Five years ago, the word "blog" wasn't even a word. Now, it's getting thrown around when it comes to just about anything associated with the internet. I always thought a blog was exactly what I'm doing right here, but it has gone beyond that. So I did a little google work and came up with this definition:
Web LOG is a journal kept on the internet. This journal is often updated daily and contains all information that the person maintaining the BLOG (Blogger) wishes to share with the world. Also applies to websites dedicated to a particular topic and being updated with the latest news, views and trends.
I have to admit that I get a chuckle whenever Coach Bennett talks about bloggers. The first time he made a bold statement about how he doesn't value what bloggers have to say and what people are posting on the internet, my heart actaully sank to my stomach. Coach Bennett writes a weekly column for Palmetto Pigskin Preview. It also gets posted on his website. I tried to come up with a catchy name for it, something with a little bit of alliteration and I came up with Bennett's Blog. Technically, it was a weekly newspaper column, but it really was sort of a personal diary and it was posted on the web so I thought I had a little bit of creative freedom in using the name "Bennett's Blog". As soon as I heard his first "anti-blog" rant, I quickly changed the name. If you pick up the PPP, you will see it is now Coach Bennett's weekly column. Coach and I had a good laugh over this.
At the Stony Brook press conference, Coach Bennett actually got into more detail about his disdain for blogs. When it gets down to it, he doesn't have a problem with the traditional straight forward blog (like this one). It's the message boards where people lurk in anonymity and make random posts with no consequences because no one really knows who they are. This is a part of the new age of journalism where the lines can easily be blurred between credible reporting and a simple spread of rumors. Someone can post on a message board any kind of rumor and it will take on a life of its own. We saw this first hand when Buzz Peterson was rumored to be the College of Charleston's next head coach.
I can promise you this - David Bennett doesn't read blogs (not this one, or any of them). He writes his weekly column on a piece of legal paper and either has me or one of his administrative assistants type it in and email it to me. I've never seen him duck a question or a tough issue in six years. Every single athlete in any sport would be well served to never read a message board as the majority of it is simply stirring the pot in a cauldron of negativity.
"Who's on the blog? Put your real name on the blog!"
That's what Coach Bennett said at the press conference. So I'm here to say this is Rich Chrampanis, on the blog, signing off and taking Coach's advice to find something more productive to do!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Bowden Bailout
The Tommy Bowden era came to a crashing halt on Monday which was shows you how chaotic things must have gotten in TigerTown. I think after the Wake Forest loss, it was a foregone conclusion that it was the beginning of the end, but Tommy saw things so out of control that he walked away.
On the one side of things, you have to look at some numbers.
72 wins in 9 plus seasons (that's almost 8 wins a year)
7-2 against your archrival (Lloyd Carr would still be the Michigan coach if he had this stat alone)
8 bowl trips in 9 seasons
a pretty solid graduation rate
It reminds me a little bit of what happened to Frank Solich at Nebraska and the Cornhuskers haven't gotten back to that level with Bill Callahan and now Bo Pellini, but it's early.
On the flip side, Tommy Bowden had immense talent on the field. No one can deny that. You are looking at as many as a dozen guys that will get drafted in the next couple of years. The pre-season #9 ranking and the pre-season ACC player of the year to go along with the pre-season favorite to win it all in the conference. Everyone in the country was buying the hype that the Tigers were a lock for Jacksonville and a heavy favorite to go to the Orange Bowl. That was the level of expectations in Death Valley and anything below that would be deemed a failure. When people were calling Clemson a fraud after getting waxed by Alabama, I always thought that the ultiamte goal was very much on the table (ACC title game and a shot at the Orange Bowl). The ACC was down and I thought that Clemson could still reach their ulimate goal. I remember leaving for Greensboro and the Chants game at North Carolina A&T. When we got in the car at the station, Clemson was already up 17-6 on Maryland. By the time we arrived at the stadium, the Terps had started the Clemson spiral towards the end of the Bowden era. With Spiller and Davis, Ford and Kelly and Cullen Harper it is mind boggling that seven quarters without a touchdown could happen.
I was a Bowden defender throughout all of his tenure at Clemson. In 2003, he was one loss away from getting canned. He turned around and beat his Dad for the first time, hung up 63 on the Gamecocks and then whipped Tennessee in the Peach Bowl. That was an 8 week course on how to go from nearly fired to getting a big pay raise. Last year, he was an Aaron Kelly dropped pass from getting to the ACC championship game and maybe Miami (Orange Bowl). If Aaron Kelly catches that ball, does Tommy get a mulligan for this year?
I find it interesting how names get thrown into the mix just hours after a coach leaves. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is a hot name and so is Bobby Johnson, a former Clemson player, who has done wonderful things at Vanderbilt. Dabo Swinney was a wise choice to ride out the season. He is Clemson's top recruiter and has been in the living rooms of many of the current players on the roster. He can also keep the peace with Clemson's long list of verbal commitments for next season. All indications are that our two local players, Quandon Christian of Lake View and West Florence's Malliciah Goodman are still verbal commitments to Clemson.
On a personal level, Bowden was a class act to deal with. Every December, he would come down to the North/South banquet and the Mister Football presentation and would always give me 15 minutes to do a one on one interview to get ready for the bowl game at the end of that month. He recognized that we covered his program extensively even though we were four and a half hours away. He was always very approachable and noticed when we made the long journey to Clemson. To his credit, he played the game well and got himself a couple of nice contracts. When I start to feel bad that the pressure and the negativity got so intense on Tommy, I realize that he gets $3.5 million dollars to deal with all of that.
The next Clemson coach must realize this:
You better get to Tampa (site of this year's ACC title game), and you better get to the Orange Bowl. Going to bowl games, graduating your kids and winning more than you lose isn't going to cut it at Clemson. With the money poured into the facilities and the talent base that is on the field, these things are possible. Welcome to the 21st century of college football.
On the one side of things, you have to look at some numbers.
