The Run Ends Tonight
I went to Forestview High School in Gastonia tonight to cover the third round of the state playoffs. Hickory High's boys and girls teams both ended up at the same school tonight for their games, so I covered both. Unfortunately for the Red Tornadoes, both teams suffered defeat on their road to the state championships. The Lady Tornadoes were undefeated until tonight and finished their excellent season with a 28-1 record, which is outstanding in any case.
The above photograph is of Hickory sophomore Hillary Sigmon. I have been watching her grow as a basketball player this season. She got some playing time as a freshman last year, but not a lot. This year, she has been one of the strongest shooters in the Lady Tornadoes arsenal. Tonight, she finished with 18 points in Hickory's 65-57 loss to the Forestview Jaguars. She'll be stepping into an even more dominant role next season as a Junior. I'll be keeping my eye on her for sure...
Gail’s Hops and Grapes
I have recently discovered a little shop in Hickory that nicely scratches a constant itch of mine... My recent re-entry into the hobby of home brewing my own beer has also re-kindled my interest in good beer. Hickory, North Carolina is definitely not a beer cultural center of any kind, and in the past it has been quite difficult to find a source of good beer in the area. Gail's Hops & Grapes is a place that caters to my interest in fine beer. Their specialty is probably a little more on the wine side of alcoholic beverages, but their micro and craft beer inventory is outstanding as well. I'm going to have a great time working my way through their beer inventory one bottle at a time. It's going to take a while though. They have beers in single bottles ranging in price from about $2.50 or so all the way up to about $20. I can afford an occasional top-shelf beer though :) Gail's also has free wine tastings every Thursday evening, so stop by and check them out if you get a chance.
Gail's doesn't have a website. There is some sort of presence available on MySpace, but it's not really a good web front for a shop of this nature.
CVAC Tournament Starts
Tonight was the first round of the men's CVAC basketball tournament, and I covered the St. Stephens Indians hosting the Fred T. Foard Tigers. This is a rather busy week in basketball with games every night between now and Friday. The thought of basketball season drawing to a close is a tough one for me because it means I'm gonna be tossed back out into the cold for baseball and girls soccer very soon...
Penelope Baptist Church Fire
Someone told me this afternoon that Penelope Baptist Church had burned down early this morning, so I decided to ride by and take a look. When I got there, this is what was left of the sanctuary of a church that has been standing in this town for 120 years. Oddly enough, there was a fire wall between the sanctuary and the rest of the church, so the entire church may not be a total loss, but the damage is extensive to this portion of the building...
Middle School Hoops
It's very rare, but I occasionally get sent to cover middle school sports, and today I photographed some hoops. This game was between my alma mater, Grandview Eagles (class of 1982), and the H.M. Arndt Redskins. This was also the first time I had been back in the old Maiden High School gym since the new high school was built.