Thursday May 21, 2009

Hitting Home; ACC Baseball; Jay Rome; Five Star

Hitting Home
Yesterday I was like a lot of people in that I was in shock to hear th news about Phil Michelson’s wife, Amy. The three-time major champion is taking an indefinite leave from the tour to help Amy as she deals with breast cancer.

Last night I was watching the New York Yankees game and saw the story of Polly Thompkins. She was the Yankees’ honorary bat girl for the night, threw out the first pitch and got the game’s lineup card from Joe Girardi after the Yankees win. Thompkins is part of the MLB/Susan G. Komen for Cure effort to recognize baseball fans who are fighting cancer. Several Yankee players wore pink sweatbands or magnetic necklaces during the game to honor Thompkins and cancer victims.

My compassion really extends to cancer patients, victims, survivors and family members. We have all lost someone we loved to cancer and yesterday just reminded me of what an important role sports has in the battle.

Sports can give people hope. It can provide inspiration. It can give also provide a distraction to those who need a little entertainment to take the disease off of their minds, if only for a few hours.

We have two excellent examples right here in Clemson with Dabo Swinney and Oliver Purnell. Both men and their families have been very generous with their time and money to cancer research.

Dabo and Kathleen Swinney have seen the energy needed to fight the battle. Kathleen has a history of breast cancer in her family and she was fortunate enough to go through a procedure several years ago in a preemptive strike against breast cancer. In his first few months of being the head coach of the Tigers, Dabo and Kathleen have already been great leaders in the fight. They have been outspoken and have been generous in making this a priority in his days here.

Oliver and Vickie Purnell hosted a terrific Coaches vs. Cancer event here in Clemson last fall. The event was a rousing success and I think we will see the event grow in future years. Coach Purnell speaks openly about how cancer has affected their family and is more than willing to give his time and money to the cause.

There are too many examples of cancer and its effects on our Clemson Nation but I am thankful that we have two head coaches here that have chosen to make it a priority of theirs.

ACC Baseball
Will the Tigers ever get to take the field? It seems like it has been weeks since Clemson has played but tonight they are finally scheduled to get back on the field with a tilt against Virginia. This game is big because Clemson and Virginia are two of the ACC teams vying for a spot to host an NCAA regional. I know not the determining factor but it would not hurt to beat one of the main competitors head-to-head.

It did not hurt Clemson’s chances that Georgia Tech lost to Miami last night and Boston College today. A few weeks ago Tech was a sure bet to top Clemson in the pecking order of ACC hosts. The Tigers took two of three from the Jackets and now appear to have a better resume.

Speaking to the ACC tournament, this round robin deal is for the birds (pun intended). No other major conference that I know of plays it out this way. The ACC needs to go back to a double elimination tournament like most power conferences have played for years.

On the subject of hosting, the NCAA will announce host sites Sunday afternoon and the brackets will be announced Monday afternoon. You can go to NCAA.org to see the information both days.

Jay Rome
A few weeks ago I was in Mac’s Drive In here in Clemson and a good friend said, “You just missed Stan Rome and his son, Jay.” My timing caused me to miss him that time but I get the feeling he will be back more often in the future.

Stan Rome was a two-sport star here at Clemson in the mid-seventies. Some think he is one of the ten best athletes ever here at Clemson. The Georgia native played football but had more success at Clemson in basketball.

His son, Jay, might be an even better athlete. I have had coaches tell me that some consider Jay the top football prospect in the state of Georgia in 2011 and one coach tell me he may be the best basketball prospect in the state as well.

The Valdosta, GA rising junior will have his pick of schools but Clemson should be at the top or near the top of his list though out his recruiting process.

Besides the obvious tie to his father, Clemson has another very important advantage. Stan’s son Brandon Frye played for Clemson offensive line and tight end coach Danny Pearman when Pearman coached at Virginia Tech.

Five Star Future?
Speaking of recruiting, another good friend saw Oliver Purnell with a huge smile on his face earlier this week. The head coach was hosting Damien Leonard for an unofficial visit in the first part of the week.

Leonard is a rising junior that might be the top shooting guard in the country in his class. He is from Greenville, SC and plays at J.L. Mann High School. I have not seen Leonard play yet but I hear rave reviews. Several services have Leonard as one of the top 5 players in the nation.

Clemson and North Carolina are reported to be the top schools on Leonard’s list at this stage.

The Tigers signed perhaps their highest profile prospect this past year with Milton Jennings but could the 2012-13 basketball season in Tigertown feature two five star players?

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, William Perry, Delores Weaver.