Kinston on GMA

Click here to see the Kinston Indians feature on Saturday’s broadcast of Good Morning America Weekend.

My take: Check out my column for my take.

How about them Pirates?!?!?

Congratulations, Pirate Nation  for defeating the hated Hokies of Virginia Tech! What a great win!

This is one of those games that you don’t mind missing in the picks. Congratulations, Lee, ECPirates11 and all you Pirates fans. You deserve this. How may Top 25 votes will ECU get this week?

Aug. 29 results — with rain delays

UPDATE: The South Lenoir at Kinston game has been postponed to 7 p.m. on Monday. All fans who bought tickets — you MUST bring your stub with you to be readmitted to the game. If you don’t bring it, you will have to buy another ticket.

Don’t forget to come back tonight for results from our area and all over the state. 

Scores

North Lenoir 15, North Johnston 14

Wilson Beddingfield 32, Greene Central 0

Jones Senior 36, North Pitt 14

Postponements

South Lenoir at Kinston, ppd., Monday 7 p.m.

Parrott Academy at Fayetteville Trinity Christian, ppd., Monday 5:30 p.m.

James Kenan at Ayden-Grifton, ppd., Saturday, 6 p.m.

Statewide scores, courtesy of The Associated Press:

Apex 28, Raleigh Broughton 24

Ashe County 34, West Caldwell 7

Asheboro 48, Central Davidson 27

Asheville Erwin 37, Black Mountain Owen 14

Asheville Reynolds 17, Asheville 10

Asheville Roberson 17, West Henderson 0

Bessemer City 55, North Gaston 0

Bunn 14, Southern Nash 8

Burlington Cummings 33, Carrboro 6

Burnsville Mountain Heritage 53, Andrews 7

Canton Pisgah 41, Enka 0

Charlotte Catholic 21, Charlotte Myers Park 20

Charlotte Country Day 21, Marvin Ridge 0

Charlotte Independence 47, Charlotte Olympic 0

Cherokee 21, Polk County 18

Chesnee, S.C. 25, Forest City Chase 7

China Grove Carson 36, North Rowan 0

Clayton 33, Pikeville Aycock 28

Clover, S.C. 45, Gastonia Ashbrook 6

Currituck County 54, Gates County 22

Davie County 35, West Rowan 21

Dunn Midway 42, West Bladen 24

Durham Hillside 43, Warren County 12

Durham Jordan 45, Morrisville Green Hope 14

East Bladen 47, Whiteville 41, 2OT

East Davidson 36, Trinity 34

East Forsyth 37, Winston-Salem Reynolds 16

East Henderson 41, Rosman 20

East Lincoln 35, Catawba Bandys 8

East Mecklenburg 20, West Charlotte 14

East Surry 36, North Surry 16

East Wilkes 28, North Wilkes 14

Elizabeth City Northeastern 19, Manteo 0

Elkin 47, East Bend Forbush 6

Fayetteville Westover 14, Cape Fear 7

Goldsboro 37, Eastern Wayne 6

Greensboro Page 36, Northeast Guilford 7

Greenville Conley 22, Northern Nash 11

Greenville Rose 35, Bertie County 20

Harnett Central 38, Fuquay-Varina 14

Hendersonville 41, North Henderson 12

Hertford County 28, Southern Durham 12

Hickory Ridge 35, Concord Robinson 8

Hickory St. Stephens 10, Alexander Central 7

High Point Andrews 21, Greensboro Smith 0

High Point Central 35, Burlington Williams 14

Huntersville Hopewell 30, Charlotte Berry Tech 0

Jacksonville Northside 33, Wilmington Ashley 6

Jamestown Ragsdale 21, Southwest Guilford 20

Jones County 36, North Pitt 14

Kannapolis Brown 28, South Rowan 7

Kings Mountain 32, Gastonia Huss 18

Lake Norman 26, South Iredell 21

