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Sp rtsThe County TimesThursday, May 2, 2013 34A View From TheBleachersA Failed ChemistryExperimentBy Ronald N. Guy Jr.Contributing WriterA fewyears ago, Iwatched mydaughter painta dragon. Herbrushstrokes,to her art-challengedfather,were amazingin their fluidityand effortlessness. The elegant flowof pen across paper created unmistakablecharacteristics and withinmoments the beast had come aliveon paper. It was still a drawing by achild, but it wasn’t about the qualityof the art - it was her execution. Itwas out of body. Her unencumberedthoughts were guiding the brush.There was no consternation and noimpeding examination between herimagination and her hand’s magicaltransfer of image onto paper.The point is my daughter’shand and a paintbrush work together.There’s a natural chemistry betweendevice and extremity and aninnate ability to convert thought intotangible image. Transport me backin time to apprentice under Monetor Van Gogh and I could probablyproduce passable artwork; but I’dnever duplicate my daughter’s grace.Similarly, Stephen King said in hisbook “On Writing” that obsessivededication can turn competent writersinto good ones, but great writingis something you either can or can’tproduce. I experience that humblingtruth often while ironing out choppyprose. There are times when stringingtwo sentences together exceedsmy capabilities; other times hundredsof words can explode in moments. Ifonly the latter could be bottled andconsumed as needed.Sports are no different from artor writing - the naturals stand out immediatelyto the naked eye. A fewglimpses of Ken Griffey Jr’s swing,Barry Sanders running a football,Randy Moss running under a longbomb, Hakeem Olajuwon in the lowpost or Roger Federer playing tennisand you know greatness is beforeyou. Each regularly accomplishedelite athletic feats with seeminglylittle effort. There was no wastedmovement; everything – from mindto every part of the body – was incomplete harmony.Of the major team sports, basketball– particularly on the offensiveend - requires the most integrationto play at the highest level. Consistentlyputting the orange in the hoopis predicated on proper spacing,ball movement, unselfishness andclose choreography between 5 participants.When a basketball team issynchronized, the game is graceful –even artful. Passes are crisp, the ballmoves like a pinball and plays unfurlahead of the human eye’s ability toprocess. When it is executed precisely,offensive basketball is perhaps themost beautiful display in the sportsworld’s gallery - and no one does itbetter than the San Antonio Spurs.The Spurs’ talent - with householdnames like Manu Ginobili, TonyParker and Tim Duncan – is undeniable,but teamwork and the perfectintegration of role players like MattBonner, Danny Green and TowsonUniversity’s (a shameless plug of myalma mater) Gary Neal are the rootof their mastery. From top to bottomthe Spurs organization is perfectlyaligned and role-mapped; the oncourtproduct is simply as gorgeousas modern basketball gets.Ironically, the Spurs’ first roundplayoff opponent, the Los AngelesLakers, is their antithesis. WithKobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, DwightHoward and Steve Nash, the Lakersare a hodgepodge of elite talent thathas never found its flow. Coachingchanges, tweaked lineups and teammeetings – clichés of desperate teams- have had no effect. The Lakers havebeen foiled by injury and acrimonyand ultimately were doomed by a severelack of chemistry. The Lakerswere swept 4 games to none in an uncompetitiveseries against the Spurs;an outcome that secured their legacyas an apocalyptic disaster and thelatest entry in “Chemistry TrumpsTalent”, an unwritten diary of teambuilding.Barbara Walters once infamouslyasked Katharine Hepburn “if youwere a tree, what kind of tree wouldyou be?” I suppose if the Lakerswere an artist, they’d be me with abrush held awkwardly in on hand, apalate loaded with dollops of paint inthe other and a blank canvass aboutto be victimized.Send comments to rguyjoon@yahoo.comSomerset