More on Jim Whorley and Some Other Thoughts

You couldn't watch local news yesterday without seeing how much people adored Jim Whorley. It shows how much someone means when you see people that you think of as men of steel and immortal break down and show emotion with their tears. It especially makes me proud to see a person I coached in Heart of Virginia volleyball, Shelley Parker, to show so much character to sit there and speak about Mr. Whorley. I am not saying it's easier for adults, but to have a high school student stand up there and speak about her principal. It just made me proud to say I was her coach for a few months. If you want to read my earlier blog on Jim Whorley, you can read my previous post.

However, I have been thinking of something that I think would honor Jim Whorley. I don't have to get credit for the idea. It's not about me at all. It's about honoring a great man. So, Seminole District Principals, Athletic Directors, Coaches, if you are reading this, please take note.

We need to get something started called the Jim Whorley Award. I think even though Mr.Whorley had a contribution to the Region and as Leon Brandt said "It's a tremendous loss for the state."

Anyways, the Jim Whorley award would be given to a Seminole District athlete (I wouldn't care if you gave one in each sport, I definitely at least think you should give one to a male and female athlete at the end of the school year) that exemplifies excellence in three areas. Leadership (it can be within the school or within the community), athletic achievement (this could be considered a bit of a gray area, because I don't think you necessarily have to give it to a superstar athlete because then you narrow your field greatly) and finally academic achievement (excellence in the classroom I think was just as important to Jim Whorley as anything) because all principals, I don't care how much they love athletics, want to see their students succeed in the classroom.

Anyway I can help spearhead this effort, I'd be more then willing to help. But, I think this award will always keep the legend of Jim Whorley alive, even after those who knew him best are not around to let everyone know what a great man and public servant he was.


Holiday Hoops
Tonight, Altavista's Christmas Tournament will begin. In the 6:00 tilt, William Campbell will battle Tunstall, followed by Cumberland against Altavista. Tomorrow night, William Campbell will play Cumberland in the opener, followed by Altavista and Tunstall.

In Salem, the Holiday Hoopla tournament continues. The finals pit Garfield against William Fleming, other consolation matchups feature Cave Spring against Patrick Henry, Osbourn plays Hidden Valley and Salem plays Brooke Point.

At Northside, the Northside Invitational continues with today's games featuring winners brackets games that will pair Franklin County and Liberty, and the other semi features Lord Botetourt and Northside. The consolation bracket features Blacksburg against William Byrd, and Martinsville and Staunton River.

At the William Byrd Lady Terrier Classic, Salem will play Lord Botetourt and Staunton River will tangle with Cave Spring. Brookville did not travel to Vinton to play Saturday, due to Jim Whorley's death, no word right now if Brookville will play William Byrd on Monday. The other matchup will see Northside play Heritage.

Tonight in Appomattox, boys basketball will be on display as Appomattox plays Timberlake and Rustburg will play Suessx Central. Tomorrow night, the Red Devils will play Timberlake and Sussex Central will square off with Appomattox.

Finally, at the Register and Bee Tournament in Danville, action concludes with the championship between G.W. Danville and Dan River. In other consolation action, Eastern Alamance will play Liberty Christian Academy, Chatham will play Reidsville (NC) and Morehead (NC) takes on Gretna.

Any other hoops matchups you want to alert people to or any comments, feel free to leave them.

By the way, hopefully "The Sports Buffet" will be starting up again soon. I am very excited about it to start contacting and interviewing coaches again on a regular basis.

Jim Whorley RIP

I have been involved in high school sports since 1994 when I was a sophomore at Jefferson Forest High School. There, I served as a manager for the football and volleyball team. Later on, I went onto coaching volleyball as an assistant at Jefferson Forest and Heritage High School. I have broadcast high school boys basketball for Altavista since about 2001. I also hosted the show "Talking High School Sports" which I started in December 2003. That transitioned into "The Sports Buffet" podcast. In those 14 years, I saw Jim Whorley at countless Brookville sporting events, but I never had the pleasure to meet him face to face. The most words I may have ever spoke to him are "Where can we fill up our water cooler?" or "Hey, how's it going?"
Therefore, I am going to have to go on observations and the words of others.

I never went to a Brookville sporting event and saw Jim Whorley without a smile on his face. It seemed like there weren't many people who bled maroon and gold like Mr. Whorley did. Being a Jefferson Forest grad, I am suppose to have a rivalry with Brookville people, but I haven't met many people from Brookville that I haven't liked. To me, that reflects a strong leader and a class act, which is what Jim Whorley was. My podcast is shutdown temporarily until my new web site is launched. I always plan on paper and in my head on what I want to do on my podcast and such, after the season I had planned on doing a segment on 60 years of Brookville football (the Bees honored 60 years of Bees football this past season in a game before Rustburg.). Unfortunately, I will never be able to do that interview with Jim Whorley, which I looked forward to, however now I will be doing a piece honoring a legend, Jim Whorley. Something tells me, I won't have a shortage of people willing to discuss what a great principal, great coach, great teacher and great man that Jim Whorley was.

I think some things should be learned from this. Everyday we should be thankful for those that we have around us. We should always treasure those around us and enjoy those times. Never go to bed angry and never end a conversation that way, because you never know when those we love and cherish, won't be around anymore.

I read something where Mr.Leon Brandt, member of the Campbell County school board, said that losing Jim Whorley is not only a loss for Campbell County and Brookville High School, but a loss for Virginia as well. I agree wholeheartedly, because if you look at people who have come out of Brookville High School, the people I have dealt with are not only well-spoken but also respectful, and once again to me that comes from your leader.

RIP Mr.Whorley, Brookville and the World will miss you.

If you would like to be interviewed and comment on Jim Whorley for the feature I will be doing on him down the road (I don't have a specific date yet in mind or anything) E-Mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Latest on "The Sports Buffet" Podcast

For all you devout fans of "The Sports Buffet" podcast, I just wanted to update you of the status. I have yet to meet with my webmaster yet, I will be hopefully over the winter break, or once the school year resumes after the New Year. I will be developing my own web site. The domain name has yet to be registered or decided. The reason the podcast is not active now, is the website I was using at My Podcast has really been giving me major headaches, and it has made it very difficult/near impossible to upload files. You can still check out the files that have already been uploaded at The Sports Buffet Podcast. The new site will still feature old broadcasts from "Talking High School Sports" and games that have been broadcasted on WKDE. The website will also try to have schedules/scores/results and provide somewhat of a high school sports almanac. I will also hopefully update the blogs and everything else on a more frequent basis as well.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and anything else, please e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Why does everyone not have the same chance?

The VHSL is in the midst of debating an increase in classifications. Right now, the VHSL plays under an umbrella that has AAA at the top. The VHSL does however have six classifications which gives football teams of equal enrollment sizes chances at winning a state championship. The rules were recently changed to encompass boys and girls basketball in this as well (except for AAA which still awards one state championship). However, all other sports still reward three state champions to each classification.

In my mind, this needs to be changed. I have two daughters, both of young age, why should they not be afforded the same opportunities as people who play basketball and football. There are some kids out there, who dedicate themselves to one sport, who just play baseball or just play volleyball. Some kids participate in more individual sports like cross country, track, golf and tennis (I know they are awarded team titles, but there are also individual champions in each sport).

Thoughts, comments, suggestions? Please leave a comment or e-mail them to me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Once "The Sports Buffet" podcast is back up and running, I will be examining this issue more closely (and I may try to examine it more on the blog as well)

The Future of "The Sports Buffet" podcast

To all my loyal listeners of "The Sports Buffet" podcast, I appreciate you first off. I would love more comments on the podcasts, what you like, dislike and so forth and so on. You can always reach me by e-mail at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

With that being said, "The Sports Buffet" is going to be on a break or hiatus until probably the first of 2009. The site I have been using for "The Sports Buffet" is just not user friendly anymore and it has been very difficult to upload files. I encourage you to still go to the site and check out some of the older podcasts, to easier search for an episode (you can search by school, name, sport, whatever, by clicking here and typing in the keyword.

There are some other sites out there, but I just want to make sure the next site I go with is long term (even though My Podcast lasted me for longer then a year). I still intend to post "older" interviews and games from my days with WKDE and more. I firmly believe people want to hear new and fresh content, but I believe honoring those and featuring those that I have interviewed in the past should be featured across the world wide web as well. The "New" site is going to feature much more then just a podcast (hopefully) with hopeful links for all high school and college and pro sports fans, as well as stats and schedules and everything else a sports fan could want. I hope to make "The Sports Buffet" one stop shopping for all sports fans.

