Kids Plus

I have long said that Dalton, Mass. was the best place for a kid to grow up. It seemed everything done in town was done with kids in mind. The Youth Center. The Penny Carnival. The summer carnival. The Follies. Halloween festivals. The Community House.

And the playing fields. So many playing fields.

Dalton is not a big town -- set in the beautiful Berkshires in the western part of the state -- Dalton is cozy. Small.

Yet playing fields abounded. It seemed every neighborhood had its own field. Craneville Park, Greenridge, Pine Grove, Ashuelot (Craneville Elementary), the Legion, not to mention the high school fields.

There was always plenty for kids to do -- plenty of games, playgrounds and endless expanses of green.

But moreso than the activities, it was the people that made Dalton so kid-friendly.

People who coached the teams, ran the activities, volunteered their time and gave of themselves so the kids in the community were safe, happy, active and involved.

It was the people that made up the fabric of our town. And the fabric of Dalton, Mass. was that of your favorite well-worn sweatshirt. Comfortable, familiar and reliable.

I've learned of course that Dalton does not have a monopoly on great childhoods. Communities across the country, including one just north of the university, thrive on the service of its people. You know the ones -- they coach the youth teams, season-in and season-out. They volunteer in the concession stand. They may even, just for the fun of it, take the pictures that will fill so many frames and family photo albums . They chaperone field trips and volunteer on special school days and not-so-special school days. They may run your Homeowners Association or at least get its work done. They organize fundraisers. They teach. They coach. They mentor. They serve. They make a difference.

The picture frame next to my desk reads: "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove ... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

Sometime this week, Dalton will stand still as an untold number of "children" -- over 25 years worth -- will turn out to celebrate the life of Robert "Boog" Powell. His life was dedicated to Dalton. He taught. He coached. He mentored. He served. He was as much a fixture in Dalton as the library, the fire station and Crane's mills.

He was what Dalton was all about.

He made a difference in the lives of many a child. And he will be missed.

Tom Whitestone
Assoc. A.D./Media Relations

Photo credit - Courtesy of Todd Madison

DVR'ing Live Sporting Events Gets Tricky!

I had quite a quandary (try saying that 5-times-fast) on Sunday afternoon.

My Baltimore Ravens were playing the much hated New England Patriots Sunday afternoon at 1pm on CBS’s National Television Game of the Week. I’m jacked. The Flacco jersey was hanging unblemished in the closet. All week it teased me. I’d walk into the closet every morning to get dressed and there it was. The black, purple and white in all its glory. I almost wore it to bed with me.

Then the realization set in that I had to work volleyball Sunday afternoon at 1pm. The exact kickoff time of the football game. (Actually, I think the early games kick at 1:05pm)

Anyhow, what is a man suppose to do? I thought of calling in sick, faking the flu or making up some catastrophic injury. But my conscious got the best of me.

Instead, I worked the volleyball match. Had a great time. Saw the Niners win their 3rd straight A-10 match. It was great! But what about the Ravens game? Oh I had it covered…

I’m currently watching a friend’s dog for the week. A friend who happens to have a 60-inch HD television, Directv, fridge full of food and beverages and DVR…Wait did I say DVR? Yes!

I have never DVR’d a live sporting event before. I was a rookie. It just seemed unethical for some reason. How am I suppose to not know that the Ravens just scored 3 touchdowns or Flacco just threw 3 interceptions? I wanted to be completely in the dark. To not find out what was happening in the game was going to be difficult.

So I set out with a plan. The night before I let all my friends know via facebook that I would be DVR’ing the game, “NO ONE TEXT ME UPDATES!” Surprisingly they listened. I got in my car and immediately turned off the radio, drove in silence just incase for some inexplicable reason, the music station would cut into sports highlights. I fielded no phone calls and didn’t surf the net once between the hours of 12:30pm-3:15pm. I was proud of myself.

Finally I got home after the volleyball match, let the dog out, crashed on the couch and started the game. It was 3:30pm local time. The game was probably in the 4th quarter, but my television screen was filled with Phil Sims and Jim Nantz doing the pregame. I had done it! The satisfactory level for me was at an all time high.

