The Big 'Un's Blog

Time to catch up!!! Part One......

2009-07-28T09:36:00.001-07:00

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the time lag between posts but iit has been a busy three months. First, we were wide open with Dixie Youth Baseball. It was a great season over at Collyer Park. With the untimly death of Tommy Powell earlier in the year many felt that Laurens Dixie Youth Basebakll was in trouble. Tommy had been a steady rock that the program was built on.

Thankfully, Tommy left a solid foundation that the league could build on and with the help of several individuals, the league thrived this year. First off, Albert Wilson, longtime friend and assistant to Tommy was named president of the league and he stepped up to the plate and really came through. From personal experience I know what pressure Albert felt, and he handled it all with style and grace. He worked his @$$ off to insure that the season went off without a hitch, sometimes putting in 14 t0 16 hour days at the ball park. He exceeded all anyone could ask for a person to achieve after being thrust into a difficult position to say the least. Not only did he survive the first season, he and the league thrived. The league saw an increase in the number of players for the third straight year, the fields were completely re-worked and looked great, and everyone had a great time. Couple with that the league had two highly successful district tournaments, I don't know what anyone could have asked Albert to achieve. Tommy would be proud of Albert, I can guarantee you that.

Albert's Grade...... A+

Albert didn't do all this on his own though, he had a group of folks that were behind him and did their best to help him out. First up, Eddie Broulette was there to lend his help and support to Albert whenever and wherever he was needed. Eddie and Tommy were great friends so I know this was a difficult task for him to do because he and Tommy were such great friends. Eddie came through even in the most difficult of times for the league. Thanks Eddie!!! Tommy would be proud of you!

Another person that deserves a pat on the back if Terry Grubbs. Terry stepped up, filling in for Albert when needed, helping around the office, helping out on the fields, even stepping in and umpiring some games as needed. Terry, you done good, Thanks for all your hard work,

Albert had the worlds biggest head groundskeeper in "Cuzzo" Quincy Cook. Quincy worked his butt off on those fields this season. I'd like to have a dime for every hour that Cuzzo spent working on the fields. Not only did he put a bunch of hours in working on the fields, he also found the time to be head coach of the undefeated championship team in the 9 and 10 year old age group. Good Job Cuzzo, you are a great right hand man, and a great coach.

Well folks, I didn't realize that this was going to be such a long blog, and I still have a lot I need to say so I am going to make this into a two parter.

Continued on Part Two:

Random THoughts from a random Mind...... Part 24

2009-05-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Hope y'all are all great! Happy Mother's Day to all you Mother's out there. What in the world would we do without you!

Today's blog will be one of random thoughts from a random mind. Whatever comes into my head is what I am gonna write about.

The Weather. ....... It sure is nice to see the drought easing off around here and the rainfall getting back to normal. Being too dry puts a strain on man and beast as well as the plants. The only complaint I have so far is the number of tornado watches and warnings that we have had so far this year. Three days last week as I sat at the ball park and broadcasted Dixie Youth Baseball there was either a Tornado Watch or a Tornado Warning for Laurens County, and the weather at the park was just fine. Go figure!

School's Out nearly...... That's right, the school year is coming to an end and it is a bittersweet time for parents, especially for those parents who have kids that are seniors in high school. You are proud that your child is graduating, but realize that things will never be the same. Your kids are grown up and out of school. You are proud for what they have accomplished, but a little sad that they are grown up.

Gas Prices...... Yes, they are starting to ease up gradually as the summer vacation approaches. The gas folks figure that if they do it gradually we may not notice, but they are wrong. Try and save a couple of gallons of gas each week. If we all do this, the gas prices will drop like a stone again because they can't drink the stuff.

Da Braves...... How in the world does a team improve their starting pitchers like the Braves did in the off-season, and still look so bad at times? Dern if I know, but the Braves sure have sucked real bad at times so far this season.

Cruise to the Bahama's for free!!!!!! Keep listening to WLBG for details on a free Cruise to the Bahama's for two from the South Carolina Lottery and WLBG. We are gonna ask questions about the lottery and if you answer them correctly you get registered for the grand prize drawing! Who wouldn't like to cruise the Caribbean for 5 days and 4 nights on the Carnival Cruise Lines Party Ship Fascination, and all for free!!!

Harley Davidson Give-away....... Also, your friends from the South Carolina Education Lottery are going to give away a Harley Davidson prize pack worth over $450.00 to some lucky listener of WLBG to commemorate their new Harley Davidson scratch off game. The prize pack includes a leather Harley Davidson Cowboy Hat, clock, and all kinds of other H-D goodies. The give-away will be done live on Good Morning UpCountry from Squeaky's place on June 3rd. We will have the details on how you can register in the next day or so!

That's about it for now folks, hope y'all have a great week!!!!

God Bless,
The Big One

Ahhhhh....... Springtime!!!!!!

2009-04-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Don't you just love springtime. The waether is perfect for baseball at Collyer Park, a night at the race track, even cooking some burgers and spending time on the deck. This weather is wonderful.

Lets see, where to begin..... Oh, how about them Braves, pretty sad so far. When they first took all the games off of TBS I was mad because it made it hard to catch their games, but now that they are playing so bad I am kinda glad that you have to hunt them now. The Cubbies are still on WGN, I can make it watching them and the occasional game on ESPN.

The NBA is beginning the play-offs and I will start watching some of the games with the guys now that they really count. I just can't sit down and watch a whole regular season game, a few minutes here and there is about I can sit still for, but the play-offs are a different story. I am taking the Cavs, so it should be interesting to see if I am right. Who knows, the Celtics could limp through the first round against the Bulls and surprise some folks.

The high school teams are doing great and beginning to head into the play-offs or are already in them. Laurens Academy sent Jefferson Davis scurrying in their 1st round play-off series like the Confederacy was falling again, knocking them off in two games by a combined score of 32 to 1. They willbe in action for the second round of the SCISA 1-A play-offs at home Monday.

Out in Raiderland, the Raider baseball team made it three region championships in a row and start the play-offs Tomorrow (Thursday) at home against Byrnes. First pitch is set for 7:00 p. m.The Raiders will be home Saturday at 2:00 p. m. against either Gaffney or Spring Valley. We will know who they play after those two play. Both games will be on WLBG, so take those headset radios with you.

The Lady Raider softball squad has qualified for the play-offs and will be in action tomorrow (Thursday) at Hillcrest. I think this is the first time tha Ladies have made the play-offs in a couple of years. Good luck to all the teams as they start down the road to the state championships.

I have had a ball so far this season broadcasting Dixie Youth Baseball from Collyer Park. after my buddy Tommy Powell passed away, a lot of people were wondering what would happen with the program. Well, Tommy Powell left a solid program that would weather the loss, and through a lot of hard work from folks like Eddie Broulette, Terry Grubbs, Manley Patterson, new president Albert Wilson, Steve Patterson, Quincy Cook and a hundred others the program is as strong as ever. The number of players increased by about ten percent this year, and the coaches have worked hard with the players and it shows. I have seen some real good games at the park this season. The future of the raider Baseball program looks bright thanks to the players in the pipeline heading to the high school from Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball. If you get a chance take in a couple of games. It's free, and a lot of fun.

Well, that's about it for now gang, I'm the Big Un', y'all have a might fine day!!!

Friday Night....... Holy Moley Weatherman!!!!!!

2009-04-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Hope you all had a great Easter! I know I did! Ann served up the traditional Easter Feast of Ham, Tater Salad, Macaroni Pie, Deviled Eggs and I put on the feedbag. Man, am I stuffed.

Anyway, back to the original idea behind this blog, the weather Friday Night. That was some scary stuff. We were able to get the two games at Collyer Park completed and I was on the way to the station when the storm began to hit Laurens. Nothing like seeing intense cloud to cloud and cloud to ground lightning all at the same time. Add to that rain coming down sideways and you have a recipe for a scary weather night.

By the time I got to the station my family was there waiting for me. The guys ran the board for the ballgames and were there with Joel's girlfriend Tiffany, but as a precaution Ann and my four legged daughter Missy were there also. You see, my personal weatherman, B. Randall Stevens had advised us to be on alert and plan on being at the fallout shelter (WLBG) that evening. Boy, was he ever right.

As I walked into WLBG all Hell was breaking loose! I wobbled into the studio as fast as I could and was just in time for all kinds of weather alerts to come over the Weather Radio. Severe thunderstorms were popping up all over the place, and just as I sat down at the console the Tornado Warning siren goes off. Man, was I shook up. I popped a happy pill and got on the air trying to give out warnings as best as I could. After a couple of minutes my prayers were answered as Randy and his wife came rushing in to the station and Randy came into the control room and took over. Folks, I can't tell you how relieved I was to see him. You got to give that rascal his due, he knows weather. Within a matter of a minute or so he had the radar site on the computer and was warning people of the path of the potential tornado in the Hickory Tavern / Gray Court area. As fast as I could feed them to him he was giving out warnings, and on top of it all he was as cool as a cucumber. He continued to scan the different radar sites and spotted a potential tornado and announced it over the air five minutes before the National Weather Service did. He was amazing to watch. All this he did while trying to keep me calm, deal with an excited dog, and a weather situation that could have been potentially fatal to a lot of folks if the proper warnings were issued. It was one hectic hour and a half, but he was Johnny on the spot the whole time. When it comes to weather, Randy Stevens is the man, and I salute and thank him for his efforts to keep everyone informed and safe.

