Gilmer's Gospel

One day after twenty-five years
Head of service at the local Sears
Helen Walker put her pencil down and walked away
And all they found was a little note
'Adios' was all she wrote
But as she left, someone heard her say

"Gonna buy me a ticket to the end of the line
Wanna feel the air, breathe the countryside
As long as those wheels keep rollin', I'll be satisfied
Gonna ride, ride, ride"

from Robert Earl Keen's "Ride"

     Too bad this isn’t the Grammy’s. If it were, officials would pull me off stage for not wrapping up my list of “thanks” by the time the song ends.
     Here, though, there is unlimited space.

     First and foremost, thanks to my wife, Summer, who has endured my crazy work schedule, my phone ringing during dinner, my worrying while on vacation about who’s winning or losing, my coming in late at night and for listening to me talk about high school sports. Thanks for everything.

     For some reason, former Sports Editor Jim Fair took a chance on a 23-year old and gave me one of, if not the, hardest reporting job in the newspaper. Thanks for teaching me to do it the right way. You gave me the freedom to do the job how I saw fit and the ability to have fun and you put together an amazing staff.

     Even when I fought him through it sometimes, current Sports Editor Burke Noel has made me a better writer and reporter in the past few years. I’m always learning from you and will miss the chance to pick your brain over something small in a story. Your help on enterprise projects won’t be forgotten.

     To former publisher David O. Roberts and former executive editor Carl Beck: you guys had the faith in Jim to bring me onto the paper. Thanks for that.

     I’ll never forget the sports staff writers who I’ve worked with over the years. Eric Boynton, Todd Shanesy, Paul Strelow, Robert Neely, Pam Prevatte, Richard Coco and Matt Cobbs. Thanks to each of you, mainly because I probably stole some phrase, idea or story from you in the past.

     This job couldn’t be done without the free-lance writers who’ve come and gone over the years. There’s no way I’ll even start to list them, because I’ll forget a bunch. You know who you are. We couldn’t have made it during the high school sports seasons without you.

     One thing I didn’t have to worry about each week was compiling stats. Thanks to Brian Peahuff for taking care of those for so long. I never needed to hunt a stat because you already had it somewhere.

     The guys on the copy desk who lay out the pages: thanks. It has been an honor and pleasure to work with the current crop – Mike McCombs, Mark Egan and Nick Foster – of copy editors. Thanks for taking all the phone calls at night (along with our clerks) and for not giving out my number to readers who wanted scores or to yell at me.

     Thanks to the photographers. Your photos make bring people into a story. As a writer, I was just hoping the reader would stay til the end. Sometimes, your photos said it better than I ever could.
   
     To all of you who drove my car on road trips so I could write stories from the passenger seat. And that’s a large number of people who must be thanked. You each saved me precious minutes, so I could make deadline, or so we could get to a restaurant a little bit quicker.

     It isn’t unusual for me to send e-mails or phone a coach every day. They almost always pick up or reply. Coaches in this area are top notch. They care about their athletes. They want them to be recognized in the paper. They’ve given me access, provided me with stats, answered my sometimes stupid questions. I hope that each of you know that I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me over the years.

     Thanks also to the athletes for letting me come along for the ride. You’ve been fun to watch. You’ll be fun for the next person who takes this job, also.

     And, last but not least, thanks to the readers of this newspaper and Web site. I’ve met some of you along the way and have enjoyed our conversations. Keep supporting these young athletes and their coaches. They deserve your cheers.

     Last week I started naming off all of the memorable events that I’ve seen in my career and had a hard time pairing down the list.
     I’ve finally compiled a list, so I went back to find the stories that I wrote.
     There are a lot more than 10, but here is a snippet my favorite 10 most amazing events.

