http://jhuffman.encblogs.com Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:05:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I'm like Paul Pierce in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Like Kirk Gibson against Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series. Like Michael Jordan wearing the No. 45. Like the Eagles in the early 90s. Like George Foreman dropping Michael Moorer. I'm back, baby. I'm back. OK, so I realize that my extended absence from the blogging ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=43 I got to sit down and have a conversation with former major league baseball player and manager Davey Johnson today. Johnson was playing in the Celebrity Players Classic -- a two-day tournament at the New Bern Golf and Country Club, benefiting the Athens Theatre renovation and the Wounded Warriors. A group of 15 former ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=42 A couple months ago, I wrote a column about Drew Christy, a collegiate cornerback who was involved in a serious car accident on Feb. 22. . Although I never really knew Drew, I did have the opportunity to cover him during my first year out of college. We spoke briefly a ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=41 Some of you may have noticed. Some may have not. Many more couldn't force themselves to care. But I took a break from blogging recently due to the fact I was on a mini-vacation of sorts. Per se. Kind of. Pseudo. Any other word and/or set of words I can use to ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=40 Sports Illustrated recently ranked New Bern High School athletics No. 1 in the state. I just heard about this, and it's a great honor for the students, coaches, faculty and staff at New Bern. Congratulations. There will be an article in Thursday's Sun Journal. I just thought I would try to get the word out now. ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=39 Mike Piazza retired today, closing the book on a successful baseball career that lasted 16 years in the Major Leagues. Piazza will probably go down as the best offensive catcher to ever play the game. His 397 home runs as a catcher rank first all-time for the position, and he'll retire with a .308 batting average. However, above ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=38 Growing up an Indiana Pacers fan, I always modeled my game after the great point guard Mark Jackson. He wasn't the most flashy player on the court, but he played smart and wasn't afraid to put the ball on the floor and post up on a inferior defender. Up until a few years ago, I think I was ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=37 Like most people, I'm not a very patient man. Or, at least when it comes to reading. It's sad, but it really takes a gripping writer to make me read every single word of an article. That is, unless my job requires it. Chris Ballard kept me reading this week with a somewhat controversial ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=36 So I was talking to two of my coworkers the other day, and I was upset that neither of them had heard of the greatest television show of all time. You might be wondering what show I'm talking about... No, not M*A*S*H. Not Seinfeld. Not Alf (although it ranks as a distant second). Not ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=33 Ranking great athletes is no easy task. It's kind of like ranking great musicians. All the great ones are products of the generations in which they lived. Trying to compare Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds is like trying to compare Mozart to Jimi Hendrix. There are so many contrasting elements, it's hard to see the similarities. Ruth and ... http://jhuffman.encblogs.com/?p=32