I feel lucky that Randy was at the helm Friday Night. He proved again why having a viable local radio station manned during times of bad weather is so important. The TV stations might not broadcast the weather situation in the area continuously, but WLBG did, and will continue to do in the future. Why, because we are a part of this community and that is what neighbors do, they help out their neighbors during tough times.

Remember, in times of bad weather, tune WLBG in, we will be there to try our best to keep you informed and safe because that is what we do, and we do it for you.

Until next time, God Bless!
The Big "Un

Play Ball!!!!!!

2009-03-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Today is one of the best sports days of the year for me. My favorite sports days are the first Friday night of High School football, the first race night at the local dirt track, and the first day of Dixie Youth Baseball. Tonight the teams will begin play at Collyer Park, and I get to be a big kid again as I will be broadcasting the games live on your and my favorite radio stations, the Wobble Legged Billy Goat! The teams have been practicing for a couple of weeks, the uniforms have been given out, and Albert and Steve have the fields in great shape. It is gonna be another great season at the old ball park.

This past Saturday the Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball folks dedicated field two to the late Tommy Powell. I can close my eyes and see him sitting on the Gator under the pear tree watching the kids play ball. Any time he was parked there it immediately became a meeting place for many folks as they would stop by and shoot the breeze with Tommy. I don’t know of anyone who loved Dixie Youth Baseball as much as Tommy did. He lived to get the fields just right for the kids. You want to get on his bad side, say something bad about his kids like they were bad ball players or they had no reason being on the field. He didn’t put up with that crap. He’d tell you right quick that baseball was for all the kids, not just the good athletes. He felt this way because he realized something that a lot of folks don’t. He knew that sports were good for kids, that when they were active in sports programs they were less prone to get into trouble. He also realized that a lot of his kids came from single parent families and needed a good male role model in their lives. In fact, to a lot of the kids that came through the Laurens Dixie Youth program he was their role model.

Well, now he’s gone on to Heaven, and we are left here to see his work continues. Tommy left a solid program to build on. For years to come the kids around here will have a beautiful park to play in, in a program that believes that all kids should get to play ball, even those that can’t afford to, and solid men and women as league officials, coaches, umpires, and supporters to help his dream live on.

It’s baseball season in River City now, and somewhere a little Marine is looking down and smiling because his park is alive with the sounds of happy kids playing ball, just like he was still there.
Tommy may be gone, but as long as the umpire yells “Play Ball!” and Collyer Park comes alive with the crack of the bat and the noise of the crowd, his legacy lives on.

Come on out to the old ball park folks!!!

God Bless,
The Big One

Tommy Powell Day

2009-03-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

In my last post I told you I would post the details on Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball's Tommy Powell Day that will take place Saturday morning beginning at 10:00 a. m., weather permitting. Here is the schedule of events.

Tommy Powell Memorial Opening Day Ceremonies for Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball.
March 28, 2009

1. Welcoming Remarks by WLBG personality and former
Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball player Randy Stevens.
2. Invocation: King Dixon, National Director, Dixie Youth
Baseball.
3. Presentation of Colors by the Laurens District 55 High
School Junior ROTC.
4. The National Anthem performed by Wyatt Mattison.
5. Remarks by: King Dixon.
6. Remarks by: Ric Polson, Dixie Youth Baseball District
Director.
7. Presentation of Plaque from the Patriot Guard to the
Powell Family by Randy Stevens, Senior Ride Captain.
8. Presentation of Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball jersey by
Eddie Brouillette, Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball Official.
9. Unveiling of Scoreboard by Laurens Dixie Youth Baseball
President Albert Wilson and the Powell Family.
10. Singing of “Take Me out to the Ball Game.” ******
11. First Pitch: Members of the Tommy Powell Family.
12. Senior Dixie Youth Baseball Umpire Euell Boland opens
the 2009 Dixie Youth Baseball season with that timeless
baseball tradition: “Play Ball!”

******Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Take Me Out to the Crowd
Buy Me Some Peanuts and CrackerJacks
I Don’t Care If I Never Get Back
So It’s Root, Root, Root For the Home Team
If They Don’t Win it’s a Shame
For It’s One, Two, Three Strikes You’re Out
At the Old Ball Game!

Hope you can be there to help us honor a guy who gave so much to the young people of Laurens County.

God Bless,
The Big One

Baseball season is here......

2009-03-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

The opening sentence of A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens is “It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times.”

This sentence best describes what is going to take place at the opening ceremonies of the 2009 Dixie Youth Baseball season at Collyer Park Saturday Morning.

It will be the best of times. It is springtime in the south. It is a time of renewal. It’s time to play America’s game. It’s baseball season. The grass will be green. The fields will be in tip top shape thanks to the hard work of Albert Wilson and Steve Patterson. The kids and parents will be excited about the start of another season of baseball at the ol’ ball park. It is indeed the best of times!

It will be the worst of times also. You see, my buddy Tommy Powell will not be there, well, maybe not in body but certainly in spirit. Tommy lived for this time of year. He worked long and hard on the fields, making sure they looked as close to miniature major league fields as he could. Just look around the park and you will see what I mean. He had major league style foul poles put in place. He worked hours upon hours for nothing making sure the grass was cut; the bathrooms were clean, that no trash or paper was lying around on the ground. He wanted the kids to love coming to the park and play baseball because he knew that if a kid got involved in playing baseball then there was a pretty good chance that that kid would not be involved in too much mischief. No matter how bad it might be at home for them, he wanted it to be a special time for them when they came to the ball park where they could forget their troubles and just be kids playing baseball. You see, my buddy Tommy loved baseball, and he also loved the kids who came through the Dixie Youth program, and the kids loved him.

He had a heart of gold. On the outside he might have looked like a tough little marine, but when it came to his kids at the ball park, and if you played Dixie Youth Baseball you were one of his kids, and if you were one of his baseball kids, he was a big ol’ softy. Time and time again I have seen a kid come in the office that had lost their hat, or socks, of glove and asked Tommy to help them. He might grunt a little about them needing to be more careful, but then he would get whatever they needed and send them on their way. You see, that was what he saw as his duty, he was to serve his kids and make sure they had whatever they needed so they could play baseball.

Well, Last month God must have decided that he needed a guy up in Heaven with Tommy’s talent to serve even the least of us as Jesus called the children, and someone who showed unconditional love to his beloved kids, so he called Tommy home. I like to think that Tommy is organizing a baseball league for the kids in Heaven, where all the kids have a glove, and nice uniforms, and everybody gets to play on fields as nice as Tommy made Collyer Park. That may not exactly be the way that the Preacher says that Heaven is, but I figure that God might just like to see a good baseball game once in a while, and who best to organize one but my buddy Tommy.

Later this week I will blog you the schedule for the opening of the 2009 Dixie Youth Baseball season and the ceremonies honoring the little Marine who loved his players and baseball so much. If you are a former player, coach, parent, or fan please make plans to be there Saturday Morning. It is going to be a very special time for all.

It’s indeed will be …… The best of times, and the worst of times.

God Bless!
The Big One

Spring has Sprung!!!

2009-03-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!! I got to watch one of my favorite movies tonight, "The Quiet Man", with John Wayne. What a great movie! I love the fight scene at the end.

Sorry about the delay in posting a new blog. For Some reason I forgot the password, and could not get signed on until my feeble mind remembered it. Oh well, they say your mind is the second think to go on a man. On me, it may be the first.

How about this great weather! Don't you just love spring. The pear trees are blooming, the butterflies are out, the baseball fields are green and everybody seems to be in a good mood. I just love spring, well except for the occasional Cyphoons that come along. Don't like them cyphoons, not a bit! Hopefully the bad weather will avoid us this year.

Baseball season is cranking up and so is dirt track racing, two of my favorite sports. I hope the Mileback Speedway will get to run this season without a couple of folks trying to ruin the season for the rest of us. It's amazing to me that they could stop a racetrack from running in a county that has no zoning! What a load of bull $#!).

Things are going good for the Band my sons are in, Days Off Screen. They signed a management contract a few weeks ago, and their new manager already has a couple of labels looking at them. Man, to be young and a rock and roller! Hopefully they will have some real good news in late spring or the early summer. Don't know where my sons got their musical talent from. Certainly wasn't me, I can just barely play the radio.

Anyway guys, enjoy the spring weather, spend some time outside before the pollen gets real bad. The fresh air will do you a lot of good!

Til next time, God Bless!
The Big One

Snow..... Finally!

2009-03-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

How about the snow! After a couple of teases Mother Nature finally gave us a pretty good dose of snow. At our house we got about four and a half inches, which seems about what everybody in the area got. Just think how much we would have on the ground if it had not rained so much Friday and Saturday, making the ground wet and not so cold.

This was the good kind of snow. Not a lot of sleet or ice in it to make things really slick and dangerous. We have not had a snowfall like this in a few years. I really enjoyed watching it snow Sunday, but I am glad it is melting because lets face it, it's March 2nd, it's time to start thinking about baseball.

I for one am ready for some baseball. It's funny, when basketball season starts I am all gung ho for basketball but as spring approaches basketball turns to drudgery and baseball seems like it is almost heaven on earth. I don't care what you do, gyms all smell a little bit like sweaty feet and are stuffy. Baseball is played outside in a park, with the gentle breezes carrying the smell of fresh cut grass blowing. Baseball means spring!

