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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
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By Brian Bailey |
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Gloomy weekend ends on high
note for Whimper
©2006 Bonesville.net
Please forgive the pun, but
Saturday went by without a whimper for Guy.
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The East Carolina offensive
tackle who impressed so many at the combines had hoped to go on the first
day of this 2006 NFL Draft.
His hopes were so high that he
spent his Saturday at a sports bar/restaurant, TieBreakers in Greenville,
with many of his friends and family.
Whimper waited. He waited some
more. Finally, late in the third round, after most of the group of family
and friends had left, Whimper couldn’t hide his disappointment.
He left that night with a scowl of disappointment.
Sunday, though, the expression
changed. Guy Whimper was the 32nd player chosen in the fourth round. He’ll
head to New York to mini-camp with the Giants later this month.
“I was really down,” said
Whimper on Sunday. “But Atlanta called early on Sunday and said that they
had three picks coming up, and that they would probably take me soon.”
But Whimper thought all along
he’d end up in New York.
“That’s the last place that I
went before the draft,” Whimper said. “I just had the feeling that the
Giants would take me. When Coach (Tom) Coughlin called me, I was really
excited.”
Whimper joins another giant
Pirate in New York. Damane Duckett sent a text message to Whimper after the
Giants announced their fourth round selection.
Whimper shared the story:
“Damane said, ‘I’m gonna whip your butt everyday at practice.’ That’s going
to be fun, having someone like him up there to show me around. I’m looking
forward to heading to mini-camp in a couple of weeks.”
Saturday’s disappointment had
turned into elation for Guy Whimper. But really, nothing has ever come easy.
How many other college football players see three different head coaches in
their career?
Whimper says he can’t wait to
get started. The Giants have told him to be patient. Whimper says the Giants
brass told him that they didn’t expect him to come in and shine right away,
that they drafted him more on potential. But they added that they think he
can become a very good pro.
Postseason streak on the line
The Diamond Pirates looked
like world beaters on Saturday night against Tulane. Unfortunately, the
Green Wave sandwiched their own wins around that 13-3 Pirate victory to take
the series.
In Sunday’s 6-4 loss, the
Pirates had several chances. In fact, Billy Godwin had his two big sticks
come to the plate as the tying run in the ninth inning.
Jake Smith’s drive just
happened to go to dead centerfield. The long blast turned into a sacrifice
fly that cut the lead to two runs.
Adam Witter followed with
another hard hit ball, one that again was gobbled up by the Tulane
centerfielder.
“I thought we gave great
effort all weekend long,” said a disappointed Godwin. “I thought we had tied
the game twice in that last inning. If those balls are hit anywhere else in
the park, then we’re going to extra innings.”
Godwin knows that games are
crucial as the season winds down. An 8th straight appearance in the NCAA
tournament hinges on how the Pirates fare down the stretch.
In a league as good as
Conference USA, the goal continues to be to win two out of three in a
series, an objective that will continue this coming weekend.
“We’ll go to Southern Miss and
try to at least win the series,” said Godwin. “I still like how this team
works, how they compete. We had our chances, but that’s baseball.”
The Pirates are 28-17, with 11
games to go. The closer this club gets to 40 victories, the better the odds
are that NCAA streak will continue.
With eleven games and the
C-USA tournament, the Pirates still have plenty of time. Each game, though,
will take on vital importance from here on out.
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02/23/2007 01:33:43 AM |