72 wins in 9 plus seasons (that's almost 8 wins a year)
7-2 against your archrival (Lloyd Carr would still be the Michigan coach if he had this stat alone)
8 bowl trips in 9 seasons
a pretty solid graduation rate
It reminds me a little bit of what happened to Frank Solich at Nebraska and the Cornhuskers haven't gotten back to that level with Bill Callahan and now Bo Pellini, but it's early.
On the flip side, Tommy Bowden had immense talent on the field. No one can deny that. You are looking at as many as a dozen guys that will get drafted in the next couple of years. The pre-season #9 ranking and the pre-season ACC player of the year to go along with the pre-season favorite to win it all in the conference. Everyone in the country was buying the hype that the Tigers were a lock for Jacksonville and a heavy favorite to go to the Orange Bowl. That was the level of expectations in Death Valley and anything below that would be deemed a failure. When people were calling Clemson a fraud after getting waxed by Alabama, I always thought that the ultiamte goal was very much on the table (ACC title game and a shot at the Orange Bowl). The ACC was down and I thought that Clemson could still reach their ulimate goal. I remember leaving for Greensboro and the Chants game at North Carolina A&T. When we got in the car at the station, Clemson was already up 17-6 on Maryland. By the time we arrived at the stadium, the Terps had started the Clemson spiral towards the end of the Bowden era. With Spiller and Davis, Ford and Kelly and Cullen Harper it is mind boggling that seven quarters without a touchdown could happen.
I was a Bowden defender throughout all of his tenure at Clemson. In 2003, he was one loss away from getting canned. He turned around and beat his Dad for the first time, hung up 63 on the Gamecocks and then whipped Tennessee in the Peach Bowl. That was an 8 week course on how to go from nearly fired to getting a big pay raise. Last year, he was an Aaron Kelly dropped pass from getting to the ACC championship game and maybe Miami (Orange Bowl). If Aaron Kelly catches that ball, does Tommy get a mulligan for this year?
I find it interesting how names get thrown into the mix just hours after a coach leaves. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is a hot name and so is Bobby Johnson, a former Clemson player, who has done wonderful things at Vanderbilt. Dabo Swinney was a wise choice to ride out the season. He is Clemson's top recruiter and has been in the living rooms of many of the current players on the roster. He can also keep the peace with Clemson's long list of verbal commitments for next season. All indications are that our two local players, Quandon Christian of Lake View and West Florence's Malliciah Goodman are still verbal commitments to Clemson.
On a personal level, Bowden was a class act to deal with. Every December, he would come down to the North/South banquet and the Mister Football presentation and would always give me 15 minutes to do a one on one interview to get ready for the bowl game at the end of that month. He recognized that we covered his program extensively even though we were four and a half hours away. He was always very approachable and noticed when we made the long journey to Clemson. To his credit, he played the game well and got himself a couple of nice contracts. When I start to feel bad that the pressure and the negativity got so intense on Tommy, I realize that he gets $3.5 million dollars to deal with all of that.
The next Clemson coach must realize this:
You better get to Tampa (site of this year's ACC title game), and you better get to the Orange Bowl. Going to bowl games, graduating your kids and winning more than you lose isn't going to cut it at Clemson. With the money poured into the facilities and the talent base that is on the field, these things are possible. Welcome to the 21st century of college football.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Big Mike: A lesson about believing in yourself
I really need to get the NFL Sunday Ticket. A few years back it would have been great for fantasy football reasons, but now there are so many former All-Zoners and former CCU football players playing on Sunday that I crave the Ticket so I can check in all of our former guys.
The most pleasant surprise of all our of alumni right now is Mike Tolbert. When Tolbert was a nightmare for defenses in the Big South, you tend to not let it translate to the NFL. But now Tyler Thigpen, Quinton Teal, Jerome Simpson and Big Mike have taught us that it is possible to be a I-AA star at CCU and then move on to the NFL.
I will always remember the second day of the NFL Draft in 2008 when Hags and I went to Mike Tolbert's house. There was no big celebration - Tolbert was not drafted. But he was all smiles when we pulled up to his house. He was getting his shot with the San Diego Chargers - a signing bonus of a whopping $5,000 (did the Chargers get a bargain or what!??!!) All Mike Tolbert wanted was a shot. He was determined to make the most of it and he sure did.
We gave so much attention to Jerome Simpson and the hype that came with his dazzling workouts. Jerome has not gotten his opportunity yet as the Bengals struggle. There's no doubt that as soon as he gets his chance Jerome will do some great things in the NFL. Back in April, we thought we'd have a highlight reel full of Jerome catches in Bengal stripes, but instead we have Mike Tolbert with a TD catch, a 67 yard catch against the Broncos and bulldozing holes for LaDandian Tomlinson. Tolbert not only made the roster as an undrafted free agent, he's starting as a rookie at fullback for one of the NFL's elite teams.
I remember being at CCU's Pro Day where about a dozen NFL scouts were on hand to eyeball Jerome. I had put together a DVD of highlights of both Simpson and Tolbert. The scouts were all grabbing the DVD's of Jerome and watching every move he made. Tolbert was second fiddle, but the Chargers were at that Pro Day workout and my guess is they grabbed the Tolbert DVD. If it wasn't for Jerome attracting a big crowd, maybe the Chargers wouldn't have discovered their new starting fullback.
David Bennett was bending every scout's ear who was on Simpson watch. "We've got another one that can play on Sundays", he'd always say. It would have been so easy for Big Mike to get caught up in the hype and resign himself to the fact that Jerome was going to be the guy who made it, but quietly Big Mike made the absolute most out of a minimal opportunity.
The NFL is finding out what already knew - Big Mike can play the game. Tolbert believed in himself and now there's a legion of Lightning Bolt fans and one of the best running backs on the planet who are believing in him.
The most pleasant surprise of all our of alumni right now is Mike Tolbert. When Tolbert was a nightmare for defenses in the Big South, you tend to not let it translate to the NFL. But now Tyler Thigpen, Quinton Teal, Jerome Simpson and Big Mike have taught us that it is possible to be a I-AA star at CCU and then move on to the NFL.
