Pheonix is the perfect place for Hill to rise from the ashes

From the moment Grant Hill launched the football-like pass to Christian Laettner against Kentucky in the regional finals in 1992 to lead Duke to a 104-103 win in overtime, there as been a air of magic around him.
The win was on the path to Duke’s second consecutive championship, cementing the program as one of the nation’s elite.
Even as an NBA player, Hill garnered much attention and respect after he was drafted No. 3 overall in 1994 by the Detroit Pistons.
Twice he led All-Star voting, including his rookie year. In his two leading ballot years, Hill edged out two of the greatest NBA players to ever step on the court - Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan.
He has always been a class act.
Now he has signed a deal with the Phoenix Suns, taking a smaller lump of money in hopes that he can get major minutes on the floor for a team that will be competing for a world championship.
For Hill’s sake, I hope Phoenix can put together a run next season and win a championship.
The ups and downs for Hill in his career have been plenty. He’s been the star. He’s had the comparisons to Michael Jordan. Then came the injuries. A nagging ankle injury and five surgeries later, Hill is ready again to be at the forefront of the NBA.
He can do that in Phoenix - the land of the Suns. For Hill’s sake, I hope that the Suns keep the pieces that they have gathered up over the last few seasons in place. Don’t go out and trade your nice, young talent for Kevin Garnett. Garnett is a star player, but Amare Stoudemire is the future. Shawn Marion is an electric player that is spectacular on the defensive side of the ball. He’s one of the few Suns that actually play defense.
It’s a system that Hill could excel in. Fans may get a glimpse of the Hill that was. The same Hill that had rim-rattling dunks at Duke in college. The same Hill that won two national championships along side Bobby Hurley and Laettner.
After being drafted by the Pistons, he excelled in his first six seasons. He was a prolific scorer and competed with one of the many Dream Teams that actually won Olympic glory.
The downturn came when Hill wanted to play for the Orlando Magic. The trade actually helped the Pistons in the long run as Hill was traded for Chucky Atkins and then unknown defensive beast Ben Wallace, who would later lead Detroit to a championship during one of the many injury-plagued years of Hill.
The idea was for Hill and Tracy McGrady to dominate the Eastern Conference.
The Pistons beat the Magic in 2003 in the playoffs, en route to their first championship.
Hill played four games his first season as a Magic. Over the next three seasons, Hill played 14, 29, and zero games respectively. In the 2004-2005 season, Hill played for 67 games, showing flashes of the Blue Devil that so many had admired early in his career. His sixth season with the Magic was again plagued with injuries. He only played in 21 games.
Last season, however, Hill showed resolve again, contributing to the Magic. He averaged over 14 points per game in 65 games along side the young phenom Dwight Howard.
Now Hill, the face we’d seen on so many commercials when he became a Piston, hopes to finish out his career with a championship in Phoenix. There’s so much symbolism there that I could probably go back to college and write a research paper on it.
If Hill can bounce back from the second half of his career and help get a trophy in Phoenix, then he would have risen from the ashes like a pheonix. His sun would once again have risen.
He may be a lot older now. He may be a little slower. He may not be a high-riser anymore. This all may be true, but Hill is still Hill.
Like so many that haven’t won championships, Hill deserves one. Of course maybe it’s just me, a kid who was a teenager in the mid-1990’s, wanting to see an icon from my childhood resurrected.