So, if you are a coach or athlete, and see that your interview has not been posted, please be patient. No one, but no one, is more fustrated by the lack of podcasts then yours truly. I have not forgotten about anything, as well as scheduling interviews and such. Hopefully, my blogs will take a more active role while the podcast is rebuilding, and will continue to be active after the podcast is reborn.

Finally, I also would like to take this opportunity to thank all the coaches, athletes, athletic directors, sports information people, other media members and anyone else that I pester for interviews, information and requests on a random basis. Please know that I appreciate you all more then you think. Also, once again big thanks to the listeners to "The Sports Buffet". I know everyone might not be interested in every single topic I cover, but if I have conducted one interview that you have enjoyed, then I hope you will check back frequently and will tell others about an interview that you may have enjoyed.

Thanks for indulging me and any questions, comments or concerns, please address them to TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

The Sports Buffet Podcast will be moving

The Sports Buffet podcast will be moving soon to its own website hopefully. The site i have been using is just now not uploading podcasts. I had interviews recorded with Winfred Beale, Amherst Players, Cecil Phillips, Jeff Woody and other folks but the podcast site is not being fully functional, so I apologize to everyone (it frustrates me just as much as anyone)

James Monroe leads Brookville 38-30

2:58 left in 3rd Quarter. The big play has killed Brookville all day.

James Monroe leads Brookville 26-17

2:09 left to go in the 1st Quarter. Bees do get the ball first to start the 2nd half

James Monroe leads Brookville 20-17

Bees taking over at their own 26 with 4:59 left in the 1st half

Brookville 17 James Monroe 14 7:08 left

James Monroe is driving, they have the ball at the Bees 26.

James Monroe and Brookville

James Monroe and Brookville are in a doozy here in Lynchburg. It's all knoted at 14. Brookville came out like a house of fire. The Bees won the toss, and deferred their decision until the 2nd half. James Monroe elected to recieve, went 3 and out. Logan Thomas then returned a punt into James Monroe territory. That set up Stacey Houston's 30 yard touchdown run on the 1st play from scrimmage.

Any comments, questions I'll be here all day. You can either comment or E-Mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

District Volleyball Tournaments Begin Tonight

Seminole District Matchups
# 7 Amherst at # 2 Jefferson Forest
# 6 Heritage at # 3 Brookville
# 5 Liberty at # 4 Staunton River

Semifinals will take place tomorrow at Liberty High School. Rustburg, the # 1 seed will play the winner of Liberty-Staunton River at 6:00 in Game 1. Then, the other two winners will matchup in the night cap.

Thursday, will be the finals and the 3rd place game. Winners of tonight's games will advance to the Region III Tournament, which gets underway next Monday.

Features to be Heard on "The Sports Buffet" podcast.

In case you don't know (or have been on Mars, Neptune or Uranus) I am the author, creator, producer, writer, director, host and any other superlative you'd like to throw in of "The Sports Buffet" podcast. I always look for feedback on "The Sports Buffet". If you have thoughts (what you think of current podcasts), comments or suggestions (who are your favorite teams and what guests do you want to hear), e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net. Also, I am going to be creating a mailing list to update you when new podcasts are added to "The Sports Buffet"."The Sports Buffet" features high school, college and professional sports. You will be able to hear new podcasts as well as older segments from "Talking High School Sports" and other games broadcasted throughout the years on WKDE.Here are some of the segments (most of these will be related to high school sports) that you will be hearing on "The Sports Buffet"

"The Sports Buffet" is going to be taking a lot of the segements/features that were spotlighted on "Talking High School Sports". "The Sports Buffet" (http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com/) continues to add previous broadcasts from "Talking High School Sports" to the pod-cast site, however we also will be developing new ones as well. In order, to do that, Here is what you can expect in terms of segments on "The Sports Buffet"

* "Checking In": This segment features updates on former high school athletes from the Lynchburg area and beyond as they continue their athletic careers in college. You will hear from the athlete, as well as current and past teammates and coaches.

* "Where Are They Now": This is the segment where we catch up with former high school athletes, coaches, media members, officials, athletic directors, athletic trainers and more from the Lynchburg area and beyond to find out what they are doing now. You will hear from the individual as well as people that were associated with them during their time in high school sports in the Lynchburg area and beyond.

* "Teammates": This segment test two teammates from an athletic squad to see how well they know each other. With larger teams, it may become a contest to where it would feature 3 teams of 2, similar to ESPN's "Teammates", where they are competing against one another. But, with smaller teams it will feature two participants from a team to see how well they know each other with questions that pertain to questions away from the sport, i.e. favorite movie, favorite food and so forth.

* Know Your Coach...... New segment that will see how well a player knows their coach. This is very similar to "Teammates" but will instead feature 3 athletes from a team to see how well they know their coach.

* "One on One with Bob Alvis": This segement takes a personality from the sporting world and gives them 12 questions that they would not hear in their normal, everday life, such as "If you were stuck on a desert island, what 3 movies would you want with you?"

* "Inside the Game": This segment is designed to take a fast pace look at a sport or conference and it's most recent happenings. The segment can also be designed to take a look at a specific night. For example, a Friday night in High School Football could be covered on one edition of "Inside the Game"

* "Bumps and Bruises": This segment is designed to allow athletic trainers to talk about a prevention, rehabilitation method, or anything they feel needs to be brought to the public's attention relating to the area of athletic training.

* Away from the Game...... Was to be known as "Off the Field" on "Talking High School Sports" but never really got off the ground. Segment is designed to highlight an athlete's good deeds away from the field. For example, an athlete that may help out at a nursing home, or tutors other students, or is just a good student and is actively involved in their school, church or another organization.

* "Coach's Corner": This is where a coach talks about a technique, strategy, or something that will allow the public insight on the game that they coach.

* "Rules of the Game": This is where a sports official talks about a rule of the sport they officiate. Nothing much more to say about that.

* "The Roundtable": This is where 3 coaches, media members, athletes or officials sit down and talk not so much strategy but more of coaching phillosphies and general sitatuions about sports.

* "Profile": Every now and again we will have a feature on a coach, player, official, athletic director, broadcaster, etc. You will hear from the person being feature, as well as other people talking about them.

You can go to the pod-cast of "The Sports Buffet" (http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com/) and hear examples of the segments from the days of "Talking High School Sports" as well as the new segments that will be added to "The Sports Buffet"."The Sports Buffet" is a free pod-cast developed by Bob Alvis, a self described sports nut, as he looks to promote the great things in sports at all levels as well as to inform and entertain the general public. I do have one child (and another on the way) as well as working a 3rd shift job, so I apologize up front if I don't give as much coverage as I'd like to a certain team

Amelia at Buckingham PPD til Monday at 7:30

Amelia travels to Buckingham, Monday at 7:30

William Fleming at GW Danville tomorrow at 2

According to Friday Football Extra's website, this game will be played tomorrow at 2:00

Cancelled High School Football Games 10/17

Nelson County at Chatham will now play Monday at 6.

Amherst at Liberty will now play Saturday at 6.

Stay tuned for more updates.

"The Sports Buffet" Podcast's Coming Attractions

Here is what's on tap at the 'Buffet in the next day or two.

- Brad Bradley Interview: Coach Bradley talks about what is going to need to go right for William Campbell to beat Gretna on Friday night in Naruna. Coach Bradley also reviews the Altavista game, as well as talking about a real living legend, his dad, Coach Larry Bradley, who just coached his last middle school game a week ago, as coach at Andrew Lewis Middle School.

- Chris Thurman Interview: Coach Thurman speaks on the Dogwood District as a whole, as well as the Hawks chances on Friday in Naruna. Coach Thurman also talks about the Nelson County game, and the large comeback the Governors had up in Lovingston a couple of weeks back. Also, Coach Thurman talks about the respect he has for Brad Bradley, as well as if we will see Nick Miller back on the field for the Hawks this season.

- Cecil Phillips Interview: Coach Phillips joined me to discuss his Amherst Lancers, who may be one of the hottest teams in the Lynchburg area right now. Coach Phillips previews this Friday's tilt at Liberty. Coach Phillips also shared what he learned from his coaching influences (Bob Christmas, Kevin Saunders and more.).

Also, on Friday afternoon, I will have a comprehensive preview of the William Campbell-Gretna game, with words from some of the assistant coaches from each staff. Then on Saturday morning, hear complete and comprehensive postgame from the battle in Naruna.