I will always remember the second day of the NFL Draft in 2008 when Hags and I went to Mike Tolbert's house. There was no big celebration - Tolbert was not drafted. But he was all smiles when we pulled up to his house. He was getting his shot with the San Diego Chargers - a signing bonus of a whopping $5,000 (did the Chargers get a bargain or what!??!!) All Mike Tolbert wanted was a shot. He was determined to make the most of it and he sure did.
We gave so much attention to Jerome Simpson and the hype that came with his dazzling workouts. Jerome has not gotten his opportunity yet as the Bengals struggle. There's no doubt that as soon as he gets his chance Jerome will do some great things in the NFL. Back in April, we thought we'd have a highlight reel full of Jerome catches in Bengal stripes, but instead we have Mike Tolbert with a TD catch, a 67 yard catch against the Broncos and bulldozing holes for LaDandian Tomlinson. Tolbert not only made the roster as an undrafted free agent, he's starting as a rookie at fullback for one of the NFL's elite teams.
I remember being at CCU's Pro Day where about a dozen NFL scouts were on hand to eyeball Jerome. I had put together a DVD of highlights of both Simpson and Tolbert. The scouts were all grabbing the DVD's of Jerome and watching every move he made. Tolbert was second fiddle, but the Chargers were at that Pro Day workout and my guess is they grabbed the Tolbert DVD. If it wasn't for Jerome attracting a big crowd, maybe the Chargers wouldn't have discovered their new starting fullback.
David Bennett was bending every scout's ear who was on Simpson watch. "We've got another one that can play on Sundays", he'd always say. It would have been so easy for Big Mike to get caught up in the hype and resign himself to the fact that Jerome was going to be the guy who made it, but quietly Big Mike made the absolute most out of a minimal opportunity.
The NFL is finding out what already knew - Big Mike can play the game. Tolbert believed in himself and now there's a legion of Lightning Bolt fans and one of the best running backs on the planet who are believing in him.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Mailbag - September Edition
I really had a goal of posting a blog entry at least once a month and August zipped by before I knew what hit me. 34 high school football previews and getting ready for football will do that to you. I apologize for not answering these emails sooner, but here it goes:
Clara Curry asks: How do you pick the End Zone teams for each week?
A great question Clara. Logistics is the single biggest factor in determining which teams join us in the Chevy End Zone studio. We make it a goal to try and get the best teams in our area the opportunity to come in and be a part of the Friday night Zone. For some teams, it's very difficult to get to our Conway studio by 11:00pm. Teams like Lamar and Timmonsville never get a chance to play close enough to get into the studio. Usually on Sunday, Hags and I look at the schedule and run through the options. We are almost always on the same page and get the invite out ASAP.
Chris Martin asks: I wanted to know if you guys were going to do the Palmetto Pigskin competition like you did last year?
Chris - you probably know by now that the Picks competition is up and running. You can access the picks by clicking on "Palmetto Picks" on the left side of the main sports page at wpde.com or you can always go to www.palmettopigskin.com
If you haven't done the picks, you are missing out. It's totally free and takes just a couple of minutes. Jim, Ed, Ally and I enjoy the friendly competition and I think the contest will grow over the next couple of years.
Marty Parker asks: I was wondering if there is anyway to get some to the video highlights that you have from Cheraw. I want to add them to our school website library.
Marty: Many apologies for not getting back with you sooner. Our new web video player which was launched in April is fantastic and easy to use. I love the fact that you can email a story directly to someone's email. Unfortunately, there was a price to pay with that. We had to lose all the web video we previously had over the years as it was in a different format. If you haven't seen it yet, check out the Cheraw page on wpde.com - it is a new addition to our web lineup and I enjoy having each team getting its own page
Kevin Forsee writes:
Just a thought.... I originally grew up in Ohio and most news programs have a rolling graphic of up-to-date sports scores at the end of the sports segment for all pro team games played that day. Not a single news program in the area uses that type of graphic. There are many locals and tourists that have no way of keeping up with their favorite teams without switching to ESPN or the web. I think it would be beneficial and convenient for the Channel 15 viewers to be the first in the area to have a graphic or "ticker" with their favorite sports teams, not just the Braves or Falcons during the sports segment.
Thank you for your time!
Kevin:
Appreciate you writing in. I just have to laugh off the start, because I see you wrote about the Falcons. There is a stigma among some folks that we show all Atlanta pro sports when that is in fact, not the case. The only time we may show a Falcons highlight is if Lamar native John Abraham does something, but we do not give a steady diet of Falcons highlights. The Braves are the Pelicans single "A" affiliate and the closest MLB team to us and that's why we show them a lot.
Now on to your idea, which is a great one. I am all for it - back in the day we used to do scores heading to break before sports, but that was taken away from us. The ticker would solve that problem - right now I don't think we have that technology at our station. If we did, I think it's a great idea and something that I would be in favor of. Hopefully, that can happen down the road.
Danielle writes: I've been checking the website for over an hour trying to find some high school football scores. Could you please make it easier to find and also please let me know where I'm supposed to look. I've tried just about everything and this is exhausting!!!!
Danielle: I believe I may have shot you a short email right after the show when you sent this a couple of weeks back. When I work on the website, accessibility is the single most important thing for what we're trying to accomplish. I know we have lots of content when it pertains to high school football, but we need to get it to you folks! Our 50 minute show forces me to not post the final scores on wpde.com until 12:10 am at the earliest. I have now made it a point to make that the lead sports story on wpde.com on Friday nights and we will have it updated ASAP. The red banner on top of the main sports page is the portal to our 34 team pages. Hopefully, fans are going to their team's page and being able to see all the web video and insider blog from their school. Getting the content from the Friday night show onto the web is a long process, but our goal is to have it up as quickly as possible and we'll continue to work on doing that.
Angie Smith writes: I live in Ruby South Carolina, and our high school is Chesterfield High. I just wanted to know why all the tv stations can come or cover the Cheraw High School's football team, but never come or even say anything about Chesterfield, which is only a 10-15 minute ride from Cheraw. Yes, Cheraw is state champion for 2A, but Chesterfield is state champion for 1A, and last week in Chesterfield's opening game, Chesterfield won 42 - 0 over a 4A Fort Mill High School. I would just like to have some coverage of Chesterfield. This team has really turned around in the past several years from winning no games to winning a state championship, and I think the team players and coaches deserve to have a least one game covered on tv. Could you tell me if there is a reason why Chesterfield is never on tv?
