By Gabriel Pruett
News Sports Writer
District 22-5A baseball and softball district selections are prime examples that something has to change when honoring our athletes. I do not take anything away from the athletes who were selected. It is not their fault these all-district teams have got out of control. Take the 5A baseball team with its 47 selections between superlatives and a first and second team. These all-district squads are so watered down now, do the athletes really get to feel an overwhelming sense of pride? Of course they are excited, but compare the feelings of being an all-district pick now to 15 or 20 years ago. It is not even close. First, drop the co-anything. A player was either the MVP or best pitcher or best offensive player or they were not. Second, limit positions like pitcher to two or three athletes at the most for each the first and second team. The 5A baseball second team has six pitchers, two catchers, two designated hitters, four outfielders and two utility players. I am sorry, mom and dads, not everyone deserves a ribbon. There were quite a few, OK a lot, of times in my very short sports career I was not selected to All-Stars or given some honor just because I showed up to the games. All that did was teach me to become stronger in another area in my life while simply enjoying playing sports for the basic joy of playing sports…Bob West struck gold in my eyes, well burnt orange eyes if one wants to get technical about the situation. West landed Vince Young to replace Earl Campbell at the Port Arthur News Homecoming Roast of Jamaal Charles. Young, although not in the limelight these days, still is a huge name in Texas football lore. I met the former All-American Longhorns quarterback during the national title year after the Longhorns defeated Texas Tech in Austin. If you have never seen the guy in person, just wait until you get a look at how big of a man he really is. Tickets for the roast are still on sale. Call 409-984-6262 to attend the June 13 event. Other guests include Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Denver defensive coordinator and hometown boy Wade Phillips, former Lincoln great Joe Washington Jr. and former West Orange-Stark and Seattle star Earl Thomas.
Steph Curry is the best shooter this guy has ever seen play the game of basketball. I could make this entry longer but saying those words in the first sentence is all that needs to be said…A reliable source called Friday to report the verdict is in on the future of former Nederland standout Colton Weisbrod and his apparent move from the University of New Orleans to Lamar. The Southland Conference has waived a year off the time Weisbrod will have to sit out, meaning he could possibly join the Cardinals in two years. Since a move from UNO to Lamar is within the same conference, the league had the authority to put a two-year hold on Weisbrod’s eligibility. But, after examining the reasons behind his move, the SLC did the right thing. Weisbrod made the move to be closer to his son, who was born in April. Weisbrod now can enroll at Lamar and start classes and begin workouts with the Cardinals team and miss the next basketball year. He would then — if he enrolls and decides to play for coach Tic Price — have three years left to play college basketball. It is almost as clear as glass Coach Price and Weisbrod will be seeing a lot of each other over the next four seasons. Congratulations to both sides because Lamar should have been his college to begin with if idiot Pat Knight had even picked up the phone to call the former Class 4A Player of the Year. One other option could be Weisbrod playing next year at Lamar State College-Port Arthur before heading to Beaumont when the year is over.
A season on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ is exactly what the Houston Texans need these days. The highly popular show is set to show the Texans through training camp and it could not come at a better time. The Texans need a boost. Can you imagine how big a star J.J. Watt is going to be after the airing? Arian Foster should be hilarious and Vince Wilfork is an interesting player to hear and watch. Then there are the eyes on last year’s No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney and his return to form. The Texans might not be title contenders but wild card hopes are not far fetched…Here is a call out to any parent or coach for area Little League baseball teams. We want your information! My email is at the bottom of this notepad. Please contact me and we can set up a way to get results in the paper. It only takes three minutes to call in a score, winning pitcher and a leading hitter. Those three minutes would mean so much to the youngsters who see their names in the newspaper…Notre Dame vs. Texas in the two teams’ season opener on Sept. 5 in South Bend picked up a lot of steam recently after former Irish QB Everett Golson was quoted as saying Notre Dame blocked him from heading to Austin. Golson left the Irish for Florida State, yet the way it sounds the Longhorns were high on his list. Golson said the Irish limited him to moving to schools not on Notre Dame’s schedule, ruling out Texas. Golson was quoted to say, “They didn’t necessarily block me from something I was strongly considering, except maybe Texas.” The Longhorns could really used his talents. Golson played two seasons for Notre Dame, 2012 and 2014, and has thrown for 5,850 yards and 40 touchdowns to 21 interceptions. He was dismissed from the school for the 2013 season and was later reinstated. Compare that to Tyrone Swoopes, the expected 2015 Longhorns starter, who has thrown for 2,435 yards and 13 touchdowns and 11 picks. Thanks Irish…Just throwing this out there, could James Harden be headed for the same fate as Brad Lidge? Lidge, if you remember, gave up the shot heard around three worlds to Albert Pujols in 2005. Harden could not hang on to the ball even if it had glue on it in the Rockets’ Game 6 loss to Golden State. It was such a pitiful performance one has to wonder how long it lingers with the bearded one…Thanks for reading. It is summer time and that means the sports world slows down a little bit. If you know a person doing something in the sports world over the summer that is unique and exciting, do not hesitate to contact me.
Gabriel Pruett is a sports writer for the Port Arthur News. He can be reached at gabe.pruett@panews.com.