To say that Vickey Ritchie likes Halloween 🎃 would be equal to saying that people like to eat cake 🎂. It should be to no ones surprise that tomorrow, our Special Olympics Basketball practice will have a Halloween theme.
It turns out that we are currently exactly halfway through the year in regards to the holiday of the Great Pumpkin 🎃. I’m not sure where the mind of our fearless leader will take us next, but I’m sure that it will be fun for everyone who walks through the gym door 🚪 tomorrow !
From start to finish on a doubleheader Saturday , we spend 8 to 9 hours together, and the quality of the day is directly tied to the quality of people you have, helping you produce a show.
Today, we have struck Gold as all four of the Golden Bears 🐻 involved are walking the fine line of being totally focused yet sneak in some side stories when time allows.
Liam Craven plays on the WVU-T Basketball team, and today, he is responsible for the schools live feed of the games. Craven is from Canada 🇨🇦, sharp as can be, and handles the technology of our team. His favorite basketball player is Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets 🚀. Sports management as his major !
The next member of the team is freshman, Mason Divers. Divers is a red shirt this year as he recovers from an injury, and the recent graduate 🎓 of Charlottesville High School 🏫 has an understanding of the game beyond his years. The left-handed pitcher is learning the ins and outs of what it takes to have it appear that we are a well-oiled machine.
This afternoon, Divers is responsible for the announcing of the Golden Bears and just broke out the ” Another Golden Bear has found his way to Home Plate ” as we push our lead out to 3-1 here in the bottom of the fifth.
Michael Thor is the key 🔑 ingredient to the amount of polish we have on any given day. For folks back home in Carroll County, Thor is a younger version of Kevin Burress at Cavalier Park. The equipment is more sophisticated, but the level of commitment is spot on ! The sophomore from Nitro is also awaiting his time on the field, and when he’s not anchoring our team, he’s busy working on his degree in mechanical engineering.
Thor handles every aspect of our sound, which at this level is a substantial amount. We are now at the top of the 7th inning, so he is prepping our Harry Carry tribute that we do during the 7th inning stretch.
The fourth member of our team is Garrett Miller, and he has the job that nobody wants. Miller has to keep up with every pitch and the pitch clock ⏰️.
The scoreboard out in left center shows the number of items that Miller has to keep straight.
It’s now 2 pm, and game one of two is moving along at a pleasant pace ! We all made a guess at what time game 2 will end at the guesses range from 5:48 to 6:47 and the effort started at 10:00.
First Pitch 57° temperature 🌡/ time 12:00 on the nose 👃.
From here, I will give each of these impressive young men to add their own thoughts about themselves, things that would make their parents proud.
Mason – I was introduced to WVU Tech through Tommy Weaver (Tech baseball alum). When I found out I was going to have sit out my freshmen season I was bummed. But then that first time in the press box at Marshall University working the pitch clock, that was when I first got to meet Jerry. He stepped out of the room, and that’s when I filled in to announce a batter. From there, my teammates have loved the familiar voice coming across the speakers. I want to thank both my Dad who used to help in the press box in Little League for his great voice that I get to inherit. And I would like to thank my mom for her support of me and giving me the kindness I get to share with everyone I get to announce. Lastly, I want to thank Jerry Carter for how much help he has been to giving me the opportunity and knowledge to learn how much goes into announcing a ball game!
Game 1 goes to our Golden Bears 🐻, 4-1 and the best part was it only took 2:40 !!!
Thor – I first saw WVU Tech as a good opportunity to stay close to home and get an engineering degree. After talking with Coach Ness about potentially playing baseball here, it seemed like a no-brainer. I had the goal of playing baseball in college, and my parents were entirely supportive of it. When thinking about all I’ve learned and the people I’ve met, I can safely say I have enjoyed my time these last 2 years. I am truly thankful for all the people who have ever helped me and will help me in the future. I wouldn’t be here without my parents, friends, and family.
5:31 – end of Game #2…Cougars 7, Golden Bears 🐻 but we win the series, 2-1 !!!
Season #18 is rapidly approaching the end of the line this weekend as it’s the next to the final trip for the 2025 – 2026 season. Midway comes to town on April 24th & 25th with our annual Senior Day festivities taking place on that final Saturday.
18 years is a long time ⌛️and being life doesn’t come with any guarantees, one has to ask the question, is this the end of the journey ?
If it is, the campaign will go down as the one that stuck the closest to the original script. Playing baseball in the mountains of West Virginia in the month of February can get a little tricky at times, but after a rocky start, things settled down quite a bit.
The home opener was slated for February 21 and 22nd in Beckley but was moved over to Marshall University and eventually condensed to the ultra rare triple header ahead of a snow ❄️ storm. Three games in one day proved to be a challenge, and the 22nd was wiped from the calendar. The opportunity for this series with Lawrence Tech was made possible by the flight ✈️ back across the country for The Basketball 🏀 Classic, Take #3.
