“Is This Really a Sport?” Of The Week! – THRILLHO edition

In the months outside the football season, this site gets less love than Kanye West at Bonnaroo. It’s pretty fair to say that this site lives on football.  Sure, we watch and follow the other sports, we just found our ‘niche’ i guess.

Anyways, my friend and I came across a disc golf course in town.  I have a couple friends back home that are really into it, but I have yet to partake.  This past weekend, Mrs. THRILLHO bought me a 3 pack of discs, a driver, and approach/mid range, and a putter.  I really know nothing of disc golf and was surprised to read how serious people take it.  There are literally hundreds of discs all with unique ratings.  This site has a bunch of discs and ratings listed.  It looks like something I could get into.  Has anyone tried this?  Is it a total hippy “sport”?

This is the set that the wife got me:

UPDATE 6/23:  I went and played a round yesterday.  It was a ton of fun.  For the first few holes, i tried throwing like a normal frisbee… that didn’t work well at all.  I eventually switched to the forehand toss, and it worked so much better.  I was getting about 4x the distance with half the effort.  The course we played was pretty tough with tons of trees on every hole.  I got the hang of it after a while.  We played the ‘pro’ tees.  I shot a 78 on 18.  This is the course we played.

LWN Interviews Carolina Panther Gary Barnidge

Check out my interview with NFL Rookie Gary Barnidge at www.thesportsrooster.com.  It’s half way down the page. 

 

 Recently TheSportsRooster staff got the chance to speak with former Middleburg High School (FL) andLouisville TE Gary Barnidge.  He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.  NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. called Barnidge “a late round steal.”

 

 

Were you confident that you would be drafted?  Did you start to feel anxious waiting until the fifth round? Did other teams call and say they were taking you and then not draft you?  What was it like to hear your name called?

From the beginning I had heard anywhere between the 3rd to 6th round. My Agent told me to expect late fourth to early fifth, so I wasnt really anxious waiting.  I think the rest of my family and friends were more anxious than I was because they didnt like the other guys going before me but it didnt bother me because I knew I would just have to prove myself no matter where I was. When I heard my name it was a dream come true because ever since I was a little kid I told myself and friends that I would go pro in either basketball, baseball or football. It was just realizing all my hard work has paid off which was a great feeling.
 
 
Describe what it was like to be drafted on April 27th, then hitting the field with a professional team on May 2nd.

It was a great experience for me because I got the chance to see what the NFL was going to be like and I got a chance to prove what I could do. It is a quick turn around but the teams want to see what they have in person, which is great for the players and the team.
 
Can you explain the purpose of mini-camp to us?  Is it like spring practices in college?

Mini-camp is like spring practices with the exception of pads. It is a chance for the coaches to see who they have and what the players are best at. It is also a great time for the players because they get to show what they can do compared to the other guys.
 
We know that Richard Owens also played at Middleburg High School (FL) and Louisville.  Do you think that the Louisville coaches’ had their eye on you because Owens was a successful player for the Cardinals?

To tell the truth Richard told Louisville about me and they came and took a look and I guess they liked what they saw. My high school coaches told Richard about me and he told the coaches, so my coaches and Richard both had a helping hand in getting me to Louisville.

 *Readers Questions For Gary:                  

What did you do to get your name and abilities (information) out to colleges during your high school career? 
 
Actually my coaches handled all that for me. They sent out the information and all my game tapes. So I owe all that to my coaches. If the coaches aren’t helping you then I recommend that you get copies of all your game tapes and send them to as many colleges as you can. Send them a couple times to different coaches so that they all recieve the tapes.
 
 
How important were grades and test scores when you were being recruited to play college football?

Grades and test scores are very important. If you dont have good grades then the teams think you cant be counted on when it comes to football if you cant keep you grades up. As for test scores if you dont meet a certain requirement then you wont be able to be admitted to the school and you might have to go to a junior college which isnt a bad thing at all. So all in all grades and test scores are very important and really help your chances for college.
 
 
How did you physically prepare for high school vs. college football (preseason/off season)?

Well we lifted in the offseason if you didnt play another sport in high school but we all lifted in the mornings of the summer. So in the summer we worked out four times a week and ran four times a week. In college you dont play other sports it is football year aorund and in the summers. So college is year around which just made you a better player. If you want to prepare for college then you have to be in shape and work out to help you get ahead of the other players.
 
 
What are some of the challenges of being a college student athlete?

It is a tough situation because it is tough balancing football and school. It is something that takes hard dedicated work toward both school and football. School always ahead of football and if you can do good in school you can do good in football because you learn to handle everything through the other.

 
If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to play at the college level, what would it be?

Never let anyone tell you that you will never make it and always follow you dreams. Never give up no matter how hard something might get because it is just going to make you a stronger person. If I would have listened to people saying how hard it is to make it and that I dont have a chance then I wouldnt be where I am today. So always give your best no matter what it is.
 
Finally, I know a lot of NFL players like the Madden football series.  If/when you pick up a copy of Madden 2009; will you insert #82 into the starting lineup for the Panthers?  If so, will you use him at tight end or WR?

If I am lucky enough to be on the game then I will use the Panthers but I dont think I will insert myself into the starting lineup because we have so many great players on the team and im not big into using myself I never used myself in college so I dont think I will in Madden. If I did use myself I would be tight end because that is my position and I see my self as a tight end because I believe that I can do both blocking and recieving.

 

 

 

*Photos Courtesy of www.garybarnidge82.com