Saturday, February 03, 2007

The 'Rock' is safe...

No not Rock Hill but Chimney Rock...

Gov. Mike Easley came to Chimney Rock Park to make it official — the state will buy the 996-acre property from the Morse family for $24 million.
The deal adds a key piece to what will become North Carolina’s 30th state park, Hickory Nut Gorge State Park. The state already has acquired 2,264 acres on the north and south sides of the rugged gorge.

In July 2006, the Morse family announced plans to put the park on the open market, with an asking price of $55 million. The Morses rejected a $20 million state offer last fall, but Easley and Todd Morse said both parties wanted to come to an agreement and keep the property preserved.

The state said an early appraisal gauged the park’s value at $21 million. The park lies in Rutherford County, where the Tax Office assessed the value of parcels owned by Chimney Rock Co. at $4.9 million, including the park’s buildings. That assessment was done in 2002, though, and gauging the park’s commercial value was almost impossible because of its unique nature.
The notion that the park will now be preserved forever sits well with the Chimney Rock community, which relies heavily on tourism and the natural beauty of the area.
The park draws 250,000 visitors a year.

The sale will close by the end of May.

Interesting facts:

• The 315-foot chimney and nearby sheer cliffs became a tourist attraction in 1885 when Jerome B. Freeman built a stairway to the chimney summit.
• The tower offers 75-mile views from an elevation of 2,280 feet. By comparison, Asheville’s elevation is 2,216 feet.
• Lucius B. Morse of Missouri fell in love with the gorge during visits here. He bought 64 acres in 1902 and began the park’s development.

Friday, February 02, 2007

You ready to rumble

Check out this Old school gamecock fight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snq4Oau_iDE

USC Baseball picked to win...

South Carolina was picked to win the Southeastern Conference baseball title by league coaches while Arkansas was the choice for the Western Division title.

South Carolina returns six position starters and 10 pitchers from a team that advanced to the final game of Super Regional play last season.

The Gamecocks open the season Feb. 9 at the Hughes Brothers Challenge in Wilmington, N.C. against Oklahoma.

Also reported in The State was some news on the baseball stadium. Seems South Carolina baseball coach Ray Tanner still expects to open next season at the team’s new stadium, even though groundbreaking has been delayed until this summer.
The pre-construction phase of the project, estimated at $24 million, has taken longer than expected. Bids go out today for demolition of buildings on the property, the area at the intersection of Blossom and Williams street.
That means the construction of the yet-to-be-named stadium will not start until June or July, according to Tanner. But USC officials have maintained that once groundbreaking takes place, the stadium can be finished in time for the Gamecocks to play there in February of 2008.

Any thoughts?

Thursday, February 01, 2007

We must protect dis house...

Reported in The State today....South Carolina officials are in negotiations with Under Armour to make the Baltimore-based manufacturer the official apparel provider for many of the Gamecocks’ athletics teams.

USC’s deal with Russell was worth about $300,000 in the final year of the contract. Auburn’s five-year deal with Under Armour is believed to be worth about $2 million a year. The Gamecocks’ football program is at the end of a four-year deal with Russell to produce the team’s uniforms and is nearing the end of a two-year, shoe deal with Reebok. If USC chooses Under Armour, the Gamecocks would join Maryland, Auburn and Texas Tech as the only Division I-A programs wearing the company’s uniforms.

More money for USC and with that...what are ya'lls thought? Should they go with Under Armour or with Russell? What about Nike?

He deserved the money...

I must say he is doing pretty good for himself...Former University of South Carolina infielder Brian Roberts today agreed to a one-year, $4.2 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles, The Associated Press reported.

Any of you think he is the one of the best 2nd baseman in the league?

Let it snow...

A little snow in G-Vegas today!

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Next American Idol from Greenville?

First Clooney fever in G-Vegas now this....On last night's episode of "American Idol," Greenville's Chris Sligh appeared before the judges. He sang Seal's "Kiss From a Rose," which seemed to please the judges and got him a pass to Hollywood.

If you're a huge "AI" fan, you can find Sligh leading others in worship at Seacost Greenville Church, according to http://chrissur.blogspot.com/. For more on Sligh, visit his band's myspace page at www.myspace.com/halfpastforever .

No Konate for you...

This was reported in The Greenville News.

Article states ---University of South Carolina reserve center Ousmane Konate has left the basketball team for personal reasons and is unlikely to play again, coach Dave Odom says.

"He will not be in uniform (Wednesday night against Auburn),'' Odom told reporters before practice Tuesday. "He's not likely to return to the team. The reason being is he's got some personal issues that he needs to attend to.''

Konate, a 6-foot-10, 270-pound junior from Senegal, has played in 25 games in his career -- 11 this year -- with no starts. This season Konate averaged 1.6 points and 2.0 rebounds a game.

I don't think this will hurt us and actually it was kinda assumed that he was done. Plus Odom had to create one scholarship for next year's class of recurits and transfers.

Any comments or anyone sad to see the Konate go?