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.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
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
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
Monday, February 19, 2007
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
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
Monday, February 12, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
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
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
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
