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The Madison County Journal
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Summer camp information
Check out information on several
camps offered at the high school
and county recreation department
2B
IB
Thursday, June 4, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS. com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
Auto Racing
Madison Go. driver wins Beginner Four race at Lavonia Speedway
Madison County's Shane Strickland
won the Beginner Four race this past
weekend at Lavonia Speedway, one
of several strong showings at the track
for Madison County drivers.
Finishing second were Comer’s
Bubba Russell (Limited Late Model),
Colbert’s Robin Collins (Enduro),
Comer’s Jimmy Little (Stock
Four Cylinder) and Hull's Ricky
Chamberlain (Stock V-8). Russell also
raced in the Crate Late Model Class,
finishing 15 th .
Other county drivers rac
ing at Lavonia were Danielsville’s
Chad Parsons (seventh. Stock Four
Cylinder), Colbert’s Kenny Collins
(13 th , Crate Late Model), Cy Strickland
(13 th , Stock Four Cylinder class)
and Danielsville’s Josh Wade (sixth.
Beginner Four).
TOP FINISHES THIS WEEKEND
•Shane Strickland, first, Beginner Four
•Bubba Russell, second, Limited Late
Model
•Robin Collins, second, Enduro
•Jimmy Little, second, Stock Four
Cylinder
•Ricky Chamberlain, second, Stock V-8
Signs of summer
Mudcats shortstop Luke Gillespie fires the ball across the diamond last Thursday in his team’s game against the Yankees
at Madison County Recreation Department. Ben Munro/staff
New Complex
Travel ball coaches unveil indoor
baseball-softball facility
Local travel ball coaches (L to R) Grason Gillespie, Scotty Laugher and John Pethel Jr.
have built the Diamond Club, an indoor hitting and pitching facility located in Danielsville.
Ben Munro/staff
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Batting practice will no longer be
rained-out in Madison County.
That’s because John Pethel
Jr., Grason Gillespie and Scotty
Laugher have built a 16,000 square-
foot indoor baseball-softball hitting
and pitching complex in Danielsville
that opens Saturday.
The three former college baseball
players coach a local travel team
and needed a way to get their squad
indoors during inclement winter
months.
The “Diamond Club” grew from
that motivation.
“We wanted something for the
travel team ... It just built from
there,” Pethel said.
The Diamond Club is located
south of Danielsville on Hwy. 29.
The business features multiple
indoor batting cages and clay pitch
ing mounds. Pitching machines
hold up to 200 balls and reach
speeds of 82 mph.
Outdoor pitching mounds and a
practice field are also in the works.
The Diamond Club offers private
hitting and pitching lessons from
six instructors who played at least
collegiate ball.
The Diamond Club has already
signed up at least 30 students, “and
the doors aren't open yet,” Pethel
noted.
The instructors include a former
collegiate softball player. Heather
Vaughn, who was a two-time All-
American and NAIA Player of the
Year.
— See ‘Diamond Club’ on 2B
Kobe drives at
least one fan
back to the NBA
For years, I found the NBA
about as thrilling as a county
tax digest.
Pro basketball was a tiresome
ritual with its 82-game sched
ule, generic franchises and an
overall lack of passion.
Problem was, I wasn’t
watching the best player in the
game “doin’ work.”
I stumbled upon a Lakers-
Rockets playoff
game a few
weeks ago, and
I’m glad I put
down the televi
sion remote,
Kobe Bryant
scored 40 on
Houston like he
was taking out
the trash.
In other words:
a typical Kobe night, one of
many I’d missed in my long
standing boycott of the NBA.
I’ll start paying closer attention
to greatness in my own time
(I’ve only missed two Laker
games since Byrant torched the
Rockets).
No news flash here, but
Bryant is an amazing at what
he does. That’s kind of like
saying Tiger Woods hits a
pretty good tee shot.
Bryant's pull-up jumper is
deadly, and his ability to shoot
with a defender’s hand right in
his eye socket is uncanny.
But Bryant also finds the
open teammate. He plays
defense. And he’s the coolest
customer on the planet, espe
cially in the clutch.
His fourth quarter exploits
have earned him the reputa
tion as, “the best closer in the
game.”
Even noted New York Knick
fan Spike Lee respects Kobe
(Lee directed a documen
tary over Bryant called, Kobe:
Doin' Work, in which 30 cam
eras follow Bryant during a
game).
Perhaps the best reason to
like Kobe: he’s 30.
For all us guys in that age
bracket, it helps to see him
dominate the 20-somethings.
So Bryant has my full atten
tion as he shoots for his fourth
NBA title.
I’m not alone in my new
found interest in the NBA,
either. The postseason televi
sion ratings are way up.
So thanks, Kobe.
It’s June, and you’ve given us
a reason to watch basketball.
Once covered
one of Dwight
Howard’s high
school games
Every time I saw Orlando's
Dwight Howard dunk on the
Cleveland Cavaliers in the
Eastern Conference Finals, I
flashed back to a high school
game of Howard’s that I had
the fortune of covering.
Back in 2004,1 served as
sports editor for one of our
sister papers, 77le Commerce
News. Commerce faced
Howard and Southwest Atlanta
Christian (SACA) in round one
of the Class A state tourna
ment.
Southwest was loaded,
boasting Howard, the no. 1
pick-to-be in the NBA draft,
and another future NBA player,
Jarvis Crittenton.
Commerce was just happy to
be there. SACA probably won
dered why it had to be there.
Understandably, the game
was over by pre-game warm
ups. The Tigers lost by 45, and
Howard played just two and a
half quarters.
A few days later, someone
asked me how well Howard
shot the ball.
“I don’t know,” I responded.
“He dunked eight times.”
Ben Munro is a reporter for
The Madison County Journal.
From the
sports
desk