Angie: I have answered this question many times and you can apply the same answer to other schools like Central of Pageland, Manning and Sumter area schools. About six years ago, we decided to make an exact definition of what schools would be part of the Chevy End Zone family. For the last six years, we have had the same 34 high schools defined as the area that we cover. Chesterfield County is not considered part of the Myrtle Beach/Florence market. That means if every single TV in Chesterfield County were to watch WPDE for 24 hours a day, it wouldn't count in the ratings. I realize that Cheraw is in Chesterfield County, but it is on the border of Marlboro County and Cheraw plays many teams from our area, unlike Chesterfield, who is in a region with many out of area teams. We made the decision 6 years ago to keep Cheraw due to the Braves fans strong following of our station. Another factor is having WPDE on your local cable system. Some of our fringe areas don't have us on there, perhaps that has changed over the years. It is nothing personal against the Rams as they have an outstanding team and passionate football fans.
Cathy writes: Hey Rich, Let's give Socastee their due and update passing and rushing etc... to include them also!!!
Hello Cathy: I am glad you checked in on this. The stats are a big part of what I do on Monday's as I know fans across the area enjoy checking on the area leaders. We have the same routine for the past nine years where coaching staffs have to email or fax us their stats over the weekend or on Monday and we compile the list. At this point, I have not received stats from a number of schools, Socastee included. Hopefully, in the next week or so, we'll get everyone to come on board and get stats from all 34 schools. If I can get ahead of schedule this week, I'll attempt to send an email to all 34 coaches to remind them to email me stats every week.
Marilyn P. writes: Why does Rich ignore Panthers games when we are more interested in them than High Sch.& College, which he seems to prefer? There are many retirees in this area who prefer NFL to local. No mention of the great game the Panthers had Sunday. Shame.
Marilyn: Ironic that you wrote this email on the night that I did show John Fox talking about the Panthers big win over San Diego. I understand your criticism, but I'll explain my philosophy. The Panthers play on Sunday's and Mark Haggard does an excellent job of giving thorough highlights and I would say at least half of the time post-game sound. It's not like Hags is doing just one highlight - he goes in depth. On Monday, I will run John Fox if there's something relevant (injury update, etc). It sounds like you want me to run the highlights that Hags ran on Sunday on Monday - if there's nothing new to add, there's no point. Of course, I think that was an awesome win for Carolina and it was great to see Jake Delhomme back under center, but if there's nothing new to add, it would be lazy of me to re-rack highlights. That being said, I do try and make it a point to run Panthers interviews at least once a week. The NFL will not allow us to shoot video on the sidelines, so unfortunately, it's not worth our time to go to Charlotte and cover a game when we can't shoot highlights. I would love to go up and do a long feature on Quinton Teal for example. I will continue to show the Panthers whenever it's warranted.
Thanks to everyone for writing in! Ed and I are leaving 6am for NJ and the CCU/Monmouth game - that's usually an adventure - I'll recap our journey next week!
Clara Curry asks: How do you pick the End Zone teams for each week?
A great question Clara. Logistics is the single biggest factor in determining which teams join us in the Chevy End Zone studio. We make it a goal to try and get the best teams in our area the opportunity to come in and be a part of the Friday night Zone. For some teams, it's very difficult to get to our Conway studio by 11:00pm. Teams like Lamar and Timmonsville never get a chance to play close enough to get into the studio. Usually on Sunday, Hags and I look at the schedule and run through the options. We are almost always on the same page and get the invite out ASAP.
Chris Martin asks: I wanted to know if you guys were going to do the Palmetto Pigskin competition like you did last year?
Chris - you probably know by now that the Picks competition is up and running. You can access the picks by clicking on "Palmetto Picks" on the left side of the main sports page at wpde.com or you can always go to www.palmettopigskin.com
If you haven't done the picks, you are missing out. It's totally free and takes just a couple of minutes. Jim, Ed, Ally and I enjoy the friendly competition and I think the contest will grow over the next couple of years.
Marty Parker asks: I was wondering if there is anyway to get some to the video highlights that you have from Cheraw. I want to add them to our school website library.
Marty: Many apologies for not getting back with you sooner. Our new web video player which was launched in April is fantastic and easy to use. I love the fact that you can email a story directly to someone's email. Unfortunately, there was a price to pay with that. We had to lose all the web video we previously had over the years as it was in a different format. If you haven't seen it yet, check out the Cheraw page on wpde.com - it is a new addition to our web lineup and I enjoy having each team getting its own page
Kevin Forsee writes:
Just a thought.... I originally grew up in Ohio and most news programs have a rolling graphic of up-to-date sports scores at the end of the sports segment for all pro team games played that day. Not a single news program in the area uses that type of graphic. There are many locals and tourists that have no way of keeping up with their favorite teams without switching to ESPN or the web. I think it would be beneficial and convenient for the Channel 15 viewers to be the first in the area to have a graphic or "ticker" with their favorite sports teams, not just the Braves or Falcons during the sports segment.
Thank you for your time!
Kevin:
Appreciate you writing in. I just have to laugh off the start, because I see you wrote about the Falcons. There is a stigma among some folks that we show all Atlanta pro sports when that is in fact, not the case. The only time we may show a Falcons highlight is if Lamar native John Abraham does something, but we do not give a steady diet of Falcons highlights. The Braves are the Pelicans single "A" affiliate and the closest MLB team to us and that's why we show them a lot.
Now on to your idea, which is a great one. I am all for it - back in the day we used to do scores heading to break before sports, but that was taken away from us. The ticker would solve that problem - right now I don't think we have that technology at our station. If we did, I think it's a great idea and something that I would be in favor of. Hopefully, that can happen down the road.
Danielle writes: I've been checking the website for over an hour trying to find some high school football scores. Could you please make it easier to find and also please let me know where I'm supposed to look. I've tried just about everything and this is exhausting!!!!
