HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Get Ready for a great year in The Corner! 2010 will be the best one yet.

And, oh! by the way, Lets go Pirates! playing for the Liberty bowl championship

Give the devil his due

Vick deserves some credit

It may be time to remove Michael Vick from the Corner Wall of Shame. That is that infamous place where some of those who have given the world of sports a blackeye are remembered.

It is time to forget the poor animals who suffered at his hands. It is time for PETA and the rest of us to forgive him and appreciate the talent he maintained when he left prison last year.
Vick may not like the way things have evolved in Philadelphia, but the Eagles have done him a favor. He has finally evolved into the position he should have been in the first place which may make him a better player in the long run.
Michael Vick has been a quality quarterback since being the keystone of Beamer Ball at Virginia Tech. He can throw the ball and run an offense but the Eagles have recognized he is much more than that. He is one of the rare ones who can help teams win games in more than one way. Whether he likes it or not, he is not the best for a team when he is only a quarterback.
He is part of what is called the Wildcat formation. There is a touch of irony in a convicted dog fighter being part of a wildcat offense but it is working out well. If Vick wants to continue his success he needs to accept he is not an NFL quarterback, he is much more.

Tiger's impact, no kidding

Many may doubt the recent decision to appoint Tiger as the athlete with the most impact in the last year. They are wrong.
Impact doesn't have to carry a positive meaning with it. There is no one who has affected the sports world more than the man who wears red shirts on Sundays.
Think about the definition of impact. If a ten thousand pound meteor falls off the Empire State building, it will make create a giant crater on the street below. The same can be said for Tiger's fall from grace.
There is no doubt he was at the height of the sports world prior to Thanksgiving of this year. There is also no doubt he is headed towards the bottom now. The impact of that nine iron swing from wife Elin affected more than his mouth. Each mistress that comes out of the woodwork brings him down a little more.
A sure sign you have fallen into the pit of personal disgrace is when Donald Trump is giving advice to you directly on the Larry King show. Your life has been impacted in a bad way.
No one in the last year has rocked the sports world more than Tiger. I only hope he can begin that climb back up that ladder to once again become the world's greatest athlete. The world will have a whole new opinion if he gets back to Augusta, wins another green jacket and holds his two kids in front of the television cameras.

Its Time for More TOMMYS

Anyone who has visited The Corner for any extended amount of time knows that each summer I present the TOMMY awards to events, persons or things that get my attention in the world of sports. It is a personal version of ESPN’s Espy awards. This year I had to make a biannual adjustment. I have to present two awards early because of the impact of recent events

I must present a TOMMY to Coach Marc Morris of the Harnett Central Trojans. Coach Morris made what I call the toughest call I have ever seen. He decided to go for two points after a touchdown that would have most likely given him a state championship. 

The more secure one point conversion would have tied the game and sent it to over time. As the coach told a local reporter, the team was three yards away from a state championship.

Fans should go easy on  the coach, he made the right call. He had the opportunity to win the game from three yards out versus the challenge of over time. That would involve scoring from much further out and possibly relying on his defense to stop a powerful Asheville Reynolds squad. 

He went with much higher odds and tried to win on one play. If tailback Jarod Spears managed a few more yards on his run the coach would be a hero, being praised for his courage and forward thinking.

I also must present a TOMMY to the Harnett Central football team in general. Wow! that would be the word to describe this squad. I hope when the sting of the loss wears off they will realize what an accomplishment it is to be the second best team in the state in their division. 

Harnett Central Principal Ken Jernigan said it best. He said “There are no losers tonight.” 

Those with Trojan signs, keep them around. Coach Morris is building more than a state championship team for one year. He has developed a program of winners. He has them coming up from an undefeated junior varsity squad last year. He has more than half his starting team from this year back. Things are good in Trojan land.

And now, we must address the Tiger Woods “situation.” A “What the heck is going on” TOMMY goes out to a situation that seems to be getting weirder as the days continue to progress. 

Weird is the only word I can think of to describe it. Like most people my impression has been changed. My TW hat and shirt may stay hidden for a while. It is a little harder to look at this picture on my desk I took of him in Pinehurst, thinking maybe a girlfriend is in the crowd, perhaps standing next to me.