The experience was awesome, after getting the ‘fast-forwarding commercials’ down to a science. Sometimes I went too far and had to backtrack. But it was great. No commercials, no halftime, no extended challenge calls, no extended injury timeouts (I pray Jared Gaither is ok). It was just football. And in Tom Brady’s case, football with a skirt on.

But I’m not 100% sold yet on the DVR thing. Looking ahead, our mens/womens basketball teams have games on television. Why I would DVR the games just to have them archived, could I actually pull off what I did with the Ravens game? Probably not.
If we end up playing Duke in the preseason NIT and I need to work or have some commitment that keeps me away from the television and the game is on ESPN there is no chance in H-E-double hockey sticks I am not keeping tabs on that game live through my cell, internet or texts.

Besides, when we win I want to be at Picassos for the celebration!

Charlotte Invitational: Transformation to a Premier Race

When the cross country team laces up their shoes today in the Charlotte Invitational at McAlpine Park they will be facing off in the largest cross country meet that the 49ers have ever hosted. Over 20 teams have travelled to the Queen City for the meet with eight conferences being represented and a field that is nearing 500 runners.

Cross Country coach Ed Schlichter described the race as “one of the premier races in the southeast this weekend.”

In only three years, the Charlotte Invitational has transformed from a meet with only four teams competing to a race packed with regionally ranked squads from Division I, Division II and NAIA. Prior to the Charlotte Invitational, the 49ers hosted the Charlotte Relays in which two runners would pair up to run a relay. From 2000-2006, Charlotte eight relay titles totaling from the men and women’s team.

(Coach Ed Schlichter took third in the 2004 Charlotte Relay)

The largest meet prior to this year was last year’s Bojangles Invitational that hosted nine teams and the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship with 14 squads running. In the inaugural year of the Charlotte Invitational only four teams competed with Charlotte taking home both the men’s and women’s title. In the years of the Charlotte Relays the largest field six was eight teams in 2003 with most years featuring three-to-five teams.

This year’s meet is set to be special for the 49ers as four regionally-ranked D-I teams will compete for the title of best team. Charlotte will have a clear cut advantage considering the 49ers are very impressive in home meets sweeping the events five of the last nine years by taking both the men’s and women’s titles (except for last year’s A-10 Title, which doesn’t count as a home meet).

With 41 other cross country meets getting underway this weekend, Charlotte will be one of the top spots for premier running as the 49ers look to protect their home course and sweep the competition.

Dig Pink Countdown

It's been a long week of fundraising for the Charlotte volleyball program.

With a goal of $5,000 (more than the combined monies raised in the previous two seasons combined), the Niners have been out trying to raise money for breast cancer research in preparation for the Dig Pink match, scheduled for Friday night, October 2, at 7 p.m. versus Fordham in Halton Arena.

The Niners visited Fox News Rising this week to promote the match. You can check out that video by clicking here.

The Niners were out at the student union, at the University location of Jersey Mike's and went out to tailgating events at Carolina Panthers games to raise money for the event this week. The tailgate visit netted nearly $1,500 from NFL fans out and about that morning. Jersey Mike's University location donated 15 percent of all proceeds from folks who ate at their location between 3-8 p.m. on Tuesday. That amount was over $150 towards the cause.

To date, the Niners have raised over $4,800 and are trying to make one last push for their goal and beyond.

Kiss 95.1 will be on campus Friday to help promote the event at the student union, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

It's not too late to have an impact on this great cause. One in eight women are affected by this disease, putting the majority of people close to at least one person who has been impacted by breast cancer.

Athletic teams are contributing to the cause by participating in Penny Wars. Teams are collecting pennies and other change to race for the leading amount in the department. Team members are putting pennies in their jar to count towards their amount, while they put nickels, dimes and quarters in opposing teams' jars, which count against their totals in the final tally.

Sorority groups will be on hand Friday night to collect change and donations from fans in attendance towards the final goal. Sororities are competing for tickets to see Blink 182 when they come to Charlotte on October 6.

You can still donate to the cause by heading to the Niners' Dig Pink donation site by clicking here.

Join us at the game and think pink by sporting your pink side (or pick up a pink t-shirt on your way in) and make it a pink night as Charlotte battles Fordham and breast cancer all in one night.