Listen up MLB...Bonds vote was a mandate

The vote for this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star teams should be a mandate.
A mandate of what you ask?
It should be a mandate that tells the government and the league’s administration to leave Barry Bonds alone.
It’s a mandate that the American public isn’t as turned off by what the mainstream media wants to turn Bonds into.
Bonds is not the evil that most suggest because of his alleged steroid use.
Instead, Bonds will be a starter on the National League All-Star team. In other words, government, get out of baseball.
While I myself, an avid baseball fan, love to see a pitcher’s duel, most fans would rather see a slugfest. I love to see great defense and great strikeouts. I love to stand up at a ballpark when a batter has two strikes against him, cheering for my pitcher to strike him out.
That’s just me.
America doesn’t have the same thought process.
Fans of the game want to see the long ball. Most fans want Bonds to break the all-time homerun record. Sure there are those that heckle him, but those are people in opposing parks. They probably would’ve heckled him anyway. They’re just using their “assumed” ammunition on him now.
After all, Bonds’s name is mud, right? That’s what the government and Major League Baseball has tried to make you think. For so long now, he has been the conversation topic all over the sports world. Media markets everywhere have discussed Bonds and his alleged steroid ties.
I’ve ignored all that. It has not changed my perception of Bonds at all. Personally, I really don’t care one way or another. All I’ve cared about is his race for Hank Aaron’s record. All I’ve cared about is how entertaining baseball was in the late 1990’s when Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGuire were electrifying the crowds.
Why can’t, we the media, just leave it alone? Why can’t we just put steroids back in the closet?
If some athletes want to use steroids, it’s their choice. If they’re caught, then they’ll probably go to jail.
The witch hunt for Bonds, however, needs to stop. It’s not good for the game. Ratings were at their peak during the late 1990’s and now they’ve faltered.
They’ve faltered because everybody’s sick and tired of hearing about how Bud Selig or the government is embarrassed or are after Bonds. Enough is enough. Leave the man alone. In the entire world of sports, the one man that I wouldn’t want to be is Bonds. The harassment is neverending.
Let’s just put the bad blood back in the closet. Let’s leave Bonds, Sosa, and McGuire alone. Let’s let whatever magic happened in the 1990’s live and breath in the minds of the children that were mesmerized by the homerun race.
Bonds is five homeruns from Aaron’s record now. Let the man break it in peace. Bonds deserved to be an All-Star this year. The fans got that one right. The one that they didn’t get right was Sosa. Sosa deserved to be on the All-Star team as well. He’s the best player on the Texas Rangers and he should have been rewarded.
Bonds, on the other hand, could quite possibly be the greatest baseball player to ever live. Personally, I’m not a fan. Not because he’s a possible steroids user, but because he plays for the Giants. Anytime the Giants come to Turner Field, I will boo him with the rest of the Atlanta Braves fans.
I boo him because he’s probably the best hitter to ever live and I don’t want him to crush the ball off of John Smoltz, not because I think he “might” be a steroids user.
On the flipside Mr. Bonds, it’s a two-way street. Drop the attitude and help your sport. Everywhere black athletes are talking about how there is a decline of black baseball players.
You’re the greatest baseball player to ever live and oh yeah, you’re also African American. Go on television, shoot commercials, and do everything you can to be an ambassador for the game. Baseball fans of all races deserve that.
You do that and I think everyone will leave this whole steroids mess where it belongs - in the past.

