Category Archives: Blog survivor pool

Happy Hump Day

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Howdy, bloggees — headed back to K-Town for the first time since Christmas Eve today and I’m going to simply overwhelm you with bloggy goodness today. Going to announce the HBFL winners, the blog survivor pool winner and a ton of other great stuff. Stay tuned, y’all…

P.S.: Hey! Here’s a quality video for you to watch — HighSchoolOT.com’s Nick Stevens and I breaking down championship day at the tourney:

Catching up with y’all

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Some updates for my bloggy peops:

  • Not sure when we’re going over to the new blog. Haven’t heard anything from the tech folks, so … we’re going to keep humping on this blog until I’m told otherwise. I am insisting, however, the categories and blogroll feature are included on the new one — and at this moment, they’re not there.
  • Jon Dawson, Justin Hill and I taped the final Free Press Radio Program/Podcast of 2011 this morning. We talked about the top 10 most-viewed stories of the year on Kinston.com — and I think it’s a pretty good podcast, even though I sound like I’m half-asleep during most of it. Please give it a listen — I put a lot of my heart into it and, frankly, we’re not getting half the listens I figured we would. Do me a favor — give it a listen and let me know what you think. If it stinks, let me know. If it’s good, tell your boys.
  • Speaking of Dawson, don’t forget his new book has dropped and you can purchase it either at our office (2103 N. Queen St., Kinston), on Amazon.com or at jondawson.com. It would make a hell of a Christmas present for that special person on your list!
  • We lost two of our four players in the Blog Survivor Pool last weekend as both women — SealGirl and Shanna Capps — went with Tennessee over Indianapolis. It’s down to 2010 champ Heelatious (New England last week) and ECPirates11 (New Orleans). If you haven’t paid your $5 yet — either for the first game or for part 2 — please do so. If you don’t, that means I have to pay the winner out of my own pocket … and you know that ain’t cool.
  • Usually, I’ll write a couple of posts about our HBFL playoffs, but, alas, I haven’t had time to barely breathe the past few weeks. However, we’re in the Super Bowl week of both leagues; in the HBFL Live, No. 8 seed Heelatious’ Heelsfan’s Show Me Your TDs, who were 6-7 in the regular season, are facing defending champion and third-seeded Wes Brown’s Crime Dawgs, who went 7-6. The winner of that game receives $200, while the loser gets $50. Lee Wetherington, whose Wreakn Havoc team finished with the most points in the league (1,314) and wins $50 for that. I’ll pay everyone when I get back to town the week of Jan. 1. In the meantime — if you haven’t paid yet (and there are still four who haven’t) — get your dues in. Again, I don’t want to have to pay winnings out of my own pocket, y’all.
  • In the HBFL Online, the top two seeds — the No. 1 Drew Loftis-owned Hookers With Dysentery (10-3) are taking on the No. 2 Elizabeth Moon-owned Grifton Sea Lions (9-4). Drew’s Hookers also were the top scoring team in the league with 1,190 points. There’s no prize in this league, just pride.
  • Congrats to Kinston coach Wells Gulledge, who won the 300th game in his career in last night’s 74-53 victory against North Lenoir at Viking Gym. Here’s a quick look at his 14-year-plus career: 300-86 overall (.777 winning percentage), 254-53 at Kinston (.827), seven conference titles, three Eastern Regional titles and two state championships. Pretty impressive.
  • Some major thank-you’s to former Kinston stars Dory Hines (now at Mount Olive College) and Reggie Bullock (UNC) for coming out to KHS this morning to help Justin “The Kid” Hill and his Free Press 12-and-under basketball team. Dory, in particular, was there the entire the practice and ran drills with the team. Reggie took about 5 minutes and talked to the kids about the importance of staying in school and overcoming adversity. Additionally, Coach Gulledge and current Ole Miss assistant baseball coach Cliff Godwin helped out with drills and motivation. An extremely fun morning — and here’s a cool photo taken after the practice:

Click on it for a better view.

