Report: Mudcats cut loose by Marlins

The Florida Times-Union reported early Thursday on its Web site www.jacksonville.com the Florida Marlins will cut ties with its Double-A franchise, the Carolina Mudcats, and have signed a two-year deal with the Jacksonville Suns.

The Suns, a Southern League affiliate with the Mudcats, had been the Los Angeles Dodgers' Double-A franchise for the past eight seasons. The Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Dodgers were also reportedly interested in the Suns.

That means, for the time being, the Mudcats have no major league affiliation. The team, which began play in 1991, has worked with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies prior to becoming a Marlins farm team in 2002.

Check Friday's edition of The Wilson Daily Times for Mudcats columnist Will Privette's take on Marlins' decision to drop the Mudcats.

Pasteurized: The Fantastic 50 not-so-fantastic for area teams

Mathematician and high school football aficionado Drew Pasteur has released his initial 2008 Fantastic 50 N.C. high school football rankings.

The news is not that great for area teams. Fike is ranked the highest, coming in at 74th in the state out of 366 teams in all four N.C. High School Athletic Association classification as well as teams in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association. The Golden Demons (2-0) are listed No. 24 among 98 NCHSAA 3-A teams, one spot ahead of archrival Hunt (1-2). The overall No. 87 Warriors lost a 14-13 overtime decision to Fike last Thursday. Beddingfield (2-1) is ranked No. 102 overall and No. 35 in the 3-A ranks.

Pasteur ranks all the teams overall and by classification as well as each's strength of schedule using a mathematical formula he developed. In his 3-A poll, he lists Greensboro Dudley No. 1 and Rocky Mount second. Other area teams are SouthWest Edgecombe (28th, 87th), Southern Nash (64th, 198th) and Charles B. Aycock (85th, 271st).

Greene Central is 56th of 91 NCHSAA 2-A teams and 263rd overall while North Johnston comes in No. 34 of 77 NCHSAA 1-A schools and 259th overall.

Gryphons take a loss the hard way

Apparently Rocky Mount's dream of a perfect football season is already by the wayside.

The Gryphons had started 2-0 with impressive wins against East Forsyth and Hunt but not so fast. The word came out Friday from Sandra Drum, Executive Director of Communications for Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools that Rocky Mount self-reported an ineligible player who was on the roster for the opening game against East Forsyth.

A similar situation happened with Beddingfield last season and the Bruins had to forfeit an opening-night victory against Northern Nash. The Gryphons, ranked No. 1 in the state 3-A poll, are now 1-1. Unfortunately for Hunt, the situation was corrected by the time the Gryphons steamrolled the Warriors in week 2.

Caught on tape: Police repelling Pirates fans

Here's an interesting clip from YouTube taken by a fan in the stands after East Carolina upset then No. 8-ranked West Virginia 24-3 on Saturday.

Police turn back exuberant Pirates fans

There is allegedly a shot of one officer punching a fan although, to be honest, it's hard to make out what is going on. The university is looking into these allegations.

I've been away. What did I miss?

I've been away. On vacation. It was OK. Camping with an 18-month-old isn't quite the definition of "relaxing" and I managed to catch a cold for the second straight year on vacation. My right ear is still working about half capacity after cinching up on the rapid descent from Asheville on I-40 on Friday afternoon.

Nothing like leaving the peace and quiet of the Blue Ridge Mountains to roll straight into a tropical storm. But at least we were spared nothing more than picking up a few limbs (except for the folks on Kenan Street who dodged a bullet in the form of a big ol' oak tree that just missed their house). Had Hanna been a Category IV hurricane, I would not be typing this to you right now, at least not from my home. That storm, or what was left of it, went right over Wilson. Could've been really, really bad, folks. Let's hope Ike loses some of his bluster before he hits Florida.

So what did I miss? A big week for Hunt soccer as the Warriors defeated Rocky Mount and former coach Drew Nick then stopped Fike. A big week for the Fike football team which beat Hunt for the first time since 2004 although it took overtime, a dubious celebration penalty and a missed 25-yard extra point kick to do it. Still, a nice win for the Golden Demons who are 2-0 for the first time since 2004. I picked Hunt, mainly because of its five-game winning streak against the Demons.

Not a good week for me in picking games. I could blame it on my hurried choices very early Saturday morning a week ago before rushing home to pack for Asheville. But I would have taken the same teams if I pondered it long and hard. Well, maybe not North Johnston, which finally lost by more than a point as Bennett Jones' West Johnston team pounded the Panthers in Kenly.

Beddingfield should not be losing to Nash Central, which has won two straight after getting blitzed by 2-A Tarboro 50-7 on opening night. The Bruins' offense wasn't up to the task on Friday.

I took East Carolina over Virginia Tech but didn't think the Pirates had back-to-back upsets in 'em. Color me wrong, not purple.

Well, the long-awaited season premiere of "Entourage" is on. I'll be back...