Stay tuned to this podcast for opinions and upcoming features on "The Sports Buffet" as well. Also, stay tuned for a big announcement concerning "The Sports Buffet" podcast.

Great News

Great News. "The Sports Buffet" podcast is back. All computer problems that have fixed, the recording studio has been updated and now "The Sports Buffet" podcast is ready to go again. So, what that means is this: You are going to hear new stuff, old stuff and all the stuff in between. The name and content hasn't changed, we are just back from a long sabbatical. Be sure to visit "The Sports Buffet" for all your high school, college and pro sports needs.

If there is anything you want to hear, be sure to email me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

More rivalry talk

More rivalry talk.

Mark Hanks (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Pulaski County, formerly Liberty Minutemen head coach)
Obviously the Salem-Pulaski County games. They have the largest attendance in this part of the state,football more specifically. I was there the night they beat us in overtime when we missed a 20 yd fg and Coach Hicks resigned that night only to come back and win a state championship a few years later.

From my days at Liberty, I really enjoyed coaching against Jim Hawley at JF. He always was light years ahead of me preparation wise and we had the studs to even it up !
that evening.

Paul Smith (Jefferson Forest Head Boys Basketball Coach)
In my short time here I do see that JF and Brookville is a big rivalry for the long time JF people. I can tell on game night that the game has a much different atmosphere. .

Rivalries

Jefferson Forest and Brookville battled last week, but this week features a rivalry for the Old-Timers. E.C. Glass will host G.W. Danville in a battle that marks the last Western Valley District game between the two, before the Hilltoppers drop down to the Seminole. Thus, I had recieved more comments on certain rivalries from the Central and Southwest Virginia area. Here are some more responses that I recieved to these questions

1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?

2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are involved in now (or one that you were involved in) and what made it memorable? (If you played/coached more then one sport, please specify the sport from your answer)

Warner Dyke (Head Girls Basketball & Head Golf Coach at Brookville High School)
1. For me, it would have to be brookville versus J.F. It doesnt matter the sport, it is always the biggest crowd of the year. Year in and year out in most sports it seems like we are competing for one of the top spots in the district with each other.

2. I know this sounds cliche but I really dont get wrapped uo in the rivaly's like the kids do. But I guess the best moment with J.F. for me would be the year that we were the only team (girls basketball) in the district to beat them.

Mike Cartolaro (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Altavista High School)
Well, most coaches will say it is one they are in. Certainly the one with us and gretna over the years has been good. Maybe the last couple of years it has lost a little of the shine, but I am not complaining since we have been fortunate enough to win those games. We had the V-T game in bristol: Virginia High and Tennessee High. That was very intense. We beat them on a half court shot one year, when both teams were very good we went to the state double a playoffs and they also qualified.

John Earich (William Campbell Assistant Head Coach for the Varsity Football team)
1. Massillon versus Canton McKinley in Ohio since 1894. Because Ohio football is the best in the nation.

2. Our victory over Gretna in 2002. 33-30 overtime. Watching Vernon Vassal do cartwheels after Josh Moon kicked the winning field goal.

More to come

More Rivalry Comments

The lateest comments on rivalries. The questions again

The questions
1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?
2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are/were involved in?

The newest answers

Paul Smith (Jefferson Forest Boys Basketball Head Coach)
Not being from this area for very long, it is hard to have a real "feel" for this. However, in my short time here I do see that JF and Brookville is a big rivalry for the long time JF people. I can tell on game night that the game has a much different atmosphere.

Mark Hanks (Pulaski County Head Boys Basketball Coach and former Liberty Minutemen Head Coach)
From my days at Liberty, I really enjoyed coaching against Jim Hawley at JF. He always was light years ahead of me preparation wise and we had the studs to even it up !

More to come

More on Rivalries

More responses from the questions sent out on rivalries.

The questions

1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?

2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are/were involved in?

The newest answers

Brantley Shields (Head Boys Basketball Coach at Appmattox, former Tunstall Trojans and Averett Basketball player)

2. Tunstall vs. Dan River in 1997-1998. We trailed in a game at home by 25 points headed into the 4th quarter and came back and won. The game was highlighted by a thunderous alley oop dunk by Lorenzo Preston off of an inbounds play under the basket. One of the greatest games I've ever been a part of.

Dave Close (Assistant Football Coach at Altavista High School)

1. The best High School Rivalry that I have ever seen is in Northeast Ohio, Canton McKinley v.s. Massilon. The game is played in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium (Massilon), or Faucet Stadium (McKinley) (were the Hall of Fame game is played). It is the most intense game that I have ever attended. It is considered to be one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in the country. The stadiums are full(with nearly 20,000 people there) and the football is great. Massilon shuts down @ 5:00 on Fridays for there football games.

2. I have not been at Altavista long enough for any memories of Rivalries, but when I was at Rustburg, we played Liberty in 2006, we had just scored to tie the game with less than a minute left, we lined up in 2 tights & power backs, we sent Jake Wade in motion and threw a flat pass to him, he caught it and muscled his way into the endzone for a two point conversion to win the game.

Stewart Grant (Head Baseball Coach at Liberty (Bedford) High School, Former Athletic Director)

1. If you went with one sport in the area, it would be Gretna/WC in football. Both teams have had alot of success in this decade with both teams winning multiple state championships. If you went with two schools and all sports, it would be Brookville/JF. Both schools have winning traditions in multiple sports combined with the close proximity makes this a clear cut choice.

For an out of the area choice, this would have to be Graham/Bluefield in football. Both teams share the same city and 10,000 seat stadium that overflows when this game takes place. It has been ranked in the top ten nationally by ESPN for rivalry games.

Brad Bradley (Head Football Coach at William Campbell High School)

1. I would pick the William Campbell-Gretna game because every year it is a very competitive game that draws a huge crowd. It has turned into one of the biggest rival game in the state of Va. Whenever William Campbell and Gretna get together, it is a great atmosphere for high School football.

2. It would have to be in 2002 when we beat Gretna 33-30 in OT. Josh Moon kicked a field goal to win the game only after our defense had held Gretna 4 downs from the 10 yard line. That gave us our 2nd 10-0 undefeated season and led us to to the 1st ever state championship in school history.

More to come....

Greatest Rivalries Part 1

Here are some responses that I have gotten back to two questions I asked on what the greatest rivalries are in high school sports. Here are the two questions

1. What do you think is the best high school rivalry and why?

2. What is your most memorable moment from a rivarly that you are/were involved in?

Here are some of our first answers

Dan Stephens (Head Boys Basketball Coach-Heritage High School)

1. Well, the Sam Rayburn Texans and Pasadena Eagles, of course. The best since I've been a Virginian would have to be Heritage and E.C. Glass. Unfortunately, it is less about the game and more about being seen AT the game. A loud social event-some positive, some not so much.

2. My first exposure to the Heritage-E.C. Glass game as a coach was to walk into the hallway leading to the gym during the JV game and finding one of our varsity players sitting on the floor hyperventilating. I knew then that this wasn't just another game.

Ryan Gilleland (Assistant Baseball and Football Coach at Jefferson Forest High School. Also has served as head baseball coach and was Junior Varsity Boys Basketball coach for a spell as well)

1. Obviously, JF - Brookville. You can throw both teams records out in this rivalry in all sports. The emotion and passion to win this game is higher than any other game we play.

2. I remember in 1991 when JF-Brookville were both 9-0 in football and played against each other the last game of the year at Brookville. JF won the game in the last minute or so and was probably the craziest memory I have of the rivalry. For me, some of the best memories I have of playing against Brookville was scoring a touchdown my Junior year at Brookville as we won the game. In basketball my senior year, I remember playing at Brookville with Frank Beamer in the stands, there to see Anthony Poindexter. Anthony drove the lane late in the game and threw done a thunderous dunk against the Bees as we won the game. From baseball, we beat the Bees in the final game of the year my sophomore year to clinch the regular season Seminole District Championship at Brookville

Dwayne Hamlette (Assistant Football Coach and Former Football Player at William Campbell)

1. William Campbell and Gretna: For the simple fact that these two small areas produce great football teams year in and year out, and the 30 minutes distance helps too. People plan time off from work for these games and it is usually for the district and the winner and loser usually makes a deep playoff run. The really funny thing is both schools have trouble scheduling local teams to play them, especially the larger schools.

