More with Gore

Bruce running back Richard Freelon was recently featured as the number twenty-six rated prospects amongst the top forty preseason in the state of Mississippi according to superprep.com powered by scout.com recruiting.

Last season Freelon earned Region 2-2A MVP honors after rushing for 2,533 yards and 33 touchdowns – just eight shy of the all-time county mark of 41 set by Vardaman’s Odie Armstrong in 2000.

Freelon has already qualified with a 3.6 GPA and a 16 on the ACT. Alcorn State, LSU, Ole Miss, MSU, USM, Alabama, Arkansas, and Michigan have shown interest in the 5’10 200lb running back with Alcorn being the only school to have offered him so far.

Bruce is set to kickoff the season at home against DeSoto Central.

It’s a classic scene, your son or daughter sitting in front of the television wearing their Little League jersey cheering for his or her favorite team. Dreaming one day to be wearing the same pin stripes as Alex Rodriguez or smashing a towering shot out of Turner Field like Chipper Jones. Whether it be the Bruce Yankees, the Calhoun City Cubs, or the Vardaman Braves when kids put on their jersey they feel as if their dream is becoming a reality, but Major League Baseball looks at it another way – from the business point of view.

Major League Baseball has recently ruled that suburban Chicago Little League teams can no longer use major league team names unless teams buy their jerseys from Majestic Athletic in Bangor, Pennsylvania.

“I think it is ridiculous not being able to use a pro name, because a lot of these kids are looking up to those major leaguers,” Coach Travis England coach of the 11-12 year old Calhoun City Tigers – named after the Clemons Tigers.

On the Majestic Athletic website the phrase “We don’t make jerseys. We make dreams” appears on their homepage, but one has to ask – when did childhood dreams come earmarked with a price tag?

“Every kid dreams of making it to the big leagues and it makes it more fun to be named after teams like the Red Sox and the Yankees… I disagree with it and don’t think it is right,” Coach Josh Miller of Calhoun City.

“It’s one of the most ridiculous things I have heard of. I guess things have gotten so big business… they have lost focus on the point of all this being about the kids and the dreams they have to get to the big leagues,” Coach Eric Spann of Vardaman.

The website promotes all the good the company has done by linking press coverage from various areas in the United States, but nothing has yet to be said about the recent move by the MLB to discontinue the long time practice of using professional team names by Little League teams throughout the entire nation.

“It’s really discouraging to me as far as what message we are trying to teach our youth, is it the money or the dream of playing major league baseball one day,” Spann.

“When I played we grew up looking at the major league teams and the players as our role models and this is going to put a separation between kids and Major League Baseball that is not going to be a good one,” Miller.

For now all the teams in the suburban Chicago area are known as the Bulldogs with their town name listed below the logo. While Chicago is a far cry from Calhoun County, one still has to wonder – why has the purity of Little League dreams become corrupted by Major League greed?

Brad Locke reports on the hiring of the new boys basketball coach at West Point.

Brandon Speck reports on former Aberdeen standout being named AF2 Iron Man of the Week.

Aberdeen’s Shardae Ward inks with ICC

Northeast Mississippi Community College fastpitch softball coach Jody Long has added Aberdeen High School standout Shardae Ward to his 2008 signing class.

Lady Inidans Honored

Itawamba Community College enjoyed a “breakout” season this past spring in softball as the Lady Indians shared the north division title with Northeast. ICC head coach Chad Case, who just completed his first year in charge of the program, announced on Tuesday that six of his players were honored on the different MACJC and Region 23 post-season awards list.

Freshman shortstop Chasidy Williams was the only Itawamba player to make the first team All-Region 23 squad after hitting a team-best (among regulars) .389 batting average with five home runs and 27 runs batted in. The former division 1-4A player of the year at Saltillo also sported an on-base percentage of .441 and a .626 slugging percentage.

Williams and two of her teammates, Monique Echoles and Melissa Russell both made first-team all-state. Echoles, who is from Houston, finished first in the state and among the nation’s top 20 in home runs with 11 on the season to go along with her .375 batting clip and 39 runs batted in. In addition, the first baseman led the team with her .768 slugging percentage and .485 on-base percentage.

Russell, who is from Phil Campbell, Ala., went 9-8 on the hill with two shutouts, one save, and a sparkling 2.64 earned run average. The right hander completed 12 of her 17 starts.