We're lucky Oden and Durant aren't Canada-bound

Alright...the NBA draft is today.
I think I might be the only sportswriter in the country that is not excited by that statement. I haven’t always been this cynical about the NBA draft.
Think about it. Remember those days when everyone got excited about the NBA draft? Those days ended in the mid-1990’s when names like Kobe Bryant and a host of other high schoolers began entering the draft.
The days of Chris Webber, Shaq, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway and a bunch of other names my rapidly shrinking memory cannot recall are long gone. They’ve been replaced by youngsters I barely know or players from overseas who’s names I cannot pronounce.
The main topic of discussion leading up to this year’s draft, however, is a little interesting. It’s not interesting in a way that I might go buy a magazine and start examining every player or anything like that.
And it has little to do with whether or not Portland is going to pick Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. I’m not an idiot and neither is the Portland GM. Oden will be the first name to come off the board.
No matter how much the pundits want to hype the Oden vs. Durant phenomenon, there’s no drama. There was more drama in Lebron James vs. Carmelo Anthony.
The real story for me is this. There’s been much discussion about how Oden and Durant’s talents are going to the Pacific Northwest where there is not a huge market. This year’s top talent will be wasting away in Portland and Seatle away from the bright lights of towns like New York or Los Angeles.
While I might agree with this assessment, I can’t say for certain that this is the worst scenario for either one of these guys.
I mean...think about it. They could be headed to Toronto.
Before I make any Canadians mad, I will say that I have no cruel intentions toward the city of Toronto. The city may be one of the greatest in the world, but it doesn’t belong in the National Basketball Association.
The last time I checked the dictionary, the word “national” meant, “belonging to one country.”
Anyways, the NBA developing teams in Canada is another debate for another time.
Let’s just say that I’m glad the Grizzlies were smart enough to get out of Vancouver and into Memphis while they still had their basketball dignity. That was their best move since drafting Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.
So let’s face facts. It’s sad to know that one of the league’s best talents, Chris Bosh, is wasting away in a market that most people in the U.S. don’t get to see.
Thank the Lord that two of the definite premier future talents won’t have that fate this year. Durant and Oden can rest easy that neither will be headed out of the country this year and they won’t have to deal with those unbearable Canadian taxes.
Bosh needs to find the nearest taxi cab and come back to the U.S. where his talents might be more appreciated in a larger market. Personally, if I owned the Raptors franchise, I’d move it.
If the New Orleans Hornets won’t move to Oklahoma City, let the Raptors go there. Find a U.S. city that is starving for a franchise and let this team flourish. If the owners don’t want to move from Canada...then sell the franchise.
Besides Rick Fox and Steve Nash, can anyone even name a Canadian basketball player? Until I googled it, I didn’t even know that Fox was Canadian.
So as we ponder Oden and Durant today, let us realize that they could end up in worse places. They could’ve been the next Vince Carter or the next Tracy McGrady.
Wait a minute. As I’m finishing up this column, a fresh idea has hit me. Maybe Toronto should have the first pick in tomorrow’s draft.
Maybe the thought of moving to Canada would be too much for Oden or Durant to bear. The threat of being a Raptor may have sent them running back to college so thousands of March Madness crowds from around the country would have the opportunity to appreciate them a little longer before they become multi-millionaires that have forgotten about the fans that buy the tickets that pays their contracts.
What a utopia that would be.

My name’s Joey… and I’m a football addict

Picture this.

I’m sitting in a circle of men with a Miami Dolphins jersey on. To my left, a guy’s wearing his Carolina Panthers jersey. To my right, a guy’s wearing his Atlanta Falcons jersey.

There are sniffles everywhere. I’m not sure that I can speak. Then it’s my turn and I’m forced to speak.

I stand, look nervously at the crowd, and begin to speak.

“Hi. My name’s Joey Millwood and I’m a football addict.”

The crowd responds in unison.

“The Miami Dolphins stink!”

Before long, the circle of men are arguing back and forth debating whether or not Joe Montana or Dan Marino is the greatest quarterback to ever live.

You’ve got some 90-year-old guy arguing for Bart Starr and some teenager screaming Tom Brady’s name.

Finally, order is restored and each fighter is sent back to their respective corners.

Just in case you were wondering, the calendar is not wrong. You don’t have to look twice.

It is June.

So you’re probably wondering why the Teflon Sports Don is back writing columns about football. The truth of the matter is that the break between football seasons is getting shorter and shorter.

ESPN is consistently talking football and it’s just enough to keep all of us football fanatics from going insane.

On the other hand, I’ve got this hunger burning in my stomach and nothing can satisfy that feeling except for a good dose of pigskin.

The only thing that can satify that hunger is to see some live action. I need to see Miami on the field. I need to see Clemson on the field.

That’s the only way to cure my hunger. I don’t think a helping of my grandma’s biscuits or corn bread can feel the gap in the pit of my stomach.

