It Came From the Blog!

Many demerits and well-deserved slaps on the wrists for not having a SHOUT in this spot recently...as they say in all the movies, it's been quiet--too quiet--here lately. Time to fix that with a quick reset.

First subject: the Big South Conference & the NCAA this spring...some nice extras this year...

WGOLF -- the Coastal Carolina women were thrilled to pull down the Big South title, but it turns out that was just the beginning, as last week the Chants nabbed fourth at the NCAA East Regional at Daytona Beach, qualifying for Nationals! CCU even managed to sit in the lead position briefly in that competition, and earned plenty of respect as the first team in school and Conference history to make the final stage of competition for the Women's Golf National Championship.

MGOLF -- the men's teams are no mere duffers either: Liberty won the Conference crown by a crushing margin and earned the Big South's automatic qualifier position for regional play, but the Flames will not be alone when the squads hit the links next week--Coastal Carolina snared an at-large selection as well, giving the Big South two MGOLF NCAA teams for only the third time. In an odd twist of fate, LU will travel out to Arizona, while CCU heads up to Virginia for the next round.

M/W TEN -- also on the calendar, we have our men's and women's champions in tennis ready for upcoming action in Knoxville--both of them...yes, unaware of what the other selection committee was up to, both the men's and women's panels sent the Big South champs to Tennessee's courts. For Radford's men, it is as a 4-seed for those pairings, and the Highlanders will indeed draw the Vols. For Winthrop's women, it is as a 3-seed, and the Eagles will see the Vanderbilt Commodores as they hope to play another day.

Meanwhile, next on the agenda: the teams still in action, trying to see if they too will have a chance at NCAA tournament play. This week, we have the softball championship at Winthrop (tonight, in fact, I will be emcee for the season awards banquet at WU). Play cranks up with six games Thursday (five at Terry Field, one on a different diamond), plus another four-to-six games on Friday (as needed), and the single-game championship final on Saturday. The Terry Field games on Thursday and Friday (5/12-13) can all be seen on the Big South Network, while Saturday's final (5/14) belongs to ESPN3.com.

Two weeks later, we'll follow a similar plan for baseball at VMI, with games running on the Big South Network from Tuesday (5/24) through Friday (5/27) and capped off by the final on Saturday (5/28) on ESPN3.com.

By the way, I don't know how long it's going to hold up, but Coastal Carolina has won four consecutive games without allowing a run -- in fact, the Chants have an overall streak of 37 consecutive shutout innings. While we're at it, let's give a SHOUT-out to CCU star pitcher Anthony Meo...all he did in his last outing was pitch eight shutout innings with a dozen strikeouts and no walks. Not too shabby, right? Wow. Coastal seems to be peaking at just about the right time. Whether Coach Gary Gilmore can get his guys to make another run to the Super Regional (or beyond) remains to be seen, but anyone who thought the Conway Kids were struggling this season should take another look.

Okay, that's good for checking in for now--should see more from SHOUT in the coming weeks, plus some summer features and bonus items once we get beyond the season. Oh, and don't forget, we have Camels in our future once we get beyond the softball and baseball championships--which will make for some interesting changes! Thanks for sticking with us...follow us on Twitter and Facebook, everybody! And that's SHOUT--out...

Postseason Hoops in Alphabet Soups

Lots of teams, lots of tourneys, lots of terms, right? That time of year...

So let's try to clear up the postseason basketball picture for everybody, okay?

Right now it appears that no Big South teams this year will be going into things like the CBI and similar ad hoc tourney set-ups, so that leaves us with the "big four": the NCAA & NIT fields for both the men and the women.

Interesting that this year the regular-season champions in the Big South both came up short in the finals of their respective tournaments, so they both wind up in NIT brackets: Coastal Carolina for the men and Liberty for the women.

The teams that knocked those strong squads off the top of their mountains will be going to the world of NCAA brackets: UNC Asheville for the men and Gardner-Webb for the women.

Of course, in Asheville's case, it still isn't that simple because they are in the "First Round" or "First Four" group, formerly known as the "Opening Round", yet widely regarded as play-in games by hoops followers across the country despite what branding the NCAA chooses in a given year.

Let's break this down first by team and then by the calendar...