Three more Lady Indians made second team all-state, including a pair from Pontotoc County.

Designated hitter Tonya Mooneyham of South Pontotoc hit .375, had a team-high 10 doubles along with her 5 home runs, 32 runs batted in, a .472 on-base percentage and a .615 slugging percentage.

Infielder Brooke Tedford of Pontotoc hit .355 with eight doubles, one home run and 19 runs batted in. Lane Maxcy of Amory was the third ICC player honored on the second team all-state squad after winning 10 games, three of those were shutouts and had an era of 3.52. The sophomore completed 15 of her 21 starts.

All three of those Lady Indians also made the second team all north division squad with Williams, Echoles and Russell making the first team all-division list.

Dillard off to good start

Tim Dillard threw two scoreless innings in the Milwaukee Brewers 12-8 win over the Washington Nationals.  The Saltillo native is off to a good start to his career not allowing a single hit in three innings pitched. 

Girls 3A-4A-5A West All-Stars

Diamber Johnson – Pontotoc
Ranisha Williams – Pontotoc
Lori Cruddup – Pontotoc
Lauren Rosado – Pontotoc
Anna Lisa Powell – North Pontotoc
Raelynne Puttman – South Pontotoc
Kala Morris – South Pontotoc
CeCee Austin – South Pontotoc
Tamara Wadlington – Oxford
Kristen Thompson – Oxford

Girls 3A-4A-5A East All-Stars

Erin Parrish – Alcorn Central
Leota Cornelius – Alcorn Central
Jasmine Quinn – Aberdeen
Breeze Burroughs – Nettleton
Shay Watkins – Saltillo
Brittany Herdford – Saltillo
Leanna Moore – Saltillo

Boys 3A-4A-5A West All-Stars

Artavious Bowling – New Albany
Milan McFarland – Houston
Justin Gillard – Oxford
Kenny Mullin, Jr. – Oxford
James Elzie – Pontotoc
Kelsey Barnes – Pontotoc
Creighton Nelms – Kossuth
Terrence Hereford – Mooreville

Boys 3A-4A-5A East All-Stars

Spence Wicks – Booneville
Austin Malone – Alcorn Central
Steve Curry – Aberdeen
Ricky Bell – Aberdeen
Fred Griffin – Aberdeen
Hailey Hicks – Corinth
Tyler Walker – Tishomingo County
Xavier Harrish – Saltillo

Girls 1A-2A West All-Stars

Brittni Gilliam – Ingomar
Brittany Tanner – Ingomar
Denisha Crum – Falkner
Emily Bates – Pine Grove
Dekisha Fondon – Water Valley
Miranda Phillips – Water Valley
Brittany Weekley – Water Valley
Courtney Tucker – Hickory Flat
Marian Parker – HW Byers
Simone Ryan – HW Byers

Girls 1A-2A East All-Stars

Yalanda Davis – Biggersville
Sascha Stafford – Biggersville
Kailie Montgomery – Belmont
Rumae Butler – Belmont
Jasmine Holiday – Belmont
Cyndal Cleveland – Mantachie
Ashley Ables – New Site
Kathleen Wey – East Webster
Ronniekka Steward – Houlka
Courtney Knox – Houlka

Boys 1A-2A West All-Stars

Kyle Heard – Ingomar
Gerrell Keys – Ingomar
Grant Goolsby – Myrtle
Anthony Cox – Myrtle
Earnest Perry – Walnut
Rodney Jackson – Houlka
Ethan Reece – Pine Grove
Marquenton Williams – Ashland

Boys 1A-2A East All-Stars

Brandon McDonald – Wheeler
Eric Basden – Biggersville
Mitchell McCurry – East Webster
Dante Jennings – Calhoun City
James Pierce – Calhoun City
Marvin Rayford – HW Byers
Justin Owens – HW Byers

Additional names could be added to the rosters before the games take place on June 7 at the Davis Event Center on the campus of Itawamba Community College.  The 1A/2A girls game will start things off on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. while Friday night will see the hot shot, three point, free throw, and lay-up competition as well as the dunk contest – with high flyer Kenny Mullin and Milan McFarland in the house you may not want to miss it!