Lenoir Hibriten 35, South Caldwell 0

Lumberton 14, Scotland County 0

Maiden 38, West Lincoln 7

Mallard Creek 27, Charlotte Harding 12

Marshville Forest Hills 34, Monroe Piedmont 7

Matthews Butler 49, North Mecklenburg 7

Mayodan McMichael 40, South Stokes 7

McDowell County 24, Mitchell County 21

Monroe 32, Weddington 19

Monroe Sun Valley 14, West Stanly 0

Mt. Airy 63, Surry Central 13

Mt. Pleasant 42, Concord 27

Murphy 21, Franklin 10

Nash Central 28, Smithfield-Selma 20

North Brunswick 32, Fairmont 0

North Buncombe 49, Madison County 15

North Davidson 21, Thomasville Ledford 0

North Lenoir 15, North Johnston 14

North Lincoln 34, Claremont Bunker Hill 15

North Stokes 46, Grayson County, Va. 14

Northern Guilford 40, Eastern Randolph 14

Northwest Cabarrus 44, Central Cabarrus 0

Northwest Guilford 14, Western Guilford 13

Oxford Webb 18, Person County 14

Pittsboro Northwood 20, Western Harnett 18

Princeton 25, North Moore 0

R-S Central 42, Cherryville 0

Raleigh Enloe 24, Raleigh Athens Drive 21

Raleigh Leesville Road 43, Cary 22

Raleigh Millbrook 48, Knightdale 19

Raleigh Ravenscroft 21, Louisburg 8

Raleigh Sanderson 27, Panther Creek 23

Raleigh Wakefield 28, Holly Springs 21

Reidsville 53, Eden Morehead 6

Robbinsville 35, Avery County 13

Robersonville Roanoke 26, North Edgecombe 14

Rocky Mount 44, Wilson Hunt 6

Rocky Mount Academy 44, Cary Christian 20

Salisbury 35, East Rowan 6

Siler City Jordan-Matthews 25, Graham 23

South Central Pitt 20, Farmville Central 12

South Granville 40, Southern Vance 7

South Mecklenburg 49, Charlotte Waddell 18

South Stanly 26, Blacksburg, S.C. 6

Southeast Raleigh 28, Northern Vance 7

Southern Alamance 6, Western Alamance 0

Southern Guilford 37, Randleman 0

Southern Pines Pinecrest 47, Cameron Union Pines 12

Southside, S.C. 46, East Burke 35

Southwest Onslow 25, Jacksonville 7

Southwestern Randolph 29, Providence Grove 21

Statesville 27, Hickory 12

Swain County 20, Sylva Smoky Mountain 16

Tarboro 35, Washington 0

Thomasville 28, Lexington 21

Topsail 27, Pender County 7

Union County, Ga. 35, Hayesville 13

Wake Forest-Rolesville 35, East Wake 6

Waynesville Tuscola 49, Brevard 28

Weldon 40, Roanoke Rapids 22

West Columbus 20, East Columbus 14

West Davidson 38, South Davidson 0

West Forsyth 31, Kernersville Glenn 12

West Johnston 35, South Johnston 28

West Mecklenburg 21, Charlotte Providence 16

West Stokes 26, Boonville Starmount 24

Wilkes Central 29, West Wilkes 13

Williamston 24, Edenton Holmes 22

Wilson Beddingfield 32, Greene Central 0

Winston-Salem Carver 40, Winston-Salem Atkins 6

Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor 41, Pfafftown Reagan 0

Winston-Salem Parkland 35, North Forsyth 26

POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS

Fayetteville Seventy-First vs. Fayetteville Smith, ppd. to Aug 30.

Fayetteville Pine Forest vs. Fayetteville Britt, ppd. to Aug 30.

Fayetteville Byrd vs. Fayetteville Sanford, ppd. to Aug 30.

Warsaw Kenan vs. Ayden-Grifton, ppd. to Aug 30.

South Lenoir vs. Kinston, ppd. to Sep 1.

North Duplin vs. Pinetown Northside, ccd.

East Chapel Hill vs. Orange County, ppd. to Sep 1.

