The Men's Club

There is only one rule about the men's club at Mt. Pleasant Manor - what happens at men's club stays at men's club. Until now, since I'm blogging about it. Spent part of the afternoon today hanging at the nursing home in Mt P and talking sports with a small group of guys who summed up, among other things, the Michael Vick situation. One of the guys described him as a complete ja*k a**, making all that money and still fighting dogs.(allegedly) Also interesting to listen to stories about old Charleston and why they went into the military or what kind of trouble they got into. Good stuff.
It'll be interesting to see if Barry Bonds breaks the home run record against the Braves this week what kind of attention it gets. Logistically speaking, most Americans will be fast asleep if it happens in the late innings of a 10pm eastern time start so Bonds detractors would like that.
Time for the North Dakota fact o' the day or the week, however you wanna put it.
Dakota is the Sioux Indian word for "friend" - so North Dakota it's just not real friendly in the winter.

Just Waiting

Tis the season for....waiting for football season. A good time for a sports guy to go do some different stories. Enjoyed spending the early morning Tuesday at the MUSC Wellness Center for Boot Camp Fitness. A lot of gyms do boot camps, but this one is the real deal. It's taught by Marines in Officer Training School at the Citadel. It starts at 6am (0600 for military folks). Check out the story on our website.
So Steve Spurrier is going to have a paid website starting next week.(www.spurrierhbc.com) $100 gets you a year subscription - imagine how much cash will roll in for that. Word is Tommy Bowden is going to be doing the same thing.
Charleston Battery is moving on in the U.S. Open Cup and you gotta love Tim Karalexis' post game soundbite: "we're gonna keep it going, win the whole and make some money, right?" Right on. The winning team splits $100,000 which means a little more to players in the A League as opposed to the MLS. Battery hosts FC Dallas in the quarterfinals August 7th.
Your North Dakota fact o' the week is football related. The mighty University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux open the season against....Humboldt State of California Thursday August 23rd. Go Sioux!
You can hear more North Dakota facts by listening to Fantalk on ESPN Radio 910 the team from 3-6pm Monday through Friday. Darren Goldwater and Bobby Hartin always happy to talk about the Great Plains.

It's Been Awhile

Whew, a month goes by fast. Happy to be back in the blogosphere with a few thoughts from the past few weeks.
It was great to see 10 year old Hunter Benke at Riley Park on Tuesday night. His dad, Mike, was one of the Charleston city firefighters who died fighting the Sofa Super Store blaze. The Riverdogs had him come to the ballpark to hang out with the team all day and he got to throw out the first pitch. You could tell the Riverdog players were happy to have him around, I saw Mike Dunn give him a new glove from his collection. At least for a few hours he was able to smile.
That night at Riley Park was the fireworks game, annually one of the top crowds of the year. Over 7,900 people packed the park and the Dogs are on pace for another record setting season for attendance.
Interesting to watch Serena Williams come back to win the other day after her calf injury forced her to the ground at Wimbledon. After a 3 hour rain delay she came back to win the match, but the national sports take on it was that Serena's performance was legendary. If you saw her at the Family Circle Cup in April you may disagree. I watched her bow out of her first round match with a leg injury and poor play. Maybe I'm just a cynic when it comes to Serena but I've seen her leave Daniel Island twice with injuries.
Time for our North Dakota Fact O' the week.....
North Dakota is the 19th biggest state as far as size (70,704 square miles) but it is the 47th most populated state (642,200 people as of 2000).

ESPN and Summerville Close To a Deal

Just sitting here enjoying a Friday afternoon watching Clemson and Mississippi State. For the record the Tigers are down 8-6 in the 9th. But it's never too early to talk high school football. We broke the story last fall about Summerville and ESPN talking about a possible game on national tv in 2007. It's getting closer to becoming a reality, but there has been no final decision on where to play. Summerville and Berkeley are involved and so are 2 teams from Florida. I spoke to an ESPN rep on the phone today who says he should know something definite next week, but the game will either be played at the Citadel's Johnson Hagood Stadium or Berkeley's home field. Think about it though, it may be better in Moncks Corner where you would get at least 7 thousand people packing the place rather than a few thousand in downtown Charleston for an afternoon game on a hot Saturday.
Stay tuned....
Have a comment, question, or just want to say Hi? email jmorton@abcnews4.com