I’m already counting down the days. First, football will return to Friday night. Polk County and Landrum will embark on another season of gridiron war. John Cann and Bruce Ollis will again be marching the sidelines, shouting plays, and grilling referees.

My first dose of football, like most of you, will come on August 11 at 6 p.m. when the Border Showcase will take place in Shelby, N.C.

Come Saturday, that will only be seven weeks away.

Another way that I’m feeding that football hunger is through fantasy football.
Believe or not, I’ve already been drafting teams. I’m up to ten already. I’ve set up my coaches league again. If you’re a coach out there, come see if you can handle the Teflon Sports Don.

For all of you out there that aren’t coaches. I’m setting up an open Tryon Daily Bulletin football league. If you think you can beat the Teflon Sports Don, bring it on. But, be warned. Take on the Don and you might sleep with the fishes - the PhantasyPhins fishes that is.

If you want to join, log onto yahoo.com. Go to free fantasy football and click on join custom league. You’ll need the “league Id No.” and the password.

The “league ID No.” 61360. The password is “millwood.” That’s all you need to get into the league. The winner will receive a free six months subscription to the Bulletin.

That is...of course...unless the Don takes home the prize. If I win, what you’ll earn is a year of smack talk and my unruly bragging rights.

You think a rivalry like Landrum and Polk County is heated? Wait until you seen the PhantasyPhins in action in some fantasy football. It’s my mission to search and destroy.

Last season, in my coaches league, I made the mistake of setting up the draft as automatic.

I won’t make that mistake again. We’re all going to pick our teams with a live draft online. Don’t worry...if you can’t draft online at home, you can set up your rankings to draft who you want.

But if you really want to be sure...make sure you can get to a computer and do an online draft. Believe me...It’s fun. We can talk smack and draft the players we want.
It’s the way I’m going to do my coaches league this season.

All I’m saying is that it’s time to scratch that football itch and this is a way to do it.

Only the first eight teams that are created will be allowed in the league. If the response is overwhelming, then I’ll create another league or however many that need to be created. If you try to log and and you can’t get on, email me at jmillwood@tryondailybulletin.com.

I’ll starting setting up secondary leagues depending on participation.

If you’re like me and you’re starving for some footabll, this is a good way to get out there and keep yourself busy until the first kickoff of the season.

Let’s try to avoid football anonymous together. Or maybe we can do football anonymous together so that we’ll have a venue to talk football.

Who nees football anonymous anyways?

I’m happily addicted.

Fantasy football woes

Well...I lost another one this past weekend. The worst thing in Fantasy Football is a bye week. For those of you that don’t know, a bye week is a week that a certain player doesn’t play.

For me, this week was a bye week for LeDanian Tomlinson. When you lose a fantasy football giant like Tomlinson, it hurts. Landrum basketball coach Lyn Smith took advantage of my weakened state.

This week I will be playing Polk County coach Josh McEntire and his blue shirtz d team. I can guarantee a comeback. Yep! I’m saying it right here in the paper. I’m guaranteeing victory over McEntire. I may regret it, but I don’t think so.

Other teams that got another victory this week included Mitch “Stat Boy” Davis’ Statefan43 team, McEntire’s team, and Pat McCool’s TryonTigers 80 team.

The bottom two teams in the league continue to be Matt McDaniels and Austin Ollis.

Fughettaboutit!

Brushing off the football cobwebs

When the high school fall sports season ends, Friday nights become sort of like an old house.

Cobwebs pop up everywhere. Everything is dipped into an eery silence.

Then there is the triumphant return of high school football. That’s the time of the year we’re in now. High school football is back so we need to dust off those cobwebs and escape the shell of what’s known as summer Friday nights.

Polk County and Landrum are officially off the shelf this weekend with a jamboree in Woodruff and the big daddy Border Showcase Classic II on Saturday nights.
There are a few things we’re going to have to readjust ourselves to with the oncoming season.

