As the first new head soccer coach at East Carolina in 20 years, Jason Hamilton has a boatload of tasks as he tries to elevate the program — ramping up conditioning, encouraging leadership on the field, blending transfers in with established Pirate players. But one key emphasis for Hamilton revolves around what he calls “dirty… [ Continue Reading ]

Each in his own way, both Kendall Futrell and Chance Purvis were somewhat constrained prior to this preseason — Futrell because he spent much of the 2017 season limited by injury and illness, and Purvis because he’s a self-professed “late bloomer.” But with a new coordinator and a new defensive scheme designed to capitalize on… [ Continue Reading ]

Sometimes the most profound answer to a question is also the simplest. Everyone in the Pirate Nation wants to believe in a dramatic turnaround for the East Carolina basketball program. As new head coach Joe Dooley has hired a seasoned staff and put his players through a grueling summer strength and conditioning regimen, fans and… [ Continue Reading ]

Harold Varner III wasn’t necessarily planning on playing five consecutive PGA tournaments. When he looked at his schedule he actually thought he would take the second full week in June off from traveling and competing. But then he qualified for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, and he wasn’t about to turn down that opportunity.… [ Continue Reading ]

In my newspaper days, my coworkers and I were fond of calling out, “Warning: Journalists doing math,” but the truth is numbers do find their way into my stories frequently, especially sports-related numbers. It’s hard to spend much time in sportswriting without having to dust off your middle school math skills from time to time.… [ Continue Reading ]

It’s been ten days since we folded up our chairs and trudged quietly out of the Jungle, shell shocked by the events of an East Carolina-UNC-Wilmington baseball game that lasted nine hours on paper but, in truth, was decided in about thirty minutes. If I still feel an ache, I know that the die-hard Diamond… [ Continue Reading ]

More than 400 East Carolina student-athletes started the 2017-’18 school year after a summer of training, full of hopes for their upcoming season. After campaigns for 18 different sports with varying degrees of success, only two are still competing. Hosting a regional didn’t end the way the baseball team or the Pirate Nation had hoped,… [ Continue Reading ]