Saturday was one of the longest days of work that I can remember.

I certainly use the term “work” loosely. Watching a college football game certainly isn’t hard work. Actually, the trip to Charlotte was an absolute blast. The stadium was rocking when the teams were first introduced. Virginia Tech went first. The Hokies came out to their traditional “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. It was loud for sure. The Pirates followed and you could tell that both teams were tired of summer camp and looking forward to playing a game.

The game certainly wasn’t a gem. The Pirates were giving out gifts like it was Christmas morning early. The fumbled lateral was bad enough, but the Pirates followed that up with a fumble on the ensuing kick-off. Later, the Pirates were trying to tie the game with an extra point, when Tech blocked the thing and scored two points on their own with the return. It was Rocky Mount’s own Stephan Virgil, who was once recruited by ECU, that scored on the lateral and on the extra point return. That botched PAT turned a 14-14 game into a 16-13 Pirate deficit.

East Carolina would trail 22-13 deep into the fourth quarter. That’s when the magic began. Give Patrick Pinkney plenty of credit for both the way he played and the leadership he displayed. Pinkney drove the Pirates down and then scored the touchdown to set up the game-winning score.

It was 22-20 when the Pirate defense held to set up the winning play. Forget “Beamer Ball”. This time the Pirates beat Beamer at his own game.

T.J. Lee broke through, blocked the punt, and then hustled to the end zone for the game-winner. The Pirate Nation was beside itself in Charlotte.

What a way to open the season! I’ve seen plenty of Pirate football through my 24 years, but that was just about as good as it gets. We left at 5:30 AM, covered the game, arrived back in Greenville at 10:15pm and still anchored the 11pm sportscast. Photographer Kevin O’Brien did a great job in helping me. It was a long but most rewarding day. I’ve always said that all of Eastern Carolina is happy when the Pirates win. If you want to get a bank loan, this might be the week to do it, because everybody is in a good mood.

It might get even better. A win this week over 8th ranked West Virginia should vault the Pirates into the Top 25.

It should be the hottest ticket in years!

An eastern North Carolina tradition returns this week with the season debut of Touchdown Friday.

I can’t remember how long the show has run in our area, but I do know this is my 25th year of covering high school football in this area. It’s always a great run during the fall, to watch teams get better and better. There are underdogs that pull off upsets, and champions that seem to always come up with a way to win.

We debuted our first Touchdown Friday Top 9 this week. New Bern starts the year at number one, after taking home the 4AA state championship last year. Rocky Mount is the pick to win the NEW 6, and the Gryphons are number two. Northside-Jacksonville lost a key player in quarterback Joe Womack, but the Monarchs are still loaded. J.H. Rose opens the Todd Lipe era and start the year at number four. SW Onslow should give Northside a run for their money, the Stallions are ranked fifth. James Kenan is sixth and Plymouth is seventh. Both of those teams were state champions last year. Hertford County comes in at number eight, while Williamston is ninth in our first poll.

There’s really nothing like anchoring a show like a Touchdown Friday. I always sweat like the guy in the movie “Airplane” during the first week. That’s how hectic it is.

Then again, there’s nothing like the feeling you have after a great show. So many people work so hard to make the show happen. Our photographers really make it happen! Without them, we simply wouldn’t have a show.

If you go to a game feel free to call us with a score. My desk number is 252-355-8555.

We’ll see you at the game…..

BB

August is much like December for our sports department.

That sounds really silly until you think about it a minute.

The football season is sort of like Christmas for us. The month of August is a busy time in trying to prepare for the season. Touchdown Friday kicks off on August 22nd. We have a half hour Pirate Football Preview Show that will air on August 28th. The Pirates open their season on August 30th in Charlotte against Virginia Tech.

There is really so much to do, and so little time. Coaches always say they need an extra week or two. It’s the same way for us in the sports department!

Touchdown Friday takes a lot of preparation. We’ve been working on a new open for about three months. I think you’ll like what we’ve come up with. Drew Horne in our marketing department does a wonderful job with Touchdown Friday, and he’s worked hard on our new look.

It’s been hot at the East Carolina football practices. Those guys are in great shape, but the heat can still make the practices a real grind. We were live at practice after the first practice in pads. I swear the temperature on the turf field had to have been 110 degrees.

It’s hot, but it may be hotter in Charlotte, both with the temperature and the emotions in that first game!

I apologize for not checking in for a while. I took a brief vacation, and now hope to survive the summer and get to football season.

In some ways the summer is a great time for sports. Late June is always a little slow, but July keeps us hopping with the various all-star tournaments that go on around the area.