Program Defining Moments
Last night, the 49ers nationally-ranked men’s soccer team defeated #3 Wake Forest, 3-1, on the road. This result got me thinking about program defining moments for each of the Charlotte 49ers athletic teams. This would easily be one of the defining moments for a 49ers men’s soccer team that has several moments in their history. Another defining moment was the last time that the 49ers defeated a top five team when Charlotte beat #1 South Carolina, 3-1, on the road, November 6, 1994. The victory was the program’s first-ever over the #1 ranked team in the country and the game was also for the Metro Conference regular-season title. Another defining moment for the 49ers men’s soccer program came when Charlotte shutout Hartford, 3-0, in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the 1996 College Cup.
The women’s soccer team has enjoyed tremendous success during the program’s 16-year history. A couple of moments come to mind winning the 1998 Conference USA Tournament to earn the program’s first bid to the NCAA Tournament. Another moment came later that season when Charlotte defeated South Carolina, 2-0, for the program’s first NCAA Tournament win. The magical 2002 season began with victories over South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State. In 2007, the 49ers defeated #17 Clemson, 3-1, for another program defining moment.

The 49ers volleyball program’s defining moment was the creation of the nation-wide fund raiser for breast cancer research called Dig For the Cure. Former 49ers volleyball coach Lisa Marston started the fund raiser in 2002. Marston maintained the Dig for the Cure philanthropy and joined forces with Dig Pink for this season, which joins with the Side-Out Foundation for raising awareness and money for Breast Cancer Research. In 2008, 227 programs across the country, including Charlotte, raised over $260,000 for Dig for the Cure, while 330 teams raised nearly $400,000 last year for Dig Pink. Dig for the Cure helped raise almost $600,000 over the last six seasons. Dig Pink is not only a single-match fundraiser, but also has planned volleyball festivals in Orlando, Virginia and Maui. The 49ers will play Fordham this Friday, October 2 at 7 pm in their Dig Pink match in Halton Arena. The 49ers players will wear pink uniforms for the match.

The 49ers cross country program’s defining moment came last November when Adu Dentamo and Amanda Goetschius captured the men’s and women’s Atlantic 10 individual championships. What made the result even more program defining was that the A-10 Championship were held on Charlotte’s campus.

The 49er men’s basketball program has had several defining moments in its history. The program’s ultimate defining moment came when Charlotte defeated #1 Michigan, 75-68, in the 1977 Mideast Regional final to advance to the Final Four. Another defining moment was an 81-79 win over VCU in the 1988 Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game. The victory gave the 49ers their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1977. Another defining moment was defeating #7 Cincinnati and Louisville in consecutive days to capture the 1999 Conference USA Championship.

The 49ers women’s basketball team’s defining moment came last Spring in Halton Arena when Charlotte defeated Richmond, 59-54, to capture their first Atlantic 10 Tournament title. The victory was the program’s first conference tournament title and gave Charlotte their second-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. Another defining moment came in 2003, when Charlotte defeated Tulane, 86-80, to capture the Conference USA regular-season title.

The 49ers men’s tennis teams defining moment came in 2007 when the 49ers defeated Xavier, 4-3, to capture the Atlantic 10 Championship and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This result gave the 49ers their first-ever conference tournament title as well as the program’s first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Charlotte’s women’s tennis program’s defining moment came in 2006, when the 49ers defeated Xavier, 4-0, in the A-10 Tournament semifinals. The victory gave the 49ers the program’s first-ever appearance a league championship match.

The 49ers softball program’s has enjoyed unparalleled success over the past four seasons. The defining moment for the 49ers came on April 9, 2006, when the 49ers split a doubleheader at A-10 power Massachusetts. The 49ers defeated UMass, 2-1, in the first game of the doubleheader. The 49ers went onto to win 42 games and share the A-10 regular-season crown with Massachusetts that season.

The 49ers baseball program has had several defining moments in their history. In my opinion, their ultimate defining moment came in 2007, when Charlotte defeated NC State twice in an NCAA Regional. The two wins over NC State were the program’s first-ever two NCAA Tournament victories. In 2007, the 49ers won a school-record 49 games and for the first time in school history, the 49ers captured both the regular-season and conference tournament titles.

