Sumter’s ‘Fabulous Freddie’ Solomon dead at 59

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:05 EST

Freddie Solomon — the Sumter High football standout who wowed South Carolina high school fans, the University of Tampa and the National Football League with his amazing speed and quickness — died Monday in Tampa, Fla., at the age of 59. He had battled colon and liver cancer for the past nine months.

Solomon, known as “Fabulous Freddie” for his one tremendous season at Sumter High, died between 4-4:30 p.m. Monday, according to his brother, ONeal Solomon.

“We had gone to see him last weekend and were planning on going back this weekend,” said Solomon, who lives in Sumter. “He told us then not to worry about him. He had made his peace with God. He told us all the pressure, all the worry, all the stress was gone. He said, ‘You’re going to have to deal with that because I’m at peace.’ ”

Solomon, who was a standout quarterback at Tampa and won two Super Bowl rings as a wide receiver with the San Francisco 49ers, was diagnosed with colon cancer in April of 2011 and found it had already spread to his liver. He had surgery to reconstruct his colon and underwent chemotherapy on his liver. Solomon was undergoing chemotherapy when his health declined and he was hospitalized Feb. 4.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend Freddie Solomon today,’’ former 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. told the Tampa Tribune. “My heart goes out to Dee (Solomon’s wife, Delilah), his family, the 49ers football family, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office and football fans everywhere. Freddie and I have been friends for 35 years, and he was one of the most gentle and best men I have ever met in my life. Scores of generations will remember Freddie through their children and the youth he’s helped over all these decades. I have never met a man who cared so much about the human race, and there will never be another Freddie.’’

Steve Taneyhill to take over at Union County

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:33 EST

Former University of South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill was selected Monday to become Union County’s new football coach

The Union County school board voted 7-2 to offer the job to Taneyhill. Taneyhill, who attended the meeting but was not made available for comment, accepted.

A news conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today to officially introduce Taneyhill as the new coach, following a pep rally announcing him to the student body.

Union County principal Floyd Lyles said that Taneyhill will also assist with the school’s athletic duties with an official start date of March 1.

Taneyhill is currently coach at Chesterfield. He won three consecutive state championships at the 1A school (2007-09) after a stint at Cambridge Academy, which is an eight-man football school in Greenwood.

Tracking S.C. golfers on the PGA Tour

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:44 EST

A weekly update on South Carolina golfers on the PGA Tour, through Sunday’s tournament at Phoenix.

Name

S.C. Connection

Starts

Sutton leads N.C. Central over S.C. State 71-56

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:42 EST

Dominique Sutton scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half and North Carolina Central defeated South Carolina State 71-56 Monday night.

The Eagles (13-12, 7-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) dominated throughout, shooting 54 percent from the field (27 of 50), while holding South Carolina State to 36 percent shooting (18 of 50).

North Carolina Central, which never trailed, led 16-10 before going on an 11-2 run. Sutton scored six points during the spurt, and capped it on a layup with 7:08 left in the first half. Five of South Carolina State's 11 first-half turnovers came during the Eagles' surge.

The Eagles led 41-25 at halftime and didn't allow South Carolina State to threaten in the second half.

Joe Ikhinmwin led South Carolina State (5-20, 0-11) with 21 points, and leading scorer Brandon Riley (17.3 points per game) was held to seven.

USC-Upstate defeats North Florida 77-52

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:42 EST

Adrian Rodgers led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points and South Carolina-Upstate limited North Florida's offense for a 77-52 win on Monday night.

The Spartans (17-10, 10-4 Atlantic Sun Conference) shot 50 percent (27 of 54), outscoring North Florida 28-18 in the paint.

SC-Upstate held the Ospreys to just 38 percent shooting from the field (19 of 50), and caused 14 turnovers, leading to 22 points.

Ty Greene and Torrey Craig added 15 points apiece and Babatunde Olumuyiwa chipped in 10 for the Spartans, who won their third straight.

Craig's layup capped an 11-4 run that gave SC-Upstate a 23-11 lead with 10:04 left in the first half. The Spartans went on to lead the Ospreys 40-29 at halftime. SC-Upstate was 6 of 8 from 3-point range in the first half.

76ers send Bobcats to 15th straight loss

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:04 EST

Lou Williams scored 23 points off the bench as the Philadelphia 76ers built an early lead and held on to send the Charlotte Bobcats to their 15th straight defeat, 98-89 Monday night.

Thaddeus Young added 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting, and Jrue Holiday chipped in with 19 points for the 76ers (20-9).

Williams was averaging 19 points over the previous four games. He stayed hot Monday night, making several big shots including a 3-pointer with 6:11 remaining after the Bobcats had pulled within 71-69.

He also hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to seal Philadelphia's second straight win.

Corey Maggette scored a season-high 22 points for Charlotte, which fell to 3-25 on the season. It's the worst record in the NBA and drops the Bobcats' winning percentage below that of the 1972-73 76ers, who finished with the worst record ever in the NBA at 9-72.

For Panthers in 2012, roster, money collide

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:54 EST

The Panthers don’t have as many of their own free agents to sign as they did last year. And this year’s group might not have the big names who will be eligible for free agency in 2013.

But several of the 10 players who can become unrestricted free agents when the league year ends March 13 made lasting impressions with their locker room leadership, as well as their play, during coach Ron Rivera’s first season in Charlotte.

Tight end Jeremy Shockey was lauded by Panthers owner Jerry Richardson and others for the nasty streak he brought to the team, which was missing that edge throughout the two-win season in 2010. He was a nice complement to Greg Olsen, but Shockey turns 32 in August and likely will be looking for a deal worth close to the $4 million he made last season.

That could be prohibitive to a team that is tight against the salary cap after last summer’s spending spree.

The Panthers locked up seven of their core players with long-term deals, including all three starting linebackers, defensive end Charles Johnson, safety Charles Godfrey, running back DeAngelo Williams and center Ryan Kalil.

Roundup: 3-pointers lead Hoyas, Michigan

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:00 EST

Freshman Greg Whittington scored a career-high 12 points, and No. 12 Georgetown hit clutch 3-pointers down the stretch in a 71-61 win over St. John’s on Sunday.

Whittington, Jason Clark and Markel Starks all hit 3s in the final 6 minutes to counter the Red Storm’s momentum in a game in which Georgetown never trailed — but also never led by double-digits until the final 5 seconds.

Nate Lubick finished with seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and a career-high four blocks for the Hoyas (19-5, 9-4), who shot 61 percent in the second half and moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Big East.

D’Angelo Harrison scored 24 points, and Moe Harkless had 20 for the Red Storm (10-15, 4-9), who fell to a nation’s-worst 0-10 against Top 25 teams.

NO. 22 MICHIGAN 70, ILLINOIS 61

Five NASCAR storylines for 2012

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:04 EST

Saturday night’s non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway marks the unofficial start of the 2012 NASCAR season.

It was only three months ago Tony Stewart won his third Sprint Cup Series championship in dramatic fashion and NASCAR crowned new champions in its Nationwide (Ricky Stenshouse Jr.) and Trucks series (Austin Dillon).

While many of the faces competing for race wins and championship this year will be the same, there are still several intriguing new storylines which will unfold as the season kicks off this weekend.

Here’s a look at five things to keep an eye on as another NASCAR season unfolds:

1. New title contenders same as the old

On TV and the radio

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:59 EST

TheState.com: Sports