Y-E-S To the LPGA

They aren't exactly the fastest golfers in the world, but the LPGA puts on a pretty good show. The Ginn Tribute finished up late Sunday with a playoff and a first time winner. Nicole Castrale won the tournament, but it's safe to say #1 player in the world Lorena Ochoa lost it. She bogeyed 3 of the final 4 holes she played, but the amazing part about it she stuck around immediately after and signed every autograph request around the 18th green. I know the crowds weren't very big and there was talk in one national golf publication that Charleston can't handle big time golf events, but for a first time tournament things went pretty well. Talking to Bobby Ginn afterwards he said the tournament will be back at Rivertowne next year. He also said that the community has to embrace a tournament or it won't survive. True, but you can't expect a community to go nuts the first year of a tournament like this. Hopefully, Ginn Co. is in it for the long haul and give this thing a chance to thrive in Mt. Pleasant. But back to the length of their rounds. The leaders played a 6 hour round of golf on Sunday. Keep in mind the Seniors played the Ocean course in under 5 hours in the final round! The front 9 alone took 3 hours and 10 minutes. Not exactly spectator friendly. Apparently the tour is known for it. Ouch. So next year? Buy your tickets but just show up for the final 4 holes.

Not Yet Golfed Out

Here we are in round 2 of the big golf tournaments in the Lowcountry. The Senior PGA was a treat last week on Kiawah Island. Great weather, decent golf, and a good finish on Sunday. Before we talk about the LPGA's Ginn Tribute there's more local sports news out today.
College of Charleston Athletic Director Jerry Baker resigned his position today. Curiously, his boss at the CofC wasn't willing to talk.....or even return a phone call or email about his resignation. Sources have said for quite some time that Baker was being pushed out at the CofC and Baker's only comment was that "this is the right time to move on." If that's true then why wouldn't his boss want to talk about how much he'll be missed?

We were offered an interview with John Kresse, which is great, except he's not Baker's boss. That would be Fred Daniels who didn't even call to say he declined an interview....he had the schools Media Relations person do it for him. Whether or not in the end he was the right person right now for the job, Baker did help the Cougars make the transition to Division I a highly successful one. He hired John Pawlowski, Sherry Dunbar, and other coaches who have had NCAA Tournament success. I hear nothing but good things about the school's new President George Benson, but when an Athletic Director resigns after 15 years at the school shouldn't someone say SOMETHING?
Back to golf and it will be interesting to see what the crowds are like when the tourney tees off tomorrow at Rivertowne CC. While the PGA wouldn't say it, you got the feeling they were disappointed in the crowds at the Ocean Course. I still say it's a pretty good buy... for $30 this week you can watch golf from 7:30am to 7:30pm and get to see mother nature at her best.
As for the North Dakota fact o' the day. The largest city is Fargo with over 91,000 people (however since Fargo is right on the border of Minnesota it's actually considered the Fargo-Moorhead metro area which would add 34,000)

SoCon, Seniors, and the NCAA's

A busy week of local sports just got a little less busy. The College of Charleston loses to Appalachian State this morning in the loser's bracket of the SoCon Baseball Tournament so the College will have to wait until Monday to see if they get an at large bid to the NCAA. Not sure if Western Carolina's 2 and out scenario in the tourney will help or hurt the Cougs. The two top seeds are now going head to head for an at large bid.
The Ocean Course is the story of the week so far at the Senior PGA Championship, thanks to mother nature. The winds are howling and today's first round scores are showing it. Should be fun to watch this weekend as the wind is supposed to keep blowing. As for the best interviews on the Champions Tour? Jay Haas, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Price, Loren Roberts, and Fuzzy Zoeller. Most of the players are actually very corgial just don't ask Tom Kite about anything, some golfers get surly after 50 apparently.
As for our North Dakota fact o' the day.....The University of North Dakota's most famous athlete alumni? Phil Jackson played basketball at UND and is now the coach of the Lakers.
Comments, questions, or concerns? email jmorton@wciv.com

Old Guy Golf or the LPGA?