UNC Asheville -- the Bulldogs open with Arkansas-Little Rock in Dayton, Ohio...the game is Tuesday night (tonight, as I post this), tipping at 6:40pm on tru-TV. Start looking for that before you get to 6:30, just to be sure you find it. You probably have it without realizing it, as it's part of the CBS-TBS-TNT-tru-TV partnership showing the NCAA and the powers that be WANT you to have this channel. As a DirecTV guy, I can tell you it's on channel 246, but again, consult your local listings, as they say. Now as much as we all believe in Asheville, certainly last year's Winthrop vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff opener should serve as a sufficient cautionary tale that just because you're not playing Pitt yet, that doesn't mean you're not in for a tough game.

Speaking of Pitt, that's the "reward" for the winner in that opening contest: a "Second Round" (what we've always called "First Round") game against the 1-seed Pitt Panthers in Washington, D.C., on Thursday afternoon. Win THAT one and we would have quite a story to tell!

Coastal Carolina -- 2nd straight year in the NIT, certainly not what the Chants were hoping for, and the news gets tougher, as Coastal will open with 1-seed Alabama, a team that had spent lots of time on the NCAA bubble and stood a chance of making the other tourney...perhaps the disappointment will be larger for the Tide and open up a chance for CCU, who already dispatched SEC foe LSU on the road in the regular season...the game will be at 7pm Tuesday on ESPNU. If Coastal stems the Tide, next up would be the winner of the New Mexico-UTEP game (details tba).

Gardner-Webb -- the third time WAS the charm for the Runnin' Bulldogs, who knocked off their nemesis, Liberty, in the Conference Final to earn the automatic NCAA berth...GWU got a 14-seed and faces Miami (the Hurricanes are a 3-seed) in Charlottesville, VA. That game is set for noon on Sunday the 20th and can be seen on ESPN2. The winner will face the winner of the Oklahoma-JMU ballgame on Tuesday the 22nd.

Liberty -- an odd position for the Flames, quite used to the NCAA side of life, but now moving into the WNIT bracket...Liberty opens up at Charlotte, Wednesday night at 7pm (no TV known). Strange part of that is it seems like the committee was using part of last year's bracket--GWU opened WNIT play at Charlotte's Halton Arena in 2010...go figure. The winner of this one would advance to play the winner of the South Carolina-App.St. contest. If the Flames are not too put out by falling short of their primary goal, they could do some damage in the WNIT field--watch out for that.

Okay, so here it is chronologically:

TUESDAY (today), March 15th:
M-NCAA, UNC Asheville vs. UALR in Dayton-OH, 6:30pm on tru-TV;
M-NIT, Coastal Carolina at Alabama, 7pm on ESPNU (winner vs. New Mexico-UTEP winner tbd)

WEDNESDAY, March 16th:
W-NIT, Liberty at Charlotte, 7pm (winner vs. SC-App.St. winner tbd)


THURSDAY, March 17th...(M-NCAA, Asheville-Little Rock winner vs. Pitt in DC, 3pm)


SUNDAY, March 20th:
W-NCAA, Gardner-Webb vs. Miami in Charlottesville, 12pm on ESPN2

TUESDAY, March 22nd...(W-NCAA, GWU-UM winner vs. Okla.-JMU winner tbd)


Hope that helps--that's about as much as we can say as of Tuesday--good luck to all our teams and we hope everybody enjoys the upcoming games! 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.

All Stars to Me

Today is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, saluting many of the best active players in the sport. The roster even includes a former Big South player, which makes it all the more special. That said, it should be noted that while fame and talent are relative, everybody capable of playing pro ball is a "star" in his own right. And while that may sound broadly optimistic or simplistic, I feel there's more to it than that.

So before I dig deeper into the subject of the Big South in pro baseball, a few digressions:
--remember when this was really the "All-Star Break"? It was a chance for a collective breath from an unending wheel of games, and the only ones who lamented the gap were sportscasters seeking content. Now it seems like the wheel never stops.
--while not as diluted as the NFL Pro Bowl pool seems to get, the overall collection of players that winds up involved in the game often feels like less than the game's true elite, thanks to a combination of injuries (both real and perceived), the compulsion for including every team, and the desire to get as many players in the game as possible (which, at its worst, produced an extra-inning TIE once the benches were laid bare). Taken separately, these things may appear logical; combined, they can be less than ideal.
--determining the World Series home field advantage via an isolated game played months before and likely resolved by players not involved in the championship makes about as much sense as setting Fall Classic start times based on the number of runs scored on Opening Day...one has nothing to do with the other. Would you do it based on the Home Run Derby results? They're both exhibition contests, so what's the difference?