Danielle: I believe I may have shot you a short email right after the show when you sent this a couple of weeks back. When I work on the website, accessibility is the single most important thing for what we're trying to accomplish. I know we have lots of content when it pertains to high school football, but we need to get it to you folks! Our 50 minute show forces me to not post the final scores on wpde.com until 12:10 am at the earliest. I have now made it a point to make that the lead sports story on wpde.com on Friday nights and we will have it updated ASAP. The red banner on top of the main sports page is the portal to our 34 team pages. Hopefully, fans are going to their team's page and being able to see all the web video and insider blog from their school. Getting the content from the Friday night show onto the web is a long process, but our goal is to have it up as quickly as possible and we'll continue to work on doing that.
Angie Smith writes: I live in Ruby South Carolina, and our high school is Chesterfield High. I just wanted to know why all the tv stations can come or cover the Cheraw High School's football team, but never come or even say anything about Chesterfield, which is only a 10-15 minute ride from Cheraw. Yes, Cheraw is state champion for 2A, but Chesterfield is state champion for 1A, and last week in Chesterfield's opening game, Chesterfield won 42 - 0 over a 4A Fort Mill High School. I would just like to have some coverage of Chesterfield. This team has really turned around in the past several years from winning no games to winning a state championship, and I think the team players and coaches deserve to have a least one game covered on tv. Could you tell me if there is a reason why Chesterfield is never on tv?
Angie: I have answered this question many times and you can apply the same answer to other schools like Central of Pageland, Manning and Sumter area schools. About six years ago, we decided to make an exact definition of what schools would be part of the Chevy End Zone family. For the last six years, we have had the same 34 high schools defined as the area that we cover. Chesterfield County is not considered part of the Myrtle Beach/Florence market. That means if every single TV in Chesterfield County were to watch WPDE for 24 hours a day, it wouldn't count in the ratings. I realize that Cheraw is in Chesterfield County, but it is on the border of Marlboro County and Cheraw plays many teams from our area, unlike Chesterfield, who is in a region with many out of area teams. We made the decision 6 years ago to keep Cheraw due to the Braves fans strong following of our station. Another factor is having WPDE on your local cable system. Some of our fringe areas don't have us on there, perhaps that has changed over the years. It is nothing personal against the Rams as they have an outstanding team and passionate football fans.
Cathy writes: Hey Rich, Let's give Socastee their due and update passing and rushing etc... to include them also!!!
Hello Cathy: I am glad you checked in on this. The stats are a big part of what I do on Monday's as I know fans across the area enjoy checking on the area leaders. We have the same routine for the past nine years where coaching staffs have to email or fax us their stats over the weekend or on Monday and we compile the list. At this point, I have not received stats from a number of schools, Socastee included. Hopefully, in the next week or so, we'll get everyone to come on board and get stats from all 34 schools. If I can get ahead of schedule this week, I'll attempt to send an email to all 34 coaches to remind them to email me stats every week.
Marilyn P. writes: Why does Rich ignore Panthers games when we are more interested in them than High Sch.& College, which he seems to prefer? There are many retirees in this area who prefer NFL to local. No mention of the great game the Panthers had Sunday. Shame.
Marilyn: Ironic that you wrote this email on the night that I did show John Fox talking about the Panthers big win over San Diego. I understand your criticism, but I'll explain my philosophy. The Panthers play on Sunday's and Mark Haggard does an excellent job of giving thorough highlights and I would say at least half of the time post-game sound. It's not like Hags is doing just one highlight - he goes in depth. On Monday, I will run John Fox if there's something relevant (injury update, etc). It sounds like you want me to run the highlights that Hags ran on Sunday on Monday - if there's nothing new to add, there's no point. Of course, I think that was an awesome win for Carolina and it was great to see Jake Delhomme back under center, but if there's nothing new to add, it would be lazy of me to re-rack highlights. That being said, I do try and make it a point to run Panthers interviews at least once a week. The NFL will not allow us to shoot video on the sidelines, so unfortunately, it's not worth our time to go to Charlotte and cover a game when we can't shoot highlights. I would love to go up and do a long feature on Quinton Teal for example. I will continue to show the Panthers whenever it's warranted.
Thanks to everyone for writing in! Ed and I are leaving 6am for NJ and the CCU/Monmouth game - that's usually an adventure - I'll recap our journey next week!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
There's a guy with one arm pitching a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium
As a lifelong New York Yankee fan, the All-Star festivities have been special for me and Josh Hamilton's performance in the Home Run Derby may be the last great moment in the House that Ruth Built unless the Yankees rally into the post-season or we see a perfect game.
I've been fortunate enough to see a handful of great moments in the Bronx. The first one came on July 24th, 1983. The Middletown, NJ Swim Club had a bus trip to see the Royals and the Yankees and my Mom (a non-sports fan in every sense of the word), took me to set up shop in the upper deck. With 2 outs inn the 9th inning, Goose Gossage made a mistake to George Brett and a 2 run homer gave the Royals a 5-4 lead. Gossage will be inducted together into Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame later this month. Yankees manager Billy Martin came out and there was a lot of people in the stands asking what was going on as Brett's bat came out of the dugout and was laid across home plate. As a 13 year old, I remember saying to the fans sitting around me that they were measuring the amount of pine tar on his bat. I was engulfed in Yankee baseball, never missing a broadcast and I remember hearing discussion about Brett using a lot of pine tar on his bat. Umpire Tim McClelland called Brett out and one of the most famous scenes in baseball lore happened. An enraged Brett stormed out of the dugout and it took about half of the Royals to hold him back. (YouTube this if you haven't seen it!) Just by pure luck, I was in attendance in what will forver be known as the Pine Tar Game.
I've been to two World Series games at Yankee Stadium. In 1998, my wife and I on a whim decided to drive from Bangor, Maine down to the Bronx to try and scalp tickets to game one of the World Series. It was a fun adventure, and I was able to get two tickets in the bleachers for $125 each (a pretty good bargain) 10 minutes before the first pitch. Paranoid that I was getting counterfeit tickets, I made the scalper walk with us up to the gate to make sure we got in. We saw a 9-6 Yankees win as Tino Martinez sparked a 7 run 7th inning.