So if you had a choice and could only attend one of the two golf events coming to the Lowcountry in the next few weeks which would it be....the Senior PGA at Kiawah Island or the LPGA's Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika? Let's compare. The Ocean Course will host the Sr. PGA and despite its youth the course has a lot of history. The 1991 Ryder Cup will be on the minds of plenty of players next week. If you've ever played the course when it's windy you know we may hear a lot of grumblings from the over 50 crowd next week. Rivertowne CC hosts the Ginn Tribute and it's a young course as well. Built by Arnold Palmer it's gotten better every year since it was built. The advantage here is easy - the Ocean Course.
As for the money up for grabs. The LPGA and Bobby Ginn offering up the big bucks - $2.6 million total. The Sr. PGA gives out $2 million. Advantage Ginn Tribute.
The award for the biggest name to possibly skip playing the tournament? Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika when Annika herself is looking like she'll miss the tourney with a back injury. Give her credit, though she still plans on being in Charleston regardless. Greg Norman withdrew earlier this week from the Sr. PGA for "personal reasons". Advantage here has to go to LPGA and Annika and if Michelle Wie is too injured then they really take the cake.
So which ticket would you rather have? I'd rather see the PGA but I'll have to wait until 2012.

Cougars, Bulldogs, and Tigers Oh My!

Another week another SoCon series win for College of Charleston baseball. The Cougars became the first team since 1998 to sweep the Citadel at Riley Park. Think about that - pretty incredible on both sides. Says a lot about the Citadel program and how good it's been, but it speaks volumes about the Cougars ascension to the kings of college baseball in this city. The Cougs have won more than 45 games the past 3 seasons and appear to be on their way to a fourth. The atmosphere at Riley Park Friday and Saturday night was great, even though most of the fans were just showing up early for the Riverdogs game. I heard a fan behind me on Saturday night tell his buddy how great college baseball is, even a 15-11 game. I do like the college game but 15-11 is ridiculous. I'd much rather watch a minor league 4-3 ballgame. Too bad the Cougars can't host a regional because after making the Super Regionals a year ago it would be fun to see them play host.
Tis the season for spring meetings for USC and Clemson fans and alumni. The Tigers kicked things off in the Lowcountry Monday night with a purple shirted Tommy Bowden. The thing that I like about Coach Bowden is that he addresses what fans are thinking head on......at least most of the time. (See the story at : http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0407/419175.html) Last night he admitted the tour of the state was a little tougher this spring after losing to USC and the poor finish the Tigers had to 2006. He also wore his purple, not orange shirt. He joked that after losing to USC and wearing purple it may be too much for the crowd to handle. Gamecocks get their turn Wednesday night I think we can be sure that Steve Spurrier won't wear orange or purple.
Time for our North Dakota fact of the week. (For an explanation see the last post or listen to Fantalk on ESPN Radio 910 the Team from 3-6pm Monday thru Friday.)
An attempt to drop the word North from the state name was defeated by the 1947 Legislative Assembly. Again in 1989 the Legislature rejected two resolutions intended to rename the state Dakota
Apparently they thought removing North would make people forget it was really cold in the wintertime.
Any thoughts or comments please email: jmorton@wciv.com

Random Thoughts Heading to May

It used to spring time was a relatively slow time for local sports in Charleston. Between the Stingrays playoffs and SoCon Baseball there wasn't much going on. No more. The Family Circle Cup kicked things off and before you know it we'll have back to back big time golf tournaments at the end of May. I'll be interested to see which tournament draws more interest from area golf fans. Will they be more excited to see the best male golfers over 50 at the Senior PGA Championship on Kiawah Island starting May 24th or the best women golfers in the world at the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika starting a week later at Rivertowne CC in Mt. Pleasant? Should be a fun few weeks of golf, but we'll keep our fingers crossed that Annika will host and play.
We're now starting to see some of the first former Riverdogs get called up by the Yankees. When Charleston was the D Ray's affiliate it was pretty common to see players up in the big leagues 2 years removed from low "A" ball. When the Yankees came on board as the parent club it looked like it would be a longer road to the Majors from Charleston....until the Yanks all the sudden became a near last place team in the AL East. Phil Hughes gets the start Thursday and if you saw him play at Riley Park in 2005, it's not much of a surprise.
I'm going to start a new blog tradition this week giving you the "North Dakota fact of the day". It all started on Fantalk on ESPN Radio 910 the Team. Long story short Bobby Hartin and Darren Goldwater found out I moved here from North Dakota and was a walk on quarterback at the University of North Dakota. I've now become the North Dakota expert in the Lowcountry. So here goes the fact of the day.....
The UND Fighting Sioux used to be called the UND Flickertails....named after the state bird. I prefer the Sioux. Fantalk can be heard Monday through Friday on 910am.

