Everything old is, well, old again. Make that older. Sunday night I decided to tune into the ESPN Sunday night game. The defending World Series champion Houston Astros were on the schedule. They're an interesting team. Seemed to beat watching the Oklahoma City-Utah NBA playoff game anyway. Turned out it was. The Astros were playing … Continue reading The astonishing Bartolo Colon started in Burlington and is still rolling along
About sports
Newspaper memories: One and done at the 1986 ACC Tournament
March 7, 1986: I kept telling myself not to be nervous on the short drive from Burlington to Greensboro. It wasn’t working. Stupid I know. After all, I was only going to a basketball game -- well, four basketball games really. No big deal. Not at all. I got up early that Friday morning after … Continue reading Newspaper memories: One and done at the 1986 ACC Tournament
The day I officially rescinded my college team fandom — in legal writing and everything
Last week marked the fourth anniversary of what became a life-altering change in my life. I disowned a sports team I had followed as a drooling and rabid fan from age 8 to 54. And I stuck to it. I dropped it like a bad habit -- cold turkey the way I stopped smoking back … Continue reading The day I officially rescinded my college team fandom — in legal writing and everything
Throwback Thursday: Tough for rivals to finally acknowledge greatness
Three years ago today a public memorial ceremony was held following the death of retired University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith. I took that occasion to write about growing up in a basketball-crazed area -- North Carolina -- and how it shapes misguided thinking, until it doesn't and common sense takes over. Rivalries … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Tough for rivals to finally acknowledge greatness
Throwback Thursday: A coach who set an example for us all
UNC and Duke are in the final hours today before another installment of the most intense rivalry in college basketball is renewed again. Dean Smith, the legendary coach of the Tar Heels, was right in the thick of it for decades. Smith passed away three years ago on Feb. 7. This is the editorial I … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: A coach who set an example for us all
History, irony and ‘Olympic Pride, American Prejudice’
Nearly everyone who knows much about the history of Olympic sports in the United States has heard of Jesse Owens. Many of them are aware he won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Most of those understand that as an African-American he did so under the glare of Adolf Hitler and … Continue reading History, irony and ‘Olympic Pride, American Prejudice’
The Elon football connection to … Bill Belichick?
The print issue of Sports Illustrated this week -- well, make that this month since it appears the magazine will no longer be published on a regular weekly basis -- contains an interesting story on the long-standing friendship of arguably the greatest NFL coach of all time and his counterpart on the collegiate level. I'm … Continue reading The Elon football connection to … Bill Belichick?
Is Jim Thome the first from a Burlington minor league team to make the Hall of Fame?
Jim Thome was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The announcement arrived Wednesday night from New York. There wasn't much doubt the affable Thome, with 612 career home runs and a career devoid of steroid accusations, would be elected along with fellow first-timer Chipper Jones this year. It's an outstanding … Continue reading Is Jim Thome the first from a Burlington minor league team to make the Hall of Fame?
Nick Saban’s coaching tree yields a promising acorn at Elon
In all the post-game hoopla following the University of Alabama's stunning 26-23 overtime victory over SEC rival Georgia in the FBS national title game Monday night, I took note of an on-field TV interview with Crimson Tide head football coach Nick Saban. He had just tied legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most … Continue reading Nick Saban’s coaching tree yields a promising acorn at Elon
Big Blue: Kenny Dennard was always different
I wrote this three years ago and posted it on the night they retired the number of the best player ever produced at my high school -- South Stokes. The time when we were in high school seems impossibly long ago, 1973-77. I just saw Ken Dennard at our 40th high school reunion in September. … Continue reading Big Blue: Kenny Dennard was always different
Madison's Avenue 