July 6,2006 - Play by Play

Vol.
Vol. 2,
2, No.
No. 11,
11, July
July 10,
10, 2006
2006
2
PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
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…unlike
any other dealership in the area!
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As Dave Sarmadi and Robert Harper close in on their first
anniversary as owners of their automobile dealership, they
marvel at what they’ve been able to accomplish.
In May, they were named the No. 1 dealership (based on
units sold) within their district, a huge geographic territory
stretching from Virginia Beach to West Virginia. The secret,
they say, is not that complicated: “We treat our employees
the way they want to be treated; and we treat our customers
the way they want to be treated,” Sarmadi says. “Happy
employees make for happy customers.”
The appearance of Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi says a lot
about the company philosophy as well: the dealership is open,
inviting and immaculate. “It’s not easy to keep our 26,000square-foot showroom this clean,” Sarmadi admits, “but
it’s worth the effort.” Just this summer, the dealership has
purchased an adjoining lot, enlarging the property to eight
acres.
In June, a new key employee, Emily Wood, joined the team
as assistant to the president. Wood, who recently earned
her degree in marketing from Winthrop University, brings a
feminine perspective to the dealership
that Sarmadi values. “We want to make
sure we don’t get caught up with tunnel
vision,” he says. “We want to be able to
relate to every customer’s perspective.”
The Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi approach
is clearly working. Sarmadi is proud
of a file he started keeping when the
dealership opened last August. The file
contains dozens of thank-you notes from
satisfied customers.
Emily Wood
Come see why Dave Sarmadi
Mitsubishi has created a car-purchasing environment that you
won’t find anywhere else.
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2005 OUTLANDER
Ranked ahead of Subaru,
Honda and Nissan in JD
Dave Sarmadi
President
Powers & Associates Initial
Quality study among
Entry SUV’s
2005 ENDEAVOR
Ranked ahead of Honda, Nissan,
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Ford Explorer and Toyota
Highlander in JD Powers &
Associates Initial Quality study
among Mid-size SUV’s.
Robert Harper
Co-Owner/GM
JULY 10, 2006
PLAY BY PLAY
Question for
the Doctor
Playbook
Opinions
Mike Stevens ........................................... 5
Bob Teitlebaum ....................................... 6
John A. Montgomery ............................ 7
Mike Ashley ............................................23
Articles
Hockey in its Purest Form Remains in Town ....................................9
Coventry Commonwealth Games Blossom ..................................... 10
WSET is Set with Dennis Carter as Anchor .....................................12
Sam Horton: an Archer Eyes His Target ...........................................14
Fleming’s Mo Kitchens Shares Talents with Herd..........................16
Robbie Powell: Boilermaker Played with Redick ..........................17
Avalanche All-Stars Hope for Better Second Half .........................18
Jerry English Enjoys Sports while Helping Kids ............................19
Tee-ball Sponsor Goes the Extra Mile ............................................. 20
Shannon Taylor, a Legend of the Games ........................................ 22
Bill Turner
Page 16
Extras
Question for the Doctor .......3
From the Bookshelf ...............4
Natural Health Tip .................7
Playmakers ..............................8
Ask A Ref ..................................8
Snapshots of the Season ....11
Sports Shorts ........................ 21
Roanoke Valley Sports Club
welcomes
UVa’s Al Groh and
VT’s Frank Beamer
together on the same stage!
This month’s question answered by
Thomas K. Miller, M.D.
I am interested in mountainbiking and was wondering if you could give some general safety tips.
Mountainbiking is really a lot of fun and can be
enjoyed by all levels of bike enthusiasts. Southwest
Virginia has many great mountainbiking trails, and
there are several fantastic rails-to-trails bike areas
as well.
General safety begins before you hit the trail.
Make sure your bike is in good mechanical condition. A yearly bike tune-up and a spare tire changing
kit are a must. Know where you are going, plan your
trip, and carry a map if necessary.
Dr. Thomas K. Miller
Be sure your personal equipment is complete, and
always wear a helmet!! A good helmet with a visor not only protects your head
when you tumble on your bike but can prevent branches from hitting you in the
face and keeps the sun out of your eyes. Biking gloves even in the summer can
prevent scrapes and scratches on your hands, and the padding on the palms
can also help prevent numbness from pressure on your carpal tunnel. Do not
use toe straps or toe clips while mountainbiking. Proper seat fit and padding,
as well as biking shorts, can prevent numbess in your groin. This can be quite
disconcerting!
Overheating can easily occur in the summer, so make sure to carry enough
water with you. If you are planning to ride on a hot and humid day, begin early
in the day and drink plenty of fluids before you get started. Try to replenish your
fluids every 20 minutes or so while riding. Remember that small children and
pets overheat faster than adults. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, as they will worsen
dehydration.
I hope these are some helpful tips to make your bike ride an enjoyable one.
Roanoke Orthopaedic
Center
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Thursday, July 27
Salem Civic Center
5:45 Social Cash Bar
6:15 Dinner Meeting
Call 761-6751 for a membership application.
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4
From the
Bookshelf
PLAY BY PLAY
Clemente: ‘symbol of
action and passion’
by Bob Teitlebaum
“Clemente: The Passion and
Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero,”
by David Maraniss, Simon and
Schuster. 416 pages including
notes and an index. $26.
Sometimes a great book comes
along that fails to become a national bestseller.
This happens more often than
not when an outstanding book is
written about sports.
Such a scenario could be the
case with a new biography on former Pittsburgh Pirate great Roberto Clemente, as it ranked No.
293 on amazon.com at press time.
Maraniss, who authored a very
good biography on legendary football coach Vince Lombardi a few
years ago, has surpassed his pre-
vious
sports
work with this
book. Though
Clemente was
a baseball hero
who died all too
young at 38,
he is important
for more than
what he did on
the diamond.
This story reads like a Greek
tragedy and a great love story of a
fiercely proud man who was nearly
as important as Jackie Robinson
to the game of baseball.
Robinson was the first AfricanAmerican player in the major
leagues. Clemente, while not the
first Latin American player, paved
the way for this group, battling
similar difficulties as Robinson
Players in this Issue
Publisher/Editor
Graphic Design
Contributors
John A. Montgomery
Donna Earwood
Mike Ashley
Regina Brewer
Pete Emerson
Sam Lazzaro
Brent Loope
Todd Marcum
Gene Marrano
Joyce Montgomery
Christian Moody
Mike Norton
Mike Stevens
Steve Stinson
Bob Teitlebaum
Bill Turner
JULY 10, 2006
did when he came on the scene in
1947.
Clemente, a black Hispanic
from Puerto Rico, arrived eight
years later and played 18 seasons
in which he compiled a .317 career
batting average and won four National League batting titles and 12
Gold Gloves as one of the greatest rightfielders ever to play major
league baseball.
Like Robinson, Clemente had to
overcome racial barriers that were
prevalent in many American communities. Clemente was forced to
room in private homes and take
his meals there, while white players stayed in top-of-the-line hotels
and dined at restaurants.
This was unacceptable to Clemente and he convinced the Pirates
to construct private facilities for
feeding and housing all of their
players regardless of race.
Consider that when Clemente
played for Pittsburgh’s 1960 World
Series champions, he was the only
black starter. By 1971 when the
Pirates won their next World Series, the team sometimes started
as many as nine players of color
(including some Latin Americans)
whenever Dock Ellis pitched.
Nearly everyone knows the ending to this story. Clemente, who
was a great humanitarian and believed in helping his native land
and other Latin American countries, was killed on New Year’s Eve,
1972. He had chartered a private
plane to deliver supplies he gathered to help Nicaragua which had
been stricken by a massive earthquake.
The plane in which Clemente
traveled had been deemed unsafe,
although he was never told about
this by the man who set up the
flight. Overloaded with supplies
and guided by a pilot of somewhat
questionable reputation, the plane
crashed into the ocean after taking off from Puerto Rico for Nicaragua.
A big part of the story is the relationship between Clemente and
his wife, Vera Zabala. They had
three boys and shared a deep love
for one another.
Zabala’s parents were very protective of their daughter, refusing
to let her go on dates that did not
meet their approval. They were
appalled by the thought of her
dating a baseball player, but Clemente and Zabala’s strong will
prevailed. Zabala’s determination
showed that she, like her husband,
could take on all comers.
As a ballplayer, Clemente was
frequently misunderstood by the
press. He was labeled as a malingerer because he often was battling pains and illnesses that kept
him out of the lineup. He was perceived to be a hypochondriac but
Maraniss maintains that Clemente never pulled out of a lineup
without good reason.
It didn’t help the situation that
Clemente spoke very little English
when he arrived in the majors. He
was vehemently proud of his native Spanish language and picked
up English slowly.
Sportswriters would belittle
him when they quoted him in his
broken English, often making him
out to be a fool. Meanwhile, few
of the sportswriters bothered to
learn Spanish in order to connect
more closely to Latin American
players.
This led to legendary battles
between Clemente and the press.
“I remember the first time I ever
spoke to him, the day he shouted
at me, the anger streaming out of
those fierce black eyes and washing over me so that I could almost
feel its heat,” wrote Pittsburgh
Press writer Phil Musick.
“‘You writers are all the same,’
[Clemente] yelled at Byron Yake
of the Associated Press and me,”
Musick wrote. “‘You don’t know a
thing about me.’”
In Puerto Rico, Clemente was a
hero. In Pittsburgh, he played in a
city consumed by football. Baseball players took a back seat.
Maraniss sums up Clemente
this way:
“The mythic aspects of baseball
usually draw on clichés of the innocent past, the nostalgia for how
things were. Fields of green. Fathers and sons. But Clemente’s
myth arcs the other way, to the future, not the past, to what people
hope they can become. His memory is kept alive as a symbol of action and passion, not of reflection
and longing.”
Story idea for
?
P.O. Box 3285, Roanoke, VA 24015
(540) 761-6751 • E-mail: [email protected]
©Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. No part of Play by Play may be reproduced
by any means or in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Play by Play is published every fourth Monday. Deadline for submissions
for the August 7 issue is July 24.
E-mail [email protected]
JULY 10, 2006
PLAY BY PLAY
Giant response helps Roanoke boy heal
on his inner ear to give him hearing on his right side for the first time in
his life.
The Giants won’t be in attendance for the final surgery, but something
tells me one giant little boy will be able to handle it.
OPEN
MIKE
Photos courtesy of the Phillips family
M
OST BASEBALL FANS
have heard all they want to
hear about Barry Bonds,
but not 7-year-old Ben Phillips.
While most of America has little
by Mike
use for Bonds and the San Francisco Giants, Phillips might be the
Stevens
team’s biggest fan, at least inside
the Roanoke Valley.
The rising second-grader at Oak Grove Elementary School in Roanoke
County is a handsome, athletic young man who in the past year alone
has made four trips to the Silicon Valley, wishing to see the Giants — and
Bonds in particular — play, but instead his California trips have been designed to allow him to undergo a series of operations on his right ear.
Phillips was born with a congenital birth defect known as microtia, or
small ear. The condition, that affects approximately one in 10,000 children, robs the child of hearing in that ear and leaves the exterior of it
underdeveloped and closed. It is correctable, but only with a series of reconstructive surgeries.
So, while baseball fans were busy taunting Bonds for his alleged use
of steroids as he passed Babe Ruth in career home runs, and while they
were trying to fathom Jason Grimsley’s abuse of human growth hormones, young Phillips was having cartilage cut out of his own rib cage to
help form the outside structure of his “new” ear.
“Ben right now loves his new ear, and he’s so happy with it,” says his
mom, Ellen Phillips. “But back last June he wasn’t happy with it, so it’s a
rollercoaster of emotions.”
Todd Marcum, a frequent contributor to Play by Play, huge baseball
fan and friend of the Phillips family, decided that any young man who
had gone through what Ben had deserved a “Shout-Out” of major league
proportions.
