By MONTE DUTTON (Pixabay photo) Rules of the sportswritin’ road: If a coach tells you he doesn’t know what his team’s record is, it ain’t good. The truth is seldom more evident than when being vehemently denied. If a ball is placed between two yard-lines, the scoreboard operator will estimate the farther line for the …
Author: wastedpilgrim
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Paladins make smooth segue with Curtis hire
By MONTE DUTTON (Furman graphic) I was thinking Thursday night that the best course for Furman women’s basketball would be to promote Pierre Curtis to succeed Jackie Carson as head coach. Completely independent of my thoughts, athletics director Jason Donnelly arrived at the same conclusion. I don’t know Curtis – I’ve exchanged pleasantries, perhaps even …
Continue reading Paladins make smooth segue with Curtis hire
The road to Red Devil
By MONTE DUTTON Shortstop Bryce Young throws out a Batesburg-Leesville batter (Monte Dutton photos). The Clinton Junior American Legion Post 56 baseball team has a long name and a long way to go. They’ll get there, though, Batesburg-Leesville Post 7’s 13-12 victory on Wednesday night, notwithstanding. Clinton High JV and assistant varsity coach Peyton Spangler …
Gettin’ by on gettin’ by
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) One of my favorite jokes to tell on myself is: Some of the time I’m a writer, but most of the time I’m just a typist. Right now, most of the time I’m a writer. Let me explain. The late Laurens County Sports and Furman All the Time were …
Victories breed loyalty and contentment
By MONTE DUTTON (Elena Davidson photos) Last season was fantastic. Seldom, if ever, has Furman been better at football and men’s basketball at the same time. As no less an observer than Ronnie Milsap (who is blind) sang, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It’s amazing such a small area of real estate …
So long, never, never land
(Monte Dutton photo) By MONTE DUTTON The weather outside is lovely. The storm in the Gulf is headed the other way. West Texas, which used to be an unlikely locale, is flooded. For some reason, buildings have been collapsing and trains crashing. God’s will, undoubtedly. I spent some time at the local library making sure …
Get ready for a rough ride, kids
(Pixabay photo) By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photo) In many ways, now is the end of the year. It’s the end of the sports year, especially for those who follow teams fielded by schools. For the athlete, the coach and those who support him or her, Christmas and New Year’s is sort of a break …
It takes a village
(Monte Dutton photos) Any successful team is a many splendored thing, but baseball takes it to the nth degree. Football requires many coordinated actions, but football players do not dash beyond the goalposts to retrieve the extra points. In high-school baseball, the junior varsity completes its game and then prepares the field for the varsity. …
Baseball had a heap of folks talkin’
(Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON In the 1980s, a song called “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey and The Duke)” was so popular that its author, Terry Cashman, recorded alternative versions for every major-league team. Talkin’ baseball / Kluszewski, Campanella / Talkin’ baseball / The Man and Bobby Feller / The Scooter, The Barber and The …
And I love them so
(Fletcher Pruitt Jr. photo) (Monte Dutton photo) I’d hate to pick between baseball and football, and basketball is rising with a bullet in this writer’s pop chart. You can dance to basketball. (For those of you too young for Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, it’s an old cliché. The crowds of wholesome youths would rate the …