2. The rivalry between JF and William Campbell. We played them first the first game of the year my sophomore and junior year and it was a dog fight. We also ended up playing them in the playoffs my junior year and won on a deflected pass that was taken to the endzone. Our two teams didn't like each other at all. Before one of our battles at William Campbell, both teams were side by side under the goal post and had to be separated by the coaches....great times!

More to come. Keep checking back for more memories of great high school rivalries (from all over the map)

Rivalries

On the eve of the big Seminole District showdown between Brookville and Jefferson Forest, I thought it would be a good time to explore high school rivalries. I have inquires out to current and former high school coaches, athletes, athletic directors and so forth, to find out their favorite rivalries and the moments from those rivalries. I'll get it kicked off and share mine first.

Being a student manager in high school (at Jefferson Forest) for the football and volleyball teams I saw some good rivalries in the Seminole District. In my time as a broadcaster for WKDE (with primary focus on Altavista Boys Basketball and WIlliam Campbell Football), I have experienced new rivalries.

From my high school days, there was nothing better then a contest between Jefferson Forest and Brookville. It didn't really matter what the contest was, but the intensity between Jefferson Forest and Brookville was unmatched. No one memory sticks out to me, but just the collection of the years on the football field, in the gyms, wherever, when Jefferson Forest and Brookville met, there was a lot of intensity in the house.

Focusing on football, even before the game was to begin, I'd get pumped up (and I was just a manager. I can only imagine how the players felt) and by the time the game was ready to start, I was ready to go as well. I just remember how bad our guys wanted to beat Jeff Landrum, Jeff Woody, James Lomax, Peter Givens and so forth. On the other side, I am sure those guys wanted to beat Anthony Poindexter, Nick Mistretta, Jerton Evans and so on. From my eyes in the sky (broadcasting booth), watching William Campbell and Gretna, has probably been some of the more enjoyable high school games that I have seen in any sport. The intensity (from players and fans) and excitement of these games have been breathtaking.

From the volleyball/basketball standpoints, the crowds were hostile to the opposition. The students (both sides) were probably teetering on the border of rude to the athletes. From the broadcasting side, Altavista and Brookville have had their battles on the basketball court, but the best basketball rivalry in my opinion in the Dogwood/Seminole District area is Altavista and Gretna. The rivalry was at it's height (for me) during the Kenny Hunt era in A-Town, but even when it has been Huntless (which in Altavista and Gretna, to not have one Hunt in the game is near impossible) it's still been games to behold.

What will others say? Stay tuned and find out.

Like Sausage? Check out these Links

As you can see, my catchy and comedic talents overflow with catchy titles for blog postings. Check these links out from the high school season of 07-08.







Comprehensive High School Sites


Virginia Preps


Roanoke Times High School Sports Page




High School Football Sites


Friday Football (News Channel 10's, News & Advance and Register & Bee's coverage of High School Football)


Friday Football Extra (WDBJ 7's Flagship High School Football Show for the past 25 years)


Friday Football (ABC 13's High School Football Coverage)


Virginia High School Football's Reference Page







School Sites


Brookville Bees Sports


GW Danville


Pulaski County


Other High School Links







Photos


Cougar Dave's Page (Pulaski County Sports Photos and More)







2008 High School Football Previews


Ones below courtesy of WSET's Football Friday


VES Bishops


Cave Spring Knights


Magna Vista Warriors


Martinsville Bulldogs


Lord Botetourt Cavaliers


Tunstall Trojans


William Fleming Colonels


Franklin County Eagles


Bassett Bengals


Rockbridge County Wildcats


Patrick Henry Patriots


Parry McCluer Fighting Blues


Salem Spartans


Altavista Colonels
Liberty Minutemen


Rustburg Red Devils


William Campbell Generals


Nelson County Governors


LCA Bulldogs


Chatham Cavaliers


GW Danville Eagles


Appomattox Raiders


Brookville Bees


E.C. Glass Hilltoppers


Staunton River Golden Eagles


Amherst Lancers


Jefferson Forest Cavaliers


Gretna Hawks


Heritage Pioneers

Check out more links later.

High School Football Thoughts so far

With the temperatures falling (wait, they aren't falling), and the heavy rains we have had over the summer and on Friday nights (wait, that isn't true either). Well, heck who cares about the weather. It's September and it's Friday, so that means high school football. Here are my thoughts so far.

The Brookville Bees are 3-0 and I am surprised. I am as big a Jeff Woody fan as anyone, and I have even told Brookville's head man that I am surprised his team is 3-0. It has nothing to do with the talent that the Bees have. I think everyone expected great things of the Bees with players like Logan Thomas, Stacey Houston, Zack McCray and others. But, it's no small task to head to Amherst and Salem and come out with victories. The Bees have two more non district tilts with Blue Ridge foes, Lord Botetourt and William Byrd the next two weeks. But for the number 1 team in several polls (Virginia Preps.com, Friday Football Extra, WSET's Football Friday), the Bees next big tilt is October 3rd at Jefferson Forest.

Gretna has only had to play one football game since losing Nick Miller before the season began. The Hawks, who defeated Martinsville on August 30th, this week will travel down to Dry Fork to battle Tunstall. I don't know if you can judge the Hawks based on one game yet, but what you can judge the Hawks on is this: they have athletes and with Chris Thurman on the headsets, the Hakws are not going to drop off the face of the earth.

William Campbell dropped their 1st tilt of the season to North Carolina powerhouse, Thomasville. Without Baron Adams, the Generals still looked good, but with him they had their way with Sussex Central. The Generals, whose only big loss of last season's personnel was safety Spencer Slayton, return everyone from a team who was only 1 point away from advancing to last year's State Semifinal.

I helped Dave Hoehne broadcast this past Friday's Altavista-James River tilt in Buchanan. I was extremely impressed with Mike Scharnus' squad. The Colonels looked crisp with running backs, Chris Clark, Jamison Robinson and Hunter Shelhorse. James River is going to win their share of games as well, I thought the spread looked okay for them, they had a talented skill kid in Davon Ross, and I think they are going to be a tough game for anyone in the Pioneer District.

Congratulations to Richard Trent and the E.C. Glass Hilltoppers on a big win this past Friday night against Hill City rival, Heritage. Special teams killed the Pioneers, as the Hilltoppers collected 21 points on special teams. To read Chris Humphreys article on the game check out the story from Saturday's News & Advance

Finally, good news (I hope) for all you fans of "The Sports Buffet" podcast. It looks like "The Sports Buffet" will be making a return sooner then later. Due to a hard drive crash, and my office still sharing my youngest daughter, Katie's room. The "Buffet" has had to take a backseat lately, but soon my office is scheduled for a move to the basement and I will then be able to hopefully make more phone calls and get more things posted. I still have postgame from Week 1's William Campbell and Thomasville game to post, as well as previews on Virginia and Virginia Tech from the News and Advance's Andy Bitter and Nathan Warters, as well as an interview conducted last night with Brookville Bees head football coach, Jeff Woody.

The thing I have come to realize about the "Buffet" is this. For one, as long as the "Buffet" is not a moneymaker, it can't be the biggest priority in my life. Second, as long as I have two kids (which I hope is for a really long time), they and my family as to be the biggest priority in my life, and any coach or interviewe that is reading this, I feel sure would agree with me, and if they didn't agree with that, I'd be surprised.

High School Football Is Here: The Coaches

* Note-I started writing this blog on Friday morning.

High School Football is here. Today's the day, there are many different sources where you can get High School Football News from (I'll list those later). But, a bit of good news real quick, a new hard drive should arrive next week. Some stuff was on the old hard drive, and there's no word if those things will be able to be recovered yet or not.



Now, onto high school football. "The Sports Buffet" podcast has always tried to cover all high school sports equally well (Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that, but when you have a one person staff, you do what you can do.) but probably out of all sports, I have the biggest bond and closest friends/confidants in the basketball community. That's not to say I don't like football, because I do, and every fall I enjoy the opportunity to reconnect with my old friends so to speak.



By the way, I don't view myself as "media". I view myself as "pseudo media", because I view my job and duty as being a promoter of high school sports and other sports that people like (i.e. if you are a Yankees fan, I'll try to get some Yankees coverage on "The Sports Buffet")



Anyways, with High School Football starting today, I am going to analyze the coaches that I know that are playing tonight with my feelings on them and so forth.