The 49ers golf team has made five straight NCAA Championship and captured four straight A-10 Championship. The defining moment for the program came in 2007 when the 49ers finished tied for third at the NCAA Championships that were played at the Golden Horseshoe Gold Course in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The 49ers men’s and women’s track and field program’s have had many defining moments particularly over the past five years. The 49ers women’s track and field team has captured four straight A-10 Indoor and Outdoor Championships. While, 49ers men’s track and field team has captured three outdoor and two indoor A-10 Championships. In my opinion, the defining moment for the 49ers track and field program came in March of 2008, when former 49ers four-time All-American sprinter Shareese Woods won two bronze medals at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Valencia, Spain in March, 2008. Woods lowered her lifetime best 400m dash time throughout the three rounds of competition, finishing third in the final with a 51.41. In her fourth 400 of the weekend and second of the day, Woods ran the third leg of the 4x400m relay, recording the fastest split of the USA squad that finished third in 3:29.30 behind Russia and Belarus.

Now that the 49ers men’s soccer program created a defining moment last night with their victory over #3 Wake Forest, hopefully that is only the beginning of program defining moments in the Charlotte 49ers athletic department in 2009-10.

Uptown Tip-Off Means Hoop Season is Right Around The Corner

Next Tuesday, the 49ers will host their annual Uptown Tip-Off, complete with games, giveaways and the unofficial start to the 2009-10 college basketball season. Practice gets underway, for real, in mid-October, the 49ers will hold their Basketball Madness, Oct. 22 as well as a Fan Day, Oct. 24.

October will quickly turn to November -- and a men's basketball exhibition game, Nov. 5, with Johnson C. Smith that is guaranteed to attract a huge crowd, the home opener with UNC Asheville on Friday the 13th and the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off, in Durham, Nov. 16 and 17.

It is not that far way. And it all starts, next Tuesday -- in uptown Charlotte -- at The Square (intersection of Trade and Tryon) from 11:30 -1:00 p.m. The 49ers, including head coaches Bobby Lutz and Karen Aston, will be on-hand. The band, cheerleaders and Gold Dusters will all be out. Fans can drop by and talk basketball and they can win season and game tickets and/or apparel.

And they can start thinking, breathing, and living basketball.

It's the last Tuesday of September, and hoops season is close enough to touch. The crowds will start pouring in to Halton Arena. Shamari Spears and Shamarr Bowden will make their long-awaited 49ers debuts. Ian Andersen will blow his kisses. DiJuan Harris will dive for loose balls. We'll meet newcomers who could become household names, like Braswell and KJ, Derrio and Gokhan. The crowd will chant "LOOOOTZ", and the players will high five Niner Nation after the game.

You get the feeling Halton will be rocking this year. Let's not stop at Halton, though. Let's rock Charlotte.

Your Town. Your Team.

Tom Whitestone

Assoc. A.D./Media Relations

Throwbacks are not always a good idea...

For the first time in seemingly forever I had a Sunday off work. No home mens soccer, womens soccer or volleyball games. Big deal? Well, I was finally able to commit my Sunday to nothing but football.

What is better than going to the bar with about 15 televisions all tuned into different games? Honestly it’s a little overwhelming.

But now to the point of this entry….throwbacks!

The Tennessee Titans sported Houston Oilers colors while the New York Jets wore an abomination of a throwback jersey that one guy at the bar was actually wearing (It was a Favre jersey to boot, haha!)

Teams do it all the time across all sports, heck the Philadelphia 76ers are reverting back to their old logo on a full-time basis this season.

Which leads me to Charlotte, specifically men’s basketball. Some throwbacks are good (these warmups are good), others are just plain awful.

I know we don’t embrace the ‘UNCC’ tag. We are just Charlotte, but back in 1977 when we marched to the Final Four ‘UNCC’ was emblazoned across the front of Chad Kinch’s and Cornbread’s chest.

While we should celebrate our history, in a situation like this to help enforce the fact that ‘UNCC’ is no longer an acceptable term when describing 49er athletics we should bring them back. Just for one game. Go for broke. Look at those shorts! How did they play basketball? The socks are a must wear as well. Then after the game load them on a plane destined for some South American country and have a Shaman bury them in a mountain side deep in the jungle never to be seen again.

Throwback games are fun. Turn back the clock night in Halton arena a few years ago vs. TCU was awesome! We should do it more often….er maybe not!