A couple of not-so-funny things happened on the way to finishing my Rocket City Trash Pandas book, "Pandamonium." First, there was the global coronavirus pandemic. You may have heard about it. It was on the news every now and again. Thousands of words, hundreds of hours of research and interviews, all about the "how we … Continue reading Still another book???
Nine thoughts as the playoffs begin
Nine things on my mind as the major league playoffs open: I can’t ever find myself rooting for the New York Mets. But I’m a big Buck Showalter admirer, and it’s hard to root against him. I appreciated him as a player, well back in his Double-A days in Nashville, and am grateful for his … Continue reading Nine thoughts as the playoffs begin
At courtside with Dickie V., and hoping he can be a Prime Time Player this spring
“The soundtrack of our lives” has become a well-worn cliché. But, forgive me, here I think it’s appropriate to dust it off another time. If you are a college basketball fan of the past four decades, the soundtrack includes the loud hyperbole, relentless enthusiasm, name-dropping, non sequiturs, cogent analysis and chain-saw voice of Dick Vitale. … Continue reading At courtside with Dickie V., and hoping he can be a Prime Time Player this spring
The ‘scoop’ that Dale Brown was going to give me
Any Southern sportswriter on the north side of 60 years of age will attest the greatest of all annual events didn’t have a scoreboard and didn’t have fans. It was the Southeastern Conference Basketball Media Days. We’d have all bought a ticket to attend, maybe paid our own way, in the late 1980s and early … Continue reading The ‘scoop’ that Dale Brown was going to give me
A stranger’s confession: ‘I used to be a heroin addict’
One of those polite, “so where you from?” sort of conversations went this way: “I used to be a heroin addict.” Not the sort of line to make a morning drive with a complete stranger very comfortable. And even if it makes no difference intellectually, and I was making no judgment, there is an inevitable … Continue reading A stranger’s confession: ‘I used to be a heroin addict’
That crazy kid who ran off to elope in Rising Fawn, Ga.: Remembering the great Bobby Bowden
Ushered into his office, the first time I met the legendary coach he was knee-deep in film. Literally. Bobby Bowden was studying an opponent in those ancient pre-video days, with a projector beaming the action from his desk to a screen on the wall. He opted not to use the take-up reel at the opposite … Continue reading That crazy kid who ran off to elope in Rising Fawn, Ga.: Remembering the great Bobby Bowden
No tipping: The day we inherited a Louisiana governor’s table
It may not have been an original quote, but it goes into history in Edwin Edwards’ obituary, so we’ll give him credit for creating it. The only way he’d lose the 1983 gubernatorial election in Louisiana, Edwards said, if he were caught “in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.” He also said … Continue reading No tipping: The day we inherited a Louisiana governor’s table
A deserving honor for some great practitioners of ‘Scrapbook Journalism’
At a break during an NCAA basketball regional years ago, I introduced myself to one of the best-known leaders in college athletics. “Your name is so familiar,” he said. Then, finally, he added this: “It’s the damn scrapbooks.” Indeed, a couple of decades earlier, in many stories under my byline, his wife’s name appeared. She … Continue reading A deserving honor for some great practitioners of ‘Scrapbook Journalism’
Get off my lawn with this 12-team college football playoff business
There is a fascinating baseball season unfolding. The NHL playoffs, which offer some of the best post-season drama in sport, are in full-force. Ditto the Lebron-less playoffs of the NBA. The finals of one of tennis’s Grand Slams is this weekend, and the U.S Open golf tournament starts this week. Photo by Juan Salamanca on … Continue reading Get off my lawn with this 12-team college football playoff business
Worth the wait: Trash Pandas finally make their home debut
This was, what, maybe 30 minor league opening days for me, counting all those times I was traveling with teams and saw two openers a year. So, for those for asked, and even for those who didn’t ask, here’s what I thought of the milestone evening of May 11, 2021, when professional baseball returned to … Continue reading Worth the wait: Trash Pandas finally make their home debut