Thursday, March 19th, 1997

Carruth Saga Continues

Jimmy Carruth’s agent, Jim Clibanoff, has been a good sport about our enthusiasm about the Chief. Approximately 10-12 of us emailed Clibanoff with messages for Carruth, and the agent has responded by putting us all on an email list that he calls the "Carruth Update"! He’s using it to keep us updated on what’s going on with The Chief.

As I reported here two days ago, Carruth hit a three-point play in the waning moments of a Bucks/Chiefs game that Clibanoff attended. Clibanoff had taken printouts of some emails that Hokie Central fans had sent to him, and upon returning from the game, Clibanoff sent us a Carruth newsletter in which he had this to say:

"As you probably know, after not playing in his first two games since signing his 10-day contract, Chief finally shed the warmups with 40 seconds in last night's Bucks-Celtics game...As you also probably know, he scored a bucket and made his free throw...

What you probably do not know is how excited he was. I was fortunate enough to be at the game (he is my first NBA client) and we talked afterwards and he was just so thrilled!

I told him about the fan e-mail he has been receiving from many of you and he had a message for you all:

"Thank you for your support and love and this shows a prime example of how by keeping your dreams and goals in front of you, you can always accomplish them."

And, I also appreciate your support....as long as Jimmy is in the NBA, I will continue to update you...Feel free to tell a friend, fellow Hokie or anyone else about this list and I will be happy to add their names. I also forward all of your letters and notes to the Chief....

Thank you,
Jim Clibanoff"

Clibanoff also forwarded the URL for an article about Jimmy that appeared in an on-line Milwaukee newspaper. Check it out. It's typical Carruth, and it'll make you laugh:

http://www.onwis.com/sports/buck/tue/bucks318.html

Lastly, when I asked him how in the world he became Jimmy’s agent, Clibanoff said, "I used to be a Player Personnel Director in the USBL...I was reviewing tape on Kenny Harris (VCU) in '94 and noticed this huge guy on the other team blocking shots like it was going out of style!! It was Jimmy … I contacted him and the rest is history!!"

Ah, yes. To see The Chief in action just once is to be hooked. If you’re a big enough Carruth fan to appreciate Jim’s Carruth Update newsletter, drop him a line at [email protected], and he’ll be glad to put you on his list.


Where's the Coach?

Is it just me, or has Frank Beamer been the invisible man since the Orange Bowl?

When the new athletic behavior policies were announced, Beamer was (in my opinion) conspicuously absent. As his players go to trial one by one for the Brawl, he's nowhere in sight. On the Hokie Hotline show the other night, when they were previewing Spring football, there were a slew of assistant coaches there (Bustle, Hite, and Foster), but no Coach Beamer.

The only public comment I can remember coming from Beamer in the last two-plus months came when it was announced weeks ago that Tech was considering new athletic behavior policies. Beamer commented at the time that he would be far tougher than the athletic department on players who acted up.

The thing is, I can't remember whether or not Beamer has been out of the public eye at this time of year in the past. But I do think that with everything going on associated with Tech football, both good and bad, that he should be more of a public figure at this time and should be more readily accessible. Just my two cents, as they say.


Turkey Bites

  • I’ve been told that during his recent chat session on ABCNet.Sportszone,com, draft analyst Mel Kiper said that he now believes that Druck may go to the Seattle Seahawks, who have the 11th pick in the draft. As you’ll remember, the Seahawks recently traded Rick Mirer to the Chicago Bears. That leaves Seattle with John Friesz (or however you spell it) as their QB, and Kiper thinks the Seahawks might draft Druck and develop him as their backup.
  • Now that the football schedule is finalized, football season ticket order forms are in the mail. Ticket prices for all home games are $22, except for Miami and Syracuse, which are $25. The season ticket price is "only" $132, meaning that essentially, the extra $3 for the Miami and BC games are not required from season ticket purchasers. There’s your discount, folks.
  • The wallet-sized schedule that they're mailing out with the football ticket order forms features a picture of Ken Oxendine on the front. Last year, there were two pocket-sized schedules produced, one showing Cornell Brown, and a second with Brian Edmonds on it. As you all know, both of them wound up being indicted in The Brawl. I think we can count on Ken to break the bad-press streak for football schedule poster-boys.
  • Reported in The Rocky Mountain News: "The Broncos met Tuesday with Tampa Bay Buccaneers restricted free-agent offensive lineman Jim Pyne. Pyne, 25, has played guard and center for the Bucs. Because he is a restricted free agent, the Broncos would have to give up a draft choice to sign Pyne. In this case it would be a seventh-round pick, the round Pyne was chosen in 1993."
  • The person who emailed me the above tidbit about Pyne is Rick Casey, the brother of former Tech QB Steve Casey (78-81). Rick told me that Steve is currently a high school teacher in Yuma, Arizona. Steve was the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator at New Mexico Highlands University for a while, until the head coach was fired for embezzling money from the athletic department (D'oh!). Steve is currently considering a head-coaching job at one of the Yuma area high schools. Good luck to Steve, and thanks to Rick for the update.
  • Lastly, a note to the person with the initials "E.M." who has the email address located at "[email protected]." You emailed me yesterday about Angelo Harrison, and I wrote up a long reply and tried to send it to you, but it got rejected (I've noticed that my ISP's mail server can't handle return addresses with more than two "dots" in the second part). So I'm not ignoring you, I just can't get back to you! Email me again and let me know if you've got an alternative email address, and I'll try again.

          

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