Photo by Anthony Hill
(Top) Sprint
er% take off
during
meet.(Bot
tom) Michael
R u c k e r
hands baton
to Girrad
Miller.
: Runners prepare for Blount meet
Tri-City hosts tune-up for weekend event
J BY ANTHONY HILL
? THE CHRONICLE
J There was no Hakeem Mohammed or Jason
? Jowers al last weekend's developmental meet.
! hosted by Tri-City Relays at Mt. Tabo'r High
J School. But there were a number of other run
? ners who wanted to show what they had and
. tune up for this weekend's meet in Durham.
J ? "That's exactly what we wanted to accom
' plish with this meet," said Tri-City coach
> Lemuel Johnson. "Some of our runners aren't
\ running in this today (Saturday) because this
J meet is kind of like a tune-up for next week
< end. We have the Blount Invitational in
< Durham. Then, in a couple of weeks, we'll go
J up to Detroit for the national competition."
? Tri-City head coach Buddy Hayes added:
< "The meet in Durham is probably going to be
I on the same scale as nationals. ... That's the
! only meet that brings two organizations
1 together. We'll really be able to tell how well
i we're doing after this meet in Durham."
J Both of the track clubs, representing Win
? ston-Salem (Tri-City and Elite) performed well
< during the meet. No final times or finishes
J were made available after the meet. Some of
] the notable performers were Tri-City runners
t Girrad Miller. Michael Rucker. Juki Gainey.
r Shantia Brown, Brittany Wardlow. Travis
| McGriff Jr.. Chris Allen. Maurice Love, Sabra
J ham Canty. Jashawn Gary. Dominic Williams
i and Eugene Galloway. The Elite track club
J also had various notable sprinters, including
J the club head coach Antwan Hughes. Hughes
t showed off the speed that got him a scholar
i ship on the N.C. A&T track team a few years
! ago when he put his spikes on for the "coach
t es relay." Hughes made up 15 to 20 meters
i after he and his partner fumbled the baton
J exchange. That didn't seem to deter him much.
? He simply turned on the jets and came to with
i in a couple of inches of winning the race.
! ? "I feel so fluent out here loday."Hughes
! said. "No one will be able to see us when we
i do this at the Blount meet. At the Blount meet.
?~this event will have two sprinters and two
coaches. That will make us almost impossible
to beat if I feel like this. I think we're going to
do well at the (meet) next weekend."
Hayes is also confident. He seems to be sat
isfied with the team's progress, and he said
that this meet really helped his squad out in
many facets.
"We're about where we thought we would
beaaround this time."' Hayes said. "We've suf
fered a few injuries with our 13- and 14-year
old girls. The boys are doing outstanding as
usual. I think we're sticking with our plans
pretty well.
"This meet is just a tune-up. If we wouldn't
have run this meet, it would've been about
three or four weeks before some of these kids
could've competed. We used this meet to lower
some of our times and get some reputations in
before the national competition."
Both clubs will compete at the Blount Invi
tational meet in Durham this weekend.
Hill
' ~nfrom page B1
'y* >
And stop being a crybaby. The
funny thing about the initial law
suit is that it included Virginia
Tech as a plaintiff and Boston
College as a defendant, along with
Miami and the ACC. Vitginia
1 riech removed itself from the suit
!- "last month when the ACC extend
ed invitations to only the Hokies
and Hurricanes. See. that proved
that teams were only suing
- because they wanted to be a part
of the ACC. Or some of them
. were simply upset to not get an
' ^invitation.
OK, now get a load of this:
The lawsuit says that West Vir
ginia. Rutgers. Pittsburgh and
Connecticut have spent millions
' on football based on presumed
. loyalty frpm schools with which
they had been aligned. They are
- seeking to recover what they say
will be losses in ticket sales and
broadcasting fees, and the cash
. value of diminished recruiting
;; power..
.% So, in other words: They're
"upset they won't get that big pay
-check after getting spanked by
tMiami every year. That's like
Mike Tyson whining about not
. getting another shot at the cham
; pionship belt. If he would've han
- died his business and made a pos
itive name for himself, he would
n't have to depend on prize fights
! Ito survive from year to year.
? T The schools, officials and
teams of the Big East simply need
; to stop crying and let the ACC get
- on with its future. Heck. ACC
' Commissioner John Swofford is
t-probably making plans on which
'Xteam should become the confer
ence's 12th member as I speak.