And as for the "star" question, I fall back on some things from my days working in minor league baseball. Try to remember that everybody you watch on these rosters was all-city/all-state/all-star/all-conference somewhere, that each of them was chosen over countless other players, and that all of them have survived multiple cuts to get to the level they are playing at--from the lowest of the minors to the pinnacle of being MLB All-Stars. Getting paid to play ball shows talent greater than most...and of course, getting recognized as one of the best of the best demonstrates exceptional abilities and true GAME. Anybody who can do this for a living has certainly earned a modicum of respect for his game...not necessarily adulation and mind-boggling riches, although those seem to come with the package anymore.

Therefore, I offer an open SHOUT-out to all the players who made their way up through the Big South to the professional ranks--guys like Liberty's Shawn Teufel, who went from this year's Conference Championship tournament to the Tigers organization--playing first with the Connecticut Tigers and now the West Michigan Whitecaps...guys like VMI's Michael Bowman, who got drafted from the Keydets two years ago and pitched in the AA All-Star Game last night...guys like UNC Asheville RHP Justin Schumer, who will get his shot now that he's signed a free agent deal with the Giants organization....and guys like Ty Wigginton, American League All-Star.

Wigginton, who played his college ball for the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, got the lone Baltimore roster spot on the AL squad. He's been traded and cut multiple times in his career, but keeps plugging away, now with his 5th big-league team. It's not surprising that at 32, he gets labels like "journeyman infielder," but just don't forget to include "All-Star" as well. Here's a great profile--including his college years--from the Baltimore Sun.

So catch the game, watch Wigginton when he gets in at some point, and enjoy a smile for a player who's had a wild ride in a successful career.

And yes, there are a great many more players from all our member teams throughout professional baseball, I was just picking a few examples of individuals at different points in their careers (so please don't hit me with "what about Kevin Slowey, or x, or y, or z...").

Before I go, here's a nod to some extra special All-Stars: our Big South Conference Scholar Athletes of the Year! Just announced today, these selections embody the full nature of what it means to be a "student-athlete"...and both are from Coastal Carolina University--male winner Austin Fleet (baseball) and female winner Jill Nyhof (volleyball). It's worth pointing out that the last time both winners came from the same school was just two years ago--and it was also CCU. Congratulations to both deserving recipients on a tremendous year in competition and in the classroom!

No better way to end it than that, so that's SHOUT--out.

Put Me In, Coach...

Another salute to proper punctuation: "Put me in, Coach" as opposed to "Put me in Coach"...the former would get you entered in a game, the latter would get you seated on a plane.

But all baseball fans recognize the familiar refrain of John Fogerty's "Centerfield," a classic homage to the love of the game. Things change, but there's always something about the game that inspires us, "The one constant throughout the years," as James Earl Jones calls baseball in his epic speech from "Field of Dreams."

The 2010 Royal Purple Big South Conference Baseball Championship began yesterday...that's a mouthful of words for one simple principle: baseball games that matter--a lot.

The first game between VMI and UNC Asheville played as scheduled, despite getting some mid-game showers, and despite a seemingly random glitch that kept some--but not all--streaming viewers from seeing the first few innings. That tech issue had me hopping with troubleshooting, not to mention hopping mad, but all was resolved in a fair amount of time. Meanwhile, the game itself rolled on, a well-fought contest with the Keydets coming out on top 7-4. For VMI, that means at least two more games in the season...for Asheville, it's all over: opening day is single-elimination play.

For the nightcap between Winthrop and Gardner-Webb, I got to put on the headset and take the play-by-play call for the Big South Network. Although I have done literally hundreds of baseball games, the majority on radio, but many on TV as well, it had actually been a while since I had the mic for baseball. In the past few months, I've been tapped to voice softball, swimming, track, and basketball, but no baseball this season, so I was looking forward to the opportunity to dust off some of the old ballgame patter.

I gotta say, it was fun--I've always enjoyed doing that. Every game follows a different script, so you never know what you're going to get. In this case, we got a game with some drama, as Winthrop got on the board and increased its lead slowly from one, to two, to four, before GWU even scored at all. The Runnin' Bulldogs made the most of the late innings, climbing within one and getting good hitters up in the ninth with a shot at changing the outcome. But Winthrop held off the charge 4-3, and the tournament-hosting Eagles punched a ticket to stay alive in their own ballpark for at least two more days. Gardner-Webb? Like Asheville, done.

