myrtle Beach's turn to make history. The Seahawks won their first state title since 1984 with a 31-21 triumph over Chester. Everett Golson threw three TD passes including two to Demazio Skelton - the Seahawks finished the dream season with a 14-1 campaign.

It was a long day, but a great day at Clemson. Every single coach in our area pours blood, sweat and tears into their programs so it's always exciting to see towns revel in a title and it was extra special to see Jackie Hayes and Scott Earley win their first state championships.