PatriotsTrounce Blue CrabsThe Somerset Patriots defeated the SouthernMaryland Blue Crabs twice during backto-backnights at regency stadium. The Patriotswon 8-5 in a 10th inning rally tonight in front ofa season-high 5,312 fans on April 26, then won7-4 in front of 3,613 fans on April 27 at RegencyFurniture Stadium.The Patriots began the April 27 game byhomering in the first inning and would not relinquishthe lead for the remainder of the game.In the loss, Southern Maryland drops to 3-7 inthe Liberty Division, while Somerset improvesto 6-3 in the Freedom Division.First baseman Jose Julio-Ruiz led the wayfor the Blue Crabs, going 2-for-4 and contributingtwo RBIs on the night. Julio-Ruiz broughtthe Blue Crabs within one in the fourth as theteam attempted a bottom of the inning rallyhowever, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabswould be unable to add any more runs in theframe. Designated-hitter Ryan Mulhern wouldhave the only other multi-hit game (2-for-4),while center fielder Jeremy Owens continued towarm up after a cool streak, going 1-for-3 withtwo walks and two stolen bases.Somerset’s second baseman Jonny Tuckerwent 3-for-5 tonight for the Patriots, dishing outthree RBIs and one run in the contest. CatcherJake Fox also hit his second home run in asmany nights for the Patriots as he went 2-for-5with one run and one RBI.LHP Jeremy Sowers would not perform asstrongly on the mound as he did in his last startagainst Somerset. Despite pitching two stronginnings to begin the game, Sowers would eventuallyunravel in the fifth, walking the first threebatters he faced. In four innings the starter allowedfive runs on four hits and three walks.For the Patriots RHP Mitch Atkins alsofaced trouble throughout his five inningspitched. The Blue Crabs would nab four runsoff of three hits, while Atkins managed fivestrikeouts in his start and walking four.Sowers began the game by retiring the firsttwo batters he faced, but gave up a home run tothe next batter Fox. The home run was the secondof the series for the catcher who went 2-for-5 last night. Despite a leadoff walk by Owens,the Blue Crabs were unable to add any runs inthe bottom of the inning as the Patriots took anearly 1-0 lead.Sowers quickly redeemed himself in thesecond by retiring the next three batters in arow and the Blue Crabs defense helped the 26year-old get out of trouble in the third. Patriotscenter fielder Aharon Eggleston would be hit bya pitch, advancing to first in the top of the thirdwith one out, but the Blue Crabs would get twoouts right back as Sowers struck out shortstopBobby Stevens and Eggleston was caught stealingat second. Designated hitter Yunesky Sanchez,who has collected seven hits in the firsteight games, then came to the plate. Fortunatelythough, a fly out to the shortstop for Sanchezhelped the Blue Crabs get out of the inningwithout a run scored.Southern Maryland wouldn’t be much helpon the offensive side in those same innings,despite the Blue Crabs getting runners to thecorners in the second with two outs. Somersetwould retire the next batter second basemanWladimir Sutil and was able to get out of theinning with the two runners left on base. In thethird Owens continued to turnaround his performanceafter a slow start to the season with aleadoff single and stolen base. Yet Atkins againgot the next three consecutive batters out as thescore remained 1-0 in favor of the patriots.Playing a part in moving Blue Crabs battersto the corners in the second inning, Mulhernwould help by getting himself on base inthe bottom of the fourth. The ensuing batter Julio-Ruizwould get Mulhern, plus himself homeas he belted a two-run homerun over the rightfield wall, for his first home run of the seasonand a 2-1 score at the end of four.After allowing the leadoff batter on base inthree innings straight (second through fifth) thePatriots would finally capitalize on the situationin the top of the fifth. Sowers struggled, walkingthe first three batters he faced in the inning.Manager Patrick Osborn chose to replace Sowersin favor of RHP Kyle Mertins with the