The Wednesday lineup, about to begin as I post this SHOUT (not from the ballpark for now, but from an edit session for our Hall of Fame Banquet--I'm getting to the park later today): 11am - Coastal Carolina vs. VMI; 3pm - Liberty vs. Winthrop; 7pm - Radford vs. High Point. And again, all games can be found on the Big South Network at BigSouthSport.com. Enjoy! SHOUT (and Mark B.) -- 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...

What Did We Learn?

Well, you're never going to learn TOO much from just a pair of games, but it sure made for an interesting weekend, having men's basketball dip into Big South Conference play for a taste of things to come...

Highlights from Thursday's opening night included Winthrop's Gideon Gamble hitting his only basket of the game to send the Eagles into a Conference-opening overtime game against preseason favorite Radford. Ultimately, the Highlanders had the free-throw shooting necessary in the extra period to win 61-59, but it was high drama in Rock Hill for a good while there...and High Point's Tehran Cox took the ball end-to-end for the game-winning lay-up at Presbyterian College (63-61)...Coastal Carolina outran VMI's blistering pace for a 111-97 win...and Liberty handled CSU 69-53.

Friday had one game--but it was a doozy. How about UNC Asheville, winless overall coming into the game, finding the way to hang tight and tap in the game-winning basket (by Chris Stephenson) in the final seconds? That's right, Asheville stole one away from Gardner-Webb in the Battle of the Bulldogs, 58-56.

There was less drama for Saturday's line-up, but Radford had to come from behind a second time in as many Big South games to beat PC, while VMI's pace was too much for CSU, Winthrop topped High Point, and Coastal downed Liberty.

With Conference games off the table for nearly another month, that leaves us with these standings to muse over for a while:

2-0: Coastal Carolina & Radford;

1-0: UNC Asheville;

1-1: High Point, VMI, Winthrop, & Liberty;

0-1: Gardner-Webb;

0-2: Charleston Southern & PC.

For more thoughts on the early play in Big South MBB, try Rush the Court: Checking in on the Big South (also by yours truly, so I admit some of it may sound a bit familiar, but there's plenty more there). Enjoy.

By the way, here's a fun idea--since the schedule is a bit light to start the week--wrap your creativity around the question from our Facebook Fan Page:

OPEN QUESTION TIME: If you could get one special Christmas gift for any one Big South Conference recipient (a school, team, coach, player, etc.), what would it be? Be creative, anything goes, but keep it clean...

If you've got any fun answers, enter them there or comment on them here--if we get good ones, we'll share them!

And by the way, I know it's not all about the men's teams--but Conference play was kind of a big deal for early December. For now, I offer this one key women's hoops note: a congratulatory SHOUT-out to the Lady Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb, winners of EIGHT STRAIGHT! Way to go, GWU--keep up the good work!

That's all for this midday Monday.

Take a moment sometime today, December 7th, to think on the sacrifice and meaning of Pearl Harbor Day...we are losing more of our WWII veterans these days, simply with the passage of time, but do not forget their contributions. SHOUT offers a salute, and a heartfelt moment of silence in their honor........................

National Notice & Champion Cheer

Happy Tuesday to you and yours, Big South fans!

Consider this post a big multi-part SHOUT-out to some success stories:

KELSEY BENORDEN, UNC Asheville volleyball, was named Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week! The first Big South player so honored this year, Benorden had top-notch performances in her last three Conference matches, with a double-double (of kills and digs) in each one, all victories to keep the Bulldogs in first place! And yes, she was also Big South Player of the Week.

JOSH NORMAN, Coastal Carolina football, was named National Defensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network and by College Sporting News. Of course, he was Big South Defensive Player of the Week too, but we'll forgive him if that gets overlooked in favor of his national honors. Norman picked off three passes against Gardner-Webb--all in the second half to seal the win in a closely-contested ballgame. Getting the 3 INT ties a Conference single-game record and gives him 7 INT on the season, a Big South record.

HIGH POINT WOMEN'S SOCCER won the Big South Women's Soccer Championship from the #7 slot. HPU knocked off #2 GWU and #6 Radford before winding up as the on-paper "favorite" against all odds in the final, defeating #8 Winthrop for the title. It was an amazing seven games in Charleston to decide the champion, offering six upsets and six overtime games (four of which went all the way to penalty kicks). Whew... Oh, by the way, HPU's reward for victory will be an opening-round match-up with North Carolina in Chapel Hill...the Tar Heels are defending national champions....yeesh!