Although, there was that one time that Ben Dukes and myself had to broadcast a Thornwell softball game in a wind storm. There was a front coming through and the winds were blowing 25 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, and did I forget to mention that the high that day was 44? We very nearly froze to death. I had two sweat shirts and a coat on and was cold. Ben was dressed like an Eskimo and I swear I looked over there at him once and he looked blue! I had an extra coat in my truck and wrapped him up in it like a big ol blanket and he still shivered. It's hard to do play by play when you are shivering. I sure was glad when that game was over!

Oh well, that was a time. Anyway enjoy the snow!

Til next time, God Bless!
The Big One

Where did the 20 years go!?!?!?!?!?!?

2009-02-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

This week is a milestone of sorts for Ann and I. Our twin sons, Joel and Justin, turn 20 years old Thursday February 26th. Where did the twenty years go? It seems like it was only yesterday that late one night we were headed over to Self Memorial Hospital to have them. It has been a wild topsy - turvy fun filled twenty years, and boy does it make me feel old when I think about it.

Ann and I having twins just shows to everyone that there is a God, and he has a sense of humor. Neither Ann or I liked kids much when we were married. Kids seemed like they were an endledd production facility for bodily waste, loud noises, a constant drain on your finances, a boat anchor for a social life and generally a pain in the butt. We had no desire for any kids, and didn't even enjoy being around them. Early in our marrage Ann went for a check-up and exam, and the doctor told her that we would never have children. We threw a party that night to celebrate our good fortune!

Well twelve years of marrage passed and no kids. We lived our lives to the fullest, traveled, spent money like a drunken sailor on ourselves and our home, and generally had a great time. Then that fateful night in our swimming pool occured ( It was that hard water's fault) and about two or three weeks later Ann began to feel sick in the morning. After a couple of days of this, Ann decided to get a home pregnency test and geuss what, it turned blue, much to our shock!

Our families were thrilled, and we were in deep shock. What in the world were we gonna do. Neither of us had any idea what to do with a child. We were in trouble with a capital "T" when it came to natural child rearing skills.

Well, two months later just when we thought we were getting control of the situation life threw us another curve. Ann and here sister Tina went to the doctor for Ann's first ultrasound and we got our second shock. The tec nurse ran the ball over Ann's stomach, stopped and did it again. Then she said that she would be right back and left the room without another word. It scared Ann and Tina to death. All sorts of bad thoughts went through their minds. After a minute or so Dr. Beaudreau came in and repeated the test, looked at Ann and said, "Guess what, you are going to have twins!"

You know, when she told me that later that day I felt like life as we knew it was over, life was really gonna suck with kids. Well, I was wrong. I wouldn't take a billion dollars to change anything. Ann and I have been blessed with two great young men who have been very little trouble. Sure there has been a few rough spots, chicken pops, broken bones, occasional bad grades, and the first broken hearts when a teenage love affair ends. All in all though it has been good though. I love being a Dad, and realize that God blessed Ann and I when he gave us Justin and Joel. Yes we spoiled them, but what the heck, they are ours, why not.

Now that they are turning twenty I realize that our lives are entering into a new stage. Our boys are grown men now, and are no longer those little guys who took up so much of our time and efforts. Who knows what the future brings, but I do know that if it is half as exciting as the past twenty years have been it's gonna be a blast!

Happy Birthday Joel and Justin!!!
Love, Mom and Dad

My buddy Tommy......

2009-02-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Ever so often something happens that you feel just isn't fair. I feel this way now. This week has been a tough one for me as I am having to say goodbye to a good friend. My buddy Tommy was the kind of guy that everyone wants to have as a friend. He was a straight up good guy. Over the past six or seven years I have spent a lot of time with Tommy. You see every man needs a "Men's Crisis Center" where he can go to get awy from things for a while. Tommy's office at Collyer Park was mine. Two or three times a week I would swing by and shoot the breeze with him. I will always remember these times with much fondness. It didn't matter what season it was or what was going on, a visit to the "Crisis Center" always seemed to smooth things out. Who know's what the topic of the day might be. I have spent hours talking to him and other attendees at the center about everything from sports to politics to music and everything in between. I already miss those times.

One subject that he delighted in talking about was his Granddaughter Autumn. In Tommy Powell's eyes the sun rose and set on her. He loved her and whenever there was a school activity, he was there. Whenever she needed something, he did his best to get it for her. She was the sunshine in his life. Of course He loved Jamie and Wendy also, but there was just something about his Autumn.

Tommy was what you saw. There was no phonyness to him. He was a Marine even though he had been out of the service for 35 plus years, and he was proud that he had been a Marine. One subject that he and I didn't discuss a lot was his time in Viet Nam. Over the years when I would ask him about his time over there he would just say "Well it was a tough time or we lost a lot of good guys there." Never a lot about what he had done. I have found out some amazing things about his service over there. He spent a while as a door gunner but after the chopper but after being shot down he decided it he would rather be a ground pounder. He was wounded when another member of a squad stepped on a mine. Even after he was severely wounded he was still trying to help out the more seriously wounded guys.

He showed his Marine training by being cool while in stressful situations. Once or twice a year over at the ballpark some parent or coach would forget that baseball was a kids game being played by kids and would start showing their ass. Tommy would calmly listen to them and then t handle the problem. Usually this meant he would tell them to calm down or they would have to leave the park. When he did this the tough little Marine would come out a little and the folks would know that he meant business. That would usually be the end of the problem.

Tommy was not the type person that sought the limelight. Over the years he was awarded many different honors. He received the Davy O'bryan award,

Tommy was the type of person who saw something good in nearly everyone. If you ever did enough to get on his bad side you had to be a real sum-bitch; and there were a couple of folks over the years that he banned from the ball park. And yes, I know who you were you sum-bitches, and will make sure that Albert and the other Dixie Youth officials know who you are and what you did, so stay away from the park. If Tommy thought you were so sorry you didn't need to be at the park and around the kids there then you still are not welcome. Stay away.

The last time I talked to Tommy was the day before he went in for surgery. I had come down with the creeping crud and had not been by the park for a couple of weeks because I did not want to give it to him. We talked about his surgery for a minute but he really did not want to discuss it that much. He wanted to talk about how quick that he could get back on his feet and back to the park. The doctors told him that he couldn't drive for at least a month and he was plotting ways to get to the ball park. He was worried about whether the landscapping company would get through re-doing the infields on all four fields in time for the grass to grow back out and blend in with the old turf. He was worried about having someone to man the office some everyday so his kids could get signed up for the upcoming season. He was worried about getting baseballs ordered, and walls painted, and a hundred other things, all of them related to Dixie Youth baseball's upcoming season. He was too busy to waste time worrying about himself. When we got ready to hang up I told him that I would be glad to come get him whenever he needed a ride. I also told him that my family would be praying for him and that I loved him. He ended the conversation in typical Tommy Powell fashion, "See You Big Un!" the same way he always did.

Well, yesterday I went over to Collyer Park and saw his handiwork all over the place. The infield work was finished, the chores that needed to be done were done, the office was manned by Albert Wilson, who had worked at the ballpark with Tommy. There were several coaches in the office, several Moms came in to register their kids to play ball, and the phone rang off the hook like it always did with people asking about Tommy, and what could they do to help out. Tommy would be proud that his friends were stepping up to carry on the work that he had done for thirty years. He would be proud that the preperations for the upcoming season were well underway. Course, it is taking several folks to get done what it took one little crippled Marine named Tommy to get done.

In a couple of months the park will resound with the happy yells from kids and fans alike as the umpire yells, "Play Ball!" and another season of Dixie Youth Baseball will get underway. As I get ready to broadcast the first pitch I will probably get a tear or two in my eye as I think about my buddy Tommy. I will miss him, but as long as kids play Dixie Youth baseball at Collyer Park his legacy will live on. Tommy Powell dedicated his life to the kids of Laurens County, and for that we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

The Marine motto is Semper Fi, which translates to Always Faithful. My friend Tommy lived his life by the Marine Motto. He was always faithful to his family, his friends, and to Dixie Youth Baseball.

God Bless,
The Big 'Un

Snow? What Snow !?!?!?

2009-01-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

Was it me or did we have a snow event earlier this week? Have you ever seen a snow fall melt so fast? Up here on Tornado Alley,(Raider Road) when I left for work a little before 8:00 a. m. Tuesday there was about two inches of the fluffiest snow you ever saw. After we wrapped up Good Morning UpCountry right at 10:00 a. m. I looked out and it was gone! Never saw a snow fall melt so fast.

Well, what do you think about our new president. It looks like President Obama hit the ground running and has a busy first week. The one thing that really impresses me tremendously about our new president is the way he has given renewed hope to so many. It has been a while since so many Americans felt hopefull about how the state of our country was. I hope that this infusion of hopefulness will carry over and we as a collective group roll up our sleeves and get about the job of getting our economy back in order.

While I am at it I would like to ask, no implore you to pray for my friend Tommy Powell. You may not know Tommy, but if you have had a child or grandchild play Dixie Youth Baseball he has played a part in their life. He has not seeked the spotlight but without him there may not be a Dixie Youth Baseball program in Laurens. He worked for free over at Collyer Park for years, keeping the fields in shape, ordering equipment, lining up coaches and umpires, the list goes on and on. Sometimes during the summer, Tommy would get to the park before 8:00 a. m. and not leave until midnight. Thousands and thousands of kids have come through the program, and a lot of the credit for it belongs to Tommy Powell. How many folks can you name that are that dedicated to the kids around here. Oh, and I forgot to add, he did all this even though he is disabled because a mine nearly blew his legs off when he served in the Marines over in Viet Nam. Tommy had surgery the week before last and has had some major setbacks. He needs our prayers. My friend Tommy is a good man, and we have a big shortage of good men. Please pray for my buddy Tommy. Laurens needs him!