  • The 2011 HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational (formerly known as the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational) tips off next week in Raleigh and Cary. For the fifth straight year, I am the media coordinator of the event — and this year, I’m bringing some of my friends to help. For the previous three years, Jonathan Massey has been my right-hand man as the tournament’s assistant media coordinator and he continues in that role this year. However, Justin “The Kid” Hill is taking over the role of Holiday Invitational girls’ tournament media coordinator this year. Also, Freedom ENC Desk Chief Richard Clark did a FANTASTIC job designing the game program for the HSOT; if you make it to Raleigh or Cary, make sure you grab a copy. As for game-by-game updates from the tourney, there simply won’t be as many here on the ol’ blog since the good folks at WRAL/Capital Broadcasting Company — the owners of the HSOT brand — have exclusive rights to that info. However, I will be providing early updates with sort of an MNR-type feel each morning. I’ll give you a schedule of that day’s games along with my predictions and thoughts going into each day. As always, though, there’ll be a video wrap-up each day with Triangle heartthrob Nick Stevens and myself and HSOT will live-stream each post-game press conference.
  • A LOT of you have asked about the Hot Blonde and here’s an update: her final chemo was a few weeks ago and right now, she’s just trying to get her life back to normal, i.e., working the chemo out of her system and recovering from her other related surgeries. It’s been an incredibly tough ride for one of the toughest people I know. But I also know this: she has appreciated every one of you who has taken the time to lift her up in prayer — and again, I know there are a lot of you out there who have done just that. You have no idea what your prayers have done to help her and me through this incredibly difficult time in our lives. I’m not exaggerating when I say this: I love you guys. Thank you for being pretty freaking awesome.

Blog Survivor Pool 2011, Part II Week 8 results (and the picks for Week 9)

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Yep … my butt got knocked out of this little game last week, leaving only four players.

If you have already lost in part 2 of this game, please get your $5 to me; if you still owe money from Part 1 of this season – and there’s still several of you out there who do — please send me your check or cash to 2103 N. Queen St., Kinston, 28501. It’s been well over a month now …

1. Drew Meadows (Pittsburgh, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore, New England, Atlanta, San Francisco): N.Y. Jets

2. Shanna Capps (Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, New England, N.Y. Jets, San Francisco): Pittsburgh

3. Sealgirl (Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Atlanta, New England): Detroit

4. Heelatious (Green Bay, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore, Detroit, Pittsburgh: San Francisco): N.Y. Jets

ELIMINATED (WITH WEEK OF ELIMINATION IN PARENTHESES AND TEAM IN STRIKETHROUGH THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT)

Hot Blonde (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

Petey Pablo (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

The Kid (Week 2): Oakland, Baltimore

Jonathan Massey (Week 3): Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Orleans

Randy Capps (Week 3): Pittsburgh, Dallas, New Orleans

John Q. Awesome (Week 3): Green Bay, Dallas, New Orleans

Jeff Howard (Week 4): Oakland, Dallas, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City

Hanks (Week 8): Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, New England, Pittsburgh, Chicago

Blog Survivor Pool 2011, Part II; Week 7 results (and make your pick for Week 8)

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If you have already lost in part 2 of this game, please get your $5 to me; if you still owe money from Part 1 of this season – and there’s still several of you out there who do — please send me your check or cash to 2103 N. Queen St., Kinston, 28501. It’s been well over a month now …

1. Hanks: Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, New England, Pittsburgh: Chicago

2. Drew Meadows: Pittsburgh, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore, New England, Atlanta: San Francisco

3. Shanna Capps: Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, New England, N.Y. Jets: San Francisco

4. Sealgirl: Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Atlanta: New England

5. Heelatious: Green Bay, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore, Detroit, Pittsburgh: San Francisco

ELIMINATED (WITH WEEK OF ELIMINATION IN PARENTHESES AND TEAM IN STRIKETHROUGH THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT)

Hot Blonde (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

Petey Pablo (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

The Kid (Week 2): Oakland, Baltimore

Jonathan Massey (Week 3): Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Orleans

Randy Capps (Week 3): Pittsburgh, Dallas, New Orleans

John Q. Awesome (Week 3): Green Bay, Dallas, New Orleans

Jeff Howard (Week 4): Oakland, Dallas, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City

Blog Survivor Pool 2011, Part II; Week 6 results (and make your pick for Week 7)

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All five players advanced from last week; here’s this week’s picks.

