Vol. 6, No. 7, April 12, 2010 Vol. 6, No. 7, April 12, 2010
Transcription
Vol. 6, No. 7, April 12, 2010 Vol. 6, No. 7, April 12, 2010
Vol. 6, No. 7, April 12, 2010 2 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 IMPORTS e g a s s e m t n a t r o p An im m o r f s r e m o t s u c r u o to … s t r o p m I i d a m r a Dave S ve economic conditions ha e rs ve ad at th d ar he ly already partment. By now, you’ve probab rmadi Imports Sales De Sa ve Da se clo to in the us prompted n to make. I have been io cis de sy ea an t no as this w cently have experienced re til Let me assure you that un d an s ar ye 30 r more than o, our automobile business fo p in Salem five years ag hi rs ale de is th ed en op s, e top-of-the-line vehicle much success. When w ith w s er m sto cu r ou provide osphere that primary goals were to able service and an atm cc pe im g, in nc na fi d of the competitive pricing an employees. For much d an s er m sto cu th bo t for met and exceeded. Bu en was extremely pleasant be ve ha als go e es business, th financing time we have been in strictions have limited re d an ns io lat gu re ntinue g just not practical to co sadly, tightened bankin it’s ’s at th so h uc m so ably — the word now, opportunities consider the last sentence is on in is as ph em e Th w. in business right no cision. ssarily a permanent de Road because this is not nece be leasing our Franklin ill w I . ve ha ay m u yo erns purchased from Let me allay a few conc ue to service vehicles in nt co ill w at th s at your es property to a busin ps. This will ensure th hi rs ale de r ca r he ot rvice d an and that most of our se ly Dave Sarmadi Imports er op pr led nd ha be eds will vehicle maintenance ne ployment. em ll will technicians will retain t some rest — but I sti ge to off e tim e m so d king o will be developing an als Personally, I will be ta I s. ed ne r ca eir th ds with oves, furnish family and frien s on Leesville Lake. When the economy impr tie er selling real estate prop siness. ck in the automobile bu us the you very well see me ba ut Virginia for making ho ug ro th m fro s er m any custo e have operated I want to thank our m ur years in a row as w fo ia in rg Vi in p hi ordinary. rs pport have been extra No. 1 Mitsubishi deale su d an p hi ds en fri ur oke. Yo field. from Salem and Roan tion on a new playing cia so as d ue in nt co r iles I look forward to ou erns related to automob nc co y an ve ha u yo y cell: ld In the meantime, shou to call me directly on m e at sit he t no do p, hi alers purchased from our de (540) 293-4620. Sincerely, ������������ �������������� ������������ ����������� IMPORTS ������������������ ����������������� ������������ PLAYMAKER APRIL 12, 2010 3 PLAY BY PLAY After turning pro, J.J. Redick (left) has returned to Cave Spring to assist high school coach Billy Hicks with summer camp Spotlight J.J. Redick Bill Turner T reer, about half of his collegiate total at Duke, where he was named NCAA Player of the Year in 2006. This season, Redick’s playing time has increased to more than 22 minutes per game, and his offensive numbers have also improved significantly. Art Parakhouski Photo courtesy of the Orlando Magic he former Cave Spring High School and Duke University basketball star played his NBA career game March 28 in an Orlando Magic 103-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Redick, who is also mentioned in columns beginning on pages 5 and 6 of this issue, scored 23 points, handed out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds in 46 minutes of action. He was playing in place of the injured Vince Carter. Redick is averaging 9.5 ppg and 1.8 apg in his fourth NBA season. He has made 229 3-pointers in his NBA ca- T Playbook Page 15 Opinions Todd Marcum ........................................... 4 Mike Stevens ........................................... 5 John A. Montgomery ............................ 7 Mike Ashley ............................................ 19 Page 10 Articles Page’s Pain: How Does a Proven Coach Go 6-20? .........................10 Both Sides Now: A look at BRD Pitching Tandems .........................12 Sports 101: Teaching Students the Business Side .........................13 Local Senior Tour Fully Blossoms in Eighth Season ......................14 A Familiar Face Returns to Salem Baseball.....................................15 Bill Turner Christian Moody ..................................... 6 he 6-11 Radford University senior center, cover subject of the Feb. 15 issue of Play by Play, was named to the Associated Press honorable mention All-American team released in late March. He also made the team last year. Parakhouski ranked among the nation’s leaders in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage. The Belarus native played in the Reese’s College Senior AllStar game April 2 in Indianapolis and scored eight points and had seven rebounds in 15 minutes of play. For the second consecutive year, he was named Big South Conference player of the year. Photo courtesy of Radford University Page 12 Extras Playmakers ..............................3 Natural Health Tip .................7 Ask A Ref ..................................8 Danny Cruff Snapshots of the Season ......9 Sports Shorts .........................16 From the Bookshelf .............18 Sponsored by: 4 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 Final bell sounds for wrestling legend IN MY OPINION by Todd Marcum nadian Tag Team championship. Operating out of Calgary for six years, the Scotts competed briefly in the Carolinas in 1957 and by the early ‘60s were fixtures on the Dixie grappling circuit. In 1959, the Petersburg Progress-Index described young Sandy as “a brilliant offensive wrestler. His aerial attacks are devastating, with solid flying tackles, vice-like head scissors and fast dropkicks.” The pair won NWA tag team championships several times and would go on to win championships on three continents. Sandy’s travelogue included Japan, Australia and Europe, but the South remained his home base. The Flying Scotts were a fixture for legendary promoter Jim Crockett’s wrestling cards, feuding with stars like The Minnesota Wrecking Crew and The Anderson Brothers, and headlining sold-out shows in such cities as Greensboro, Norfolk and Atlanta. In stark contrast to today’s made-for-television professional Players in this Issue Publisher/Editor Graphic Designer Contributors John A. Montgomery Donna Earwood Mike Ashley Rod Carter Danny Cruff Donald Earwood Tommy Firebaugh David Helmer Brian Hoffman Sam Lazzaro Chris Manning Todd Marcum Gene Marrano Joyce Montgomery Christian Moody Mike Stevens Bill Turner P.O. Box 3285, Roanoke, VA 24015 (540) 761-6751 • E-mail: [email protected] On the Web: www.playbyplayonline.net ©Copyright 2010. 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 May 10 issue is April 26. wrestling product, the stars of the the extent of his colorful life, thouday took pride in playing to a full sands of wrestling fans mourned house. The Scotts were part of one his passing and dozens of Internet of the most infamous incidents reports mourned his death. But of in the colorful sport’s history, the all of these, perhaps the best meaRichmond Fairgrounds Riot. The Flying Scotts’ feud with “heels” Boris Malenko and Bob Orton had packed in several consecutive sellouts culminating in a showdown at the Fairgrounds. After the Scotts had won the match, Malenko charged Sandy from behind and slammed him into a ring post. An angry crowd stormed the ring. Malenko was stabbed and Orton’s head was split open by the fans. In the end, Richmond’s finest were called in to restore order. After a career inside the ring that spanned nearly two decades, Sandy became an executive for Jim Crockett Promotions, which would eventually be purchased by Ted Turn- Sandy Scott and his wife Sandra were honer and renamed World ored by the NWA in Charlotte in 2008 Championship Wrestling. Sandy played nearly every role in sure of the man…a man who stood the business as a television anvery tall indeed…was this paranouncer, executive, booker and graph from his obituary which appromoter. He eventually settled in peared in The Roanoke Times: Roanoke and oversaw many of the Sandy Scott was not only a wonregion’s wrestling cards. derful husband, an amazing father, Bob Caudle, the longtime voice and an incredible grandfather, but of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling who also a man of wisdom, strength, worked with Sandy on TV and was and courage. He was an elite athone of three eulogists at his funerlete as well as a remarkable menal in Roanoke, recalled the transtor. He pursued his dreams and planted Canadian. was very successful. He was a man “He was such a clean-cut guy of simple pleasures. Most of all, he and a down-to-earth honest guy,” was a powerful fighter, not only in says Caudle. “He had a great sense the ring, but with his tremendous of humor and he was a terrific battle with pancreatic cancer. His storyteller.” unprecedented legend will continue In the 1990s, Sandy was disto carry on and his fight and tenacmayed at the ultimate fate of ity will touch many others and their World Championship Wrestling strength to battle cancer. and watched as the “suits” in AtPersonally, I must admit to being lanta mismanaged the company a fan of “old-school” wrestling... on its road to ruin. After the WCW circa Mr. Wrestling II, Austin Idol fiasco, Sandy was one of the drivand Harley Race. One thing I loved ing forces behind Smoky Mounas I researched this piece, reading tain Wrestling, the last of the old articles about Sandy and interold-school promotions. He would views with him, is that I learned still lend a hand at local wrestling that Sandy never broke character shows even after his retirement, or seemed to betray the trust that because it was just something the is part of the relationship between man loved. In 2008, Scott was inthe wrestler and the wrestling fan. ducted into the NWA Wrestling As a fan, you have to suspend your Legends Hall of Heroes. cynical nature and just enjoy the Sandy Scott passed after a battrip. tle with pancreatic cancer. While Sandy took pride in taking wresmany close friends didn’t know tling fans on the magical ride. Photo courtesy of NWALegends.com L EGENDS WALK AMONG US. Sadly, we often don’t realize it until it’s too late. You may have known Sandy Scott. He may have been a neighbor…the nice gentleman you saw at the store. But many of his friends did not know the full extent of his wrestling fame before his untimely death March 11. He was 75. “He was unassuming,” says Play by Play publisher John Montgomery, who attended Westhampton Christian Church with Sandy. “I had no idea he was a professional wrestler until he passed away and I read his obituary. He was always