One last plug to get players nominated for the all-area baseball and softball teams.  I’ve gotten just as many players nominated outside the area as I do inside the area.  You can leave a comment here or you can email me at adamcgore@gmail.com

Brad Locke at the Northeast MS Daily Journal is needing the same thing by FRIDAY.  Here is the link with the information for coaches to get those nominations in:  Daily Journal Nominations

Basketball Camps

Also Brandon Speck has reported that Nettleton will host a basketball camp June 2 – 5 at the high school gym.  For more information call 662-213-3977.

Over the course of the next few days (pending on my mood to write) I am going to look back on some of the top moments both on and off the field/court/diamond that stands out in my mind from this past sports season.

I am sure there will be some that jump out at me later on, but for now I will go with my top ten quick list:

10. The Rain and the Mouth

The 2007-2008 sports season started out with a bang (or should I say boom) as Ryan Whittington and I sat through a hour and half rain delay before the Oak Hill Academy and Winston Academy football game. It would have been a nice night if we could have enjoyed the sounds of the rain on the tin roof of the press box, but instead they were drowned out by the mouth of a gentleman that will go unmentioned in the blog.

He had to ask everyone what time it was on his watch that was Ole Miss fans. Hearing that Ryan went to school at Ole Miss he assumed I too was a fan of the Rebels – this gentleman comes over to a slightly annoyed version of Adam Gore and proceeds to show me his watch and brag about his Bulldogs. Instead of greeting him with a half hearted laugh as everyone else did my retort was: “I’m a Notre Dame fan, go win at least one national title and then maybe I will let you show me your watch.”

Little did I know what the upcoming football season had in store for my Fighting Irish and his Bulldogs.

9. Will, Bill, and Gore – I didn’t fit the rhyme scheme.

This may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but it was to me – so let me live in my moment people. I grew up in the shadows of Oxford living in Calhoun County and two of my biggest sports icons in the area were WTVA’s Will Kollmeyer and Ole Miss head football coach Billy Brewer.

Will is now the Sports Information and Media Director at ICC and the two of us have become pretty good friends over the past few seasons. As I’m talking to Will before the game Coach Brewer walks up and extends his hand towards me and says, “Adam, I just wanted you to know that I am big fan of yours. You do a great job with all those games and I really enjoy that sports talk show you do too.”

Needless to say, it was a good night to be me.

8. Seabiscuit and He-man

It’s no secret that when I haven’t slept I tend to say stupid things. This season it is a close race for the top comment:

During the Coffeeville vs. Lafayette County boys game in the Coach C Classic a super-energized Coffeeville team sparked the following random statement in the game. “This Coffeeville team makes me tired watching them cause they are like Seabiscuit all over the place out there getting after loose balls and rebounds.”

A semi-lackluster game two between Calhoun City and Myrtle in the second round of the 1A North State Baseball Playoffs was given a shot in the arm when Jordan Moore connecting on a towering grand slam to put the game away for good and invoke a “by the power of Greyskull” comment on the shot to left from yours truly.

You be the judge of the best of my self-admitted stupidity.

7. 300 and counting

The great part of my job is being able to be apart of milestones, great moments in kids lives, and history.

Last season I was able to call career win 904 for Ingomar head basketball coach Norris Ashley and this past season I was able to call career win 300 for Oxford head basketball coach and good friend Drew Tyler.

Congratulations Coach.

6. Speck“tater”

The best part about this job is the people you meet and the friends you make along the way – Brandon Speck of the Monroe County Journal being one of those new friends from this past season.

In an attempt to bring more attention to 1A North State Softball Tournament and female athletics in general I put a friendly wager of Sweet Potatoes against … well I don’t know if he ever named anything on his side of the wager… that Vardaman would represent the North in the 1A Softball State Championship.

While our joint adventure turned more than a combined 1,400 views of our blogs and countless phone calls as well as face to face comments – the idea was a success with only one problem. Brandon and I have something in common when it comes to Sweet Potatoes – we don’t like them. So a lucky Smithville fan ended up reaping the “sweet” rewards of our wager.

5. Aberdeen meet Kenny Mullin, Jr. and Mantachie…way to use your head.

Kenny Mullin, Jr Dunk!           How Not To Celebrate A Touchdown

Need I say more?

4. Live in the moment: Coach Hazzel and Coach Bray

I think the greatest moment I was able to witness this season was the Aberdeen Bulldogs winning the 3A State Basketball Championship.

Here is a team that was said to have lost too much to play at that level that has come to be known as Aberdeen basketball, but there was one man that believed more than others they could win – Coach Roy Hazzle.