While working in 1999 in Bangor, we covered the Boston Red Sox and were able to secure credentials for the ALCS. My weekend sports anchor was able to go to Fenway and cover the Yankees 4 games to 1 series win. When you apply for post-season credentials, the normal procedure for a local TV affiliate is to get passes until your local team is eliminated. We were surprised to get a phone call in our sports office from Major League Baseball asking if we were going to use our World Series credentials. Calmly, I answered yes. We couldn't turn down a chance to cover a World Series game. Game four against the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium had our chief meteorologist, Rob Nucatola, and I hit the road. I don't know what it is, but weather guys are the best road trip sidekicks (see Ed Piotrowski and about 25 CCU road trips!). I don't know how we did it, but I was actually live on the field at Yankee Stadium at 6:20 pm prior to the World Series. The Yankees won the game, Roger Clemens got his first world series ring and we got a boat load of sound bites on the field. The locker room was so overloaded with media and VIP's, that we were able to get interviews with Scott Brosius, Jim Leyritz, Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada and a host of others virtually one on one. On the outside, you have to stay professional, but on the inside you have goose bumps knowing you are standing on the field that you grew up watching as a kid - that I was standing on the same field as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and countless others.
This brings me to my favorite Yankee Stadium moment. My television career began behind the scenes at WCBS-TV in New York. I was lucky enough to get an opportunity and worked my way to associate sports producer. I was producing the weekend sportscasts for Steve Levy, now at ESPN. Steve began his career at WFAN, the all sports radio station in New York City. He actually worked on the radio early Saturday afternoon before he came into work at the TV station. It was my job to set the table - come in early and get the rundown started and begin recording the games that we were going to show highlights of. It was a Saturday afternoon in early September, 1993 and the Yankees were hosting the Cleveland Indians. Jim Abbott was the starting pitcher. For those who don't know, Abbott is an amazing story. He was born without a right hand and was able to pitch with his glove tucked under his right arm and in a seemless motion, could get the glove onto his left hand by the time the ball reached home plate. He was a very good fielding pitcher. You can get mesmerized just watching him do this alone. On this day, Abbott was dialed in. You never take a no-hitter seriously until about the 6th inning and when Abbott hadn't allowed a hit, I realized that maybe something special was going to happen.
I was a kid. 23 years old and working in New York City. There were so many people working at Channel 2 and I was so low on the totem pole that less than half the people on staff knew my name. There was always a higher level sports producer around or an anchor except on Saturday's. It was about a 20 minute drive from WCBS to Yankee Stadium. If Abbott got through the 6th with a no-hitter intact, I had to go to the assignment desk and get a camera crew and get to the Bronx in case history was made. Sure enough, at the end of 6, the Indians still had a zero in the hit column. I walked from the sports office to the newsroom and went to the woman sitting behind the central nervous system of WCBS. She definitely didn't know my name. I told her I needed to get a cameraman to go with me to Yankees Stadium ASAP. She said to me "I'll see what I can do and get back to you". At this point, for the first time and honestly the only time in my New York career, I got a little courage. "There's a guy with one arm pitching a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium. Trust me, we need to be there right now." Fortunately, I was on my way downstairs and on the West Side Highway to the Bronx. I got to the Stadium in bottom of the 8th which is pretty good time. I sat in the bowels of the stadium and just listened to the roar of the crowd. Even though I didn't see that 9th inning, the crowd dictated to me that history was made. I was in place and was able to get post-game interviews with Abbott, Wade Boggs (who made a great defensive play to keep the no-hitter intact) and everyone else involved. I remember Levy calling in to the sports office and saying to me "Please tell me you just got back from the Stadium" - to which I replied "Yes". If I didn't say yes, I'd probably be teaching tennis in New Jersey and out of the business before I ever really got into it. The fact that Steve trusted me to get the job done was one of the most significant moments in my career. If it was any other day, I would have been holed up in the sports office answering phones and logging highlights. That no-hitter story gave me the confidence that I can work a big story and I went from "Who's that kid" in the newroom to "Hey that's one of the sports producers" (most of them still didn't know my name!). I'm glad that moment happened at such a special place. I'm sure the new Yankee Stadium will be a palace, but I'm sure it won't be the same.
I've been fortunate enough to see a handful of great moments in the Bronx. The first one came on July 24th, 1983. The Middletown, NJ Swim Club had a bus trip to see the Royals and the Yankees and my Mom (a non-sports fan in every sense of the word), took me to set up shop in the upper deck. With 2 outs inn the 9th inning, Goose Gossage made a mistake to George Brett and a 2 run homer gave the Royals a 5-4 lead. Gossage will be inducted together into Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame later this month. Yankees manager Billy Martin came out and there was a lot of people in the stands asking what was going on as Brett's bat came out of the dugout and was laid across home plate. As a 13 year old, I remember saying to the fans sitting around me that they were measuring the amount of pine tar on his bat. I was engulfed in Yankee baseball, never missing a broadcast and I remember hearing discussion about Brett using a lot of pine tar on his bat. Umpire Tim McClelland called Brett out and one of the most famous scenes in baseball lore happened. An enraged Brett stormed out of the dugout and it took about half of the Royals to hold him back. (YouTube this if you haven't seen it!) Just by pure luck, I was in attendance in what will forver be known as the Pine Tar Game.
I've been to two World Series games at Yankee Stadium. In 1998, my wife and I on a whim decided to drive from Bangor, Maine down to the Bronx to try and scalp tickets to game one of the World Series. It was a fun adventure, and I was able to get two tickets in the bleachers for $125 each (a pretty good bargain) 10 minutes before the first pitch. Paranoid that I was getting counterfeit tickets, I made the scalper walk with us up to the gate to make sure we got in. We saw a 9-6 Yankees win as Tino Martinez sparked a 7 run 7th inning.
