Talkin' Baseball (?)...and Plenty More

Okay Big South peeps, this weekend still seems simple enough on its face: Conference match-ups for men's and women's basketball take center stage, right? Sure, but it's not that simple any more, certainly not beyond this weekend anyway.

Here's the deal--Saturday has a full line-up of men's hoops, with five games tipping off throughout the day, plus a quartet of women's games also hitting the court. But January is coming to a close and February is coming in fast, so those games get the most buzz right now, but it's just the tip of an athletics iceberg that will culminate with a parade of championships in the spring.

Put another way, the tennis teams are facing off against out-of-conference foes right now, while the golf teams are rolling out their tournaments, and, most notably, the indoor track and field squads are making lots of noise in various meets around the region. How much noise? Good enough for the men to make the USTFCCCA (it's the governing body, don't worry about the alphabet soup, just go with it) top ten for ALL conferences in the country! The Big South ranked eighth, coming in behind only the six large power/BCS leagues, plus the Mountain West Conference.

Is that all, you ask? Well, noooo...although not under the "Big South Sports" umbrella, don't forget about the wrestling competition happening out there right now for some schools (VMI, Liberty, and GWU all wrestle...catch the VMI-Citadel competition streaming tonight on the Big South Network). Then there's the swimming and diving, which has been growing, with Liberty joining GWU, VMI, and Radford in the pool. All have been actively competing and await the CCSA Championships in February, featuring the swimming schools from four regional conferences that do not have enough participants to stage their own individual championship meets.

And then there's this...baseball and softball practice. Seriously, the ball-and-bat sports will hit their respective diamonds soon, and there's a sizable and eager fan base waiting for play to begin. The preseason polls were released this last week, and it probably does not shock anyone following the sports to see that Coastal Carolina had the nod for tops in baseball and Radford the same for softball. In fact, both are getting a little national attention as well.

For baseball, Coastal not only won the top spot in the coaches' vote, but did so unanimously! The Chants will start the season ranked 24th nationally, and will be watched closely to see how they follow last year's Super Regional finish. For softball, Radford will not begin ranked, but the Highlanders have votes in the national preseason polls, so they are not far off the radar.

Interestingly enough, Liberty lurks just behind the leaders in both sports in the preseason count. The Flames matched CCU baseball's unanimous first-place prediction by collecting a unanimous set of second-place votes. It seems clear that the Big South's baseball skippers agree that the 2011 season begins where the 2010 season left off: with Coastal ruling the roost but Liberty burning it up right behind. It wasn't unanimous for softball, but it was nearly as decisive, as the softball coaches made the Radford-Liberty duo a clear one-two.

For those already wanting to get their hands on for spring streaming packages on the Big South Network (presented by State Farm), good news: those packages will be available starting February 1st at BigSouthSports.com. Individual games will be available for order soon after that.


Okay, okay, let's get back to the whole HOOPS thing!

Opposite poles? Matter and anti-matter? Call it what you like, but the still blistering-hot Coastal Carolina Chanticleers play at ice-cold Radford Saturday. It's the upset of the year within the Conference if the 1-9 Highlanders stop the 10-0 Chants and their 17-game win streak, "but that's why they play the games"...

As amazing as the Coastal run has been (and it has been stellar), don't overlook the fact that the Liberty Flames have paced CCU every step of the way. The only loss for the 9-1 Flames was to Coastal Carolina, and it will be very interesting to see if that's still the case when these teams meet again: February 3rd in Conway. First, LU will have to dispatch a pesky GWU squad that has shown some resilience after a huge losing skid.

Other games for the men this weekend: Asheville at VMI -- two contenders trying to sort out the seeds behind the leaders, CSU at HPU -- Panthers trying to salvage a rougher season than expected vs. Buccaneers in that contender mix, and Winthrop at PC -- Eagles fighting for position and Blue Hose trying to play perpetual spoiler.

On the women's side, there are four Saturday games and four Monday games, but for the fans of recent Big South history and rivalry, there's only one game to watch for: Liberty at Gardner-Webb, Monday night (1/31, 7pm, on Big South Network). The Flames and Bulldogs are two of the three teams (along with RU) in a tight race for first, but that's just a bonus in what has become one of those rapidly intensifying rivalries...which tends to happen when you battle for the title a couple times, yeah? Conference competition at its best.

By the way, speaking of championships, did you know the Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Basketball Championships have their own official Facebook page now? It's true. You now have a perfect companion to the Big South Facebook page (covering all Conference news) with the "Advance Championship" page, updating the races in the standings and the pursuit of records, plus the promotions, contests, events, and fans of Big South basketball. Go now and "like" both pages if you haven't already!

While I'm shilling, go follow us on Twitter, please...

For my final shameless plug, don't forget to browse through items at the Big South Online Store. If you haven't tried it yet, you will be surprised by the variety and quality of items available for you to order for your favorite school or for the Big South Conference. It's the best across-the-board merchandise for the Big South membership that you'll find anywhere--and right now (through the weekend), they're running a 15% discount special on personalized team basketball jerseys...go--what are you waiting for? After all, I'm done.

Have a good weekend, everybody...SHOUT--out.

Ice, Ice, Baby...Musings on the Week

First came the snow--hey, how nice, it's snowing...but then the ice, and more and more ice, all over the snow, and all freezing into a rink-like glaze over the world. That's how some stretches of Big South territory started this past work week...certainly that's how things got going (or not going) here at the home office in Charlotte, and in nearby Rock Hill (Winthrop) and Boiling Springs (GWU). Asheville of course got even more snow--and then another batch of snow. And so it went, as the early 2011 winter storm that paralyzed Atlanta for a week did its work across our region as well. The women's games scheduled for Monday wound up being played on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, as different schools addressed their area and travel needs in the most appropriate ways they could find.

So the weather stole its share of headlines, but there have certainly been stories from the sports side of the ledger as well. Let's run through some notes...

--Coastal Carolina narrowly beat Liberty last Saturday in the battle of men's basketball unbeatens, and since they each followed up by winning on Thursday, it remains a clear pair of teams at the top: the 6-0 Chanticleers and the 6-1 Flames. Again, watch for that rematch February 3rd in Conway.

--While those two duke it out for the important first seed and the right to host throughout the tournament, remember that the top four teams all host first round games, because that race (presumably for spots three and four, based on Coastal/Liberty so far) will also be a good one. After Thursday's games, SIX teams fit in the range from 4-2 (CSU) to 2-4 (PC/HPU), with marks of 3-3 (WU/ASHE) and 3-4 (VMI) for the teams in the middle. That's a pretty big pack of contenders for just two probable positions...should be fun.