Our area is actually one of the few areas in the state that try and cover the Little League, Cal Ripken, and Babe Ruth tournaments. The problem is that you just can’t get all of them covered. Several years ago we decided as a station to try and cover as many “championship” games as we can. We promise to do this again this year.

Of course, if you are at a tournament and see a story that needs to be told, please don’t hesitate to email me at . We are always looking to tell sports stories that EVERYONE (sports fans and non-sports fans) will enjoy.

Also, we’ll try to get in as many scores as we can. You can call my direct line at 252-355-8555 for scores. We’ll try to get on as many as we can. We’ll also get those scores on our web site at http://www.wnct.com.

I had this past Monday off and watched the Tar Heel and North State championship games at Elm Street Park. Clark Branch will now meet East Carolina Chrysler-Dodge in the best two-of-three finals for the prestigious Greenville city championship. We’ve covered the series for years, and will do so again this year. Elm Street Park is an absolute gem for our city. If you want to see great baseball in one of the state’s best settings, then head to Elm Street for the championship series.

I want to wish all of the all-star teams in our area the very best of luck this summer. Keep the number and the email handy, and I’m sure I’ll see many of you at the ballpark…

BB

One of the perks of my job is that from time to time I get to meet one of the all-time greats in sports.

I’ve been very fortunate through the years. I’ve played two rounds of golf with Michael Jordan. I’ve met and interviewed Tiger Woods. Former Dallas Cowboy’s coach Tom Landry had always been my hero, and I had a chance to meet him.

Then came Friday at Innsbrook. I walked on a golf course with a true legend of his sport, Arnold Palmer.

Palmer’s plane was late that morning, so the schedule was off a bit. Still, when Arnie arrived all eyes were on one of the sports greatest. Palmer took a short ride around the back nine. He then played the ninth hole, before going back to number one for his exhibition.

Palmer looked and played great at the age of 78. His time was limited, so we grabbed a quick interview with him after one of his tee shots.

“I really like what I see,” he said, talking about his latest signature course at the Innsbrook Golf and Boat Club. “The course has really filled in nicely. The winds will make it difficult at times, especially from the tips.”

Palmer was ever bit the gentleman that I had seen on television for years. He truly played to the crowd, and everyone in this version of “Arnie’s Army” really enjoyed the exhibition.

Innsbrook is located between Windsor and Edenton. It’s about an hour drive from Greenville, but well worth the trip. It’s as plush of a golf course that I’ve ever seen in person. At times, it looked like Arnie was hitting off of a green carpet.

The organizers of the event put on a great show. It was a day I’ll remember for quite a long time.

It’s certainly not every Friday that you meet a man like Arnold Palmer.

East Carolina won three more baseball games this past weekend.

Their biggest win, however, came on Sunday. Pirate Coach Billy Godwin and his Pirates hosted the Greenville Challenger League for a special game at Clark-LeClair Stadium

I’ve had the chance to work in the Challenger League now for three seasons. It’s baseball for special needs children. The smiles don’t get any bigger then the day that the players get a chance to perform on the big stage at ECU.

Words just can’t describe what goes on in the game. The Pirate players all serve as buddies for the Challenger players. It was really hard to tell who was having the better time, the Pirates or the Challenger players.

Pirate senior Corey Kemp has been a part of both of the Pirate Challenger exhibitions. He shared a story with us from last year’s game, when he was helping a young man in a wheelchair. The boy couldn’t hear and could barely talk. When he hit the ball, he made a loud noise. Corey wheeled him around the bases. The boys Mom was crying. Corey said he was choked up. That day meant that much to a family.

The Pirate players deserve a lot of credit for hosting the game. This is the grueling part of the schedule. They rarely get a day off. Still, each player was out to the field to spend the afternoon with players with special needs.

It was a great day!

The Challenger League plays their regular season games at the Sarah Vaughn Field of Dreams at the Elm Street Little League Park. Please come by one Saturday morning. We have a blast!

BB

So how are your brackets going?

I’ve got three of my Final 4 still alive. I missed the Memphis win over Texas, but I did have UNC, Kansas and UCLA in the Final 4.

My initial predictions were for Kansas to beat UNC, and for UCLA to knock off Texas. Therefore, I’ll stick with UCLA and Kansas in the National Championship game. I’ve got the Bruins to win it all.

However, one could certainly argue that UNC and Memphis were the most impressive of the survivors from last weekend. The Tar Heels are really good, and even better when Tyler Hansbrough is knocking down that outside shot. Memphis looked like an NBA team in their dismantling of Texas. The Conference USA champs looked the part of a national champ in their regional finale.

