"Why do they [write] for their money? Why do they [work] for short pay? They ain't getting nowhere and they're losing their share. They must have gone crazy back there." — Michael Burton (paraphrased)
(Furman photo) Click here. Have you noticed that height has been replaced by length in the lexicon of basketball broadcasters? Players began positioning themselves at the elbows of the lane. The broadcasters are always developing new wrinkles. Writers, too, I suppose, but since we make use of a backspace button, it diversifies language a bit. …
Continue reading Furmanology: Paladins suffer softball sweep but success abounds elsewhere
Carson Glenn (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Once, when we experienced science fiction and special effects, the quality was such that we had to imagine it was real. Now it looks so real that we have to imagine that it isn’t. Who wants to see Iowa play LSU? How about LSU-South Carolina? South Carolina-Iowa? I …
Continue reading County Signs: Devils’ bats heard, Hose drop third
(PC photo) Click here. In the immortal commercial words of Mike Krzyzewski, “Who needs championships when you can look at birds?” I’m starting to add words to the CBS March Madness theme. Everyone talks about the Big Dance. And the Sweet Sixteen. And the Elite Eight. And the Final Four. Why no love for the …
Raiders came back, but Jordan Hudson wasn't around to see it. (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Even when the weather is clear, a spring night has dampness in it. Parents and friends huddle in the shadows, some up against the fence in their foldable chairs, others standing back a bit, wearing caps and windbreakers, wishing …
Daryl Smith with the Raiders (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. My life is taking a narrow focus. I just realized I don’t know who won last week’s NASCAR race. Why? The answer is obvious. Presbyterian College was pursuing a doomed women’s basketball dream. To paraphase Bill Murray, I hear there’s money in that gig. This …
J.P. Pegues scans the lane. (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. It’s ironic that as Furman rebuilds its arena, it is going to be rebuilding its men’s basketball team. It’s remarkable how well Bob Richey has managed to keep his teams together. Maybe this is the year the law of averages catch up. Kids from Christy …
Brett Young (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. A high percentage of people who attended a funeral and wrote about it mentioned the weather. For the record, it was drizzly and overcast at Fort Jackson National Military Cemetery when Jim McLaurin took his mortal bow. I saw no hidden meaning. The poet laureate of the working …
Continue reading County Signs: Figures that it began with a funeral
Me-Me Smith (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Because ESPN2 must have something to show on Tuesday night, I watched part of the men’s basketball game between High Point and Arkansas State. It’s the Ro College Basketball Invitational, live from Daytona Beach Center. High Point, the regular-season champion of the Big South, was up seven the …
Continue reading County Signs: Vikings founder crossing lake
J.P. Pegues was first-team All-SoCon and the 2023 conference tournament MVP. (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Furman is unlikely to be picked first in the Southern Conference’s next preseason men’s basketball poll. The Paladins’ first, second, third and fifth leading scorers have entered the NCAA transfer protocol. The four – J.P. Pegues, Marcus Foster, Alex …
Coleman Coker (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. I was working on the photos from the Greer-Laurens baseball game, and I decided I’d watch West Virginia play Iowa and check out Caitlin Clark for a while. I like her. But the Mountaineers took over the game in the second quarter while, for nearly three minutes on …
Continue reading County Signs: The fight is on for Region 2-4A
Nightrider's Lament 