New York, Denver and the past
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Eugene Long of Richard’s Painting flies toward the hoop past the defense of Roane General Hospital’s Josh Drake in summer league basketball action Tuesday at Washington Park.
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Sports Editor - Ireland may be famous for its green, but three local martial artists recently returned from the Emerald Isle with gold, silver and bronze.
Roger Smith, Derik Engle and Damian Engle of the Spencer Seiei Kan Karate Academy competed in the 12th Irish Cup on June 21. The international event included competitors from five other European countries.
The trio was selected to be part of Team America, which included 14 martial artists from Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and West Virginia.
The team met in Columbus, Ohio, and flew to Edinburgh, Scotland, where they enjoyed five days of sightseeing before the competition got underway.
Once it did, the local athletes fared well. Smith, sensei of the Spencer academy, won gold medals in open hand kata (routine), weapons and fighting. The father-son duo of Derik and Damian also won medals. Derik earned a silver against the Irish in the team fighting event while Damian brought home a bronze in open hand kata. He also competed in weapons and kumite (fighting).
Mom Tara and daughter Darci Engle of Spencer also made the trip, with Tara serving as team photographer and tournament helper. One of Tara’s photos accompanies this column.
Don’t be surprised if the Roane County High football team snags a few national recruits in the near future.
After all, one of the program’s assistant coaches, John Gray, was on national television last week proudly wearing a white XXXXL Roane football T-shirt.
According to head coach Tom Hardman, Gray was part of the crowd at The Today Show. It was part of a New York City vacation for Gray and his wife, Fawn, that included taking in a game at Yankee Stadium.
I didn’t see Gray’s TV appearance, but Hardman noted that his assistant was visible several times, including once standing behind weatherman Al Roker. Hardman added that Roker and fellow Today weatherman Willard Scott combined would not have been able to obscure the Raider big man.
RCHS senior softball star Morgan Cottrell got to do a little traveling herself while honing her skills this summer. Cottrell recently competed with the WV Dusters Blue Stars during a tournament in Denver.
A movie is in the works about the amazing story of Hot Rod Hundley, who had a tough childhood in Charleston before going on to basketball stardom at WVU and a career in the NBA where he is the long-time radio voice of the Utah Jazz.
In a recent article about the movie, the man behind the project lamented the fact that no footage of Hundley’s playing days are known to exist. Memorabilia collectors apparently stole the newsreels.
That’s a shame, because there was some really good footage. I know because I watched a sample while I was in the seventh- or eighth-grade. Spencer Junior High coach Larry Clark showed our basketball team a WVU highlight film that included Hundley. I can clearly remember Hot Rod shooting from his knees during a game and pulling off other outlandish antics. I’ll bet a copy of that film is still around somewhere.