very sensitive, very kind…not the kind of image you’d automatically associate with a tough guy in the ring.” Born Angus Mackay Scott in Hamilton, Ontario, Sandy broke into professional wrestling in 1954, teaming with his brother George to form The Flying Scotts. In an era when wrestling was mostly defined by brute force, the Scotts introduced a crowd-pleasing, high-flying approach that featured dropkicks and flying head scissors. The tag team was so popular that a western Canada Stampede Wrestling event showcasing the brothers was forced to turn away 6,000 paying fans. Within months, The Flying Scotts captured the Ca- APRIL 12, 2010 5 PLAY BY PLAY Enjoying some R&R at my Magical Kingdom Mike Stevens photos F INALLY! NO MORE FROST on the windshield, no more snow up to my knees and no more ice skating just to get to the mailbox. Spring is here and not a moment too soon. I’m not a big cold weather fan during relatively mild conditions, but this year, Old Man Winter’s grip around my neck was so tight that it forced me to actually watch an entire NBA game from start to fi nish. Now for the sake of this column, I must clarify that I watched the game in person rather than on TV. While the seemingly endless winter weather may have made me a little stir crazy, I certainly wasn’t delusional enough to subject myself to the anguish of viewing an entire regular season NBA game from the couch. Instead, I hopped in the family SUV with my wife, Sharon, and son, Bryan, who was on spring break from James Madison, and headed south to Orlando to mooch off of my wife’s brother, Dean, and our sister-in-law, Wendy, for a few days. They live in a gated community just up the street from Tiger Woods’ Isleworth neighborhood. LPGA legend Jan Stephenson lives there along with Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson and a host of other folks who spend more on annual lawn care than I make in a year. Shaquille O’Neal’s mom also has a sprawling mansion situated on the lakeshore just before you enter my brother-in-law’s residential area, but as we were making our way through the Friday afternoon rush-hour traffic on Interstate 4 and heading to our final exit, I informed my son that her home no longer was the prime photo-op for tourists heading through Windermere. I told him to brace himself because we were about to pass Florida’s newest tourist attraction — the now infamous Perkins Restaurant where Tiger evidently left more than a tip for his waitress. Believe it or not, we didn’t drive all the way to Orlando to be served pancakes by a mistress — my wife made sure of that. Rather, the focus of our trip was to watch the Orlando Magic battle the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals. I covered a number of Hornets’ games and practices back when Dell Curry and George Lynch were part of the Charlotte franchise, but the last time I attended an NBA game as a fan was way back in the 1970s when Elvin Hayes was starring for the Washington Bullets. Back then I am pretty sure that they used to pipe the national anthem into the Capital Centre through a Mont gomer y Ward 8-track tape player, but for the M a g i c -L a kers game, they brought in national recording artist Mike’s son Bryan Hanger (left) and brother-inSister Hazel law Dean Kurtz settle into their center-court to blast out an seats at the March 7 Orlando Magic game which a capella vergave them a great view of numerous celebrities sion of the anthem that even had Kobe Bryant clapping. The presence of Bryant, Dwight Howard and the ever-imposing Phil Jackson left no doubt that this was a heavyweight NBA battle, but if there hadn’t been a roof on the Amway Arena, we could have had some kind of fantastic pitching duel. New York Yankees stars C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte were situated on the front row at one end of the floor See STEVENS, Page 8 Have everything but the playbook at your fingertips. With U.S. Cellular’s high-speed nationwide network, you can surf the web for the latest stats, share Pix from the game and even watch highlights – all from your wireless phone. Things we want you to know: Mobile Broadband on 3G Network only available with select handsets and in select markets. ©2010 U.S. Cellular ‘Chateau Relaxo’ in Orlando offered a pool and hot tub 6 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 State champions share many similarities A Brian Hoffman Brian Hoffman Bill Turner RECENT RED-LETTER DAY not sure if the greater saw the Knights crowned as slight is the VHSL masters of their realms. Satgetting it wrong, or a urday, March 13, the Siegel Center local sportswriter not in Richmond witnessed two Roacatching the mistake. noke-area schools hoisting state And besides, perhaps championship trophies in their “Good” was a Freudrespective divisions of boys’ basian slip. ketball. Either way, Goad’s The geography was not the only thing these teams had in common. name is known to Both teams, Cave many now. He’s been Spring and James River to the mountaintop. high schools, are known The main goal of a as the Knights. Both coach is to win a title wear red and black. And and turn out excellent both are testaments to young people. Goad the value of senior leadand James River can ership and teamwork. claim both. James River won the What the team of Group A Division 2 seniors will have, as crown with five seniors they go their sepaon the court. That’s it. rate ways in life, is Five guys. Not a sinthe knowledge that gle substitute entered they were part of the game in the state something truly spechampionship game cial. The glory on against Buckingham the court was shortCounty. They didn’t lived. The medal cerCave Spring’s Josh Henderson was dominant in need to. James River emony lasted only a the state semifinals with 31 points and 22 replayed a zone defense few minutes. Within bounds. He was named AA player of the year that defended the passa few days after the ing lanes and forced game the parades were over, the rally at the school was over and the troshooters outside, so foul phy case was rearranged. But what those guys felt will be with them for trouble was rarely an isthe rest of their lives. sue. The Knights of BuA couple hours before Goad and James River players felt the elation chanan were whistled of winning a state title, Cave Spring coach Billy Hicks foreshadowed for one lone foul in the their experience while telling of a message he received from former Cave first half. Spring star J.J. Redick. The five starters had Redick sent Hicks a message to pass on to his team, saying that while been with each other as Redick has been part of a conference champion in the NBA and played a group for a long time. for a title, been to the NCAA Final Four and won ACC championships, They knew each other’s he never felt as good as he did when he won the 2002 state championship moves on with a team made up of his best friends. the court, The James River players now know exactly James River point guard Ethan Humphries but they what Redick meant, The current crop of Cave was named Group A player of the year were also a Spring Knights know as well. team off the court. They were a team in school, in the comCave Spring dressed 12 seniors on this year’s munity. They are guys who have grown up together and been team, a squad that won the state title a year ago. a part of each other’s lives for as long as they remember. In fact, the Knights beat the same team, BrunsIt’s fitting they went out on top. The team was given a parade wick, in last year’s Group AA Division 3 final. in downtown Buchanan the next day. Why not? Buchanan Poor Brunswick, the team that defeated Cave has waited for this day a long time. Spring for the state title in 2003, has lost four Coach Mike Goad told reporters in the postgame press straight championship games, but in the postconference of a Buchanan business owner who said he realgame press conference, head coach Bryant ized a retail store needed to be open to make money, but he Stith showed himself to be a man of class and had waited 58 years to see the Knights win a state basketball character. Oddly enough, Stith said his team title, and, by golly, he was going to close the store and be in played the entire season looking forward to just Richmond for the game. one team, Cave Spring. James River has a strong history as a basketball power, but Hicks said he didn’t look to Brunswick for a the Knights might be the best-kept secret in the region when second before the Bulldogs beat Northside in it comes to that success. The Knights were 28-2 this year and the state semifinals. Hicks might have had the did not lose a game to a Group A school. This was the school’s better plan, but he was quick to point out that fourth trip to the state final four. Have they been overlooked, his team won because of chemistry. The seniors even in their own backyard? Goad thinks so, and he’s right. know each other. They are friends off the court The coach could rightfully claim a lack of respect when his and make the team as much a family as a group name was misspelled in The Roanoke Times following James of guys who wear the same uniform. River’s quarterfinal win over Honaker. I was the writer who Hicks said Brunswick was more athletic at all made that mistake, but I took his name right out of the Vir- James River coach Mike Goad has See MOODY, Page 8 ginia High School League program given to the press. I’m won 100 games in the last 4 years APRIL 12, 2010 PLAY BY PLAY Road warranty surpasses 100,000 miles W John A. Montgomery HEN JAMES TAYLOR REcorded “Walking Man” in 1974, he could have been foreshadowing the path of Roanoke County resident Bill Waters. Waters must be among the most prolific walkers in the Roanoke Valley. If there are others who can match his astonishing cumulative numbers, I’d like to know about them. Waters was captain of his Hampden-Sydney tennis team more than a half-century ago, but downplays his athletic talent. “I’m no great athlete,” he says dismissively. Waters, 72, does not overstate. The more you learn about Bill Waters, the more you are impressed. Politicians should copy him. When he was 40, Waters ran the Charlotte Marathon in 3:34, just a few minutes shy of the pace necessary to qualify for Boston. Big deal, he says. Lots of people run marathons faster. His best time in a 10K is 40:42. “That was like 30 years ago,” he scoffs. OK. Let’s try this one. Last month, Waters, who rarely misses a day of walking — no matter what — crossed the 100,000mile barrier. His warranty is still in effect. We’re talking the equivalent of four times around the circumference of the earth. In case you’re reaching for a calculator, it averages to be 10 miles a day, every day, for 27.5 years. Waters smiles. He is “kinda” proud of that one. Waters, who spent most of his