 I no more believe he is done with golf than I do I can beat him on the links. The game has been bred into him since he was a child. It is admirable he is addressing his family situation first. I hope it works out. When he does return the rest of the tour better watch out. He is going to come out determined to show he can still do it, and he will. 

A final, early, TOMMY, goes out to readers of The Corner each week. Without you I couldn’t do it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Lets Go Trojans

Trojans Of Both

Colors Should Be Proud

Anyone who has read a newspaper in the area this week knows what the sports story of this area is. It is not often that local sports dominates over the games at any other level, but that is exactly what is going on as thousands in the local area sit on the edge of their seats waiting for Saturday’s state football championships.

There is no way I am going to make any kind of prediction about the final scores of the weekend contests facing the Trojans of South Johnston and Harnett Central high schools. Something is just wrong about putting media pressure on young kids to meet the standard of someone who at least thinks they know a little about the sports world.

That doesn’t mean I won’t make a prediction, but this is one I can bet the farm against. When buses leave Chapel Hill and Raleigh Saturday on their way back to the local area they are going to carry groups of winners. That will be the case no matter what the scoreboard reads and who is hoisting the championship trophy.

A parent of one of the Harnett Central players told me recently their son is now involved in a year-round program. Officially practice can’t start until the summer but athletes do a lot of training months before their official group meetings with their coaches. Hours, and eventually days, are spent in weight rooms, on tracks and on other training devices trying to gain that extra edge that will pay off in December.

In other words, being able to play football this close to Christmas has taken a lot of training, time, patience and perseverance. It has taken dedication most don’t realize unless they have seen it first hand.

That is undoubtedly the case at South Johnston as well. Getting to the state championship game has been a long, hard road regardless of how the final chapter is written. Anyone who is less than a winner ceased being part of such a program a long time ago. That is true of any school playing in any of the championships this weekend.

There is another certainty about this weekend’s contest involving Harnett Central. When it is over there is going to be a stronger school community left behind between Lillington and Angier. The Harnett Central community is closer today than it has ever been and to a large degree that is due in part to the young men wearing the burgundyand gold. I will take the final words this week to give a big shout out from The Corner to all the Trojans, no matter what color they are wearing. I am looking forward to reporting the next chapter of the story next week

Check out the video bar aside to hear the fight song that will fill the air at Carter Finely tomorrow

Tiger and Bobby, What a week!

WOERNER’S CORNER

Woods Controversy
Uncalled For
I think I now understand why Tiger Woods named his boat Privacy. That’s because the only place he can be alone with his family is in the middle of the ocean, on a boat. There is no place on land he can go to escape the ongoing and unnecessary controversy about a minor car accident.
I guess when your name is Tiger Woods you are not allowed to be human and have an automobile accident, a minor one at that. His accident has to go down as one of the most recorded and publicized in history.
Every day in this country thousands of car accidents go unnoticed. When there are no serious injuries, a driver is usually given a ticket, insurance information is exchanged and everyone moves on with their lives. There is nothing further unless you are the greatest golfer in the history of the game.
When Woods had his accident the media swarmed to his house like bees to honey. It turned into a witch hunt, with gossip hungry reporters trying to find a story.
Even if there was a domestic dispute between Tiger and his wife, it is irrelevant. There is no statute against driving after you fight with your wife, unless alcohol or drugs were involved. If there was such a law the roads would be much less crowded.
If the couple was or is dealing with an issue of infidelity that is no one’s business but their own.
If I were Tiger, and anyone who has seen my golf game can testify that I am not, I would helicopter out of my estate secretly and find “Privacy.” I would be sailing up the Intracoastal Waterway, smiling all the way, with family in tow trying to mend some broken fences. I would be headed north just to get away from most people, known as snowbirds, who head south for the cold winter. Santa Claus would have to make a water landing for my kids this year. I would stay out of reach until I teed off in the spring. Tiger equipped his boat better than many houses in this country and now is the time to use it.