While working in 1999 in Bangor, we covered the Boston Red Sox and were able to secure credentials for the ALCS. My weekend sports anchor was able to go to Fenway and cover the Yankees 4 games to 1 series win. When you apply for post-season credentials, the normal procedure for a local TV affiliate is to get passes until your local team is eliminated. We were surprised to get a phone call in our sports office from Major League Baseball asking if we were going to use our World Series credentials. Calmly, I answered yes. We couldn't turn down a chance to cover a World Series game. Game four against the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium had our chief meteorologist, Rob Nucatola, and I hit the road. I don't know what it is, but weather guys are the best road trip sidekicks (see Ed Piotrowski and about 25 CCU road trips!). I don't know how we did it, but I was actually live on the field at Yankee Stadium at 6:20 pm prior to the World Series. The Yankees won the game, Roger Clemens got his first world series ring and we got a boat load of sound bites on the field. The locker room was so overloaded with media and VIP's, that we were able to get interviews with Scott Brosius, Jim Leyritz, Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada and a host of others virtually one on one. On the outside, you have to stay professional, but on the inside you have goose bumps knowing you are standing on the field that you grew up watching as a kid - that I was standing on the same field as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and countless others.
This brings me to my favorite Yankee Stadium moment. My television career began behind the scenes at WCBS-TV in New York. I was lucky enough to get an opportunity and worked my way to associate sports producer. I was producing the weekend sportscasts for Steve Levy, now at ESPN. Steve began his career at WFAN, the all sports radio station in New York City. He actually worked on the radio early Saturday afternoon before he came into work at the TV station. It was my job to set the table - come in early and get the rundown started and begin recording the games that we were going to show highlights of. It was a Saturday afternoon in early September, 1993 and the Yankees were hosting the Cleveland Indians. Jim Abbott was the starting pitcher. For those who don't know, Abbott is an amazing story. He was born without a right hand and was able to pitch with his glove tucked under his right arm and in a seemless motion, could get the glove onto his left hand by the time the ball reached home plate. He was a very good fielding pitcher. You can get mesmerized just watching him do this alone. On this day, Abbott was dialed in. You never take a no-hitter seriously until about the 6th inning and when Abbott hadn't allowed a hit, I realized that maybe something special was going to happen.
I was a kid. 23 years old and working in New York City. There were so many people working at Channel 2 and I was so low on the totem pole that less than half the people on staff knew my name. There was always a higher level sports producer around or an anchor except on Saturday's. It was about a 20 minute drive from WCBS to Yankee Stadium. If Abbott got through the 6th with a no-hitter intact, I had to go to the assignment desk and get a camera crew and get to the Bronx in case history was made. Sure enough, at the end of 6, the Indians still had a zero in the hit column. I walked from the sports office to the newsroom and went to the woman sitting behind the central nervous system of WCBS. She definitely didn't know my name. I told her I needed to get a cameraman to go with me to Yankees Stadium ASAP. She said to me "I'll see what I can do and get back to you". At this point, for the first time and honestly the only time in my New York career, I got a little courage. "There's a guy with one arm pitching a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium. Trust me, we need to be there right now." Fortunately, I was on my way downstairs and on the West Side Highway to the Bronx. I got to the Stadium in bottom of the 8th which is pretty good time. I sat in the bowels of the stadium and just listened to the roar of the crowd. Even though I didn't see that 9th inning, the crowd dictated to me that history was made. I was in place and was able to get post-game interviews with Abbott, Wade Boggs (who made a great defensive play to keep the no-hitter intact) and everyone else involved. I remember Levy calling in to the sports office and saying to me "Please tell me you just got back from the Stadium" - to which I replied "Yes". If I didn't say yes, I'd probably be teaching tennis in New Jersey and out of the business before I ever really got into it. The fact that Steve trusted me to get the job done was one of the most significant moments in my career. If it was any other day, I would have been holed up in the sports office answering phones and logging highlights. That no-hitter story gave me the confidence that I can work a big story and I went from "Who's that kid" in the newroom to "Hey that's one of the sports producers" (most of them still didn't know my name!). I'm glad that moment happened at such a special place. I'm sure the new Yankee Stadium will be a palace, but I'm sure it won't be the same.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
My link with Pete Sampras
Tonight on my sportscast I showed highlights of Serena Williams advancing to the Wimbledon final with a 6-2, 7-6 win over Zheng Jie. In those highlights, I showed a ballboy who collided into Serena at almost full speed. It brought back memories of my days as a ballboy. That's right, I had the Reebok red and blue outfit in the back row of the 1987 US Open. I went to a tryout at Flushing Meadow and the USTA National Tennis Center and made the cut to work the back row. Basically, I was throwing balls on one perfect bounce to a player and during changeovers, throwing balls across the court to my comrades in the back row. There is a pecking order in the ballboy world. A newbie like myself was not going to get thrown on the stadium court or the grandstand. I never did get on to the main two courts - my highlight of my ballboy career was working a match on court 16 (at the time, one of the larger outer courts in Flushing Meadow) with Carling Bassett-Seguso, who was the Anna Kournikova of 1987. As for the low point of my ballboy career, that would come in a women's doubles match. Raffaella Reggi, who was an Italian ranked in the top 20 in women's singles, was playing in a doubles match. During changeovers, we would have to throw tennis balls across court and I was in my routine of throwing line drives when miss Reggi walked right into one of my throws. It hit her sqaure on the head. Fortunately, there were only about 50 people watching the match, but they all managed to gasp. I thought it was going to be my last match. It probably would have been if it was on the stadium or grandstand, but Reggi laughed, I apologized profusely and she and her partner won the match easily in straight sets.
The highlight of the ballboy experience was getting the chance to actually play at the USTA National Tennis Center. My high school teammate, Chris Gambino, was a highly ranked national player who was on standby to get into the US Open boys singles draw. He didn't get to play in the event, but he was working as a court attendant during the Open and was allowed to practice on the courts because he was on standby. We would get there early and hit balls before the matches got started at 11am. The court attendant gig was way better than ballboy - all you had to worry about was getting towels, and relaying scores.