basesloaded. Mertins, who was faced with a toughtask of a bases loaded situation with no outs,had work to do. Somerset’s Tucker would tallyhis first hit with a single followed by a Sanchezsingle, putting the Patriots ahead 3-2. Mertinswould battle back, retiring the three of the nextfour batters, but not before a sacrifice fly for atally and Mertins throwing a wild pitch to addtwo more to the board for Somerset.A bottom of the inning rally would be inthe works for the Blue Crabs however as Patriotspitcher Atkins began to lose momentum.Owens reached base for the third time on thenight as he led-off the inning with a walk andstolen base for the second time tonight. ShortstopRenny Osuna was then sent to first afterbeing hit by a pitch as outfielder Brian Bartondropped down a sacrifice bunt. Somerset wouldthen tally back-to-back errors from the thirdbaseman and pitcher Atkins. Third basemanSmith would overthrow first as he tried to getBarton out, leaving him at first and allowingOwens to score, while pitcher Atkins also overthrew first base as he checked the runner duringthe next at bat, allowing Osuna the score as theBlue Crabs shortened the Patriots lead to 5-4.The Blue Crabs would be unable to contributeany more runs to the board after thefifth inning, however Tucker’s single to rightfield would chip in two more runs in the eighthinning and a stolen base for the 7-4 final overSouthern Maryland.The Blue Crabs remain home Sunday toclose out a three-game series against the SomersetPatriots. The game slated for 2:05 p.m.will be the seventh meeting between the twoclubs this season. Southern Maryland will thenhave an off-day Monday before heading backon the road for a six-game road trip Tuesday.The Liberty Division’s first-place BridgeportBluefish will be the Blue Crabs first opponentin a three-game series, before facing the CamdenRiversharks for the first time this seasonstarting on May 3. Fans can listen to the BlueCrabs live broadcast tomorrow on www.phoenixintermedia.comwith pre-game beginning at 6:15p.m. Fans can also follow the Blue Crabs onwww.somdbluecrabs.com .
35 Thursday, May 2, 2013The County TimesSp rts“Feathers Career-First at Potomac Comesin Non-Stop “Ernie Jones Memorial”“Franklin a First-Timer in Street Stock Main”By Doug WatsonContributing WriterBudds Creek, MD - “This is the firsttime I’ve ever raced here in a late model,”were the words from 21-year-old WinchesterVa. native Trever Feathers after scoring hiscareer-first Potomac speedway Late Modelfeature win in last Saturday nights 35-lap,Three State Flyers “Ernie Jones” memorial.Feathers win, worth $3022, plus bonus money,was run in record time as the 35-lap featurewent non-stop from green to checker injust over 13 minutes with all 23 feature startersfinishing the eventDefending Winchester speedway LateModel champion Kenny Pettyjohn and Feathersshared the front-row for the start of theevent. Pettyjohn got the jump at the start,however, Feathers utilized the outside grooveto snare the race lead as the mob roared offturn-two. From that point on, it would be arace for second, as Feathers sliced in and outof lapped traffic to lead the distance over eventualrunner-up Pettyjohn. “I can’t believe I’mstanding here right now.” A jubilant Feathersstated in Potomac’s victory lane. “We’ve beenworking on this car all season trying to get itright, and I can’t thank my mom and dad andall the people who help with this thing, thiswin is for them.” In a race that went non-stop,Feathers had to deal with heavy lapped trafficin the latter stages of the race. “I lost mybrakes around lap-26.” Said Feathers. “I reallyhad to take it easy over those final few lapsbecause I wasn’t sure how big of a lead wehad and I didn’t want to give this one away inlapped cars, but the track was just about perfecttonight and it was my job to get it done,and we did.” David Williams came homethird, Mark Pettyjohn was fourth with JamieLathroum rounding out the top-five. Settingfast-time in time trials over the 24 car fieldwas Mark Pettyjohn with a one-lap time of16.086. Heat race wins went to Feathers, Williamsand