It’s the first time that all four top seeds have ever made it to the Final 4. It should make for great drama on Saturday, with UCLA and Memphis tipping things off shortly after 6pm.

Credit Davidson with being the story of this year’s tournament. Stephen Curry was an absolute joy to watch, and the Wildcats almost turned into a modern day George Mason right before our eyes!

Enjoy the games…

BB

The NCAA Tournament never dissapoints the sports fan.
The drama is unbelievable. The last second shots. The upsets. March Madness is truly a thing of beauty.
How are your brackets as we head to the “Sweet 16”? I’ve still got my Final Four, with North Carolina, Texas, Kansas and UCLA all surviving. UCLA barely got by. North Carolina is the top overall seed in the tournament, and the Tar Heels certainly played that part this weekend with two blowout wins.
The four seeds in the East now head to Charlotte. I think North Carolina will be tested by Washington State, but the Heels are playing the best basketball in the tournament by far. I’ve got Kansas to beat UNC, but I’m not so sure after watching this past weekend’s play.
The ACC has only one team in the “Sweet 16”. Duke’s upset loss to West Virginia was a huge sirprise. The Devils are good when their threes are falling. When they didn’t fall, Duke was certainly vulnerable.
Enjoy the tournament when it gets back in gear on Thursday night. There’s really nothing like it.
“March Madness” should lead into some kind of Final Four that first week of April.  BB

Selection Sunday is one of the magical days of the sports year.

Teams across the nation gather to fill in their brackets, finding out just where their run in the tournament will take them.

I was coming home from Charlotte on Sunday and decided to stop for dinner, and to watch the NCAA pairings show on CBS.

I plugged up my Garmin, and it indicated that I had just passed an Applebees about a mile back. I turned around in Lexington, North Carolina to watch the show.

I pulled up and saw a bus with people departing. I thought about leaving, not wanting to battle a crowd. I decided to at least check it out.

The first person I saw was North Carolina Coach Roy Williams. The ACC Tournament champions were also making a stop in Lexington. I shook hands with the coach, and then took a seat about five feet away. ACC Tournament MVP Tyler Hansbrough stood just behind me. Danny Green and Quentin Thomas were right across the bar area. There were very few people in the restaurant, so it was almost like a private party for the Heels, with me as an out of place guest.

The first announcement during the selection show was the tournament’s number one seed, which was North Carolina. The Tar Heel players let out a cheer. They would start the tourney at number one!

Carolina’s destination and first round opponent brought little reaction. Everyone pretty much knew that UNC would play in Raleigh. Under the pod system, many felt that Duke would also play at the RBC Center, but that wasn’t the case, as the Devils head to Washington, DC. North Carolina will play the play-in game winner. That game is Tuesday night, with Coppin State taking on Mt. St. Mary’s.

That winner will be the sacrificial lamb to UNC on Friday night at 7:10 in Raleigh.

By the way, my Final Four includes UNC, UCLA, Texas and Kansas.

Enjoy the games, and check our our bracket challenge and our live NCAA scoreboard at WNCT.com!

BB

East Carolina Sweeps Keith LeClair Classic

East Carolina’s Diamond Pirates looked great this weekend in sweeping the Keith LeClair Classic. The Pirates beat Pitt and Michigan on Saturday, and then rolled by Georgia Southern on Sunday.

Saturday was one of the windiest days that I have ever seen for baseball at East Carolina. It was also one of the busiest days of the year for our Sports Department.

We had two ECU baseball games and a total of eight Eastern Regional finals on Saturday. We also had the Duke/Carolina game that night.

I watched the Farmville Central game on Saturday night, and then was lucky enough to get back to Clark-LeClair Stadium to see Corey Kemp get the game winning hit against nationally ranked Michigan. My thanks to Brad Lewis and Kevin O’Brien for all of the help with the coverage on Saturday.

East Carolina’s baseball team is now on a seven game winning streak. The Pirates are in the midst of a 13 game homestand, where they should improve on that 8-4 record.

ACC Tournament Opens Thursday

The ACC Tournament is one of the great traditions that our area follows very closely. The tournament is really a neat thing to cover. The ACC Tournament is especially exciting when Duke and North Carolina are at the top of their games.

Many think they’ll meet again this Sunday afternoon for the rubber match. I think both teams may not make it to the title game. Duke and North Carolina have bigger fish to fry with the upcoming NCAA tournament.

March Madness is just around the corner. Your home for the entire NCAA Tournament is WNCT-TV 9!

BB