This is a man that believes in his kids, his community, his school, and lifts up everyone around him – they type of guy you can’t help to pull for at the end of the day. A coach that was well overdue to live in the moment of hoisting a state championship trophy over his head, but while his players celebrated on the floor coach did something that will stay with me for a long time.

While fans shouted and showed their appreciation to their coach he took the time to thank each one of them by name or by nickname for helping the kids reach this milestone in the history of Aberdeen basketball – never mentioning a word about himself. Then reached for “his trophy” as he reached for his grandbaby from the crowd and smiled as he returned to the floor to enjoy his team celebrating.

It was an emotional night in Pittsboro as Vardaman fans said goodbye to long time coach Mark Bray.  This was my first true feel of someone I have grown to know in this business stepping away from the job. Granted for me he will still be in the viewing area at South Pontotoc next season, but to see how much one man can touh so many lives in the community was an amazing feeling and I know had to make saying goodbye even harder after seeing the appreciation from all the people of Vardaman.

Thanks for the memories coach - both on and “off the record” and good luck next season in Springville. 

3. Mother Nature and Union County

Did Mother Nature attend a school from Union County or is she an old friend of Norris Ashley? The reason I ask is because this season some of the oddest weather related things have come to about involving Union County schools.

During basketball season the lights went out when Pontotoc played New Albany and Calhoun City played Ingomar – both in crucial region games, both on the same night, and both around the same time. It caused both games to be rescheduled four days later after about roughly two hours of delay and prompting legendary coach Norris Ashley to say, “In all my years of coaching I have never seen anything like this”

During baseball season the game was delayed in the eight inning between Ingomar and Calhoun City due to a dense fog that rolled into town.

During the baseball playoffs game one between Ingomar and Vardaman was delayed due to a tornado in Union County. While damage was serve in the county New Albany and Vicksburg was blessed by their first game of their series being played in Vicksburg well away from the wrath of the vicious storm.

2.  Hitching a ride from Wheeler

It’s very rare that I ride the bus to games – not that I am not offered rides, but I just don’t do well in closed environments like a bus… not to mention the fact that I could be left behind!

Calhoun City defeated Wheeler in the play-in game of the 1A North State Basketball Tournament. As I was walking out the gym I saw the Calhoun City team bus taking a left leaving Wheeler as my cell phone rings – I answer, “Yep, I’m still at the gym” before Coach Darren Coffey could ask where I was.

Needless to say he was very apologetic and I found the whole thing better funny. The Easley’s were still at the gym and gladly took me to the bus where they waited for me to rejoin them. To make matters even better Coach Tyler, who is good friends with Darren, had called me as he normally does during the playoffs and gave Darren fits as I put him on speaker phone to hear Drew tell me how “he would never dream of leaving me at a ballgame” and asked if he needed to come get me since Darren forgot about me.

It’s one of those moments we all will look back on in years to come and still get a pretty good laugh out of it.

1. Vardaman Lady Rams Softball

If there ever was that magical season that you want to be apart of in your career as a sports director/broadcaster/columnist/photographer the post season run by the Vardaman Lady Rams was the one to be a small piece of. Vardaman started the season a team that wasn’t expected compete let alone make the playoffs. Once they qualified for the playoffs they were written off, but instead made a run all the way to the North State Championship. It was a run that reminded me why I stay in this business – the kids, the coaches, and their families.

To the Lady Rams, Coach Dill and Chandler, the all families, everyone reading this blog, and those of you that pick up a newspaper or watch W07BN – thanks for relighting that fire to keep me making it do what it do.

One of the major fundraising events of the year for Itawamba Community College’s football program is its annual golf tourny.  This year’s date is set for May 30th at the River Birch Golf Course in Amory.

This summer’s four-person scramble kicks off with a lunch at 11 a.m. and the shotgun start at 1 p.m. and there is still team or individual slots available.  It’s only $35 dollars a person and that includes your lunch, 18 holes of golf with cart, range balls before the tourny, a football t-shirt, prizes for the top team and also plenty of door prizes.

“It could be the deal of the century so far,” said Indians head coach Jeff Terrill, whose program won the north division a year ago on the way to a third straight top 20 finish in the nation’s final poll by the NJCAA.  ICC and Gulf Coast are the only two among the 14 schools in the MACJC to play football that can say that.  “We guarantee a good time on May 30th at River Birch in Amory.”