God Bless,
Big Gene

Random thoughts from a random mind......

2009-01-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

I have no idea where this blog is headed. I will just type up what comes to mind and we will see what happens.

Even though the economy seems to be tanking it had not really effected me that much personally until a close relative of mine was laid off from his job after 13 years. Now it's personal.

Whether you voted for him or not, Baraak Obama is our president. We better all pray that he is granted wisdom to lead our nation out of these turmultious times.

I am ready for baseball. Being the Cub fan I am each season brings eternial optimism that this may be the year the Cubbies win the World Series, and each fall the realization that once again it is not.

I hope that we get a good snow this winter. It would be nice to see one start on a Friday morning and be gone by Monday. Just a day or so of seeing snow on the ground, but no Ice, we do not need any ice storm.

A Friday Night basketball game sure makes the weekend seem short.

A good dog is worth their weight in gold. They sure are good company when you are beginning to enter the empty nest syndrome period of parenthood.

Glenn Beck worries me! He sees the worst in everything and seems to think that our country is going to implode in the next few months. I hope he is wrong, either way he still worries me.

The Daytona 500 should be interesting this year because of the economic issues that the series is dealing with. No testing in the off-season, sponsorship deals falling through, teams merging, massive lay-offs, reduced factory support, all sorts of things going on in the off-season that will have a profound effect on the sport.

My favorite TV shows are NCIS, Criminal Minds, Numbers, and CSI. I guess this means that either I am a fan of police stories that revolve around solving strange cases, or I am a dormat psychopath.

I am glad that we are having some global warming...... C an you imagine how much colder this past weekend if there was no global warming going on.

Sometimes truth is stranger that fiction. 99% of the country is thankful that we saw a miracle last week when the plane went down in the Hudson River and everybody survived. The folks with PETA are mad about them Damn Geese being killed that brought the plane down. Get a life and try a cheeseburger.

God wants us to eat meat, if he hadn't then why did he make so many tasty animals for us to enjoy?

I love watching football being played on a snow covered field. It makes for some interesting play calls.

For the first time in a month I am feeling about normal. That Creeping Crud was rough!!!!!!

I guess that's about it for now gang, Hope you have a great week!!!
God Bless,
The Big One

The crud that keeps on giving!!!!!

2009-01-11T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

As y'all know and have heard the crud has been going around WLBG. Randy and Emil got it first and despite my efforts to aviod it by taking massive amounts of vitamin C and trying to avoid the desease carriers I still got it around December 15th, and am still trying to get over it. This stuff is ROUGH. It clogs your lungs up and generally makes it hard to breath. Them there is the coughing fits that come with it. I declare, sometimes after a fit I think that I should be in a TB ward. Plus, you nearly lose your voice, and even though I have a terrible voice, I still need it each day for GMUC and other duties here at WLBG. I tried all the home remedies, loads and loads of Rock and Rye, more vitamin C, all types of cough syrups and expectorants, nothing seemed to work. Finally I gave up and headed to my doctor and he loaded me up with antiobiotics, steriods, and cough pills and after a week I am finally feeling like I may shake this stuff in the next few days.

I hope that you avoid this crud, but if you don't please go on to the doctor, don't delay going like I did. Three weeks plus of feeling terrible is enough to get anyone down, even the Big One.

Here's to your good health!!!
God Bless,
The Big One

P. S. Please remember my buddy Tommy Powell in your prayers. He is in the hospital recooperating from surgery and could use your prayers!!!

Happy New Year...... I hope!!!

2008-12-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

Sorry about the time between posts but it has been one of them months. My computer crashed, and I lost everything, and then the loaner died. Then I got the creeping crud from Typhoid Stevens and spent the holidays coughing my head off, and then .... well you get the picture.

I do have a lot of things that I am thankful for though. First, Ann and I are getting over this crud. You don't know how much you hate coughing until you have a coughing spasm and shart yourself. Not telling who did this but I really hate when this happens. This stuff ruins your rest, your meals, your family time, even work. I will be glad when it is totally gone!!!

2008 has been a year of ups and downs. Family wise, things are good. Ann and I celebrated our 31st wedding aniversity. I don't know where the time went but it sure doesn't seem that long. I will tell you a little secret, if it wasn't for Ann I would be long gone from this old world. She straightened this wild child out and for that I am eternally grateful. I am thankful for my sons. They have grown up to be two pretty good young men, and some damn good musicians. 2009 should be a big year for them and Days Off Screen. Hopefully the folks in the music industry that are starting to ask for info about them will make the move and sign this bunch of talented young men to a contract. My extended family is fairly healthy, and my radio station family is doing good. At the first of the year, we were all worried about Rev. Sims because he had just had his heart surgery but he has completely recovered and I am grateful for that. Brother Wyatt also had a few weeks of scary health problems when they found out he had the sugars, but his wonderful wife Katie has made sure that he has gotten it under control. Emil didn't nearly kill himself climbing down into the Grand Canyon this year, Randy has not wrecked his motorcycle, and John has had a few scary moments on some of his flights as he followed the Blue Hose for us, but he has come through it ok.

The economy has got everyone concerned, but thankfully our local leaders have worked real hard and we are seeing real development start to spring up all over the county. When all these projects come to fruition our county will never be the same.

Oh' well, it's time to watch the ball drop and welcome in the new year!!! We will pick this up in another day or two. I hope that it is a safe and prosperous New Year for all of us!!!

God Bless,
The Big One

Not what now, what next!!!

2008-12-08T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

It's been a couple of weeks since I updated my blog and there is a good reason for it, I have been busy trying to straighten up one mess after another. My computer is on the fritz, and this loaner is stubborn. I hate to sound like an old geezer but it just does not operate like my old one does and I am having a hard time figuring it out. The keys are smaller and the letters are rubbed off some of the keys and I type by sight. (I never learned the keyboard in typing, I guess that is why I never got over 40 words a minute.)

Anyway, then I has cellulitis and missed a couple of days work, the dog ate our trim work in the wash room, you name it, it has happened. On the plua side, a lot of good things have happened. the Raiders had a great season! Hey, 11 and 3 is a record 99 % of the high schools in the state would kill for. Thaanksgiving was great because as usual, we went to my Aunties house in Clinton and it was ALL ABOUT ME!!!!!!

Brother Wyatt and I had a great time doing the Christmas parades on WLBG. All three were great, and all three were unique. The Clinton Parade is a more kid oriented parade. There are more kids at the parade than Carter has little liver pills. The Gray Court parade has a country feel to it. The Laurens Parade has a more elegant feel to it because it is at night and all the floats are lit up.

Hopefully my computer will be back from the shop soon and things will get back to normal.

Til next time, God Bless!!!
The Big One

How About Those Raiders!!!!!!

2008-11-23T15:41:00.000-08:00

How About Those Raiders!!!!

The Big Ones Blog
November 23, 2008

Well Raider fans, Friday night was great wasn’t it. For the first time in many, many years the Raiders are advancing to the football upperstate championships by virtue of their huge 10 to 3 win over Conway.

First off’ let’s talk a little bit about the game. The Raiders had to face many Giants Friday night in order to earn the right to play for the Upperstate championship this week. The Raiders had all kinds of things go wrong on the way to the game. First there was an hour delay when one of the charter busses lost a lug nut. A three and a half hour trip to Conway turned into a nearly five hour trip. Then the grill malfunctioned for their pregame meal. It was cold, and the Conway team was big and fast and suppose to be a lot better than the Raiders. Most pundits were prediction a Conway blowout. Why even Elmo predicted that Conway would win by three touchdowns! Everyone believed this except the Raiders, their coaches, and their fans. Bottom line, the Raiders stifle a high powered Tiger offense, our offense ate up huge gobs of the clock, our defense bent a little but never broke, the Raider faithful were the 12th man, yelling and stomping their feet and made Conway’s stadium a satellite of K. C. Hanna Stadium and the Raiders come away with a 10 to 3 win!!!

This win is a cornerstone win for the Raider program. First off they were not supposed to win. Everybody knows that the Raiders can’t win the big one. Give them time they will beat themselves. Well, other teams can’t make that statement any more. The Raiders can win the big one, and they proved this at Conway. For years the program has been mired in the lower echelon of 4-A football. The team did not expect to win; the town did not expect to win. Politics entered into the program as people outside the program tried to exert pressure to play this player or that one even if they were not the best at the position. It was a program mired in the muck of mediocrity.

To turn around a program is difficult, but not impossible. The right guy has got to be given that opportunity and be given a free reign to make changes without having to worry who may not like it. He’s got to be a person who knows football, and most importantly know what success is, what it means to be a member of a championship program. Someone who came to the program to build it, not to build their retirement.

In Greg Lawson we got this person. He has coached under such great coaches as Shell Dula, Phil Strickland, and Mike Anthony. All coaches who have built state championship programs. He has been involved with multiple championship seasons at Gaffney and Union. He knows how to win.

Next he assembled a staff dedicated to win. Some stayed over from past coaching staffs, and some were brought in. All wanted to win, and worked their butts off coaching to help the Raiders get this far.

