Hello Friends
The Masters are underway and besides being a Major, it’s the one tournament people watch for the views as much as they do the players. And as immaculate a course can be, those I know that have been to Augusta say the television doesn’t do it justice.
David Varnado
Fiddle player David Varnado was my guest this week on the Behind the Mic podcast. The Port Arthur native has played with Loretta Lynn, Jo-el Sonnier, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Chris LeDoux and more and has stories with all of them. Plus he tells us the difference between a violin and a fiddle and he plays a little bit too. I hope you’ll give it a listen.
Musburger to the Hall of Fame
Announced this week Brent Musburger is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Pete Rozelle Media Award. Now if you want to talk about what really inspired me to want to get into the sports media business, it was Musburger and his crew on the NFL Today.
The original “Sports Center” (when Sports Center was a good show) the NFL Today got you ready for the Sunday games with highlights and interviews, and then they would come in at halftime and get you caught up on the other games in progress.
There was something about that that was entertaining to me. Brent, of course the lovely Phyllis George, Irv Cross, and Jimmy the Greek were on the set. My dad would get mad sometimes because I wouldn’t always watch the game, but I would be front and center when the NFL Today came on.
Shoutout to all of the Orange County kids who advanced to the Regional Track Meets next week. I’ve come to enjoy covering Track and Field, although it makes for a long day. What other sport do you get to cover that many teams at once in that many events?
I love the sportsmanship the kids display as well as the rivalries that develop during the season. And there’s also a lot of cool moments between the athletes and the coaches.
Busy weekend with Art in the Park on Saturday and the Cowboy Church Pro Rodeo on Friday and Saturday under the new covered rodeo arena on FM1078. Also just a few weeks away from the Crawfish Bash in Mauriceville (May 2-3).
That’ll be followed by Bassmaster Elites coming to Orange. We talked about the tour a few weeks ago and they’re back in the news again for the wrong reason with Scott Martin quitting before a possible second DQ because of the no-information rule.
It’s a big deal because Scott is considered bass royalty being the son of Roland Martin. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the new rule that went into effect this season but it’s supposed to protect the integrity of the game. It states anglers may not get information from any source that is not publicly available. Watching Scott’s video that he made, and claiming he didn’t know the guy he was talking to, sounded like he broke the rule to me.
But other than polygraphing every fishermen everyday of the tournament, I don’t see how you can enforce this rule without just being blatant. Fishermen are some of the best liars in the world and many could probably beat the polygraph (LOL). Not speaking from experience or anything.
They’re coming to Orange with whoever is still on the roster to fish one of the toughest places on the Elite schedule to catch big fish, especially since Louisiana is still off limits. We’ve already seen a few wrapped boats around town. Jay Delk (left) of Orange got to take his picture with Elite Trey McKinney. The one thing about these guys that doesn’t change is they’re still approachable and usually willing to talk and take pics with fans. Just don’t tell’em where the fish are!
Get ready for some good entertainment too including Casey Donahue, Josh Abbott, Britt Godwin and the band Boomerang.
Speaking of fishing, congrats to Melvin Dunn of Orange who had a top ten finish on the BFL Tour on Rayburn.
Have a great weekend!
-Gary Stelly-
gstelly66@gmail.com
–
Volume 1 No. 13
The Juice is a weekly column where Gary Stelly discusses things that happened the past week and mixes it with 40 years of being involved in the Orange County community. (If we think of a better way to explain it we’ll change it) You can also check out his podcast by clicking on the Behind the Mic banner on the KOGT.com front page.
Social Media