Mark Pettyjohn.Defending Winchester speedway trackchampion Mike Franklin scored his first-careerPotomac feature win in the 16-lap StreetStock feature. Franklin took the lead fromMike Corbin on lap-2 and would go on totake the win by a straightaway over eventualrunner-up Kyle Nelson. Corbin hung toughfor third, Chuck Bowie was fourth with eleventh-startingJimmy Randall completing thetop-five. Heats for the 15 cars on hand went toFranklin and Nelson.Jonathon Raley scored his first featurewin of the season in the 15-lap Hobby Stockmain. Raley, who stated seventh, took theNMRA Fords invade MIRlead from Jamie Sutphin on lap-14, and wouldcruise to the checker in a race that featuredfour-different leaders. Sutphin held on forsecond, Kyle Nelson was third, Matt Tarboxtook fourth with Matt Krickbaum roundingout the top-five. John Burch was the heatwinner.In the nightcap 20-lap U-Car featureTom Paddock dominated the event for hisfirst win of the season. Paddock started on thepole and would run off and hide from the restof the field to score the relatively easy win.Jeff Wilkins was second, Jason Wilkins tookthird, Justin Katz fourth with Ryan Clementfilling the front-five. Heats for the seasonhigh27 cars went to Paddock, Mark Pollardand Jason Wilkins.Late Model feature finish1. Trever Feathers 2. Kenny Pettyjohn 3.David Williams 4. Mark Pettyjohn 5. JamieLathroum 6. JT Spence 7. Dale Hollidge 8.Scott LeBarron 9. Kyle Hardy 10. Jason Covert11. Kenny Moreland 12. Brian Tavenner13. Roy Deese Jr. 14. Gregg Satterlee 15. RyanHackett 16. Jason Miller 17. Pancho Lawler18. Scott Cross 19. Colt White 20. Deane Guy21. Tommy Wagner Jr. 22. Tyler Castle 23.Ray Kable Jr. 24. Keith Jackson (DNS)Street Stock feature finish1. Mike Franklin 2. Kyle Nelson 3. MikeCorbin 4. Chuck Bowie 5. Jimmy Randall 6.Barry Williams Sr. 7. Darren Alvey 8. MikeLatham 9. David Kaiser 10. Mike Raleigh 11.Johnny Oliver 12. Dale Reamy 13. Mark Garner14. Ed Pope Jr. 15. Will Quinlan (DNS)Hobby Stock feature finish1. Jonathon Raley 2. Jamie Sutphin 3.Kyle Nelson 4. Matt Tarbox 5. Matt Krickbaum6. Kenneth Sutphin 7. Jerry Deason 8.Sam Archer 9. Brian Adkins 10. Greg Morgan11. John BurchU-Car feature finish1. Tom Paddock 2. Jeff Wilkins 3. JasonWilkins 4. Justin Katz 5. Ryan Clement 6.Robert Perry 7. Larry Lamb 8. Erica Bailey9. Jacob Lewis 10. Cori French 11. SamanthaRaley 12. Randy Wilkins 13. John Pritt 14. DJPowell 15. Cory Swaim 16. Billy Hill 17. JimmyPritt 18. Charlotte Ball 19. Mikey Latham20. Brenda Alexander 21. Megan Mann 22.Michael Pfaff 23. Mark Pollard 24. Brian Lederhouse25. Speed Alton 26. Steve Katz 27.Austin NicholsThe NMRA will once again be rollinginto Maryland International Raceway on May3-5, 2013 for an exciting weekend of all FordDrag Racing, Car Show, and Swap Meet.All the cars and all the stars of NMRAFord drag racing will return once again tofamed Maryland International Raceway forthe ultimate Blue Oval slugfest! Last year'sevent was huge, and this year's NMRA eventpromises to be even bigger as word spreadaround the Ford drag racing world that MIR'sfacility is among the best in the U.S. and theracing surface is perfect for setting nationalrecords. The addition of the SVT 20th AnniversaryShootout to this year's NMRA Marylandevent will have the facility bursting at theseams as hundreds of new race & show participantscompeting in special SVT-only raceand car show classes. This is a "must attend"event for any Ford fanatic where they will seethe best in NMRA and Ford motorsports!This event will also bring out each of theNMRA's premier heads-up classes - the epitomeof Ford drag racing. Many of the NMRA'sregulars live within close proximity to MarylandInternational Raceway and use it for testing,so they may have a leg up on the competitiondue to their familiarity with the facility- but don't let that fool you! Each racer comingfrom afar will be looking to take their shot forall the glory on the MIR 1320 in their respectiveclasses and take down those local stars, soget your tickets early for this one - it's sure tobe a classic.Special SVT 20th