“What controversy?” a referee that worked the game said Wednesday.
Exactly.
In the waning moments of the Waynesboro girls basketball team’s 63-35 dismantling of Fort Defiance on Tuesday and with coach Secrett Stubblefield still playing her starters, Devon Brown did what Devon Brown does. The thing that’s sending Devon Brown to Liberty University where Devon Brown won’t be paying for college, which is good because of what Devon Brown’s dad once told me as I interviewed him in his trophy-cluttered living room that was almost too small to hold both of us.
I asked why all his kids played sports and worked so hard to excel at them. He looked at me like I had leeches crawling out of my eye sockets, and told me because sports, for the lucky few, can pay for college. If his three kids needed more help on the importance of continuing education, he said he would always remind them of what he does for a living.
“I clean up little kids’ vomit,” he said of his janitorial duties.
Oh, you ask? So what does Devon Brown do?
Well, Devon Brown dumps 30 points on you a night and, thanks to a proverbial cavalcade of coaches to go with that born-with talent, she plays her butt off.
Every second.
Every night.
That’s what Devon Brown does and that’s what she was doing when she saw a hole in the lane and bullied her way through while still playing at the tail end of the Little Giants’ blowout win over the Indians. (No matter what her coach told her to do, it’s instinctive when you’re born with basketball talent, you see an open hole in the lane and you take it.) The same thing and same reason names like Curry, Sampson, Toliver and Lambiotte still bounce around your beloved Valley’s hollers.
She was fouled—your usual during-the-course of the game foul, the ref said—and momentum carried her forward.
Another thing Devon Brown does is something called strong. She’s very. (One of the big reasons why she’s a Virginia McDonalds’ All-American nominee.) And a Fort Defiance player felt the full force of Devon Brown tumbling forward. And you thought physics was a pain in high school.
The Indian got hurt and suddenly a controversy begins.
What was Devon Brown trying to do, you ask on a blog? Devon Brown was trying to do what she is always trying to do on the court. The biggest reason Devon Brown is going to Division-I Liberty. Devon Brown was trying to score. You know, doing Devon Brown’s job.
Let us answer your questions.
1. Yes, Stubblefield has control of the team. They score, which is the best way to make sure that you win ball games. You know, kind of like the Patriots were doing early in the season. That’s what Stubblefield wants them to do and they’re doing it. She has not kept it, no pun intended, a secret. She’s been touting her run-and-gun-catch-us-if-you-can offense since the preseason. If it does what you want, isn’t that control? You know, kind of like when you have “control” of your car and it handles the way you want it to.
2. Because, as you said, what comes around goes around. Remember when most teams in the Valley District (ah, the one-district halcyon days) beat the stuffing out of the Little Giants? Remember when Fort Defiance would dump 30-point wins on a lot of teams? (Hey, the Pink Posse will never be forgotten, nor should they be.)
Remember when, after almost dumping 100 on Group A Covington in the too-long-gone Advance Auto Parts Classic at Riverheads, then-first-year coach Tony Clark told the media that, yeah, his team was trying to prove a point.
There’s nothing wrong with what that Fort Defiance team did because Clark knew he was at Fort to try to win a state title with a super-talented team, not meet new poker buddies among his “coaching brethren.”
Yeah, a state title. You know, that thing the parents want their little Johnnys and Susies to have so much they pressured the Group A schools into splitting into divisions so, as VHSL assistant director Joyce Sisson wrote in a press release sent out Wednesday, “… more students would have a legitimate opportunity to compete for a state championship and that more communities would have an opportunity to share in that experience.” A split that will send somewhere around half of Region B to the Region B tournament, making the once prestigious accomplishment about as special as Ramen Noodles for dinner. A move that every sports writer and sports editor in the state (probably not publishers, though) has to believe will result in the other two Groups following.
That Fort Defiance team was a classy group of girls led by Heather Claytor doing what Heather Claytor did. And Heather Claytor scored, which is why Heather Claytor is playing at University of North Carolina. They were competitive and wanted to win. They did so all the way to the Group AA tournament.
And don’t try to tell me there’s some statute of limitations here. What, because Kiawna Berry, Devon Brown and Shawnte Woodson had to watch these dismantlings from the stands after their JV games it suddenly doesn’t matter because, well, you weren’t on varsity back then? And pat them on the head and tell them to move on.
Don’t coaches still tell high school athletes that sports are like life? And doesn’t life kick you when you’re down sometimes? Let us hope those Waynesboro girls teams back in those days knew that? And let us hope a super young, yet soon-to-be-veteran Fort Defiance squad knows that too.