While we are at it, we can’t forget the support staff. The folks at the District office and school board, Athletic Director Bill Boroff, Head trainer extraordinaire Barry Atkinson, the late John Hendricks, our new principal Wayne McIntosh, the list goes on and on, and all were dedicated to seeing the program succeed. It has been a team effort, and this team has given their best effort to see the Raiders succeed.

Finally there are two groups that we can’t overlook. First the players. These young men bought into the new program that Coach Lawson and staff have put in place. They have worked hard in the weight and conditioning room in the off season and spent hours and hours on the practice field. They have worked hard to keep their grades up and keep themselves eligible to play. They have bonded as brothers, and they have become winners. There is no quit in these young men, there is no back-up. They want to win; they have a hunger building in them that makes them give that extra effort. They never give up. They are determined to give their best effort for only their best effort will do. They have become winners.

Lastly let’s not forget the Raider fans. They have got behind the team and have become their 12th man. They have reveled in the teams wins, and encouraged them in their losses. They have been there and it means a lot for the team to have them behind them 100 percent. Believe me, you can hear the fans cheering on the field, and it, makes you reach down for that little bit of extra effort, and this is what builds championships. Well done Raider fans!!!!!

This win over Conway is what I call a cornerstone win. It is one that success can be built on. It is the dawn of a new era. In 1972, Clinton got their cornerstone win and the program thrives to this day. In 1972 the Red Devils faced Woodruff in the first game of the season. It was Keith Richardson’s fourth year at head coach of the Red Devils. The program had steadily improved but still had not won the big game, the game to build a program on. Clinton had not defeated Woodruff in 10 seasons. Well, Clinton did defeat Woodruff 20 to 0 back in 1972, and people started to believe. The team won the state championship that year and won six more in the next 15 years. The program is still successful, and the roots of the winning tradition can be traced back to that September evening many years ago.

This is Laurens cornerstone win. Can I guarantee that the Raiders will beat South Pointe this Friday night? No, but I can guarantee that the Raiders will head to Rock Hill and give their best effort, the South Pointe team will have a fight on their hands like they have not had so far because the Raiders are on the way, and they are winners!!!

God Bless!!!
The Big One

What a Week for Laurens County!!!!!!

2008-11-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

The Big One’s Blog
November 16, 2008

Well, what a week we have had in Laurens County. We have truly been blessed several different ways. Where do I begin…….

First, how about the big announcement about American Titanium coming to Laurens. Man, 320 jobs paying 20 bucks plus an hour. Talk about turning around the county’s economy. Plus, we have heard that there will be several other related industries coming to the county to be close to the titanium plant. This is something that will change the face of Laurens County forever. You know it’s strange but the rest of the country is suffering through a recession, but we seem to be on the verge of economic development in our county the likes of which we have never seen before.

Next, how about those Raiders and Red Devils. Laurens took it to North Augusta Friday night in conditions that would be more suitable for a setting for a horror flick. First fog so thick you could cut it with a bread knife, and then the monsoon came. Good news is the Raiders adapted well to the adverse condition and win their first playoff game in many a moon. Next up Conway at Conway.

Saturday Night the Red Devils took a whipping stick to Greenville High School. With the win, the Red Devils head to the third round of the playoffs as they take on Chester in Chester.

Finally, how about the huge announcements at PC. The Blue Hose will be taking on Clemson in football in 2010. You know, the Blue Hose used to play the Tigers every year, and have actually beat them a three times, who knows, look what happened to Michigan last season!!!

That’s it for now folks, more later!!!

God Bless,
The Big One

Random Thoughts from a Random Mind; Part III

2008-11-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Big One’s Blog

November 8, 2008

Well, things didn’t work out like we hoped they would Friday as the Raiders lost to Greenwood, but when you consider what a great season the team has had so far, them things are not as bad as you think. At the first of the season I write down my predictions for the Raiders and this year I had predicted 6 and 5, possibly 7 and 4. The team ended up 9 and 2, and will host a first round play-off game. This is the first home play-off game in ten or eleven years. That ain’t bad by anyone’s standards.

I am also seeing a turn-around in the Raider fan’s attitude. In the past, many fans seemed to accept mediocre teams, and were not all that surprised when the team lost. It was like a losing mentality had taken over and the fans expected to lose. Well, Head Coach Greg Lawson and his coaching staff have turned that attitude around both with the players and the fans. Used to, a loss was a loss, no big deal. These days a loss hurts, people don’t like the feeling. They expect to win, and this a good thing. Believe it or not, a winning football team can turn the attitude around in a team in a hurry!!!

Go Raiders, Beat North Augusta!!!

This week could be one of the biggest in the history of the City of Laurens, and in Laurens County. The Greenville County Council kind of let the cat out of the bag last week, and it looks like that this may be the big week. Special thanks go out to all those who were involved in recruiting our newest corporate citizen to our area. It’s funny, but when the rest of the country was experiencing good times, Laurens County was suffering. We lost our textile plants, the Glass Plant, Torrington; the list goes on and on. Now, the rest of the country is seeing some hard times, and it looks like Laurens County is beginning to see some boom times.

Don’t forget the Hall of Hero’s ceremony Tuesday at the High School. There are going to be some amazing military equipment on display, some hero’s welcomed home from Afghanistan, and some hero’s honored for their sacrifice in defending our country in wars and conflicts past.

This past week our country elected a new leader. Most folks took it for granted, we had an election, we voted, and one guy won, and the other candidates lost. No big deal, right? Well in many nations, it would be a huge deal. We have freedoms that other nations dream about. We are able to cast our ballot in secret, without fearing for intimidation from the party in power. No matter if your candidate won or lost, we are blessed to live in a country we are free to elect our leaders without fear.

Speaking of the election, our newly elected president, Baraak Obama said something over the weekend that made me pause to consider what he said, and the magnitude of it. When asked about the dog he promised his girls when they moved into the White House, he said, “that he was thinking about getting a dog from a pound, but that would “be a mutt like me.” You know, you got to appreciate a guy who can poke fun at himself.

That’s about it gang, hope all have a great week!!!!!!

God Bless,
The Big One

My 2008 Presidential Endorsement goes to............

2008-11-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Big Un’s Blog

November 2, 2008

My 2008 Presidential Endorsement

Dear Friends,

As you know, tomorrow is Election Day, a day where Americans will go to the polls and cast their vote for the person that will lead our great nation for the next four years. This person will lead our nation through some very turbulent times, both economically and on the world front. These are dangerous times that we are in now. Our economy is weak and our citizens are suffering from high unemployment and the constant specter of recession hangs over us. Uncertainty in the banking industry and the stock market seems to just get worse and worse.

The world itself is a dangerous place for Americans now. Terrorists target us for their dastardly deeds and rogue nations support their efforts with both money and a steady supply of maniacs to fill their ranks. China has become our banker and can make us dance like a puppet when they tighten up our money supply. Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, the USSR, our enemies are many. While we are at it lets not forget the good folks in the Middle East with OPEC.

Our next president is going to have to be tough, a man of action not afraid to make the hard decisions. Someone who loves our country and will surround himself with the best and brightest that will work tirelessly to bring our country back to greatness. Than is why I have decided to give my endorsement for President of the United States to a great man, a super patriot, and man who loves his God, his country, and his family……….. Ladies and gentlemen, my endorsement goes to:

Hank Hill

There are so many reasons for my endorsement of Mr. Hill for President, but I have decided to give you my top ten.

Top 10 Reasons that I have Decided to Endorse Hank Hill for President.

10. Tax Breaks for all businesses who either use or sell propane and propane accessories.

9. Don’t look for a Hill Administration to give any handouts, you either work or in President Hill’s own words, I’m Gonna Kick your ass!!!

8. As President, Hank Hill would know how to deal with third world countries. After all he’s lived next to Kahn Supanuspa for several years, and he’s from Cambodia.

7. President Hill would solve the country’s problems of illegal immigration real quick. In his own words his solution is and I quote, “Either y’all all go back to where you came from or I’m gonna kick your ass!!!”

6. Huge tax breaks for all individuals who use propane, and for those who don’t we will give them an incentive to begin. In President Hill’s own words, “Either you folks begin using propane, or I’m gonna kick your ass.”

5. President Hill would name Bill his Secretary of Defense, and if he caught a defense contractor trying to sell the government a hundred dollar hammer or a three thousand dollar toilet, to correct the problem in President Hill’s own words, either straighten out your business practices and quit trying to cheat the government, or I’m Gonna Kick your ass!!!

4. President Hill would name his wife Peggy his Secretary of Education, and her first act would be to put prayer back in school, and for any pantywaist liberal commie atheist who tried to prevent this, in President Hill’s own words, say your prayers mister, because I’m Gonna Kick your ass!!!

3. President Hill would name Boomhower as the head of the country’s United Nations Delegation, and to anyone in the UN who didn’t like it, in President Hill’s own words, “Back Off you UN America hating Commies, or I’m Gonna Kick your ass!!!

2. President Hill would keep all those tax and spend liberals in congress in line, First time they started this “Lets raise taxes so we can spend more money, he’d head over to capital hill, go before a joint session of congress, look them all in the eye, and in President Hill’s own words, “Back off those tax increases you socialists or I’m Gonna Kick your ass!!!

1. You’d be surprised how quick President Hill could deal with these rogue terrorist harboring nations. He’d call the dictator or premier or whoever ran the country into the oval office, look them in the eye, and in President Hill’s own words would say, “Either cut this terrorist stuff out or I’m Gonna Kick your ass!!!