formative years in the Tidewater and Richmond areas, battled asthma as a child. He speaks of being forced to run a few steps as a 12-year-old to avoid an approaching car. It came as a surprise when he realized that he was not out of Bill Waters follows most sports breath. This was a big day. The disease closely, although he downgradually disappeared. plays his level of expertise Waters played for Thomas Jefferson High School’s tennis team in the mid-1950s, a squad that put together a string of seven consecutive state titles extending on both sides of his enrollment. He played No. 1 during his sophomore and junior seasons at Hampden-Sydney, but Waters says the Tigers weren’t very good then. Over the next five years, Waters served a stint in the Army, worked as a probation officer in Richmond, got married and earned a master’s degree in social work at Richmond Professional Institute. A state job brought Waters and his wife, Donna, to Roanoke in 1965. They have lived in the same house for 45 years and are proud parents of four children and grandparents of five. Waters retired from the state department of youth and juvenile justice on his 54th birthday, and has “no regrets, whatsoever. I’d had it with bureaucracy,” he says. In their golden years, some people garden, some people travel, some people volunteer. Waters walks. Usually he goes out twice a day, five miles or so at a clip. Most of the walks follow routes surrounding his home in the Cave Spring neighborhood. As he is a member of the Kirk Family YMCA, many days find him getting in some mileage there, too. “You couldn’t do this if you had a job,” Waters says. Obviously, Waters qualifies as a fit individual. He stands about 5-8, weighs 180 pounds and maintains a healthy lifestyle. His percentage of body fat is low. He admits to possessing an obsessive-compulsive personality, and downplays his outside interests. “I’m not a big reader,” he says. I can attest, however, that he follows this publication. He seems to know the four-week production cycle better than I do, and he often picks up the new issue the day it comes out. He even seems to know which location will have it first. About a year ago, Waters wrote a letter to Play by Play. He recognized two Roanoke County boys’ high school basketball coaches, Billy Hicks and Billy Pope, as “the top two high school basketball coaches in the commonwealth.” Considering that Cave Spring’s Hicks won yet another 7 state title this winter (see the facing page) and Pope’s Northside team set a school record for consecutive wins before falling in the Group AA state tournament semifinals, it would seem that some of Waters’ observations are dead on. Part of what makes Waters’ athletic feat so impressive is that he has overcome a major bump in the road. Waters came to grips with his addiction to alcohol shortly before he retired, and part of his recovery program has included stepping up his walking. In addition to following local sports, Waters’ favorite teams outside of the immediate area are the Washington Redskins, the Atlanta Braves and the Duke University basketball team. “When I stopped drinking, they all made it to the pinnacle (although Atlanta lost in the World Series that year),” he says with a laugh. “If I’d known that would happen, I would have stopped drinking a lot sooner.” Waters maintains a detailed log of his walks dating to 1977. “I’m a fanatic for keeping records,” he says. During the decade of the 1990s, he averaged 10.6 miles a day. In the 2000s, he averaged 11.4. He explains that variance easily; he retired 21 months into the 1990s, which allowed more time for his hobby. A few days after he eclipsed the 100,000-mile barrier, I walked a couple of miles with Waters. His normal pace is fairly casual, about 18 minutes per mile. Walking 11.4 miles takes a 3¼-hour commitment. Timewise, it’s as if he plays 18 holes of golf every day. Distance-wise, it’s more like walking 36. It will come as no surprise to learn that Waters says he is not a deep thinker. But the opportunity to ponder is an attractive benefit of walking, he says. If you tell him the date of your birth, in a very short time he can tell you the day of the week, the result of putting into practice a program he has worked out in his head. With a fit body and a fit mind, Waters’ odometer has just turned over. He’s started the next hundred thousand miles. His tread seems to be wearing remarkably well. Natural Health Tip of the Month From Dr. Jeffrey Barker, DC, CCSP Are you a weekend warrior? Your enthusiasm for activity that you are not conditioned for can sometimes lead to injuries. To help limit this possibility... 1. Know your limits and listen to your body (do not fight through pain) 2. Drink lots of water to stay well-hydrated and eat quality foods to stay well fueled 3. Warm up, Cool down, and stretch both before and after your activity 4. Try not to do too many repetitive activities without breaks for recovery 5. If you overdo things, see your chiropractor, as they specialize in musculoskeletal type injuries Have a sports injury? Get a natural healing from a sports specialist! Dr. Jeffrey Barker, DC, CCSP, Former Treating Physician for US Decathlon Team ��� �������� Barker Chiropractic and Wellness Center 3260 Electric Road, Suite 502, (Next to Ruby Tuesday’s) Roanoke, VA 24018 • 540/400-0802 Stevens PLAY BY PLAY From Page 5 while softball sensation Jenny Finch was on the other. My high-rolling brother-in-law’s center-court seats gave us a perfect view of all of this celebrity starpower and they provided us with the ideal vantage point to break down the action on the floor. Of course, my main focus was on J.J. Redick (see page 3), and while he didn’t even score on this particular afternoon, it’s clear that his role on the team is far more important than it’s been in past years. J.J.’s attitude is amazing. The Cirque du Soleil strongmen entertained the He’s the first player to sold-out crowd during the game’s intermission greet his teammates and offer encrowd with their amazing feats of couragement as they come off the strength and balance were spellfloor at a timeout. Plus, he doesn’t binding and mind-boggling at the take himself too seriously, as evisame time. denced by his singing of the JourThe game itself couldn’t have ney classic, “Don’t Stop Believing,” been any better. It came down to in a promotion that aired on the a last-second shot by Kobe that JumboTron during the game. could have sent the game to overWe also noticed that Kobe is time. He missed, the Magic won even better in person than he is and we got out of our executive on TV and that Howard isn’t as parking spot in plenty of time to accomplished offensively as the beat the traffic out of downtown NBA hype machine would lead us Orlando. to believe. An hour before tip-off, The quick exit saved us a good Howard was working hard on his 40 minutes and got us back to drop-step moves with NBA Hallthe “Chateau Relaxo” in plenty of of-Famer and Orlando assistant time to enjoy the pool and the hot coach Patrick Ewing. The Magic tub before the sun set behind one can only hope some of Ewing’s of the manicured greens on the power moves and medium range adjacent Jack Nicklaus Signature jump-shooting prowess will rub Keene’s Pointe golf course. off on the Magic’s strong man as The day before, I got to experihe continues to develop. ence another priceless Florida moAnd speaking of strength, you ment when we visited Fleaworld. should have seen the halftime The world’s largest flea market, in show. Usually, two muscular men nearby Sanford, has more than with shaved heads wearing span1,700 vendors. It’s one of those dex will send me straight to the explaces where you can get a corn its, but the Cirque du Soleil strongdog, a velvet Elvis and a bikini men who entertained the sold-out wax under the same roof. The men thought this sliver of Americana was awesome, but my wife and sister-in-law decided to take a little more refined path and went to a private jewelry show just down the street from Tiger’s house. They didn’t see Tiger, but later we all saw a Sheltie named Faith riding on a raft in our own pool. I’m telling you, it was just like Disneyworld — only without all the lines….and a whole lot cheaper. A dog’s life: A Sheltie named Faith Man, I love family. rode a raft in the Orlando pool APRIL 12, 2010 Moody From Page 6 the Knights would be in trouble in four of the five, with only Vanderbilt-signee Josh Henderson havfive positions. If the game was five ing an advantage. But the game separate one-on-one match-ups, was played with seniors — both starters and subs — working in sync to hit the big shots when they were needed. Find the hot hand and make the plays. Fans who traveled to Richmond and watched both games might have felt a sense of déjà vu. Cave Spring opened an 11-point lead at the half, but scored only two points in the third quarter and found itself tied going into the final period. From there, the Knights rallied for the win. James River was up nine at the half, but also managed only a deuce in the third and was trailing by a point going into the final frame. Again, the Knights rallied. The pair of local teams brought home the hardware and set their names into the lore of basketball Cave Spring coach Billy Hicks has coached for years to come. in four state title games in the last 9 years Bill Turner 8 Ask A Ref In an effort to inform fans of the finer points of the rules of the games, Play by Play regularly publishes the feature, “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, a baseball question is asked of longtime veteran high school baseball umpire and member of the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame Tim Callahan. Q. I just learned of a rule that at the time of a pitch, all fielders must have at least one foot in fair territory. Other than a first baseman holding a runner there, I don’t know why a fielder wouldn’t be in fair territory, but what happens if a fielder is standing in foul territory and there is a pitch? Or what happens is the first baseman has both feet in foul territory and there is a pick-off attempt? Is that legal? A. Rule 1, Section 1, Article 4 of the NFHS Rules Book states: “At the time of the pitch, all fielders shall be on fair ground except the catcher who shall be in the catcher’s box. A fielder is in fair ground when at least one foot is touching fair ground. Penalty: Illegal pitch. If no runners are on base a ball is awarded to the batter. If runners are on base, a balk would be called.” No pitch is made; a balk is a dead ball call. In the case where the first baseman did not have one foot in fair ground and a pick-off was attempted, technically this is OK because a pick-off attempt is not a pitch. If the first baseman was positioned with both feet in foul ground