By MONTE DUTTON

Either I’m harkening back to the carefree days of youth, or, as Jonathan Winters used to say, I’m starting the final glide path.

Do you remember lying on your back in the yard – back in pre-fire-ants times – and staring at the clouds?

When the power was out last week, I sat on the tailgate of my truck and snapped photos of clouds. And trees. Apparently, I grew accustomed to their beauty and neglected it for many years.

At ballgames, I turn the camera to the horizon when the sun sets.

I wonder how much of nature kids miss because they only see it in their cell phones. Do they know – really know – the smell of rain? Do they know that, in a span of seconds, a cloud can form itself as a sailing ship and then morph into a howling wolf?

Then again, on the flip side …

God help me. I’m using Artificial Intelligence for reference.

Internet research isn’t as easy as it used to be. If I want to know what the interior of a 1952 Cadillac looks like, I get five pages of ads from people who want to sell me one. That started when net neutrality ended.

AI isn’t going to write for me. It’s a modern convenience. AI can do research far faster. It’s wind-aided by technology. I’m a year. AI is a light year.

I can write better than AI. If it reaches the point where I can’t, I won’t admit it.

It’s the reverse of a Paul Simon song. I’m calling Al.

Rock Hill Post 34 eliminated Clinton Post 56 from the Junior American Legion baseball playoffs on Tuesday night, taking advantage of 10 runs in the final three innings to defeat the Devils, 14-5.

Clinton (6-7) tied the game, 4-4, in the bottom of the fourth inning.

In the fifth, Rock Hill’s Blake Fisher singled in two runs, and two more crossed the plate on a passed ball and an error.

Rock Hill only outhit the Devils, 13-11, and committed five errors to Clinton’s three.

Jayden Glenn, Angel Vargas and Rhett Gilliam each provided two hits. Gilliam and William Addison laced doubles.

A key factor was that Clinton pitchers Tanner Finley, Glenn, Graydon Watkins and Gilliam combined to issue 10 walks, while Rock Hill’s three pitchers allowed two.

Glenn took the loss for Clinton. Watkins struck out four Rock Hill batters in 1-2/3 innings, allowing three unearned runs.

Finley and Glenn swiped bases.

Five Rock Hill batters – Walker Thomason, Connor Sweatt, Eduardo Lopez, Tim Winn and Simms Leitner – rapped two hits apiece.

Rock Hill won the first game of the best-of-three series on Monday night, 5-4.

Clinton ended its season on a four-game losing streak.

Laurens Academy released its football schedule on Tuesday.

An interesting facet is that 10 of the 11 games are against region opponents the Crusaders face first unofficially and then officially.

Jolly Doolittle’s team is coming off a 4-8 season. The Crusaders’ most recent winning season was 8-4 in 2020.

The opener, at Cambridge Academy on Aug. 16, is the only game against a team affiliated with SCISA 8-Man Region 1.

FOOTBALL

Aug. 16, at Cambridge; 23, at Newberry Academy; 30, WARDLAW.

Sept. 6, OAKBROOK PREP; 13, at Richard Winn; 20, KING; 27, NEWBERRY*.

Oct. 4, at Wardlaw*; 11, at Oakbrook*; 25, RICHARD WINN*.

Nov. 1, at King*.

All games start at 7:30. Home games in ALL CAPS. *Region games.

LA’s volleyball is 81-14-2 over the past three seasons. This season begins with a couple preseason exhibitions before opening the season on Aug. 18 at home versus Shannon Forest.

Click here to see the full schedule.

PC has signed men’s basketball head coach Quinton Ferrell to a contract extension, though undisclosed in terms and length.

Next season is Ferrell’s sixth, though he played for the Blue Hose and spent five additional years on the staff.

Ferrell’s best season to date is his most recent, in which PC finished 14-19.

The North Augusta product is 48-103 in five seasons at Presbyterian.

Ferrell’s latest signee is Chidi Chiakwelu, a 6-7 forward from Houston,Texas.

“”Chidi has a seven-foot wingspan to go along with his explosive jumping ability,” stated Ferrell. “Chidi is a double-double machine and a player who plays with a tremendous motor on both ends of the court. “

Women’s basketball has six additions for first-year head coach Tiffany Sardin.

Joining the Blue Hose are Morgan Boyd of Highland Springs, Va.; Shelby Fiddler of Roanoke, Va.; Teresa Mbemba of Benguela, Angola; Kishya Anderson of Gilbert, Ariz., via Yavapai College; Aminata Tal of Saint Louis, Senegal, via Shorter College; and Daniella Velez of Queens, N.Y.

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