Don't Blame the Family Circle Cup

The week of tennis ended fittingly with a strange weather day at the Family Circle Cup. The tournament weathered its own storm cloud all week with players retiring with injuries, but you can't blame those in charge of the tournament. You can blame the WTA tour and its players. Serena Williams was the first to bow out during a match on Tuesday night. She was down 5-3 in the first set and had a noticeable limp, but said in her post match press conference that she thought she may be ready to play in 7 days. Way to work through the pain. The worst case of the injury bug happened on Friday night. Danira Safina was playing Tatiana Golovin in the night time match in front of the biggest crowd yet. It was some of the best tennis we'd seen all week then Golovin pulled out after losing the first set. An injured ankle seemed legitimate but then Safina was supposed to play doubles immediately following that match. That is until she realized she was in the semifinals then she came up with a mysterious injury and was not going to play doubles. And to think there are those who want us in the media to take doubles seriously. Not when a player pulls out simply because she's still playing in the singles draw. Maybe the players were all really injured so bad they couldn't go on, but it just seems like a few of them could have kept playing.
As for the best part of this tournament - had to be Saturday and Sunday. The Venus Williams vs Jelena Jankovic match was the best match I'd seen at the FCC in years. Jankovic seems to be the real deal. Sunday she had so much more mental toughness dealing with the wind that Safina never had a chance.
Let's just hope Jankovic stays healthy around this time next year.

Serve It Up

No Maria, Martina, or Justine, but we've still got Venus and Serena. Yes, the Family Circle Cup has begun on Daniel Island. The news so far (rightfully so) has been about who ISN't coming to play, now we can concentrate on who is here. Sharapova, Hingis, and Henin all withdrew because of "injuries" and whether they are real or imagined it's too bad for this tournament. Just don't tell the players in the field. We had "All Access Hour" today so all of the top 8 seeds come by each tv station, newspaper and do interviews. Serena was the star of the show and though she's never one to give long answers she did say she was healthy coming into this week. If she advances as expected and so does Venus the two would meet on Thursday in the round of 16. Serena admitted they need to work on their rankings so they won't have to play each other so early in tournaments. She's just the third seed in a tournament that has a top seeded teenager. Nicole Vaidisova is 17 years old and took over the top spot after Martina Hingis withdrew on Saturday.
A few observations from today:
The Nicest interview Award goes to Ana Ivanovic the 7th seed. She was voted Prettiest Player on Tour by Tennis magazine.
Shortest Answer Award: Serena.
Tallest Player Award: Vaidisova who is listed at 6'0 in the media guide but looks more like 6-2
More to come as the week goes on.

Testing Tanner's Emotions

Ray Tanner didn't have to talk today. He could have simply issued the standard issue statement saying he was disappointed and he'd let the legal process run its course. Instead he talked and he spoke from the heart just a day after kicking Nick Fuller and Lonnie Chisenhall off of his USC baseball team. The allegations are serious: grand larceny and burglary. Allegedly stealing over $3,000 from an assistant coach's locker, smashing a window on campus and taking laptops, and breaking into a dorm room. At one point in his meeting with reporters Tanner had to excuse himself, the emotions were just too much. The cynics will say he's sad to see his team lose two talented players, but that's not Ray Tanner. He's always stood up to face the music, although usually it's about a tough loss in Omaha or an early exit from NCAA Regionals. What seemed to hurt Tanner most is the betrayal by these players who are supposed to be part of the USC baseball family. Not only did they allegedly steal from the school, but according to police they stole from that family. Tanner had no choice to kick the two off the team - he made the right choice standing up and talking about it.

See Tanner on Tuesday at http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0307/407191.html

It Was Fun While It Lasted

4:53 pm Friday and my brackets are busted. Obviously, Long Beach State wasn't such a great pick. Neither was Notre Dame....or George Washington...or Albany. Upsets are fun to pick, just not fun to lose. For the record here's my Final Four: Florida, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, and Ohio State. I've got Florida beating the Buckeyes in the title game.
If you have time and are ready for a good read check out the running blog by ESPN.com Page 2 writer Bill Simmons....laugh out loud funny.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/NCAA/daytwo&sportCat=ncb

A Week When the Work Stops

But what if it's your job to keep track of the sports world? Yes, life is good in tv sports guy land this week. Please don't think for a second that I really have any more idea who will win the NCAA Tournament than anybody else. That being said; a quick look at the brackets here on a Monday afternoon. I reserve the right to change my mind as the week goes on.