He and his staff at Access, a prominent advertising agency in Roanoke,
began contacting the Giants’ public relations personnel with e-mails and
phone calls, hoping to get Ben’s name flashed on the scoreboard at AT&T
Park, and to secure a packet of team pictures for him.
“They were really very receptive to the idea and tripped over themselves trying to help us,” says
Marcum. “Ben’s mom said
they got such a big duffle bag
full of stuff from the Giants
that they had to pack an extra
bag for the flight back home.”
But the goodies bag was
only the beginning.
“A day before the game
someone from the Giants
called us and said, ‘Hey, would
you like to go out on the field?’
And then when they found out
we hadn’t purchased our tickets yet, they got those for us as
well,” says Ellen.
So Ben, with bandages completely wrapped around his
head to protect his ear, suddenly found himself standing on his own field of dreams Laura Phillips, Ben’s four-year-old sister,
this spring, shaking hands enjoyed the game’s festivities and frills,
and posing for pictures with particularly the Giants’ official chapeau
the Giants. Bonds was injured and not at the park for the batting practice session, but pitcher Jason Schmidt, former Salem Buccaneer Moises
Alou and multi-Gold Glove-winner Omar Vizquel came over to talk with
Ben and autographed a baseball for him.
“My husband, Sam, and I couldn’t believe how friendly they were and
that the players actually took an interest in Ben,” says Ellen. “Ben was so
psyched, and coming just three days after his surgery made him feel so
good.”
Ben is now in the homestretch as far his surgeries are concerned.
When he’s ready, a physician in Charlottesville will perform the surgery
5
With bandages completely wrapped around his head to protect his ear,
Ben Phillips was invited onto the field of AT&T Park, where he posed for
pictures with several Giants, including shortstop Omar Vizquel (above)
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PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
Poker exposure influences college grads
T
UNICA, Ms. — YOU MAY REcall that about a year ago I
penned an article for this publication discussing the merits of poker
as a sport. After all, it’s carried by
by Bob
just about every sports network in
Teitlebaum
the universe.
(Of course, I don’t subscribe to
the theory that cheerleading is a sport and it appears on all the abovementioned networks as well.)
However, I recently discovered that regardless of whether poker is or
isn’t a sport, the activity has created its role models. Every father wants
his son to mimic the good guys in sports like Albert Pujols, but he’d just
as soon his offspring stay away from Barry Bonds — unless someone
shows them the money.
The money is available in poker. Win a big poker tournament on television, and you’re an instant millionaire. Anyone can buy into the tournament and cash in on the dream. Chris Moneymaker did a few years
ago and, as an unknown, won the World Series of Poker and became famous.
Sitting around the poker table here last month, I discovered to my horror that poker’s exposure has created role models. The result might not be
good if you’re a parent of an aspiring card player.
People like Moneymaker have made young people want to enter the
poker profession.
I played against two subjects who are poker wannabes. I have no clue
as to their names because when you sit around a poker table, there are no
introductions. People just talk to each other without formal salutations.
So for the sake of this column, we’ll call one subject Nashville because
he hails from that Tennessee city. The other will be known as Georgia for
reasons that will soon become apparent.
Both are in this year’s college graduating class. I was interested to know
TIME
FOR ‘T’
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what professions they plan to enter.
“I’m going to try and be a poker player,” said Nashville, who graduated
from Belmont University with a major in some type of communications.
“How does your father feel about that?” I asked.
“He doesn’t mind,” said Nashville. “He is an accountant and he understands. The only thing he requires is for me to be completely honest with
him on what I win or lose. Besides, he figures up my taxes for me.”
Nashville sat with the back of his chair toward the table, leaning on it as
he peered at the cards. He wore a ratty-looking University of North Carolina hat that appeared to have seen a few too many athletic contests.
“You root for North Carolina?” I inquired.
“Well yes, but mainly the men’s soccer team,” he said.
Hey, this guy doesn’t fit any mold I’ve ever known. On one hand that I
won when he was sitting out, he showed his knowledge when he correctly
read me for having three sixes.
Am I that easy to read?
He was winning and I was treading water when I called it a night. The next day,
I saw Nashville again. He told me that he
ended up losing for the night and that he
wasn’t having a good following day.
I wound up at the same table with him,
though I wasn’t sitting next to him. I didn’t
really notice his chips when I started off
with two aces in Texas Hold ’Em.
That’s the best starting hand you can
have and when he raised my bet I raised
him back. Everyone else got out of the way
and he went all in. I quickly matched the
bet and he couldn’t catch up with my aces.
He got up and left and I sort of got the feeling that maybe he should try another occupation.
Georgia was a different story. I’d say he stood about 6’5”, wore sloppy
shorts and a T-shirt. He sort of reminded me of a big friendly dog for he
was always smiling.
“I just graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in mechanical engineering,” he said.
So why was he here making a career of poker? “I couldn’t get a job, so
I figured I’d just bum around and play some cards for a couple of years,”
he said.
It gets worse. Georgia had started off at the University of Georgia where
he partied his way out of school. He got back into good graces of higher
education by going to a junior college and then making it to Memphis
where he became a serious student.
Still, he was willing to try his luck in poker, hoping to make a quick
kill.
This isn’t the worst idea for the casinos have tournaments every day
where you can buy in for $130 and win as much as $1,500 if you get to the
final table.
Compared to what’s on television, this is akin to what dirt track racing
is to NASCAR. It’s also the waste of a good education.
Nashville and Georgia are part of a poker crowd that includes the locals
who are waiting for the tourists and some country bumpkins who come
to the table convinced that they just have to give away their money.
I’ve paid for a poker education in the past and can hold my own now
against tourists or locals.
All contributions are gratefully accepted, but I sure hope we’re not
adding role models like some of the ESPN poker regulars that will cause
kids to forego a career in order to flip a few pasteboards.
NOTE: On the way back through Memphis on my return trip to the Roanoke area, the Memphis paper had a most interesting article.
It seems the city had decided to restore old Crump Stadium and convert it into a municipal high school field.
There is an ironic situation here. Crump Stadium was built around the
same time as Victory Stadium. It was home for Memphis State (now the
University of Memphis) football until the Liberty Bowl was built.
For the last few years, Crump Stadium has not been used, but Memphis
figured out what Roanoke just couldn’t get done — how to keep the old
stadium and make it into a model high school facility.
JULY 10, 2006
PLAY BY PLAY
Cave Spring’s resilience put to the test
T
his was supposed to be the
golden anniversary for Cave
Spring High School, a celebration of its 50th year.
A few years ago, it launched
by John A.
“Project 50,” a fundraising proMontgomery
gram designed to upgrade its athletic facilities in conjunction with
the landmark year.
Cave Spring can justifiably lay claim to many proud sports memories
from the past half-century on the fields and the courts. Three of its former
stars, Tiki and Ronde Barber and J.J. Redick, are now internationally
known professional athletes recognized throughout the sports world by a
single name. There probably aren’t 100 athletes competing at any level in
this country right now who are better known than those three, and they
all went to the same high school. Can any other high school anywhere
match that claim?
I’ve been closely familiar with the school for the past 37 years, the first
handful as a student. Many of my friends and relatives are alumni or parents of current students; I have a niece and two nephews who will graduate from Cave Spring within the next several years.
Unfortunately, the first two weeks of June were an especially difficult
time for Cave Spring athletic boosters. What was supposed to be a culmination of a special year was marred with unfortunate incidents.
In a period of less than 12 days, its athletic director was dismissed on
the spot, its assistant softball coach was arrested during a state tournament game, and its star basketball alumnus was charged with driving
while impaired after attempting to elude police.
What is it they say about bad things coming in threes?
One June 1, it was announced that AD Randy Meck had been terminated, the final piece of a tumultuous three-month saga that started in
March when Roanoke County schools superintendent Linda Weber decided Meck’s contract would not be renewed at the end of the year. The
details of the differences between Meck and Weber were never publicly
aired, but the Cave Spring community responded en masse, rallying behind Meck and protesting the decision. Within weeks, the superintendent took an administrative leave, then ultimately resigned saying she
had become a distraction.
Two days after Weber’s resignation, Meck was dismissed. The details
surrounding his departure may never be shared due to school system
personnel policies. Whatever happened, his legions of supporters faded
into the woodwork.
Eight days later, Brandy
The close play at
Bailey,
one of the most celthird
ebrated female softball players in Roanoke Valley history, a Northside graduate
and a Cave Spring assistant
coach, became enraged after
Radford University police removed her brother from the
stands for heckling an umpire after a close play at third
base. Bailey left the dugout
during the state tournament
semifinal game (which the
Knights ultimately lost, 3-0,
ending what previously had
been an unbeaten season) to
join her family in the parking lot. Bailey, her brother, Chase Bailey, and
her mother, Susan Bailey, were charged with various infractions tied to
disruptive behavior.
Perhaps the umpire had a short fuse; maybe the police were overzealous. Unquestionably, Bailey should not have left the dugout.
At the beginning of the following week, Redick was stopped by police
in Durham, N.C. and discovered to have a blood alcohol content of .11.
He also was charged with an illegal U-Turn, the result of his decision to
pursue another path as he approached a sobriety checkpoint.
Almost forgotten amidst these sports-related incidents is that two Cave
JAM
SESSION
7
Spring students (as well as a Hidden Valley student) were charged this
spring for throwing paint cans from the roof of a 20-story hotel. The incident occurred across the street from a New York City police station; police vehicles sustained damage and an officer was slightly injured. The
students were part of a school-sponsored field trip.
Each of the aforementioned brushes with the law is serious; in whole,
they could be catastrophic to a school’s self-image. What was it Anne
Murray once sang? “We sure could use, a little good news, today.”
Things started looking a little brighter from the Cave Spring perspective at the end of the month: On June 28, Redick was the No. 11 pick in
the NBA draft, going to Orlando. (No basketball player from Roanoke
has ever gone higher.) Redick announced that he has already earmarked
some of his substantial earnings toward a charity that supports children
with brain tumors.
Later that evening, I read a report in the current issue of The Roanoker
magazine that reveals that Cave Spring ranks No. 15 out of 340 public
high schools in Virginia, 96th percentile, based on student performance
in advanced classes.
I recently had a conversation with Mitzi Martin, who graduated from
Cave Spring in 1976. She and her husband, Dean, have two daughters —
Kendal, who graduated from CSHS a year ago and Kelsey, who’s a rising
sophomore. Their family business, Cave Spring Auto Body, is an anchor
of the sports community. She’s been PTA president and this coming year
will be vice president of the booster club.
Is she discouraged?
“We’re very loyal to Cave Spring,” Martin says. “We’re Cave Spring
through and through.” She gives Cave Spring’s principal, Dr. Martha
Cobble, high praise for leading the charge to keep on keepin’ on. It hasn’t
been easy.
They say that the things that don’t kill you make you stronger. It’s been
a rollercoaster month, year — and several years — for Cave Spring, but
the opportunity is there to turn things around.
Natural Health
Tip of the Month
From Dr. Jeffrey Barker, DC, CCSP
With aging adults becoming more active than ever, a lot of concern has
arisen about osteoporosis and its affect on active seniors. Some things
to know about this subject are...
1. The best way to fight it is to build up your bone density and maintain good
posture
2. Moderate exercise and eating calcium rich foods can help to build bone density
3. Weight bearing exercise, such as walking, coupled with light weight training will
help to strengthen bones and muscles
4. Calcium rich foods include many dark green vegetables, such as broccoli and
spinach
5. Check with your doctor to see if you may need additional calcium supplements
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PLAY
Makers
8
PLAY BY PLAY
T
Bruce Stritesky
he Northside alumnus (class of 1979) has made
the National Football League. Stritesky, a former
player for coach Jim Hickam, has been hired
by the NFL to be an official.
Stritesky began officiating in the late 1980s
and started working college football in the
Old Dominion Athletic Conference in 1995.