And now THIS week, the MEN'S Soccer Championship will be played at...High Point University. So HPU will host with a shot at the double, while top-seed Coastal Carolina will try to avoid the pattern followed by the women's tourney bracket!

That's all I've got today, folks...try to stay dry as best as you can while Ida visits (for those of us in most of Big South territory, that is)...and that's SHOUT...out.

Flame(s) On!

With all due respect to Johnny Storm (The Human Torch of the Fantastic Four), the Flames burning brightest right now seem to be coming out of Lynchburg.

It's always policy and practice here at SHOUT to be even-handed for all Big South teams, and to report the facts accurately...but frankly, the facts from this weekend are anything but even across the board.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Big South, I present Liberty University's weekend:

-- won Men's Cross Country Championship

-- won Women's Cross Country Championship

-- locked top seed with Women's Soccer Regular Season Championship

-- remained undefeated in football with 55-19 win and rose to #16/17 in the two major FCS polls

-- improved to 10-2 in volleyball and slipped past UNC Asheville in the standings, taking first place

I may even be missing something (and I'm not going to go into individual honors right now, although the Flames got some of those too)...but bottom line, the Liberty Flames deserve a salute for program excellence right now--it would be hard to top a weekend like that for anybody! Bravo, LU, a SHOUT-out to you.

Now the challenge--which team(s) will step up in response and put a dent in Liberty's early dominance? For football, Stony Brook is certainly putting in a claim, as the Seawolves have the only other undefeated squad after knocking off Gardner-Webb. In volleyball, UNC Asheville will be anxious to get the top spot back. In soccer, it's tournament time for the women this week--and for the men next week. So it's all wide open...should be fun to see how everything turns out...I'll be watching--I hope you will be too!

SHOUT-a-palooza

Hello to one and all across the SHOUT blogosphere--it's been a while, hasn't it?

Sorry about that...sometimes life just has a knack at getting in the way. Most of that is my own fault for preferring to have SHOUT often lengthier and more crafted than, say, updates on Facebook or Twitter (so a "fail whale" for me perhaps), but part is just the craziness of this time of year and all that goes with it----so let's run the gauntlet as quickly as we can:


Volleyball, for starters: as I write this, UNC Asheville is 6-0 in Conference. Yup. The Bulldogs have got it going on for Coach Julie Torbett, and the Justice Center squad is laying down the law...but it's not a runaway, not with Winthrop at 5-1, Liberty at 5-2, and Coastal at 4-2. Oh, and did I mention Asheville and Winthrop tangle tonight? No? Well now I did--so be sure to check it out on the Big South Network!



Men's Soccer, as our second stop: Winthrop hasn't lost yet in the Big South--the Eagles own a 3-0-1 mark in Conference, but matching them at three wins is High Point. Both HPU and WU have games on the home pitch Saturday, so we'll soon know who's got the seat up front as we drive into the stretch run to the November Conference Championship.


Women's Soccer, as an appropriate next step: much like the men's race, two teams have hit the three-win mark ahead of the others--undefeated Liberty at 3-0-1 and also Radford at 3-1. They don't have the only say in what's coming down the line, though, since there's a jam of four teams with two wins apiece right behind (CSU, GWU, CCU, VMI) and a full slate of games on the weekend schedule.


Football, you've been waiting for me to get to, I understand: still too early to do much handicapping, but here's the deal...three teams have won their respective first Conference showdowns (GWU, CCU, and SBU), two have come up empty so far (PC once and VMI twice--the only team more than one game into Conference), and the remaining pair has yet to face Big South opposition this season (CSU and LU). But IT'S ON this weekend, folks! There are three Conference games scheduled: SBU at VMI (great rushing attacks in that one), Coastal Carolina at Liberty (a lot of titles between these two over the years), and CSU at GWU (each receiving some votes in the poll, so this game gives somebody more legitimacy). PC is idle, so they get the picture--you can't say I favored or jinxed anybody here!


Those first two games mentioned are each available on the Big South Network, but the third is as far as the sports tier on your cable/satellite, as SportSouth will be carrying the Buccaneers at Runnin' Bulldogs from Boiling Springs. Coverage begins at 11:30am (!) and features Mark Bryant (yours truly) on play-by-play and multi-sport star Brian Jordan as analyst (cool, huh?)...so get your Saturday football frenzy started early and started right--with the Big South on SportSouth!