--Those with attention to detail will note two teams didn't make the cut in the previous two items. Well, Radford and Gardner-Webb have both fallen to 1-5 records in the Big South, and it's going to take something big to turn these ships around now, because they have been running hard in the wrong direction. But here's the catch: since PC can't play in the postseason due to the NCAA terms of transition to DI, only one of these teams will be eliminated from the Conference Championship event. As one camper said to another, "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you." In other words, if one of these teams can slow that descent, they'll get their shot...mind you, that's likely on the road at the top seed, but beggars cannot be choosers in this situation.

--On the women's side, we have a chance at an early treat on Monday, but that will still depend on how things turn out Saturday. Two teams survived to 3-0 starts: Liberty and Radford. They are slated to meet on Monday the 17th, but you have to play one game at a time...RU faces Winthrop before that collision, while Liberty does not have a Big South game in the way (instead playing at Longwood this evening).

--Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb is just one game back of that undefeated duo, and will certainly contend, just as the Runnin' Bulldogs have done so well the last two seasons. Behind those top three teams, the WBB standings are as bunched up as they are in MBB, with four teams at 1-1 or 1-2 (WU/PC 1-1, HPU/CSU 1-2). Two teams still seek Conference win number one: CCU at 0-2 and Asheville at 0-3.

I enjoyed taking part in the Big South's first basketball game to be available exclusively on ESPN3.com last night. Liberty won by six at High Point, and I had the good fortune to be on play-by-play (I'm Mark Bryant, for those who don't know the name behind SHOUT), along with Nate Ross as analyst. Nate has been a frequent broadcast partner in both football and basketball, and it's a pleasure working with him--particularly when we get good material to work with, as we did at the Millis Center. Sure, it was really low scoring for a while, and Liberty led most of the way, but the HPU comeback and the excitement of the late second half made for a good payback after the sluggish start. Fun stuff.

Gotta roll on to other things now, but I hope this post has helped update you on the early layout of the Conference races and put the upcoming games in context. Should be a great weekend--get out to a game if you can, or catch the live video streams on the Big South Network if you can't attend in person. Enjoy! SHOUT...out.

Here We Go!

Okay, people, it's 2011, so grab your hoverboards and head on over to catch some hoops.
What?
Sorry, my mistake...we get the hoverboards in 2015...use your jetpacks instead.
Hmm?
Never mind then, I thought this was the future...Happy New Year!

So instead, let's deal with the present, and it's a pretty good one for Big South basketball observers, with Conference play in full swing and plenty of good games out there. It's not perfect, at least not for most teams, but few things are, so let's give a look to life in men's basketball across the Big South right now (we have enough of a barometer to read tendencies on the men's side, but the women have only played one Conference game so far, so we'll save that talk for another day).

I mentioned the word "perfect", and that aptly describes the undefeated starts for Liberty (5-0) and Coastal Carolina (4-0). How timely, then, that these two teams collide Saturday evening! The overall Coastal win streak has climbed to an impressive eleven games and a total record of 12-2 this season. For the Chants, Desmond Holloway has scored at least 13 points in every game this season, the only player in the Big South to have double-digit points every time his team has taken the floor. There's a pretty good amount of talent and depth happening for Coach Cliff Ellis in Conway, and CCU has earned the attention increasingly pointed that way.

Meanwhile, Coach Dale Layer has Liberty exceeding expectations at this point, and anxious to keep his Flames red hot. Solid defense and teamwork have gone along with strong performances at home and on neutral floors (9-1), although the road record could use a little work (2-5). Clutch play from junior guard Jesse Sanders helped last week--now we'll see if he will have the right shot at the right time with the Chants in the building.

Those two teams are the unquestioned top two--and although general appearances make Coastal seem the stronger squad and likely to keep on rolling, it would not be surprising to see Liberty eke out a win in Lynchburg. Whether they do that or not, the Flames had better be prepared for a furious challenge when they meet again in Conway in February!

After the top two, the standings and relative power rankings actually get kind of murky for a while...

Perennial contender Winthrop? Lurking, of course, and always a threat come the tournament, but the Eagles just lost badly on the home floor to Asheville on the heels of a weak offensive showing against PC (that nonetheless netted a victory thanks to Coach Randy Peele's "grind it out" approach to the game). Still, this is a team that knows when to peak, and the answer is not January.

And what about that aforementioned PC squad? Pulling down road wins against Auburn and Wake Forest in the same week remains quite the feat, but what have you done lately, Blue Hose? Up and down performances have brought PC to 2-2 in the Big South and 8-8 overall: they're treading water in another year of waiting for full Division I status. No, they won't be a problem for anyone in the tourney because they can't go, but with the mix of talent and experience they do have, the Blue Hose could be a heckuva spoiler for someone along the way.

So you like lots of points? Then it's time to look at VMI, because once again, the Keydets are scorching scoreboards...on both sides. Yes, a familiar problem--score 87, but give up 109. That's what happened when Coastal came to town. Some teams will go with the flow and others will be swept under, but the familiar pattern of "score a lot, give up more" continues in Lexington. The Keydets have a dangerous team when the shots are falling, and one that often makes for entertaining games, but it is uncertain when everything will come together for that elusive title run for Coach Duggar Baucom.

Speaking of living and dying by your shooting percentages, it's time to talk about Charleston Southern. When senior guard Jamarco Warren and company have the threes raining in from all over the floor, watch out; but when the shots aren't falling, life gets tough for the Buccaneers. So, like VMI, they're a tough out on any given night, but the right defense against them might just make all the difference, just by impacting shot selection and opportunity.

It's finally time to touch on High Point. The Panthers have not found any sort of rhythm this season, nor has Big South Preseason Player of the Year Nick Barbour. Losing the last two Conference games on the road and the last four overall have not helped matters for HPU. This is a team needing a win and needing it soon...surely the Panthers are anxious for Saturday's game at winless Radford.

Beaten Bulldogs? UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb have had injury struggles dominate their storylines so far this season. For Asheville, it's been a roller coaster that could still see the team contend with enough healthy bodies...but for Gardner-Webb, once leading scorer Jon Moore (out indefinitely) went down, things went south. GWU has now lost seven straight.

Finally, let's touch on Radford...here's a team that finished 2008-09 as Big South Champion in the NCAA Tournament, opened 2009-10 as a Conference favorite by many, ended last season with a relatively disappointing finish, and has skidded this year to an 0-4 start in Big South games, holding last place in many team stat categories. It's just not pretty for the Highlanders right now.

So there you have it, the quick rundown of what's out there right now for Big South men's basketball. The beauty of it all, of course, is that things can change so fast in this Conference, so what holds this week may not resemble what we're looking at next week, or next month...fun, isn't it?

Lineup for Saturday, January 8th:
CSU at VMI, 1pm
CCU at Liberty, 6pm
GWU at Winthrop, 7pm
HPU at Radford, 7pm
Asheville at PC, 7:30pm.

CATCH THE GAMES ON THE BIG SOUTH NETWORK!

That's enough for me...have a great weekend--get out to one of the games if you can, or watch on the Big South Network, OR catch updates from BigSouthSports.com or our Twitter or Facebook pages! SHOUT--out.