with a runner on base and a pitch is made, it is a balk. APRIL 12, 2010 Snapshots of the season PLAY BY PLAY Brian Hoffman John Feinstein The celebrated sportswriter (front row, center), who has authored “Season on The Brink” and many other classic books, made an appearance on press row at the NCAA D-III Basketball Championships played at the Salem Civic Center in March. Feinstein filed a feature story for his home paper, The Washington Post. Brian Hoffman Fuzzy Minnix The current Roanoke County School Board member and former County Supervisor was spotted umpiring the Craig County-EastMont softball game in Newcastle March 23. Minnix, a former Cave Spring High School softball coach, is also a board member of Virginia Amateur Sports. Christian Moody Silver Whistle Award Shall We Dance? Cave Spring Middle School student Matty Doughty caught up with ESPN sideline reporter and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestant Erin Andrews at the ACC Basketball Tournament in Greensboro in early March. At the Blue Ridge Football Officials’ Clinic held in Salem March 6, Kip Johnson (immediate left) presented longtime NCAA football official and Roanoke resident Monty Williams with a distinguished service award. Dan Wooldridge was also honored in absentia. More than 180 high school and college football officials from five states were in attendance. Photo courtesy of Doug Doughty 9 Page’s Pain 10 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 What caused a proven coach to post a 6-20 record? by Mike Ashley Brian Hoffman photos P AGE MOIR HAS ALWAYS been a happy-go-lucky sort, a refreshing and somewhat unusual style in his line of work. Moir, coming from a lineage of coaches, including his father, Charlie, and his uncle, Sam, is the men’s head basketball coach at Roanoke College. Like most coaches, the younger Moir is intense during practice and when game time arrives, but he has always had that magical ability to step away from the game and enjoy his family and friends, and other aspects of what he truly considers a blessed life. Not all coaches master that ability. For Moir, his sunny outlook was a key ingredient in surviving this past stormy season. The Maroons were 6-20, and dropped out of contention in a stacked Old Do- Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon May 1, 2010 750M Swim • 20K Bike • 5K Run th 13 Annual SML Triathlon Date: Saturday, May 1, 2010 Location: Smith Mountain Lake State Park – Huddleston, Virginia Time: 9:00am To register or volunteer visit: www.CommonwealthGames.org open, and it’s likely Page Moir bleeds maroon. “We’ve got a great president (Michael Maxey) and (athletic director) Scott (Allison) is a fantastic boss,” says Moir, 50. “I like the people I work with. I like the custodians. I like the people in the registrar’s office. I like everybody I’m around. It’s a good place. It’s well run and I believe in what we’re doing.” And that’s why the 2009-10 season was so tough for Moir. The Maroons slumped to their worst record since 1976-77. Once the calendar turned to 2010, this season’s Maroons would win only two more games. Moir, who Roanoke coach Page Moir and his staff have has fi ve 20-win seasons blamed themselves rather than the players and another five years with 17 or more victories under his minion Athletic Conference race belt, was bloody but unbowed. shortly after league play began. Even now, he remains proud of Roanoke College ended the seahis program and looks forward to son on an 11-game losing streak in what the future holds. a conference chockfull of Top 20 “I’m not embarrassed by this programs and national contendteam,” he says. “I’m embarrassed ers, positions Moir and the Maby what happened this year under roons are used to enjoying themmy watch, and I want to make sure selves. it doesn’t happen again.” So how does Moir fi nd the silMarooned ver lining in 2009-10’s dark clouds It’s Thursday morning at the and turn his proud program back ODAC Tournament in the Salem around? And how did the comCivic Center. petitive coach handle his toughest The Roanoke College and season, one unlike any other he Lynchburg women’s teams are has ever experienced? just starting to warm up for the The Maroons suffered only two fi rst game of a four-day basketball losing seasons in Moir’s previous bacchanalia in the old barn of a 20 years, and his 357-208 record at building, albeit a very hoops-andthe school has already made him fan-friendly barn. There aren’t the winningest men’s basketball many fans in the seats but ODAC coach in Roanoke history. and City of Salem employees nearAnd that’s saying something at ly ring the court, readying for a 12Roanoke College, where the presgames-in-three-days barrage betigious coaching list includes his fore the two fi nals tip off Sunday. father and Ed Green, among other Page Moir appears on the floor, notables. Page was on the bench lugging computer equipment. It’s in 1972 as a precocious 12-yearsome machinery from his office old handing out towels and water that will allow the teams to quickbottles for his dad’s 1972 national ly copy their game fi lm onto DVD, championship team. a process that will make visiting His Roanoke College roots run coaches’ lives easier. It’s a small deep, certainly predating his hirtouch of hospitality and attention ing as head coach in 1989. Cut him APRIL 12, 2010 to detail that Salem has become noted for over the years, hosting so many championships. Moir is wearing sweats as he drops the hardware off at press row. “This is what you end up doing when you lose in the first round,” he says with a wry smile. The Maroons’ season ended with a tough 83-78 loss at Lynchburg two days earlier. Roanoke’s season is over but Moir would be pitching in to help out like this even if his team was still playing. The next day, when hearing a coach talking about some difficulty getting the team laundry done, Moir tells the visiting coach to drop the laundry at his office early the next day and he’ll do it for them and have it ready before they play. Welcome to Division III athletics. Moir isn’t one of those coaches who will air any dirty laundry about what happened to his team, but it’s apparent the Maroons lost a lot of talent from the previous season and the squad’s overall youth was an issue all year long. A year earlier, the Maroons were 19-7, third in the ODAC, winning at least 11 conference games for the third straight year and cracking the Division III Top 20. But Sa- 11 PLAY BY PLAY lem native Curtis Peery, who led the team with 18.4 points and 6.8 rebounds, graduated, as did gritty point guard Drew Gaeng. “Curtis Peery was a huge loss because he was a big man who could score,” explains Moir. “If you get him the ball, he was either going to get to the foul line or score.” Gaeng, who had paid his dues as a backup to another local product, Northside’s Keith Carter, emerged as a floor leader his senior season, and became one of Moir’s favorites. “I’ve had a good lineage of leaders at the point guard spot and Drew Gaeng was one of the best I’ve ever had,” says the coach. “He was a winner. He got the ball to the right place and he defended bigger than he was. He was quick enough and made all the right decisions.” In other words, Gaeng had become by his senior season, one of those players you just can’t replace. But the process at point guard became further complicated when returning junior Corey Poindexter, who had a knee injury end his season early in 2009, wasn’t able to get back on the court until this past October, just two weeks before official practice began. He never fully recovered, and thus junior Parrish Walker had to move Moir, 50, originally planned to coach until age 70 or 75, but now says 65 is a more realistic goal from his wing guard spot to the point as Moir and his staff brought freshman Kwasi Amponsah along slowly. Playing out of position, Walker fought the good fight, scoring 11.0 points and averaging a team-high 3.7 assists per game. Missing the consistent low-post scoring and with just one senior (Kendrick Chittock) in the rotation, the Maroons still won four of their first six games. “We started out playing hard, we had a couple of good wins early and played pretty good basketball,” says Moir. “But I think when we came back from Christmas we lost four games to teams we could have beaten and you could see the look on guys’ faces, ‘What’s happening here?’” The Maroons blew a doubledigit lead at Bridgewater, and confidence further waned. It didn’t help matters that the ODAC was loaded this year, three conference teams reaching the NCAA Division III Elite Eight, and two even returning to Salem for the Final Four. “The teams were that good,” Moir says. “This was an unforgiving league this year. We went to (Eastern) Mennonite, and shoot, I didn’t think we played that bad and we lost by 30.” Support Staff As the losses mounted and the players’ confidence ebbed, Moir tried to stay positive with the young team. He put some new things in the playbook. He took out some other things. See MOIR, Page 17 ���� ������������ �������� � ��������� ����������� � ���� Golf Club ������������������������ ��������������������� ������������������������������������� ����������������������������� ������������������� ����������������������� ������������������������������ Both Sides Now 12 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 Lefty-righty pitching combos bolster Northside, Byrd Bowles (whose name is remarkably similar to that of the new Salem Red Sox field manager Kevin Boles as well as the former Salem professional baseball club owner Kelvin Bowles) was taking his small frame and blowing away hitters with his mid-80s fastball and bulldog mentality on the mound. While Bowles didn’t match his teammate McMillan’s 2009 win-loss record, he gained every bit as much respect from his teammates, opposing players and college scouts. While these two teams were duo. While there may have been question marks in some positions ITCHING IS AT A PREMIUM within the Terrier lineup, it was in high school baseball in common knowledge that given the Roanoke Valley this year. Byrd’s aforementioned pitchers it Look no further than the Blue was going to be tough to compete Ridge District and you can arguwith the Terriers in their quest ably find the four best area pitchfor the 2010 BRD crown. But then ers on just two teams, Northside word made it to Vinton that the and William Byrd. dominant Botetourt lefthandThe Northside Vikings made a er Arnold was changing colors, run in 2009 at the Blue Ridge Distransferring to the green and gold trict title, but fell short in the semiof the Vikings. The winds started final game to the eventual tournato change, ever so slightly. ment winner, the William Byrd “We knew that changed things Terriers. This classic rematch fola little