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Audio: Brian Bailey
Show |
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  The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guests this week were
J.H. Rose football coach
David Wojtecki,
D.H. Conley football coach Nate
Conner and ECU basketball color
analyst Si Seymour (right):
Replay
show... |
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View Pirate Radio
1250 Programming
Lineup |
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates fall to Aztecs |
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SAN DIEGO —
Host San Diego State jumped out to a
16-0 lead and finished with a 79-54
win over East Carolina on Monday
night. The Aztecs (3-2) were coming
off a 49-43 loss to Arkansas-Little
Rock, ECU's opponent on Thanksgiving
at 2 p.m. in Las Vegas. ...
More... |
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Next: ECU vs.
Arkansas-Little Rock
Las Vegas Invitational | Thursday, 2 pm |
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Infographic: Pirates Right the Ship |
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44 |
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7 |
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 East
Carolina snapped its three-game
losing streak and three-game skid in
Thursday night games as the Pirates
turned the tables on Central
Florida. ECU snapped its four-game
streak of not scoring an offensive
TD in the first quarter when Brandon
Bishop caught a 19-yard TD pass from
Blake Kemp. Kemp made his seventh
start of the season and made the
most of the opportunity ...
Details and data from Greg Vacek... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates compete at Cal |
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BERKELEY, CA — California held off a
determined upset bid by East
Carolina for a 70-62 win at Haas
Pavilion on Friday night. The
Pirates (2-1) were within 64-61
after Prince Williams made a pair of
free throws with 2:14 to go. ...
More from
Al Myatt... |
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Pirates turn tables on UCF |
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ORLANDO —
The last time East Carolina
played at Bright House
Networks Stadium in a
Conference USA contest in
2012, the Pirates took a
14-0 lead before Central
Florida rallied for a 40-20
win. A 99-yard kickoff
return for a touchdown by
Quincy McDuffie sparked the
UCF rally three years ago.
...
Story &
pictures from Al Myatt... |
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Audio:
Ruff post-game |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
after the Pirates' win
over Central Florida (recorded by Al Myatt;
file photo):
Select audio clip... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Kevin's Keys to the Game |
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 East Carolina
heads into tonight's
American Athletic Conference
game at Central Florida at
4-6 after consecutive losses
to Temple, Connecticut and
South Florida. In each of
those defeats, ECU led in
the 4th quarter but couldn't
hold on.
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More from Kevin Monroe... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Doyle plots growth path with
Pirates |
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 Some
recruiters thought Jack Doyle lacked
the weight to handle an offensive
line position at the college level.
But not East Carolina offensive line
coach Brad Davis.
“He told me he's made a living with
guys like me,'' Doyle said.
...
More from
Sammy Batten... |
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By
Brian Bailey
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE
ALPHA VERSION OF THIS PAGE
East Carolina and Cincinnati approach
the regular season finale with similar records, but heading in different
directions.
While the Pirates have had their disappointments, this Bearcat team
heads to Greenville this week under .500 in league play after being
picked in the preseason to win the East Division of the American
Athletic Conference.
Things really got ugly Friday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
South Florida, picked fifth of six in that same preseason poll, blasted
the ‘Cats 65-27. The Bulls led 51-3 at the half.
So while USF tries to catch Temple in the East Division, ECU and
Cincinnati are relegated to a game that has to mean more to the Pirates
than it does to Cincy.
East Carolina will be playing for that coveted sixth win and the
possible postseason berth that could follow. The Pirates will also say
goodbye to 18 seniors who will dress for the final time at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium.
“We see it as a great opportunity to get our sixth win and become bowl
eligible,” said Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill at his weekly news
conference. [Open
new window to select press conference audio clip...]
“We’re looking forward to a great crowd and great fans to support our
seniors and team. I’m looking forward to the preparation. That will be
big for us.”
The Pirates certainly looked prepared in
the 44-7 win over Central Florida last Thursday. I
couldn’t really tell if the Pirates were that good or the Knights were
that bad. It was probably a combination of both, but it was great to see
the ECU offense look like the ECU offense again.
Likewise, I can’t believe Cincinnati was as bad as the Bearcats looked
down in Tampa on Friday night. Sure, USF has a good football team, but
the Bulls can’t be that much better than Cincinnati, can they?
Coach McNeill also said that some NFL scouts say the Bearcats have
future professional talent on their squad.
“Cincinnati is a very talented football team,” said McNeill. “One NFL
scout said they have as much NFL talent on their team as anyone in the
country.”
That’s not just in the AAC. That scout said the entire country.
So despite Cincinnati’s meltdown at USF, the Pirates will have their
work cut out for them.
The ECU program looks forward to celebrating Thanksgiving together this
week. There’s just something about the holiday and the sport of football
that many of us simply treasure. You could hear the importance of the
day to Coach Ruff in his voice.
“This is a two-time week here,” said McNeill.“We’ll have a football
gathering, but also a Thanksgiving gathering. I’ll look forward to
seeing those happy faces on Thursday, and we’ll have Thanksgiving dinner
for them. There will be kids and family, and there will be some full
bellies after we practice Thursday morning.”
Thanksgiving, football and family — add in senior day on Saturday and
you get a full buffet of emotions for the finale.
“It’s really emotional,” said McNeill. “Each day in the huddle when I
talk to them, I have to make sure my eyeballs don’t sweat. Those guys
sacrifice so much. They’ve done everything I’ve asked. You see some kids
that have matured. It’s tough, it’s emotional, but I am their 'dad.'
Some people use it as lip service, but I don’t. They are my sons.”
Those sons hope to do dad proud by getting to another bowl game.
Happy Thanksgiving!
BB