He also worked in the Big East, the Southern
Conference, and Conference USA for the last
two years. Seven years ago Stritesky was hired
to work NFL Europe, a training ground for
NFL officials. This spring Stritesky worked the
World Bowl, the NFL Europe
championship game.
Stritesky works as an umpire,
the position on the defensive side
of the line of scrimmage with initial positioning just behind the linebackers. Each NFL crew gets
one game on Monday Night Football and one on Sunday Night
Football, so look for Stritesky this fall in prime time.
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JULY 10, 2006
Ask A Ref
In an effort to inform fans of the finer points of the rules of the games,
Play by Play regularly features “Ask A Ref,” a chance for fans to ask a question about specific sports rules, preferably those related to high school or the
NCAA.
Questions can be sent to [email protected].
This month we ask Play by Play contributing editor Christian Moody, a
17-year high school football official, for an opinion based on a reader’s question.
Q.
A.
I see Connecticut will now suspend a football coach who wins by
more than 50. Will Virginia do something like this?
I hope not. Tom Zimorski at the VHSL said a new rule will be forthcoming in Virginia about timing, but he declined to say what it is. I
have heard from a reliable source that it’s going to be a 35-point differential rule. Once the score gets to a 35-point difference in the second half,
the game clock will run continuously, even after incomplete passes and
out-of-bounds plays, stopping only for charged timeouts, after scores and
between quarters. If the difference drops under 35 points, regular football
timing rules will resume.
As for suspensions, I doubt it would ever happen in Virginia. The new rule
in Connecticut, according to espn.com, is aimed at one specific coach who
routinely beats opponents by more than 60 and won a game last year 90-0. In
a game that his team won 60-0, he called a timeout just before halftime with
a 35-point lead so his starters could punch in another score.
Those examples sound to me like he’s truly running it up, but I’ve worked
games with large point-differentials where the winning team is not running it up. The second and third strings get significant playing time and they
call basic plays. And in some cases the losing team basically quits and lies
down.
Conversely, I’ve seen teams run up the score and win by only 30, but they
keep starters in throughout, call timeouts late and run gadget plays in order
to rub in the win.
JULY 10, 2006
9
PLAY BY PLAY
AROUND TOWN
Youth hockey returns; Salem changes turf
by Christian Moody
F
OR THE RECORD, HOCKEY
is not dead in Roanoke. Never mind the post mortem for
the Vipers, two years after the Express and following in the line of
the Rampage, Rebels and others;
hockey in its truest form is alive
and well.
Well, hockey in its truest form
involves arctic temperatures, frozen ponds and no boards, but
since the climate of the Roanoke
Valley does not resemble that of
any place where ice freezes so
thick you can drive on it, hockey
in its truest form will have to mean
hockey played by kids who love it,
supported by families who love it,
and without the cheers of thousands of rabid fans hoping to see
fisticuffs as much as a 50-foot slapshot goal.
The kids will still play hockey in
Roanoke, thanks to Roanoke Valley Youth Hockey, the Roanoke
Civic Center and Liberty University.
Last year things didn’t look so
bright. With the closing of the Ice
Station, youth hockey was scrambling to find ice before last season. Rodney Ferguson of Roanoke Valley Youth Hockey says the
organization lost some players,
most likely as a result of confusion
about whether or not there would
be a season, a place to play, and all
the uncertainty that the group encountered.
Now, even though the only ice
in the valley is in the civic center
and there is no more professional
hockey, at least there is time to
plan a contingency for the youth
teams.
Ferguson says about 150 kids
are part of Roanoke Valley Youth
Hockey, with teams being divided
into six age groups. Each age group
has a travel team that will go to
out-of-town tournaments and play
in the Carolina Hockey League
— a confederation of youth teams
from Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Greenville,
Richmond, Hampton, Chesapeake and Roanoke. Home games
against league opponents will be
held in Lynchburg at the new Liberty University ice rink.
The rest of the players, and some
of the travel team players, comprise the house teams that just
play intra-organizational games,
mixing age groups and working on
skills. The house games and prac-
tices will be held at the Roanoke
Civic Center.
Operating the youth hockey
teams is expensive. Ferguson says
the cost for ice reduces to a little
over $4 a minute. Add in uniforms
and pay for the officials, and these
teams get expensive. That’s where
the demise of pro hockey hurts
most. Ferguson says for many
years, all the game fees earned
by the office officials were donated to Valley Youth Hockey. Along
with a small donation from the Vipers last season and funds raised
from between-period promotions,
about $5,000 was raised at the professional games last year.
Ferguson says making up that
cost will be tough, but fundraisers are under way, including selling rubber, black and white wrist
bands that say “HOCKEY.”
Still, even though money is tight
and the players have to put in more
time to fundraising, having a plan
to practice and play makes this
season ahead of last year. Ferguson says sign-ups will take place in
August, practices will start in midSeptember and the season will end
in the second week of March.
The Roanoke team does have a
history of success, including the
midget team two years ago that
went undefeated and made a trip
to Canada. The squirt team won
the Carolina Hockey League in its
age group that same year.
***
Synthetic turf
For those who think the grass is
always greener in Salem, that’s no
longer the case. The Field Turf is
greener, now that the Salem Parks
and Recreation Department is installing the synthetic playing surface on the athletic field in front of
Salem High School.
Maybe limiting the project to
the parks and rec department is
inaccurate. It’s truly a city project, involving the school division
— the field is on campus — and
other city departments, notably
the street department.
John Shaner, director of Salem’s
Parks and Recreation Department,
says the fact the city’s street department, headed by Mike Tyler,
has the talent and skill to effectively handle the subgrading work
has saved the city thousands and
thousands of dollars.
“We are so fortunate to have [Tyler] here at the city,” Shaner says.
“The savings we’ve realized has allowed us to do so much more.”
Part of the installation of the
surface includes precise subgrading; localities without their own
personnel and equipment for
those jobs have to bid it out, costing far more than having staff that
know how to do the job right.
Shaner says the field surface
costs about $458,000, but the entire project to upgrade that facility will be in the $900,000 range. If
many thousands of those dollars
were spent on grading work, they
could not be spent on other additions to the facility.
Those additions include a
grandstand that will seat 1,068, a
pressbox and a 30-foot observation tower. For the first time, the
field will be fenced and a ticket
gate will be added.
problem. The drainage is excellent
and playing on the field when it’s
wet will not cause damage, so no
delays to allow fields to drain and
dry will be necessary.
Shaner says the field will be
used for youth football in the fall,
but its biggest impact will be in the
spring, when boys’ and girls’ soccer and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse
will be able to call the new field
home. Shaner says its impact on
those sports should be dramatic.
The football teams from Andrew
Lewis Middle School and the Salem High School junior varsity will
still get to play in Salem Stadium,
but if the field is wet the game can
be moved so the natural grass surface there will not be damaged
before a varsity game or the Stagg
Bowl.
The new synthetic surface is large — nearly 400
feet long and 220 feet wide
— wide enough to accommodate large fields, such as
the dimensions for college
soccer and lacrosse.
Shaner says Salem has put
in a bid to be the host of the
NCAA Division II Women’s
Lacrosse Championship in
the future.
John Shaner credits Salem’s street deBecause multiple sports
partment with saving thousands of dollars
will use the new field, Sha“It will look like a mini version of
ner says a solid green surface was
the football stadium,” Shaner says.
bought, as opposed to a field with
Even an ‘S’ in sculpted shrubbery
lines previously embedded. The
will be added to the hillside at the
paint on the lines will be scrubbed
north end. Eventually — mayoff with a special machine called a
be as early as next year — a field
Wizard so the field can be lined for
house will be built near the field,
each specific sport.
complete with locker rooms and a
The field is being installed this
room for officials. Currently only a
summer and should be complete
building for storage and public reby the end of July. Shaner says the
strooms is on site.
grandstand and pressbox should
Shaner says the field will inbe complete by October or Nocrease the city’s field capacity
vember with a grand opening set
because rain will no longer be a
for next spring.
Coming soon
on the Web!
Watch these pages
for more details.
10
PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
COVENTRY COMMONWEALTH GAMES OF VIRGINIA
Title sponsorship gives event synergy
by John A. Montgomery
L
et’s play “sports rituals
in July” and see which
events automatically pop
into your mind.
Baseball’s All-Star Game?
The British Open?
Wimbledon’s finals?
Locally, you would have to consider strongly the Coventry Commonwealth Games of Virginia,
which return to Roanoke for the
17th consecutive year. Under the
direction of Pete Lampman, president of Virginia Amateur Sports
since 1992, this year’s Games
(which will be held primarily from
July 14-16) have added a number
of significant changes. Among
them:
• A new title sponsor and logo;
• An updated Web site (commonwealthgames.org) promoting
merchandise;
• An expanded marketing budget;
• A souvenir program printed
on glossy paper;
• New medals, ribbons and Tshirts;
• Extensive involvement from
volunteer committees planning
such ancillary events as the opening ceremonies and a reception for
sponsors; and
• A surprise giveaway for the
athletes who attend opening ceremonies that’s intended to contribute to the evening’s energy.
It was announced in February that Southern Health/Coventry Health Care was stepping up
its sponsorship to obtain naming rights to the Games, a move
which has enabled the overseeing
organization to expand its sights
dramatically. The company had
been a contributing sponsor of the
Games since 2004; last year it was
the title sponsor of the opening
ceremonies.
“We have always felt that the
Games are a good fit for our business because they promote physical fitness and healthy lifestyles,”
says Cosby Davis III, president
and chief executive officer of the
title sponsoring company. “As a
health plan, we want Virginians
to be health conscious and enjoy all that Virginia has to offer.”
Since their 1990 inception, the Games have
drawn from all corners of the state, an
aspect of the competition that appeals to Southern Health/
Coventry,
with
its corporate
offices in Charlottesville, Richmond and Roanoke.
The Games’ expanded
marketing plan this year
has included billboards,
newspaper and television advertising
in major markets
across Virginia.
With all of the
excitement and
synergy
that
accompany the
infusion of additional sponsorship dollars,
however, it should
be noted that there
are a certain number
of staples of the Games
that have remained constant:
• Approximately 10,000 athletes representing communities
throughout Virginia will participate;
• Competition will occur
in approximately 50 sports,
ranging from archery to
wrestling, from golf to
disc golf, from chess to
water skiing;
• E x p er ienc e d
sports coordinators will handle
the on-site logistics;
• A
gold-medal
U.S.
Olympian,
gymnast Dominique
Dawes, will serve
as keynote speaker at
opening ceremonies;
• The Roanoke Valley has
retained the opportunity
to host an Olympic-style
amateur sports festival for male and
female athletes of
all ages and abilities. Some of the
competitors are
college athletes,
some are weekend warriors and
some are novices.
Among the veteran organizers serving
as this year’s sports coordinators are: Harvey Bulaski (shooting, in his 17th year);
Bob Tully (biathlon, 17th year);
Billy McBride (golf, 16th year);
See GAMES, Page 15
When You’re Away...
Your Pets Get to Play!
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• Multiple Pets
• Special Need Pets
• Last Minute OK
Call: 725-pets
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JULY 10, 2006
11
PLAY BY PLAY

Snapshots of the season
Megan Silva, National Star
Regina Brewer photos
The Old Dominion Athletic Conference
achieved unprecedented success during
the past year. Silva, Randolph-Macon’s
star basketball guard (11, below), led the
nation in scoring average (22 ppg), was
named NCAA Division III Female Athlete
of the Year, and was named national basketball player of the year by four other
groups. Additionally, ODAC member Virginia Wesleyan was the NCAA D-III men’s
basketball champion; the Roanoke College men’s lacrosse team advanced to the
national semifinals; and the Washington
and Lee women’s tennis team played for
the national championship. W&L’s Emily
Applegate was the top singles player in
the country.

Buffalo Soldiers
The motorcycle club held its first “Throw
Down in Da Valley” on June 10. Roanoker
Dot Hueston competes in the “slow ride”
(above) while Richmond’s John Callis (right)
displays the first-place trophy he won in the
foreign bike competition.