Do you think Charlotte would go nuts for a Davidson vs Winthrop Sweet 16 matchup? Probably not. The Wildcats are the 13th seed taking on Maryland in Buffalo Friday and if you saw them play here in the SoCon Tournament you're probably a believer. The only question I have is whether a team led by a freshman shooter can pull the upset on the Terrapins. As for Winthrop I wonder if they fall victim to being the popular upset pick. They were great as the team that nobody knew about, but now there is a real belief that they can beat anybody. They were 1 second away from beating the 2nd seeded Tennessee Volunteers in last year's tourney so the 11th seed this year is a big step up. I think they'll get beat by Notre Dame in the first round.

I like Louisville playing the first two games close to home in Lexington....I like Long Beach State, if only because they are fun to watch. I admit I only watched them Saturday night for ten minutes.......I hope Texas goes a long way so we can see more of Kevin Durant, I voted for him last week for the Wooden Award....So USC gets a rematch with Arkansas in the first round, huh? Man, the Gamecocks better keep it under 30....what do you mean that's the other USC?....that's it for now. Still putting my brackets in pencil. And starting my NIT pool.

Final Word on the SoCon Tourney

Surely having over 8,000 people in the Coliseum on Saturday showed the Southern Conference that they need to keep the tournament here. Here's the deal, sometime in the next few weeks the conference will announce its home for the next 3 years. Chattanooga and Charleston are the only 2 cities to submit a bid. They are the only two cities to host the tournament the last 5 years. I'm not just being a homer when I say the tournament needs to pick a permanent home and it needs to be in North Charleston. The truth is it doesn't matter where this tournament is held, the only way it will thrive is when a local school makes it to the finals. The College of Charleston finally made that happen. The Southern Conference is too small and still plays in the shadow of the ACC and SEC so it's not like they're going to get too many casual basketball fans to come to a game between Elon and Wofford on a Friday afternoon. The ACC this is not, but when crowds like Friday and Saturday night come together it sure feels like March Madness.

Thoughts On the SoCon: Day 2

What a difference a day makes. The atmosphere Wednesday at the Coliseum was pretty blah....Thursday was a good day for basketball fans. It makes sense that the best teams will bring the most fans and today the teams that had byes took the court. Davidson and App State still look like the best two teams in this tournament, but the way the College of Charleston played in the 2nd half of the win against Ga Southern who knows what the Cougs are capable of. It's strange that most people wouldn't have been surprised if the College lost to the Eagles or went on to win the whole thing. They are that kind of team. We'll find out Friday if they got the Coliseum monkey off their back. They had been just 4-4 in tournament games in North Charleston. Then again, Appalachian State swept the CofC in the regular season. What a difference a day makes.

Thoughts On the SoCon: Day 1

March Madness, not quite yet but it's February sadness for the Citadel. Day 1 of the Southern Conference Tournament is in the books and I'd have to call it a disappointing opening day crowd. Can't blame the Citadel fans too much, after all we thought their game vs Georgia Southern was going to start after 8pm. It started at 7:30 because for the first time in the history of basketball tournament, the league was running ahead of schedule. Seeing all the empty seats makes you wonder if the SoCon is destined to play home sites in the first round like the Big South does.
Should be a good day on Thursday. Chattanooga may just give Davidson a run for the NCAA tournament money at 2pm. The College of Charleston gets no favors as they have to play one of the hottest teams in Georgia Southern. The suddenly healthy Eagles beat the Cougs 5 days ago.
Oh, and we can finally call it March Madness Thursday.

The Best of.......This Week

So here it is Friday afternoon of what's becoming a busy season of local sports. It happens every February when baseball starts, basketball winds down, and hockey is still going strong. I'll take a look at some of the best of this week so far....of course we still have plenty to go this weekend.

AJ Green: Is there anything the Summerville junior can't do? He's an All American football player generally considered one of the top recruits in the whole country, but his basketball skills are amazing as well. He dumped 36 on Dutch Fork Wednesday night in the State Quarterfinals with at least 2 big dunks. On the football field he looks like he's effortless so it may seem like he's not that explosive....until you see him play basketball. I think any college football coach will convince his basketball counterpart to let AJ play both sports. At least to get him to school. Green is sticking by his early commitment to Georgia.

Dontaye Draper: All 5 foot 10 inches of him. For my money (which admittedly isn't very much) he's the best Cougar player I've seen since I've been covering the College. Granted, I came in 1998 and missed AJ, Thad, and Stacey Harris. Draper is worth the price of admission every night out. I can't even count how many times he's put the Cougars on his back in the last 4 years. Hopefully someone in the NBA will give him a chance despite his size.