If you have already lost in part 2 of this game, please get your $5 to me; if you still owe money from Part 1 of this season – and there’s still several of you out there who do — please send me your check or cash to 2103 N. Queen St., Kinston, 28501. It’s been well over a month now …

1. Hanks: Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, New England: Pittsburgh

2. Drew Meadows: Pittsburgh, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore, New England: Atlanta

3. Shanna Capps: Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, New England: N.Y. Jets

4. Sealgirl: Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia, Green Bay: Atlanta

5. Heelatious: Green Bay, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore, Detroit: Pittsburgh

ELIMINATED (WITH WEEK OF ELIMINATION IN PARENTHESES AND TEAM IN STRIKETHROUGH THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT)

Hot Blonde (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

Petey Pablo (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

The Kid (Week 2): Oakland, Baltimore

Jonathan Massey (Week 3): Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Orleans

Randy Capps (Week 3): Pittsburgh, Dallas, New Orleans

John Q. Awesome (Week 3): Green Bay, Dallas, New Orleans

Jeff Howard (Week 4): Oakland, Dallas, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City

Blog Survivor Pool 2011, Part II; Week 5 results (and make your pick for Week 6)

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Tremendously weird last week when all five of the finalists were knocked out; as a result, we’re going one more week with the five finalists instead of splitting $55 five ways.

Make your pick — you just can’t pick any of the ones you have previously — including last week’s losers.

If you have already lost in part 2 of this game, please get your $5 to me; if you still owe money from Part 1 of this season – and there’s still several of you out there who do — please send me your check or cash to 2103 N. Queen St., Kinston, 28501. It’s been well over a month now …

1. Hanks: Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia: New England

2. Drew Meadows: Pittsburgh, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore: New England

3. Shanna Capps: Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia: New England

4. Sealgirl: Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia: Green Bay

5. Heelatious: Green Bay, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston, Baltimore: Detroit

ELIMINATED (WITH WEEK OF ELIMINATION IN PARENTHESES AND TEAM IN STRIKETHROUGH THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT)

Hot Blonde (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

Petey Pablo (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

The Kid (Week 2): Oakland, Baltimore

Jonathan Massey (Week 3): Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Orleans

Randy Capps (Week 3): Pittsburgh, Dallas, New Orleans

John Q. Awesome (Week 3): Green Bay, Dallas, New Orleans

Jeff Howard (Week 4): Oakland, Dallas, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City

Nightly News Report; Nov. 14, 2011

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SANDUSKY ADMITS TO SHOWERING WITH BOYS

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky told Bob Costas he is not a pedophile although he admitted to showering with young boys.

My take: And somewhere, Sandusky’s lawyer is shaking his head.

Who thinks this thing ends up making it to trial without someone trying to shoot this pedophile (yes, I said it) or him killing himself (and saving taxpayers the money for the trial and his prison time)?

FORMER ECU QB CHARGED WITH STEALING FROM EMPLOYER

Patrick Pinkney, who started at quarterback for ECU for parts of two seasons, was arrested today for allegedly embezzling more than $4,000 from the Roanoke Rapids Belk, where he was the assistant manager.

My take: I … I just don’t know where to start with this. He worked at … Belk? And nothing against Belk — I enjoy shopping there as much as the next person.

I don’t know, I just picture a former QB from ECU as an assistant coach for a college or high school program. But stealing from Belk? Wowzer.

MISTAKES R US

A new website/blog has been created that chronicles the mistakes made in the News and Observer — and it’s hilarious.

My take: One favor, though: PLEASE don’t create one that chronicles the mistakes in The Free Press! Pretty please!

Reminds me of a cool feature on the old Steve Czaban Show in Charlotte, where Czabe would find the Mistake of the Day in the Charlotte Observer. He’d even play Men At Work’s “It’s A Mistake” every day to run with it.

Again, hilarious — but PLEASE don’t do it with The Free Press!

The iPod shuffle

You Give Love A Bad Name — Bon Jovi

911 Is A Joke — Public Enemy

Peter Piper — Run-D.M.C.

Bounce (Let Me See Ya Throw It) — Busta Rhymes

Crush With Eyeliner — R.E.M.

P.S.: A funny thing happened this week in the Blog Survivor Pool — all five of the remaining players lost. I’ve been thinking about how to solve this dilemma and I have two solutions — either pay the finalists $11 each (11 players at $5 each) or throw out last week and let the final 5 keep playing.

I’m going to leave it up to the final 5; Shanna Capps has voted to keep playing, so I need to hear from SealGirl, Heelatious and ECPirates11. If there is a tie, I’ll break it since I’m the fifth and final player.

If we decide to keep going, we’ll include the teams from last week, meaning you can’t pick them. Just let me know, guys and girls.

Blog Survivor Pool 2011, Part II: Week 4 results (and make your pick for Week 5)

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Wow … can’t believe I almost forgot this! Anyhoo, we only lost one player last week when our good friend Jeff Howard picked Kansas City … which was upset by winless Miami.

Four of us picked Houston, while one went with Dallas.