Pete Emerson
Photo courtesy of Terry Troia
 State Champs!
The Hidden Valley Titans won
the Group AA soccer title in
their fourth year as a school.
Front row (l to r): Stephanie
Hare, Jessica Welfare, Kelsey
Ballard, Devon McCarty, Breanne Barrineau, Becca Danahy. Second row (l to r): Maggie
Wallace, Chelsea Patterson,
Anna Romeiser, Sientje Henderson, Amanda Ragone,
Charlotte Cranwell, Maddy
Elder. Third row: Amy Beckner, Katherine Kennedy, Erika Troia, Stephanie Cribbs,
Maura Weaver, Erica Cockrell, Katie Hans, Elizabeth
Farrell, Kendal Robertson.
The coaches are Roy Lax and
Christine Jehu.
 Botetourt Blast
The team won the 2006 USSSA
U11 state tournament in May,
advancing to the World Series
July 18-23. Team members are
(from left, starting with the
front): Justin Stevers, Logan
Holland, Jareus Hayes, Marcus
Mnich, Kyle Failla, Kris Hoffman; middle: Conner Bronson,
Samuel Spickard, Ryan Oliver,
Will Cline, Matthew Byrd, Michael Mnich, Austin Arthur;
back: Coaches Ryan Spickard,
Hal Ward, Jimmy Burd, Phil
Mnich. Player Brian Ward is not
pictured.

Photo courtesy of Hal Ward

The U14G Flames White
team won the Radford
Shootout soccer tournament
May 20-21. Sitting: Claire
Sibley, Sally Creekmore,
Courtney Long, Brittany
Dickerson, Sarah Zillioux,
Brittany Spence, Lindsey
Skolrood, Mary Catherine
Sowder. Standing:
Coach
Terry Troia, Katie McHugh,
Andrea Troia, Brigitte
Linkous, Kathryn Conrad,
Nikki Schlafman, Emily
Caldwell, Caroline Brooks,
Coach Brent Robinson. Not
pictured: Kasey Ford.
Photo courtesy of Scott Burton
Valley AFC Soccer
Carroll Dale
John A. Montgomery
The former Virginia Tech and Green Bay Packer receiver (center) spoke
to the Roanoke Valley Sports Club June 12. Dale is pictured with Phil Key
(left) and Jim Lugar.
12
PLAY BY PLAY
MEDIA
WSET is set with
Dennis Carter
by Mike Ashley
D
ennis Carter’s first media
job was in continuity.
That seems fitting now for Southwestern Virginia’s longest-tenured
television sports director.
Carter got his start in his Danville hometown at WBTM radio
where he was responsible for writing ad copy and filling the airwaves at the small station in the
early 1980s. He made the big move
north to WSET-TV Channel 13 in
Lynchburg in 1983, and he took
over as sports director at the ABC
affiliate in 1985, replacing Steve
Feinman.
The congenial Carter is now a
familiar fixture in sports-minded
living rooms in this part of the
state, on the local beat for 23 years
and, to the common good, showing no signs of letting up. (He will
once again play a prominent role
as one of the emcees in the opening ceremonies of this month’s
Coventry Commonwealth Games
of Virginia, an annual sporting
event where he and his employer
have also become entrenched.)
“I still enjoy [broadcasting
sports in the Roanoke-Lynchburg
market] and I guess that’s why
I’m still here after all these years,”
Carter says with a laugh. “It’s a job
that’s tough in a way because you
work crazy hours and more days
than most people, but it’s something that you love to do and I
guess it just gets inside you. I still
get a charge from seeing people
win championships and celebrate
on the field. I just feel that surge of
adrenaline.”
Carter was honored in 2000
with the Virginia Association of
Broadcasters award for best daily
sportscast in the Commonwealth
and he has also been named recipient of the Virginia High School
League-Marshall Johnson Award
for outstanding coverage of state
high school sports.
JULY 10, 2006
pressive list of local athletes he
Carter’s steady production and
has followed professionally from
outstanding achievements are
high school to college to the pros,
more remarkable going against
like E.C. Glass’ Cornell Brown,
larger local stations that also have
G.W. Danville’s Herman Moore,
some geographic advantages loBrookville’s Brandon Inge and
cated in Roanoke, closer to more
Jefferson Forest’s Jake Grove.
viewers in the Roanoke and New
WSET has just Carter and John
River valleys. The competitor in
Organ assigned full-time to sports
Carter has never used that as an
and the duo has become the local
excuse to get beat on big stories
answer to John Stockton and Karl
further west of the Hill City.
Malone
among
“You can look it
sports
tandems.
a number of ways,”
Going on 22 years
he says. “We’re in
together, Carter and
Lynchburg in this
Organ have teamed
region and we’re
up even longer than
the only station so
the former Utah
we concentrate in
Jazz
teammates.
Lynchburg,
BedThe two also have
ford and we do real
shown similar huswell in Danville. It’s
tle, mostly doing
more difficult to do
their own leg- and
as well in Roanoke
camera-work.
as the stations alCarter regularly
ready established
uses his dinner
there, but we come
break to go out and
over and compete.”
shoot two or three
This past year,
stories
between
Carter covered the
Dennis Carter
the 6:00 and 11:00
University of Virbroadcasts. He comes back to the
ginia’s appearance in the Music
studio, edits the video, writes the
City Bowl in Nashville on Friday,
scripts and prepares for the late
then drove overnight to Jacksonnews. Organ is out their scrapville to preview Virginia Tech’s
ping, too, and well, two guys even
Gator Bowl appearance the next
in the friendliest of confines don’t
day. Another highlight he recalls
get along this well for this long
is the Altavista boys’ and girls’
unless both of them are just plain
teams both winning state basketnice guys.
ball titles the same day in 2004.
“We might have differences of
Carter’s approach has always
opinion from time to time but we
been to find the positive stories in
know each other well enough to
the region and maybe ferret out
know how to get through those
the stories of athletes and teams
things,” says Carter. “It’s like bethat other media miss.
ing husband and wife and being
“I feel like we do a really good
together forever, I guess.”
job of covering area high school
Carter has always won friends
and college sports, not only Vireasily and it has been his stronginia Tech and Virginia, but
gest asset in his rise and now his
smaller programs like Lynchburg
longevity in the business. He was
(College) and Roanoke (College),”
a business major at Danville Comhe says. “I take a lot of joy in covmunity College in the late ’70s
ering those games and giving the
when his public speaking teacher
guys who don’t get a lot of publicity a little exposure.”
Carter proudly recounts an imSee CARTER, Page 15
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JULY 10, 2006
PLAY BY PLAY
13
14
PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
COVENTRY COMMONWEALTH GAMES
by John A. Montgomery
I
John A. Montgomery
n a famous television show
from a previous generation,
Dragnet’s Sgt. Joe Friday maintained an unflappable demeanor
throughout the
most dangerous
crises.
“Just the facts,
ma’am,” he would
say while extracting information
from an excited
eyewitness.
Sgt.
Friday
seldom smiled.
He seldom lost
control. He was
the master of the
deadpan expression, reflecting
an
emotionless
personality which often
unnerved
and
undermined his
most challenging
adversary. More often than not, he
accomplished his mission.
Alleghany
County’s
Sam
Horton, who just completed the
eighth grade at Clifton Middle
School in Low Moor, was born a
decade after actor Jack Webb
passed
away.
But he possesses
a similar quality:
coolness
under pressure.
Maintaining his
composure has
served Horton
well in the sports
arena, particularly when he
picks up a bow.
Horton
will
compete in archery at the
upcoming Coventry Commonwealth Games of
Virginia, seeking
his third con-
July Home Games
July 10 @ Noon
July 12-15 @ 7:07 PM
July 24-29 @ 7:07 PM
July 30 @ 2:07 PM
For Tickets Call 389-3333
Photo courtesy of Sam Horton
Just the facts: Young
archer seeks gold
Steady as he goes: Sam Horton exudes an inner peace that has helped
him win gold medals in the Commonwealth Games as well as place in
international competition. Note the many sponsor logos on his shirt
secutive gold medal in his age division. The target competition will
be held at Green Hill Park during
the opening weekend (July 14-16)
and the 3-D competition will be at
Sherwood Archers July 22-23.
Nicknamed “Turtle” — “he’s
slow and dependable, but he’ll
get there,” his father, Greg, says
— Horton enjoys other sports, too.
In baseball, for example, he has
played five different positions this
summer for the local Sons of Confederate Veterans team, a strong
contender in a 17-team regional
league.
But archery is his first love.
Horton took up the sport four
years ago when he was 10. “It’s
fun,” he says. “I get to hang out
with my dad more.”
Horton’s father, 37, is a towering man who weighs more
than 300 lbs. He has played
and coached many sports over
the years, and sees long-range
potential for his son as an archer. “There are many colleges
that offer archery scholarships,” Greg Horton says. At
5’2”, 135 lbs., Horton has the
strength to deftly handle his
bow, an asset as important as
his presence.
Horton has put together a
presentation booklet that he
uses when he visits potential
sponsors, seeking to offset
some of the costs incurred
in the sport. State-of-the-art
equipment can be expensive (Horton has spent about
$1,000 for his latest bow, his
bow sight and a supply of arrows) and he also travels to
many regional tournaments,
at ranges in Bedford, Stewartsville, Staunton and Massanutten.
In the last two years, he
has placed first or second in
more than a dozen competitions,
and even traveled to Cleveland in
2004 to compete in the International Bowhunters Organization
World Indoor Tournament, where
he placed 48th. Last year, Horton
competed in the IBO World Outdoor Tournament, at Snowshoe,
W.Va., where he finished 31st. Not
unlike a Billboard “record with a
bullet,” Horton seems to be moving up the charts.
It’s convenient for Horton that
the Coventry Commonwealth
Games’ 3-D competition will be
conducted at Sherwood Archers
in Roanoke County, as Sherwood
is his home course. In 2005, Horton won tournaments at Sherwood during six consecutive
months, easily earning the award
as “Shooter of the Year” in his age
bracket. Although Sherwood is
located more than an hour from
his home, Horton is more familiar with Sherwood’s lay of the land
than he is with any other archery
range.
Horton understands that practice is essential to success and he
exhibits the self-discipline that
excellence in the sport requires.
“I practice a lot,” he says simply,
“every day.” The open space that
surrounds his home is another
factor in his attraction to archery.
He enjoys the solitude that a rural
setting provides.
At 14, Horton has advanced
one age bracket in this year’s
state games, which means he will
move 10 yards farther from his
target (35 yards). Plus, he will be
competing against older archers.
But he doesn’t seem to be worried
about it.
Come to think of it, Horton
doesn’t worry about anything.
Staying calm is second nature to
him. Second now, but closing in
on first.
JULY 10, 2006
15
PLAY BY PLAY
Games
From Page 10
From Page 12
suggested that his strong, pleasant speaking voice might suggest
a different career path.
“I thought I’d follow in my father’s footsteps and he was a banker,” says Carter. “After I took a few
accounting classes, I changed my
mind. That (public speaking class)
and the teacher (Helen Meadors)
really helped me come out and
build a little confidence.”
Carter went on to graduate from
Virginia Tech in 1979, and it was
back to Danville where he promptly put that communications degree to work back at his old job as
a bagger and checker at a grocery
store. Then one day another former
teacher, his old French instructor
from G.W. Danville High School,
happened to check out in his lane
and told him that his wife, who
worked at WBTM, was looking for
some help at the radio station.
Fast forward the video and what
you grasp is this: Carter is hired
to write ad copy and slip on the
air every now and then with news
updates. His prime shift starts at 5
a.m. on Sundays when he prepares
a news report. Because WBTM
and sister FM station WAKG don’t
have a sports department, the enthusiastic new employee remedies
that situation. Soon after he also
becomes the Danville sports contact for WSET (before the station
as fast as you
possibly can.