Brad Bradley: William Campbell Generals: Brad Bradley is not everyone's cup of tea. Obviously, if you read Virginia Preps.com last season, after the Riverheads game, he is not loved by all Gladiators fans. With that being said, I am a big Brad Bradley fan. He has an excellent staff (John Earich, Dwayne Hamlette, Andy Haga and John Meadows), he will do anything for his players, and he has a passion for the game. Bradley is never going to be mad at his team for being emotional or hyped up. Bradley is never going to be mad at his team for being agressive and physical. What will chirp Coach Bradley is when his team is not giving 100 % effort. Like I said earlier, there are probably more non Brad Bradley fans out there, then there are fans. But, in Coach Bradley's words, if you are the most popular coach, you are probably not the winningest coach. I am a big Brad Bradley fan and as long he is at the helm, you are always going to have to talk about WilliamCampbell as being a Dogwood District contender.



Jeff Woody: Brookville Bees: One reason I like Coach Woody so much is that we are the same age. He is a 1997 graduate of Brookville, I am a 1997 graduate of Jefferson Forest. With that being said, (and the Brookville-Jefferson Forest rivalry), I think he is a great guy. Coach Woody has reasons to be excited this year with Logan Thomas as his signal caller, and talent around him including Zack McCray, Stacey Houston, Corby Weiss and the list goes on and on. The injury bug has bit Coach Woody hard in his first few seasons as the head coach of the Brookville Bees, he has lost a who's who of talented Bees to injury, with the likes of Darrin McKenzie, Cody Rich, Ryan Jackson and I am sure others that I am just forgetting. However, I think this could be a banner year for the Bees. But, there is a BIG road block in front of them this week (more on that in a moment). However, with Jeff Woody (and his talented group of assistants) at the helm, in the long run, they are going to be better people then they are football players in life.



Cecil Phillips: Amherst Lancers: I have only talked to Coach Phillips once and I came away a fan. The man wants to keep what Scott Abell (or even before him, Mickey Crouch) had started, and that is a winning tradition. Just because Lancers fans may not have heard of him, doesn't mean he wasn't a good choice. Talking to Coach Phillips and just hearing him talk about the people he worked for including Kevin Saunders and Bob Christmas, as well as coaching icons such as Norm Lineburg, you can tell he has not only worked for first class coaches, but first class people and those things have rubbed off on the Lancers first year coach.



Don Rice: Jefferson Forest Cavaliers: A very shy guy, never really lets you know what he's thinking. That might describe some people, but it doesn't describe Don Rice. I love talking to Coach Rice, because you know what he tells you, is exactly what he's thinking. Sugarcoating is not Rice's style. I think Jefferson Forest will have a solid season and Don Rice to me, is a throwback, old school coach (and that's not a bad thing).

Chris Jones: Heritage Pioneers: I could almost write see Don Rice. Coach Jones is a throwback. I think he is a very funny guy and very quotable. He has always been surrounded by a good staff back to the days of Jeff Pultz, Doug Smith, Mark Ainsley and others. Now, the staff is just as good, which includes former E.C. Glass and Jefferson Forest Head Coach, Ed Landis. Any time I know that I am going to interview Chris Jones, I look forward to it.

Jon Berlin: Rustburg Red Devils: I have only talked to Coach Berlin a handful of times while he was Scott Abell's Defensive Coordinator at Amherst County. Coach Berlin was always a willing participant in the "Talking High School Sports- Question of the Day". From everything I hear from people, Rustburg has a great hire in Coach Berlin.

Robert Senseney: William Fleming Colonels: If I had to pick one word to describe Coach Senseney, it would be classy. He has always been more then generous in terms of giving me time for interviews. I enjoyed Coach Senseney during his tenure at Gretna, and he continues to do good things in the city of Roanoke at William Fleming.

Chris Watts: Liberty Minutemen: I got to know him through my hood friend, Liberty Baseball Coach and former Athletic Director, Stewart Grant (Yes, I admit it, I am friends with Stewart Grant). The compliment that I think I can best give Coach Watts is, I would want my kid playing for Coach Watts. He wins, and he produces quality kids.

There is my take on most of the coaches I know. I am sure I left out some (Jared Van Acker-Galax and others). Then there are those who I have never talked to, but want to like Jack Tuner (Pulaski), Tater Benson (Lord Botetourt) and more.

The above are just my opinions. I am sure some people for whatever reason, don't like some of the coaches I have mentioned above for whatever reason. However, I have never had problems with these guys and it's always a joy for me to cover their teams.

High School Football is here and I am pumped about it!

Update on "The Sports Buffet" podcast

Greetings,
With the arrival of high school football a little over 24 hours away, it is one of the favorite times of the year for "The Sports Buffet" podcast. However, two things have derailed "The Sports Buffet" podcast recently. So, I just wanted to update you, the readers of my blog and the listeners to my podcast.

1. With two children in the house (both under the age of 2), interviews that are planned don't always get recorded when I want them to. Plus, since my "recording area" is in the room of my youngest daughter, her sleeping schedule and my recording schedule don't always go hand in hand.

2. Recently, I have had a problem with my sciatic nerve. For those of you that don't know much about the sciatic nerve, here is Wikipedia's entry on it. Right now, there is a constant and consistent pain that shoots from my back to about the back of my knee. So, if I am not recording interviews or working on my podcast, it probably means I am in a lot of pain and I am resting.

Just a few updates I wanted to get out there. As you all can probably figure out from my podcasts over time, I love "The Sports Buffet", it's right behind my faith and family in terms of the important things to me in life. So, once I get a bit healthier and a bit more healed from the nerve problems, look for a lot more podcasts to be added to the Buffet.

In a bit of good news, it does appear I have my computer problems fixed that had been ahmpering me. However, older segments from "Talking High School Sports" and games won't be posted until I recieve a new hard drive.

Thanks and keep listening and reading. Any ideas and suggestions are welcome, just contact me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Good News & Bad News

Good News & Bad News for fans of "The Sports Buffet". For anyone, that is a big fan of the "Classic Stuff" we post on "The Sports Buffet" from the "Talking High School Sports" days and games broadcasted on WKDE Radio, there is some bad news. There probably won't be any/many classic things posted for the next month or so, while we hope to recover files that were lost on our hard drive.

Good news, "The Sports Buffet" will still feature new content, as we were able to recover our recording software.

I love how I say "we", like their is a staff for "The Sports Buffet". I should always say "I" and "Me"

Bob Alvis

High School Scrimmages This Week

This week several scrimmages are taking place around the greater Lynchburg area and beyond. Some of those scrimmages include

Friday

Jamboree at Pulaski County High School. I know Brookville and Pulaski will be there. I believe other teams include Radford. Tazewell and a couple of other teams from Southwest Virginia will be there. Brookville is the only team from the Central Virginia area that will be in attendence.

Gretna & William Fleming at Jefferson Forest

William Campbell at Martinsville

Heritage hosts G.W. Danville

Chatham in a jamboree hosted by Bassett. Other teams in attendence include Magna Vista, Patrick County, Hidden Valley and Giles.

Saturday
E.C. Glass hosts Salem

All of these are to the best of my knowledge. If you know where I have something wrong, or know something I don't know. Feel free to post.

"The Sports Buffet" podcast may be sick for a while

Cross your fingers and say your prayers, but "The Sports Buffet" podcast may be going dark for a little while. Recently, I just had a possible hard drive crash, I am not sure yet, which had all podcast related material on it, as well as my editing software. So, say a little prayer for me , that not all this is lost and "The Sports Buffet" is back up and running in the next day or so, because I want to provide the best in high school sports and more to my loyal listeners.

Football Previews on "The Sports Buffet" podcast

If you visit, "The Sports Buffet" this week and next you will continue to see more high school football previews. We'll get into some other previews as well, but one purpose of this blog is to provide updates to you about upcoming podcasts on "The Sports Buffet". Today, I will post interviews I conducted yesterday with two Seminole District coaches. Chris Jones (Heritage) and Chris Watts (Liberty) will be posted this afternoon. By the end of the evening tonight, interviews that are scheduled this afternoon will be posted as well. Those scheduled to be interviewed this afternoon include Tim Crawford (Nelson County) and Richard Trent (E.C. Glass).

This weekend, interviews are scheduled to take place with Brad Bradley (William Campbell) and Cecil Phillips (Amherst).

At this point, all that is scheduled for next week is Mike Scharnus (Altavista). But that list is expected to grow like bamboo (if you have bamboo, you will understand that joke). Volleyball, Golf and Cross Country will also be scheduled hopefully for next week.

High School Football: It's here!

With two weeks to go until we all kick it off for real, high schools around the commonwealth will start scrimmages tomorrow and Saturday.