Family Circle Cup: Shaping up to have their best field since the tournament moved to Daniel Island. Serena Williams commits on Thursday so 4 women who have occupied the #1 world ranking will play in April's tournament. Can't wait for that week.....oh and we no longer have to call Justine Henin-Hardenne by that long name. She's getting a divorce so it's just Justine Henin.

Next week SoCon fever hits the lowcountry.....

Have an opinion? Email jmorton@abcnews4.com

February Fever For Baseball

Packing 'Em In
It may not sound like much, but when a few thousand people show up at Riley Park on a Friday afternoon for a regular season college baseball game, it's impressive. The Gamecocks visit over the weekend showed just how much people in the Lowcountry care about the state's biggest schools and just how much they appreciate college baseball.
Good Day to Be a Dog
The Charleston Crabhouse Shootout ended with the much anticipated matchup between the Citadel and USC. Citadel players knew what to expect. Plenty of garnet and black in the stands even at their home field, but USC players also knew that they were getting into. Ray Tanner says it every time his team plays the Bulldogs....they never quit. They sure didn't Sunday. The most impressive thing about the 7-6 Citadel win is they did it with freshman playing some key roles. If there was any doubt that local baseball is thriving consider there were 7 players from the Lowcountry who played key roles in the Sunday finale.
Can They Build It?
A quick lesson for those without toddler age children. Bob the Builder's motto: Can we build it? Yes we can. Well the College of Charleston would love to have Bob and his team working on its new stadium. It's amazing to me that a Super Regional team from 2006 has to play their games in a construction zone. The seating for fans is okay, but for scouts and those of us in the media who actually have to work during the game it's awful. To get to the stands, fans have to find their way through a construction maze. Remember the story...the stadium was supposed to be ready in time for this baseball season, but there was a severe miscommunication and it won't be done until this summer. I feel bad for John Pawlowski who has turned this program into something special, too bad he'll have to sit through a season with a hard hat on. (If you'd like to see Ben Baker's story about the construction trouble go to: http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0107/388884.html

Any opinion? email jmorton@abcnews4.com

Hockey Pucks and Pooper Scoopers

It didn't smell like it at the Coliseum Sunday afternoon, but the Stingrays invited dogs to their 4 oclock game with Texas. An interesting finish to what was a big weekend for the Rays. Hosted over 8,000 fans(without dogs) for Saturday's game with Dayton. What a first year for President Darren Abbott. Over 10,000 packed the place earlier this season for the biggest crowd since October of 1998. Gotta love the 4pm Sunday start for people with kids....and dogs.

All in all it was a sad weekend for football fans. No games that mean anything or a game to look forward to. No, I don't count the Pro Bowl.

Think Nascar has a problem when 3 cars are under suspicion of cheating before the green flag has dropped on an actual race? For a sport that keeps trying to attract more mainstream sports fans it's not exactly the way to go. I'm sure they'll come down hard on the crew chiefs for Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth, but if they really wanted to lay down the law, how about keeping the car and driver out of the 500?

Big game on George Street tonight. The College of Charleston hosting Davidson and of all the below average games that have been on tv this year, this one goes without. The good news? Highlights at 11pm on ABC News 4.

Signing Day Blog

Happy signing day! Here's a rundown of how the day has gone so far.

10am Summerville HS - 6 players sign their letters of intent. 5 from John Mckissick's team are going to Newberry. The Indians have recruited the heck out of the lowcountry the past few years, but they seem to give out a ton of scholarship money. Where is it coming from? Shawn King signs on CSU. Coach Mckissick also dismisses the internet report from yesterday that AJ Green is wavering in his commitment to Georgia. Green still wants to be a Dawg, but he'll sign in '08. The stack of letters in coach's office for AJ was astounding. Everyone from UConn to Nebraska and plenty of schools in between. Mckissick also said ESPN is close to finalizing a deal to have the Green Wave open the season on national tv, they're just trying to secure a site to play. They are hopeful to play in Johnson Hagood stadium.
11am Fort Dorchester HS - 5 guys sign, but all eyes on Carlos Dunlap. He sticks with his commitment to Florida and signs on to be a Gator.(You can see the story about his recruitment on abcnews4.com on the sports page) 3 of his teammates sign with Newberry and Mel Capers is going to the Citadel. He's a great story because he missed all but 3 games his senior season with an injury. The Citadel may have gotten a steal.
10am Charleston County School District - Kudos to Charleston Co. for having a group signing day for all their schools and all sports. You can see the list of players on our sports web page.
11:15 Colleton Co. HS - Photojournalist Frankie Gunnell was in Walterboro for Nic Adams signing with East Carolina University, of course coached by Skip Holtz.