Bowden Rides Off
I would be remiss this week if I didn’t send out a giant “Kudos from The Corner” to Coach Bobby Bowden who has announced his retirement. Anyone who thinks he left Florida State willingly is fooling themselves. He retired to maintain some dignity as the Seminole tribe circled around him looking for his head. Coach Bowden is a rare example of someone who is a victim of their own legacy. He established one of the most successful legacies in college football history at Florida State. The way his teams dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference when the school entered the conference, he will probably be recorded as the premiere coach in the history of the conference.
For all those accolades, it is sad to see someone treated the way Coach Bowden has been. It started when the losses started piling up and only got worse. I would call him one of the top five coaches in college football history, and the best one I have ever seen coach in person. He certainly wasn’t treated with the respect he deserves in his final days in Tallahassee. You have to respect him for getting out before the situation got even worse.

Yogi stories a good way to spend an evening

I may never hear my favorite craftsman of the English language Yogi Berra speak, or see him, but I may have had the next best thing recently. One of the Yankee great's best friends, Clyde King, spoke at Campbell University and shared some of his favorite Yogi stories. It was almost like sitting in the room with the man himself, and was a great experience for any sports fan.
Mr. King, still a valued consultant to the New York Yankees and the Steinbrenner family, played and coached alongside Berra during their careers with the Yankees. He told numerous stories about some of his favorite Yogi sayings, or Yogiisms as they have come to be known He told of the night he and his wife ate dinner with Yogi and his wife. At one point in the evening Yogi looked at his wife, Carmen, and said “If we don’t start going to some of our friends funerals, they are not going to come to ours.”
On another occasion Mr. King was with Yogi when someone asked him about his opinion of a local restaurant. Yogi said, in all seriousness, that “nobody goes there anymore because it is to crowded.”
Mr. King says Yogi doesn’t know why people think he is funny because he is not trying to be humorous. Maybe that is why he is. His sayings don’t make logical sense but in a weird sort of way they convey a message. If nothing else they have pure entertainment value.
One of the other speakers at Campbell was Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Jim Perry. For whatever reason he didn’t mention his hall of fame brother, Gaylord, but Mr. Perry didn’t need to. He has reason enough to be proud of his own career.
He was brought to the “Legends of Baseball” event at Campbell because of this connection to the school. He is a former standout pitcher for the Camels. Before striking batters out in Cleveland and Minnesota, he was mowing them down in Buies Creek. He also brought some interesting perspectives from a legendary career in the game. He specifically mentioned ties to greats such as Mickey Mantle. He told the crowd the best hitter he ever faced was Stan Musial. He obviously knows much more about hitters of his generations than I do but it would be hard to argue with his choice.
He did something else, which was the point of the night, he promoted Campbell University baseball. The Fighting Camels want to add to Taylor field to make it more suitable for a NCAA regional in the near future. That is a lofty goal for a school that is used to achieving at a high level. I can’t think of a better shot in the arm for the local sports world than Buies Creek becoming a stop on the road to the college world series in Omaha.
Yogi once said if you don't know where you are going you will never get there. Campbell knows exactly where it is going, to a higher level in its athletic endeavors.

Johnson is the best on the track

I have been accused of making The Corner a place where the negative seems to dominate the landscape so here goes something to help my reputation. I can't help but say something positive about NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson.

If someone wins any sports title four years in a row, they deserve some applause. I think it is particularly true in NASCAR if your name isn't Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The NASCAR fan base has always seemed divided equally among those two camps but I think division is in the air.

What Johnson has done is remarkable. Perhaps, more specifically, I should say what Johnson's team has done deserves our applause. 

Of course it is the driver who wins the title and gets all the glory but like every superstar he has a team behind him. Imagine what he would be like if his pit crew was daydreaming when he pulled in. Even a second can be all that counts when 200 mph speeds are involved. Johnson and his team have my nomination for sportsmen of the year.

That is unless 52 year old Mark Martin takes it from them. To be that old and to finish second in the NASCAR standings is worthy of some kind of recognition. It is another one of those feel good stories we all like so well. It would have been even better if he won it but this is one case where second place isn't so bad.

I would say Martin is the best over the hill story of the year but that is unfair to Brett Favre. That is another story for another day.

Weird

If you haven't seen it yet you need to check out a play I think they are calling the bouquet toss play. I ran into it on Yahoo sports and was impressed enough to check it out again.

It is this crazy pass play where the quarterback lazily lobbed the ball backwards over his shoulder to a waiting receiver, lying on his back in the end zone in a game between Bethel and Sterling Colleges. The quarterback to his credit was facing the goaline, on the other end of the field!

