Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Daily Pooch Punt: 4/17/2007
Candace Kimmett was one of those rare coaches you come across when you scour the high-school ranks.
She wasn’t in it for those precious extra dollars; she was in it because she loved the game of volleyball. Loved watching the girls develop from raw middle-school talent to honed volleyball goddess between the white lines.
Always quick to smile, Kimmett was never afraid to call a timeout when her team was struggling, then as they walked off the court; she would greet them with one of those “you-and-I-both-know-you-did-something-wrong” looks. The girls (usually) responded and Kimmett leaves with a staggering 234-62 record with one state title, two quarterfinal appearances and a Final Four team.
Athletic Director Mel Morris said it all with his quote: “I know she’s gonna be hard to replace. Anyone who takes that position will have some pretty big shoes to fill.”
We couldn’t agree more.
And another thing: OK, for the third time, the TNV crew will start its Eastside Pick’em for this week’s late-model feature race. Will Mother Nature work with us this time? We’ll soon find out.
Sorry for the smell: On Monday, we lost water in our apartment building. Monday night we were without power, today (Tuesday) we only had cold water. That’s why this sports editor hasn’t showered in two days and has his signature patchy facial hair growth. Sorry for my appearance. Here’s hoping I have hot water (and power for that matter) when I arrive home after work tonight.
Hello, my name is Jim and welcome to may Hell.
One last thing: Yes, I know what we cover — high schools.
To answer mountains of e-mails I have gotten regarding the six-column photo we ran of Waynesboro baseball on Saturday: No, we don’t pick on unpaid high school athletes who play the game because they love it.
It was a wonderful moment of disappointment for a player. A player on a team that poured its heart and soul into a 12-inning baseball game only to come out on the losing end.
Folks, there’s a reason why we’re here at The News Virginian. It’s to give you the best possible sports coverage. Whether you view it as “positive” or “negative” is strictly up to you. We just cover the games, take the photos and write the headlines.
We write the facts and don’t sugar coat the negative.
To answer some questions: According to the baseball dictionary a dropped third strike is “a pitch that is either swung at or called a strike that is not caught or passes by the catcher with first base open. At that point, the pitcher is given a strikeout, but the runner is free to attempt to make it to first base.”
I’m sure someone out there somewhere coined the phrase “Don’t Hate, Educate,” either that or some so-white-they’re-clear rapper vocalized that in his one Top 10 hit. I agree with it. When I was on “the outside looking in” I had no idea why newspaper did what they did. I do now and think everybody would benefit from knowing a little bit of the method behind our madness.
That’s the only reason why I’ve included this in today’s blog entry.
The bottom line? I do everything in my power to make sure the readers of Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County get the best sports section, period.
If you have any questions or criticisms, fire away. I’ll do my best to explain why we did it. (And, no Hank, that isn’t a “pissing match” as you so eloquently put it.)
Ask anybody who runs into me out and about town. They’ve stopped me in Wal-Mart to get an explanation and, with the exception of trying to keep my Chicago Little Italy mouth in check (we all have our struggles) I always make time to talk to them right then and there.
I don’t ask that anybody leave happy, I only ask that they leave understanding.
OK, I’m off my soap box.
See you tomorrow.
