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Eagles avenge early season loss to Tigers
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| Johnson Central junior hurler Mike Conley sent a pitch plateward Tuesday evening durng the Golden Eagles’ win over the Paintsville Tigers. Conley recorded the win as the pitcher of record in a relief appearance for coach Shawn Hall. |
by Tim Pelphrey
Sports Editor
The Johnson Central Golden Eagles defeated the Paintsville Tigers 7-6 Tuesday evening at the Charlie Adkins Field to avenge an early-season district loss.
Golden Eagle starting pitcher Dillon Baldwin retired the Tigers in order to begin the game and his offense picked him up an early run on their turn at the plate.
Lead-off man Tyler Grimm started the Eagle first inning with a walk and stole second two pitches later before scoring on a Mike Conley hit to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage.
Paintsville freshman pitcher Zach Jackson was able to get the next three batters in order to keep the damage at a minimum, but ran into trouble in the bottom-half of the second after Baldwin faced just three Tiger hitters in the top of the frame.
Third baseman Mike Dale got things started with a single and advanced a sack on a Taylor Smith hit. Both runners advanced a base when freshman DH D.J. Ousley reached on a fielder’s choice to fill the bases. Dale scored a hitter later when Tyler Grimm reached on an error and was able to move the runners and keep the rally going with just one out.
For the full article please subscribe to The Paintsville Herald.
May 9, 2008, 19:22
VanHoose, Burchett lead PMS past Pikeville in double header
Staff report
The Paintsville Middle School baseball team got solid pitching outings from Dustin VanHoose and Colby Burchett to defeat Pikeville 5-3, 5-0 Monday night in a double header at the Charlie Adkins Field.
Paintsville got on the board first when Brooks Pelphrey singled and pinch runner Seth Jarrell later scored on a passed ball to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Paintsville held on to the lead until Pikeville scored three runs and took a 3-1 advantage, but the Tigers quickly answered with four in the home-half of the frame to take the lead for good.
Burchett started the rally with a one-out walk and Ethan Daniels followed with a single before both runners advanced on a passed ball. First baseman Jordan Stewart followed with a single that scored Burchett and moved Daniels to third before Pelphrey drew a walk to fill the bases. Matt Daniels took one for the team and was hit by a pitch that scored Ethan Daniels to tie the game at 3-3 before VanHoose helped himself out with a single up the middle that scored Stewart and Pelphrey for the two-run win.
For the full article please subscribe to The Paintsville Herald.
May 9, 2008, 20:58
Tandy Spurlock makes last ride on opening night at 201
by Chris Belcher
201 track writer
The gates of the 201 Speedway opened to a large crowd of dirttrack fans for the 25th season after months of anticipation. The mountain behind the scorers booth had been nearly leveled, the outer Late Model pit area had increased in size, and the road leading to the upper seating and parking area was considerably larger than the previous season.
An evening of exciting dirt-track racing action in four divisions would end on a sad note, as fans and drivers across the area learned the following morning the news that one of the most popular drivers, who had raced earlier in the night, finishing ninth in the Late Model feature, passed away from an apparent heart attack after returning home.
Tandy Spurlock, a former Bomber champion at Thunder Ridge, and the last Limited Late Model Champion at 201 passed when he arrived at his home. Tandy was a fierce competitor, well known and respected by all the drivers and a fan favorite for his many years of racing.
For full story, please purchase a copy of The Paintsville Herald.
May 9, 2008, 17:21
Bob Watkins
Gillispie is 1-for-30 on top Parade stars; offers scholarship to eighth grader
While we wait to see if Big Brown will remind us of Big Red ...
From Parade Magazine’s 2008 four team, 40-name basketball prep stars list, Kentucky’s Billy Clyde Gillispie was zero for every prospect north of Darius Miller (third team).
The one-for-30 includes Samardo Samuels (to Louisville), Greg Monroe (Georgetown), B.J. Mullens (Ohio State), Scotty Hopson (Tennessee), Chris Singleton (Florida), and Tyler Zeller (North Carolina).
Quite a surprise, Gillispie’s oh-fer considering his recruiting reputation and a roster Swiss cheese enough to offer instant minutes.
Still, Kentucky’s coach grabbed a couple headlines last week. Indiana junior-to-be Dominque Ferguson announced for UK for 2010. And Gillispie got a commit from father of an eighth grader.