Quick Hits for a Holiday Weekend

Gotta share this with you, if you haven't spotted it yet--VMI alum Tim Maypray puts his speed, vision, and reaction time in full effect to return a missed field goal for a touchdown over 120 yards (this is the CFL, after all)!!! Just one great moment from a 54-51 overtime thriller won by Maypray's Saskatchewan Roughriders on CFL opening night (July 1st).

His play is #4, about 1:18 into the video...


In other news for the Big South in the pro ranks, Art Parakhouski from Radford will play on the Boston Celtics' Summer League team, trying to work his way into an NBA job.



Great job, Tim...good luck, Art...and here's hoping everyone out there has a safe and enjoyable Independence Day/weekend holiday celebration ------SHOUT--out.

A Study in Contrast and the Sun Delay

Sorry for not having time to fire off a SHOUT yesterday from the Baseball Championship, but I'm back today with more to share...

Gotta share quick stories on the two games I worked Thursday on the Big South Network, doing play-by-play for the video stream. Talk about two fascinating and different ballgames...whew...

The 3pm game was Coastal Carolina vs. Radford, and it was all about the bats.
I've seen a lot of baseball in my day, but the 2nd inning for the Coastal hitters was an amazing sight. CCU sent 14 batters to the plate, and ten men scored! Felt like we saw one of everything in that frame, and we may well have. The hitting display was impressive, and quite demonstrative of how talented and aggressive the Chanticleers can be. They built a big lead but kept the foot on the throttle, expanding it as wide as they could for as long as they could.

So 10-0 after two and RU facing elimination...game over early?
Hardly.
No quit in the Highlanders: grand slam in the fourth, another four runs in the fifth, and surprise: it's 10-8 and a whole new ballgame for the final few innings.
In the end, it was 11-9 Coastal...the Chants stay unbeaten (both in the tourney and in overall Conference play this season), while the Highlanders hit the high road back home. Radford showed a lot of heart after getting blitzed up front in that game, but the hole was just too deep. A three-hour ballgame, it had 20 runs and 26 hits combined (making the result not unlike Radford's first game, a 10-8 loss to High Point: 18 runs and 24 hits).

So clear the decks and prep the field, it's time for the nightcap with Liberty and High Point...
Total opposite of the last game--no runs at all in the first five innings. The pitching showdown would theoretically been a quick game as well, but with so many deep counts, walks, hit batters, and the like, the game was methodical but not efficient time-wise. That said, the hits were scattered and the pitchers were largely in control of the game...which made the first run that much more ironic: bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, HPU runner comes in to score. Oh my.... So the 1-0 score lasts from the 6th to the 9th, and then the game changes again. The Panthers got the sought-after insurance run in the top of the frame, taking a 2-0 lead in a game with runs at a dear premium (as opposed to the scoring-in-bunches approach seen just before).

You wouldn't believe it...but here we are, bottom of the 9th--strikeout, 0-2 count on the second batter--single, HBP, HBP, and the BASES ARE LOADED, one out, bottom of the ninth...and PASSED BALL, run scores--two runners in scoring position with a one-run game!
Every minute that passed seemed to ramp up the drama another notch.
But the next two batters would go down--game over, 2-1 final, High Point defeats Liberty.

So two games with fascinating scripts, but different stories from start to finish.
That's baseball, folks.

One sidebar before I head back to the ballpark for today's action...
I've often said with regards to baseball (after several years working in the minor leagues), "Every time I think I've seen one of everything, I see something else." Well, Thursday night was one of those times. Early in the game, I witnessed my first "sun delay."
Yeah, you read it...not a rain delay or anything like that, but a sun delay.
You see, The Winthrop Ballpark is a wonderful facility, really it is...but it's not facing the right way, not in any traditional baseball sense, anyway. The setting sun shoots right into the face of the place--right at the hitters, the fans, the press box, etc. To counteract that problem, a huge wall was built in center field years ago as a super-sized batter's eye. Okay, but yesterday the angle was just right, and the sun hit the press box windows just right, causing a reflective glare that was fully in the face of a pitcher standing on the mound. And so we waited...for several minutes...while the sun slowly set...changing the angle in question...and moving the reflective glare away from the mound...eventually disappearing altogether. Strange but true--the story of the sun delay.

Back to the ballpark for me--enjoy the games, and have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend everyone--get some family time and start your summer, catch the races, do what you do, but above all, remember what the holiday commemorates, okay? And with that in mind, a quick note for Saturday:
In honor of Memorial Day Weekend, all Military veterans and active members of the armed forces and national guard will be admitted free to Saturday's 1:00pm Big South Baseball Championship game at The Winthrop Ballpark. Immediate/accompanying family members will be admitted to the game for $5 each.

Sound good, don't you think? Stay safe, everybody...SHOUT--out!!!

Channel Your Inner Channels

Hello, Big Southers far and wide--welcome to another edition of SHOUT.

Surely you're ready for a weekend...I know I am...and if you're a Big South sports fan (which of course you are), then you're also looking forward to another great weekend of Conference games in baseball and softball. Plenty of good match-ups to enjoy out there!


Congrats to Radford for clinching the Regular Season Softball Championship nice and early--but there's still the matter of the upcoming tournament. RU will surely be the favorite, but a lot can happen with so many games in such a short period, so we look forward to the drama that will unfold at Coastal Carolina's field May 13-15.


Meanwhile, we quietly hit a unique milestone on the baseball side this past week, as Coastal Carolina topped the NCAA Baseball RPI list...you read that right: Number One in the nation based on record, road performance, schedule strength, and all the other factors that go into computing RPI. Regrettably (and isn't this always the case for teams at the top), CCU lost the first game after those rankings were published, falling on the road at Virginia. The good news is that loss may not have a catastrophic effect, considering that UVa came in at #4 on the very same list. RPI position is naturally among the consideration factors for regional hosting and seeding, so the Chanticleers have to be happy finding themselves in the uppermost tier.


By the way--big congratulations to Winthrop for the performance at the 2010 Big South Conference Men's & Women's Tennis Championships: WU swept the titles, winning final team matches as the 2-seed on both sides. The Eagles defeated the top-seeded teams in both men's play (Radford, also the host team) and women's play (Charleston Southern).


Before I go on to plug our title topic today, I also want to be sure and add a proper salute and SHOUT-out to our Winter Sportsmanship Awards winners, as voted on by their peers: PC women's basketball, GWU men's basketball, VMI women's indoor track, and Liberty men's indoor track. Those results will be combined with the fall honors already known and the spring list to be announced in determining who the overall Sportsmanship Awards will belong to at year's end.

And now, what's all this "channel" nonsense from today's headline?

We've put together a significant enhancement and upgrade to our Big South Network video portal at BigSouthSports.com. Before this, you always had to view everything from a Big South window and find anything you're looking for from out of the entire selection of events throughout the Conference. Not anymore--particularly not if your loyalty resides with a specific member of the Big South.

