Bailey's Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk Wednesday, October 13, 2004 ----- By Brian Bailey

'Holy water' or voodoo? Pirates evade spell

©2004 Bonesville.net

Just when I thought I had seen it all…

Two hours before kickoff of last Saturday's East Carolina-Tulane game, I was checking in on the Pirate Radio 1250 pregame show, broadcasting from the Pirate logo at midfield.

I joked that I was there to protect the Pirate, especially after whatever went down in Louisville.

As I was delivering my report I noticed a trio of Tulane players, still in their sweats, walking toward the logo. The player in the middle was sprinkling something from a glass vial. It was yellowish in color.

My 13-year-old son, Ryne, was with me. When it wasn’t my turn to talk during the report, I leaned down and told him to go find out what they were doing.

He looked at me like I was nuts.

So when my report was over, I confronted the player.

To my surprise it was Tulane quarterback Lester Ricard. I introduced myself, and then I asked him what was in the glass container.

“Nothing really,” Ricard said.

I pressed further and Ricard had this explanation.

“It’s really a type of ‘holy water’,” Ricard said. “My Dad is a preacher and so it’s just something that I do.”

I didn’t buy it, and I said that I thought they were “marking” their spot.

“No sir,” said Ricard. “We would never disrespect an opponent like that.”

He showed me the glass.

“See, it’s sticky on the outside,” he explained.

I took his word for it.

Funny thing, though, that the Pirates dominated the game until the fourth quarter, when Ricard threw two touchdown passes into that same end zone that he was walking towards before the game.

There’s some mysterious stuff down in Bayou country.

It just goes to show. You’ve never really seen it all!

'Other' Pinkney flashes potential

Freshman quarterback Patrick Pinkney saw his only real action of the fall Tuesday in the East Carolna JV squad's 19-7 win over Hargrave Military Academy.

Pinkney will undergo surgery on his throwing shoulder later this week. It’s an injury from high school that the Pirates want to go ahead and get taken care of.

The plan was to wait to make sure that James Pinkney had the quarterback position under control, with Desmond Robinson as the back up.

The Pirates had hoped to red shirt Patrick Pinkney anyway. Now, the plan is in motion.

Florida transfer Patrick Dosh, now a linebacker on defense, will serve as the third quarterback, if needed. Dosh had nine tackles in the junior varsity win.

Patrick Pinkney was solid against Hargrave, completing 10-22 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions, but overall his effort was a positive indicator of the future at quarterback for ECU.

“He did really good,” said Pirate coach John Thompson. “We knew he could do that. He’s been really good in practice. He’s very accurate, a leader, always moving around. He’s going to be very special.”

Several players that played in the win over Tulane were back on the field in the Hargrave game. Thompson said he wanted to see several players who hadn’t played their full compliment of quarters in game situations.

"These guys will be pretty beat up and sore tomorrow,” said Thompson. “We’ll have a good practice tomorrow and a real good practice on Thursday. We’ll pull off a bit on Friday, give them Saturday off and get them back here on Sunday night and get ready for Southern Miss.”

The Pirates have an open date this weekend and will travel to Hattiesburg for a battle with the 24th-ranked Golden Eagles the following Saturday.

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02/23/2007 01:29:47 AM