SPORTS FOLDEROL

  While he has posted excellent numbers for AAA Scranton/Wilkes -- Barre,  Aaron McGarity  is a realist. The parent New York Yankees won’t be bringing him to the Big Apple any time soon. Possibly (probably?) never. You would think the pinstripes could use a pitcher who throws strikes in building a 6-2 record, with three saves (in five opportunities) and has finished 13 games. McGarity, a 6-3, 195-pound right-hander from  Richmond, has been used primarily in short relief and, except for  atypical outings against Norfolk and Worcester, Mass., he has been  virtually untouchable. Nevertheless, the Mills Godwin High (Class of 2013) and Virginia Tech alumnus finds himself with little to no chance of being called up.  Unlike five other members of the Rail Riders’ staff, McGarity is not a  member of New York’s 40-man roster … which means they are first in  line to be summoned. And no one in authority with the Yankees – or  any other MLB organization, for that matter -- wants to risk admitting 

  By Buddy Cousins I recently wrote about the RTD having moved to the ‘Dark Side’, and while I stand behind that, it appears this blog is being read by members of the ‘Dark Side.’  A day or two before submitting my post, I also sent a similar one to the ranking sportswriter of the RTD. I’m not taking any credit, but something happened because, in today’s RTD, email addresses for the local sports writers have returned.  Coincidence? Perhaps. Of course, that doesn’t mean that any of the writers will respond to criticism. Oh no! And the ‘Wokes in Power’ are still left wondering why the RTD is losing readers/subscribers.  If I’m subscribing to a paper, I want to find information. I don’t want to be directed to a webpage to get “Additional Information.” You can find FAR MORE entertaining and informative stories on other sports sites than those of the RTD.    

By Buddy Cousins   If you read the RTD sports section closely, you've seen over the past year, they’ve had  more grammar and technical errors than I made in high school. I was, at best, a solid  “C”.  I don’t know the “Metrics” of the RTD, but I’d wager that a large percentage of its readers enjoyed the sports because they used to keep fans of the “Old Redskins” informed.  Then  management fired the man who was the state's top sports editor in addition to being   “Beat Writer” on the team and, with that bungle, so went our ties with   Ashburn.   Also, it appears the proletariat has seen fit to remove the sports staff's e-mail addresses from their articles to shelter them from their readers and critics. Why? I know for a FACT sports writers don’t handle criticism very well.  Remember Paul Woody ? He was big into bikes. NO! Not Hell’s Angels Harleys ...  Agee’s Schwinns ... I guess it was more than five years ago that Woody hyped the world  cycling championships -- or  such -

    SPORTS FOLDEROL . I know, I know … just what the world needs ... like another lawyer. This one is designed to give fans of local, state and area sports coverage heretofore the property of regular media outlets but no longer in play as the bottom line and editorial content disguised as news has replaced journalism. At least there will be no pretense here. While we should try to be impartial, opinions are bound to surface … without apology … that is, unless required by fairness. And, even that, more often than not, is in the eye of the beholder. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but we will try not to take ourselves too seriously.   Buddy Cousins  is our good-humor man. He will delight readers with off-beat, occasionally-bizarre looks at the people who run things and, all too often, think they are the last word about everything. A native of Richmond, he has led (shall we say without fear of contradiction) an interesting life that included a trip to Viet Nam. I was a sportswriter for

By Buddy Cousins   I grew up in RVA, and we had NO MONEY. But that didn’t stop me from seeing every sports event I wanted to attend. Sneaking into events took some skills and a lot of  intangibles.  Strawberry Hill, AKA RIR, was the easiest, and Parker Field, AKA The Diamond, was the most difficult.  Most of the venues were easy. You simply had to get there early enough and just walk in. If stopped, you told the person you were one of the grandstand vendors and asked where  you needed to go.   When Richmond had the AAA Virginians, they played the parent New York Yankees in  an exhibition game each year at the end of spring training. It was an ‘Auto Skip’ day for  me.  One year Frog I, Mike, Dickie, and I were hanging outside the ticket booths because sometimes people would give you a ticket. The booths were brick with chain link fences on either side. Much the same as today.  We got outside of the line of sight of the ticket takers and waited until there were no cops around, and it was

  I Won A Contest Once… Or Did I? Buddy Cousins  Many years ago, when The Diamond, (in Richmond, Va.) was about to open, radio station Q-94 ran a sports trivia contest. They had five questions. The people who correctly answered all five were to go into a drawing, and one name would be selected. No need. It turned out I was the only one to correctly answer all of them. The Grand Prize was an all-expense paid weekend in West Palm Beach, FL, where the Atlanta Braves — parent of the AAA Richmond Braves — held spring training, a rental car to use, and FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS cash spending money. WOW!  DAY ONE The first clink was when the wife and I arrived at Richmond International Airport, and I learned she didn’t like flying. Little did I imagine that would be the least of our problems.  When we arrived in Palm Beach, there was no one to meet us. We had the name of the hotel we were staying in and decided to take a cab. We were talking about the hotel and the Atlanta Braves. First ba

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How weird is it ... that  Ali Jennings  will make his Virginia Tech debut  … finally, at last … against Old Dominion Sept. 2 (8 p.m. kickoff at  Lane Stadium)? This is the third stop for the special wideout from Richmond … having  spent two years at West Virginia U., then two more at ODU before  entering the transfer portal and signing with his original first choice   … after leading the Monarchs to a 20-17 victory over Tech in the  season-opener a year ago. Jennings caught five passes for 122 yards. It wasn’t just  another game  for him either. Jennings admittedly played  with a (cliché alert) chip on his shoulder because he grew up a Tech  fan, his high school coach was a former Hokie, and – naturally – he  dreamed about spending his college career based in Blacksburg. But former Tech coach  Justin Fuentes  thought he could do better and  didn’t offer Jennings a scholarship … just another example of why  Fuentes eventually was fired. Now, Jennings, the former all-state  player from H