And don’t tell me that, after a few years and a new coach or two, we’re supposed to look basketball players in the eyes and say, “You know, it’s a different coach now. Let it be.” What, suddenly we’re playing chess here, not a highly competitive and emotional game. Revenge, of course. But revenge on the controlled confines of a basketball court, not on the street with a broken bottle in one hand and balled up fist in the other.
Uh, just like life, sports is emotion pumping though your body. It’s your pride lubing the cylinders that keep you chugging along. It’s not faces and names you see beating your team on the court (and yes, when you know you’re going to play basketball on the varsity team someday, the high school is “your team” even when you’re in the seventh or eighth grade), it’s school names, it’s mascots, it’s dizzying shades of jersey colors you see taking a mallet to the team you will soon suit up for.
3. You’re darn skippy there was another goal here besides winning the game. It was payback, much like graduation-depleted Waynesboro is going to get next year from a hey-remember-us Fort Defiance team. It was a first-year coach letting a Southern Valley District foe know that, uh-uh, not this year folks. The smack downs are over now. The bottom rail, as they say, is now on top.
It was Devon Brown doing what Devon Brown does—wanting to be the best.
Devon Brown wants to be known as Group AA’s top scorer. Ever.
Would we rather Devon Brown try to the best ever at mischief making or general youthful thuggery?
It’s why thoughts of what Devon Brown can do for his Flames send Liberty University coach Carey Green into a deep and comfortable sleep at night.
It was Devon Brown trying to do what her father always has her thinking about: Devon Brown is going to college for free because Devon Brown plays basketball like Devon Brown.
But, hey. Kudos to you. You got to be a sports writer again for a day and decided to call out a high school athlete who is doing something positive—scoring points for her team and trying to be the best she can be at a fun, harmless game that is going to give her a college diploma that we, for reasons known only to the gods and college-loan-collection agencies, have convinced high school kids they need to succeed in life.
And another thing: Devon Brown was fouled. The Devon Brown that’s going to college.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/31 at 02:06 AM
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Sports Desk: 1/29/08
Get your basketball-watching hats ready because, according to News Virginian Sports Editor Jim Sacco and sports writer Robert Sisk, the final two weeks of the Shenandoah District boys race is going to be a doozy.
And another thing: Want to join Rob and Jim on The Sports Desk? Then e-mail us and tell us why it should be you and you can join us for a filming.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/29 at 06:07 PM
Daily Pooch Punt: 1/29/08
OK, so let me get this straight. With its win over Page on Friday, Buffalo Gap juts out into first place in the Shenandoah District boys basketball race. Capisce?
Now that’s a spot Page and Riverheads were tied at earlier in the week? Right?
So, come Jan. 26th (the aforementioned “Friday” in the first paragraph) Page comes to Buffalo Gap and the Bison beat them? You follow me? (Oh, and good on you Chad Cauley.)
Meanwhile, in Greenville that same night …
Rodney Cullen’s Green Hornets, remember, the team that laid an egg in a win over Stonewall Jackson? (Cullen called it one of the team’s worst outings of the season) Well it goes out and dumps the proverbial L-bomb on the Gladiators and move themselves one-game back of the district’s top spot.
OK, so here’s the way it rolls the rest of the way:
Wednesday: The Fracas in Fishersville (Buffalo Gap at Wilson Memorial)
Friday: Page County at Wilson Memorial
Feb. 5: Riverheads at Buffalo Gap
Feb. 13: Riverheads at Wilson Memorial
Thank. You. Basketball. Gods.
Dust off your Rec-Specs folks, this is gonna be fun to watch.
And another thing: Someone please look at the three-game road swing the Gladiators have to end the season. Let’s go over it together. AT BUFFALO GAP. AT PAGE COUNTY. AT WILSON MEMORIAL.
Now that’s what I call a chutzpah check.
Did you hear? Thanks to the foresight of a brave few individuals who, probably with the help of NASA scientists, medieval charlatans and/or space-age polymers, were able to master the concept of good scheduling, you don’t have to choose between watching the boys or the girls for any of these games (expect for Wednesday’s fracas) because it’s the freakin’ Shenandoah District. You know, the boys and girls play their county rivalry games on different nights. What a concept, I know.
Hey, Shenandoah District: Give yourself a Bozo button.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/29 at 03:34 AM
Monday, January 28, 2008
Daily Pooch Punt: 1/28/08
Just a quickie today, folks, before I jump into what we missed over the weekend (including Friday night’s Shenandoah surprise).