An eighth what?
Californian Howard Avery lobbied Gillispie who offered a scholarship.
I think Kentucky’s coach might have preferred his offer to 14-year-old Michael Avery had been kept quiet since cradle robbing is seldom looked upon kindly and frequently invites ridicule.
Gillispie should have nudged Avery-the-elder and whispered a cell phone number in his ear. One belonging to Dakotah Euton’s pop.
Instead, Howard Avery did what any father of a teeny-bopper with a full scholarship to Kentucky would do, crow from the house top.
Bad move all round.
In context of striking out with 29 of the prime rated seniors, Gillispie’s reeling in Avery appears less Big Blue Nation building than desperation.
Young Avery’s new-found fame brings to mind Indiana one-time prodigy Damon Bailey.
In 1985 IU coach Bob Knight attended a Bedford North Lawrence game and mentioned the ninth grade kid’s name to a reporter later.
Bingo. Bailey was swept into a media spotlight that spanned the next eight years. Whether he got maximum joy out of the rest of his childhood and time at Indiana University is debatable.
What is not debatable: Instant spot-light for a kid is never a good thing.
Today, Michael Avery has a college option at 14. There will be more offers. That’s the good news.
Bad news? From tip-off of his next game, Avery faces pressure to perform at an unreasonable level every night. And, opposing coaches will huddle their teams with: “let’s get more heat on the UK scholarship guy.”
While that happens, Avery-the-elder would do well to avoid a pitfall Dakotah Euton’s father fell into. As his 15-year-old son adjusted to being UK-bound, Euton-the-elder whined and groused at shadows. Internet ghosts who tendered their expert views (snicker) on progress of a 15-year-old.
Ready or not, Howard Avery (and Gillispie) have foisted an unnatural burden on Michael Avery.
No matter how good Avery becomes, rival college recruiters will spin Gillispie recruiting a kiddie in a sinister light with parents of other teen recruiting targets.
Epilogue. Highest hope here is Michael Avery (and Dakotah Euton) enjoy being kids as long as possible.
KASS VISION?
Kentucky Association of high school superintendents (KASS) recommended last month that athletic administrators at public schools adopt a silent boycott against private schools in athletics. Cherry pick which private schools to not schedule beginning this academic year.
We can be certain, can’t we, these learned men and women whose time and decisions are paid for by our tax dollars, reached their sports’ boycott decision long after finding solutions for rising fuel costs for school bus fleets, food prices increases for cafeterias, and rising costs for facility heating bills?
Right?
The KASS proposed boycott is but a new knee-jerk twist on an old idea.
1. Athletics directors refuse to schedule another school because a student-athlete’s family or guardian circumvented the change-of-residence rule. Reality is, there will always be cheaters. Punishing the many for transgressions of the few is hardly visionary.
2. One school’s coach or coaches ‘ran up the score on us last year so we won’t schedule ‘em this season.’
3. One school’s officials turned whistle blower on another’s athletics programs.
What did these incidents have in common? All involved public schools.
What good came of the boycots? Abosultely none.
That tax-funded KASS believes disengagement (boycott) is a solution while students look on, is a slap in the face for education. And should be an embarrassment for KASS office holders.
NEWS & VIEWS
NEWS. Four University of Kentucky football players were chosen in the NFL draft last week. Three others, and counting, caught on as free agents.
VIEW. Back-to-back bowl wins and the head coach succession set, Coach Rich Brooks and staff will get into more (recruit) living rooms than before.
NEWS. Despite the clamor for play-offs, college football officials cited “unprecedented good health,” as prime reason to keep their BCS formula for determining national champions intact through 2014.
VIEW. NCAA officials have no incentive to tinker with their cash cow. Last season there were 32 bowl games. This year, 34.
Congressional Bowl in Washington, D.C. will pit Navy against an ACC opponent. St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field will match Big East against Conference USA.
WORTH REPEATING DEPT.
UK assistant head coach Steve Ortmayer on Wesley Woodyard going undrafted last week, “... they have no idea what kind of leader he is. He’ll make every play on special teams for you. There were 100-plus guys drafted in the last three rounds that can’t carry Wesley Woodyard’s jock.”
And so it goes.
Have a point-of-view you would like to share? Write bob Watkins at Sprtsinky@aol.com
May 7, 2008, 21:00
© Copyright 2005 Johnson County Newspapers, Inc.
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