SouthWest Edgecombe vs. West Craven, ppd. to Sep 1.

Hope Mills Gray’s Creek vs. Hope Mills South View, ppd. to Aug 30.

My picks, Week 2

Prep 

South Lenoir at Kinston: KHS

North Lenoir at North Johnston: NL

Parrott Academy at Fayetteville Trinity Christian: Trinity

Wilson Beddingfield at Greene Central: WB

James Kenan at Ayden-Grifton: JK

Jones Senior at North Pitt: JS

College

SMU at Rice: Rice

Temple at Army: Temple

East Carolina vs. Virginia Tech: VPU

James Madison at Duke: DU

Utah at Michigan: UM

TCU at New Mexico: TCU

Michigan State at California: Cal

Alabama vs. Clemson: Clemson

Kentucky at Louisville: Louisville

Don’t forget to make your picks here. You have until 7:30 p.m. to get ’em in. If you don’t pick a game, it’s counted as a miss.

McCain chooses … who?

John McCain has made his vice-presidential pick — and it’s someone you probably haven’t heard of. McCain has selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a first-termer who is 44.

My take: As bad as Barack Obama’s pick was, this even tops that. How confident are you that McCain — who is OLD — will even make it his first full term? And if he dies, you have someone with even less experience than Obama as your president?

Wow.

Can’t we — as a nation — do better than what we’ve ended up with this election year?

I’ll give her this: at least she’s easier on the eyes than McCain, Obama or Joe Biden. Take a gander yourself:

Chad Johnson is now, officially, “Ocho Cinco”? — with update

According to ESPN’s James Walker, yes.

My take: We always thought he was crazy, now we can be pretty confident of that fact.

Here’s what I find funnier — what if the Bengals trade him somewhere someone already has No. 85 or where 85 is retired? What does he do then?

Good grief.

UPDATE AT 4:40 P.M.: It’s not official on NFL.com yet, but it is on this fantasy football site: check this out…

Morning News Report; Aug. 29, 2008

OBAMA OFFICIALLY ACCEPTS DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT

Sen. Barack Obama made history last night when he accepted the Democratic nomination for president in front of 85,000 supporters in Denver.

My take: It seemed more like a rock concert than the final day of a party’s convention. I was watching CNN’s coverage and when the camera panned over the stadium when Obama walked out, the flashbulbs were almost blinding.

Obama promised A LOT last night — how the heck is he going to deliver on even 20 percent of it?

And I’ll say what I said yesterday: the Republicans are going to have to work hard to top the show the Democrats put on this week.

MCCAIN KNOWS WHO HIS VP SELECTION IS — BUT YOU DON’T

John McCain decided early Thursday who his vice-presidential pick is, but has not told the media yet. He is going to announce the pick today in Dayton, Ohio. Yesterday, some media outlets said it was Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty — especially after he cancelled some of his engagements for today — but he is now saying it’s not going to be him.

My take: Is it just me or is there just not as much interest in this pick as there was in Obamas? The personalities certainly aren’t as strong on the Republican side.

I think Mitt Romney is the natural pick here, but obviously, it won’t be him, either. How about a surprise pick — like Dick Cheney? He’s been a solid VP for eight years, how about four more?

Wouldn’t that shock the nation?

“X-FILES” STAR GETTING HELP FOR SEX ADDICTION

David Duchovny, the former X-Files star, has been admitted to a facility to deal with his addiction to sex.

My take: Really, what kind of take can I have here? Good luck to the guy and I hope he gets better soon.

Did we have all these “addictions” 100 years ago? The ones that chap my hide are gambling and sex. Dude, just don’t do it! When did common sense disappear?

OK, rant over. 

The iPod shuffle

Party Up (Up In Here) — DMX

Heartbreak Hotel — Elvis Presley

It’s My Life — Bon Jovi

Rollin’ (DJ Monk vs. The Track Mack Remix) — Limp Bizkit

Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own — U2

Adam “Pacman” Jones reinstated — while at Hooter’s

Adam “Pacman” Jones of the Dallas Cowboys was reinstated to the NFL on Thursday, ending his suspension for a bunch of bad behavior.