3pm Citadel Press Conference - Kevin Higgins talked about his 2nd class as Bulldogs Head Coach. The dogs finished the season winning 4 of their last 5 and Higgins thinks it helped in recruiting. Tough to rank 1-aa schools recruiting efforts, but if you've been around Higgins at all it's safe to say the class will be a good one. He's a good fit at the military school. The best part of the press conference may have been the brownies...yum. After a quick trip to Starbuck's I"m back putting the 6,7 and 11pm sportscasts together.

So far so good for signing day 2007. Ben Baker is out at the Berkeley Co. group signing so more to come.

As always any opinions send to jmorton@abcnews4.com

Why I Love Signing Day

Yep, I love it and it may be surprising if you read a previous post about the insanity of recruiting. The process itself is out of control, but the end result is great. Signing day is all about seeing the family smiling from ear to ear because their child is going to college. For some he or she is the first from the family, for others it's just expected. Either way it's pretty special, especially considering how much college costs these days. (If I can digress, it's also a good reason to push your kids to play sports early. Try to work them into scholarship shape. I don't mean when they're like 8 or 9 years old either. I had my 4 year old in the backyard the other day taking batting practice in the cold. Hey, you never know when he'll have to play at 6am in 35 degrees! It's a shame the neighbors got so mad about the ball hitting their house so early. They'll forgive us when he signs in 2017.)
Back to signing day and the coolest signing I've been to. Had to be Jarriel King at North Charleston HS. He was part of Steve Spurrier's first recruiting class at USC. The library was packed with people. Family, friends, students, and teammates. King was dressed in his Sunday best and couldn't wipe the smile off his face as the tv and newspaper cameras were fixed on his big right hand and the pen that went to paper. The whole school was so proud of him. He hasn't played a down or taken a class yet at USC, but after over a year at a prep school he is closer to being a Gamecock.
Mornings like that are what make signing day special. We'll see plenty more of it on Wednesday and in 2017.

The Running Bug

I have to confess I don't like running very much. I guess it has a lot to do with growing up playing team sports where running was either punishment or conditioning and neither were much fun. However, in the last 15 months I've discovered road races. Training for them? Not much fun, but actually running in the event has been great. I've now completed 6 races....2 15k's(9.3 miles) 1 10k(Bridge Run)and 3 5k's. It certainly helps to stay in shape when there is a goal to reach at the end. Running the actual race is made easier because you're with a bunch of people and you can keep a little adrenaline with you.
I got hooked thanks to a friend who is a personal trainer, Mel O'Keefe at East Shore Athletic Club in Mt P.(www.tinapl.com) He once ran 52 races in 52 weeks to raise money for Team in Training. He's a good guy to have running beside you in the middle of the 9.3 mile Charlie Post Classic last Saturday.
The Charlie Post is a great race on Sullivans Island. A few observations from a still inexperienced runner.....there's always a huge line at the porta potty at the start line....you'll always see some 10 year old kid beating the pants off of you....and as much as you feel like tripping the kids you really shouldn't, race organizers frown on that type of thing....you'll see some serious male runners who go shirtless and have shaved for the event, does it really take seconds off your time?.....you'll end up with a bad song in your head (For me Saturday it was a children's song my kids don't even listen to anymore. My worst experience may have been in the Reindeer Run in Charleston in December. A group of volunteers were stationed throughout the course to give encouragement to the runners. This particular group's idea of motivation was to sing "Eye of the Tiger". Had that song in my head the last 2 miles, just a man and his will to survive.)....Post and Courier running writer David Quick is REALLY quick....attractive female runners don't appreciate it when you "draft" off of them to avoid the wind.
My next race? Who knows, but I know I won't enjoy training for it.

