I have not been able to get to the blog for almost a few weeks now and I know, this is the way that Blogs die. I mean Macon is a football and basketball town and it's hard to figure out what I should be writing about right now. My last blog about my basketball brackets, fresh with three local sportscasters predictions, was my biggest bomb of the year. I mean I don't even think they read it . I thought it was actually somewhat comical , but I guess next time I will have to go for the legends of Macon. I bet if I got Frank Malloy and Marvin James, I would have been a big hit. But those guys,esp Frank are legends and Marvin is making a name for himself and heading towards legendary status. Wes, my friend, I can get readers writing about you, unless I have Frank too. See what you can do for me.
I was sorry to hear about my friend Jim Massey , get replaced at Mount de Sales as the head basketball coach . I have known Jim since his Monroe Academy days when he worked with my brother and he is a great coach. But one can be only as good as his talent, and while he has had talent, he has not had anyone who could give him a consistent outside threat. It's a three point shooting type of game now, and Jim was never lucky enough to have a good shooting team. I wish him well in whatever is next for him.
Now his replacement is another friend of mine who I have known since his, well his Monroe Academy days. Duane Hunter has been a winner at the high school level and I hope maybe he is blessed with a few shooters that will give him a chance to compete in a very tough basketball region.
I have been able to see several high school baseball game lately and I have not seen anyone as of yet that can compete with Tattnall Square. Joey Hiller is loaded, but he is always loaded because Tattnall does a better job of developing baseball talent than anyone in Macon. Cory Bartholomew, Nick DiPonzio, and the Simmons brothers are all college level talents, and I think they will have another great season and probably compete for a state championship. Everyone else in Macon is chasing them, but I really don't see anyone else challenging them.
One of my favorite guys to watch is Jackson Pyles from Stratford. This guy has already signed with Georgia College and everytime he pitches,Stratford has a chance to win. What makes him special is he battles all the time. He is not very big and I am guessing he couldn't weigh more than 160 (that's a reach) but he had 9 strikeouts against a very good hitting Tattnall team. Stratford also has some young arms, but I think they are probably a year or two away.
The closest thing we have to professional baseball is the Mercer Bears. I had the honor of watching them play twice over the weekend and they have a great team this year. Kyle Lewis is a guy who must be seen by Macon baseball fans and you better see him this year, because he will be a high draft pick this year. The guy is hitting 470 and he is a five tool guy. If that pitching staff continues to grow, Mercer will make the NCAA tournament yet again.
The Macon high school look will be different next year with Derrick Evans, Quintez Cephus and O'Showen Williams all going off to college, but we will have some knew names step up and be almost as good. But that's a tough group to replace. I know we have many more great players, but these three guys are two sport athletes who excel at both. Keep an eye on those college careers because they are that good.
I just heard on the way home that Fort Valley State has not offered Donald Pittman a contract, and MY first though is what else was this guy supposed to do . He put up a competitive football team on the field every single year, and he was doing it with a nickel and dime budget. I am sure that Fort Valley State will look for a younger guy, but it will be difficult to match Pittman's success on the shoestring budget that they have right now. I hope that Coach Pittman can enjoy his non football years because I always enjoyed the guy.
In closing I will urge everyone to get out and watch the excellent Mercer baseball team play this Tuesday and Wednesday, and if college baseball isn't your thing, get out and watch something.
And remember, Laura Conway, the trendsetter for Macon swimming, for the Macon Hall of Fame.
See you guys outside somewhere
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