bit,” says Byrd’s McMillan. lowed an epic battle Bowles agrees. “Arfrom several weeks nold is a competiprior, when after tor and that makes nine innings, the Northside even game was tied 1-1 tougher now,” he and had to be called says. due to darkness and “We expect big finished later in the things,” says Northseason. side’s Cundiff, “esAt the forefront pecially now that of that masterpiece he’s here. It’ll be nice were two pitchers. to have some of the One was Trent Cunpressure off when diff from Northside, it comes to mound the tall, barreltime.” Arnold is hapchested righthander py to be on the same who was throwing From left: Northside’s Patrick Arnold and Trent Cundiff and side with his friend overpowering fast- William Byrd’s Kevin Bowles and Jacob McMillan provide their and Commonwealth balls and keeping respective BRD baseball teams with a potent 1-2 pitching punch Games teammate. the Terrier hitters off balance with fighting it out against Alleghany for “It’s definitely exciting coming an array of off-speed pitches. On BRD supremacy, lefty Patrick Arover; it’s a new beginning,” Arnold the other side, matching him pitch nold was toiling at Lord Botetourt, says. Arnold is familiar with some for pitch, was the Terriers’ Jacob struggling through a continuous of the other Vikings from the days McMillan, a cool-as-ice lefthandstring of well-pitched losses. of travel ball and is hopeful that er whose performance suddenly Fast forward to early in this everything will fall into place. had him being mentioned in the school year, when teams were As much hype is surrounding discussion of best pitcher in the gearing up for the spring and evthe lefty-righty combos in each of district. eryone was talking about how to their respective camps, the playMeanwhile, Byrd righty Kevin handle Byrd’s lefty-right pitching ers know they are being watched by Chris Manning Danny Cruff P and also recognize they share a similar situation with cross-town rivals. “We’ve been playing them since we were little,” Cundiff says. “Ever since then we’ve seen them every step of the way and I know it isn’t going to be an easy game when we play Byrd.” Arnold agrees, “I know Bowles and McMillan are fierce competitors and Byrd is always tough,” he says “It should be a great two or three games this year.” The respect goes both ways. Bowles and McMillan are quite aware that their counterparts are a huge obstacle on their way to a repeat of the district championship. “We already knew they [the Vikings] were going to be tough; when they got [Arnold] they became even tougher,” McMillan says. “It’s going to be a battle as we could see Trent one game and Patrick the next,” Bowles says. “Or we could even see them in the same game. That’s going to be really tough.” Baseball aficionados in the area, take note. If you ever wanted to see a Roanoke Valley high school version of John Smoltz and Tom Glavine versus Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, you just might have it this year. Whether the match-up is McMillan versus Arnold as a leftylefty, Bowles versus Cundiff as a righty-righty or a combination, be assured that you’re going to see four competitors, fighting it out for their teams, fighting it out for themselves and fighting it out to prove that they are the best pitching duo in the area. To play like a pro, you have to train like a pro � ������������� ��������������������� �������������������� ����������������� ������������������������������ ��������������������� ������������������������ ��������������������������� ���������������������� ������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� � Sports 101 APRIL 12, 2010 PLAY BY PLAY Sports, Entertainment and Recreation Marketing class gives students a glimpse at the business side [sold] passes went from [the previous year’s figure CLASS OFFERED of] 400 to 600 that year,” the past several says Morris. years in Roanoke The class has discussed County high schools sports licensing and the — Sports, Entertainment effect winning has on the and Recreation Marketability to sell branded ing — has become so merchandise. Witness popular at William Byrd Virginia Tech’s football that teacher Jill Morris success, says Morris, now teaches three secnoting that the Hokies’ tions a day. run to a national title Many of her stugame with Michael Vick dents are athletes at the in 2000 yielded record school, says Morris, a numbers. “[Students] former high school ten- Teacher Jill Morris and students Amber Cannaday and see that the success of a nis player and the wife of Nick Janowicz enjoy mixing sports and academics team affects economics,” Chris Morris, the athletMorris says. ic director at Hidden Valley High Byrd students, Luke Vance, is now Conversely, the missteps of a School and that school’s former studying athletic training at Radhighly visible athlete such as Tiboys’ basketball coach. ford University and just interned ger Woods, the “endorsements “I have 75 kids taking the class with a sports agency. and the risks of sponsoring these [now],” says Morris. Byrd is the Another Byrd alumnus, Evan athletes,” provides regular fodder only county high school that Massengill, is a George Mason for discussion. Marketing efforts has more than one section of the sports major that has returned to that piggyback on current sports class. speak to students in the class. activities — restaurant, grocery The sports and entertainment Sports, Entertainment and store and automobile promotional angle makes it conducive for stuRecreation Marketing students at campaigns tied to NCAA basketdents to learn about basic marketByrd — where the program is in its ball March Madness, for example ing principles, Morris says. Mareighth year — have also taken in — may have little to do with athketing students from an earlier era Baltimore Orioles games against letic competition, but “that’s gomight remember the 4 P’s: prodthe Boston Red Sox and New ing to draw the attention of people uct, place, price and promotion. York Yankees over the past few flipping the channels,” according “It makes it more interesting to years; they’ve toured Lowes Motor to Morris. them…when you’re thinking about Speedway and Bank of America Super Bowl commercials are how they use athletes to promote Stadium in Charlotte, and attenddissected and critiqued in class products,” she says. ed a Bobcats NBA game. after the big game. How much TV It doesn’t hurt the classes’ popHow the construction of downadvertisements cost during that ularity one bit that the curriculum town ballparks makes an ecotelecast are a topic as well. “We also includes field trips, such as nomic impact on those areas (e.g., also spent a [large] amount of time Sports Marketing Career Day with Camden Yards in Baltimore’s Inon the [recent Winter] Olympics,” the Washington Wizards (profesner Harbor) has also been a topic sional basketball), where students of study. Locally, the Salem Red learn about opportunities within Sox have assisted with stadium the fields of public relations and tours and explanatory sessions on promotions, meeting players and the process of how Major League taking in a game at the same time. Baseball hires front office personThe Wizards event attracts thounel. sands of students each year from Prior to the Martinsville NASvarious regions of the country. It is CAR event last month, Morris led part of the DECA program, an ina class discussion regarding the ternational association of marketeconomic impact of stock car racing students with which Roanoke ing — including detailed specifics County high schools are affiliated. regarding hotel reservations. In Morris also took her students skianother scenario during her tening at Massanutten two years ago, ure, students learned a bit about a Shenandoah Valley ski resort she telemarketing by promoting the often visited while growing up. sale of discount athletic passes One of Morris’s former William to parents of Byrd students. “Our by Gene Marrano Gene Marrano A 13 says Morris. “It was a huge year for sports.” Twelfth-grader Amber Cannaday is a competitive cheerleader at Byrd, which finished fourth in the Group AA state competition last fall. “I really like journalism and public relations, and I really like sports,” says Cannaday, who wants to work sports marketing into her college major. James Madison and Virginia Tech are the colleges at the top of her list. Cannaday especially likes the course’s interactive projects, such as one that simulated a ticket-selling operation. Nick Janowicz plays soccer, basketball and football at Byrd; the junior enjoys learning about “how sports teams make money and how sports are involved with the market. It makes me think about what’s going on behind [the scenes], how many people are involved.” Morris says that many cheerleaders, most members of the golf team and nearly all of the boys’ basketball players have taken the sports marketing class. A co-op alternative allows students to earn two credits instead of one by landing a part-time job in the sports or entertainment field. Students have found it challenging to find a job in the current economic climate but some have been hired by The Edge, Botetourt Athletic Club, Ole Monterey, Ashley Plantation and Roanoke County Parks and Recreation. Others work at Chuck E. Cheese, putting into practice what Morris terms the “entertainment aspect” of the class. “What we’re teaching in class, they should be able to go to work that weekend and apply it,” she says. For the veteran marketing teacher, who has a background in athletics, leading classes in Sports, Entertainment and Recreation Marketing has been a breath of fresh air. “I really like it,” Morris says. FORE! 14 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 Roanoke Senior Golf Tour reaches its cap T Photo courtesy of RVSGT HERE’S NOTHING LIKE getting together with friends for a round of golf. Make that 119 other friends, and be sure to play a round a month at different courses all over the area, and this is no ordinary golf outing. It’s a tour. For the eighth straight season, the Roanoke Valley Senior Golf Tour is taking to the fairways from Buena Vista to Draper to Forest to Smith Mountain Lake, with stops in the valley along the way. This year membership had to be capped because there is no way to accommodate more people. The field fills the course when the men come to play. The growth of the tour is some- thing founder John Hubbard never envisioned when he started it with 33 players in 2003. It was an outing to give retirees an organized time and place to meet for a round of golf with competition for prizes and pride. Hubbard says he thought the field might expand to as many as 90 to 100 players, but the committee running the tour now has done an exceptional job with it. Hubbard himself is not part of the leadership of