Just thought I’d post the just-released Associated Press preps basketball poll for Virginia. Just so you know, yes I vote.
Discuss.
Virginia Boys Prep Basketball Poll
The Top 10 Virginia basketball teams in the Group AAA, AA, A boys prep poll as selected by sports writers and broadcasters from around the state, with first;place votes in parentheses and total points received based on a 10;through;1 voting system:
Class AAA
Record Pts Prv
1. Highland Springs (7) 15-1 88 1
2. GW-Danville (1) 17-0 79 2
3. Bethel (1) 15-1 74 3
4. Petersburg 14-2 62 4
5. Nansemond River 14-2 55 5
6. Deep Creek 14-2 45 7
7. Westfield 13-2 25 8
8. Chantilly 14-1 21 9
9. C.D. Hylton 11-3 14 6
10. T.C. Williams 13-2 13
Others receiving votes: William Fleming 10. Churchland 7. Warwick 2.
Class AA
Record Pts Prv
1. Millbrook (7) 16-1 87 1
2. R.E. Lee-Staunton (1) 15-2 75 3
3. Hidden Valley (1) 15-1 72 2
4. Pulaski County 13-3 64 4
5. Tabb 14-1 59 5
6. Brookville 12-4 34 10
7. Park View-South Hill 12-0 30 9
8. Blacksburg 13-4 22 8
9. Waynesboro 11-4 18 7
T10. Handley 11-4 11
T10. Park View-Sterling 11
Others receiving votes: Liberty;Bedford 6. Poquoson 5. Bassett 1.
Class A
Record Pts Prv
1. G. Wythe-Wytheville (6) 11-2 86 2
2. Altavista (3) 14-2 81 3
3. Nelson County 13-1 66 1
4. Gate City 10-5 61 4
5. Clarke County 11-4 54 6
6. James River-Buchanan 15-2 51 5
7. Gala 13-3 37 7
8. Chesterfield Community 11-5 28 8
9. Nandua 8-3 21 9
10. Castlewood 11-4 6
Others receiving votes: Radford 2. Madison County 1. Buckingham County 1.
Virginia Girls Prep Basketball Poll
The Top 10 Virginia basketball teams in the Group AAA, AA, A girls prep poll as selected by sports writers and broadcasters from around the state, with first;place votes in parentheses and total points received based on a 10;through;1 voting system:
Class AAA
Record Pts Prv
1. Princess Anne (9) 17-0 90 1
2. Stonewall Jackson-Manassas 17-0 77 2
3. T.C. Williams 13-0 74 3
4. Edison 14-1 56 5
4. Heritage-Newport News 14-2 56 4
6. Meadowbrook 14-0 51 6
7. Hampton 11-2 30 8
8. King’s Fork 15-1 24 9
9. Atlee 13-2 17 10
10. James Madison 15-1 11
Others receiving votes: 11, Woodrow Wilson 8. 12, Oakton 1.
Class AA
Record Pts Prv
1. Turner Ashby (7) 17-0 97 1
2. Brookville (3) 18-0 93 3
3. Hidden Valley 12-4 80 4
4. Bassett 16-1 64 5
5. Waynesboro 13-2 51 6
6. Pulaski County 12-2 50 2
7. Loudoun County 14-2 44 7
8. James Monroe 13-0 32 9
9. Spotswood 12-4 16 10
10. Christiansburg 13-3 11
Others receiving votes: 11, Brentsville 5. 12, Handley 4. 13, Bruton 2. 14, Lafayette 1.
Class A
Record Pts Prv
1. Strasburg (8) 16-0 80 1
2. Floyd County 14-2 71 2
3. Franklin 11-1 64 3
4. Virginia High 13-1 51 5
5. Chilhowie 14-2 41 7
6. Stonewall-Mt. Jackson 12-4 35 9
7. Clarke County 11-4 32 4
8. Honaker 13-3 30 8
9. Lancaster 12-3 14 10
10. Chatham 10-3 9
Others receiving votes: 11, Clintwood 8. 12, Middlese;4. 13, Lee High 1.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/28 at 07:16 PM
Friday, January 25, 2008
Pooch Punt: 1/25/08
Congrats to Leonardo Lopez, an old-school coach who’s back in the saddle at Buffalo Gap and watched his wrestling team come from behind to win the Shenandoah District duals.
And another thing: Really, is there a district more fun in the state to watch in any sport than the Shenandoah?
