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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
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By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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J.T. just keeps going and
going and going
�2003 Bonesville.net
First-year East Carolina football coach John Thompson is
still going a mile a minute. The EverReady Bunny has nothing on the coach.
Thompson�s battery is still on full.
His message seems to sink in the first time for this Pirate
football team. So far, Thompson continues to push the right buttons.
I was even impressed with the way Thompson blessed the first
meal for the team. I�ve heard many preachers that didn�t have the same
compassion when it was their turn to bless the meal.
Thompson has several movie themes that are playing out at
camp.
First, he�s got the entire squad at a Greenville hotel, and
he�s selected the roommates� list. It�s a chapter out of Remember the
Titans, a story about the coming together of a team. The Titans faced far
greater obstacles, but the theme of teamwork and unity ring clear in both
cases.
Thompson opened camp with a scene from the movie Rudy,
presenting walk-on wide receiver Richard Hourigan with a scholarship for all
of his hard work. The entire team stood and gave Hourigan a standing ovation
when Thompson made the presentation.
Finally, at media day, Thompson said that the only
controversy during camp was a conversation with Vonta Leach about what movie
the team would see. Leach said the players really wanted to see SWAT. The
coach chose Seabiscuit and that�s what the team saw. In fact, Coach Thompson
is hoping his team has a Seabiscuit moment or two during the upcoming
season.
Starting QB still unknown
Coach Thompson also said he might very well play two
quarterbacks this season. Thompson made that comment at media day.
I think the coach really wants the most consistent guy to
win the position. I don�t think either Paul Troth or Desmond Robinson has
been all that consistent the times that I have been to practice.
To their credit, though, I have only made it out twice, on
the first day and on the first day with pads. The squad is scheduled to
scrimmage on Wednesday, and that should go a long way towards naming a
starter.
New season for Brian Bailey
Show
My first call-in show is set for Monday, August 18th, and it
will air on both 98.3 WCZI-FM and on Cable 7 in Greenville. As I reported in
a prior column, this year we will be on in prime-time from 8:00-9:00 on
Monday nights.
My first guest will be East Carolina strength coach Jim
Whitten. I always like to get the strength coach on early, because they�re
the guys that have worked with the team the most during the off-season.
I thank all of you that call during the year for all of your
support. Hearing the opinions of others often goes a long way toward
allowing someone to see the entire picture.
Speaking of being on the air, I�m already looking forward to
the September 1 season opener. We�ll be on the air with the pregame show at
9 a.m.. The game with Cincinnati kicks off at noon, and then I�ll be back to
help out with the postgame at about 3:00 p.m.
Since the game happens to be on a Monday, I�ll check back in
with my weekly show at 8 p.m. In between, we�ll have sportscasts on the
television side. That should be some kind of Labor Day!
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Brian Bailey.
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02/23/2007 01:25:19 AM |