When you access video via the Big South Network now, you will find a new drop-down menu on the left side inviting you to "SELECT A TEAM." Clicking that gives you a list of the ten member institutions, and picking one of those essentially "changes the channel," transforming the player to a skin matching your school of choice and altering the available programming accordingly. Want to find only upcoming games for Coastal? championship events for Winthrop? games on demand for High Point? Gotcha covered...all part of the ongoing efforts to improve the fan experience with BigSouthSports.com and the Big South Network. We hope you like it--a lot went into making this happen, and we thank our web and streaming hosts with NeuLion/JumpTV, because these video developments were actually a bit harder than they look, and they were implemented seamlessly (so a SHOUT-out to the project developers today as well).

Speaking of the Big South Network (you knew this was coming), here's the video guide not only for this week, but the next TWO weeks of programming:



That's all I'll throw your way today. Enjoy yourselves out there--and try to catch a game at a Big South school if you have one within reach (and if not, well...that's what the video streaming is for, right?)...and that's SHOUT...out.

Championships-A-PLENTAY

Many Southerners know that if you ever find yourself in Spartanburg, SC, and you need a major burger-and-fried-stuff fix, the Beacon Drive In is the place to be. Those not traveling much through the region may know the Beacon from its appearance on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." Either way, you need to know how to order right away. Yep, it's one of THOSE places--first-timers better learn quick that you don't hold up the line, because you need to "CALL IT!" A hallmark of ordering at the Beacon is getting your burger A-PLENTAY (that's "plenty" with proper inflection, of course), meaning virtually buried in an avalanche of fries and onion rings. You get what you came for--and then some.

Hence the appropriate title for this post, because we know it's time for spring championships--and boy do we have an overflowing plate of stuff we can sink our teeth into today!

Let's take this chronologically...

It had been a month since the basketball tournaments for the Big South, but the silence ended last week, starting with the Women's Golf Championship. Charleston Southern's women logged the best showing at The Patriot Golf Club in Ninety-Six, SC, bringing back the first Big South Championship for the Bucs in anything this year. The kudos for CSU don't just end with the trophy--after all, the Bucs beat the Championship record score by eight strokes (881) and became the first team in event history to record team scores under 300 each day. AND CSU senior Olivia Jordan-Higgins brought was the individual medalist. Nice finish all around.

Before the men would get their crack at The Patriot, we turned to the CSU campus, site of the 2010 Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships. With a talented roster of competitors from all across the Big South, the OTF Championships nonetheless came down to one team on top, and the Flames burned brightest. Liberty won both the men's and women's titles, and in so doing, completed an unprecedented sweep of all the "running" titles: Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track, all for both Men's and Women's Championships. Call it the "double triple" as they are at LU, or just call it dominance. Coastal's women's team gave Liberty a major challenge, and even held the team lead for a while, but it was not to be this time. As for the men, Liberty led wire-to-wire there. Interestingly, while the Men's Top Performers in Track (Evans Kigen) and Field (Clarence Powell) came from Liberty, the Women's Top Performers in Track (Ikeiylah Brown) and Field (Brittany Connor) came from Coastal Carolina.

This week began with the Men's Golf Championship, and it's a familiar refrain in the Big South to announce Coastal Carolina as the team champion for men's golf, so that result comes as no real surprise to anyone. Take in these impressive numbers: CCU has now won seven titles in a row and 12 of 14. The Chants were pushed by CSU and Liberty, but could not be caught. Given all that, perhaps it's of some interest that the individual medalist was not a Chanticleer: Liberty's Robert Karlsson had the best score for the tournament.

AND NOW another title tilt is happening, even as I write and share these thoughts with you. The Big South Men's & Women's Tennis Championships began this morning from the campus of Radford University, where the hosting men's team enters with the top seed, while Charleston Southern has that honor on the women's side. So by Saturday afternoon, we're scheduled to have two more champions crowned.

That's if the weather holds, of course...we just got through nine days staging four outdoor championship events with nothing more than a fog delay one morning and some breezes, so the luck so far has been quite good (bringing the law of averages into play, quite possibly). It may be a race against rain come Saturday, but we're hoping all is well for tennis to run on schedule.

Once tennis concludes, that just leaves softball and baseball to finish out the "pennant races" of their seasons and stage their May tourneys, which will close out the 2009-10 season.

As far as title-winners this year, looking back on it, we find a very favorable run for LU:

Championships won (14 total)--
7.5 Liberty (M/W XC, M/W ITF, M/W OTF, WBB, FB-tie)
2.0 Winthrop (MSOC, MBB)
2.0 Coastal Carolina (VB, MG)
1.0 High Point (WSOC)
1.0 Charleston Southern (WG)
0.5 (Associate Member Stony Brook: FB-tie)

And with only four left to crown, nobody can catch Liberty on this list...as for Sasser Cup, there are a number of other factors involved, but no one can doubt LU would be a favorite to repeat.

In other news, HPU is streaming their Spring Athletic Banquet tonight (4/22). It's available on the Big South Network, just like these other games I'm going to talk about in the video (although the banquet is the only one of those events that you can watch for free)...here's the guide for this week--with one note--ADD IN the Saturday-Sunday games for Coastal Carolina at VMI baseball:



So that's it for today...until next time-- "CAALLLLLLL IT!" SHOUT--out.

Take Me to Your Leaders

Time for your Friendly Neighborhood Spring Sports Update...

Under the yellow haze of pollen, the races are taking shape across the Big South Conference (all standings based on play as of 4/8/10).

First let's slide into baseball:

With two teams ranked in the top 30, the Big South has earned plenty of respect--thanks to the performances of Coastal Carolina and VMI. Interestingly, those two teams are not alone in the tangle for the top of the Conference baseball standings--Gardner-Webb has squeezed in there as well. Those are the only three clubs that can boast both a winning record in Big South play and a winnning record overall: Coastal (5-0 / 24-5), GWU (5-1 / 15-13), and VMI (7-2 / 25-5). By the way, an interesting schedule twist next Tuesday has created a Big South-SoCon showdown night, with Elon at Liberty, The Citadel at Coastal Carolina, and App. St. at High Point, all at 6pm.

Next let's take a swing at softball:

Like the baseball standings, the field of contenders with winning records in Conference and overall is a narrow one. For softball, that upper-echelon group is only a duo: Radford and Liberty. The Highlanders are 8-1 / 22-10 and the Flames are 4-2 / 19-10. The Championship is just over a month away now at Coastal Carolina--and I've just learned that your writer here will be your announcer there for the streamed games in the first two days of that event.