     Jan. 25, 2005 – Lele Hardy carries Spartanburg to win

     After being held scoreless for five minutes in the fourth quarter and seeing a nine-point lead switch to a seven-point deficit, the Spartanburg Lady Vikings needed a spark.
     Or a miracle.
     LeLe Hardy gave them both.
     Hardy was held without a point in the first quarter and shot poorly in the other two quarters, but she owned the final 2:26. She scored 14 points in that span, including the last-second layup that stopped Dorman's 24-game winning streak in the region, 54-53.
     “All I know is that she wanted the ball,” Spartanburg coach Susan Tate said after hugging many in attendance following the huge win. “She wanted to take over the game.”

     Dec. 2, 2000 – Dorman mounts comeback to win title

     Dorman quarterback Trey Rodgers wanted the music to be louder.
     “You've got to turn that up,” Rodgers told a teammate.
     Saturday was the first time the Dorman Cavaliers could play Queen's “We Are The Champions” after winning a Big 16 state football championship.
     After being down 24-0 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, Dorman scored 31 unanswered points to win 31-24 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
     Rodgers, who ran a 15-yard trap play with seven seconds remaining for the winning score, picked up the boombox, turned up the volume and walked around the locker room with it on his shoulder.
     The Cavaliers converted three consecutive two-point conversions to tie the score.

     May 14, 2008 – Boiling Springs wins baseball state title

     The public address announcer's voice was simply ignored.
     There was no way the red-clad crowd of students, parents and baseball fans wasn't going to storm the field.
     The Bulldogs had finally ended years of futility.
     With a 5-1 victory against Conway on Wednesday, the Boiling Springs baseball team won the school's first state championship in a male team sport.
     Members of the Bulldog Nation waited just long enough for the teams to shake hands and the trophies to be handed out.
     Then they rushed the state champions, hugged them, posed with them for pictures and enjoyed a celebration on Conway's field.
     “I'm proud of our guys,” coach Jeff Lipscomb said. “They hung in there and found a way to win the close games all year.”

     Feb. 24, 2006 – Broome wins girls upper state basketball title

     A net should cost the Broome girls basketball team $4.98.
     The feeling it gave them was priceless.
     After a win in the 2A upper state championship, each Lady Centurion stood on a folding chair and clipped the net on the visiting basket at Clinton High School.
     Minutes earlier, with 2.8 seconds left, Anna Fleming hit two free throws that swished through the soon-to-be pilfered net to down Swansea 76-74 for a return trip to the 2A state championship game in Columbia.
     On a night where getting a foul called on Swansea was as likely as finding gold at the end of the rainbow, Fleming got nicked as she tried to win the game in the lane.
     Kianna Smith had dribbled down the floor after a walking violation was called on Swansea and dished to her favorite target, drawing a few defenders her way. Fleming stepped to the line and calmly knocked down the free throws.
     “That's what I've been practicing for my whole career,” Fleming said. “I'm not going to lie, I was nervous.”

     Feb. 28, 2008 – Made shot ruled no good in state final

     Zycorrian Robinson was swallowed by a crowd of fans and teammates at mid-court after hitting a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer.
     Summerville's players were on the ground, distressed over the loss.
     In the corner near Robinson stood three huddled officials.
     Spartanburg coach Doug Lowe waited. So did Summerville coach Tee Newman.
     After a minute, the trio walked toward the exit, waved off the basket and gave Summerville the 4A state championship 50-48 Friday night in Columbia's Colonial Center.
     “The shot went in. The buzzer went off after I let go of the ball,” Robinson said. “I don't know how (the officials) saw it the other way.”