When Southern Health/Coventry Health Care President and CEO Cosby
Davis III (left) and Dr. Elizabeth Lee, chairman of the Virginia Amateur
Sports board of directors, unveiled this year’s new logo at a press conference in February, it signified a major stride in the Games’ history:
the first title sponsor since the early 1990s when CorEast filled that
role. A title sponsor enables the Games to grow by many measures
established a bureau there).
On Sundays, he works that early radio shift, finishes at about 10
a.m., goes home to take a nap and
then later drives the hour and 15
minutes to Lynchburg to prepare
for his three-minute segment on
WSET’s 15-minute late Sunday
night broadcast. Soon WSET expands its sports coverage and
adds Carter full-time, another local sports figure called up to the
bigs.
“I had grown
up in Danville
and lived there all
my life other than
for my time at Virginia Tech,” says
Carter. “It was a
major change, but
I decided I had to
leave sometime
so I moved (to
Lynchburg) and
I’ve been here
ever since.”
His favorite moments at WSET include interviews
with John McEnroe (a personal
hero),
Michael
Jordan, Hank Aaron and all the
big NASCAR names. Carter lists
those opportunities as a major job
perk.
“You get to talk to all these guys
and see what they’re thinking,”
he says. “That’s really fun. I love
meeting people and talking with
them.”
Chances are, they’ve enjoyed
meeting with Carter, too. He has
become a local icon in Lynchburg,
even doing some football and basketball play-by-play for Liberty
University when his schedule allows. He has a family, wife Regina,
and 14-year-old son Ryan, already
a sports-minded young fellow
who can be seen
tagging
along
keeping notes for
his dad at some
events.
Carter also enjoys
venturing
out of the sports
world to serve
as the volunteer
narrator for the
Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra at its outdoor
concert at City
Stadium
each
year. “They have
some truly great
musicians and
I’ve always been
a music lover,” he
says. “I’m a big fan of theirs.”
Carter’s a big fan of anything local done well.
And by that reckoning, he
should really appreciate his own
work. Area sports fans do.
Bill Turner
Carter
outdoors
� ����stunning lake vistas���
John A. Montgomery
Betty Barr (tennis, 14th year);
Wally Beagle, baseball, 13th
year); David Carter (basketball,
13th year) and Rudy Dillard (track
and field, 12th year).
Dawes was part of the U.S.
Olympic team that captured the
Olympic gold medal in 1996 in
Atlanta. She also won a bronze
medal that year with her performance in floor exercise, becoming the first African-American to
win an individual event medal in
gymnastics.
Keynote speakers at past opening ceremonies have included
wrestlers Tom Brand and Rulon
Gardner, tennis star Zina Garrison, distance runner Billy Mills,
speedskater Christine Witty, and
gymnasts Shannon Miller and
Kerri Strug. Their short but powerful speeches are generally designed to inspire competition.
����������great
The Big Lick Triathlon.
Great competition.
Incomparable hospitality
with a celebration lunch by
Outback. All staged at one
of the Virginia Series’ most
striking vistas. It’s one of the
season’s final races. And one
of the season’s finest races.
1500m Swim • 40k Bike • 10k Run
Saturday, September 23
9:00am
Smith Mountain Lake State Park
Huddleston, Virginia
Hurry, spots are limited!
Register online at:
www.ymcaroanoke.com/biglick
Title Sponsor: Outback Steakhouse. Gold Sponsors:
Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, Fleet Feet Sports,
Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Life Fitness,
Play by Play. Silver Sponsors: Pepsi Bottling Group,
The Redwoods Group, Robertson Marketing Group.
Bronze Sponsors: Carilion Health System, Cytomax,
East Coasters Cycling & Fitness, Mariners Landing/
East Lake Real Estate, Tudor’s Biscuit World of VA,
WSLS Newschannel 10. Donor: Brandon Animal
Hospital of Roanoke.
16
PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
Mo on the Go:
Former Fleming star
makes bid for more PT
I
Marshall University Athletic Department
MAGINE GETTING TO PLAY
against a top-5 ranked rival in
Morgantown. Or lacing up the
cleats in front of over 100,000 fans
in Neyland Stadium. How about
taking on a Big 12 school with
which you have a personal score
to settle?
It’s more challenge than most
football players experience in a
lifetime. Yet all those things are
on William Fleming graduate
Maurice (Mo) Kitchens’ to-do list
for September 2006.
The sophomore linebacker for
Marshall University has been
climbing the Thundering Herd’s
depth chart as he makes his case
for more playing time in 2006. The
6’3”, 235-lb. hitting machine says
the Herd’s opening month schedule — which features tilts at WVU,
Tennessee and Kansas State — is
develop the mechanics.
just one of the things that motiIn his senior season, 2003,
vates him to perform during the
Kitchens led Fleming to the Group
upcoming football season.
AA Division 4 title game and the
“Even though we had a disapVirginia High School Coaches Aspointing (4-7) season last year,
sociation named him Group AA
we’re prepared and focused for the
co-defensive player of the year.
season,” said Kitchens. ”We know
The state championship game
we can do it. Having that tough
against Powhatan was a clasearly schedule prepares us for our
sic defensive struggle. The game
conference schedule and we really
turned on a broken play when the
look forward to the challenge.”
Powhatan quarterback was rollKitchens’ pigskin pilgrimage
ing out and dropped the ball, yet
has taken him from coast to coast.
it bounced back into his hands. As
After his mom retired from the
Fleming defenders closed in for
military, she and
the sack, he heaved
her son moved to The Kitchens Counter a desperation toss
San Diego to be
that was hauled in
Favorite Athlete:
closer to family. Alby a receiver. FlemRay Lewis
ready considered a
ing lost, 6-0.
Thing he misses most
strong player in tal“My
heart
about Roanoke:
ent-rich Southern
dropped,”
says
Friends
California, KitchKitchens.
“I
ens moved to Vircouldn’t even think
Favorite TV Shows:
ginia and became
for the next week.
Family Guy, In Living Color
a two-year starter
We lost 6-0 on a
Video Game picks:
at Fleming. While
lucky play. There
Halo and Madden
Maurice liked the
was no way they
What’s on his ipod?
people in Roanoke,
were going to score
Rap, hip-hop, R&B and
the culture shock
against us.”
some reggae
of moving from a
Although KitchFavorite artist:
land of movie stars
ens’ cross-country
Twista
to the valley with a
high school career
neon star was a big
made him difficult
adjustment. But on the football
for recruiters to track, he received
field, he made the transition look
attention from in-state schools
easy. He credits Fleming coach
with scholarship offers from James
Larry Bishop with helping him
Madison, VMI and Hampton be-
Maurice Kitchens led William
Fleming to the 2003 Group AA
Division 4 title football game
fore Marshall came calling.
The Thundering Herd has benefited from recruiting several
players from the region, including Martinsville’s Jamus
Martin and Marcus Hairston
(page 21), and they offered a
full ride to Kitchens, which
he accepted. He got some
late signing-day interest from
BCS-conference schools, but
stuck with his initial commitment to Marshall to become
the first Fleming football player to sign with a Division I-A
school since Jermaine Hardy
signed with Virginia in 2001.
Kitchens describes his recruiting visit to Huntington as
very positive and he especially
liked the closeness of the team.
Kitchens was red-shirted his
freshman year, but his travel with
the team included a trip to the
Horseshoe at Ohio State. Kitchens
describes the game against the
Photos courtesy of Digital One, Inc. Mike Norton
by Todd Marcum
environment. You could feel the
ground shake under your feet,”
Kitchens says.
Last year as a redshirt freshman, Kitchens played on special
teams. He had some especially
intense exchanges with Kansas
State players and has the rematch
in Manhattan circled on his calendar. As Kitchens prepares to play a
bigger role in 2006, he’s running
with the second team. He had an
impressive outing in Marshall’s
spring game, which drew more
than 17,000 fans.
He says the biggest adjustment
to the game at the D-I level is the
speed, strength and power you
have to pull every single play. He
also says that being an athlete at a
major university requires considerable focus. In addition to keeping physically fit, you have to stay
on top of your classes. Kitchens is
an MIS major and is on schedule
to graduate in four years.
Kitchens says he’s looking forward to meeting David Redick,
the Cave Spring star who signed
a scholarship offer with Marshall
and will join the Herd in the fall.
Regardless of the whims of the
football gods this autumn, Marshall will receive a lot of attention
with the release of the major Warner Brothers motion picture, We
Are…Marshall, which will chronicle the 1970 plane crash and the
subsequent rebuilding of the program. Kitchens says that he marveled at the opportunity to watch
a movie being filmed on his way
to class. It also afforded him an
opportunity to meet several bona
fide celebrities including former
Herd greats Chad Pennington and
Randy Moss and Hollywood superstar Matthew McConaughey.
There’s a lot going on in the
world of Maurice Kitchens, but as
in the past, he’s making adjustments as he goes. What’s the key
to being a D-I athlete?
“Dedication. You have to keep
your head high and hold your-
Actor Matthew McConaughey (above) and
former players Chad Pennington and Randy Moss
attended the spring game
Buckeyes as one of the
biggest thrills in his college career. The Herd lost
a close decision on a last-second
55-yard field goal by All-American
Mike Nugent.
“I’d never been in that kind of
self accountable,” Kitchens says.
“Schoolwork and football. Got
to keep your eyes on both all the
time.”
JULY 10, 2006
17
PLAY BY PLAY
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
by Bob Teitlebaum
vails of the past few months,
A
Cave Spring High School sports
FTER ALL THEIR TRA-
fans could use a piece of good
news.
Count on Robbie Powell to be
a breath of fresh air in that community.
Entering this coming college
football season as a redshirt junior at Purdue University, Powell
has been picked by one magazine
as a preseason third-team center
in the Big 10.
Powell was an unknown to the
Cave Spring area until five years
ago. He transferred as a senior
from a North Carolina high school
to live with his father, Bob, who
works as a financial consultant for
A.G. Edwards.
At that time, the 6-foot-5 Powell
had hopes of playing college basketball. He played on the Knights’
squad headed by J.J. Redick that
won the 2002 Group AAA boys’
state championship.
“I came to Cave Spring with an
emphasis on playing basketball.
Of course I had played football
[as a junior] at C.D. Owen High in
Black Mountain, N.C.,” says Powell, who is spending this summer
at the Purdue campus in West Lafayette, Ind.
“I was hoping the whole time to
go for basketball and I was working
my tail off [in that sport] every day.
I talked to my dad about whether I
should even play football as a senior. He and a friend of his urged
me to play football. It worked out
well.”
Powell was picked on The Roanoke Times’ All-Timesland football
team as a defensive lineman in the
fall of 2001 and also was selected
to the Roanoke Valley District first
team.
Cave Spring boys’ basketball
coach Billy Hicks liked having a
6’5” transfer, but he quickly realized that Powell was better suited
for football.
“I figured he had a better chance
to play college football. Coach
[Ben] Foutz (then the Knights’
head football coach) said he had a
real chance to be a Division I prospect.”
The opportunity didn’t come
easily for Powell. “I thought at the
end of the year, I was playing really well [in football],” said Powell. “That was the first year I had
played on the offensive line; I had
played [on the] defensive line in
Black Mountain.”
Powell was a latecomer to football. He never played the sport
before high school. By the time
he arrived at Cave Spring, he was
up to 225-230 pounds and played
both ways.
Despite his success as a senior,
the colleges weren’t beating a path
to his door for future services.
He was recruited by Ferrum College (where his father had played)
and Hampden-Sydney, neither of
which are Division I programs.
“None of the [D-1] colleges knew
who was I was. Virginia Tech sort
of knew about me, but the University of Virginia didn’t have a clue,”
he says.
As Powell was only 17 when he
graduated from Cave Spring, he
was the same age as most juniors.
He had heard about Fork Union
Military Academy and decided to
hone his football skills during a
post-graduate year.
