Friday, September 23, 2011

Random Thoughts on a Friday afternoon

As I get ready to head down to Unionville to cover the West Stanly - Piedmont football game tonight, here are some random thoughts for the day!
- I saw on Twitter where former Baltimore Raven Orlando Brown passed away today at the age of 40. Brown was the player infamous for shoving referee Kirk Triplette down to the ground after Triplette threw a flag that hit Brown in the eye.
Brown later sued the NFL, claiming that the incident shortened his NFL career because of temporary blindness, later settling for somewhere between $15 to $20 million.
That was one of the odder incidents in the history of live sports, but people fail to realize how dangerous things really are on the fields and race tracks.
I saw a report on Insider Edition about the recent deaths at a Reno air show, and saw a four-year old child on the sidelines of a college football game get run over.
As someone that has cheated serious injury (knock on wood) while walking sidelines for over six years now as a sports editor, just let me say that if you are on the sidelines or in the stands of a football game or other events, please keep your eyes on the action when the action is in progress. The life you save may be your own or your family's life as well.
- If Friday's Albemarle - West Montgomery game wasn't big enough already, it is much bigger now thanks to the cancellation to Monday night.
With all the military events rescheduled for Monday as well, more football fans will likely be at the game for this one, as well as those following other schools getting a chance to see a rare Stanly County Monday Night Football game on Monday night (we will be taping for television and it will air later in the week, not sure when yet).
I'm excited to see Jaquil Capel in action for West Montgomery. I understand through the grapevine that there are a number of Div. I schools recruting him, including Georgia Tech.
The game could really make a big impact for the standings of the Yadkin Valley Conference, as well as be one of the most entertaining games of the season.
- It's also hard to believe that the Stanly County Panthers have reached the end of their first regular season. It's been a long trip in mostly overly hot weather for a group of men that have fought adversity all season long to be within one victory of a plus-.500 record for their first season ever.
The Panthers' final home game is on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at North Stanly High School and I know that the players and staff would love to see a big crowd that night.
Stanly will make the playoffs and has a good chance of hosting a home playoff game. In the Central Carolina Football League, the top four teams get a bye in the first week, and the next four (I believe) would get home game

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Random Thoughts on the Panthers

Here are two items that should concern Panther fans from Sunday's home game:

- I read in the Charlotte Observer where Steve Smith was seen yelling at a fan in the third quarter after fumbling the football.
Though Smith probably should not be even giving the fans any notice during the game, the problem is the way he was carrying the football as he was going out of bounds: with one hand.
I know that I have never played the game, and I admit that my experience in the game comes from just general observations, but if you have two guys on you and you already have the first down, ball security has to come first. The extra couple of yards he would have gotten with a stretched-out hand were not as important as possession.
Besides, the only time that a player should try that move with one hand is to get a first down or at the goalline; it's a uncharacteristic sloppy play from a veteran wide receiver that the Panthers desperately need to make big plays.
- While still on the Panthers' game from Sunday, here is another odd choice, this one by the offensive braintrust.
It's third down and one for Carolina from the Packer three-yard line with about four minutes left in the game, and instead of just running the football to get the first down, the Panthers ran a rollout passing play in which Cam Newton lost three yards on the sack.
I know that Carolina had not run well Sunday, but if you can't get one yard on a play, then something needs to change in the running game.
If you get the first down without the touchdown, you might be able to run a little more clock with a couple of short runs or force the Packers to call timeouts.
It's a moot point now, but at the time, it could have made a huge difference.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Cameron Sabol

I talked about this in my column Sunday but I thought it deserved to be on my blog as well, so here are my comments about Cam Sabol from Sunday's paper!

- Rarely have I seen as determined an effort from one individual in a team sport as Cam Sabol had against South Stanly.
In the media, we like to single out players with big numbers because stats are unrefutable for the most part and it’s easy to include in articles.
Sabol’s offensive line, along with running back Anthony Long, deserve a lot of credit for giving Sabol room to run.
However, Sabol’s 54-yard scramble late in the first quarter was an amazing play (see the picture page for a glimpse of it).
Sabol was caught by the Bulls defense and knocked down, but the Comet senior kept his knees off the ground and broke free in one of the most amazing plays I’ve seen in 11 years of broadcasting.
Credit for North’s win goes to the entire team, of course, with Long’s kickoff return and Johnny Little’s fumble return.
But if you see Cam this week in the halls at North, shake his hand; he gave his all for North on Friday.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Slappy's Revenge and Other Thoughts

If there are any minor mistakes in the paper this past Sunday, cut me a little slack.
Anyone that was at the North game Friday night that had any plans on Saturday were probably as half-asleep as I was writing my column in the paper.
Here are two excerpts from it: the full column is online at www.thesnaponline.com!

- One of the SNAP’s newest sports correspondents, Brooke Whitley, wanted to pass along some great news that was announced at the West game last night.
Quan Sturdivant has made the cut for the Arizona Cardinals and will be on the 53-man roster when the Cards host the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
I have known Quan through his exploits on the West Stanly athletic fields over the years; he is a good young man and will be a great example for Stanly County in the professional sports ranks.
- The Albemarle Disc Golf Association is holding their annual major championship this coming Saturday at Fox Chase Golf Course in Albemarle, located at Chuck Morehead Park.
It’s called “Slappy’s Revenge,” which is an ode to this certain sound that you hear while playing the game, more so if you are not good at it, like me.
When a thrown disc hits a tree, it makes this “thwack” sound like someone being slapped, hence the name of it.
There are various divisions at the tournament, including a pro division.
I understand that Cameron Todd, a pro disc golfer that earned a world championship in 2001, has registered to play in the tournament.
The ADGA has regular club tournaments on the second Saturday of every month, including the Ice Bowl charity event in the winter months.