Seriously folks, tomorrow is Election Day, don’t waste your vote by not voting!!!! I am not going to tell you who to vote for, that is for us all to decide, however I do urge you to cast your ballot. After all, if you don’t vote, you don’t have any reason to complain.

God Bless,
The Big One

Random Thoughts from a Random Mind... Part II

2008-10-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

The Big One’s Blog

October 27, 2008

For the past few days whenever I go out I have people coming up to me and fussing about having politicians on Good Morning Up Country. You know, I can understand them wanting to be entertained but this is probably one of the most important functions of WLBG and Good Morning Up Country, and that is to present the candidates to the voters so they can make a decision based on information that they hear on these political interviews. The day of just voting a straight party ticket are over. We are blessed to have good candidates running in both parties and to make a good decision on whom to vote we need information on their views, their ideas, and their goals. So the next time you hear a politician on GMUC just remember that we are blessed to live in a country where for now we are still free to bring you programs like these. Plus, it’s only for a few days, it’s not like it is weeks upon weeks of non-stop politicians.

Friday Night is a huge night for Raider fans. The dreaded evil empire is coming to town and I still remember the SOLO cups. We need a huge crowd at K. C. Hanna Stadium cheering the Raiders as they try to wrap up a home play-off game. Be there, wear your green and gold, yell and stomp your feet, and be the 12th Raider. These guys are in the midst of a very special season and we need to do all we can to encourage them as they work hard to return the Raider football program to greatness.

Sometimes we take things for granted that we shouldn’t. Thursday the City of Laurens Recreation Department will be putting on “Boo in the Park.” It will be a safe haven for children to come trick or treat in a safe environment at an event sponsored by local businesses and orginizations. Maybe you have not thought about it, but trick or treating is a hazardous activity. Kids can pull away from parents and run into the street, some pervert may be hiding behind a door waiting for a lone child to knock on their door, the list goes on and on. With “Boo in the Park” our kids are safe, and will get more than enough candy to give them bellyaches for several days. Kudo’s to the city Fathers, (And city mothers, you know we have a lady mayor and two city councilwomen), the City of Laurens Recreation Department headed by Jason Pridgeon, his assistants, PRTC for being the name sponsor, and to all the businesses and civic organizations that support “Boo in the Park.”

Finally, I am so excited so excited about the upcoming Hall of Hero’s ceremony on November 11th at the High School. The folks at the veteran’s affairs office are doing a bang-up job organizing this year’s event. You got to Cary Bolt and his staff, every year has topped the prior years, and this year will not be any different. I am not giving away any secrets, but I can tell you I am gonna be there!!!

Lastly, Don’t forget to Vote next week! No matter who you support, if you don’t vote you have no right to complain. While you are at it, pray that whoever gets elected will be led by God to lead our nation through these difficult times. No matter who is elected next Tuesday, beginning January 20th they are our president and need and deserve our prayers.

That’s it for now, God Bless!!!

The Big One

Laurens County folks help our own!!!

2008-10-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

The Big One’s Blog

October 19, 2008

This past weekend a good thing happened in Laurens. Just as I have witnessed over and over and over, Laurens County folks came together to help one of their own. Laurens County folks may fuss and fret with each other about just about anything but when one of our own needs help, we get to work on helping them out anyway we can.

Saturday at the Little River Amphitheater several Sunday School classes of Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church put on a benefit to help out one of our younger residents and her family. Lucy Wilbanks was born with a heart defect and have to have open heart surgery before she was even a month old. Thank God that her condition was diagnosed and she successfully underwent the operation and now is on the way to being a healthy, happy toddler. That’s the good news! The bad news, her family was swamped with medical expenses. Here is where the good folks at Chestnut Ridge stepped up.

Beginning at 1:00 p. m. and throughout the afternoon into the evening the good folks worked their rear ends off raising funds for little Lucy and her family. They had jump castles and slides, cake walks, sold hot dogs, cakes, cotton candy and had a fun time entertaining all the large crowd that came out to help the cause.

They also had a full afternoon of entertainment for the folks too!!! A local dance troop came out and entertained the folks, Gerald Douglas and his trio entertained the folks with a collection of both beach and gospel music. Days Off Screen appeared and performed a couple of new songs they have been working on as well as some crowd favorites. To wrap up the entertainment, The Chase from Seneca wrapped up the evening with a great set. One of the members was a cousin to little Lucy. All in all a good time was had by all.

I know that I have not named hardly anyone that helped put this event on, but you could tell it was a team effort. The Chestnut Ridge folks worked hard to pull this together. Many local businesses donated a whole slew of prizes to give away, many dear ladies cooked their hearts out making cakes to sell and give away for the cake walks. Folks were pressed into duty as hot dog makers and cotton candy sellers; the list goes on and on. All in all it was an amazing event. A lot of people had a great time and a lot of money was raised to help a little girl and her family. It don’t get no better than that!

Just like I have told people time and time again with pride, I am from Laurens County, where people may fuss a little at each other about the silliest things, but when the chips are down and one of our own needs help, we will rise to the occasion and do what it takes to help them out.

It’s pretty cool to live in a place like Laurens County isn’t it!

God Bless,
The Big One

A Good Man is Canned!!!!!!

2008-10-13T19:02:00.001-07:00

The Big One’s Blog

Oct. 13, 2007

Sometimes just being a good man is not enough. Former Clemson Head Football Coach Tommy Bowden could be described as a good man. He is a devout Christian and not afraid to talk about his faith. Many players and their families have stated that one of the main reasons that they went to Clemson was because of their coaches, and the staff’s faith. He even got on the ACLU’s bad side because he had a annual team lets all go to my church this Sunday day where all the players on the team were invited to attend church with Coach Bowden.

However, just being a good man is not enough in the high stakes world of college football. The mantra is still win, win, win, and some schools would do whatever it takes to win. Look at some of the schools that have had success in the past and look at the troubled athletes that were members of their team. Take Miami for example, back several years ago their players stayed in so much trouble they were nicknamed Thugville U. Even at in-state schools like South Carolina under Lou “Granny Clampett” Holtz many troubled athletes were recruited and you see the results. Steve Spurrier has had to weed out some of the bad apples, and change the attitudes on others. And no, he is not perfect in his recruiting; he has had a few discipline problems too.

To his credit, Tommy Bowden did not have near the problems that most schools do. He has had a few problem players but they are few and far between. He just seemed to have a natural sense of who would be a good kid as well as a good recruit.

Unfortunately, that does not always win football games. This year the Clemson faithful had their heart set on an ACC and then a National Championship, all wrapped up in an undefeated season. Clemson had loads of talent, and then the injury but bit and bit hard, and suddenly the Tigers are three and three and sporting a two game losing streak in the ACC. All the dreams of the fat cat donors were dashed and only a sacrifice would suffice to keep them happy and their money flowing to the program, and you know the rest of the story…… Bowden is fired and the Clemson football program begins yet another rebuilding process.

Tommy Bowden is not mad, maybe a little upset, but not mad at Clemson. He is a good man who loves his players, and loves Clemson. Plus he has three and a half million reasons not to be mad. He will go gently into retirement and join the list of Coaches who could not measure up to the lofty goals of the fat cat donors at Clemson. Sorry guys, but there is only one Danny Ford, and he don’t want to come out of retirement for any amount of money. That’s my opinion, but what do I know, I’m just the fat guy.

God Bless,
The Big One

Random thoughts from a Random Mind!!!

2008-10-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

The Big One’s Blog

Oct. 6, 2008

Well, how is everyone? I trust that you are all well. Where do I start? How about some random thoughts.

I talked to my brother John Sunday about the price of gas in his hometown of Canton, Ohio and got a shock. Regular unleaded is $3.11 a gallon, $.69 cents cheaper than our prices! That ain’t right, somebody is performing an act of sado-buggerism on us when it comes to gas prices around here!!!

The fireworks at Squellin’ on the Square were great!!! I can’t see how they will ever top them next year, but you just wait, I bet the committee will figure out a way to make them ever bigger and better than this years show.

The Raiders are gonna be fine. We just have to keep the faith and keep supporting them. I mean really, at the first of the season if someone had told you that Laurens would be 5 and 1 going into the region wouldn’t you be tickled pink.

Rev. Sims and Rev. Aiken’s Gospel talk show on Saturday Morning is one of my favorite shows on WLBG. Those guys are great together, and man when they get after each other it is wild. These guys are something else. If you are not a regular listener, tune into their show on Saturday Morning and you will see what I mean.

A sandwich is a sandwich, but a Manwich is a meal!!! Ha Ha Ha!!!!!! Just seeing if you were still paying attention.

It’s almost the holiday season, I wonder when we will get our second request to play “White Christmas” by the Temptations? Our first request was left on the answering machine in early August.

We used to play a lot of Gospel story songs like “A Childs Blood,” Hattie Mae’s Daughter,” and “When I Need Him Most,” or as I call it the turkey song, you know it’s the one where the poor widow lady and her kids are starving at Thanksgiving and she prays to the Lord for help and right then there is a knock at the door and it’s the deacons and they have brought a load of food. There were hams and turkeys, and somebody brought a vat of Ice Tea. Man, I love those songs, we have got to get Brother Wyatt to get them on the new system so we can start playing them again.

Where did the time go? It just seems like Ann and I were bringing our sons home from the hospital and they are grown men starting to make their way in the music world. I can’t believe the time has gone by so quickly. Man. Sometimes I feel so old!