Time to serve up some women's tennis:

While I can list four programs that have run off winning records in the Big South and overall, only one is truly the leader here: Charleston Southern. CSU has raced out to a 7-0 / 15-1 start and has mounted a legitimate threat to Winthrop's grip on the sport in the Conference. Winthrop (3-1 / 9-8) is among the schools in that winning group, along with Coastal Carolina (3-1 / 15-4) and Radford (3-2 / 12-4), but there's a lot of catching up to do if the Bucs are to be overtaken by anybody else before the Championship at Radford in just two weeks.

And on the other side of the net for men's tennis:

Out of all these leader groups, men's tennis is the one that includes an aberration--a team at the top in Conference NOT sporting a winning record overall, and that's Winthrop (3-0 / 7-10). The other squads in contention do not have that issue: Radford (3-0 / 10-9), CCU (3-1 / 12-6), and Liberty (2-1 / 10-7). RU is of course the team that's owned this title for a while, but it's clear that they will have some quality opposition when the Highlanders take the home court in an effort to defend their crown later this month.

In the other spring sports, golf is approaching its finish...the Women's Golf Championship tees off Monday at The Patriot Golf Club in Ninety-Six, SC. The Palmetto State is not only the home of the course, but also the top three seeds: Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, and Winthrop. There's a certain deja vu to that, since Coastal and CSU finished 1-2 in this event a year ago. Men's golf has an additional week before teeing off that championship.


While the next Big South Championship will be awarded in women's golf, the next one you can watch on the Big South Network is the 2010 Big South Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships from Charleston Southern. Given the level of competition seen across the Conference this year, I would expect some remarkable times/heights/distances from the participating student-athletes. Team-wise, keep your eyes on the Liberty contingent. The Flames took home the hardware for men's and women's cross country in the fall and for men's and women's indoor track in the winter...meaning LU seeks a remarkable "double triple crown"--winning for men and women in all three running/track-related sports. It would be an incredible feat, but they'll have to beat the field next week to pull it off, and that won't be easy.

Okay, feel caught up on the spring goings-on?

Good, let's talk football!

No, seriously, just for a minute--never too early. Surely you know spring football has been going strong for weeks, and now is the time when the spring games start popping up everywhere. Lots of those intrasquad scrimmages will be played this Saturday, particularly across the South. Among them, the Presbyterian College Blue Hose, and I am proud to announce that the Big South Network will have its first-ever April football event with the live streaming of the PC Spring Game (4/10, 10am). You can order it through BigSouthSports.com--but you better catch it live, because this one won't be saved in the archives!

Speaking of the "BSN" -- here's the story on what will be streaming this week, including that football game from PC...

That's all for now, folks. Not expecting a new entry tomorrow, so I'll wish you a good weekend now...SHOUT--out!

Williams Wows , Tourney Turns

While current Big South players battle it out on the hardwoods for the Big Dance, a former Conference star has made it to The Show...so it's hoops-a-lot for today's SHOUT.

Let's start with the well-deserved SHOUT-out to former VMI Keydet Reggie Williams. Reggie reigns as the all-time leading scorer for VMI and the Big South, but his accomplishments have continued to grow after that stellar collegiate career for the Keydets.

Recently we drew your attention in this space to Williams hooking on--and then dominating--the NBA Developmental League. He led the "D-League" in scoring as a member of the Sioux Falls Sky Force (26.4 ppg). Now Williams has gone another step: the NBA.

First came the word that yes indeed, Reggie Williams had inked a ten-day agreement with the Golden State Warriors...before knowing anything else, that itself is good news--a shot at the highest level of the game, a live audition for his pro prospects against the best in the business--but it's only the start of this story.

He was in uniform right away, for the Warriors' game against the Miami Heat. He sums the experience up like this: "Coming in your first night and the first guy you guard is Dwyane Wade, it’s kind of different but it was a good experience. It was fun. I had a good time. I’m upset we lost but just have to move onto the next one tomorrow night.”

That's a modest summary from Mr. W, whose "good time" included the impressive debut numbers of 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Read more about that performance from our colleagues at VMI. But wait, there's more--you can catch Reggie Williams wearing his number 55 (the same he wore when he finished with VMI) for Golden State on national TV tonight: TNT has the Warriors visiting the Orlando Magic at 7pm, Wednesday, March 3rd.

Could there be more good things in store for Reggie? Coach Don Nelson praised his passing and lack of fear, adding, "In just one game he has gotten the respect of his teammates." Sounds promising. (Pictures courtesy NBAE/Getty Images, with thanks to VMI)

--

Okay, okay, so what about the Big South basketball happening NOW, right?

Gotcha...on it.

Quarterfinal night for the Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Basketball Championship provided some drama, but in the end, little in the way of real surprises: in short, the favorites won.

So the top four seeds earned those positions and the first round home games that went with them...and all four will advance to the semis. Some games had more drama than others, even though the eventual winners all had double-digit leads at some point in their respective games.

HPU at UNC Asheville -- I was there for this one myself, and I can tell you the difference was settled quickly: the Bulldogs jumped to a 9-1 start and paced ahead of the Panthers for the duration. High Point had its moments, but Asheville generally controlled the game and got the 84-73 win.

VMI at Coastal Carolina -- the 1v8 game pretty much played like one, with the Chants jumping up early 21-9 and maintaining a healthy lead throughout much of the contest, ending in CCU's favor 82-73.

Liberty at Winthrop -- Liberty had an early run, but the Eagles grabbed and then held onto a lead the rest of the way (one with its shares of dramatic ups and downs, even closing within one point)...the margin was eight at the half and was back to eight at the end: WU 80-72.

CSU at Radford -- now here's the biggest drama of the night...RU's 16 point lead at the break withered until it had disappeared altogether, resulting in overtime for this 2v7 game. The Highlanders got the slim 9-6 edge in the extra five minutes to survive and advance.

Now it's on to Thursday night and the semifinals from Kimbel Arena at Coastal Carolina University, both games on ESPNU (at 6pm & 8pm):

Radford (2) vs. Winthrop (3), a rematch of last Saturday's two-point game.

Asheville (4) vs. Coastal (1), with the host hoping to earn another home game.

Saturday's final will be at 4pm on ESPN2.

The Big South Network will have free live streaming coverage of the postgame coach and player interviews after the semifinal and final games.

Look for more updates on the tournament here, as well as our Twitter and Facebook pages, and always get the official word at BigSouthSports.com. Enjoy the games...SHOUT--out!

Hooptastic, the Motion Picture

Annnnnnnnnnnd ACTION!

You have to love the basketball season and its plots, subplots, red herrings, MacGuffins, and Easter eggs...sorry, got too far down the movie/pop culture track there--what I'm trying to say is this:

There's a main storyline, smaller tales woven through that, occasionally misleading displays, things that keep us moving along, and some hidden gems along the way.

