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JOHNSON CITY—Little girls want to be just like her. Men stand awestruck at her beauty and body. Hitters hate facing her.
Welcome to Jennie Finch’s world, one of which we all want to be part.
While Lisa Fernandez, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who is with the National Team but didn’t make the 15-player cut for this year’s Beijing Games, is the sport’s icon, Finch is its most recognized player. And rightfully so.
Blessed with Miss America looks and a right arm which can fire pitches above 70 miles per hour—softball’s equivalent of a 100-mph fastball—Finch owns an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA title and a soon-to-be 2-year old son.
The face of her sport stood in a makeshift interview room at Howard Johnson Field Sunday after playing first base and going 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the U.S. National Team’s 24-0 rout of NAIA opponent Milligan and held court on several subjects.
On the crowd of 3,476 which turned out despite rotten weather
Finch: “There’s no greater feeling than wearing USA on your chest and walking into these stadiums. It’s like the smaller the town, the better the crowd. You get that hometown feel to it. Everyone is so excited to see you. We had no idea what we were getting into ... what a beautiful stadium. The people packed it and it was fun.”
On the reception accorded her for all her plate appearances
“I’m so very blessed to be able to do what I do. These fans have been great throughout my entire career and I’m so grateful for them. It’s just a celebration of our game and how far we’ve come.”
On this team compared to the 2004 Olympic team, which completely dominated the Athens Olympics
“This team is just as talented, if not more talented. We have such a great group of veterans, along with some rookies, and we’re very deep.”
On the International Olympic Committee’s decision to drop softball after the Beijing Olympics
“I was very disappointed. This is our game, this is our sport, this is our life. This is a blow. We’ve come so far and we’ve seen the sport grow so much. For that to happen was a shock, but we’re not going to let that deter our sport. We’re going to keep on fighting and pushing through, and hopefully, we can get it back in 2016. Obviously, the sport is huge here, but you go to China or Japan and that’s their one chance for a medal, so it’s even more heartbreaking for them. We still have the college game and the pro league (National Professional Fastpitch). We’re going to use the Beijing Olympics to prove that we still belong in the Olympics.”
On her marriage to former Major League pitcher Casey Daigle, who’s now in the Minnesota Twins’ system
“Probably the last thing we talk about is our sports, but it’s great because we can relate to what the other is going through. I’m a very lucky woman to have him. He’s given me an amazing, beautiful child. I enjoy rooting him on.”
On her impressions of Tennessee
“Tennessee’s beautiful country. We actually lived here for a season when my husband was with the Tennessee Smokies (in Kodak). I love it here because the people are so nice, so generous and so giving. I enjoy being in the south because of the great hospitality.”
About the only thing at which Finch has failed is Donald Trump’s Apprentice. As she notes in the team’s media guide, it’s the only thing from which she’s been fired.
Relax, Jennie. I don’t think anyone’s going to look at that as a red flag on your resume.
Other Notes from Sunday:
1. The playing surface at Howard Johnson Field was excellent. Ground crews worked on it until after midnight following an ETSU baseball doubleheader Saturday night, carving out a small dirt spot around second base to convert it to the shorter softball diamond. They also removed the mound. Give the ground crew an A-plus.
2. The fans’ enthusiasm, as Finch and so many players pointed out, was amazing. I arrived at the ballpark at 12:45, 75 minutes before first pitch, and there had to be 2,500 people already there. And they stuck around until the tailend of an 11-run fifth inning by the National Team.
3. The P.A. announcer probably caused pitcher Cat Osterman some ribbing from her teammates for a while. During pregame introductions, he referred to her as Cat Ostermayer before quickly correcting himself. The Texas lefthander is one of the sport’s most recognizable names.
4. The National Team’s oldest player, 33-year old Laura Berg, still runs as though she were 23. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Berg is one of the fastest players on a team which relies on speed. Her younger, faster clone, Caitlin Lowe, patrols center field, with Berg in left.
5. Alicia Hollowell, who threw a no-hitter in Sunday’s five-inning game, was one of the three players who didn’t make the Beijing cut. Hollowell, Fernandez and catcher Jenny Topping, who belted a long homer in the first inning Sunday, will only go to Beijing if one of the other 15 players is injured.