Speaking of time flying, my ten year anniversary at WLBG came and went on September 20th. Where did all that time go?

Well, that’s it for the Big One’s random thoughts blog, I hope it gave you some food for thought.

Til next time, God Bless!!!
Big Gene

Where is the Gas??????

2008-09-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

The Big One’s Blog
September 28, 2008

Saturday afternoon Ann and I left our house about at about five p. m. to head to Greenville where the Guys were doing a show at the Channel. The guys had pulled out in the bus about an hour earlier and Ann and I were gonna have a leisurely drive up the road and show up right before the show………… we thought. As we pulled out of the driveway, Ann said that we needed some gas, we were on empty. See, I was trying to wait out the gas price reduction and save a few dollars, except it didn’t work out quite like I wanted it to. We headed to six different gas stations before we found and, and then all they had was premium. What a bummer, I never thought I would see the day where I would pay over four bucks a gallon for gas, but I did.

You know, it just doesn’t make sense, the wholesale price of crude oil as well as gas has dropped off by a third this past month, and our gas is still high. Why hasn’t the price dropped? I know that Hurricane Ike has slowed down production some, but why is it the southeast is the only area of the country that is experiencing shortages. Are they shipping our share of gas up north to them damn Yankees, or worse yet to those fruits and nuts on the west coast? I don’t know, but something seems odd about it.

That’s my fussy blog for now, I promise that I will post one later in the week when I am not so P!$$*@ off at the gas companies.

God Bless,
The Big One

When Country heads even farther to the country!!!

2008-09-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

The Big Un’s Blog
Sept. 21, 2008

Hey folks, I promised you a fun filled blog and I think I can deliver on that promise with this blog. Saturday. Days Off Screen played in the North Carolina Battle of the Bands in North Wilkesboro and I had the fun and exciting task of escorting nine teenagers, a fully loaded equipment trailer, and myself on a round trip that was suppose to be about 340 miles, but ended up closer to 380 there and back due to a couple of wrong turns.

On the surface this doesn’t seem so tough, but the catch is that there are no easy ways to get to North Wilkesboro from here. Sure, the first 100 miles are either interstate or four lane roads; it’s the last 75 miles that are rough. Winding two lane roads around and over mountains and through valleys, through little settlements that Joanna look like Greenville, and a couple of towns, Taylorsville and Conover, that must have had their street layout done by a drunken sailor on a three day drunk. In Taylorsville Hwy 18 makes a left turn, goes down a block, makes a right turn, goes down a block, take another right, and then go down a block and make a left turn, and you are back on the same street you were originally on, just a block farther down. Needless to say, this was an adventure in the making.

Note: Big One’s Advise!!! Never trust mapquest! At a key intersection mapquest told us to turn left, and it should have been right. Twelve miles later we realize our mistake and double back and get back on track. You know you are way back in the country when people mowing their yard or farmers on tractors in the field stop and wave as you go by. Don’t take much to amuse them I guess!

Now there is Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro, and mapquest has a hard time telling them apart. We ended up at the correct address, but in Wilkesboro instead of North Wilkesboro. Twenty minutes later, and three stops for directions we pulled up in North Wilkesboro at our destination.

The Battle of the Bands itself is held on top of a two story parking garage that was built in the late 1960’s and it has not aged real good. When people would jump up and down, or run by, the garage would shake. When I walked around I just scrubbed my feet along, I did not want to take any chances with stepping down real hard and the whole thing collapsing.

The Battle was a great show though. There were 16 bands there and Days off Screen tied for second with two other bands, one point behind the winning band, who just happened to be from……Drum Roll please……….. North Wilkesboro! Hummmmmmmm.

Anyway the guys played great, made a lot of new fans and friends, and had a great time. There was a guy there selling hot dogs, and they rivaled the old Red’s Burgermasters Hot Dogs that my Buddy Ron Page and I used to serve up. Them dogs were great!!!

Anyway, we start home about 12:15 a. m. tired, sleepy, and ready to get home. Good news, we didn’t get lost but twice trying to get back on the two lane road back toward Taylorsville and Conover. Bad news, there was some of the thickest fog I have ever seen for about ten miles.

Other highlights of the trip home, we went through a drunk driving checkpoint at 1:30 a. m. near Conover and had a nice lady deputy tell us a shortcut that would save us a few miles and a few minutes. We saw a drunk staggering around on the side of the road heading toward the checkpoint about a quarter of a mile down the road. I bet it was interesting when he staggered up to them. Heading down I-85 we were passed by a truck full of cows with the scours, and my truck, poor ol’ Big Red, will never be the same.

We rolled back into Laurens at 4:15 a. m., tired, sleepy, hungry, and ready for bed. Man, I went to sleep when I reached out to get my radio’s earpiece to check and see if we were on the air and woke up three hours later still holding it in my hand, and my arm asleep from hanging off the bed.

All in all it was a good time. I really enjoyed spending 20 hours with them. There ain’t a bad one in the bunch. I am proud of the way the guys and their girlfriends represented Laurens at the Battle of the Bands, and to the people of North Wilkesboro. Time after time I had folks that were in charge of the event tell me what a great bunch of kids they were. Now that made me swell up with pride like a big ol’ toad frog.

Anyway, that’s it for me folks. I told you that this would be an interesting and funny blog!

Til next time, God Bless!!!
The Big One

The game is over, it's time for us to get back to work!!!

2008-09-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

The Big One’s Blog
September 13, 2008

Well, it’s the day after the Laurens County Championship that the Raiders won defeating the Red Devils 35 to 0. Guess what, today the sun came up in Laurens the same way as it did in Clinton, and the challenges that faced us as a county before the football game still exist.
The folks in Laurens are happy, the folks in Clinton are not so happy, but in the end for all of us it was just a football game, a nice diversion from the real issues facing us now.

Sure, for a week folks from Laurens and Clinton can declare how much we hate each other. It’s our way v/s their way of life. The game takes precedence over everything else. We are not friends, we are rivals. We can’t stand them, and they can’t stand us.

Well the game is over, but what about us? What about the challenges facing our county? The same problems still exist in our county. We need jobs, we need a land use plan (Zoning) to protect us from having unwanted businesses like another dump locate in our county, and we need to work together to achieve both.

The elected officials from the cities of Laurens, Clinton, and Gray Court, as well as Laurens county officials, the Laurens County Development Corporation, and our state delegation are working hard to bring us jobs, and I for one think that we are about to see the fruits of their labors, and boy are we going to be pleased. We are on the verge of unprecedented growth in Laurens County, and no matter where it is located; it helps all of us out.

It’s time for us to become Laurens County residents again. Sure, we can continue to root for the Raiders or Red Devils, but we need to root for our county now. Holding on to petty differences or defending our “Home” turf by opposing what helps out another part of the county works against progress. Let’s present a united front to folks coming into our county looking to locate their industry or business here. Whether it’s a company locating in the Industrial park in Owings or a plant out on the interstate in Clinton or Laurens, it helps out everyone in Laurens County.

Well, I have said my piece. I promise to climb down from my soapbox and write a funny blog next time.

'Til next time, God Bless all!!!
The Big One

Football, Football, Football!!!!!!

2008-09-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

The Big “Un’s Blog
September 9, 2009

Well, well, well, how are all you fellow rednecks? Good I hope! Lets see, where to begin. First off this is the Laurens County Championship week as Laurens travels to Clinton to face the Red Devils. This is always a real donnybrook and this year will be no exception. Clinton is smarting after coming off a tough loss to Woodruff. Laurens is coming off a hard-fought win over Hillcrest. Better go on and buy those tickets in advance so you don’t have to stand in line for a while at the stadium.

This is also a happy week for me. We do our first middle school football broadcast this week as the district’s four middle schools will be holding their annual jamboree. Middle school sports are kinda my baby at the station, as I was there for our first middle school broadcast when Laurens played Sanders the first year Sanders became a middle school. And have done every football game we have broadcasted since. I believe we are the only radio station in the state that broadcasts a weekly middle school game of the week. I wish more would.

Thursday we will have the Laurens / Clinton 9th grade and JV games on the air. That brings the total of football games up to four this week and that isn’t counting the P. C. game Saturday.

The judge has handed down a ruling in the Mileback Speedway case. The track owners and his lawyers are looking into what they need to do to comply with the judges order. Hopefully the track will be back in action this week. It amazes me how we have no zoning in Laurens County but the track owners have still been damn near put out of business by a few folks that wouldn’t be satisfied if they were the taster in the Little Debbie snack cake factory. I can hear then now, “ Uh uh, I don’t wanna taste them honey buns, I want a choco-jell!” And yes, we do need zoning. We are sitting on a ticking time bomb. Without protection one of these days instead of a construction landfield it may be a hazardous waste dump being shoved down our throats.

Well. That’s about it for now, enjoy the ball games, and don’t forget to take those headset radios with you!

Til next time, God Bless!!!
The Big One

Big Un' the Roadie!!!

2008-09-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Big Un’s Blog
September 1, 2008

Hey guys,

Sorry my blog is a day late, but it has been a long Labor Day Holiday. As most of you know I have two sons in “Days Off Screen” along with three other guys that I consider sons. This past weekend they had three shows in two days and I had the privilege to be the designated trailer puller and it turned into an all weekend road trip.

Saturday morning the gang pulled out bright and early on the way to the Rockin’ Rib Off and Balloon Festival in Anderson. The guys played from 1:00 p. m. until 1:45 p. m. and even though the heat was rough they had a good show. Afterwards they toured the exhibitions and even road a couple of rides.

