Click here to access all three episodes of the podcast ---------------------- The first time I walked into Rhodes Stadium on the campus of Elon University one thought immediately jumped into my mind. “Bill Hunter would have never believed this to be possible.” This happened in 2007, nine years after Hunter’s death in 1998 from cancer … Continue reading An Elon Football Odyssey: The impossible became possible (includes photo gallery)
About sports
Cool Papa Bell: New book looks for the man behind the baseball mythology
The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell: Speed, Grace and the Negro Leagues; By Lonnie Wheeler; 325 pages; Abrams Press, New York; 2021. In biographies written about professional athletes, especially baseball, there is typically a section near the bibliography and index outlining a player’s career statistics, usually listed year by year with team affiliations. … Continue reading Cool Papa Bell: New book looks for the man behind the baseball mythology
Remembering Coach K at 1,000
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this as a newspaper editorial in January of 2015 when Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski gained career win No. 1,000. i post it today as stories are unfolding about the looming retirement of Coach K after the 2021-22 season. My any accounting, he's compiled a remarkable record, even since this … Continue reading Remembering Coach K at 1,000
Things I’ve dropped like a bad habit
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another column from my Burlington Times-News days, published on May 17, 2015. It starts with some thoughts I had about boxing, a sport I used to love, and wound into a list of the things I once enjoyed or engaged in that I don't seem to do anymore. And in the … Continue reading Things I’ve dropped like a bad habit
A team by any other name, please
This is a column I wrote in 2013 about the nickname of the pro football team in Washington. There have been calls to change the name over the years and now it looks like it just might happen or at least the owner seems closer than ever before. That is a positive thing. Overlook the … Continue reading A team by any other name, please
From the Wayback Machine: Tribute to a true sports writing legend
The other day I wrote about the sad departure of Burlington Times-News sports editor Bob Sutton after 25 years due to corporate layoffs related to the merger of GateHouse Media and Gannett. I noted then that I had worked with the best sports editor in the newspaper's history -- the late Bill Hunter -- and … Continue reading From the Wayback Machine: Tribute to a true sports writing legend
Updated: Bob Sutton, the hardest working man in journalism is looking for what’s next
UPDATE: My longtime friend and former newspaper colleague at the Burlington Times-News is being honored July 21, 2020 by the city of Burlington, which declared in a proclamation with a bunch of whereases and therefores that today is Bob Sutton Day in Burlington noting his 25 years of high achievement and service as sports editor … Continue reading Updated: Bob Sutton, the hardest working man in journalism is looking for what’s next
Sabathia should join Thome as former Burlington Indians in Cooperstown
When C.C. Sabathia took the mound for the Burlington Indians in 1998, he was a long and lanky 17-year-old from California. Three years later -- after minor league stops in Kinston, Columbus and Akron, the 6-foot, 6-inch tall lefthander was on a Major League roster, posting a 17-5 record for the Cleveland Indians, the team … Continue reading Sabathia should join Thome as former Burlington Indians in Cooperstown
Elon provided foundation for Brebbia’s rise to the Major Leagues
I asked John Brebbia the same question I ask everyone I interview who is associated with the university where I now work as a staff writer: "How did you get to Elon?" Some of the answers are surprising, others not so much. Elon does rate highly in a number of those college rankings released annually, … Continue reading Elon provided foundation for Brebbia’s rise to the Major Leagues
Updated: So what might college athletes be endorsing? An interesting question
UPDATE: On Tuesday, Oct. 29 the NCAA made a move toward allowing athletes to sell their brand while still on campus and playing for athletic teams -- something it seeks to put in place in 2021. This belated action is in response to the California measure passed a couple of weeks ago and similar actions … Continue reading Updated: So what might college athletes be endorsing? An interesting question
Madison's Avenue 