Sure, we all know that someday in the near future Wilson Memorial will jump up to Group AA and someone will fall down to Group A and take the Hornets’ place in the Shenandoah, but nobody expects anything devastating to happen to this district (ala the old Valley getting split) and all that means is great, competitive play in all sports.
Of course, you could check out girls basketball which featured Buffalo Gap looking like it would win the whole thing, then dropping a pair of district games; Wilson Memorial looking like the team to beat, but then letting Stonewall Jackson come back and beat them on Monday 54-50. The whole time Riverheads looked like the team that would be left out in the cold.
So, my question is, does anybody want to win this thing other than Stonewall Jackson?
Oh well, either way it sure is fun to watch.
This is what happens when you keep a district tight and regional (sure, Page County, Luray and Stonewall probably can’t be called “regional” to the Augusta County schools, but over the course of the years, let’s be honest here, they’ve become rivals with the locals); this is what happens when you don’t split the district during its height of competitiveness and, of course, this is what happens when you let fans see both the girls and boys basketball games without making a choice.
Say What?
“Jim, you missed a great wrestling match at Fort [Wednesday night]. The heavyweights from Waynesboro and Fort went at it for six periods with the Fort wrestler coming out on top, one of the best matches I have seen all season.” Jimmy Delawder, Timberville
Jimmy, sure sounds like I did.
A heavyweight match that goes into two overtimes doesn’t happen often and shows just how much work Fort’s Chris Pettyjohn and Waynesboro Jacob Lipscomb put into it.
This is why I wish I had two bodies so I could have gotten my office work done and seen this match. I’ll figure out how to be two places at once someday. Unless a basketball fan in the Southern Valley District figures it out before me. You know, so they can watch both the boys and girls play.
Oh well, a boy can dream.
See you Monday.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/25 at 01:37 PM
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Webcast 1/23/08: Cleaning the Sports Desk
After a month off, Rob and Jim are back and, you guessed it, the sports desk is an utter mess.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/23 at 06:13 PM
Webcast: 1/23/08: What is the Southern Valley District thinking?
News Virginian Sports Editor Jim Sacco and Valley sports guru Joe Downs talk about the Southern Valley District’s basketball scheduling.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/23 at 06:11 PM
Webcast update: 1/23/08
We’re having some editing difficulties with our Webcast. We hope to have it online by 7 p.m. tonight.
Posted by Jim Sacco on 01/23 at 05:25 PM
Daily Pooch Punt: 1/23/08: What Rivalry?
Jarrett Hatcher, R.E. Lee’s waiting-in-the-wings legend, has never made his feelings regarding the Valley District splitting a secret – he hates it.
He’s said it on his ESPN 1240 am radio show and he said it again Tuesday night when he was hurried over to the office by NBC 29’s Chuck Wade for an impromptu interview during the R.E. Lee at Waynesboro JV game.
Heck, you could stick both your fingers in your ears and you’d still hear him telling you how dumb of an idea the formation of the Southern Valley and Massanutten districts was.
Then there’s his dad, the guy who deserves a Babe Ruthian statue commissioned in his honor once he steps down. (Put it in the CIP now, Staunton.) I asked Paul Hatcher what he thought about Tuesday night’s huge games between Waynesboro and R.E. Lee being played the same night at separate sites. Go ahead, read what he had to say here. We’ll wait for you to come back.
… … …
These guys have, if you’ll excuse my Yiddish, chutzpah. I like chutzpah.
And another thing: Yeah, R.E. Lee girls coach Jeremy Hartman wasn’t too keen on the idea either.
Follow these leaders, please: The Hatchers are THE word in basketball when it comes to the Valley (or Southern Valley, or Massanutten or whatever on this planet you want to call it or remember it as). And Hartman is the first sign of stability the Lee Ladies have had since Dan Bonner had to step down thanks to the Group A and AA girls moving from the fall to the winter. And, by the looks of it, he’s enjoying life on the bench in Staunton.
So, it’s time to order our drinks: And I’ll have what R.E. Lee is having.
In case you missed it (and you probably did. Thanks, Southern Valley): Talk about intense, R.E. Lee girls coach Jeremy Hartman split his pants during Tuesday’s loss to Waynesboro when he slapped the floor in an attempt to pump his Lee Ladies up whilst they were playing defense. He was given a pair of shorts to stuff down his waistline to cover the hole, not to mention probably a good laugh. Really? Can you find me a rivalry so intense it can force a coach to split his cotton Dockers?
