GoGamecocks.com
Wild win something to shout about
Posted on 02.27.09
CommentsANYONE WONDERING WHAT it was like at South Carolina during Frank McGuire's best seasons need look no further than Wednesday's game against Kentucky.
Everything was in place at Colonial Life Arena: a boisterous crowd, a big-time opponent, a well-prepared Gamecocks squad and television cameras. When it was over, South Carolina had rolled past the Wildcats 77-59 to take sole possession of first place in the SEC East.
Admit it — not many of you thought the Gamecocks would win in a runaway. Raycom announcers Dave Baker and Barry Booker never envisioned a rout.
"I think the word ‘shocking’ is often overused in sports," said Baker, who went on to say the word applied perfectly for how South Carolina handled Kentucky.
After concentrating on the Wildcats much of the first half, Baker and Booker began to realize the Gamecocks were for real. They heaped praise on the acrobatic Devan Downey and the shot-blocking show put on by Sam Muldrow and Mike Holmes. The Garnet Army, the Gamecocks student section, received its share of air time.
Probably one of the most enjoyable shots of the night for USC fans was the one that focused on a group of silent and glum Kentucky fans.
There are many differences between this year's Gamecocks squad, which is 20-6, and last year's, which stumbled to a 14-18 mark.
One of them could be seen during a first-half timeout when Raycom's cameras zoomed in on USC coach Darrin Horn. His team was up by 15, but Horn was far from satisfied. He was shouting both instructions and criticism to his players.
Mike Morgan, USC's radio play-by-play announcer, said he saw that passion in Horn the first time he attended a practice.
"He's a Type A personality who will do everything necessary for the program to win," Morgan said. "Players work hard for him, but they want to work hard for him. Horn is the kind of guy this program really needs."
The next test for the Gamecocks is a road game against Vanderbilt at 9 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU (cable channel 160, high-definition channel 952). Clay Matvick and Dickey Simpkins will be the announcers. Morgan and Casey Manning will have the call on WNKT-FM 107.5 and WISW-AM 1320.
Atlanta Braves coverage. Atlanta fans in the Midlands again can look forward to following the Braves on television and radio throughout the season.
Fox Sports Carolinas (cable channel 31) and SportSouth (cable channel 21) will combine to telecast 105 Braves games. FSC will have 25, all on Sundays. Jon Sciambi will do play-by-play, and Joe Simpson will serve as analyst for the 15th consecutive year.
The first game on SportSouth will be April 6 at Philadelphia. FSC's first telecast will be April 12 when the Braves host Washington.
Peachtree TV (cable channel 163) will show 45 Braves games, with Chip Caray doing play-by-play. Here is hoping Peachtree has ironed out the glitches that plagued its telecasts last season. The most common was having the picture freeze — often for as much as minute. Atlanta's first Peachtree game will be April 7 at Philadelphia.
The Braves open the season in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. April 5 on ESPN2 (cable channel 27, high-definition channel 951). So each of Atlanta's three games in its opening series against the Phillies will be on a different channel.
Radio broadcasts will be carried on WCOS-AM 1400 and Camden's WPUB-FM 102.7. Jim Powell, who spent time in the Columbia radio market during the 1990s, will do play-by-play and Don Sutton will be the analyst.
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