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.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, July 17, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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
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
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.
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