the Senior Tour any more, but he’s still a force to be reckoned with on the course. A 3-handicapper, he won the tour title last season and took the trophy at the first event of this year, held March 23, at Ashley Plantation. On a bitter, blustery day, Hubbard carded a 72 on a day when most guys were RVSGT Tour Committee (front, from left): Joe Sailor, Steve Blades, Bob Poff, Tommy Firebaugh, Jim Lyons. Second row: Kenny Atkinson, Ken Kornegay, Frank Lang, Wally Adcox. Not pictured: Bruce Lupton Senior Tour Schedule April 20, Botetourt Country Club May 18, Hanging Rock Golf Club June 15, Draper Valley Golf Club July 20, Westlake Golf & Country Club Aug. 18, London Downs Golf Course Sept. 21, Vista Links Oct. 19, Blue Hills Golf Club Nov. 9, Ivy Hill Golf Club finding it difficult to swing with as many layers as they were forced to wear. In addition to more players, the tour is expanding its sponsor base. The revenue provided by sponsors allows the tour to of- fer prizes and food. Any sucTommy Firebaugh photos cessful venture in the Jim Saul (right), recreational arena playing in Division needs sponsors, 2, was the overall and with partici- winner in the Senior pation at an all- Tour’s opening time high, local event at Ashley businesses are Plantation March seeing the value 23, shooting a net of placing an ad in 67. John Hubbard the tour program. (above left) was the The sponsors also Division 1 winner allow the tour to with a net 69. Jim operate with only McDaniel (above a $100 participa- right) was the Divition fee for the sion 3 winner with a net 70 year. The green fees selected in the winter prior to the are usually $25, which brings an year’s tour. This year’s remaining extra $3,000 for a golf course’s bottour stops will at Botetourt Countom line on a Tuesday, so the bentry Club, Hanging Rock, Draper efit to the courses participating Valley, Westlake, London Downs, cannot be overstated. All players Vista Links, Blue Hills and Ivy now play from the gold tees — earHill. ly years saw younger members Hubbard thinks this is the only playing the whites in one division tour of its kind in western Virginia. and older fellows teeing off from The Golf Channel has a tour and the golds. Now all golfers hit from there might be a similar organizagold tees and the competitors are tion in Richmond or Greensboro broken into three divisions, based — although the North Carolina on handicap. The only requiretour is not a seniors-only organiment is the golfer must be age 55 zation. or older. The full field and nine-event The current chairman is Tommy schedule with decent prizes Firebaugh. The committee is comshould spell continued success for prised of Wally Adcox, Kenny Atthe Senior Tour. kinson, Steve Blades, Ken Kornegay, Frank Lang, Bruce As Ted Powell (left) narrowly misses a 10-footer, Lupton, Jim Joe Surkamer walks to his putt Lyons, Bob Poff and Joe Sailor. Each has an area of responsibility to make sure the tour runs s m o o t h l y, with proper advertising, event planning and a n nou nc e ments of the winners. The courses are Christian Moody by Christian Moody APRIL 12, 2010 PLAY BY PLAY Familiar face Dennis Robarge rurns to Salem baseball sports to launch More Than a Game, a consulting firm working ENNIS ROBARGE THREW with organizations both inside his name into the ring for the and outside the sports world. general manager’s job with Robarge spent his post-Dazzle the Salem Red Sox last fall, hopyears in Arkansas, McAllen (Texing to replace the departing John as) and Iowa for months at a time, Katz, but when Fenway Sports elhelping to get D-League teams off evated Todd Stephenson to that the ground or determining if they position they asked Robarge to were viable entities. “When the stick around. economy turned [down] it made Last November the former asconsulting jobs a little harder to sistant general manager of the come by,” Robarge admits. Salem Avalanche accepted a poSuddenly, starting up a minor sition created league basketin part just for ball franchise, him, as Direchoping that tor of Sales for fans still had the Sox. “The disposable inoperation come, didn’t has changed seem like such a great deal a winning since I left,” proposition. says Robarge. Now he’s “It’s a little back in Salem strange being full-time with back in the ofhis family, fice.” He jokes trying to keep that it was like corporate sales moving back and sponsorto a house you Dennis Robarge is happy to return ships on track lived in pre- to baseball after almost 15 years while also enviously, “but with all new roomcouraging families to continue mates.” making the trek to the ballpark. Very few employees remain The Red Sox begin the home porfrom his first tenure with the Sation of their season on April 16. lem professional baseball club Fenway Sports executive Tim — which ended in the late 1990s Zue (also the Salem Red Sox presi— perhaps a few part-time condent) wanted to bring Robarge cession workers. aboard in some fashion, even after The job brings Robarge full-ciradmitting that the GM/Vice Prescle in a way; since leaving his forident’s position was Stephenson’s mer position in Salem he’s worked for the taking. in Atlanta, Little Rock, Texas and After about six weeks of discusDes Moines, running drag racing sion and visioning they worked out venues and consulting on basketa deal, and Robarge was back as ball franchise startups. When he sales director. It’s right up his alley: left the Avalanche, Salem Memo“I like to sell and I like to help grow rial Baseball Stadium was brand everybody’s skills.” Still, worknew; now as a teenager it’s been ing in the front office for a minor through several touchups already. league baseball team — in what he Oh yes, Robarge was also presicalls “a young man’s sport” — redent of the Roanoke Dazzle NBDquires the wearing of several hats, League basketball franchise for like helping to pull the tarp on four seasons (2002-2006), trying to the field if it rains. Robarge had to establish the minor league team as think hard about it before acceptmust-see entertainment. That efing the job. “This [franchise] team fort ultimately failed, but Robarge means a lot to me,” he says. “Hav(who ironically replaced former ing been on the other side with a Salem Baseball GM Joe Preseren franchise that didn’t work out (the with the Dazzle), learned enough Dazzle), I really wanted to throw from that experience and several what I knew into this situation.” decades overall in professional Robarge says he looks back by Gene Marrano Gene Marrano D 15 quite a bit on the Dazzle experiChad Epperson helped guide Saence, mostly with pride. He belem to a playoff berth last year as lieves, though, that baseball “has the skipper in Salem, but he’s gone a broader appeal” overall, one big this season, replaced by Kevin reason that the Salem franchise Boles. Hitting coach Carlos Fehas been successful at the gate for bles and pitching coach Dick Such decades. return. Boles managed at low-A Robarge keeps in touch with Greenville last year for the Boston former Dazzle head coach Kent Red Sox organization but moves Davison, who left Roanoke for up to advanced-A Salem for 2010. a D-League club in Fort Wayne, Epperson, drafted as a catcher Ind., and then a stint in the Midby the New York Mets, will be a dle East with the national team roving catching instructor for Bosin Qatar before landing as an aston this season, after taking Salem sistant at the University of Georto the league championship series gia. Robarge visited with Davison and the brink of a title in 2009. in Athens last year, their meeting Boles has managerial bloodcoinciding with a Bulldogs game. lines: his father, John, managed “It was great to see him,” Robarge the Florida Marlins for two sepasays. “I’d very much enjoy the oprate stints and is currently in the portunity to work with him again front office of the Seattle Mariif I had the chance.” ners. The younger Boles, 35, atSalem’s relationship with Bostended the University of South ton is a “unique opportunity,” Florida and was selected in the says Robarge, even for 42nd round of off-the-field and offthe 1998 draft season events that have as a catcher by featured former Red the Chicago Sox stars Fred Lynn Cubs. and Jim Rice in the After just past few years. The Sox one season as a brand helps, to his way player (batting of thinking: “It’s very a less-thanattractive to me that robust .206 in the [Boston] Red Sox 1998), Boles own it. I’ve been really turned to manpleasantly surprised by aging in 2000, how many Red Sox fans in the Marlins there are in the valsystem. He ley. I had no clue there sports a .518 were that many …until Kevin Boles has managed winning perI came back and worked several clubs in the past centage coming for the team.” in to 2010, with the Boston, Min*** nesota, Kansas City and Florida New manager for the Sox: organizations. — 15th Annual — Kiwanis Pancake Day Sat., April 24 7 am-1pm Roanoke Civic Center Fun for the whole family! Silent Auction begins at 8am Supports local non-profit organizations Tickets: $5.00 in advance; $6.00 at the door Children under 5 FREE Call 761-6751 to order tickets 16 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 SPORTS SHORTS Oliver wins Atlantic 10 6th Player award University of Richmond basketball player Abby Oliver was named Atlantic 10 Sixth Player of the Year in March. Oliver, a sophomore guard who moved into the Spiders’ starting lineup near the end of the season, is a Hidden Valley graduate who led her high school team to back-to-back Group AA state titles in 2007-08. Oliver averaged 10.2 ppg this season. Her best performance was a 27-point effort against George Washington, where she was 9-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Fleecy Wright photo winners Don Divers of Roanoke and Frances Gillock of Salem are Salem Red Sox ticket winners in our photo ID contest from last month (see names in pictures to the right and below). We’re still looking for a winner for the third photo (lower right). Please e-mail your names to [email protected]. Fishing tournament The Cave Spring Optimist Club will hold its 42nd annual fishing tournament April 30-May 2 at Foxport Marina on Smith Mountain Lake. Classes of fish eligible for entry into the tournament include largemouth bass, muskellunge, crappie, smallmouth bass, catfish and stripers. Prizes up to $15,000 in cash will be awarded. To be eligible to compete, each individual must purchase a ticket in advance. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at Foxport Marina in Burnt Chimney and several other fishing-related outlets. There will also be a youth tournament starting at 9 a.m. May 1 with no ticket required. For more information, please call Carol at (540) 721-2451. In this 1945 (or so) photo, clockwise starting from back left: Coach John Henry Stephens, Melvin Holbrook, Billy Duncan, Bill Edmunds, Fleecy Wright, Salvation Army Major Morris, Billy Ramsey, Bobby Saul, Drowsy Harrison, Dickie Gilmore In this 1955 photo, clockwise starting from back left: Fleecy Wright, Mike Goad, Ralph Owens, Ronnie Nesbitt, Wesley Gillock, Salvation Army Captain Jones, Bev Mitchell, Paul Housman, Dave Davis, Don Divers, Jerry Glass We’re still looking for a winner here. E-mail [email protected] ��� present the PLAYMAKER �������� ������� �������� �������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������� ��������������� ��������� APRIL 12, 2010 Moir From Page 11 “I apologized to my players,” Moir says. “There are some years you try something and it makes you look like a genius but this year, everything I tried, I won’t say it backfired, but it didn’t work like we needed it to.” Without the low-post scoring threat Peery had provided, Moir opted to switch his offense to more dribble-drive to take advantage of the talent on the wings. “We spread the floor and we ran it really well for a half this game, a half that game,” he says. “It didn’t work like I thought it would.” A year before, practices were for tweaking and fine-tuning a welloiled machine. This year, some days the engine wouldn’t crank as the young players had trouble mastering basics and adapting to change. Moir tried to install a trap off free throw situations. It was a regular part of most practices, and a point of emphasis before several games. Yet when the coaching staff gave the signal, the players couldn’t demonstrate what they had practiced. “Part of that was youth,” Moir says. “Still, it was easy to go to practice every day because we’ve got some good young players.” Moir kept copious notes this season about what worked and what didn’t. In the meantime, he found some solace within the close-knit framework of the Roanoke College athletic department. The losses came more frequently but so did the support of his friends in nearby offices. “You’re always talking with all the coaches,” he says. “Scott is a great resource. As many games as Susan (Dunagan) has won, she had a couple of tough seasons and came back big. They all helped me.” Moir points out that a lot of the coaches came on board at Roanoke at the same time, and have been through a lot together to forge tight bonds. Moir is in his 21st year at Roanoke, as is women’s soccer coach Phil Benne. Allison has coached men’s soccer for 24 years, and Bill Pilat has piloted the lacrosse program for 22 seasons. Dunagan has been at the Salem campus 29 years, and senses the same thing about the camaraderie at the college. “You just try to support him and let him know you’re there for him,” says Dunagan. “There’s not much PLAY BY PLAY you can say sometimes except you know his track record and that he will be successful again.” “We’ve got a veteran coaching staff, and it’s funny, we’re all growing old together,” Moir adds. “Our he survived,” says Page. “He’s 79, walking four miles a day and I think getting out of coaching added to his life. When I first came to Roanoke, I said I can do this until I’m 70 or 75. I’ll take care of myself. But now, I think if I can make it to 65, I’ll be lucky.” Roanoke College would be lucky, too. Moir’s passion for his position at the college is readily apparent, and Moir is also prominent on the national stage, slated to become president Moir (left) broadcasting with Rick Seidel: it’s of the National Assoeasier to smile now that the season is over ciation of Basketball kids all grew up together and now Coaches in 2014, as highlighted they are all looking at colleges toin last month’s Play by Play. gether.” Have recruiting pitch, Moir’s own staff — basketball will travel assistants Paul Barnard, Robbie Moir is certainly driven to sucWinfield and Tony Dunford — ceed, and he likely will again sucwas also invaluable helping Moir ceed in part because he likes to get through this season. Barnard, drive. Moir took to the road most at William Byrd High School for 27 Thursdays this past season to reyears before moving over to Roacruit and reset the program’s founnoke 10 seasons ago, has “seen it dation. all,” according to Moir. When the ODAC switched its And then, of course, there’s one scheduling format a few years more coaching resource close to ago, regularly playing games on Moir. Coaching legend Charlie Wednesdays, it created an openwas planning on staying in the ing on Thursdays for coaches to Roanoke Valley all winter this give their teams a day off. “Once year, Page says, but Page jokes that we lost 10 games, I would have ashis team’s record chased his father sistant coaches watch film with to Florida where he and wife Betsy (the team), and I would take off at often escape during cold weather. eight in the morning,” says Moir. The elder Moirs had planned “I did one trek through West Virto stay around because Page and ginia, saw three recruits. I went to wife Jody’s older daughter, Anna, North Carolina (and) saw two kids is a high school senior this year. in Greensboro. I went to Northern More likely, the heavy snowfall loVirginia (and) saw a couple of kids cally and the lure of southern golf up there. We have to have a great courses eased them out of town recruiting year this year.” until last month. Moir said he loads up his iPod Charlie called after every game, and hits the road, something he though, mostly to lend support. learned from his dad, who also Still, Page’s pain was magnified loved the road in recruiting. “Nowhen he thought about his father. body likes to drive more than “I’m glad he wasn’t at my games my dad,” Moir says with a laugh. to watch,” Page says. “You watch “Even at his age, he’ll go to Florisomebody in your family go da with my mom, and he’ll drive through something that you perall the way. And he’s going to get ceive being tough or bad, it’s much to where he’s going that first day. tougher on the person watching. She’ll be saying, ‘Charlie, pull over I’ll be fine. The sun will come up and let’s get a hotel.’ He just wants tomorrow.” to keep going.” Page remembers being an assisPage says he sends his father tant at Virginia Tech in 1986-87, his tapes of potential recruits in Florfather’s final year, a tough season ida, but he doesn’t think they ever that the younger Moir absolutely get watched. Going to see a game, hated to see his father endure. though, is a whole different matLooking back, though, it may have ter. been a good thing for Charlie’s “He loves going recruiting with health to get out at age 57. me,” Page says. “Like he’ll go to “It was difficult to watch but Fork Union (Military Academy) 17 with me and say that a kid’s pretty good. And he’ll follow up. He has asked me about kids. He’ll say, ‘That kid can help you. You better get him. You better not let him go somewhere else.’” Of course, Charlie didn’t have an iPod back when he was beating the back roads looking for talent for Tech or Roanoke or Tulane. Page, a true, dialed-in sports fan, laments the loss of younger generations’ appreciation of AM radio. At nights, he’ll put away the iPod and tune in to far-flung locales like WOWO out of Fort Wayne, Ind., for the sports talk or tune in games on other stations with a strong nighttime signal. “You go to 870 (on the dial) and you can listen to LSU football recruiting,” he says. “At 840, you’ve got Kentucky and Louisville. I know those stations. I remember my dad flipping the dials in the old days recruiting. I listen to all the basketball at night I want, trying to stay up. I don’t fly anymore.” Moir thinks the Maroons could be flying again, soon, though. He’s got the start of another solid recruiting class coming in and he feels he has some good pieces in place in the program to help turn things around. Walker headlines a strong, battle-tested rising senior class. Amponsah came on this season and could be the answer at point sooner rather than later. Popa Fall, a 6-9 rising junior from Senegal, is learning quickly, and Moir thinks another off-season of hard work could make him an impact player. The same could be true of Hidden Valley product Logan Singleton if he applies himself in the weight room and on the court this summer. Moir also likes a couple of junior varsity players in the pipeline, including another former Titan, Zach Barrett. Barrett had a great year with the JV team, according to the coach, who likes his attitude and his potential. But Moir is counting on his returnees to come back stronger and better, something he says he learned to push with his players while watching Pilat’s lacrosse program over the years. “I like my kids but I’m going to tell them all that if they’re not better they might not have a spot on the team,” he says. “I’m going to work hard to do a better job and I expect them to do the same. We’re all going to be accountable to be better next year.” 18 From the Bookshelf PLAY BY PLAY Lazenby clearly belongs in Halberstam’s league by Mike Ashley “Jerry West: the Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon,” by Roland Lazenby, Ballantine/ESPN Books, 422 pp., $28. Roanoke writer Roland Lazenby has taken the biggest shot of his career, and like his subject so often was, Lazenby is right on target. Now a familiar name among sports authors, Lazenby offers the first comprehensive biography of one of basketball’s most compelling and most important figures in “Jerry West: the Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon.” The comprehensive tome, distributed by Random House, debuted in February and immediately took a spot among the most important sports biographies. It rocketed up the Los Angeles Times’ bestseller list and has been critically acclaimed nationally. Lazenby’s Southwestern Virginia roots helped him paint the complete picture of the complex basketball star, a tightly wound mix of West Virginia inferiority complex and insatiable competitor. Lazenby takes us down back roads of Chelyan and Cabin Creek and on to Morgantown. West was a regional superstar long before he would parlay that magnificent playing career into immortality as the inspiration for the National Basketball Association logo. There’s a wealth of regional history that ties together the influences on West’s psyche, from his upbringing by a distracted and sometimes abusive father to the drive he developed trying to please a joyless and demanding mother. ���� ��������������� �������������� ��������������������������������������� ���� �� ����������������������������� �� ��������������������������������� �� ���������������� ������������������� �������������������� �������������������� Basketball became an escape and a focal point for West, though like his mother, he would never seem to derive true joy even from a passion from which he achieved such fame. West grew up in Chelyan but the family mail came to the