Other sports...the cross country schedule is on the run, fall golf events are teeing off here and there, and other spring sports like softball and baseball have been holding their offseason practices and games...but what lots of Big South fans are waiting for happens to be...


Basketball, which tipped off the preseason officially with Media Day this week. You heard me--hoops approacheth! On the men's side, Radford is the prohibitive favorite--would you argue with Art Parakhouski? That's him in red in the picture, by the way--he's 6-11 and expected to be dominant in the post again this year. On the women's side, Liberty has to share the preseason nod for a change, with High Point getting a share of the predicted top slot. There will be a lot more on the wild world of b-ball in the days and weeks ahead. Practice is cranking up and games start within the next month, so your wait is nearly over, you hardwood crazies you...


Speaking of basketball--let's talk preseason preview:




If you would like some additional assessment, here's our contribution to the season outlook series for "Rush the Court" (at this link).

Was the preview not enough video for you today? Okay, we've got more--here's this week's Big South Network Guide:

Okay, that's it people...go about your business--and be sure to check out some of the Big South's busy sports schedule this weekend and beyond...really good stuff going on out there, and these student-athletes would love to have your support! Have fun...SHOUT--out!

Big South Observatory

Let's scan the scope about and see what we see out there this week...

First off, how about a BASKETBALL item?
That's right, we've got hoops news--ESPN made the announcement this week that the ever-expanding "Worldwide Leader" will reprise its Tip-Off Marathon and the 24 hours of basketball it entails across the family of ESPN networks. Mark the date of November 17th for the Marathon, and note the time 10am, because that's when the Big South joins the party. Last season it was UNC Asheville hosting Liberty for the season's first Big South Conference game--this year the Flames are back on ESPN, but this time Liberty will host ACC foe Clemson! It was just last year that the Tigers survived a tight one at home against LU, so this has all the makings of a solid match-up...assuming all the players are fully awake for a 10am ballgame, of course.

So now a football observation, while we're on the subject of major out-of-conference competition...the Big South teams are certainly unafraid of taking on FBS--and even BCS--programs, and that is to be commended. While the record is not a good one (don't pretend to be shocked, we're all friends here, just stay with me), the recognition factor is growing with each of these "guarantee" games. Charleston Southern's national profile had never been as high as it was in the lead-up time before CSU lined up in front of Florida in week one--and Jay Mills' Bucs are at it again this week, facing the South Florida Bulls of the Big East. Did we mention Coach Mills recruits players from the Sunshine State? Gardner-Webb, off to a strong 2-0 start, will put its players to the test at NC State Saturday. Liberty's only loss came at the hands of West Virginia, in a game much closer than many forecasters might have believed. Just a few examples...this is good stuff, folks. Hopefully it's just a matter of time before the Big South is pulling upsets of the variety seen in the Colonial-ACC match-ups this year.

A volleyball salute and SHOUT-out to UNC Asheville's Lauren Ficker and Raquel Miotto for being the first multiple player of the week honorees in any of the fall sports--and not only multiple winners, but back-to-back recipients as well! It's early yet, but after four weeks for women's soccer, three weeks for volleyball, two weeks for football and men's soccer, and one week for men's and women's cross country (XC therefore not yet eligible for repeats), only Ficker and Miotto have pulled in the double: Ficker as Player of the Week and Miotto as Defensive Player of the Week. Nice job; congratulations, ladies!

So you're saying, "What about the video guide for this week? Gotta have my update on the Big South Network..." Glad you asked:

We close with thoughts in memory of the late Myles Brand. The NCAA President passed away this week after a fight against pancreatic cancer. Brand worked very hard on behalf of institutions and student-athletes across the country, and will be missed throughout the collegiate athletics community.

Until next time, SHOUT--out!

The Big South Network Guide Strikes Again

Short entry today, folks--just want to get the new video guide to the Big South Network out there for you: over 20 live streaming events in the next week (volleyball, men's/women's soccer, and football)! Here's the clip...and a teaser--the very (and I do mean very) end features a quick tag from some of our finest football players...

Remember, subscriptions for single games as well as full sport passes and annual memberships are all available via the Big South Network at BigSouthSports.com!

I'll try to feed you some good info in this space tomorrow (Thursday) as the fall sports season goes from low to high gear in the days ahead with lots of activity all across the Conference through the Labor Day Weekend--stay tuned!

Big Night, Big Year, Big South

Well, we've made it to the next day...whew!
What am I talking about THIS time? Let's jump back to Thursday night and review...