Wait, random thought…. Why is it when we see someone do something dumb we automatically laugh at them when they screw up. You know you have done it. A perfect example, Saturday we saw a guy run towards a golf cart and jump onto it and have his flip flops slide and he slammed his head into the top of the cart and fell flat on his butt, knocked nearly out. He laid there a minute and started to get up and by the time we and several others got to him he was standing up rubbing his head. All of a sudden one person starts to laugh, and then we all are laughing at the unlucky soul. I just wonder why that happens.

Later that night they headed over to the Upper State fair and played a show at 9:00 p. m. Since we got in free we cruised the midway. It reminded me a little of how the Laurens County Fair used to be when I was growing up. Lots of rides, lots of games, and lots of shows. We watched a tiger show where the star of it was a huge white tiger that looked big enough for me to ride. Then it was on to the elephants. Right before Days Off Screen began their set, they had the last Elephant show of the night. The elephants did several stunts like playing basketball and playing a harmonica, but the most amazing stunt, at least to a six or seven year old boy was totally unscripted. As the elephant walked past him the Elephant decided to drop a load, and I do mean a load. The little fellow was so excited he yelled at the top of his voice, “Hey Ma, that elephant just $#!% all over the place!” Mom looked like she could kill him, and about a hundred or so other folks laughed long and hard about what the little darling had said. Sometimes life can get you a chuckle in the most unusual places.

Sunday was back to Anderson for day two of the Rockin’ Rib Off. The guys really enjoyed playing there. The folks that organized the Festival did an amazing job with the event and went out of their way to make the bands comfortable.

Anyway, that is enough of my ramblings for today, but I can guarantee you one thing, I ain’t about to take no kids to see an elephant show anytime soon!!!!

God Bless!!!
The Big One

What do I write this blog on!?!?!?

2008-08-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Big One’s Blog
August 25, 2008

Well, here I sit at my computer trying to figure out what to write about in my latest blog and I have no idea what I want to write a blog about. It’s not that I am having a severe episode of writers block, because I am not. I am ready to write, I am willing to write, and I am able to write, the trouble me trying to make up my mind on a particular subject to write a blog on. This is a good news, bad news type situation. The good news, there are a lot of things I could write about, the start of football season, baseball, the rise of the Cubbies, the fall of the squaws, doooooh sorry folks, I meant the hapless Braves, politics, zoning (yes I said Zoning, I wasn’t dumb enough to vote to keep my mouth shut on the subject), the latest NASCAR feud, the WWE, Cheeseburgers, our crazy dog Missy, who thinks she is human, and acts like it sometimes, the list is nearly endless on things that I could write a blog on. I could spend an hour or so talking about all of these subjects and even more. The bad news is none of them are really jumping out at me and demanding that I spend some time writing about them. I just can’t make my mind up on what I want to write a blog on today.

You know, life is like that sometimes. You have plenty of stuff going on in your life, some good, some not so good, but none of them important enough to merit your complete attention. You just skirt around them, dealing with the problems when you have to, and enjoying the good stuff when it moves to the forefront of your life. You know, I think that our lives would be a lot less complicated if we dealt with the good and bad about the same way. Never get too excited when something real good happens, and never get too down when you hit a bump in the road. Just hang in there and just roll with the flow.

Well, I was stuck on trying to decide on a subject to write a blog on, but as I look at the computer screen I see that I have written a blog and didn’t realize that I was writing one. Oh well, I guess I will save all the ideas that I mentioned earlier for another day, and another blog!!!

God Bless Guys,
The Big One

Busy Week ahead for Laurens County Folks!!!!!!

2008-08-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

The Big ‘Un’s Blog
August 17, 2008

Hey Guys,

It’s going to be a busy week with a whole lot of stuff going on. First Tuesday Gaffney comes to town to face the Raiders in a game type scrimmage. The scrimmage starts at 6:00 p. m. and you can listen to it on WLBG as you sit in the beautiful confines of K. C. Hanna Stadium and watch it firsthand. Of course, I am gonna sit on my side porch and watch it!

Thursday in Clinton the City of Clinton will have their “Back to School Bash” at the Depot in Downtown Clinton. The community will get to meet and greet the 2008 Clinton High School football team and coaches, cheerleaders, and the Clinton Devil Regiment Marching band. Also the Power team will be on hand performing some amazing demonstrations of strength, and no one of them will not be bench pressing me!

To wrap the evening up, Days Off Screen will entertain everyone with their unique brand of Christian Pop/Punk / Rock music.

Friday the Raiders head to Gaffney for the Gaffney Jambioree. Due to the press box not being ready at the new Reservation the game will not be on WLBG. However, that’s no reason not to attend. You can be in Gaffney in an hour.

Saturday evening beginning at 6:30 p. m, the City of Laurens Recreation Department will be hosting the Back to School Bash II at the Amphitheater. This is gonna be a show to end all shows. Six bands from across the southeast will perform. Bands scheduled are BridgeIcesBeforeRoad from York, Almost an Epic and Standout from Greenville, The Decade from Lexington, EMI recording stars, Philmont, from Charlotte, and Laurens County’s own Days off Screen. Real Radio 860 WLBG’s own Wyatt Mattison will be the MC and Friendship Presbyterian Church of Hickory Tavern’s Pastor Robert Cathcart will give the invocation.

Best of all both these events are free! Too many times we here there just isn’t anything for the kids to do around here, but the City’s of Clinton and Laurens are stepping up and offering the kids some great entertainment for free!!! Our city leaders should be applauded for being pro-active in providing the kids with events like these to attend.

Make your plans to attend the events, it’s going to be a lot of fun, and it gives the kids safe places to go.

Til next time, God Bless!!!
The Big ‘Un

New Sports Report

2008-08-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

As you beloved listeners have noticed, my daily sports report has changed dramatically this past week, Many have asked “What’s going on, why are you just doing racin’, rasslin’, and fightin’? Well quite simply because that is what needs to be done. Let’s face it, I ain’t nothing but a big ol’ country boy who loves his southern sports, just like most of y’all.

In an effort to have something for everyone, Emil decided he wanted more diversity in sports, more tennis, golf, and other sports of that nature. I have no problem with that, however, in my opinion, for the most part they are not high on the local sports fans priority list. However, in this case my opinion about what is important sports news and a buck will buy you a cold soda water and that’s about it.

When I was doing my prior sports report. I had two minutes and twenty five seconds to squeeze in local sports, college sports, major league baseball, and yes the Braves do suck, the NFL, racing, and an occasional weird sports news. I really did not have time for “Diversity in Sports” as Emil referred to it. We were at an impasse, I did not feel I had time to do much diversity in sports, and Emil wanted them. Something had to give, and in the end it was me. I got promoted, or demoted, or maybe I just slid out of the way, I ain’t real sure.

Emil asked John to do a diversity in sports report in addition to my sports. Which I theory is great, but in practice is not real practical. There is only so much golf and tennis and stuff like that to talk about. John and I began to talk and I realized that we could have the best of both worlds. Emil could have his diversity in sports with John taking over the general sports news except racin’, rasslin’, and fightin’, which I would now be able to expand coverage on. Instead of getting thirty or forty seconds about our southern sports, you get two full reports each day of real important sports news. Plus John will do two sports reports on all the pro, college, and high school sports, We all win, John gets to report on regular sports news, I get to report the really important sports news, and Emil gets his putty butt sports reported on also.

Hope you all enjoy the new additions to the website like the news on demand, the sports on demand, and our blogs. Many other updates are in the wings that I know you all will enjoy. Things are a changin’ around here.

Anyway, that’s about it sports fans. If you like the new sports reports, if you like the new features on the website, and if you are glad high school football is finally here, then give me a good ol’ Stone Cold Steve Austin “Oh Hell Yeah!!!”

God Bless guys,
The Big Un’

Football Lessons

2008-08-04T04:16:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day of practice for the 2008 high school football season and on this monumental day I reflect back to my high school playing days. I think back to 1972. My gosh, can it be that it’s been 36 years since I was one of these young warriors, full of piss and vinegar and ready to take on the world. It seems like it was yesterday. Sometimes it seems like it was another lifetime ago.

I was lucky enough to play for Keith Richardson, who in my and a lot of other people’s opinion was one of the greatest high school football coaches ever in the history of high school football in South Carolina. Coach Richardson made us good football players, but he made us better men. Sure, he taught us how to win football games, but more importantly, he taught us about life. My teammates and I learned that nothing is impossible, that together as a whole we were stronger than individuals, to love your teammate like a brother, to play hard but to play fair, and to never give up.

Throughout my life when I have hit roadblocks I have called on the lessons that I learned from Coach Richardson, and time and time again these lessons have given me the encouragement that I needed to go on. Many of my teammates have told me the same thing.

Keith Richardson taught us how to be men, and for that myself and 31 other guys that made up the 1972 state champion Clinton Red Devils will forever be indebted to him.

To the young men making up this year’s Raiders, Red Devils, Crusaders, Hornets football teams, I urge you, listen to your coaches. Now they might seem a little to hard, or mean, or ever wrong, but I promise you the lessons that they are teaching you will serve you the rest of your life.

In closing, thank you Coach Richardson for the lessons of life you taught to all the players that were lucky enough to play for you. You meant more to us than you will ever know, and for that we will forever be indebted to you.

‘Til next time, I’m the Big’Un, God Bless all!!!