Heck, that's what I'd be doing.
There have been talks of Notre
Dame. Arkansas and others names
floating around the ACC's front
office in Greensboro. I don't think
either one of those teams is a good
fit for the conference. If you're
going to add a team, it should be
.k...
fits the
confer
ence geo
graphical
ly. It
should be
a team
such as
South
Carolina.
Universi
ty of
c :..
vjcui gia
or maybe East Carolina. We
shouldn't look for teams like
Boston College, Syracuse or
Notre Dame. Or here's an idea:
Why don't we just leave the con
ference the way that it is?
The art of being a fan
is over
Do you remember when we
all had one favorite professional
team? Well, some of us still may
have that favorite team. But so
many of my friends and associates
skate from team to team every
other season. Vlost of them have
gone from the San Francisco
49ers. the Dallas C owboys, and
the St. Louis Rams to the Atlanta
Falcons. And in . basketball
they've gone from the Chicago
Bulls and New York Knicks to the
Dallas Mavericks and Los Ange
les Lakers.
Or what about baseball? We
all know that in modem baseball.
free agency is king; loyally is old
fashioned. Nowadays, teams are
quick to sign the most players
they can afford. If it wasn't for the
cap. most teams would probably
look like the Yankees of the last
four years - you know, a team
with way too much talent to be
legal.
Even the best and best-loved
players are hard-pressed to start
and finish careers in a single city.,
In truth, the concept of team has
always been a fleeting notion in
baseball. Its signature moments
have come from mythical strug
gles pitting not the Red Sox
against the Yankees, or the
Dodgers against the Giants, but in
one man competing against anoth
er. Consider Game 1 of the '88
World Series. Kirk Gibson home
ring off Oakland's Dennis Eckers
ley. Or consider lesser talents on
the stage: Atlanta's Sid Bream
stumbling home past Minnesota's
Mike LaVal here's outstretched
arms in the '91 National League
Championship Series (NLCS).
To further illustrate my point,
consider that not one of these
players spent his career with just
one franchise. Sure, fans will
always root for their hometown
teams. But they remember, in fact
savor, the plays made or - in the
ease of former Tennessee Titan
Kevin Dyson's near score at
Super Bowl XXXIV - not quite
made by individual ballplayers.
Yesterday, players made new
homes with new teams in the
NBA. The same will happen
when the football season starts
again. This is an ongoing cycle
that will probably never end. This
is really bad for the fans. Those
are the only people the moves
really hurt, besides the bailers'
families in some cases. But what
about the blue collar guys and
hard-working women who wait
half of the year to view' their
favorite team again, only to find
out most of the players they love
are gone?
As I said, nowadays members
of the public are generally just
fans of athletes and not teams. No
one wants to buy the official shoes
of the Los Angeles Lakers, but
would purchase the latest release
of sneakers from Allen Iverson.
That's w hat sports have become: a
bunch of individuals making
plays, money and the news. Think
about it.
Sv/afford
Anthony Hill is the sports edi
tor for The Chronicle. He can he
reached at 722-8624 (ext. Ill) or
ahill@wschronicle.com.
Golfer
from pave BI
-?. Jerry Jones Golf
Tournament Results
Championship Might
R.J. Goolsby, 142
Clint Petree. 144
Andrew Sanders, 153
First Flight
Harry Transou, 147
Chris Ingram, 151
Ted Duckett, 153
Second Flight
William Warren, 164
Booster Thomas. 165
Reginald Brent. 173
Tom Trollinger. 176
ME AC
?'/mm page BI
*; RB - Brad Lee - BCC
> KR - Curtis Deloatch - NCAT
- PK ? Jon Voroshilin - MSU
Defense
DL - Steve Baggs - BCC
DL - Isaac Hilton - Hampton
DL - Olufemi Oyedele - DSU
DL - Matthew Briggman -
SCSU
LB - Jamal Muhammad - BCC
LB - Dreak Pooler - SCSU
LB - Albert Gamble - MSU
DB - Vontrae Long - Howard
DB - Curtis Deloatch - NCAT
DB - Tor-El Robinson - BCC
DB - Deon Rheubottom - DSU
P - Jon Voroshilin - MSU
:* Sisters
?Tfrom page Bl
I and her chances the rest of the
?season."