The schedule for tomorrow (as I know it)
Amherst at William Campbell
Turner Ashby at Jefferson Forest

Saturday
Cave Spring at Brookville
Louisa and Halifax at Liberty

Many other scrimmages will be taking place throughout the commonwealth. Check out Virginia Preps.com for more information, or post a reply here to keep others updated about it.

Also, for football previews, watch Newschannel 10 (WSLS in Roanoke), News 7 Sports (WDBJ in Roanoke) and ABC-13 (WSET in Lynchburg). In fact, if you go to WSET.com and click on sports and click on any of the Football Friday videos, you can view a complete schedule of who will air when on ABC-13

News for "The Sports Buffet" podcast

As you all know (or may not know). This podcast was developed just as much as a supplement to "The Sports Buffet" podcast. So, let me use this to give some updates on some exciting things happening to the podcast.

- In conjunction with Virginia Preps.com, "The Sports Buffet" has helped profile some great dynasties of this 21st century so far. Eric Powers, Voice of the Amherst Lancers, as well as Head Coaches, Chris Thurman (Gretna), Brad Bradley (William Campbell) and Robert Senseney (William Fleming, but won two state titles at Gretna) helped join in looking back at the powerhouses of this decade.

I post lots of interviews, games, etc from my days of "Talking High School Sports", so to better help our listeners, I will still be posting these, but our timely interviews (i.e. game recaps, previews, newer podcasts) will be pushed to the top for at least a week, but maybe longer if it is relevant (football previews and other fall sports previews will probably be pushed to the top until the fall sports season gets underway)

That is all for now, check "The Sports Buffet" daily, as I am getting back into the swing and you will continue to see more updates.

A Legend Leaves

My interest in high school sports really developed as I hit high school myself. Watching old Friday Football Extra's with Mike Stevens and his very colorful sweaters was a Friday night ritual. Then, when I became a student manager at Jefferson Forest High School, on nights I was there late I would pop in the coaches office and watch Friday Football Extra with coaches Christmas, Landis, Butler and Trent. Friday Football Extra was always a show that provided the best in high school football highlights.

To me when I think of WDBJ-7, I think Mike Stevens. I never thought Mike would leave the "Big 7". A saying has been used that a lot of the times when you meet your heroes or people you look up to, they dissappoint you and let you down. Not the case with Mike. Mike always took time to talk about what you wanted to talk about and he broke things down so in-depth, tat it was simply jawdropping. Even though Roanoke is the home base for WDBJ, Mike could talk Amherst, Giles, Bath County, or any other school that wasn't in the immediate Roanoke area. Every time I talked to Mike I counted it as a privledge and a honor. Mike Stevens is a class act all the way.

This year, I sat on press row at the state tournament, and Mike Stevens was there shooting highlights. If Mike had to leave to get a drink or to go get some press notes, he would ask me "Do you mind watching this (camera) for me?" It was a total 100 % pleasure, to feel in just a little way I helped Mike Stevens, because I felt like I could never help Mike the way he helped me.

The bottom line is Mike Stevens=class, dignity and a super human being. He was good on the air, giving scores, introducing highlights and many other things he did. But, he's a better person then he is sports anchor.

Travis Wells has some big shoes to fill, but I think Travis is up for the task. After all, he's learned from one of the best and he exhibits many qualities that Mike did, such as passion, dignity, class and being a super human being.

But today, it's all about Mike. This is not farewell, it's just "see you later". The city of Salem gets another champion to add to the City of Champions.

The Sports Buffet: I'm Back!

I am the proud author, creator, producer, host, do all guy of "The Sports Buffet with Bob Alvis". I checked the podcast page the other day (http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com) and saw where it had almost been 30 days since I had posted podcasts. Well, I'm back baby. You are still going to hear the best podcasts available, I'll be conducting high school fall sports previews here in the next week or so, as high school football practice starts around the commonwealth today. Other sports fall in line this week or by the start of next at the latest. I also will still be conducting interviews with the best in college and pro sports, whether it be media members, or we may strive for others as well. Another change you will find is this, as we add "classic" interviews and games from the days of "Talking High School Sports" and such. The current podcasts will be placed above those from "back in the day". Check the site, (http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com) and you may understand what I'm talking about. As always, your comments and suggestions are appreciated and desired, just e-mail me at TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Announcements About "The Sports Buffet ONLINE"

Effective immediately, "The Sports Buffet" has changed it's name to "The Sports Buffet ONLINE". This was done with the creation of a new website coming soon called thesportsbuffetonline.com. The website will be devoted to high school sports and more, with a high school history section, schedules, results and more.

Also, my apologies for not updating the podcast site as frequently as I would like. There are several additions that are going to be made to http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com with coaches who played their games last night. I had interviewed about seven coaches prior to their Wed night tournament matchups but due to some conflicts, I was unable to get them up before Wednesday. I hope to get them up tonight. The coaches interviewed were Darien McClurg (E.C. Glass Girls Soccer), Mike Padgett (Amherst Baseball), Ryan Gilleland (Jefferson Forest Baseball), Kevin Brown (E.C. Glass Baseball), Jason Kilbourne (Altavista Baseball), Barry Godsey (Rustburg Baseball) and Scott McGarry (Nelson County Baseball).

This blog has stated earlier is a supplement to the podcast "The Sports Buffet ONLINE". Comments, thoughts, suggestions, please e-mail TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net

Reaction from Wednesday's High School Events

Yesterday, Chatham was very impressive winning 11-1 against William Campbell in Dogwood district baseball. The Cavaliers host Appomattox in Friday's Dogwood regular season finale. When asked yesterday what went right, Andy Haga, Head Coach of the William Campbell Generals said, "Nothing went right for us and everything went right for them." Haga also noted that he was impressed by Gavin Hylton's three home runs. Hylton set a single season record for the Cavaliers with the three jacks.

William Campbell must get back on the horse today though as they battle Altavista. Haga said in today's outing, the whole pitching staff is going to have to contribute, as it will have to be a staff victory, with this being the Generals 3rd tilt in three days. Altavista and William Campbell always have some tight, hotly contested games, and Haga said he expects nothing less today.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jason Kilbourne's group had the bye yesterday and did not have a game. Altavista is already locked into sixth place in the Dogwood district, and will either have to travel to play Dan River or Nelson County (the Wildcats and Governors tangle on Friday, Dan River is currently 7-4, Nelson is 6-5 in district play. If Dan River wins, Altavista will definitely travel to Ringgold for next week. If Nelson wins, the Governors and Wildcats will split and the tie breaker will come into place) next week in the district tournament. I asked Coach Kilbourne, if he is concerned about complacency within his team, since they are locked into the district's sixth spot. He said, "We talked yesterday about having momentum going into the tournament and stopping a recent slide. Our pitching and defense have not been as sharp over the past 4 games. We have given up double digit runs over our last 4 games. We had only given up 10 runs or more once. I really think we will play with a lot of desire and intensity." Kilbourne also noted, he expects the Generals to be hungry, with them having dropped two games in the past two days.

Coach Barry Godsey's Rustburg Red Devils, were involved in a good one last night with the Heritage Pioneers. Gregg Chewning fired 1 hit ball over 7 1/3 for the Pioneers, but the Red Devils played solid defense, and had good pitching from starter Kevin Wade (no relation to former Red Devils player, Jake) and Chris Walker pitched out of jams from the bullpen. The Red Devils will most likely host Brookville in next week's Seminole District quarterfinal, while Heritage could have a first place tie with Jefferson Forest, if the Cavs fall to Amherst on Friday night in Forest.

The Brookville Bees softball team capped off the district regular season with a win at Amherst. Coach Larry Kidd was impressed by his pitcher, Nicole DeFilippo's control in the circle, as well as her fielding. The Bees also featured good defense from shortstop, Sarah Truxell. Coach Kidd was concerned with the Bees effort in the 7th, but the Bees still record the win. Coach Kidd was impressed by Amherst's Kyla Rose, commenting that she is so quick and a real tough out. The Bees open the Seminole District tournament with a bye, as they will not be on the field until the district semifinals.

