These are challenging and stressful times we find ourselves in. It was bad enough getting ourselves everywhere we needed to be this past week or so, yes? Well, imagine what the athletic directors of our area high schools are going through right now.
Ah, that’s right, you can’t do that, because it’s pretty much a sure thing most of us have never had the responsibility of starting virtually from scratch in making schedules we had already made, and having to arrange and re-arrange travel plans that had been set in stone to coincide with every new schedule we’ve had to re-make from scratch for every winter sports team in our school. And on the fly, no less.
Making a schedule for a single team in your school is a nightmare to begin with. Having to make schedules for every team in your school per season is just plain insomnia — and that’s when you have the ample time of an offseason to do it. But to do what these guys are doing right now? Why pulling a rabbit out of your hat might be an easier trick to pull off.
Our in-boxes here are overflowing with the plans and updates of noted reconstructionists Duane McMinn of Allegany, Jim Zamagias of Bishop Walsh, Paul Green of Fort Hill, Gary Davis of Mountain Ridge, Matt Redinger of Southern and April Higson of Allegany College of Maryland. And what these good people send us every day takes some quiet time simply to read and put into place on our end. Yet seeing the end result of their work in the black-and-white of an e-mail allows you to picture in your mind a lot of working the phones, the behind-the-scenes bartering of, “I’ll give you this date for that game, if you give us this date so we can be free for this game,” and, of course waking up in the middle of the night trying to remember if that one last phone call was returned, or if that one final e-mail was sent out.
It gives me a headache just thinking about it, which makes me all the more pleased that I am not charged with the responsibility of doing it. Students, alumni, fans and the boards of education of our area would be wise to appreciate the dedication and fine work of these good gentlemen. Every time we walk into a warm, toasty gym on a cold, miserable night.
And in times such as these, it is clearly evident we have much more to be grateful for every time we drive ourselves to the market or to work, because in the City of Cumberland, after having over 30 inches of snow dumped on us, driving to both the store and work is a measured stroll through the park, thanks to the Street Department of the City of Cumberland.
The work the street department in this city does is money in the bank, and in times like these it’s one of the surest things we have in Cumberland. Speaking for just one guy who can’t stand to go to the market, but loves going to work most days, but speaking for the majority of Cumberland residents, I wish to offer a huge thank you to the men and women of our street department.
And while we’re on the subject, another lucky thing about living here? It’s being in the heart of the ACC television coverage area. For instance, on Wednesday, the Duke-North Carolina was blacked out on ESPN in said ACC coverage area, because the Raycom/ACC network was carrying the game.
Thus, on ESPN our area got the Virginia Tech-N.C. State game, which wasn’t much to look at, but better yet, we didn’t have to listen to Dick Vitale croon his love and never-ending devotion to Coach K and “the Hall of Famer Roy Williams, baybee!” all night long. Instead, we got a nice understated and informative broadcast from Raycom’s Dan Bonner and whoever the play-by-play guy was. And that I don’t even know the play-by-play guy’s name is a credit to him, because he was content not to be the story of the night but to simply allow the story of the night, a very good college-basketball game between the two biggest rivals in the country, play out on its own.
The same can not be said, however, for the misfortune the entire nation was dealt on Tuesday night for the much-anticipated Purdue-Michigan State game, called by Brent “3-Ball” Musburger and Steve “Skill Set” Lavin. You’re grateful for the good and you understand there is bad, so that is another story for another dead-air time, which would be a wonderful thing to have anytime you watch a game with Brent and “Lav.”
Mike Burke is sports editor of the Cumberland Times-News. Contact Mike Burke at mburke@times-news.com.
Mike Burke - Sports
In times like these, be grateful we live here
- Mike Burke - Sports
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Somewhere over the rainbow starts here
During a break in the program Sunday night, former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Bob Robertson sat at a table backstage sharing some stories from the day when he played some of the finest defensive first base and hit some of the longest home runs in the major leagues in helping the Bucs to the 1971 world championship.
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Ronnie Cage’s life was deeds, not words
It was right they observed a moment of silence at the Allegany-Fort Hill basketball game. And I hope they observed a moment of silence at all of the games this week — boys and girls, men’s and women’s — in all the area gyms — Maryland and West Virginia.
That’s because Ronnie Cage worked them all. And before that he played them all. -
No plus-one would have come out of this Orange
Having never been what one would call a big West Virginia fan, I nevertheless find myself entertained by Mountaineers head football coach Dana Holgorsen whenever I take in a WVU game.
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Daumie No. 51
It’s difficult and it’s unsettling — something we’re not ready to come to terms with, really — when we lose Larger than Life.
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At Fort Hill, they’re all in it together
They still decorate their homes and neighborhoods with red and white streamers and signs. They hang football helmets with jersey numbers on telephone poles and trees, and they leave them there until it’s pretty much time to decorate for Christmas.
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Let’s keep lips zipped and just go about our business
The worst part about snow, other than shoveling it, of course, is being surrounded by all the moaning and groaning about how much it’s going to snow before a flake even touches earth and then having to put up with the same moaning and groaning once it begins to snow.
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There are no queens on the sports page
Some high school football seasons it is easier to tell when big things have happened and when big things are ahead by some of the phone calls and letters we receive here in the Times-News sports department. There just seems to be more of a chippiness some years than in others, and this year has been one of those years.
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K.C. latest Laffey Tour over America destination
As of now it appears Aaron Laffey will be wearing royal blue again — Kansas City Royals blue, that is — as the Royals acquired the former Allegany High School left-hander from the New York Yankees in a waivers claim on Tuesday.
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In America ...
Of course you remember where you were when you heard.
What you really remember is how you felt when you realized it wasn’t just a bad pilot or an airplane malfunction when you saw the second plane go into the second tower.
Until the day we are no longer here, the realization that we had just been attacked — somehow, by somebody — will stay with us and move us. -
Keyser, Fort Hill clash tonight
Fort Hill and Keyser, both coming off lopsided season-opening victories, will square off at Greenway Avenue Stadium, while Frankfort entertains Grafton in the Falcons’ home opener in two of seven high school football games featuring nine area teams taking place tonight.
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