In men's basketball, Coastal Carolina (9-2) still holds the lead over the pack by two games. The Chanticleers dropped a low-scoring one at Winthrop they'd surely like to have back, but they're still motoring right along. Right behind CCU is the 7-4 trio of Radford, UNC Asheville, and Winthrop...the same record, but different dynamics: RU started on fire and has cooled, Asheville began frozen in ice but now burns white hot, and Winthrop has been hot and cold, but now has a greater hold on consistency, which was elusive in the early goings this year. Of these teams, it's certainly notable that this weekend saw Asheville upset Radford and Winthrop down Coastal (both home games for the winners).

At the moment, those are the top four seeds, and for the men's side, the top four set represents the host group for the tournament's first round. That puts a lot at stake on being in that party--with the best seat obviously being at number one, where you have control over playing at home throughout the championship. Coastal and Radford have been playing inside that club for some time, although the Highlanders now find themselves in a battle to hold position. The other slots have been handed around among several teams now...they'll just have to work hard to be sure they've got a chair when the music stops.

Which leads us to the "outside-looking-in" squads: Liberty, right behind at 6-4, High Point at 6-5, who has gone from would-be leader into a painful skid, and Charleston Southern at 5-6, who has likewise fallen from a surge toward the top. Gardner-Webb, VMI, and PC round out the Conference standings, and are unlikely to contend for the coveted home slots at this point, much less the overall lead.

So, why the top-to-bottom review? My dear friends, it is January no longer. For men's basketball, February is the hero-maker and deal-breaker month. Sure, it's all about "March Madness"--that's become the measuring stick of every team's success. But if that is the test, this is the studying: in other words, if you're going to succeed then, you have to position yourself now.

And the jockeying for position should be nothing short of amazing. Enjoy the show.

So...what about the ladies, you might ask?

I haven't forgotten them--Gardner-Webb has been the team with the longest hold on the top spot this season, but the Lady Bulldogs are not alone in the quest to be the best. While GWU is 7-1, Liberty is right there at 6-1, with HPU making its presence felt at 6-2. Those three should be in a fight to the finish, making for some potentially epic match-ups in the Big South Championship in March. In last year's event, these teams were three of the Conference's final four (along with Winthrop). GWU upset HPU by two and nearly did the same to LU in the final game--a one-point win for the Flames. At the moment, you have to feel as if history is repeating itself, at least in terms of setting these teams up for collisions in big games ahead...and that's a sequel I think most of us would be happy to watch.

Speaking of watching, if you haven't peeked in on our YouTube channel lately, drop on by to screen our great image spots featuring our theme of Developing Leaders Through Athletics!

And finally, on to some old business...two things I wanted to post last week before I got distracted (ooh, something shiny!)...first, the most recent report on the Big South at Rush the Court...http://rushthecourt.net/2010/01/23/checking-in-on-the-big-south-9/

...plus, the most recent Big South Network Guide...

And there you go--welcome to February, folks...the month that asks us to be as productive in 28 days as we would have been in 31! SHOUT--out...

Of Basketball & Bare Feet

Where does the time go? Been a week since the last SHOUT...yikes (!), sorry for the delay.

We'll keep this one relatively brief, but there are indeed two main and interrelated topics as alluded to in the title of today's post.

First, the basketball itself--the men's side has gotten very interesting, with the competition both expanding (in number of teams) and contracting (in separation of games). Coastal Carolina dropped a game to Radford, but still holds the lead at 7-1 and has matched the Big South's best overall mark through 20 games at 17-3. Radford is indeed right behind, still a game back at 6-2 thanks to a loss at CSU. Behind those two is the other pair from last weekend's battle royale: Charleston Southern and High Point, each at 5-3. Now we warned you about the Buccaneers being in a position to charge, and CSU closed the deal, beating both RU and HPU. The flip side of that is High Point, dropping two games and falling back of the leaders.

The next group is a trio of 4-4 teams: UNC Asheville, Winthrop, and Liberty. Of those squads, we say now watch out for Asheville, as the Bulldogs have been on the rise. Their losses were close ones and their wins have come recently and in bunches. With Coach Eddie Biedenbach now the all-time leader in regular season Big South victories, it looks like this edition of UNCA has indeed learned about winning. Winthrop and Liberty haven't proven reliable this year, but they can hang with anyone when they're "on"...

The remaining teams need help if they are to climb up from the bottom. GWU holds onto a glimmer of hope at 3-5, but PC and VMI are each 1-7...and while PC is sitting out its last year of transition-based ineligibility, the Keydets are at risk of dropping from the 2-seed to OUT of the Conference Tournament in the span of a year.

For the women, the leader club has grown by one again, with Gardner-Webb, High Point, and Radford all 4-1 going into the weekend. GWU seemed to be the team-to-watch first, then HPU pulled alongside, and now RU is in the pack...and don't be surprised that 3-1 Liberty wants to climb right into the mix too! As for the rest...well, the top four squads have 15 wins in Conference play, while the bottom five teams total six Big South wins...nuff said.


For more hoops, check out the Conference site, but okay, it's now time for the "bare feet" part of the program...seriously.

Avid hoops-watchers may have caught on to this already, but some college coaches have been appearing on sidelines without their shoes, or socks, or anything, on their feet. It seems unusual at first, but the key is that it is getting noticed. The whole effort is a campaign on behalf of Samaritan's Feet, a humanitarian relief organization dedicated to acquiring shoes for children around the world who have no shoes to wear. A five-dollar donation is the equivalent of a pair of shoes--which might be all it takes to stave off some diseases and infections, might be what is needed to get involved in sports otherwise difficult or impossible to play, or might be the difference in taking both literal and figurative steps forward in life. We take it for granted--they do not have that luxury.

In the Big South Conference, the initiative is "Barefoot for Bare Feet," and runs selectively through men's and women's games from January 23rd to March 1st, starting with both Charleston Southern coaches (Barclay Radebaugh and Julie Goodenough) in their home games tomorrow (1/23). At the Barefoot games, members of the Big South Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will collect new shoes (athletic shoes only) and monetary donations. In addition, school-specific donation-by-text numbers are available.

We encourage everyone to help Samaritan's Feet with their initiatives. And yes, as you might expect, Haiti is a target for this aid (they were part of the SF programs even before the devastating earthquakes that deepened the troubles there).

And so with that, we return to the games themselves by offering this week's Big South Network Guide:

That's all I've got today--make it a great weekend, folks....and that's SHOUT--out!!!

Game On!

Just throwing in a quick word as we move through the basketball schedule from Thursday's men's match-ups to Saturday's men's and women's showdowns...

The headliner match for last night went to the defending champ, not the undefeated challenger, but don't worry--there'll be a rematch down the road. Coastal Carolina had won 12 in a row, but couldn't get the baker's dozen, as Radford notched a ten-point victory on CCU's floor.

MEANWHILE, Charleston Southern held on in the end in a tight home struggle with High Point (we warned you to keep an eye on the Bucs with this schedule set-up), downing the Panthers by three.