You might call it the modern Statue of Liberty play. It sure caught the opposition off guard. So much so that Brett Favre says he is considering putting it the Minnesota Vikings game plan when his team is near the goal line.

It brought back memories of a day gone by in sports. The flea flickers and reverses are still out there and you still see the occasional fake field goal or punt, but coaches don't seem to be as aggressive in the modern age. Fullback up the middle is a much safer play. A straight drop in the pocket seems more effective.

Neither is as much fun. Here's to the bouquet toss as the next big thing in the NFL!

Who cares

Who cares?

I have to love the comments of a national sports radio announcer earlier this week. He said "Who cares about the third string quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles?"
He was referring to a question on Michael Vick.
I agree. Not really interested in that story until he plays in front of "The Dawg Pound" in Clevelend. Not interested in his complaints about the offense of the Eagles. Don't care what position he plays, or if he plays at all. I will only say that I feel bad for the boys from Philadelphia.
One of my first memories of pro football is crying as a small child when the Eagles lost to the Raiders in the Super Bowl. Ron Jaworski, Harold Carmichael, Wilbert Montgomery and Coach Dick Vermeil helped make the Eagles a life time favorite. Reggie White is one of my favorite defensive players of all time.
The Eagles will always be special and a convicted criminal, now the team's third string quarterback won't change that.

Weird

If you haven't seen pictures of Sammy Sosa's face, you should. My man has gone plain weird. Go to youtube do a search for Sammy Sosa's face and you will see what I mean. 

Even the bleacher bums at Wrigley, who watched Sosa for so many years in right field, wouldn't recognize him. Apparently, he discovered which dermatologist Michael Jackson used and paid him a visit.

Sammy, The King of Pop is gone there is no need to try to imitate him. Supposedly all those "years in the sun" damaged your face. Chicago is known for its powerful sun you know.

Sure the sun caused that damage, and you didn't know that bat was corked before it blew up in front of the world.

One of the game's greats has put a bad face on his legacy, literally. The hope is that some of that color can be put back in place! The corked bat was unethical, this latest stunt is just plain weird!

Yankees

I was in a play earlier this year that is known around the world. It describes my feelings of the day. There is a line in a song in the play that states "Those Damn Yankees!"Exactly. 

If memory serves this is 27 titles for the boys in pin stripes. Congratulations and who cares.

There are only two ways to be when it comes to the Yankees. You either love them or you hate them. I choose the later. I think part of it comes from my blood. Dad was born a Red Sox fan. That makes being a Yankees fan against a house rule. The only good thing about the Yankees was they sent their talent at the corners, Chris Chambliss and Craig Nettles to the horrid Braves teams of the 1980s.

I admit it, part of it is jealousy. I respect what the two Joes, Torre and Girardi have done leading their teams in recent years. I respect the historical dominance of the team. 

I also know my beloved Braves only dream of such success. The boys from Atlanta dominated a decade like no other in the game's history in the 1990s but Bobby Cox got exactly one World Series title out of that.

There were good Braves teams before my time but the Yankees they have never been.

I think I will be a Pirates fan. They are the polar opposite of the Yankees. I am officially forming the North Carolina chapter of ABTY, or anybody but the Yankees. Anything is an improvement.

