Anybody hear anything from Columbia, SC?

Any word from up that way? Best of luck to the folks in Columbia.

 

Two from sports ... not official yet, though ... will be by later today.

 

Absolute shame. I know a lot of the guys over there and it is a shame. Holding my breath to see what the confirmed names are.

 

Whoa. Those are big names.

 

I don't know McLaurin very well, but the news about Spear isn't a surprise. He was getting very close to retirement age and, from what I understand, had plenty in investments/stock/401K to get him through.
Still, it's never good news when a newspaper loses an experienced voice like his.

 

Good Bob Spear story, and I believe I've shared it on here before.

My first gig out of college, and I was covering USC for a smaller paper. At the end of the year, the team I covered played Clemson, easily the biggest game for the state that year.

My SE, bless his heart, had the ability to show up late for anything. He was gifted like that. With about one hour until kickoff, the other beat writer from my paper gets word that our SE has stopped at Hardee's for breakfast. Traffic is already a standstill, and with a noon (or so) kickoff, we all pretty much know there's no way in hell he makes it on time for the start of the game.

I start a pool -- $1 to enter, give the me the time my SE will show up at the game, closest to the correct time wins the pot. I get about 15 or 20 entries right away, and while I had never really talked to Bob Spear before, I went up to him to see if he wanted in.

"What the latest time you got on there so far?" he asks.

Essentially, it works out to be about the time of the middle of the first quarter.

"I don't give him that much credit," Spear said. He proceeds to add 5 minutes to what was then the latest pick, hands me $2 and then tells me he wants another pick even later than that.

SE actually shows up having missed only a couple minutes of game time, so Spear doesn't win.

But while I never confirmed who actually said it, when the SE did walk in, a voice from Spear's direction on press row says "First time he (the SE) has ever been early to anything."

Godspeed Mr. Spear.

 

And the dirty SOB who won that pool, Charlie Bennett, probably did.

 

Whoa, if Charlie Bennett won, then there was a fix.

 

The only problem with that is that you're giving both Bennett and my old SE credit for both being able to work their cells at the same time.

I'm kidding you two. But only sort of.