The Big South Conference 2009 Awards & 25th Anniversary Dinner--a gathering of not only VIPs from all the Big South member institutions and sponsorship partners, but also of great student-athletes and coaches from the full span of Conference history! It was a special night at McBryde Hall on the campus of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.


The Sunbelt Rentals Scholarships were formally awarded.
The Christenberry Award and Graduate Fellowship recipients were recognized.


Then came the major yearly awards--the All-Sports Trophies: Liberty won the Men's, Coastal Carolina won the Women's, and Liberty earned the Sasser Cup for overall sports performance. The Flames had a sensational year, pulling down Conference championships in men's cross country, men's track (indoor and outdoor), football, volleyball, and women's basketball. In addition, LU also notched five runner-up finishes. A sensational season, congratulations to Liberty University!


But as amazing as those honors and awards are, they only served as preamble to the highlight of the night: a salute to the 25th Anniversary "Best of the Best," followed by the announcement of the Top Ten Countdown for the "Best of the Best" through a special video--this one right here, as a matter of fact...

In summation (or for those who don't have a few spare minutes to watch):

10-Martin Sayer, Radford tennis--player of the year all four of his seasons
9-UNCA MBB 2003--first-ever NCAA MBB tourney win for the Big South
8-LU Track & Field--dominant winner of vast majority of Conference titles
7-Coastal Carolina Baseball--nationally prominent and still on a long run of success
6-Josh McDougal, Liberty track--distance sensation, National Champion, 14-time All-American
5-Katie Feenstra, Liberty WBB--among nation's best players, engine for title run
4-Radford WBB Dynasty--the Highlanders were virtually untouchable for a decade
3-CCU Men's Soccer/Joseph Ngwenya--great player and team to Sweet 16
2-Winthrop MBB 2007--knock off Notre Dame in NCAA tourney, go to 2nd round
1-Libery WBB Dynasty--10 straight Big South titles & Sweet 16 berth!!!

There you have it--a fantastic night for the Big South...

Meanwhile, Coastal Carolina Baseball is at the Chapel Hill Regional, just starting against Kansas--AND several Big South student-athletes are at the East Regional for NCAA Track & Field. Good luck to all our remaining competitors!

Have a great weekend, everybody...

The Gretzky Post

What, you say? A hockey reference? Surely it's not to imply that this entry is a "Great One"...

No--it's about the number. This is post #99 since we got SHOUT jump-started on Leap Day 2008. Using that reasoning, I guess I could've called it "The Sapp Post," but that just didn't have the best ring to it.

Speaking of this blog and its brethren, here's a little love from the Conference's main site.

Moving on...

THE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP HAS ARRIVED!!!

Yes, we've begun the 2009 Royal Purple Big South Conference Baseball Championship. Hopefully you'll be able to get out to McCormick Field in Asheville and soak up some of the atmosphere in that classic minor league park (home to the Asheville Tourists), but if not, there's always our wall-to-wall coverage on The Big South EDGE. Kudos to Championship Host UNC Asheville for making the event happen so smoothly--and a special SHOUT-out to Everett Hutto of UNCA for making the production of the live streaming top notch, with SIX cameras out there to capture the action from every angle. Looks great, sounds great: follow your team's path through the double-elimination bracket by ordering the game on The EDGE.

Enough promotion, how about the hardball? Well, Tuesday night got things rolling with the tournament's two lead-off elimination games--the bottom four seeds contesting for two open slots. High Point held off Charleston Southern to advance, while 8-seed VMI pulled off a surprise by routing Gardner-Webb. That victory may not have left much in the tank for the next morning, as the Keydets fell to top-seeded Coastal Carolina...but the good news for VMI fans is they're still in it--they just have to play their way back out of the loser's bracket to do it (a tall order for anybody).

As I write this on Wednesday afternoon, HPU and Winthrop are just starting in the day's second game. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday each feature a trio of games (at 11am, 3pm, and 7pm) before we get to Saturday's Final (one game or two as needed).

So what about the other postseason efforts not concluded at our last post?

Softball--Radford dropped the opener to Georgia, but fought back with a win over Campbell, only to lose to Regional Host North Carolina, eliminating the Highlanders.

Men's Golf--Coastal Carolina finished 11th at the NCAA Northeast Regional, ending the season for the Chanticleers (the top five teams from each Regional advance).

Is it just me or were there a lot of links today?

That's all for now...enjoy the baseball--the Big South crowns its champion on Saturday!