Posted by Bucky Dent
College Sports
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A short-sighted money grab?
With much fanfare – or at least as much as one can generate out of a press release – Tennessee and UCLA announced Tuesday the move of their football game from Sept. 6 to Sept. 1.
“The opportunity to play unopposed on national television against such a quality opponent as UCLA was something we couldn’t pass up,” Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton said in an Associated Press story. “It’s a great time slot for a national game of interest like this one.”
That, as well as collecting a nice paycheck from ABC and ESPN for agreeing to move the game, are the pros of this move.
As for the cons, well, let me count them from the Volunteers’ perspective:
1. So much for easing the new quarterback, whether it’s Jonathan Crompton or B.J. Coleman, into the first start of his varsity career.
Playing UAB in Knoxville on Aug. 30 would have been perfect for whoever wins the job; this won’t be. Not that UCLA’s defense will remind one of an SEC unit, but a road game three time zones removed isn’t easy for an experienced quarterback, much less a first-time starter.
2. So much for easing the new offense into its first test.
Playing UAB would have been a perfect forum for coordinator Dave Clawson, because the team could have afforded a few slip-ups and probably still left the season opener with 35 points, maybe more, and an easy win.
Now that opportunity isn’t there. A unit with a new quarterback will have to be sharp right off the bat. Although UT’s defense should be better this year, you don’t want to put too much of the burden on it in an opener that’s 2,500 miles from home.
3. A loss here will reopen speculation about coach Phillip Fulmer’s future. And no, it’s not too harsh to make that assumption after the first game of the new season.
Face it, if ever a program needed a smooth start to the 2008 season, it’s the Vols. After all the off-field turmoil in January and February which had media questioning Fulmer’s ability to exert discipline upon his athletes, the last thing UT needs is an 0-1 start with the SEC schedule awaiting it.
Now comes this newly scheduled opener, which is full of danger. And in an environment like east Tennessee, where every big game has become a referendum on Fulmer’s future for a couple of years, an early loss is not what the program needs.
Sure, the opportunity to play on national TV with air running against it appealed to Hamilton and will add six figures to the university’s athletic department.
But if the Vols fly back across the country late Labor Day night and the next morning after a loss, that hefty paycheck probably won’t mean so much to their legion of fans. 

Posted by Bucky Dent
College Sports

Davidson, Stephen Curry, and all those talking heads

“Learning more and more about less and less and less.” - Chan Marshall

You’d think at some point the national sports media would learn something. Just something. It doesn’t have to be a lesson. That would mean progress. Something would be fine.

Every year, highly paid analysts, self-taught wiz kids, genius bloggers and a gazillion average Joe’s with an Internet connection and a cable subscription spend months obsessing over NCAA basketball Goliaths, while gleefully pointing out “sleepers.” Every year, the know-it-alls blow money and hot air, talking the talk and pointing out just how much they know about everything. They pick everything and everyone apart. Shooting percentages, RPIs, interior defense, mid-majors, low mid-majors, non-conference schedules, “tough” road wins … it never ends. They rank the teams. They rank the players. They hold grudges and triumphantly proclaim favorites. And, every year, someone like Davidson shooting guard Stephen Curry comes around, reminding us all that we really don’t know anything.

I’m not going to lie. I’ve been up on Curry for a while. I followed Davidson’s season with interest. I watched them nearly down North Carolina and Duke. And my interest peaked when John Branch knocked out a solid feature in the New York Times on Curry, the Wildcats, and the kooky town of Davidson, N.C.

And, now, it’s fascinating to watch the experts come around. They point out Curry’s soft touch. His drive and determination and willpower. His NBA-brushed pedigree. He came out of nowhere, they say. Who is Davidson, they ask? How did they do this? How did we miss Curry?

It’s pretty simple. They never looked.

How does a team go 20-0 in conference play and roll of 22 straight wins heading into The Dance, and still not get attention? How does Curry shoot 48.8 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from behind the 3-point line, and drop at least 20 points 23 times before the tourney, and not get noticed?

Because no one’s watching.

Well, I mean, some people are. Davidson fans knew. Hardcore mid-major devotees knew. But while the rest of the sports-media world spent the entire NCAA men’s basketball season kneeling before the Hansbrough-Beasley-Mayo-Love-Singler-Rose shrine, and eating everything on the Calipari-Pearl platter, other less-fortunate souls had to actually go out and play (or watch) basketball.

Moreover, all the talk about an East Coast bias in the media or whatever the latest gripe/fad is pales in comparison to what happens every year as kids like Curry and teams like Davidson fight the good fight. They play good, honest, real ball. They do it for the right reasons. And it takes a “miraculous” run to even show up on the national radar.

--

And … in the “can’t help but point it out” department, I wonder what ETSU’s current athletic administration thinks of Davidson’s current run in the tournament.

Davidson is doing what ETSU should be doing right now. But the Bucs aren’t. The Bucs’ season is done, with nothing but a fourth-place showing in the lowly A-Sun to show for it. Meanwhile, Davidson is new news and commanding national attention.

Not that long ago, ETSU held its own with Davidson. The two were Southern Conference foes, with wins and losses going both ways.

Now? The Wildcats are front-page worthy, while the Bucs couldn’t buy a ticket to The Dance.

What’s wrong with this picture?

A lot.

Posted by Brian T. Smith
College Sports

There are times when I’m embarrassed to call myself a sports writer.

Usually, it’s when ESPN is running something completely ridiculous like “Who’s sexier: Tom Brady, Tiger Woods or Lebron James?”

Or when ESPN devotes half a day discussing the minute details of how the Boston Red Sox decided not to go to Japan, and then changed their minds.

Or when ESPN devotes a whole day discussing “bracketology.”

Or when I’m covering a high school game, and fans constantly berate refs/players/coaches with all the class of a second-grader.

Or when …

Well, actually, it’s quite often.