Panthers have found the answer

 The Carolina Panthers discovered the answer to their offensive problems two weeks ago, but they seemed to have forgotten it this week in Buffalo. A running  game helped carry them to victory against the Redskins, but Sunday they seemed determined to trust Jake Delhomme’s arm when offense was needed the most. He disappointed the team again, and it is time for somebody to be responsible for the results.
John Fox said this week Delhomme continues to be the best quarterback on his team. That is a sad statement on football in Charlotte, if it is true. It also explains the offensive game plan he has used in recent weeks. He at least has a reason for his madness. Maybe his quarterback isn’t the only one who needs replacement.
There comes a time in most great coaching relationships when separation is inevitable. It happened in recent years with Joe Torre and the Yankees. It happened to North Carolina’s Dean Smith when he knew he had to leave the team that made him a legend.
It is now happening with Coach Fox, though he is not in the same league with Torre or Smith.
There is no doubt Fox is going to go down in Panthers history. He led the team to a Super Bowl after all. He came within seconds of beating the Patriots in the big game in  one of the greatest fourth quarter performances in Super Bowl history.
Those days are in the past. It is time for him to step aside to make room for the next step in the Panthers history. He should do so with dignity before the team is forced to embarrass him with a dismissal. That would be a sad end to what has been a relatively happy story. 
The Delhomme situation is complicated. There may or may not be anyone better, but it is hard to imagine anyone worse. The best offense for the Panthers this year has been when Delhomme hands the ball off instead of passing it. When a ball leaves his hand in the air, it seems just as likely to end up in the hands of a defensive back as it does in those of a Panthers receiver. He has the not-so-great distinction of being the most intercepted quarterback in the league this year. He will not want to remember that when the season is over. Delhomme’s best days are behind him, and it is time the Panthers' organization deals with the reality. That goes all the way to the general manager’s office, where they need to find a draft choice to fill the shoes of the team leader.
All the blame for a disappointing season so far can’t go on the quarterback. Julius Peppers has hardly lived up to his franchise player status. Also,it was a fumbled punt last week that denied the Panthers a shot at a come back. 

A team effort is required to win games, and it takes a team effort to lose. Carolina needs good leadership and right now they aren’t getting it, either from the coach or the quarterback.
One or both of those situations needs to be addressed so the team can move forward

Umps and instant replay

I don't fault the umpires who made some of the worst calls in recent memory in this years baseball postseason. It happens to the best of us.
What I do fault is McLelland after he missed an obvious out at third. He admitted his mistake, kudos for that. He then went on to say something to the effect of- if there was no instant replay it would have been a better situation.
I do not think baseball needs instant replay. At the same time lets not blame the system of showing fans plays after the happen.
You screwed up, again it happens, umpires are human believe it or not and they will mistakes. This year it just seems they are more prevalent than usual

Coaches at Crossroads of Careers

There is a reason ESPN picked the game between the University of North Carolina and Florida State to be its national game of the week Thursday. It looked like a battle between two of the nation's all-time great coaches and that is what it turned out to be. It was also a battle of two coaches in similar situations. Times are  different now for Bobby Bowden and  Butch Davis. Now, one is trying to hang on to a hall of fame-like legacy, and the other is trying to figure out where his career is going.

 One would never have thought the words fire and Bobby Bowden would have been in the same sentence. He has, after all, won more games than any other coach in college football history. Still, some in Atlantic Coast Conference circles are saying it is time to make a change. Funny how sitting in last place changes people’s perspective.

There are a lot of absurd things that seem to surface in the world of sports from time to time, but none more so than the idea of firing Bobby Bowden.

There is likely no one in Florida with the fortitude to pull that off. Last place this year doesn't replace years of first place finishes and national championship games. Seeing teams ahead of them this year doesn’t change the fact his rear view mirror has been full almost every year he has been in the league. Coach Bowden should stay as long as he wants.

Then there is the case of North Carolina’s Butch Davis. When he came to

Chapel Hill, there were some, including me, who thought the football program would soon be on the same level as Roy Williams' Tar Heel basketball dynasty. Bowl championship competition seemed to be on the horizon. So successful at Miami, and with pro experience, Coach Davis seemed to be in another class of coach from previous leaders.

It just hasn't worked out that way. The team has been respectable, and pretty good at times. Last night they showed that in the first three quarters until the defense fell apart. On many days Coach Davis has struggled to establish his identity in Kenan Stadium and his future is, like Bowden's, a little murky.

Last night was important for both coaches.  For Coach Bowden it was basically a no win situation. If the Seminoles won, the critics will say they were supposed to and the coach won't receive a lot of credit for it.

Coach Davis had something to gain. Beating Florida State is an accomplishment, on any day, no matter what kind of year they are having. Tarheel fans are faithful ones and will give their team another chance.

The game of the week was a great one but it was not between two teams in the bowl championship hunt. It was instead one with two great coaches at a crossroads of  their careers  in very disappointing seasons.

Where's the Defense?

10/16 Corner

Mom Has A

Question For Pack

Coach Tom O’Brien, my mom has a question for you, Where is the defense?