In case you missed it (and, once again your probably did. Now it’s your turn to thank the Southern Valley District): The boys game at Waynesboro featured great rivalry exchanges between the fans including a back-and-forth chant that went something like this as time wound down in Lee’s 74-44 win over the Little Giants:
R.E. Lee fans to the Little Giants’ side of the gym: “We can’t hear you.”
Waynesboro’s side right back at Lee’s side: “We’re not cheering.”
Sorry you missed it.
So tell me: How much fun is it going to be watching Boone Jones, Jeremy Heizer and Lyndon Humphries turn each other into bruised lumps in basketball shorts Feb. 5 when Buffalo Gap and Riverheads meet for a second time?
In case you missed it Vol. III (yeah, you know who to thank): R.E. Lee fans wearing black “Godfather” shirts with Paul Hatcher’s visage.
In case you missed it Vol. IV (really? You don’t know yet?): A smothering and well-planned R.E. Lee defense holding every player on an explosive Waynesboro team to single digits.
In case you missed it Vol. V (Don’t make me … ): With the win, Waynesboro is in great position to win the Southern Valley and the all-important Region III berth.
Allow me, kind reader, to pour you a cup of coffee (“Would you like sugar and cream with that?” I’ll ask in a pleasant tone), I’ll pour myself a steaming cup of Joe as well (black, the only way to drink it) and let’s talk.
Let’s leave it all on the table.
High school sports, chances are, will be the one and only time a community, no matter how big or how small, will cheer your kids on like they’re their own. Those magical four years when, unless they join the police force or the like, people will cheer your sons and daughters on just because of the uniform they wear. The hopes and dreams of the countless will rise and fall at their behest.
Few get to see it at the next level. They’ll only know a small gym with buddies and family chanting their names. (“Andy Sherrill. Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap. Andy Sherrill.") Not a Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The chances they’ll hear it at Madison Square Garden are, needless to say, staggeringly bad.
If it can be 200 people, doesn’t it deserve to be 500, 600 or, dare I say, close to a grand?
Don’t they deserve it? They wear your town’s name across the front of their jerseys. They represent the purple and gold, the blue and white, the maroon and white. And you smile as they do it.
They’re not your buddy’s team, C. Jay DeWitt’s team or Jeremy Hartman’s team. It’s “your team” you say, sitting in the stands, eating a bag of popcorn and telling your neighbor, who showed up just before the varsity tip off, about the center Turner Ashby has on its JV squad.
Don’t you deserve to see them play in games as big as tonight’s when the girls and boys basketball team for R.E. Lee and Waynesboro meet to, remember we’re being honest here (as we sip our coffee), decide the regular-season Southern Valley District titles?
Don’t you agree the Southern Valley’s plan of same nights, different sites has run its course and must end? You’re right, since we’re being honest here, it should have ended before it started.
And another thing: Let’s say, mmm … good coffee you got here … the Southern Valley District decides to play these rivalry games on the same night at the same site with the girls starting at 5:30 and boys 20 minutes after that. Let’s guess how early you’d have to line up at the school to be able to get in. I’ll toss out 3:50 p.m. Your guess? (Let’s play the Price-Is-Right rules, the closest without going over.)
Is it so hard: To just look at how the Shenandoah District does it (county rivalry games are played on separate nights, all others are split trips) and say: “Hmmm … not a bad idea.”
I promised you ideas on how to watch both games. So here they are:
1) Send your 14-year-old daughter to the game with that pink cell phone she demanded for Christmas. You know, that thing you paid 99 bucks for that she’s got her nose buried into 24-7 and, the more you think about it, might be the reason she’s been so nice to you since. Yeah, that thing. You go to the girls game, you send her to the boys and have her text you. Do this at your own risk since, remember we’re being honest here, you’re not down with the lingo nor can you type with your thumbs.
Her: OMG. HE’S so HOT.
You: Whets the scooe, sweety?
Her: 34-33. LOL. Becky’s BFF is talking up her BF.
You: Huh?
2) Get a few of your buddies together (preferably in medical school) and have them stop your heart ala the movie Flatliners. You can have an out-of-body experience, catch a half of the girls game, then have your pals bring you back from the brink of the warm embrace of oblivion to see how the boys game ends. You can play the role of Keifer Sutherland if you wish; your best gal pal can be Julia Roberts. Nobody has to play William Baldwin. Heck, not even William Baldwin wants to play William Baldwin. (This Week’s Perez Hilton Zing of the Week brought to you by Eskimo Joe’s Salmon Ice Cream: now with more pulp!)