If you’re still in, you have until noon Sunday to get me your pick.

If you lost this week, please get your $5 to me; if you still owe money from Part 1 of this season – and there’s still several of you out there who do — please send me your check or cash to 2103 N. Queen St., Kinston, 28501. It’s been well over a month now …

1. Hanks (Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston): Philadelphia

2. Drew Meadows (Pittsburgh, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston): Baltimore

3. Shanna Capps (Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Houston): Philadelphia

4. Sealgirl (Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Baltimore, Dallas): Philadelphia

5. Heelatious (Green Bay, Dallas, N.Y. Giants, Houston): Baltimore

ELIMINATED (WITH WEEK OF ELIMINATION IN PARENTHESES AND TEAM IN STRIKETHROUGH THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT)

Hot Blonde (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

Petey Pablo (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

The Kid (Week 2): Oakland, Baltimore

Jonathan Massey (Week 3): Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Orleans

Randy Capps (Week 3): Pittsburgh, Dallas, New Orleans

John Q. Awesome (Week 3): Green Bay, Dallas, New Orleans

Jeff Howard (Week 4): Oakland, Dallas, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City

Blog Survivor Pool 2011, Part II: Week 3 results (and make your picks for Week 4)

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After New Orleans bit the big one last weekend, there are now only six players left in our blog survivor pool.

The rest of us got lucky … seriously. Three of us picked Baltimore and the Ravens had to overcome a 24-3 deficit to win. Two more picked the N.Y. Giants and they struggled to beat a winless Miami team. The other pick was the San Francisco 49ers.

I’m probably jinxing myself by saying this — but it is funny that two of our players (Randy Capps and John Q. Awesome) were knocked out last week … but their lovely better halves made it another week.

If you’re still in, you have until noon Sunday to get me your pick.

If you lost this week, please get your $5 to me; if you still owe money from Part 1 of this season – and there’s still several of you out there who do — please send me your check or cash to 2103 N. Queen St., Kinston, 28501. It’s been well over a month now …

1. Hanks (Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore): Houston

2. Drew Meadows (Pittsburgh, Dallas, N.Y. Giants): Houston

3. Jeff Howard (Oakland, Dallas, San Francisco 49ers): Kansas City

4. Shanna Capps (Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore): Houston

5. Sealgirl (Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Baltimore): Dallas

6. Heelatious (Green Bay, Dallas, N.Y. Giants): Houston

ELIMINATED (WITH WEEK OF ELIMINATION IN PARENTHESES AND TEAM IN STRIKETHROUGH THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT)

Hot Blonde (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

Petey Pablo (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

The Kid (Week 2): Oakland, Baltimore

Jonathan Massey (Week 3): Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Orleans

Randy Capps (Week 3): Pittsburgh, Dallas, New Orleans

John Q. Awesome (Week 3): Green Bay, Dallas, New Orleans

Blog Survivor Pool 2011, Part II; Week 2 results (and make your picks for Week 3)

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After a perfect first week by our 12 players, we lost three last week when the Hot Blonde, Petey Pablo and The Kid picked Baltimore to win at Jacksonville.

Five went with Dallas last week, three successfully picked New Orleans and one went with Pittsburgh.

You old pros know the drill — try to make your pick before noon on Sunday … it’s not fun having to track you losers down at church or waking your lazy butts up to get your pick from you!

If you lost this week, please get your $5 to me; if you still owe money from Part 1 of this season – please send me your check or cashola to 2103 N. Queen St., Kinston, 28501. There are still several of you guys/gals out there, so hook a brotha up.

1. Hanks (Green Bay, New Orleans): Baltimore

2. Jonathan Massey (Baltimore, Pittsburgh): New Orleans

3. Drew Meadows (Pittsburgh, Dallas): N.Y. Giants

4. Jeff Howard (Oakland, Dallas): San Francisco 49ers

5. Randy Capps (Pittsburgh, Dallas): New Orleans

6. Shanna Capps (Green Bay, New Orleans): Baltimore

7. John Q. Awesome (Green Bay, Dallas): New Orleans

8. Sealgirl (Pittsburgh, New Orleans): Baltimore

9. Heelatious (Green Bay, Dallas): N.Y. Giants

ELIMINATED (WITH WEEK OF ELIMINATION IN PARENTHESES AND TEAM IN STRIKETHROUGH THAT KNOCKED YOU OUT)

Hot Blonde (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

Petey Pablo (Week 2): Green Bay, Baltimore

The Kid (Week 2): Oakland, Baltimore