She asked that some time in the third quarter as we watched the N.C. State vs. Duke game Saturday, along with 50,000 other people in Carter-Finely stadium. It was right after a touchdown that was part of one of the Wolfpack’s worst losses in recent memory. It was a legitimate one a staff will spend hours studying this week.

When Coach O’Brien watches the game films he won’t be able to answer the question. He won’t be able to find his defense on the field.

Literally, they were standing there but apparently they weren’t doing much more than that. Missed tackles, blown coverages and simple breakdowns made the team simply look bad. Perhaps the quote of the day that best describes the day came from Duke quarterback Thad Lewis. On one of the post game interview shows he made the comment that he was able to toss the ball around pretty much the way he wanted to.

That sums up his day and that of the North Carolina State defense. There were blue streaks flying through the North Carolina State secondary from the moment after the initial kickoff and Lewis simply had to find them.

On most plays he had his choice of which one he wanted to throw to, with little worry of any disruption from the Wolfpack defense. He had plenty of time on almost every play because State rushers left him alone almost all day long.

It is not often I say I am embarrassed for a team but that was the case Saturday.

It is not often a team is beaten as badly, in such a surprisingly easy way, as State was.

The offense kept pace with the Duke offense early on but Russell Wilson could only carry the team so far on his legs. This team depends on him for more than he can deliver and that became obvious Saturday.

It might be a little more expected if it was Virginia Tech putting the beat down on the boys in red. Even Carolina would have been more acceptable than the Blue Devils. It was, simply put, a bad day to be a Wolfpack fan.

Things dawned a little brighter for the Carolina Panthers over the weekend.

Like the Wolfpack, the Panthers have disappointed early on but made a statement Sunday. Jake Delhomme showed he is the leader once again. His late game bootleg at a critical time was classic. He literally carried the team to a win over the Redskins.

The history books say it is almost impossible for a team with a 0-3 record to make the playoffs. There is no doubt getting to the post season will take a monumental effort. A loss Sunday would have sunk the nail even deeper into the Cat’s coffin. The hard fought win at least leaves a crack of light open for the season. More than anything else, the Panthers at least showed they have the ability to compete.

The only question now is if they have the desire it will take to salvage the current season. The combination of Delhomme, his favorite target Steve Smith seem to have it but they will have a hard time passing it on to their teammates.

Rush is out of football

No Rush to judgement

Apparently someone in the NFL doesn't want Rush Limbaugh as an owner. He says it is a "conspiracy of the left."
Not quite. Rush has great perspectives in many cases but sometimes his mouth gets ahead of his head. No team wants the headache of trying to control him.
Rush needs to stay behind the microphone, and away from the owner's box.

The countdown to this week's Corner is on. Check back Friday a.m.!

Corner 10/9

Another Memory Goes up in smoke

WOERNER’S CORNER

It happened again this week in major league baseball. Another team is closing its old stadium for a new, modern facility, with a corporate name. Unlike previous cases such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Atlanta, this time is a good thing.

The Metrodome, now the former home to the Minnesota Twins, will bite the dust in the near future. A tear probably fell on Minneapolis as Kirby Puckett, one of the greatest players of the last generation, watched the last games in the building where he starred from his stadium seat beyond the clouds.

He would be one of the few in the game who cared. The Metrodome was known more than anything else for what became known as the Hefty bags behind the home run fences. It was rarely accused of being one of the great baseball venues of its generation.

Pitchers didn’t like the building because of the short home run fences. Hitters liked those short porches but with the exception of the designated hitters in the American League town, those hitters had to play the field.

That meant catching fly balls, or at least trying to, looking up at that white roof. That meant the notoriously poor turf that threatened knees and other joints when cleats got caught. Most will agree when the dome over that building finally pops, it will be a good riddance for the game.

Apparently, most people in Minnesota agree. There are Web sites counting down the hours to the opening of Target field. There is a surprise, have to get that corporate sponsorship in the name. It joins the likes of PNC Park Field, Coors Field and others.

Kudos from The Corner to Twins ownership who will provide outside baseball for fans in what is likely the coldest baseball city in the country.  Sorry all fans of the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs or Mets, I think Minnesota weather has you beat.

The Twins are betting $544 million that they can beat the chances of snow in April or the need for winter coats if the World Series comes to town in October. They understand the need to thank fans who have been so loyal by provid?ing them with a true baseball experience.