By the time he played basketball
as a senior for the Knights, Powell
admits that he had decided to concentrate on football. “I started a
couple of games, but I didn’t have
as successful a season in basketball,” Powell explains.
“It took him a while to get into
our system,” says Hicks. “He could
shoot a little bit. He was a key reserve for us with a wide body. If
someone was beating up on J.J. he
wasn’t afraid to go in there and set
a hard screen.”
“It was an experience to watch
him play,” says Powell of being on
the same team as Redick. “He’d
drop 40 points in a game and hit
from everywhere just like he did in
college. I’m sure he’ll do it in the
NBA.”
One time, Powell and Redick
hooked up in a 3-point duel at the
Roanoke Athletic Club. “We were
practicing shooting. This is a credit as to how good a shooter he was.
We put five [stations] around the
3-point line and we took five shots
at each,” says Powell.
Powell says he made 17 or 18
shots, which is excellent for a big
man. It wasn’t enough as Redick
canned 25 in a row.
Robbie
Powell
Photo courtesy Perdue University Athletics
Powell wields blocking
power at Purdue
“If you gave Robbie his shot,
he could shoot outside a little bit.
He was slow developing [it],” says
Hicks when told about the story.
Even after a year at Fork Union,
the colleges didn’t flock to get
Powell’s services. It was almost an
accident that he found Purdue.
“I had heard a little bit about
Purdue because of quarterback
Drew Brees,” Powell explains.
“You think of the Big 10, and you
think of Michigan and Ohio State.
“It kind of happened the week
before signing date. Purdue came
down on Monday to look at me before the Wednesday signing date.
They had an extra spot on the offensive line. Someone else who
had committed pulled out.”
With one choice, Powell quickly agreed to commit to Purdue.
“Then Clemson called and offered
a scholarship,” says Bob Powell.
“But he honored his commitment
to Purdue.”
Last year, Powell happened to
be on a Purdue team that missed
going to a bowl game for the first
time after eight straight post-season contests. This was a major
disappointment after many publications had picked the Boilermakers anywhere from third to 15th
in the nation during preseason
forecasts. Purdue won its first two
games and was ranked ninth. “But
we lost a double overtime game to
Minnesota and after that we lost a
ton of games. It seemed like [that
loss] turned the year around,”
says Powell. “Before that, we even
had thoughts of playing in the big
one (the national championship
game).” Purdue finished 5-6, but
Powell played in all 11 games, and
impressed his coaching staff with
his ability to protect the quarterback.
“This year will be different. We
have a lot of new faces, both
coaches and players. We have
a lot of new energy. It feels a
little different this year. It’s
about the team and not the individual,” Powell says.
Bill Legg, an offensive line
coach, is now the co-coordinator of the offense. “I can’t
say enough about him,” says
Powell, who has prospered
under Legg. “He’s been there
since I came here. Across the
line, the offensive linemen feel
he has taught us so much.”
With his weight up to 300
lbs., Powell can start thinking
about playing in the NFL. He’s
eligible to come out after this
year and may do so if he lives
up to the preseason rating of
being one of the best centers
in the Big 10.
“It’s definitely on my mind, but I
still have two years left. Right now
I’m just staying focused on the season and our team,” says Powell.
If it happens that way, perhaps
he might wind up blocking another former Cave Spring player,
Ronde Barber, who is a defensive
back in Tampa Bay.
There is one other oddity that
remains a distinct possibility. Tom
Hagan, also a senior on the Cave
Spring state championship basketball team, was selected in the major league baseball draft this year.
If Hagan makes the majors, Powell
plays in the NFL and Redick plays
in the NBA, it might be one of the
first times that three members of
one high school team make it to
the top in three pro sports.
His son’s success has changed
the lifestyle of the elder Powell,
who tries to see most of his son’s
games. “As they get older, the opportunity to watch them doesn’t
come long that much,” he says.
So every weekend that young
Powell plays within a 9- or 10-hour
drive, his father hits the road in a
car. He doesn’t like to fly.
He’s driven to Indiana University, Notre Dame, Ohio State and
Penn State following the Boilermakers. He’s planning on going to
Michigan State this fall and Purdue has seven home games on its
slate.
This year the Boilermakers also
conclude the regular season in
Hawaii. “It’s still debatable,” says
Bob Powell, who knows he would
be forced to fly to that venue. He
doesn’t rule it out — and besides,
it would make a nice trip.
18
PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
PRO BASEBALL
Avalanche All-Stars look for better half
by Gene Marrano
T
Chad Reineke’s
first-half ERA
was 2.61
Bill Turner photos
HE SALEM AVALANCHE
may not have finished near
the top of the Southern Division standings during the first half
of the Carolina League season,
posting a 32-38 record, but the
club did just fine when it came to
All-Star game representation. Five
Avs plus the team’s entire coaching staff were selected for the game
played in Salem on June 27.
Among those honored was Chad
Reineke, the 6’6’” right-handed
Salem starting pitcher who had a
6-5 win-loss record at the halfway
point and a sparkling ERA of 2.61.
His frequent battery mate catcher
Lou Santangelo
(10 doubles, seven
homers) was also
picked, a triumph
of sorts for the
New Jersey native, overcoming
a slow start this
season.
Closer
Rodrigo Escobar,
outfielder Beau
Torbert and infielder Drew Sutton were other Avalanche picks
in the Carolina-California League
All-Star game managed by Avalanche skipper Jim Pankovits.
“I was definitely surprised, especially with all of the good catchers
around this league,” admits Santangelo, addressing his selection.
“It’s probably one of the tougher
All-Star teams to make.” Learning not to miss his pitch at the
plate, adjusting and making better contact on balls he was fouling
off earlier is one reason Santangelo, a former Clemson standout
(he played in college with ex-Cave
Spring High School pitcher Tyler
Lumsden), progressed during the
first half. He liked the fact that
there wouldn’t be any travel involved with the All-Star game and
thought it was “awesome” for local
baseball fans as well. His mother
and an aunt were scheduled to be
on hand for the game.
Santangelo thinks he may
have been trying too hard to hit
home runs early in the season.
He did better after learning to relax and just hit the ball where it
was pitched, no doubt following
the advice given by batting coach
Chuck Carr. The former infielder
says the “kid in him” makes him
take grounders during
batting practice and
he has gently prodded
Pankovits — “Pank”
— about playing infield
when teammates have
been injured. No mistake about it though,
Santangelo is a catcher
now, a position he transitioned to at Clemson
after transferring from
Seton Hall.
The lifelong Yankees fan says
he wasn’t disappointed when his
backup, Jeff Mackor, was sent
down for a day in early June to
catch Roger Clemens in a tune up
assignment at Lexington, the parent Astros Low-A affiliate. “I was
happy for Jeff. He grew up in Boston watching “the Rocket” when
Rocket was young. It was a great
experience for him.”
The first half of the Carolina
League season was one of inconsistencies for Salem and Santangelo believes his club has to
improve at the “little things that
win ball games,” especially with a
pitching staff that will keep them
close every night. He says the keys
are moving runners along, timely hitting, turning double plays,
fundamental baseball. Like his
own track record showed, Salem
seemed to improve as the first half
wound down. “We’re in it to win it
[in] the second half. Anything can
happen,” Santangelo says.
Reineke earns rave reviews from
his catcher as a guy who can “control all of his pitches. He keeps you
off balance. You never know what
he’s going to throw [and] everything is thrown for a strike.”
Reineke, seen reading a book
calmly before his last start and
perhaps best outing of the first
half, is an Ohio native who attended Miami University in Ohio
after a three-sport career in high
school.
“There are a lot of guys in this
league with really good numbers,”
he says about his All-Star selection, which was a mild but pleasant surprise. Starting is a recent
development for the former reliever, who came into the season with
Pitching coach Stan Boroski
sees plenty of promise in the tall
righty: “He’s learning how to spot
his fastball and use his changeup [effectively],” Boroski says.
Reineke had “lost” that pitch for a
while in the first half but it came
back around, and Boroski likes
how the 24-year-old has been
working the fastball inside on hitters lately. “[Also] holding runners,
fielding his position — all the little
nuances of the game. He’s doing a
real good job with all of that.”
Boroski likes to see his pitchers maintain an even temperament and disposition; not too excited when things are going well,
not too dejected after rough outings. “Keep the focus, keep your
workouts the same,” Boroski says.
Reineke seems to have taken that
advice to heart. The win-loss record may not have been gaudy but
his pitching coach says the low
earned run average and a sparkling strikeouts-to-walks ratio
(more than three Ks to every free
pass) earned that short trip to the
All-Star game.
Going from the closer’s role
to his current status as a starter
required a different mentality
and an expanded repertoire but
Catcher
Catcher Lou
Lou Santangelo
Santangelo belts
belts
aa triple
triple against
against Kinston
Kinston
a goal of working on a change-up
to go along with his fastball. “It’s
coming along slowly,” he claimed
in a noisy locker room before his
June 17 start (eight innings, three
hits allowed). Limiting his walks
was another goal.
Reineke joined the Lexington
rotation halfway through the 2005
season and hadn’t started since
college where he was a spot starter and then a closer. Houston selected him in the 13th round of the
2004 draft.
Reineke seems to have handled
the move well. Now he likes taking the mound every fifth game,
like clockwork. “I know when I’m
going to get the ball. The regimen’s
a lot more structured. Stan [Boroski] has been huge. He can pinpoint
things that I might be doing wrong
and knows exactly what I need to
do.” That guidance paid off with
an All-Star berth and Reineke is
hoping to use it as a springboard
for better things team-wise in the
second half.
JULY 10, 2006
19
PLAY BY PLAY
PERSONALITIES
English class: helping youth via sports
B
ASKETBALL COACH, RADIO
color analyst, drivers’ education teacher and Roanoke
Valley Golf Hall of Fame director
— not to mention part-time DJ —
Jerry English certainly has led a
diverse and accomplished career.
Raised in Roanoke, English
graduated from William Fleming High School in 1967 and went
to Appalachian State University.
He started teaching in Roanoke
County at Northside Junior High
in ’71, where he became the boys’
basketball coach a year later.
As a student, English had played
on the Fleming basketball team
but is quick to point out that “I
was never a star.” As a teacher,
he also assisted Al Johnson with
the Northside High School team;
when Johnson resigned in 1980,
English was named head coach.
After six undistinguished seasons — as a Group AAA school
then, Northside often played much
bigger schools — English gave up
high school basketball coaching
and moved to William Byrd High
School, where he has worked the
last 20 years (with his retirement
looming on the horizon). English
notes that his coaching replacement at Northside, Billy Pope,
continues as the Vikings’ coach to
this day.
About the time English went to
Byrd, the head basketball coaching position opened up on a parttime basis at
Hollins College;
he became the
first-ever male
head coach at
the school. “You
had to treat [his
players] a little
bit differently
than the guys,”
he says straightforwardly.
He spent five
years at Hollins, where it
has been historically difficult to attract
top-notch athletes, and did not post a winning
season.
“Very frustrating” is English’s
candid assessment of the Hollins
years. “You might have someone
who was a Division I [caliber] player, but your fifth starter might be
someone who was third string on
a recreation team,” he says. Some
would say that things haven’t
changed much at Hollins, as the
basketball team this past season
went winless.
English recalls often being the
only male coach at Old Dominion
Athletic Conference women’s bas-
$20,000 Don Holliday Memorial
scholarship as English proudly
looked on. Corporate sponsors
provide a significant portion of the
scholarships.
There are 14 courses on the Hall
of Fame circuit (rvgolfhalloffame.
org), which resembles a mini-tour.
Points accumulated
determine
the male,
female, junior, senior
and
super senior
(70+) golfers of the
year. “By
process of
elimina-
Jerry English (with former broadcast partner Jim
Carroll, above) is a familiar sight at most Roanoke
Valley basketball and golfing events (right)
ketball media events held in the
Roanoke Valley, where his female
counterparts from out-of-town
schools frequently asked him to
speak on their behalf since he
knew so many people in the area.