I can thank Chris Gambino for my one and only significant match as a varsity tennis player in high school. I started playing tennis at around the age of 12 and got hooked. There was a tremendous public courts program that became my summer job and was responsible for my passion for tennis. My high school, Christian Brothers Academy, had the reputation as one of the best tennis programs in New Jersey. For five years, I practiced and took many lessons with the hopes of maybe, just maybe I could start for the CBA tennis team in my senior season. Alas, I got to my senior year and was the 8th player on the depth chart. Unfortunately, seven players play (3 singles and two doubles teams). All of the hard work did not pay off. The beauty of tennis is there is no one to blame about the starting lineup. You beat a player head to head and you move up the ladder. No excuses, I was the 8th best player. Granted, I probably would have started for any other team in the state of New Jersey. That's what many people told me, and I didn't believe them until mid-season.
Newark Academy held a mid-season tournament where the top 8 teams in the state were invited to play head to head and have an idea of who was the favorite heading into the later part of the year. We were ranked #2 in the state and drew the #7 team in the first round. I was ready to ride the bench as usual. Gambino was playing in a pro qualifer tournament the same day as our match. He was playing a world ranked player and he thought he'd be able to come to our match in plenty of time. We were getting ready to leave for our match when our coach got the call - Chris beat this world ranked player and would not be playing in our match. For the first time ever, I got the call to play in a varsity tennis match. I played second doubles with Brian Bocker and won the match in straight sets. While I was playing my first varsity match, Chris Gambino was playing a 16 year old phenom named Pete Sampras (he lost to Pistol Pete 7-5,7-5 if I recall). Our tennis team went on to a perfect season and a state championship and I played in a handful of matches against weaker teams on our schedule.
The confidence of that one match kept me going. I won a doubles invitational with our #2 player Joe Clemente after the season and got a chance to play tennis at Saint Bonaventure. I played three years of NCAA Division I tennis despite playing a grand total of 8 matches in my high school career.
Sure, it's sixteen degrees of separation, but I always feel I'll be forever linked to one of the greatest tennis players in history and if it wasn't for him, I may have never felt what it was like to truly win on a tennis court.
The highlight of the ballboy experience was getting the chance to actually play at the USTA National Tennis Center. My high school teammate, Chris Gambino, was a highly ranked national player who was on standby to get into the US Open boys singles draw. He didn't get to play in the event, but he was working as a court attendant during the Open and was allowed to practice on the courts because he was on standby. We would get there early and hit balls before the matches got started at 11am. The court attendant gig was way better than ballboy - all you had to worry about was getting towels, and relaying scores.
I can thank Chris Gambino for my one and only significant match as a varsity tennis player in high school. I started playing tennis at around the age of 12 and got hooked. There was a tremendous public courts program that became my summer job and was responsible for my passion for tennis. My high school, Christian Brothers Academy, had the reputation as one of the best tennis programs in New Jersey. For five years, I practiced and took many lessons with the hopes of maybe, just maybe I could start for the CBA tennis team in my senior season. Alas, I got to my senior year and was the 8th player on the depth chart. Unfortunately, seven players play (3 singles and two doubles teams). All of the hard work did not pay off. The beauty of tennis is there is no one to blame about the starting lineup. You beat a player head to head and you move up the ladder. No excuses, I was the 8th best player. Granted, I probably would have started for any other team in the state of New Jersey. That's what many people told me, and I didn't believe them until mid-season.
Newark Academy held a mid-season tournament where the top 8 teams in the state were invited to play head to head and have an idea of who was the favorite heading into the later part of the year. We were ranked #2 in the state and drew the #7 team in the first round. I was ready to ride the bench as usual. Gambino was playing in a pro qualifer tournament the same day as our match. He was playing a world ranked player and he thought he'd be able to come to our match in plenty of time. We were getting ready to leave for our match when our coach got the call - Chris beat this world ranked player and would not be playing in our match. For the first time ever, I got the call to play in a varsity tennis match. I played second doubles with Brian Bocker and won the match in straight sets. While I was playing my first varsity match, Chris Gambino was playing a 16 year old phenom named Pete Sampras (he lost to Pistol Pete 7-5,7-5 if I recall). Our tennis team went on to a perfect season and a state championship and I played in a handful of matches against weaker teams on our schedule.
The confidence of that one match kept me going. I won a doubles invitational with our #2 player Joe Clemente after the season and got a chance to play tennis at Saint Bonaventure. I played three years of NCAA Division I tennis despite playing a grand total of 8 matches in my high school career.
Sure, it's sixteen degrees of separation, but I always feel I'll be forever linked to one of the greatest tennis players in history and if it wasn't for him, I may have never felt what it was like to truly win on a tennis court.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Cashing In
It has been a busier June than normal, thanks to Coastal Carolina's fantastic run on the diamond. Kudos to the University for making an aggressive play to keep Gary Gilmore in Conway. While Gilly is getting some much deserved coin in his bank account, some of his players are also cashing in.
Signing Bonuses
==================
Jordan Lyles #38 pick of Houston Astros in supplemental first round: $930,000
Pete Andrelzyck, 5th round pick of the Florida Marlins: $185,000
Dock Doyle, 5th round pick of the NY Mets: $167,000
David Sappelt, 9th round pick of the Cincinnati Reds: $75,000
You can see why Jordan said no thanks to the Gamecocks and quickly signed on the dotted line with the Astros organization. These four players would be wise to stock away this windfall of cash. Their salary in the minors starts at $850 a month and $20 meal money on the road. Eventually, the big bucks of the big leagues is on the horizon, but it's a long and tough journey to make it in the show.
Signing Bonuses
==================
Jordan Lyles #38 pick of Houston Astros in supplemental first round: $930,000
Pete Andrelzyck, 5th round pick of the Florida Marlins: $185,000
Dock Doyle, 5th round pick of the NY Mets: $167,000
David Sappelt, 9th round pick of the Cincinnati Reds: $75,000
You can see why Jordan said no thanks to the Gamecocks and quickly signed on the dotted line with the Astros organization. These four players would be wise to stock away this windfall of cash. Their salary in the minors starts at $850 a month and $20 meal money on the road. Eventually, the big bucks of the big leagues is on the horizon, but it's a long and tough journey to make it in the show.
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