Despite its so-called stadium, Minnesota has been a great baseball town that is just about to get better. The likes of Kirby Puckett, Ken Hrbek, Greg Gagne and others put together a product over the years that has always been competitive. This year was no exception as they extended the regular season one extra day in what was the best pennant race of the season.

Any teams who want to build new stadiums need to follow the Twins example. The theory of the Astrodome is gone. Like disco, it was a bad idea of a bad generation.

Most stadium builders in recent years have seen this. Even in the Canadian north, in Toronto, the roof on the building formerly known as Skydome can be opened to allow the affect of the outdoors to drift in. Admittedly, that is a unique affect.

Baseball is better outside, and if they can do it in Minneapolis they can do it any where in the country. Hopefully the Metrodome is a sign of what is to come, with domed, indoor stadi?ums becoming a thing of the past and baseball on the real grass, an exclusive experience of the game.

The Corner-Oct. 2

10/2/2009
Wild card still great


Wild Card
Still Great
I have said it before, and will again, that the wild card system in professional baseball is one of the best inventions in the sporting world in the last 20 years.
For many years teams out of the divisional race were already getting ready for winter break and looking down the road to spring training. Now, several at least have some reason to maintain hope, thanks to this great system of competition.
Any Braves fan will tell you they’re enjoying this year’s chase, I promise that.
The system is giving a little more life to a career that is quickly winding down. Bobby Cox is a hero to Braves fans of the ’80s and ’90s, taking the team to the World Series in 1991 after so many years of less than mediocre performances. Only a few lucky breaks for Kirby Puckett and the Minnesota Twins kept that team from the championship.
If memory serves that was before the wild card was in place. It was also in the days before expansion, when the Braves were in the weird position of playing in the National League West.
The end of the season usually meant keep a close eye on Dodger Stadium or Candlestick Park to see how the Dodgers or Giants were doing. There was no hope if the first-place team didn’t falter.
Cox announced earlier this month he will hang up his cleats after one more season. Somebody better clear out a space on the wall in Cooperstown for the plaque bearing his likeness. The strange system of choosing hall of fame members never guarantees anyone entry into baseball’s holiest shrine, but I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more than Cox.
That would be even more true if the wildcard system leads to a World Series title this year.
The Braves aren’t the only ones who benefit from the wild card this year. When was the last time you heard the words Texas Rangers in playoff talk late in September. It happened this year, thanks to the wild card.
Raleigh’s own Josh Hamilton at least had a chance to show off his skills on a big stage. That would have been a great curtain call to what I call one of the great stories in baseball of this decade.
I have to say I am disappointed the Rangers won’t be there in the postseason even though I have always called the Red Sox my favorite American League team. The fact they were as close as they were gives hope to fans of the Pirates, Nationals, Mariners and other long-suffering squads who just haven’t been able to put it together.
Even though they have been there before, it is good to see the Colorado Rockies back in the playoff hunt, even if they are the ones who are competing against the Braves.
They are one of the four newest teams in the league and have turned into one of the most successful in the time they have been in the league. They have, of course, had their down years, but overall I would have to say they have been successful, at least considering how hard it is to blend into the league as an expansionteam. Hats off once again to baseball’s wild card season. It has turned a good season great and given fans a way to warm up for October.

The Corner is open

It has finally happened! The doors to Woerners Corner are open to the world through the genius of blogging.
This will be the site for the web posting each week of the unique world of sports columns that have become known in Dunn North Carolina as Woerners Corner.
Each week the doors to The Corner open with my unique, and award winning, perspectives on the world of sports. Each Thursday readers eagerly await my words that fill the space on the sports pages of the Dunn Daily Record. Now that same opportunity awaits the world!
Friday will be the day each week my words leave the printed page for the world wide web!
Ten years of community journalism, 14 years of youth umpiring, preceeded by graduation from professional umpire school, and a long history of loving sports give me a perspective available no where else.
The North Carolina Press Association has recognized this for three years with its editorial contest, sports columns, prizes including first place in the entire state of North Carolina last year.
Additionally I have twice been recognized for humorous columns, a characteristic that only adds to the appeal of The Corner
Check out my first posting below, and welcome to The Corner!