First, all of you fans out there that don’t get to walk the sidelines like I do have to reintroduce your backside to the oh so comfortable bleacher.

That’s right. You might want to pet your bleacher creature a couple of times before you sit down, asking it to be nice to your back and rump this season. While it may ignore your pleadings, you may have to just bring a seat cushion or a blanket.
There’s always those donut things the doctor will give you also.

The next thing is the heat. Since we start football so early in the year, there’s the sting of sweat and heat on your skin. I might suggest some really strong deodarant so that the person next to you isn’t miserable. You can only hope that the person next to you is reading this column also.

The next thing is the trashtalking. You have to have your war chants ready early. Look at the schedule and know exactly what you can use to talk trash to the opposing fans. They may be a long ways across the field,but if enough people jump in, they’ll hear you.

In my case, I have to figure out what I’m going to wear to a football game, especially that game on September 8 between Landrum and Polk County.

Last year, for some odd reason I wore a baby blue shirt. The Landrum coaches immediately called me out on it. I was informed that any shade of blue would be a sign of support for Polk County. I was informed that any shade of red, including burgundy, would be a sign of support for Landrum.

This year I was thinking about wearing green. How will that be, coaches? Or maybe I will wear white. You both have some white on your uniforms.

The final and most important tool you need to make your Friday nights complete in the upcoming football season is a toothpick.Why a toothpick, you ask?

Well...who can resist that smell of popcorn through the thick, southern, hot air?
There’s been a few times where I wanted to run up and grab me a bag in the middle of a game.

That’s why it’s important to have you a toothpick handy. Those kernels are a pain.
You can get them with your nails because you’ve bitten them off from the nervousness of the game and your tongue is not a proper substitute.All I can say is, bring a toothpick.

I hope you heed my advice and I’ll see you all on Saturday night at 7 p.m. where we’ll get to watch eight great teams battle it out at the Border Showcase Classic.
Until then, fughettaboutit!

PGL is great for community

I will begin this column by saying that I don’t know how to play golf. It’s not that I’ve never been interested because I have.

It’s just that I’ve never taken the time to get out and learn the sport. To all you avid golfers,I know it’s a shame on my part.

The game has piqued my interest of late though. There’s something going on in Polk County that is a great thing.

The Polk Golf League (PGL), which was created by the Don’s friend, David Price, is a remarkable thing.

For some time now, golf has been considered an elitist sport, available only to those who are members at a country club. That is not the case anymore.

People everywhere are talking about golf. There are blue collar and white collar fans that are enamored by the game.

This is why the Polk Golf League is so special.

The PGL is modeled after the Professional Golf Association (PGA). The league travels around to different courses in the area. The difference is that the PGL is set up for everyone. It works with your handicap and gives everyone a shot at winning the tournament that weekend.

I think the PGL is set up for the love of the game. As Price likes to say, its golf for the “average Joe.”

The concept behind it is a generous one. You don’t have to be the next Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson to play in this league.

You just have to love golf.

That’s the catch nowadays for the game of golf. A lot of people on the outside see the sport as a country club sport or a wealthy sport.

That is not the case.

I’ve got tons of fraternity brothers who play the game. They do it just for fun and they’re not all members of a country club or wealthy.

Golf is a sport for everyone. Sure, the clubs and everything are pretty expensive. Some places actually do sell used clubs.

I may not know how to play golf, but I do like the sport. I generally watch the tournaments on television and I am a big Mickelson fan. I’ve been a Mickelson fan since he could only win at Bayhill.

I love the game of golf. It’s a beautiful, intelligent, and relaxing sport. I will one day take up a club if I can ever learn how to play.

For now, I will enjoy the fact that there are guys out there like David Price and Bart Cole who are helping to spread the game of golf to the masses.

Bravo gentlemen and I hope you keep up the good work. Maybe one day, I will get a chance to play in one of your tournaments.