More Notes from Wednesday May 14th

The Seminole District Track meet beat the rain last night at Brookville High School, holding the finals one day earlier then planned. Check out info on it with Ted Allen's article from the News & Advance here www.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/high_school/article/brookville_dominates_in_seminole_district_track_championships/4879/
Check out complete results of the meet here va.milesplit.us/meets/34611/results/67775

The Piedmont District held their meet yesterday as well with the Tunstall boys and Bassett girls capturing crowns. You can read about that here http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/sports/high_school/article/tunstall_boys_capture_piedmont_track_and_field_championship/3668/
Full results can be found at www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/wb/161952

Dan River knocked off Gretna 6-3 in Dogwood district baseball. The Hawks host Altavista for senior day at Gretna tomorrow, while Dan River travels to Nelson. The Governors were defeated by Appomattox yesterday. With the win, the Raiders clinched the regular season title in the Dogwood district. Chatham defeated the William Campbell Generals in the Dogwood's other game. The Generals hit the road to battle Altavista today at 6:00 at the Altavista Area YMCA. The game can be heard on AM 1000, WKDE. To read the article written by Matt Fuchs in the Danville Register & Bee, check it out here http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/sports/high_school/article/dan_river_baseball_reels_off_third_straight_victory/3669/

To read more about Danville area action yesterday, check out the Register & Bee's roundup,
www.godanriver.com/gdr/sports/high_school/article/danville_area_prep_roundup19/3667/

Robert Anderson of the Roanoke Times is reporting Ben Boggs will return to Hidden Valley for his senior season as a member of the Titans basketball team. Check that out here, http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/wb/162037

Wednesday's May 14th Scores

Some scores from Wed May 14th. Here are some scores that I have gathered for Wed, from phone calls and Virginia Preps.com. You can check them out by going to www.virginiapreps.com

Seminole District Baseball
Amherst 10 Brookville 1
Rustburg 3 Amherst 2 in 8 innings.
Jefferson Forest defeated Staunton River, not sure of score.

Dogwood Baseball
Chatham 14 William Campbell 1 (5 innings)
Appomatox 6 Nelson County 4

Dogwood Softball
Gretna 9 Dan River 0

Thoughts from the coaches on tonight's Brookville-Amherst softball game

The Brookville Bees, have already captured the regular season Seminole District crown. Tonight, they look to cap off the season with a win at Amherst. Last time out, the Bees were victorious 2-1. I asked Brookville coach, Larry Kidd, what was the key tonight for a Brookville "W" and he responded "playing consistent defense and not allowing extra outs in an inning."

On the flip side, Amherst head coach Larry Thomas commented on tonight's key to a Lancers victory being "to play error free ball and to put the ball in play better then last time (against Brookville)". Thomas said of the Bees "They are a very good, well-rounded team with a very good pitcher, and are well coached. We have to play a top notch ball and execute well."

Tonight's game should be a good one, as both teams want momentum going into next week's district tournament.

Notes from Wednesday May 14th 2008

Several articles I found while browsing this morning relating to high school sports in the area.

The JF tennis program keeps on rolling. Read Ted Allen's story www.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/high_school/article/jf_wins_seminole_district/4836/

LCA advances to the VIS State Semis on Friday.
www.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/high_school/article/lca_moves_on_in_vis_playoffs/4837/

Remember baseball today in the Seminole includes Amherst hosting Brookville, Rustburg plays host to Heritage and Staunton River travels to meet Bedford County rival, Jefferson Forest.

The same schools are scheduled to play softball as well.

In Dogwood baseball, William Campbell hosts Chatham (the Lady Cavs host the Lady Generals in Softball), Gretna plays at Dan River (softball at Gretna) and Nelson County tries to complete the season sweep of the Raiders at Appomattox (softball at Nelson).

Also, Seminole District track finals are today as well.

More High School Tidbits from Tuesday May 13th, 2008

Congratulations to Larry Kidd and the Brookville Bees softball team. The Bees have clinched a spot in the Region III tournament as a result of winning the Seminole District. The Bees will recieve a bye in the Seminole quarterfinals and will play their first tournament game in the semifinals next week.

Tonight, the trials of the Seminole District track meet were held at Brookville High School. The finals have been moved up to tomorrow with the threat of rain imminent. Check the results here www.bhsbees.com/district_track_meet_5_13_08.htm

Jared Bolden (E.C. Glass) went 0 for 4 tonight, as VCU lost to Liberty, 10-3. Steven Evans (Amherst) pitched a scoreless 9th, striking out two Rams.

Starting Friday in Knoxville, a few former Lynchburg-Roanoke area pitchers will take to the field in the NCAA Softball Tournament. Cari Wooldridge (Liberty-Bedford) and Winthrop (36-17) will open up with the host and number 13 seed, Tennessee Volunteers (47-14). Also, Angela Tincher (James River-Buchanan) and the Virginia Tech Hokies (44-15) will take on the Louisville Cardinals (30-21). The regional is double elimination with the winner going to the Super Regional.

Dara Sandifer (Holy Cross) and the Lynchburg College Hornets have advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series in Salem this weekend. LC (39-6) opens up with Muskingum, out of Ohio. Muskingum is 40-10.

The Division III baseball tournament begins tomorrow, with Lynchburg College (30-11), Randolph Macon (25-15) and Christopher Newport (28-12) all playing in Danville. The Hornets take the field at 7:00, taking on Piedmont College (33-12). The Hornets boast several local standouts including ODAC Player of the Year, Ronnie Labrie (Staunton River), as well as former Heritage Pioneers, Cameron Grant, Jeff Taylor, Jon Crews and D.W. Morre. Pitchers Matt Morgan and Rich Glover represent Liberty (Bedford). Keith Yancey and Justin Ferrell are both products of the Randolph Henry Statesmen. David Gaines, Jared Millner and Ryan Litz all represent the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers. Kyle Bradley is a William Campbell alumnus. Finally, Cave Spring boasts senior Matthew Winston.

You can get live stats from the tournament, by clicking http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cnu/baseball or watch the online live stream by going to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ncaasouthregionbase

More tomorrow.

Liberty beats Brookville 9-1 in Seminole Baseball

Brookville travels to play Amherst tomorrow.

High School Sports News for Tuesday May 13th, 2008

Some high school sports news for Tuesday, May 13th 2008.

Seminole District baseball concludes Wednesday night. Heritage travels to meet Rustburg, Brookville faces off against Amherst at Amherst, and Staunton River travels to Bedford County rival, Jefferson Forest. I plan to be at Rustburg, to cover the Red Devils and Pioneers. You will be able to hear recap from that game at thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com sometime Wed evening, or Thursday morning.

WKDE, AM 1000 will broadcast games Thursday and Friday. The Altavista Colonels are in action both days, as they play host to William Campbell on Thursday. Friday, they hit the road to meet Gretna. You can access Dogwood District standings, by going to www.altavistabaseball.com/district_standings.htm.

Altavista and William Campbell played a good one in Dogwood District softball on Monday. You can check out Ted Allen's story on the game at www.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/high_school/article/pitching_duel_leaves_altavista_just_short_of_beating_wc/4805/

E.C. Glass Boys Tennis will advance to the Northwest Region Semis after a win today against Potomac this afternoon in Lynchburg, read more about it at www.wset.com/news/stories/0508/519421.html

Finally, Jared Bolden former E.C. Glass Hilltopper returned to Lynchburg tonight as VCU played at Liberty. Chris Lang of the News & Advance had a story in Tuesday's paper on Bolden which you can read here.
www.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/college/article/the_humbler/4802/

The Sports Buffet, ONLINE!

The Sports Buffet is changing names. It is becoming "The Sports Buffet ONLINE". Soon it will have it's own domain thesportsbuffetonline.com with much of the content being added in the summer time. However, this blog will continue and start to really grow. The blog will feature schedules, scores, results, stats, news bits and more. However, what "The Sports Buffet ONLINE" will not consist of is rumors.

I have the belief system that rumors in high school sports is not college or professional sports. For example, once a job comes open in college or professional sports, names fly as to who will be the next head coach of the New York Knicks, or whoever. "The Sports Buffet ONLINE" high school edition will consist of facts and comments from coaches or athletes. The podcast "The Sports Buffet" will still exist as well. For now, you can find that at thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com.

At some point, everything will be moved to thesportsbuffetonline.com. The podcast site will always exist at thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com. But, newer podcasts will exist at thesportsbuffetonline.com. So, stay tuned, be patient and you can e-mail me at thesportsbuffet@verizon.net and we will keep you posted on all the high school sports you can handle in Virginia and beyond.

Update on "The Sports Buffet"

Several updates/new segements are being added and changed around to "The Sports Buffet". The podcast will hopefullly be updated much more on a regular basis, as it had been previously. However, anybody with children, knows what a full time job that is. With two kids under the age of 1 1/2, I am working overtime. Your patience is appreciated.

