SPRINGDALE — I remember old men sitting on a bench and whittling away at a piece of wood while talking mostly about women, politics, and sports.
That was an important form of communication before email and text messaging.
Today, I feel like one of those old-timers as I begin 30 years of covering high school and college sports in Arkansas. I can’t whittle but I can still type. So, follow along as I recap some incidents from a journey that began in 1984.
Next week, I’ll write about some of the top players and exciting games I’ve covered during that span.
NO CASH, NO CARDS
Covering basketball games at Blytheville in the 1980s was exciting, starting with pregame introductions when the lights were turned off and a spotlight placed on the players. Halfway through one season, the gym stayed lit and I asked the athletic director for an explanation.
Seems the darkness not only energized fans and players but thieves as well, who zipped through the crowd stealing wallets and purses.
What’s in your wallet?
If you attended basketball games at Blytheville in the 1980s, the answer sometimes was nothing.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my career, but perhaps none as painful as the one by a brash, young football coach at Star City several years ago.
Pine Bluff Dollarway was in the midst of a 51-game winning streak when the Cardinals were preparing for a game at Star City. I got some quotes from the Star City coach then asked him to pose for a picture.
Hours later, he called and said he didn’t want that picture to appear in the newspaper. Too late, I said, it was already on the page.
The next morning, a photo appeared with the Star City coach holding a match and burning a newspaper article about Dollarway’s win streak. That didn’t sit well with the Cardinals, who pounded Star City by 40 points.
Lesson learned: Don’t provide bulletin board material to an opponent, especially one that hadn’t lost in over four years.
WHO’S FOLLOWING ME?
If I ever write a book it’ll be called “Just lock the door behind you.” That’s what the people in the pressbox tell sports writers, who are always the last to leave after filing a game story.
There was no one around when I left the stadium at Broken Arrow, Okla., following a game with Springdale. But I could hear noises.
I kept hearing the noises as a walk anxiously to my car, which was parked about four blocks away. Finally, I turned around and grabbed a pipe or a stick and waited for a confrontation.
Nothing. No one.
When I picked my computer bag back off the ground, I could hear the noises again. When I opened the bag, I found the source of noise.
It was an interview on the tape recorder that I had left running.
Yes, I was embarrassed. But I was also thankful to escape the Tulsa area and return to Arkansas still alive.
CRIME FIGHTERS
I’ve worked at several small newspapers where reporters are expected to do more than one job. That’s why I was the one taking pictures when a group of politicians, police officers, and community leaders piled into the office of the Blytheville Courier one fall afternoon.
I snapped a picture with people standing in front of a table scattered drugs, weapons, and cash. After developing the film, I decided there were too many people in the picture so I simply cropped out some at both ends.
Big mistake. The phone started ringing early the next morning and I had to take a separate picture of the people who were left out.
Lesson learned: Politicians, police officers, and community leaders are eager to take credit for drug busts, especially at election time.
WATCH YOUR STEP
I was covering a football game at Wilson (Rivercrest) one year when play was stopped because of tornado warnings in the area. I knew I couldn’t stay in the rickety old press box and diving into a nearby ditch was not an option.
I was relieved when the public address announcer told the crowd to go through a side door attached to the gym.What he didn’t say was there was a swimming pool inside and, with the power still out, a few folks slid fully-clothed into the water.
No one was hurt at the gym but, unfortunately, there were some people killed when a tornado swept cars off Interstate 55 near Wilson. I still think of that night whenever severe weather approaches during a game.
RICK FIRES IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR NWA NEWSPAPERS