By MONTE DUTTON

The United States Open is being played in Moore County, N.C., which is a golf principality. Just to the south is Richmond County, which is a onetime NASCAR duchy.

Every time I wrote about a race at Rockingham, I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Southern Pines, which is in Moore County. When race fans drove from racing to golf, the speed traps were on one side of the line, and when golf fans drove into race world, they were vice-versa.

I got stopped on the way to Rockingham driving through unfamiliar territory. I don’t remember the reason, but I got pulled somewhere near Albemarle, and the trooper, upon discerning I was a member of the working media, told me a colorful story about letting Rusty Wallace go after he clocked him at 130 miles an hour.

He asked me if I’d pass along his regards to Rusty. Then he gave me a ticket for 52 in a 45.

This so angered me that I drove up there in person to contest the ticket a few weeks later, and I do remember why I then drove to Bristol on an unfamiliar route, and how I stopped off at North Wilkesboro Speedway to look at how much it was then falling apart.

When I was 10-12 years old, in the pre-football-practice-from-dawn-to-dusk days, I had extraordinary responsibilities at my grandfather’s grocery store. Imagine Spanky and Darla running more than a lemonade stand in Our Gang.

I ran the cash register. I swirled the soft ice-cream cones. I’m here to tell you that the art of bagging groceries has gone plumb to hell since the bags became plastic.

Lots of times, particularly at night, I was there alone. One of life’s mysteries was in a small box on a shelf below the counter. The box had little round containers. Inside were balloons that were either clear or white. No instructions were included, but all the balloons were proclaimed either “sensitive” or “extra-sensitive” and assuredly “thin.”

I was watching the news this morning, and apparently, they might go back under the counter soon.

Homecoming’s at 2 p.m. Nothing unusual about that.

It’s a big one. When the Paladins played Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C., last year, both teams were ranked in the FCS Top 10. Furman won, 29-17.

Mark your calendars and don’t mix gold with your purple on Oct. 19.

The Paladins lead the all-time series, 36-13-2, and have won seven of the last eight meetings. 

Furman kicks off the season on Aug. 31 at Ole Miss.
Samantha Michel has joined Pierre Curtis’s women’s basketball staff as assistant coach and director of operations. Ex-Furman standout Grace van Rij, already on staff, is now director of program engagement.

Michel joins the Paladin staff after serving as a graduate assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth, where she helped the Rams to the winningest campaign in program history, a 26-6 mark and invitation to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT).

All-SAC at Anderson University, Michel began her playing career at Northeastern.

Van Rij has served Furman’s women’s basketball program in three roles during her tenure at the university — as a decorated player, graduate assistant coach and now as director of program engagement.

The Furman volleyball team departs on Saturday for a 12-day European summer trip to four different countries.
The Paladins will visit Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Italy throughout their trip and play a total of four exhibition matches.
Women’s lacrosse put 20 on the 2023-24 Big South Presidential Honor Roll.

Named from the Paladins are Annabelle Biggar, Sophia Buzelis, Hannah Dintino, Lilly Dyer, Mia Falco, Molly Faul, Andrea Fisher, Grace Gibson and Paige Harman.

Also, Reynolds Hester, Allie Kandel, Natalie Michelow, Lily Rathbun, Casey Richbourg, Anna Roser, Rachel Sbei, Sophie Shaw, Abby Shearer, Katelyn Sousa and Caroline Swaim.

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