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ECU
quarterback Shane Carden putts on the practice green before
playing the course at Newport National Golf Club on the
first day of the American Athletic Conference Media Days in
Newport, Rhode Island. (Photo by W.A. Myatt) |
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The par
three 13th hole at Newport National Golf Club, the site for
the golf outing for coaches, players, league affiliates and
media on the first day of the American Athletic Conference
Media Days. (Photo by W.A. Myatt) |
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MULTIMEDIA |
Aresco touts the future |
American
Athletic Conference commissioner
Mike Aresco met with the press on
Tuesday, June 24, 2014, at East Carolina's Harvey
Hall to hail the Pirates' pending
July 1st entry into the league.
After his introduction by ECU
athletic director Jeff Compher, the
former CBS Sports and ESPN executive
highlighted the American's aggressive
goals and flaunted the league's
contractual arrangement for
high-profile TV exposure on ESPN,
ABC and CBS Sports. During his
remarks, Aresco said of the Pirates,
"The country is going to discover
ECU in a way that it hasn’t.” (Aresco
photo by W.A. Myatt; audio courtesy
of Pirate Radio 1250 via Brian
Bailey) ...
Select audio
clip (43 minutes, 15 seconds)... |
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By
Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
NEWPORT, RI —
There's an exit to Plymouth, MA as you come back across
the bridge to Newport, RI, where the American Athletic Conference kicked
off its Media Day on Monday with a round of golf at Newport National and
a clambake at the Hyatt Regency on Goat Island.
Plymouth, where the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in
1620 according to legend and/or history, is about an hour northeast of
Newport.
This is an area of significant history, a contrast to the
American, which is geared for the challenges of the future.
The conference's immediate history in its year of
existence prior to East Carolina's arrival in July, included a BCS win
by Central Florida over Baylor (52-42) in the Fiesta Bowl as well as
both NCAA Tournament championships in basketball by Connecticut.
AAC commissioner Mike Aresco talked about the
accomplishments and challenges facing the young league at the outset of
Media Day on Tuesday at the plush Hyatt Newport, at 1 Goat Island on
Narragansett Bay.
The event started Monday with a superball golf tournament
at the very-challenging and well-maintained Newport National Course.
Pirates quarterback Shane Carden and athletic director
Jeff Compher toured the links.
"Shane can hit it," said acclaimed television journalist
Jack Ford, who moderated the coaches session from the podium Tuesday.
Compher's name was on the list for closest to the pin on
one of the par threes when our group went through.
My son, W.A., and I were paired with Chris Elsberry, a
UConn beat writer with the Connecticut Post, and Joe Zone, sports anchor
with WFSB-3, a CBS affiliate in Connecticut.
Chris and Joe had played the course before and that was a
valuable asset.
They also told us about the clambake at the Hyatt on the
bay Monday night.
It was a feast. They cooked lobster, oysters, steak,
chicken, corn and potatoes in an underground pit. There was peach and
blueberry cobbler with ice cream for desert.
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country with
1,045 square miles of land area. That compares to Pitt County, which is
657.98 square miles.
The American's office is in Providence, RI.
One resident said, one can fall down in Rhode Island's
eastern strip and land in Massachusetts.
Despite the small stature of the state, it hosts a big
time event in the AAC kickoff.
The Vanderbilt family was among those who built elaborate
mansions, known as cottages, in Newport. Many of those magnificent homes
are preserved by a historic society and may be toured.
Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy had "summer White
Houses" in Newport.
The sail boats running before the wind Monday evening
were a reminder that this is an appropriate location for Pirates.
ECU will be looking to add to its football tradition in a
league based in an area with a rich history.
As the lady at the toll booth for the bridge over the bay
said with a smile after accepting our payment, "Be off, like a prom
dress."
That was the line of the day on Monday, surpassing Tulsa
safety Michael Mudoh, who was joined by offensive lineman Garrett
Stafford as player representatives from the Golden Hurricane. We sat
with them at the meal Monday.
"We've actually got three players here," Mudoh said.
"Garrett (6 feet, 5 inches, 314 pounds) counts as two."