Anniversary Shootout2013 is SVT's 20th anniversary andwhat better way for NMRA to celebrate thana shootout! Come see the best in SVT dragracing competing in SVT-only classes, or takingon the pros like Johnny Lightning in his9-second hauler! From the VMP SuperchargersTerminator / GT500 Shootout class to twoseparate SVT True Street categories…the SVT20th Anniversary Shootout will bring togetherawesome SVT drag racers & auto show participantsfrom mild to wild, and from all over theU.S. for serious bragging rights. All the playersare showing up for this one & you should too!Special thanks to SVT, Ford Racing, MuscleMustangs & Fast Fords, 5.0 Mustang & SuperFords, SVTPerformance.com, SVT OwnersAssociation, SVT Mustang Club, Mid-AtlanticCobra Association, National Lightning OwnersClub, Johnny Lightning Performance,LightningRodder.com, and LightningGarage.com for your support!Have a quick street Mustang? Want toprove it on the track?Then you definitely want to enter TREM-EC True Street, which is presented by MuscleMustangs & Fast Fords magazine! True Streetis the perfect class for any beginner becausereaction time doesn't matter. Join other TrueStreet racers, with passengers, and the crewfrom Muscle Mustangs on a 30-mile NMRAescortedcruise to prove the street worthinessof all cars in competition. Next hit the trackfor 3 back-to-back passes and then watch asNMRA presents cash and awards to the overallfastest, runner-up and to each racer with theclosest average to 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15seconds!In addition, entry-level racers fit into theNMRA's Open Comp, Modular Muscle, andSuper Stang classes, so take a look at the classrules and make your plans to come out andrace with the best Ford racers in the country.For rules information visit: www.nmradigital.com/rules, pick a class, make sure your car fitsthe rules and you have the proper safety gear,and come race with the NMRA!There's more than just racing action!In addition to all of the action that willtake place on the quarter-mile, the NMRAalso has the awesome UPR Products All-FordCar Show, which features over fifty differentawards that are presented each day of the show.With the number of Ford fans and car enthusiastsin the Maryland area, we're expectingto see a huge turnout for the car show. What'syour flavor? Is it a '66 Fairlane 500 hardtop?Or maybe a '79 Pace Car Mustang? No matterwhat type of Ford you own, there's a place forit in the All-Ford Car show. The Maryland InternationalRaceway stop on the NMRA tourwill also have plenty of space allocated for thetraditional NMRA Manufacturer's Midway,which brings in a huge group of vendors andtheir wares. You'll have the opportunity to rubelbows with representatives from many of themajor manufacturers to learn about their products- a chance you may not get for the rest ofthe season! This NMRA event will have a littlebit of everything, from the intense racing actionto the car show and even a jet car shootingfor 300+ mph on the MIR 1320 - get yourtickets now!Huge Manufacturers' Midway & SwapMeetLooking to buy parts for your Ford? Wanta chance to meet face-to-face with expertsfrom your favorite performance companies?This event will feature an awesome manufacturers'midway where you can find great dealson the performance parts you need for yourmuscle car or hot rod.If you're looking for that hard to find partor a great bargain, be sure to check out theswap meet.Jet Car Shooting for 300+ mph!Get ready to be blown away by the Jet Carripping down the 1320! Be one of the first towitness the Jet Car make a blazing 300+mphpass.World Famous Burnout Contest!The World Famous Burnout Contest is alwaysthe crowd favorite! Sign up to participatefor a chance to win prizes and bragging rights,or sit back and cheer as contestants smoke theirtires.Admission is just $20 per day, or a 2-daypass is $35, and a three day pass is $55. Kids 12& under are free. For more detailed informationon these events call the 24-Hour DraglineHotline at 301-884-RACE or visit us at www.mirdrag.com
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