? Akilah finished first in the
1800-meter race and third in
J the 400-meter race at AAU
?
state meet. Her time has
already dropped from a 2.35
to a 2.30 in the 800-meter
dash. She also competed in
the Jim Law Invitational,
where she finished fourth in
the 400-meter race and first in
the 800-meter race, outrun
ning her field by mord' than 50
meters. On June 28-29. she
finished second in the 800
meter race and third in the
400-meter race.
"1 think her times will con
tinue to drop, and she'll con
tinue to win races." concluded
Hughes. "Akilah and her sis
ter's potential is limitless."
Photo Courtesy of Flagge Sianficld
F lagge Stan field (left) and Terry Gunter pose together.
'An unbreakable bond'
The story of two
bailers who
found friendship
BY ANTHONY HILL
'THE CHRONICLE
Stories are told all the time
about friendships that began on
the playing fields, courts and
tracks of recreational and ama
teur sports. But there are very
few that are as moving as the
bond that two Winston-Salem
men developed over a span of
more than 20 years.
"1 remember it like it was
yesterday," said Flagge Stan
field. "Mr. Gunter would pull up
his old pickup truck, and Terry
and I would jump in the back.
That's my earliest remembrance
of playing hoops with Terry. To
be honest, 1 don't even know
where Terry's dad took us that
day. But I do remember that
day."
Terry Gunter and Stanfield
weren't simply two boys trying
to have fun. They were two
friends of opposite colors who
had no idea that they'd still be
close friends after all these years. ,
After all, they met on a basket- ,
ball court. Usually, when the <
game or season is over, so is the j
closeness. Not in their case.
"Basketball made it possible |
for Terry and I to enter any gym
in the city and be received with ,
open arms," Stanfield said. t
"Basketball has allowed Terry
and I, and many others, to cross ,
racial lines, and I thank God for ,
that." I
The two men got closer and
closer each year. They've either
played on the same team or {
around each other for more than f
20 years. Both players also (
played for Virgil Simpson at <
Anderson High School and then
got even closer after they joined ,
the Parkland Senior High team. t
under Tom Muse. ,
"Terry was two years
younger, so we didn't play
school ball together, although we
played a lot of pick-up games ^
with and against one another," <
Stanfield said. I
Gunter and Stanfield finally ]
got an opportunity to play on the .
same squad the summer after {
Stanfield's final year of high ,
school. Both players joined a
I
earn in the Hansel Hentz sum
ner league held at Carver High
School. The two played together
or two years before separating
tgain when Terry left for col
ege.
"After college. Terry and I
ejoined each other on a team at
he Central Y." Stanfield said.
In the years that followed,
he two played on various other
earns, including league teams at
lanes Hosiery. Winston Lake
fMCA. West Forsyth YMCA
ind the Sims Center. The two are
urrently tearing up the nets and
loors at 14th Street Recreation
Tenter. Both men play for the
Syndicates.
"I guess that you could say
hat we're a package deal." Stan
ield said. "Through the years
ve've won our share of games
tnd a couple of championships
ilong the way."
The two bailers also have
stayed in various Hoop-lt-Up
;ompetitions along the East
Toast. Daryl Schnoes, Joe Jon
Bryant, Bobby Britt and Andy
snow also joined them, in differ
;nt combinations, for the 3-on-3
?vents through the years.
"In 1996, we won in
'hiladelphia and qualified to go
to the regionals in D.C. in '97,"
Gunter said. "Our win in Win
ston-Salem sent us to the World
Finals in San Antonio too. We
were baek-to-back champs in
Charlotte in 2001 and 2002.
Those wins also qualified us for
the World Finals in Orlando."
The squad's best finish is
kind of ironic because it came
during a loss in 2001.
"You're right," Stanfield
said. "Our hest finish came in
that semifinal game in which we
lost to a team in Atlanta. I
thought that we played great that
game. Things just didn't work
out for us in the end. We had
great fun and met so many
friends along the way."
Basketball played a very
strong role in both men's lives. It
was more than a sport to both of
them. It was a guide, bridge and
tool that helped the two find each
other and stay friends for life.
"Basketball was God's tool
in my life to make good friends
like Terry Gunter." Stanfield
said. "1 always thank our God for
making all things possible. I'd
also like to thank the league
directors such as Rob Little. Art
Blevins, Walter Funderburke,
Ben Piggott and Hansel Hentz"
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