Since leaving Hollins in ’92,
English has focused on teaching
drivers’ education and physical
education at Byrd. Dr. Richard
Turner, Byrd’s current principal,
fondly recalls being in a PE class
at
Northside
taught by English, who was
also a lifeguard
at North Lakes
pool
when
Turner
was
growing up.
Golf — his
handicap fluctuates among
the low single
digits — has
been an English passion for
many years and
the
Roanoke
Valley Golf Hall
of Fame has
been a major forum for his support
of area youth. English is on the executive committee and heads up
the scholarship group that hands
out more than $50,000 annually to
local students. In May, Byrd valedictorian and golf team member
Stephen Soltis was awarded the
tion” English
has become
more
involved
in
the Hall of
Fame’s
annual banquet
and executive
director Ned
Baber recognizes English’s extensive contributions as crucial.
English started promoting the
Hall of Fame scholarship program
when he joined the board almost
20 years ago; winners don’t have to
be great golfers or a member of a
school team but do need to exhibit
exemplary character and academic performance. There is always
some connection to the game.
“You just have to have an interest
in golf; we’ve given kids who play
putt-putt money,” English says.
English is also a proponent of
a unique fundraiser the Hall of
Fame touts: a $250 players card
covers green fees for a twosome
to play all 14 Hall of Fame courses
during a year, except in peak times
and on weekends. More than 60
people have taken advantage of
that tool so far this year.
English has graduated to the seniors end (55+) of the Hall of Fame
circuit and still plays when he
can. Double hip replacement operations several years ago put his
walking gait back on a more even
keel. “I was lopsided,” he says with
Gene Marrano
by Gene Marrano
a smile.
During his basketball coaching days, English was asked by
legendary local sports broadcaster Jim Carroll to join him as
a basketball analyst on area high
school and Roanoke College basketball games, something he did
for 16 years until Carroll retired.
The duo, along with statistician
Ron Myers, was along for the ride
when J.J. Redick rose to prominence, following the Cave Spring
star to the state Group AAA championship game.
When Carroll stepped back from
the mike in 2005, English spearheaded a roast to honor his sidekick. More than 100 prominent
basketball coaches and supporters turned out for the event, which
was organized par
excellence, another
English trademark.
Now in his 35th
year of teaching,
English was recently encouraged
to try his hand at
being a DJ by the
late Al Pollard, who
co-owned several
local
restaurants
before his death
due to a heart attack
last year. English
had always put together themed CDs
of music for retiring teachers and
administrators at Byrd, but spinning those compact discs — sorry,
no records — was another thing.
He works at Corned Beef, 419 West
and other night spots in the Roanoke area and says the extra income has helped encourage him
to consider early retirement after
the upcoming school year.
“[Pollard] enabled me to develop a second job. It’s something
I’ve always wanted to do and he
pushed me over the edge. I owe
a lot to him.” There will soon be
a golf tourney named for Pollard
and scholarships may be awarded
to a student that wants to attend a
culinary institute. English is consulting on that project, which also
involves Brambleton Deli owner
Chip Moore.
Of all the things he has done,
working with young people has
been the pursuit Jerry English
has enjoyed the most. He has had
plenty of opportunities over the
years, whether on the basketball
court, in the classroom or on the
golf course.
20
PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
NO SMALL FEAT:
Sponsor makes indelible impression
by Brent Loope
S
Vita at Web Feat, Inc., a company
that specializes in Web site development, hosting, design and
other e-services. The parent explained the situation hoping to
obtain a last-minute sponsor. Unbeknownst to the Blue Jays, the
Vitas have always had a love for
the game and were looking for the
opportunity to sponsor a team because they felt a desire to become
more involved in the community.
“One of the parents called me
and said ‘Our sponsor backed out’
and immediately we phoned the
coach to inform him that Web Feat,
Inc. would sponsor the team,” says
Stephanie.
Both Anthony and Stephanie
had grown up with baseball or
softball in their lives as children.
Stephanie played farm league tee
ball when she was young, and
Anthony played Little League in
Photos courtesy of www. SalemBlueJays.com
TEROID USE, THE HOME
run race, playoff-caliber
teams. These are the subjects
in focus during a time when Major League Baseball and its players
are under a microscope. From a
sponsorship standpoint, the biggest area of concern seems to be
tied to gate receipts and the number of zeroes at the end of the players’ paychecks.
But teams on the smaller end
of the scale of the baseball world
have other problems and obstacles
to face. These problems include,
but certainly aren’t limited to:
• “Little Debbie or graham
crackers after the game?”
• “Whose kid do we pick up this
afternoon?”
• And of course, “Who can
we get to sponsor our team this
year?”
For the Salem Blue Jays, a local
tee-ball team, this problem resurfaced two days before their season
began in April.
In the typical scenario, team officials (generally the coach or the
parents of the players) approach
a business and ask for its support.
The company sponsoring the team
generally sends the team a check
that covers uniform and incidental costs for the season. No muss,
no fuss, that’s the end of it. The
Blue Jays had lined up a sponsor,
but last-minute complications
caused the deal to fall through.
Suddenly, the Blue Jays were left
sponsor-less.
However, one player’s parent
called Anthony and Stephanie
New York; they
felt this appeal
was the opportunity that they
had been looking
for to step up and
sponsor a team.
As mentioned,
the conventional
expectations of a
team sponsor are
limited to writing
a check, possibly
providing a logo
and wishing the
team the best of
luck. The Vitas
apparently were
unaware of this
unwritten rule
because they decided to take sponsorship to a new
level.
On opening day, the Vitas
wheeled in a U-Haul packed full
of snacks for all of the members
of the team and their families.
The reaction from the players and
their parents was one of the
highlights of the season for
Stephanie. “Here it was opening day, and ‘Pow! here’s our
sponsors,’” she says. While
some may have measured
the act as a nice opening-day
gesture, they soon found out
that this was going to be a
regular occurrence at nearly
every game.
During the games, Stephanie was on the field taking
pictures of the members of
the team. She then used her
company’s graphic design
programs to make laminated
photographs as well as to develop
the Blue Jays’ very own Web site,
www.SalemBlueJays.com.
The Vitas paid for the entire
team to join the Salem Avalanche
Kids Club, and also paid for the
brothers and sisters of the players
on the team to attend the games.
As a final gift at the team banquet
in June, the Vitas gave every member of the team (including the
coaches), a DVD of season highlights.
Some people may ask what the
Vitas expect in return, as they do
not have a child that played on
the team. “We really did it with no
expectations, we just wanted to
give back to the community,” says
Stephanie. “It was a really great
situation for everyone because it
was a relief for the parents who
may have struggled to find time to
feed their kids before the games.”
“Anything you do other than
write a check is considered something more,” says Anthony. “We
wanted to be more than just a
sponsor. It even seemed that the
kids were better-behaved at the
games we attended. They really
did play hard because they felt
like they were part of a baseball
team.”
“We just felt that if you can get
them to crave the sport in their
first year it will give them good
vibes and keep them wanting to
play. They certainly enjoyed all of
the added perks, but the kids were
all there because they wanted to
play,” Stephanie says.
Coach Eric Pellant praises the
Vitas for their extra effort during
the entire season. “They made this
season so unforgettable, and with
the DVD [the players] will always
have something to remember it by.
The Vitas’ acts of kindness really
restores one’s faith in humanity,”
he says.
“We let the kids know that this
was not normal, but the Vitas certainly were not a distraction. As
far as the kids noticing, the DVD
that they compiled was about 40
minutes long and just about every
one of those 6- and 7-year-old kids
sat through and watched the entire thing. The Vitas are just exceptionally nice people who took a big
interest in these kids.”
While the Vitas wish they could
stay with this particular team, they
feel that their place is to remain
with tee ball. And while there may
or may not be a certain set of rules
that sponsors around the area follow, the Vitas and the Blue Jays
have set a new standard as to how
an ordinary problem can turn into
an extraordinary season.
JULY 10, 2006
Sports Shorts
21
PLAY BY PLAY
Area players picked as arena All-Stars
McHugh were the recipients of
college scholarships presented
by Valley AFC Soccer Club and
Elderberry’s on June 8. Montouri,
who has played with VAFC five
years, will attend UNC-Asheville.
McHugh, a six-year veteran of
the program, will attend George
Washington University.
gree in psychology and has completed graduate studies in gerontology, both at Virginia Tech. She
is certified by the Aerobics and
Fitness Association of America.
Robarge lands position
Dennis Robarge, former president of the Roanoke Dazzle, has
accepted a position as a sales representative in the benefits department with HSH Insurance in Salem.
Robarge, who worked for the
NBA D-League the past five years,
learned in May that the NBA was
closing its Roanoke franchise due
to attendance issues. Robarge
has worked more than 20 years in
sports management, including a
stint as assistant general manager
of the Salem Avalanche baseball
team. He wanted to stay in the
Roanoke Valley because of family
and professional ties.
As the American Indoor Football League, an arena football
league that serves mid-sized markets, winds down its season, several players with local ties have
been named to the league’s ProStars Team.
Huntington Heroes Jamus Martin and Marcus Hairston, both
products of former Martinsville
coach Taylor Edwards’ program,
were Northern Division defensive
line honorees with Martin getting
a first-team nod and Hairston being named to the second team.
As a senior, Hairston earned firstteam all-state honors (Group AA)
for the Martinsville Bulldogs as a
running back while Martin was
named all-state on both offense
and defense. Both players also
starred for Marshall University.
From the Southern Division
ProStars, the Richmond Bandits
placed several players with local
connections on the squad. Former
Virginia State University receiver
Damon “Redd” Thompson, the
second-leading career Division II
wide receiver, was awarded a spot
on the first team. Former Virginia
Tech players Lawrence Lewis (defensive line) and Chris Segaar
(kicker) also represented the
Bandits on the first team. On the
South’s second team, quarterback
Robbie Jenkins (Bridgewater), receiver Brian Still (Virginia Tech),
running back Brandon Isaiah
(Virginia), defensive end Alfred
Dubois (Hampton) and linebacker
Tim Jones (Henrico High School)
also represented the Bandits.
— Todd Marcum
Kristina Montouri and Keith
Nancy Greene has been named
wellness coordinator at the Salem
Family YMCA, directing group fitness classes and serving as a personal trainer.
Greene comes to the Salem
Family Y from New Fitness, a private health club where she taught
classes for 10 years and coordinated the group exercise program.
She holds an undergraduate de-
From Page 22
for the past two seasons as well.
The Roanoke Lady Hawks are
his special pride and joy; they finished 13th out of 80 teams in their
age group last year (currently 12
and under) and went back to the
nationals this season in late June
with a 40-6 record.
At a recent practice Taylor
sounded more like a football
coach, pushing his young players
hard but also offering encouragement. One mother looking on said
that Taylor is very supportive of
his players — some of whom don’t
have father figures in their daily
lives — during cookouts, swim
outings, and the like. “He’s got
people waiting in line,” says Mitzi
Mitchell, whose daughter, Kenzie, is a point guard for the Lady
Hawks.
Taylor’s club has often had to
play up to another age level in order to find formidable opposition.
“Our team is very competitive,” he
says proudly. During that recent
he changed positions and accupractice at Booker T. Washingmulated enough time in the NFL
ton, he advised the Lady Hawks to
to qualify for a pension, Taylor betake care of their
lieves he has an
bodies, eat well,
inspiring story to
get enough sleep
tell young people
and while on the
in the very same
basketball court,
area where he
“want to do the
grew up.
dirty stuff.” GetThe Shannon
ting players to
Taylor Next Level
the next level is
Football Camp
one goal and Tayfor youth will be
lor claims high
held July 27-29.
school coaches
Antwan Harris
“are foaming at
and
Maurice
the mouth to get
Anderson from
our girls.”
the Patriots and
From an enviCornell Brown
ronment grow(Virginia Tech,
ing up where he
Baltimore Raoften witnessed
vens) are special
crime on the
guest counselors.
street near his Taylor envisions an expanded
Call (540) 344home, to a foot- Family Center that will inspire
9622 for inforball career where neighborhood youth
mation.
ing hard after a recent practice;
Taylor calls her “Ben Wallace —
explosive, fast and quick” on the
defensive end.
