"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)
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. I’m leery of initialisms and acronyms. A history professor walked into a classroom and printed on the chalk board “fufn.” First usage, full name. During the regrettable times I wrote about local news, obscure terms crashed in waves from the podiums. We paid for this with an …
Continue reading Furmanology: Olympic fear, loathing and humor
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. On Friday morning, I awakened, and for about 30 minutes, thought it was Saturday. Until I made coffee, I thought I still had Sweet ‘n’ Low. The tipoff was that TCM wasn’t running a silly comedy or a crime serial. (Inexplicably, I have grown fond of old …
Continue reading County Signs: Turns out it isn’t the weekend yet
By MONTE DUTTON Luke Clark (Furman photo) Click here. Eleven players on the current Furman football roster are listed as either seniors or graduates. The Paladins return 30 who earned letters and lose 37. Three starters are back on both offense, plus kicker Ian Williams. Yet Furman, which was 10-3 in each of the past …
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Sensations keep us going. They keep us ambling up stadium steps long after we’re capable of running them. We remember how it feels, from a distance of decades, to lie on one’s back, the sun overhead, squinting, while raising the legs six inches … and holding them …
By MONTE DUTTON The sky above Paladin Stadium is the limit. (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. While the Atlantic Coast Conference was meeting in Charlotte, N.C., amid rumors and litigation, the Southern Conference seemed stable and cohesive in Greenville on Tuesday. That doesn’t mean the coming football battles won’t be fierce. It’s a reason they …
By MONTE DUTTON Coleman Coker (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. I heard, almost accidentally, words of a political analyst that struck me as useful for young athletes. “Hope alone will not win, but despair will lose every time.” Three American Legion Senior baseball teams have Laurens County players. All three had their playoff series stretched …
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. The Hotel Hartness is a fantastic venue that is hard to find. Sure, I went there last year. This time my pickup recommended a course that was blocked by construction. That’s why I go places annoyingly early. I drove by The Real Estate Gallery. Yet it was …
By MONTE DUTTON Click here. Friends, are you anxious every time you turn on the TV? Are you developing an emergency aversion, which is to say, an aversion to emergencies? Football starts next. What could go wrong? At the very least, athletes learn how to manage anxiety. Many even excel amidst it. I love so …
Continue reading County Signs: What we can learn from the young
By MONTE DUTTON (Pixabay photo) Click here. I’m out of big thoughts, so I’ll string together some little ones. The Open is a Russian novel. By the time one gets the names straight, there’s a whole new cast. “The secret is how he looks at the putting line with his eyes.” As opposed to his …
Continue reading County Signs: Schauffele rides with Captain Kirk
By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. The Open is on when America is awakening. It’s cool once a year to get out of bed, fix some breakfast and watch the world’s greatest golfers put their flaws on display. The British royalty is on display. Everything seems to be Royal. Royal Troon, Royal & …
Nightrider's Lament 