Most of the segments that were on "Talking High School Sports" that were going to be renamed, aren't going to be renamed, they will stick with their original names. At the end of this explanation, you will find details of the segments.

Interviews with coaches, athletes that require no editing will be posted as soon as they are recorded, or soon thereafter. However, interviews that take editing are an ongoing work in progress. Stay tuned to "The Sports Buffet" podcast (http://bobalvis.blogspot.com/) for updates of interviews that will be coming from people who are not involved in the high school sports world. For those podcasts, that involve high school sports, follow my other blog "The Sports Buffet with Bob Alvis: Talking High School Sports" http://thss1000.blogspot.com/

"Checking In": This segment features updates on former high school athletes from the Lynchburg area and beyond as they continue their athletic careers in college. You will hear from the athlete, as well as current and past teammates and coaches.

"Where Are They Now": This is the segment where we catch up with former high school athletes, coaches, media members, officials, athletic directors, athletic trainers and more from the Lynchburg area and beyond to find out what they are doing now. You will hear from the individual as well as people that were associated with them during their time in high school sports in the Lynchburg area and beyond.

"Teammates" : This segment test two teammates from an athletic squad to see how well they know each other. With larger teams, it may become a contest to where it would feature 3 teams of 2, similar to ESPN's "Teammates", where they are competing against one another. But, with smaller teams it will feature two participants from a team to see how well they know each other with questions that pertain to questions away from the sport, i.e. favorite movie, favorite food and so forth.

"Know Your Coach": Segment that will see how well a player knows their coach. This is very similar to "Teammates" but will instead feature 3 athletes from a team to see how well they know their coach.

"One on One with Bob Alvis": This segement takes a personality from the sporting world and gives them 12 questions that they would not hear in their normal, everday life, such as "If you were stuck on a desert island, what 3 movies would you want with you?"

"Inside the Game": This segment is designed to take a fast pace look at a sport or conference and it's most recent happenings. The segment can also be designed to take a look at a specific night. For example, a Friday night in High School Football could be covered on one edition of "Inside the Game"

"Bumps and Bruises": This segment is designed to allow athletic trainers to talk about a prevention, rehabilitation method, or anything they feel needs to be brought to the public's attention relating to the area of athletic training.

"Off the Field" : Segment is designed to highlight an athlete's good deeds away from the field. For example, an athlete that may help out at a nursing home, or tutors other students, or is just a good student and is actively involved in their school, church or another organization.

"Coach's Corner" : This is where a coach talks about a technique, strategy, or something that will allow the public insight on the game that they coach.

"Rules of the Game": This is where a sports official talks about a rule of the sport they officiate. Nothing much more to say about that.

"The Roundtable" : This is where 3 coaches, media members, athletes or officials sit down and talk not so much strategy but more of coaching phillosphies and general sitatuions about sports.You can go to the pod-cast of "The Sports Buffet" (http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com/) and hear examples of the segments from the days of "Talking High School Sports" as well as the new segments that will be added to "The Sports Buffet"."

Also, other segments will be added with team previews, year end/season reviews, as well as profiles on coaches, players, media members, athletic trainers, officials, athletic director, sports information directors, and so on and so forth.

Send your e-mails with your thoughts and what you want to hear on "The Sports Buffet" to TheSportsBuffet@verizon.net or TheSportsBuffet@gmail.com

Also, look for "The Sports Buffet's" website coming soon. More information to follow.

Hoops Results from Monday & Tuesday's Schedule

Here is an updated Hoops schedule of District Tournaments. Lower seeded team is listed first, followed by higher seeded team.

Tonight
Seminole Girls Semis at Brookville
Jefferson Forest-Brookville
Liberty-Staunton River

Dogwood District Boys QF's at Higher Seeds
William Campbell-Altavista
Gretna-Appomattox
Chatham-Dan River

Tomorrow Night
Seminole Boys Semis at Jefferson Forest
Jefferson Forest-Brookville
Rustburg-Liberty

Dogwood District Girls Semis at Higher Seeds
Altavista-Chatham
William Campbell-Dan River

Monday's Results
Seminole District Boys QF's
Jefferson Forest 47 Heritage 43
Rustburg 57 Amherst 47
Liberty 75 Staunton River 50

Dogwood Girls QF's
Altavista 59 Appomattox 42
William Campbell 42 Nelson County 36
Dan River 91 Gretna 48

Altavista-Nelson County Round 3

I am a big fan of the sweet science. Therefore, I will be at my friend's house tomorrow night, experiencing my first fight in HD (Jermain Taylor's rematch against Kelly Pavlik) but there will be a tune up that I get to watch in Appomattox between the Altavista Colonels and the Nelson County Governors. Both games provided excitement the first time. What needs to happen tomorrow night for each team to win? Here are my keys to the game.

Nelson County
1. The game can not become the Thomas Brown show
Don't get me wrong, Thomas needs to get his share of points, but he did such a good job at Nelson when the Colonels came to town of penetrating and getting to the rack and dishing to teammates. If Brown can do that, other guys are going to become more confident and the Colonels are going to have to guard the blocks which is going to allow Thomas to shoot off the drive as well.

2. Stay composed.
One loss for Nelson this year. Guess who beat them? Altavista. The Governors that night seemed rattled and from my view it looked like some players and coaches couldn't forget about bad calls. At this point in the season, you are going to make mistakes, you are going to get bad calls. If you dwell on it, you are going to fall in even more of a hole and Altavista is not the team you want to fall into a hole against.

3. Sustain a lead
The last two trips that Nelson County has played at Altavista, I believe they have been up by double digits and lost the games. Now, I know this game is at Nelson and they should have a good crowd there from Lovingston. But, the Colonels fans are going to travel down 24 and support their team as well. I don't know if I would say the gym is going to be more orange then green but Nelson County has to let their 6th man be a bigger part of the game then Altavista's in the 2nd Half.

Altavista
1. Don't shoot the ball poorly
19 % against Brookville. Hopefully that was an one time thing for the Colonels. I know you live by the saying "Live by the three and die by the three." But with 1st place on the line, there is not time for funerals on Saturday night.

2. Make good passes
Friday night against Gretna, Altavista made some very Ted Kennedy like passes (if you are a political pundit, you will catch that means very liberal). Altavista can not do that against Nelson. The passes Gretna didn't run down, Thomas Brown will.

3. Free Throws, Free Throws, Free Throws.
Nothing free about the shot, but if Nelson is going to give Altavista the opportunity at the charity stripe, then Altavista must be willing to accept charity. Colonels shot 11 of 12 in the 2nd half against Gretna (10 of 10 in Quarter 4) and Trevor Hall shot the ball really well from the stripe against Nelson at Altavista.

It should be a fun one, tune in to 105.5 KD Country or www.kdcountry.com at 6:40 PM

Sick and Tired

I love Virginia Preps.com. I think it is great to be a VIP member (you get all the latest in recruiting plus news from around the State and more) and I think most fans do a good job of sharing information/scores, etc. But, I am so sick and tired of hearing this belly aching about officiating every game. When people lose they complain about officiating. When people win they complain about officiating. If you blame a game on one call, you don't deserve to win. If you blame a game on a string of calls, make a few more plays earlier (or later) in the game and it's not in the officials hands.

I have coached myself (not in the basketball realm, but if you coach in one sport, there are common bonds you have with all coaches) and after the game or after dinner, I would say that was a bad call here, or a bad call there, or it seemed like we lost some momentum, etc. But if we score a few more points earlier in the game, it doesn't come down to the officiating. Basically, I think the officials do a fine job. Do I think every official is good? No. But I respect the people that put on the stripes to go out there and referee a game, when monetarily it's not a great living and you hear more crap from people then probably anywhere else. Bottom line, I wouldn't want to do it, so I respect the officials that are out there.

As Brookville Girls Basketball Coach, Warner Dyke once said to me about the people that complain about officiating "Sign up." If you think you can do better sign up and quit whining about the guys that are out there.

Alvis out.

Better Coverage

Hopefully I will be covering the high school sports scene in the Central Virginia area here better in the near future. My coverage hasn't been nearly as good as I have wanted it to be but hopefully that will change here in the spring. My winter has been much more hectic then I have wanted it to be. The addition of my 2nd little one (Kathryn "Kate" Isabell Alvis-1 month) has been more hectic then I thought it would be (keeping in mind, I already have one (Anna Elizabeth Alvis-16 months) , so hang with me and hopefully the blog and the podcast will be on an updated basis soon with LOTS of posts and podcasts. Http://thesportsbuffet.mypodcast.com

Alvis out