more romanticized neighboring community. “Cabin Creek was about a mile away,” (West) recalled, reflecting a good gossiper’s eye for detail. “That’s where we got our mail. I’d run there and back. Maybe that’s why I was in such good shape to play basketball. I remember running past Wade’s Pool Hall on a Saturday morning. You could tell how wild a time the coal miners had had the night before by how many of the windows were broken out.” West kept running all the way to WVU to lead the Mountaineers to great heights, although he personally felt that he didn’t measure up to the standard set by rival and three-time NCAA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson at Cincinnati. That insecurity followed West to the NBA where he landed with the Lakers, freshly moved to Los Angeles his rookie season in 1960, and playing, for better or worse, for his college coach Fred Schaus. Lazenby has the back-story on the growing discontent of West in that relationship, and the thoroughness of this book is reflected in major sections devoted to teammates like “Hot Rod” Hundley, Elgin Baylor and longtime nemeses Red Auerbach and the Boston Celtics. To this day, West doesn’t like the color green, a byproduct of six painful losses to the Celtics in the NBA Finals. But West, over the years, seemed to grow nobler in defeat, ever the hard-charging, would-be champion, falling just short despite his own brilliance. His personal LA story includes big personalities like owner Jack Kent Cooke, coach Butch van Breda Kolff, and teammate Wilt Chamberlain. Lazenby has loads of first-hand stories and accounts of conflict that forged the Lakers’ and West’s identity, one that didn’t please the perennial all-star until LA finally broke through in 1972, under new coach and former Celtic Bill Sharman, to win that elusive title on one of the greatest teams ever. Injuries would derail West soon thereafter and he struggled to fill the void, contemplating a career in golf before returning to the Lak- APRIL 12, 2010 ers as a successful coach even with undermanned rosters. Enter new personalities like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who Lazenby reveals almost was teamed with Julius Erving but Laker management wouldn’t pull the trigger on the deal. West would ultimately take that competitive nature to the front office, where he again rose to the top of the game, though not without some early fits and starts. He originally wanted to draft Sidney Moncrief over Magic Johnson. Owner Jerry Buss was never pleased that the Lakers took James Worthy over Dominique Wilkins but West talked the flamboyant Buss out of a trade, and Worthy was a key part of three of the five title teams West built in the ’80s. He rebuilt after Johnson’s premature retirement with HIV, pulling off a mega-million dollar deal to land Shaquille O’Neal, and then talking Nets coach/GM John Calipari out of drafting Kobe Bryant before the Lakers could get him. Three more titles resulted during a growing rift between West and coach Phil Jackson, differing philosophies that helped end the icon’s more than 40-year tenure with the team. For basketball aficionados, this is a must-read, West’s career as a player, coach and general manager has been so entwined with the history of the game. Hoop-heads may have a tussle wading through the West family and West Virginia history but there’s a payoff in the picture of West it helps frame. For those that just like biographies of driven, successful people, this is also an important study. The LA Times said, “Sports biographies tend to careen between breathless hagiography and the slyly salacious. Lazenby…has produced something of a different order — a first-rate piece of narrative nonfiction whose subject happens to be a star athlete. His biography of West is, by turns, smart, beautifully reported, well-written and psychologically shrewd.” I can’t top that except to say that nearly every sentence in the book oozes the hard work and attention to detail that only a master craftsman could have produced. Lazenby has grown from his roots in midlist publishing to become a major player in this genre, and perhaps is ready to lift the essential sports book torch from the too-soon departed David Halberstam. APRIL 12, 2010 PLAY BY PLAY It’s a commercialized, Wonderful Life C LEANING OUT THE NOTEbook from an eventful college basketball season, and a few other random thoughts: by Mike I was at Buffalo Wild Wings Ashley South the night Butler upset NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed Syracuse. Just as the final seconds wound down, the waitress delivered my order of chicken wings to the table. This confluence of events prompted the “It’s A Wonderful Life” revelation that any time a Big East team loses, a fat guy gets his wings. I think Zuzu first said that back when the talking heads at ESPN overhyped the Big East to the point that she bought into it and it ruined her bracket. To hear Digger Phelps, Dick Vitale and Co., you should have picked six Big East teams to reach the Final Four. And Zuzu, brace yourself because the Old Man Potters that run college athletics have some more disappointment for you. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will expand to 96 teams sooner rather than later. Which of course means the UConn women will get a bid, but not the Hokies. And the following year, to further water this great event down, all 347 Division I teams will receive a certificate of participation. All except Virginia Tech. The good news is that the Hokies will again be one of the best teams in the ACC next year, assuming one of the very best players in Malcolm Delaney doesn’t turn pro. Another season like this past one — including an ACC-leading 20.2 points per game — and, from where I sit, he’ll be on Hokie Hallowed Ground with Dell Curry and Bimbo Coles. In the interest of fair and balanced coverage — and there’s not much good to say about how Virginia finished the season — I will say that a Cavaliers fan asked me why Virginia Tech cheerleaders hold up those big placards that say “LET’S GO HO-KIES” at the games. The cheer didn’t appear that complex, he said. What is complex is the way that photographer on the Buffalo Wild Wings commercial uses his flash to disrupt the end of that game. That guy has got to get his press credentials revoked. That’s two Buffalo Wild Wings references in one column so I’m hoping I’ll get something free next time I’m in there to supplement my takehome celery…. Virginia Military Institute is eating up wins on the baseball diamond. VMI’s 20-4 start in baseball was the best in school history. The Key(det) has been an offense that was third in the nation, hitting .371, and fourth with a .621 slugging percentage as VMI climbed to 28th in the Collegiate Baseball poll. Three freshmen were hitting .357 or better. Beware Rats with bats…. And speaking of rats, I was a little disappointed never to get a response from Tiger Woods about resuming his career with a round at my golf course, Brookside. I even told him it’s a tradition unlike any other. Especially the way I play…. On a brighter local note, our Salem Band ‘My Radio’ includes Red Sox host their first home game April (from left): Roanokers Brett 16, starting a string of seven straight Lemon, J.P. Powell, Jeff Hofhome dates. I’ll be down the right field mann and Hunter Johnson line with “The Wall-Bangers” opening night, and I can’t wait. Unless it’s real cold that night; then I’m enough of a weenie that I might try to talk my way into the press box. The dirty little secret is that in my long sportswriting career I have never wanted to actually cover Salem baseball. I enjoy going to the games too much to make it like a job…. Some local guys that may have to lose their day jobs are the band members of “My Radio,” who are becoming more and more famous, and doing so in the sports world, too. Their wonderfully-fun single, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” is a regular part of the Cleveland Cavaliers halftime highlights on the Cleveland Fox affiliate, and they recently found out the song will be featured on ESPN’s “Web Gems,” in the baseball highlights package. The song is also prominent in SIDELINES 19 an upcoming major motion picture, “The Joneses,” starring Demi Moore and David Duchovny…. Something else to keep an eye on this summer is World Cup soccer, which kicks off in June. ESPN is already sneaking more futbol highlights into SportsCenter and there are apparently an awful lot of people that really care about this thing, though I personally don’t know any of these people. I’m trying. I figure there’s got to be a bracket in there somewhere, only best I can figure, the seeds are measured metrically. Also, you have to fill out the bracket with your feet…. As for football, the NFL Draft is coming to prime time April 22. It will be spread out over three days. Here’s my prediction: some bad team will take some good, young quarterback way too early, essentially wasting its pick because unless your team is halfway decent, no rookie QB could possibly make you better. In a related note, Albert Haynesworth has told the Washington Redskins that he can’t really play nose tackle in their new defense. For the $100 million he signed for last year, I’d let one of those big guys tackle my nose…. And is it just me or does Tom Coughlin look like an adult, angry Charlie Brown? I’m not a big fan of the new NFL overtime rules, either. After both teams get a chance to kick field goals, then the teams play “Rock, Scissors, Paper” to determine a winner, unless it’s the postseason. Then they’ll draw straws. Unless it’s a team with Brett Favre at quarterback, then he gets the ball until his team wins or he decides to retire, whichever comes first. If he keeps playing, he’s going to end up playing that Wrangler’s jeans commercial football game against Betty White from the Snickers’ game. If he retires this summer, insiders say the Vikings will sign Abe Vigoda. It occurs to me that you really have to know your sports-related TV commercials to enjoy this column. Sorry, it’s been a long winter. Now go outside and do something. Me? I’m waiting on more wings. ���������������������� ���������������������������������� ���������������������������������� ���������������� ������������� ������������������ ������������������� ������������������������ �������������� ���������������������������������������� ������������������������� 20 PLAY BY PLAY APRIL 12, 2010 Kroger is proud to support our local food banks with dry groceries and perishables each year. It’s one way we give back to our communities. STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE FOR THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE. � ������������������������ ��������������������������������������� �����������������