     Nov. 17, 2006 – Gaffney beats Byrnes in playoffs

     Phil Strickland's pig must have a touch of Indian magic in it.
     The hard-plastic pig face, missing a left ear, hid in the Gaffney coach's right pants pocket Friday night.
     No need to rub the quarter-sized object or try to extract good vibes from it. The piggy has worked before, and it worked again.
     Gaffney's defense led the Indians to a 16-13 second-round 4A Division I playoff victory, ending Byrnes' bid for a state-record fifth straight state title in front of a crowd of more than 14,000 fans.
     Strickland found the pig during his 1995 undefeated season at Batesburg-Leesville, but lost it until his wife Debbie found it prior to the first Byrnes contest earlier this season. He left it at home that night, but Debbie brought it to the stadium and gave it to him.
     The piggy was there in his pocket again on Friday, in what could have been the final game at W.K. Brumbach Stadium, nicknamed The Reservation.
     “Is he going to have it next week?” a Gaffney fan asked Debbie after the game.
     If Debbie has anything to do with it, Strickland will have the pig sewn into his pocket as he travels to face his first cousin, Ray Stackley, and his Stratford Knights.

     May 10, 2008 – Marcus Rowland breaks 100 meters record

     Stephen Davis no longer has to make phone calls on the day of the state track meet to see if his record in the 100 meters is still intact.
     He got the call on Saturday that told him he was no longer the fastest man in state history.
Dorman senior Marcus Rowland now has that distinction.
     On Saturday morning at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, Rowland broke Davis' mark of 10.4 seconds in the meet's biggest event as he ran it in 10.35 seconds.
     “Finally, someone broke it,” Davis said in a phone conversation after hearing the news. “I'm glad someone from the Upstate broke it, even if he is from Dorman. I'm very surprised it lasted that long.”
     Davis, the former Spartanburg Viking and Carolina Panther, held the record since 1991. Others with good chances to break the mark had tried and failed, but Rowland broke it with most people in the stadium looking on in eager anticipation.
     “I still don't think I've taken it all in. I think it will all hit me on the bus ride home,” Rowland said. “I am aware that it is a big accomplishment and this is definitely the highlight of my whole season to beat something so phenomenal.”

     Nov. 3, 2001 – Byrnes wins cross country title

     Johnny Mitchell might have run the race of his life, and he didn't even place in the top 30 at Saturday's state meet.
     His determination, though, helped the Byrnes Rebels win their second straight 4A state championship, as they downed Ridge View 113-133.
     Mitchell got sick on Wednesday and found out he suffered from pharyngitis, which made him weak and caused his glands to become swollen. The medicine he took also caused diarrhea.
     He tried to ignore everything as he pushed himself and his teammates during the race.
     “Johnny took one for the team,” coach Eric Cummings said. “I would have to give the credit for this win to Mitchell.”
     After the race, it looked as though teammates were helping Mitchell stand, as the energy was drained from his body. But everyone congratulated him, knowing that he helped win the title.

     Dec. 1, 2001 – Spartanburg wins football title with kick

     Jared Clifford's sprint away from his teammates was purposeful on Saturday.
     The Spartanburg kicker, 5-foot-11, 160 pounds, was trying to remove himself from being trampled after hitting a 27-yard state championship winning field goal.
     “I wanted to get away from the big guys,” Clifford said. “They can hurt you. I don't have to worry about big guys (tackling me) in soccer.”
     Clifford, who plays soccer during football season, kicked the Vikings to their sixth state title, a 24-21 overtime victory over Region II-4A foe Northwestern at Williams-Brice Stadium.
     The Vikings' defense went onto the field first in overtime, stopping Northwestern (11-4) on three plays before Duran Mills blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt, setting up Clifford.
     “That was a no-brainer to go for it on that situation,” Spartanburg coach Doc Davis said. “We told the kids that if we stopped them, we were going for the field goal on the first down.”

     Dec. 4, 2004 – Broome wins first football state title

     A gift to the players, coaches and communities who supported the Broome football program for so many years was gift-wrapped and waiting to be enjoyed one-minute into the second half.
     Then it was fumbled.
     Again and again.
     The gift, a state football championship that has been coveted since Broome High School opened in 1976, was almost handed to Saturday night's Scrooge, the Cheraw Braves.
     But D.J. Moore's silky-soft hands and lightning-quick feet kept the long-awaited early-Christmas present in sight. So when Moore hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass and snagged an interception on the next play, the wish of Centurion fans everywhere was granted.
     Broome won its first state football championship, the 2A title, 42-34 over Cheraw at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Saturday, capping off a slow-starting season that ended with 10 wins in the final 11 games.
     “I told the kids earlier today that they would be crowned state champions, but you don't get to the state title game without being a champion anyway,” Broome head coach Bill Owens said. “This marks a milestone in their lives. This will change things in their lives.”