What makes the story sort of, well, ironic, is that Pacman was at a Hooter’s Restaurant when he received the news.

My take: I’m a big fan of Hooters (the restaurant), so that’s not that big of a deal to me. I just find it funny that someone who is supposed to stay away from strip clubs is eating meals at a strip club-lite.

Have fun this season, Cowboys fans!

K-Tribe feature on ABC’s Good Morning America to air Saturday

Remember when ABC’s “Good Morning America” came to Kinston to film a feature on the Indians and our town? Well, that feature will air Saturday sometime between 8 and 9 a.m.

GMA airs locally on WCTI ABC-12 (Channel 13 on Kinston’s Suddenlink Cable). I can’t wait to see it!

Morning News Report; Aug. 28, 2008

OBAMA OFFICIALLY NOMINATED TO BE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT

It was a great day for Democrats on Wednesday in Denver as their party came together to support Barack Obama for president. Whether you choose to believe it or not, the Clintons came together — with Hillary stopping the roll call and Bill giving his usual tremendous speech — to put Obama on the verge of officially becoming the Democratic candidate for president.

Sen. Joe Biden accepted his party’s nomination for vice president in a stirring speech. 

Obama takes the stage in front of 70,000 Democrats at Denver’s Invesco Field tonight in what will probably be a rock-star atmosphere.

My takes: Congratulations to our country. Love him or hate him, Obama is an example of why America is the greatest country in the world. As someone said in an earlier reply (I looked to see who it was to credit them, but couldn’t find it), we have the only country in the world where a minority race person — part of only 15 percent of America — can be the leader of that country.

Again — another reason to love our great country.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see Bill Clinton’s speech live, but the snippets I’ve seen show me that he’s still got the ol’ aura going.

Biden surprised me with his emotional and well-delivered speech. He is also a great orator and communicated well.

I’ll say this: the Republicans are going to have to get on their horses (or elephants?) to have a convention that will be comparable with the show the Democrats have put on so far.

SAT SCORES RISE AT NORTH LENOIR, SOUTH LENOIR, FALL AT KINSTON HIGH SCHOOL

For the third straight year, the best SAT-takers in the county go to school at South Lenoir. The kids in Deep Run averaged 1,540 on the SAT, up an impressive 110 points from 1,430 last year, although only 35 percent of the SL kids were tested.

North Lenoir — which tested 39 percent of its students — also improved from 1,340 a year ago to 1,397.

The only school in the county to drop was Kinston, which fell from 1,400 last year to 1,348. However, 49 percent of the Kinston kids were tested, the most in the county.

Greene Central saw its SAT averages rise modestly from 1,356 to 1,378, while Jones Senior’s fell from 1,331 to 1,323.

My take: The SAT is such a subjective test, but the kids, teachers and administration down at South Lenoir can take pride in this. They even did better than the state average of 1,489 and the national average of 1,511.

Congratulations, South Lenoir. 

MERRIMAN TO PLAY THIS SEASON DESPITE INJURY

Despite two ligament tears in his left knee, San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman will play this season instead of having surgery.

My take: Simply put, this is a stupid decision. While I respect his decision to be a “gamer”, I have to question his intelligence. It’s not going to take much to wreck his knee and he’ll NEVER play football again — and he’ll struggle to even walk.

Do you think the Chargers would do the same for him? If he gets hurt, do you think they will give him a fat contract to make up for the money he’s going to lose?

He’s 24. Miss a season, then come back for six, seven or eight more years.

Who is advising him on this? I bet his agent is pulling his/her hair out.

The iPod shuffle

The House Is Rockin’ — Stevie Ray Vaughan

Country Roads — John Denver

Rock And Roll Is Dead — Lenny Kravitz

The Gas Face — 3rd Bass

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) — Jimi Hendrix