If you would like to sign up, sponsor a hole, or need more info, please call Terrill at 862-8227.

For the second straight season their will be no “Skuna River Rivalry” during the regular season, but the two teams met this past Friday in a spring game to keep one of the state’s top rivalries alive and kicking.

Bruce wasted no time putting points on the board as Richard Freelon broke free for a long touchdown run on the Trojans first offensive drive with Curtis Lyons adding the two-point conversion.  Cleveland Freelon and Lyons added a touchdown and two-point conversion each in the second quarter to give Bruce a 24-0 edge, but Calhoun City found their rhythm when Jr Jennings connected with Demarius Howard for a long touchdown pass to pull the game to a 24-6 mark by halftime.

In the second half the youthful Wildcats stepped up on the defensive side of the ball holding the super speedy Trojans to a lone Lyons touchdown run on a fumbled snap in the third quarter.

The game showed some of the classic rivalry late game heroics that have almost become expected when these two teams take the field as Brandon Lawrence followed a host of great blocking to coast into the end zone for a long touchdown run, but the two point conversion failed.  On the next Trojan possession the ball was snapped into the end zone and Bruce fell on top of the football for a safety just before a host of Wildcats recovered the fumble for a touchdown. 

The win snapped a string of three straight wins by the Wildcats.  Last season the ‘Cats went to Trojan Field and picked up possibly the most bizarre win in the long runnings series 22-20 despite being dominated in every offensive aspect of the game.  Bruce leads the all-time series 37-22-2 over Calhoun City.

Bruce will open the season on August 29th at 7:30 p.m. when they play host to DeSoto Central, a team the Trojans went on the road to upset the Jaguars in overtime last season.  Calhoun City will open the season on the road on either the 28th or 29th in a crucial region game against rival Vardaman at 7:30 p.m.

One common theme has come from the Skuna River Rivalry spring game and Vardaman scrimmages, August can’t get here quick enough! 

The Vardaman baseball and softball teams recently held a fun day at the ball park as they squared off for bragging rights in a game that was dubbed one of the softball players as “Mascara vs Muscle” to cap off great seasons on the diamond for both squads.

The two teams played slow pitch softball games Coach Spann playing the role of all-time pitcher and Coach Dill as the infield umpire. The guys batted with their opposite hand and ran regulation baseball bases while the girls ran the length of softball bases with no stealing allowed for either team.

The guys started the day by wearing handmade Smithville t-shirts and heckling the girls when they were taking infield before the game, but it was the ladies who got the last laugh after taking an 8-7 victory in eight innings of play proving mascara is better than muscle.

The baseball Rams jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first two innings of the game, but the girls got back in the game when a throwing error to first “mysteriously” ended up in right field to help spark a three run inning.

The two teams battled, laughed, and fussed their way to a 6-4 score in the bottom of the seventh where the girls were able to plate two runs to force the game into extra innings. The guys scored one run in the top half of the eight, but like majority of their magical playoff run the girls picked up key hits for more late game heriocs one last time this season to pick up the 8-7 victory.

Click here for more photos from Mascara vs Muscle.

ICC/Will Kollmeyer

For the second time in less than two weeks, a former Itawamba Community College baseball star has been called up the major leagues. Right-handed reliever Tim Dillard was recalled by Milwaukee Friday afternoon and made his Major League debut in his first appearance with the Brewers last night in our nation’s capital.

The Saltillo native set the Nationals down in order in the 8th inning, including a strikeout.

The 24-year-old, who led ICC to its only NJCAA World Series appearance in 2003 with a 13-0 mark and an ERA of less than 1.50, logged a 3-0 record and 2.01 ERA (7er/31.1ip) in 15 relief outings for the Sounds this spring while holding Pacific Coast League opponents to a .241 batting average.

“I’m not surprised that Tim has finally made the majors,” said his former head coach at ICC, Rick Collier. “He was a man among boys when he pitched for us and was one of the main reasons we finished 5th at the World Series that year. A lot of folks didn’t know that he had some nice relief appearances this past spring for the Brewers in their exhibition season. It was just a matter of time before Tim got the call.”

Earlier this month, another former all-state and all-region Indian from Itawamba, Jonathan Van Every of Brandon, was promoted to the majors by the Boston Red Sox and also had a successful big league debut by going 1-3 at the plate against the Orioles.