     After nine years of covering high school sports on a full-time basis, I’ve noticed that there are some things I can do without and some things that will be tough to live without.
     Here is a long list of these.

     I won’t miss my phone ringing late at night from someone who heard something about some coach taking another job, leaving the office at 1 a.m. on a Tuesday night, missing family members’ birthday parties because of a meet or match, not seeing my wife for days because of conflicting work schedules and filling up the gas tank two or three times a week.
     I will miss writing on deadline, knowing what the newspaper will look like before it hits the streets, pre-game meals at a variety of local establishments with a variety of other media and friends, early mornings in the office when no one else is there and seeing the annual football preview roll off the press.
     I won’t miss calls from parents complaining that their child (who’s 5-foot-7, runs a 5.2 40-yard dash and can’t cover me) didn’t get a scholarship from Clemson because I didn’t write about him, parents who disagree with the stats that coaches give me, hearing from fans who think the Herald-Journal is biased toward one school or another (guess what, the school you think I’m biased towards has someone who thinks I’m biased toward your school).
     I will miss getting notes from players thanking me for writing about them (I still have the note that former Jonesville basketball star Tiara Good sent me after she signed with Wake Forest), blog comments from thankful fans, hearing a handful of coaches who say ‘thanks for what you do’ every time I go out to cover their team, getting phone calls from outside the state from someone who wants to know how so-and-so did, and walking into a store talking with a random fan about the upcoming seasons.
     I won’t miss talking to crying girls after they lose, seeing runners vomit as they cross the finish line and smelling the odor that lingers in a locker room.
     I will miss being the last person out of a school (“Just lock the door when you leave”), hearing the squeak of sneakers on the gym floor and seeing a crowd fill up a stadium two hours before kickoff.
     I won’t miss some of the people on the SC Pigskin Prep message board (i.e. that guy who doesn’t know his caps lock button is pushed all the time), e-mails requesting me to do a story that I’ve already written once and remembering every morning not to put on a shirt the color of teams that I’m going to go cover that night.
     I will miss the smart high school sports fans that you can have intelligent conversations with and who don’t always think their team is the only team.
     I won’t miss answering questions to readers about how, when and why I did this job the way I did it. I did the best I could do and tried to be as fair as possible. Some may hate how it was done, but I think the Herald-Journal does an excellent job covering high school sports and sports in general.
     I will miss the people. The people I work in the newsroom with, the coaches I’ve talked to regularly, the players I’ve watched grow up and the sports fans I’ve met along the way.
     I’ll miss lunches on Thursday with my friends, Friday lunches at the Marriott with the Touchdown Club and Friday night pizza in the newsroom.
     I’ll miss Wednesday afternoon chats with Pete Yanity, talking every Friday afternoon to the guys at ESPN 1400 AM and sitting in on halftime broadcasts in press boxes across the state.
     I’ll miss stealing lines from Todd Shanesy, harassing Eric Boynton, learning from Burke Noel, watching our copy editors (Mike McCombs, Nick Foster and Mark Egan) produce great work on deadline and going on assignments with our wonderful photographers.

     I’ve had one of the best jobs in the world during the last nine years.
     I mean, I watched and wrote about sports for a living.
     It was a great ride.
     And there's four more days of work to do.

     As my final week at the Herald-Journal looms ahead, I’ve decided to take the time and write about some of my favorites over the past nine years.
     Today is a list of my favorite stories that I got to do that little to do with high school athletics.
     Most of my time was spent covering high school sports. Every once in a while I would venture out of that realm to do something different.
     I've written video game reviews, music reviews, stories for other sections and for Spartanburg Magazine during my time here.
     Here are my five favorites.