Now the YMCA Family Center has his attention and Taylor
is excited about its potential. He
envisions a three-story building
perhaps, with floors dedicated to
different activities and programs
that inspire neighborhood youth.
Taylor wants to motivate, “shedding the light” he calls it, trying
to explain the discipline it takes to
get to the next level. He is in charge
of youth sports, the summer day
camp and after school activities as
program director.
Before joining the Y, Taylor
taught for a year in Roanoke City
schools and then worked with
Roanoke County’s court services
unit. Taylor has been an assistant
football coach at William Fleming
Ashley Plantation golf pro Chip
Sullivan has once again qualified
to play in the PGA Championship. Sullivan, the nation’s highest-finishing club pro in the 2004
PGA (tied for 31st), will compete at
the Medinah Country Club (near
Chicago) the third weekend of August.
Sullivan carded a 72-hole total
of 287 (1 under par) to tie for 16th
place at the PGA National Professional Championship which
concluded June 25 at Atunyote
Golf Club in Kentucky. Sullivan
chipped in from 25 yards out for a
birdie on the second playoff hole
to claim his spot and take home a
paycheck of $5,739. The top 20 finishers at Atunyote advance.
Valley AFC scholarships
The Roanoke Star Soccer Club
hired Chris Penton as its assistant
director of coaching in late May.
Penton has 14 years of coaching
experience in Louisiana. In 200405, he worked at the New Orleans
Soccer Academy with Graham
Maclean, now the Star’s director
of coaching.
Penton’s “enthusiasm, knowledge, charisma, loyalty and discipline are things the Roanoke Star
family will love and appreciate,”
Maclean said. Penton was an alldistrict, all-metro and all-state soccer player for Slidell High School,
which captured state championships in 1986, ’88 and ’89.
Wellness coordinator
Bill Turner
Taylor
Sullivan makes PGA
Star hires Penton
First Tee
representatives
Thirteen-year-olds Tyler Welch
of Salem and Cole Willard of Vinton were selected to attend The
First Tee National Life Skills Academy in Richmond June 24-30. They
were among 52 teenagers chosen
to participate in the national academy.
The purpose of the academy is
to provide participants with character education and leadership
instruction. Workshops include
career exploration seminars and
golf clinics.
22
PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
LEGENDS OF THE GAMES
A new field of play for Shannon Taylor
by Gene Marrano
Gene Marrano
S
HANNON TAYLOR SAYS HE
was blessed to have played
parts of four NFL seasons
with San Diego, Baltimore and
Jacksonville, even if the former
Patrick Henry
and Universi- Legends of
ty of Virginia the Games
standout has
Twenty-second in a Series
been out of
the game since 2003. After all, that
was enough time to qualify for the
comfortable National Football
League retirement plan, thank
you, and it also gave him the flexibility to move on to other pursuits.
Taylor, who says he had offers
to attend NFL training camps and
others from the Canadian Football
League over the past few seasons,
is now program director at the
YMCA Family Branch on Orange
Avenue, a venerable facility that
could be in for a dramatic facelift
in the near future.
As someone who grew up in
the rough-and-tumble Lansdowne projects — his description
— Taylor also wants to provide an
attractive venue for young people
from inner-city neighborhoods in
Gainsboro and Northwest Roanoke.
The subject of perceived lack
of activities for the youth of Roanoke has come up again in the
recent debate about gangs in the
Star City. Taylor was quietly hired
several months by YMCA of Roanoke Valley, which purchased
the Family Center late last year
after previously leasing the facility. That transaction will allow for
expansion — a larger building and
renovations to the existing brick
structure, which features a modest amount of exercise equipment
Shannon Taylor enjoys sharing the benefits of his
playing experience with the AAU Lady Hawks
and a large hall used for a variety
of classes.
Michael Smith came on board
a year ago as Family Branch director; now enter Shannon Taylor: ex-Patrick Henry Patriots
quarterback, member of the 1992
PH state championship basketball team under the direction of
coach Woody Deans, whom Taylor calls a mentor. One of Taylor’s
basketball teammates was Curtis
Staples, who also went on to the
University of Virginia and established the NCAA career record for
3-pointers. The two are partners
in a youth recreation project they
are working on in Forest. Taylor
played football for the University
of Virginia as a linebacker before
moving on to an NFL career largely spent as a reserve and special
teams player.
At UVa, he would have been
mired behind the likes of Mike
Groh and Aaron Brooks at quarterback. “I had always been a quarterback, but I had a big frame and
�����������
was the best
athlete in my
class. I felt like
I could make
the transition
[to other positions].” ThenUVa
head
coach George
Welsh
even
wanted
him
to try running back at one point
when fellow Roanoker Tiki Barber was the only healthy player at
that position, but Taylor instead
joined Jamie Sharper and company on defense. “I felt good about
the decision in my last year when I
got drafted by the Chargers [in the
sixth round].” Even now at 31, the
former linebacker looks close to
his 6’3”, 247-lb. playing days.
With San Diego and in Baltimore he was associated with star
linebackers such as Junior Seau
and Ray Lewis. He remembers
Chargers quarterback bust Ryan
Leaf as not being a “people person
— and [he] wasn’t very coachable.”
His San Diego team won a single
game in 2000; meanwhile, his UVa
buddy Antwan Harris was drafted
by New England and won two Super Bowl Rings in his four seasons
there. “It was tough dealing with
it,” admits Taylor, who was gently
needled by Harris, now retired.
Three years and several injuries
later, Taylor was through with the
NFL. “People look at me and say
[I] can still play but the game gets
younger and younger every year.”
A strong outing
against the Tennessee Titans
and a special
teams
game
MVP
award
while with the
Ravens
are
special memories, as is sacking Pittsburgh
Steelers quarterback Kordell
Stewart twice
in a contest his
mother attended.
Taylor
alBill Turner
ways kept in
touch with Roanoke through a
summer youth football camp he
runs and in the past few years he
has also led the Lady Hawks AAU
basketball team to the nationals
each summer. The team features
one of his two children (Ataijah),
along with Sarah Williams, niece
of former VMI standouts Damon
and Ramon Williams, Miranda
Smith (he compares her to Kevin
Garnett) and a host of other talented girls.
“He’s a good coach,” says Kerri
“Da Beast” Belcher, still breathSee TAYLOR, Page 21
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JULY 10, 2006
PLAY BY PLAY
How my work found its way to Canton
T
HERE ARE JUST CERTAIN
sets of words that make a
man’s ears perk up.
“I’m buying.”
by Mike
“Play ball.”
Ashley
“Open bar.”
“Start your engines.”
“You want fries with that?”
“Road trip.”
The road trip is a time-honored tradition among men from the time
of Lewis & Clark to the time of Martin & Lewis and beyond. I generally
enjoy an annual spring pilgrimage with my homies from the greater Roanoke Valley, and this year our destination was a quick hit-and-git excursion to Cleveland on a sports-themed sojourn.
I must say vacationing in Cleveland was met with a mild response from
those we informed, including wives and various significant others. Of
course, that’s part of the point of a guys’ road trip. You often have to strategically plan so that your wives don’t want to go.
So taking in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in Cleveland and an Indians game in Jacobs Field in late
May fell into that category.
And I love my wife but let’s just say paying homage to Bronko Nagurski’s leather helmet doesn’t hold the same level of meaning for her that
it does for me. Plus I could find about five displays and video replays in
Canton involving Roger Staubach’s “Hail Mary” pass to Drew Pearson
to beat the Vikings in 1975, just to skewer Ken Brickey, the smartest man
in Roanoke and, as you might have guessed, a long-suffering Vikes’ fan.
Women really don’t understand the subtle art of taunting friends. And
again, that’s not a knock on them — viva la difference, I say — but all that
repressed immature testosterone is better stored up and let loose once a
year or so on the guy’s trip.
And as with most guys’ trips, we could have used a little more planning. There’s a reason people don’t vacation on the banks of Lake Erie in
May. Suffice to say my packed assortment of Hawaiian shirts and shorts
weren’t really what I needed in the face of Ohio’s May weather, best as I
can tell, just a notch or two above dead of winter. I had a windbreaker and
I needed a parka.
I still enjoyed the Indians-Pirates game we saw, great seats 20 rows off
home plate. Jacobs Field is a fine venue of that anti-cookie-cutter-stadium trend of the last two decades — so much of a trend that those type of
ballparks (Jacobs, Camden Yards, etc.) are all starting to look alike to me.
Won’t it be funny in 20 years when the new “retro” ballparks all look like
the big oval structures like Riverfront Stadium and Three Rivers?
I kept score on my scorecard until I spilled nacho cheese on it. I can’t
remember the final score now but I can tell you Pittsburgh led 7-4 in the
fifth inning. Jason Bay hit a couple of home runs and I was one of the first
5,000 fans in the park so I got a Larry Doby collectable figurine. Not a
“Dobie Gillis” figurine as my pal Jimmy Bain kept saying, just to see how
long it would take me to scream at him about it.
Three innings, for those of you keeping score at home.
I imagine I was also one of the few out-of-town fans miffed that I ar-
SIDELINES
����������
23
rived too late to an outside-the-stadium festival that included an autograph-signing session with such Indian past notables as Bob Feller, Len
Barker and Rick Manning. I say that because I’m sure I’m the only one
that would have been most excited about meeting Manning, a centerfielder from the 1970s known as one of baseball’s top defensive outfielders that decade.
He was a “Fielding (3)” in my APBA baseball dice game (the highest
rating) and he was the guy I most compared myself to back then as one of
the few good-field, no-hit slow-pitch softball centerfielders of my generation. As I thought about it, though, exactly how would I have approached
Mr. Manning to make that comparison?
Maybe we could have just talked about his teammate Oscar Gamble’s
hair. (It was a massive Afro that made his cap look like it was levitating
above his head. It’s one of my all-time favorite baseball cards, that tiny
little helmet atop that ’fro. Come to think of it, I had an Afro then, too.)
I loved the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
too, but I have to say the Pro Football
Hall was more of a thrill for me. I guess I
had been storing up my mental football
highlight reel since the ’60s, and I always
dreamed of going to Canton to see that
silly-shaped building. I think it’s supposed
to be a football jutting out of the circular
building in front but it always looked more
like a squash or banana to me.
The Pro Football Hall of
I remember having one of those View
Fame’s unique architecture
Masters where you put the cardboard slide
with a miniature color picture on it in the View Master and it showed up
in 3-D when you looked through the binocular-like gizmo. I remember
the Hall of Fame logo was on all the slides and well, when you’re a kid, it
seemed like it was the Land of Oz or some mythical faraway place where
all your heroes came to life.
I walked through, checking out the displays. I thought I’d be bored by
the room full of the inductees’ busts. Our pal Mike Shaver said the busts
were too small, but he always says that.
I wasn’t bored because you make a point to look for all your favorite
players and there’s access to portable displays where you can call up
highlights. We ended up calling up nearly all the highlights of great running backs and linebackers, enjoying the dazzling runs and big hits the
most.
Well, and that Drew Pearson catch. Sorry, Brick.
So we’re herded out of the building after watching a couple of short
NFL Films offerings and we land in the gift shop. Funny how that works,
huh?
Anyway, there it was on the store bookshelf of about 40 titles based on
the lives of Hall of Fame inductees…the 2002 Commemorative Collector’s
Edition Emmitt Smith. It’s a coffee-table book I penned a chapter for along
with big-time pro sports author Roland Lazenby.
Only it’s got my name on the cover, too. So there you have it. Where’s
the View Master? I’m in the flippin’ Pro Football Hall of Fame.
I’m working on my induction speech now.
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PLAY BY PLAY
JULY 10, 2006
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