The net result: tighter standings and more contenders in the men's basketball standings--

Coastal 6-1
Radford 5-1
High Pt. 4-2
Liberty 4-2
CSU 4-3

The focal points in the men's race are at first place and fourth place. The top seed owns the right to host its way through the Conference Championship Tournament, while the top four teams will all be able to host first round games. Outside the teams listed above, Winthrop is 3-3, Asheville has two wins, and VMI, GWU, and PC each have just one win so far.

Saturday's MBB line-up:
GWU at VMI, 1pm
HPU at CCU, 2pm
UNCA at LU, 7pm
WU at PC, 7pm
RU at CSU, 7:30pm

So just like Thursday, we look to the South Carolina coast for two games, but with the opponents reversed--either way, it's four of the top five teams trading blows.

For the women, Saturday looks like this:
UNCA at RU, 3pm
WU at HPU, 4pm
PC at LU, 4pm
GWU at CSU, 5pm

So the top three teams (GWU 3-1, HPU 3-1, RU 2-1) are all involved in separate games...all important, but with slightly less head-to-head drama than what this weekend's men's schedule has delivered to us.

Okay--that's it--have a great Friday everybody------and ENJOY THE GAMES!!!

Chants Encounters

Those who have followed Big South basketball for years know that while Coastal Carolina has had competitive seasons, the Chanticleers haven't won any regular-season or tournament championships in Conference since Tony Dunkin (pictured) was collecting an unmatched FOUR Player of the Year Awards (and if you are unfamiliar with his work, check out his "Best of the Best" salute).

It's true: regular-season wins in 1988/89/90/91 and tournament wins in 1990/91/93...that makes a gap of 17 years by the time we get to crunch time of this campaign.

All of which makes the CCU run more jaw-dropping by the game. Coastal has now surged to 16-2 with 12 consecutive wins and a Big South mark of 6-0. Coach Cliff Ellis has gotten his team in a winning rhythm, and all parties involved have to be satisfied with Joseph Harris (pictured) making the decision to return to Conway for his final year of eligibility.

So regardless of what happens this weekend, the performance is spectacular and the records set will be tough to match. Nonetheless, with excitement over the Thursday-Saturday double feature at Kimbel Arena at a fever pitch, the pressure may be on to win as a statement: an assertion as to which team belongs in the first place position.

THURSDAY: Radford at Coastal Carolina, 7pm (available on the Big South Network).

The Radford Highlanders were the preseason favorites (as recounted in our last post) and the easy plug-in choice by national publications for early "bracketology" as defending champions with returning talent. Like CCU, RU opened this season 4-0 in the Big South, setting up a potential clash of titans for this week's game. Since that start, the Chants have notched two more wins, while Radford took a punch at High Point to hit 4-1. If any luster is off of the match-up with that loss, don't tell the campus by the shore--everyone there is pumped for this game, and rightfully so.

SATURDAY: High Point at Coastal Carolina, 2pm (also Big South Network).

Right on the heels of that showdown comes one just as challenging, if not more so because it requires avoiding any letdown coming off of the first game: High Point visits Coastal. Due to Radford's extra attention (for example, this recent write-up on "Big Art" Parakhouski for SI.com), HPU may be slipping under the radar for the casual fan outside of High Point, NC. Don't be fooled--the Panthers are not going away. They are also 4-1 in Conference and dealt the Highlanders their only loss.

Meanwhile, hoops fans, I offer this suggestion: keep an eye on Charleston Southern, just in case. CSU is a seemingly average 3-3 at the moment, but the Bucs are the other team in this travel partner set-up: they will also play High Point and Radford in the next few days (HPU 7:30pm Thurs., RU 7:30pm Sat.), so how they fare could play a big role in which teams hold the upper spots--and in what order--going into next week.

Basically, we've just gone from the fun of seeing Conference games to the thrill of a race for position--it's serious business now! Naturally, we've got the games streaming...here's the guide for this week:

That's enough of a SHOUT for today--enjoy the many games out there for ALL our Big South teams (try to get out and support your favorites in person if you can)!

And They Call it the Streak

As we enjoy the Big South Conference basketball race, let's pause for a moment to reflect on a few things, shall we?

First (as if you didn't know this by now), preseason polls are quite frequently pure guesswork. We all know it's just a means to start conversation about a given sport/league/level, etc. After all, no one would base postseason finishes on polls (cough-cough) when you could rely on competition to settle the matter (cough-cough), right?

So remember that it's all "best guess" stuff and look back on the Big South Men's Basketball Preseason Poll...

Radford was forecast at first place, which is not too far off, as RU is currently tied for second with only one loss--but then there's the group at two through five: UNC Asheville, Winthrop, Gardner-Webb, and VMI, listed in that order. Well, of that quartet, Winthrop has worked to a 3-3 mark, but the others have three wins COMBINED--each with just a single victory in Big South play thus far. To be fair, Asheville has been very close over and over again, but wins keep ending up just out of reach--they may yet have a run, but the hole is getting deeper.

Which brings us to the trio at six through eight: High Point, Liberty, and Coastal Carolina. HPU is 4-1, having freshly dispatched previously undefeated Radford, and appears to have the ability to remain in the race long-term. Liberty holds a winning mark at 3-2, potentially playing above this position, but up-and-down overall. And then there's Coastal.

Seriously--eighth? CCU has now won an astonishing 12 consecutive games, jumped out to a 6-0 Conference mark, taken sole possession of first place, and properly earned a ranking in the mid-majors poll. This guess was WAY off the mark. Heck, the Chanticleers should've finished higher in a SoCon poll--they're undefeated in that conference too (4-0)!

The advance poll finished out with Charleston Southern, who at 3-3 is outperforming that forecast for ninth, and Presbyterian College, who at 1-5 is seemingly living up (down?) to that last-place estimation...but look closer and you'll see a team that has been very competitive game-by-game, in a season that is otherwise a "lost year" given the multiple redshirts biding their time for a collective run in PC's first year of eligibility next season...we'll wait and see.

So I suppose it's acceptable to say that the Chants are exceeding expectations, yeah?

Now buckle up for this news: Radford plays at Coastal Carolina Thursday night (1/14, 7pm).

That's right, the expected leader (RU 4-1) goes against the surprise frontrunner (CCU 6-0) in a definite statement game at Kimbel Arena...and all on the Big South Network, of course!

The undercard on that exciting night of Big South hoops includes HPU at CSU, which is a game pitting the prowling Panthers (4-1 and trying to keep pace) against the scrappy Buccaneers (3-3 with an upcoming schedule that would allow them to shake things up if they can).

So there's a lot of basketball left, but don't look past this week's action too quickly--soak this in while you can, because Thursday night could be a lot of fun...but then again, that smacks of forecasting, and we all know how well predictions can work...

Speaking of fun and forecasts, here's the link for you to read the Big South's latest update on Rush the Court.

And that's SHOUT--out!