    
     1. Talking umpiring with Fieldin Culbreth: I did a series last summer about four Spartanburg residents making their living in professional baseball without being players.
     Culbreth, a Chapman graduate, is a Major League umpire. I went to his house to talk with him for the story and got to see his collection of memorabilia and see photos of him in action.
     He was honest and professional and gave me a great interview.
     After doing a story, you never know how the subject will respond. Culbreth sent me a nice note thanking me.
     You also never know if you’re get to interview a subject again. A few months after our initial meeting, I was back at Culbreth’s house – he was calling the World Series.
     For the first story, he told me it was his dream to work the Series, then he got to do it.
     It was nice to take that story full circle.
     It was nicer for Culbreth to talk with me about it.



     2. Professional wrestling series: For two summers, I spent a lot of time researching local angles on professional wrestling. I met great people doing these stories, some who are former wrestlers and some who had retired.
     I got to speak with NWA legends Harley Race and Ivan Koloff. I traveled with local brother Kirby and T.J. Mack to an event in Columbia to watch them wrestle. I spoke with Dustin Rhodes and Rakishi on that trip.
     Those stories took me away from high school sports and during the summer it was a welcomed, relaxing venture.
     The trip with the Macks was my favorite part.              
     Photographer Tom Priddy and I hopped in the van with those guys, rode down to Columbia while talking about their lives in professional wrestling and then we watched them perform.
     We came back late that night and had a new understanding of how wrestlers earned their living trying to make the big show.
     And Tom slept on the way home.



     3. Seeing Kevin Pucetas pitch in the all-star game: Another long trip for Tom and I, but another well worth it.
Pucetas, a former Broome pitcher, was in the Double-A all-star game in Myrtle Beach.
     Since he was pitching for the San Jose (Calif.) Giants on the West Coast, this was our only chance to see him play last summer.
     Tom and I headed down to the beach, almost ran out of gas, never saw the ocean and ended up eating dinner at 1:30 a.m. Worth it, though.
     Pucetas is one of those players who’s great to work with, easy to contact and going to be in the Majors. I did get him yelled at by his manager though.
     I stood in the dugout during the all-star game and grabbed a quick interview after Pucetas threw his inning.      The game was still going on. I was trying to beat a deadline. Pucetas was just helping me out by standing off to the side answering my questions. His manager gave him a hard time. Hopefully, he didn’t have to run extra sprints for it.

     4. College football with Bobby Bentley: When the former Byrnes coach took over at Presbyterian College, I asked if I could join him for his first day of practice. And not just for practice.
     But for the ride to Clinton, meetings with players and assistant coaches, lunch and everything else that went along with his day. Having worked with Bentley for so long, he gave me unlimited access on that first day.
     I wandered in and out of meetings, watched film and talked to everyone. I showed up at Bentley’s house before the sun rose and watched him have breakfast with his kids, then hopped in the first seat as he dropped them off at school.
     It was a long, grinding day and I understand why college coaches (and Bentley, in particular) can get burned out.

     5. Goalball: A couple of years ago, the Sports staff here at the H-J was introduced to a sport for the blind called “goalball.”
     We knew nothing about it early on, when the Goalball National Games came to town.
     We quickly learned. We played it and got pounded by the high school team from SCSDB. Just imagine how bad we would have gotten beaten by the national teams.
     The sport is played in a gym, with long nets and three players trying to stop a jingling ball while being essentially blindfolded.
     When the World Goalball Games came back a few years later, we knew enough to give (what we thought to be) great coverage of the sport. We became small-level experts on the sport and knew the top players by name and what their strengths were.
     I don’t think we could field a team that would win a goalball match, but we’d at least know the rules.
     And I think we let the community know that even though they were blind athletes, they were still high-caliber athletes.