Have an opinion? email jmorton@abcnews4.com

A World Gone Mad

A news conference is called for 5pm. Three tv stations and at least 2 newspapers will cover the event. A radio station may even carry it live. A foiled terrorist plot? Joe Riley stepping down as mayor? Has Google decided to move their headquarters and add 3,000 high paying jobs to Berkeley County? Nope. A teenage football player is announcing where he INTENDS to sign to play his college football. Such is life in the recruiting game. Teenage kids made to feel like the most important thing since.....Demetris Summers. Remember Summers? The all everything runningback from Lexington HS who never finished school or his 4 years of eligibility at South Carolina?
Now I realize I'm not exactly part of the solution because yes, WCIV is one of the tv stations that is covering this announcement. It's certainly nothing against Carlos Dunlap, the 6 foot 6 defensive end from Fort Dorchester who has called the news conference above. He just happens to be the latest example of a college football world gone mad. He's rated as a top 5 player in the whole country by a few recruiting "experts." But you have to wonder how screwed up the "experts" are when he's not even ranked in the top 100 by another national publication. I suspect he'll have a great college career, there aren't many guys his size returning kickoffs 95 yards for a touchdown. That's not the point. Back to Google. Do a search of football recruiting and 2.8 million results pop up. All the message board readers and experts out there who rank recruiting classes just like the Top 25 during the season. I used to say talk to me in 4 years when that class is in their senior year. Changing with the times and kids leaving early for the NFL, I now say talk to me in 2 years. You get the point. With all the players who don't make test scores, never really pan out, or get in trouble before they step foot on campus how can we know who has the 13th best class in America?
I look forward to watching Dunlap and all of the local signees in their college careers. I just wish there weren't so many people glued to their computers at 5 oclock just waiting for news to come out of a local high school.

Have an opinion? Email Josh at jmorton@abcnews4.com

The Best Weekend of NFL Football

You can have the Super Bowl. I'll take Conference Championship weekend any day, at least as a tv viewer. The Super Bowl is all about the show surrounding the game, but this weekend's NFC and AFC title games are all about the game. The atmosphere in Chicago and Indianapolis will be electric and then in 2 weeks in Miami the atmosphere will be.....corporate. Don't get me wrong I'll watch the Super Bowl, too. I'll just enjoy this weekend's doubleheader a lot more.

The 2nd Best Rivalry

Try saying "rivalry week" ten times fast. It's Dean Stephens least favorite time of year; the 4th Saturday in November. Let's assume the USC-Clemson rivalry is the best rivalry in the state. What about the 2nd best? I know you've been thinking of this exhilerating topic, too. Here are some possibilities to ponder:
Furman vs Wofford football
Paladins and Terriers have proximity on their side. They've also played some meaningful games the past few years
Citadel vs Furman football
Used to be better than it is, let's face it the Paladins have won 7 of the last 8 in the series
Newberry vs Presbyterian football
The Bronze Derby has to be in the top 5.....but with PC going D-1aa we may not see the rematch for quite some time. For the record the Blue Hose won the game in November so the bragging rights stay in Clinton.
USC Vs Clemson basketball
The game this year was overshadowed by Steve Spurrier's contract extension.
USC Vs Clemson baseball
I'd put this #2 right now for a few reasons. They are, of course, natural rivals and the two programs are in the top 5 in the country. Games are sold out whether they're played in 40 degree weather or 70 and sunny. When they played twice at the College World Series in 2002 the rest of America got a taste of the rivalry.
Citadel vs CofC basketball
The rest of the state would disagree and even Ed Conroy admits it's tough to call it much of a rivalry when the CofC has won the last 9 meetings. When the game is at the Citadel at least the atmosphere is special. The best seat in the house is on the baseline by the cadets. This month was pretty tame for the corps but you'll usually find some good homemade signs and plenty of homemade "slogans".
Can't wait to see if our new co-anchor Victoria Hansen can say "rivalry week"...tune in next November. In the meantime feel free to pass on some rivalry ideas.

It's a First For Sports 4

Yes, we're finally in the 21st century, thanks for having us. I'm looking forward to this blog for a couple of reasons. Number one, it will give us a chance to talk about sports beyond our normal sportscasts (which can be seen every night at 6 and 11pm on ABC News4). Number two, I look forward to getting all sorts of spam in my email account!
The first subject to tackle: the college football bowl system. Can we please have an 8 team playoff? Enough about the season being too long, enough about too many games, enough about taking away from the "bowl experience" for all of the 6-6 bowl bound schools.
As for the season being too long? Please....the title game was played on January 8th!
Too many games? Florida played 14 games....cut the regular season back to 11.
The bowl experience? Keep the bowl games as is, make the BCS bowls part of the playoffs. Do you think the Music City Bowl would have been less attractive to fans or tv viewers if the top 8 teams were in a playoff? I don't think so....as it was Kentucky and Clemson fans knew their teams weren't vying for a championship and they still sold out that game.
What do you think?