Next post is the century mark for SHOUT (and they said it would never last)--oh, and next week we reveal the "Best of the Best" top ten countdown, so don't miss that!

Behind the Scenes: Blue Hose/Rocky/Sparky

You know, a lot of people enjoyed the Big South's "Dancing Mascots" tourney promo...in fact, when shown in arenas, it often turned into cheering contests for the mascot of choice. It was all done in fun and we enjoy sharing the laugh with everyone (even if we can't do it on YouTube--and no, we don't want a song substitute from the generic audio library, thank you).

But the edited group video is only part of the story. We've all gotten such a kick out of the original material in the Conference office, we've decided that (since all of college basketball is closing out the season this week) it's time to share that source video with you--that's right, here's your chance to see the uncut clips that came in from our schools!

Today's SHOUT will have three of the seven (not ten, as three member schools had either no video available or file was unusable). In the next few days, we'll follow with more--but please be clear--we do not claim to be putting them in any particular order.

So with no further adieu, "overture, curtain, lights..."

Presbyterian...


UNC Asheville...


Liberty...


That's all (for now) folks!

By the way, don't forget you can find us on facebook (become a fan of the page & keep up with us whenever you enjoy facebook--today linking back here to SHOUT!), follow us on Twitter (with quick drops earlier today on the Baseball and Softball Weekly Awards), watch us on YouTube (with all the Best of the Best stories and your weekly On The EDGE promos), and--as always--get all the latest updates on BigSouthSports.com (home of the Big South Conference)!

Lost and Found Department

You can always tell when things have gotten a little extra-busy around the Big South Conference, because SHOUT goes offline for longer periods every so often (beyond just a mere handful of days). In this case it's over two weeks...sorry about that...but the disappearing act is over: time to SHOUT with the Big South!

In the "down" time, it's been a fury of championship programs and championship events for me, but I hope to use the upcoming days as opportunities to offer some first-hand accounts of events and personal insight into what's going on.

It would be nice to offer more details around recent items, but I'm not foolish enough to promise we'll cover everything--so here's a rundown of quick hits:

--Bravo, Dustin Johnson...the Coastal Carolina alum and "Best of the Best" honoree won his second PGA Tour event with a west coast victory (a strong performance in a rain-shortened event).

--Trading Places...not the movie, but the basketball standings: VMI hit a rough patch after leading the men's hoopsters most of the season--and while the Keydets skidded into a losing streak, the Highlanders surged along with an impressive run of wins to put Radford on top for good. RU has earned the regular season title and top seed for the Championship!

--Home Sweet Home...the four host teams for the men's basketball quarterfinals have been established (even if all the seeding has not come together yet): Radford, VMI, Liberty, and UNC Asheville will all begin their paths to the title on their home floors.

--Eternal Flames...will anyone stop the Liberty women's basketball squad or will they just keep this up forever? LU is undefeated in Conference play, sitting at 12-0 with the regular season title and top seed already clinched. Including non-conference contests, Liberty has won 15 straight.

--King of the Mountain...a salute to Coastal Carolina baseball--the Chanticleers defeated #1 North Carolina this week!

--The Water's Fine...Big South members Radford, VMI, and Gardner-Webb participated in the 12-team Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championships last week. The CCSA is a joint venture of four conferences (Big South, SoCon, A-Sun, MEAC) for an overall swimming and diving championship meet. I was there for all three days (at the Gabrielsen Natatorium of the University of Georgia in Athens), and yes, I hope to put up some pictures and tales from the event soon--meanwhile, big congrats go out to the overall men's champions from College of Charleston and women's champions from Florida Gulf Coast University!

--It Keeps You Runnin'...the 2009 New Balance Big South Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships have arrived. The full meet will be video streamed on The EDGE, of course, and that's where yours truly comes in--I'll be here in Clemson for all the events over the two-day meet. You can find the schedule of events and link to the results at the Big South's Championship page.

And hey--we also did On The EDGE Viewer's Guides for last week and this week...obviously last week's didn't make it to SHOUT, although if you're really curious (and I doubt anyone's that curious), you can still find it in the On Demand section of The EDGE. This week's is--right here:

Lots and lots going on across the Big South Conference these days--be sure you're keeping an eye on www.BigSouthSports.com and checking on SHOUT plus our YouTube channel BigSouthSports!

As always, thanks for reading. We hope you enjoy what SHOUT has to offer and keep coming back for more...this week marks a milestone for the Big South Conference blog--more on that to come very soon!