Wild Bill’s Sports Roundup

The great thing about writing this column is knowing The Chief has my back.

Last week when I wrote a story about a baseball blowout, I misspelled the word, lopsided – meaning a score much higher on one side than the other- by using the word loopsided- meaning a side predominantly made up of loops.

I hit the panic button when I realized my error would appear in the on-line edition, but my fears were doused when The Chief told me he had caught the gaffe and already made the correction.

Many of you readers may already know I suffer from tataphobia, the fear of using double Os in spelling when a single O is correct and will suffice. It has something to do with the left side of the brain, but nevertheless is embarrassing when you call a floor cleaning device a moop or try to order a sticked ice cream bar by a name other than Popsicle.

A number of years ago, after obtaining VIP tickets to The Price is Right, my thank-you note to long time host Bob Barker had his first named errantly spelled with the extra O. You can imagine my chagrin, despite never catching any grief from Barker, possibly because he thought I was sending my appreciation to both himself and the on-stage Barker’s Beauties.

I’m a fan of TPIR, but pricing games can get tricky when you have the distraction of Barker’s Beauties or a plinko chip bouncing around live on camera. That being said, here’s some TPIR trivia during the Barker years of nearly 7,000 shows that may surprise you.

Despite the big dollar signs, the biggest Plinko winner was $21,000. The most pricey prize ever won was a motorhome and on nine shows, a car wasn’t even offered as a prize during any segment. Barker even had to deal with contestants cheating, and one who lost her tube-top when she was told by Johnny Olsen to ‘come on down’.

See, you always learn something when you read this column.

On to high school baseball, where the Wild Bill ‘Big-11’ Top-3 gets another shakeup after the first two weeks of district play. The Blue Ridge District has established itself as a 4-team dogfight, while the River Ridge may have to play catchup with Hidden Valley.

#1)Hidden Valley- The Titans hold on to the top spot after a strong start in the River Ridge. Hidden Valley seems to have its pitching and hitting in place to make a serious run toward the Spring Jubilee.

#2)William Byrd- After an earlier hiccup, the Terriers have bounced back with authority, including a key come-from-behind win over fellow-Blue Ridge foe Northside.

#3)Lord Botetourt- The Cavaliers will have a lot to say in the Blue Ridge race where undefeated Alleghany looks to be a thorn for the three ‘Big-11’ teams. The LB pitching staff will be the key if they want to make a move.

Tickets to The Greenbrier Classic golf tournament, set for the first week of July, can still be purchased from First Tee Roanoke Valley, with 30% of sales going to our local chapter. For more information, contact Jennifer Blackwood at 540-563-1833.

Also on the Greenbrier front, details of the second annual Greenbrier Tennis Classic were released Monday in a conference call with John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.

Both Hall of Famers will be joined by Ivan Lendl and Tommy Haas in the expanded two-day event set for Sept. 21-22 at the White Sulphur Spring resort.

The Salem Red Sox are in the middle of a 7-game home stand this week, including a game Thursday against Wilmington, followed by a three-game set Friday through Sunday against the Lynchburg Hillcats. Game times are 7:05 Thurs/Fri; 6:05 Sat.; 4:05 Sun.

Until our next visit, would someone just let me bid on a hot tub surrounded by Barker’s Beauties? And, send your bid without going over the actual price to: [email protected]

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