The only true add-on game took place three days later at Go-Mart Park in Charleston (25th vs. Pikeville) and later on March 19th replaced March 17th. That move made the original 16 home dates turn into 18. Three home stadiums 🏟, all top level and enjoyable to work in. Marshall University was a first-timer and pushed the number of parks that I’ve called a game up to 12.
The questions started when I drove under the welcome 🙏 to West Virginia sign back on Thursday afternoon. How many times had that moment taken place in 18 years ? How many hotels 🏨 were slept in ? The number of West Virginia Turnpike toll booths was there along the way ?
The difference between being a 44 year old living in Luray, Virginia, and a 62 year old living in Laurel Fork, Virginia, is as big as it sounds. The years spent out on Orcas Island 🏝 in the San Juans limited the trips to just Senior Day weekends.
How many assistant coaches have worn the Golden Bears uniform over the span ? How many miles had been driven and in how many different vehicles ? We moved the campus from Montgomery to Beckley during the run, not something that happens every day, and don’t forget the part where our engineering school was gobbled up by West Virginia University.
The game on Friday afternoon flirted with taking four hours to finish, but it will go down as one of the most exciting ones along the way for sure. Today will run right at eight hours ( 1 nine inning game, followed by 1 seven inning game ) from start to finish, and then there’s the drive back home.
If this is the end of the journey, I was thrilled to hang out at Hawks Nest Lodge one more time because it has been part of my life forever and a day. While it’s just a dot on the map to many, The Nest 🪹🪺 is my favorite place to ponder life, and it’s been that way for 40+ years.
The hotel 🏨 breakfast is now open, so it’s a good time to head downstairs. How many times have I thought that over the past 18 years ?
Baseball ⚾️ is just a game to many, but it’s bigger than that to those on the inside. It becomes part of you, but hey, it is time to go make a waffle 🧇.
Let’s play two today !
Vickey Ritchie and our Special Olympics Basketball Athletes will be representing the group in a Track and Field meet next Saturday (18th).
John 1:3
King James Version
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
We will see what else heads this way as the day plays out !
Have a Blessed Day 🙌!
What do the Washington Post, Beckley’s Register – Herald, The Carroll News, and the Galax Gazette have in common ?
Each newspaper has made drastic changes to how they view sports. Gone are the days when sports played a major role in the newspaper industry.
A little over two months ago, the Washington Post, one of the largest newspapers in the United States 🇺🇸 pulled the plug 🔌 on its spoits department as a whole !
The Register – Herald is a solid six day publication in a city where the population of the greater area is just over 100,000. Not all that long ago, we would have someone from the newspaper stop by our games, but they too have trained their readers to expect a different type of sports section. One full of wire reports on professional games with a few local stories that can be generated from a desk mixed in.
The story I wrote tonight was an attempt for the newspaper to have coverage from one of our games ahead of a doubleheader tomorrow. We will see if it makes the online or print edition ?
The weekly Galax Gazette was forced to make a highly unpopular decision about its Sports department back in the fall of 2023. The newspaper parted ways with a local legend, Craig Worrell, and seriously downshifted its sports coverage.
Where does The Carroll News fit into this story? Another long-time home-grown Homer named Worrell went from being a sports editor to being the editor. Working with a skeleton crew, Allen Worrell was forced into a unique role, and it stayed that way for quite some time.
News and community first and sprinkle in sports when you can. Then, those pesky, Alyssa Ervin led juggernaut won consecutive State Championships, forcing the newspaper to provide Wall to Wall coverage.
The one sport that was never going to lack coverage was the football team. Football is KING 🤴, even at the high school level. Beyond that, sports became an option. How did the Carroll News continue to produce a normal looking sports section for another two plus years ? The answer there was he found a partner in his Homerness ways, and the good news was the person worked for free !
The fella agreed to cover everything that could be covered and then politely step aside when a story grew. The perfect example was when Anthony Barnes and his Cavaliers made their state run, the writer switched from me to Allen. It worked really well for right at three years before Allen stepped away from the position when an opportunity presented itself.
The number of stories I created for the newspaper was well north of 250, and it included state coverage for Track and Field (3 times ) ➕️ state golf ⛳️ for Chase Reavis twice. Each time on my own dime and it was because I felt that individuals going to State were of the exact same relevance as teams.
Coaches have to adjust to coverage that comes over the phone and when it’s convenient to an already demanding job of a newspaper editor.
Going back to today, I arrived at the stadium 90 minutes prior to first pitch and then proceeded to call a ballgame that flirted with lasting four full hours. Then, the choice of spending another 90 minutes to create a story on the hopes that it will be used makes for a really, really long day. But in a season full of tough losses, these student athletes deserved a moment in the Sun 🌞.
Somewhere, in the back of my brain 🧠, I hear Danny Glover saying, “Man, I am too old for this stuff”
Now it’s 11:43 p.m., and we get to start all over here in a bit. Sports talk radio 📻, ESPN, and social media have changed the landscape, and I promise you, it’s not going to change back.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 