Ballers, No Bawlers

Okay, so Monday I wrote a little bit about the teams on top in men's and women's basketball...the men's teams cited won't have a beef with me from that, because they won their games, but on the women's side, things took quite a turn. Now I'm offering some thoughts on Thursday afternoon and the men are at it again tonight--no jinxes here, and I'll explain in a minute, but let's get going...

As I write this, Coastal Carolina and UNC Asheville are playing an afternoon game at the Justice Center. Yes, that was originally slated to be an evening game, just like the other tip-offs coming up at 7pm tonight, but weather concerns for the Asheville region bumped the game up in advance of the winter precipitation threat. That being said, the weather isn't the only thing cold out there, since the two teams kept scores in the single digits for a good while into the game--we'll just have to hope the results warm up well past the temperatures.

Here's the deal at the moment for Big South men's basketball--the top three teams all notched wins again back on Monday, putting Coastal Carolina and Radford each at 4-0, with High Point just back at 3-1. Interestingly enough, as the Chants put their ten-game winning streak and unblemished Conference mark on the line in today's pre-snow matinee, RU and HPU are both sitting out this date--eight of ten teams in action, but not those two, so there may be some subtle shifts in the leader board depending on the CCU outcome. Next, ALL ten teams play Saturday, including a match-up that has Radford AT High Point, which could be a doozie.

So if you like streaks (and who doesn't?), not only do you have Coastal's ten-game overall and four-game Big South runs at stake (do you know the final yet? still the first half for me)--you also have HPU's 6-0 home mark this season flying headlong into RU's 11-game Conference road game winning streak. The painful flipside to those positive rolls: GWU and PC, losers of ten and nine games overall, respectively.

And I promised women's hoops--with a whoops! At the start of the week, I lavished praise on GWU's Lady Bulldogs for their tremendous start and forecast a bright future for them...so naturally, they laid an egg that same night. Radford came to Boiling Springs with a record of 1-10 on the year, but left with a surprising upset win over the formerly 12-2 Gardner-Webb squad, thanks in part to a start that saw GWU miss its first 11 shots from the field...ouch.

Sports being such a fragile creature at times, I feared for cries of a jinx about our humble blog's remarks...but GWU Coach Rick Reeves settled the matter with some perfectly blunt coach-speak via Twitter:

@CoachRickReeves
We got the big head and thought we just had to show up to win and we got taught a hard lesson. I believe we will respond well next game!

Sounds like the final word on that to me.

In any case, HPU's women have now won five straight and own the only 2-0 mark in the Big South...but then again, not all teams have even logged a pair of Conference games yet, so too early to start drawing any serious conclusions.

I also promised I'd go over the Big South Conference Fall Sportsmanship Awards in this entry, so without further ado, here are the honors announced over the holidays, as voted on by their peers within the Conference in each listed sport:

Football:........................VMI, Charleston Southern
Volleyball:......................Liberty
Men's Soccer:...................UNC Asheville
Women's Soccer:..............Presbyterian College
Women's Cross Country:......VMI
Men's Cross Country:...........Liberty

A huge SHOUT-out to all the student-athletes on these teams, representing the ideals of sportsmanship and leading by example! The Big South will again award an Institutional Sportsmanship Award at the conclusion of the 2009-10 competitions. VMI has won the overall award all four years of its existence.

We interrupt this blog to bring you our weekly peek at the upcoming events on the Big South Network:

One more SHOUT-out before we're through...to colleague and friend Everett Hutto, who has made the switch from UNC Asheville to Winthrop (his alma mater). The jobs at either end are both media-related, but he will have a role concentrated more on the video and new media aspects of the athletic department and less on the traditional sports information side. The WU fans will benefit from his work, to be sure, just as the Asheville fans will miss his efforts on their behalf. Good luck, Everett!

2010: The Future Arrives

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you Big South fans, friends, family, and followers!

It's 2010, people. I betray my age for a moment by saying that the date sounds like we've really landed in the ever-mythical "future" now. For those a generation ahead of me, the millennium always sounded like the horizon--changing to 2000 was unthinkable (heck, all the checks, forms, and even the computers themselves stopped at 19__). The centerpiece of that philosophy was the novel and film "2001: A Space Odyssey." Years later, that date didn't seem quite as far off, and the horizon was stretched to 2010--as the book "2010: Odyssey Two" and its movie counterpart "2010: The Year We Make Contact" took us to this new date...although author Arthur C. Clarke was not able to make that next milestone, having passed in 2008. Turns out we're not booking moon passages, making interplanetary ventures, or establishing the validity of extraterrestrial intelligence...but I digress...

The valid point buried in that tangent is that the calendar has flipped and, like it or not, it's time for rushing headlong into the events of a new year and decade (don't start debating on that one--I know the math says it's 2001-2010, but popular culture says it's 2000-2009, so be it, we're going with the masses).

Painting with a very broad brush here, the last decade of Big South hoops belonged largely to Winthrop's men (7 of 10 Tournaments) and Liberty's women (9 of 10). While both schools will still bring highly competitive teams to the court, it just doesn't feel likely that either one will have another decade of similar dominance in them for the 10's (pronounce it 'teens' and get used to it, especially since no one ever agreed on what to call the last decade). I actually don't expect to see that level of dominance from ANY member institution for that matter, and that's a GOOD thing. Although it's easily argued that a powerhouse squad makes a name for itself and its conference in a way that reverberates nationally, there's not a clear candidate for that role out there right now. So rather than bemoan the lack of a standard-bearer at the moment, let's sit back and enjoy the battle to earn that status going forward...it should be fun.

Okay, so with that said, what teams have been asserting themselves and where are the battle lines being drawn?

For the men, the early race appears to be between Radford and Coastal Carolina. No one can really be surprised by the Highlanders, since they were preseason favorites, but the Chanticleers have announced themselves in an unprecedented way. At 13-2 going into tonight's home game against PC, Coastal has established its best-ever season start, including an active nine-game winning streak--and no team approaches that win-loss record right now (all others with 7 or fewer victories as I write these words). RU hasn't been on quite the same roll, playing along an uneven path overall (including some tough high-caliber opposition), but in Conference play, Radford and CCU have matching 3-0 marks...not too shabby. Lurking right behind, you'll find Liberty and High Point at 2-1 in the Big South.

For the women, we're talking first and foremost about Gardner-Webb. The Lady Bulldogs have run their way to 12-2 overall, including a win in the first shot at a Big South opponent this season (Liberty). Since the women's teams are only one game into Big South play, it's a little early to draw any conclusions (even premature ones), but we'll briefly point out that the next best overall record belongs to Coastal, at 9-4...could they be brewing a double-challenge in Conway? Again, High Point and Liberty will certainly be among those challenging that notion.

Gotta run, sorry about the past-future rambles (just one more--isn't next year supposed to be the year of SkyNet from Terminator?)...more coming this week on other topics (including the Big South Sportsmanship Awards)....I'll be back...SHOUT--out!