Sports are a wonderful microcosm of the modern world. There are things I love. There are things I like. There are things I tolerate. And there are things so ridiculous, short-sighted and self-involved that I wonder how we ever made it past the 20th Century.

Which brings me to Terrelle Pryor.

I’ve never met Pryor. Probably never will. But the fact that I even know his name is scary.

Pryor’s every move has been documented, covered and dissected in the past year.

Is Pryor going to sign? When’s he going to do it? Who’s he like more, “University of Ohio State” or Michigan? Did you hear that he got into a fight?

How about this one: who cares?

Really, who cares?

If you’re Pryor, you care. If you’re a friend of Pryor, related to him, played ball with him or coached him, you care. And if you’re a Buckeye follower, well, congratulations.

But the rest of the world? ESPN? Sports writers, The Associated Press and the national media?

Are you kidding me?

Sadly, no.

This is where we’re at.

End times, kids.

We’re not even two months removed from the sad story of Kevin Hart, Pryor has yet to even play a down of collegiate football, but your average hardcore sports fan now knows more about Pryor than hat’s going on in Iraq, the state of their own local government, or why the national economy is in the tank.

A blow-by-blow breakdown of Pryor’s “career” and Wednesday’s press conference still ranks in ESPN’s top-10 stories, a day after Pryor made his announcement.

And judging by Pryor’s quotes, he’s got the act down.

(People wonder why modern athletes are so jaded. Well, if you had two major press conferences and had fielded thousands of questions from the media before you graduated high school, you might be, too.)

It’s all Pryor, all the time.

Granted, his numbers look great.

Pryor could be the next Vince Young.

But he could also be the next Michael Vick, Todd Marinovich, Maurice Clarett …

I have nothing against Pryor. I wish him the best.

Hate the game, not the player … I get it.

But we’re part of the game. We subscribe to it and contribute to it and keep it alive.

And, right now, the game is broken.

From the proliferation of high school recruiting sites to signing day-mania; from an obsession with meaningless stats to an unhealthy obsession with kids who aren’t even old enough to even vote—we’ve created a monster.
Pryor’s not a savior. He’s not a god. He’s not even a college star, yet.

He’s a kid.

Good luck, Terrelle Pryor.

I hope you make it.

Posted by Brian T. Smith
College Sports High School Sports Football

Here’s how you can tell Saturday night’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash between Tennessee and Memphis means more than any men’s basketball game in state history: Tickets are going for as much as $15,000—yes, I said $15,000—on websites.
Seems ridiculous that it’s going to take more than half of one’s yearly salary for some to get into the FedEx Forum. Then again, the notion of the Volunteers’ basketball team playing for No. 1 in the nation appeared even more preposterous at this time three years ago.
Remember those times, UT fans? Buzz Peterson was deader than Kelvin Sampson (although he at least never used a cell phone impermissibly), the program was mired in mediocrity and March Madness in Knoxville meant the Lady Vols.
Which is why Bruce Pearl’s three-year reconstruction is so stunning. Not only has he brought the Vols from irrelevant to a championship contender, he’s built the program into one which will be around for a long time.
The talent level is remarkable. There are nine players who can lead the team in scoring any night, plus two others who would start for many other TV-league schools which rarely see the floor at UT.
The recruiting has been solid. Only three of Peterson’s recruits (Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, Jordan Howell) are there. Pearl is winning with mostly his guys. Incoming freshman Renaldo Woolridge, the son of former NBA All-Star Orlando Woolridge, has been tabbed as a potential one-and-done guy by no less an authority than Boston Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce.
Simply put, what has happened in Knoxville could not have been foreseen by anyone just a short time ago. Not even the hard-working Pearl could have seen this coming so soon in his wildest dreams.
As for Saturday? Those who paid five figures (or a little less) to see it live should see a game which backs up the hype. Both teams know how to play in big games and won’t cave to nerves for long, if at all.
It will come down to two things—which team can best exploit its strength and which team gets better play off the bench.
The Vols are better from the 3-point line, thanks to Lofton and Smith, who can make bunches of outrageous shots at any time. Both are fearless and won’t quit shooting if they’re cold.
Memphis is a little better inside, especially if Joey Dorsey decides to exert his considerable physical skills. That hasn’t happened lately, but it’s hard to see the Ben Wallace wannabe picking the season’s most awaited game to let his teammates down.
Both teams are relentlessly deep. It’s why they routinely wear teams down in the second half of games. You can stand up against waves of talent for 20, 25, 30minutes, but rarely for 40.
Because of the homecourt, you have to give the Tigers a slight edge. But UT’s experience on the backline should help it function in a rabid atmosphere.
If the Vols win, they not only get the inside track for an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed, but the overall No. 1 seed. They’re already 8-1 against the RPI top 50and are ranked No. 1 in RPI, as well as No. 2 in strength of schedule.
Regardless of the result, UT basketball fans should watch Saturday night’s showdown with a smile.
For that matter, so should the guy who raked in $15,000 for his tickets. 

Posted by Bucky Dent
College Sports