Fishermen Making A Difference

Fishing has always been a popular past time in our part of Virginia.  Over the years, tournament fishing has become more and more popular as teams and individuals compete to see who get not only the bragging rights, but in some cases some pretty nice prizes ranging from fishing gear to money, and in some cases even vehicles and boats.  One local fisherman has found a way to combine the love of fishing with a way for people to give back and help out some worthy causes, and it's growing bigger each season.

Dwayne Linkous of Dublin is the President and founder of "Fishing For Charities", a tournament trail that holds tournaments throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  Linkous has been an active tournament fisherman for years.   One of the main motivations behind setting up the club is his son.Raiden, who suffers from Neiman Pick Disease.

While those who participate in these tournaments can still win money and other prizes, the main purpose is to raise money for a variety of charities.  This years tournaments will support such charities as The Wounded Warrior Project, the Make a Wish Foundation of Greater Virginia, the Autism Society of East Tennessee, the Neiman Pick Disease Foundation, Relay for Life, and Victory Junction.

Last seasons schedule included tournaments at Cherokee Lake in Tennessee, Lake Anna here in Virginia, Douglas Lake in Tennessee, Claytor Lake, Lake Norman in North Carolina, and Smith Mountain Lake.   The 2011 schedule looks to include all of those from the 2010 schedule except for Lake Anna, and includes Lake Hickory in North Carolina and South Holston Lake at the Tennesee/Virginia border.  The action is set to get officially underway on April 2 with the Lake Hickory tournament.

If you would be interested in either fishing in this tournament trail or helping out as a sponsor or donor, feel free to visit their website at http://www.fishingforcharities.net/.

Rec League Basketball Roundup: Week 3

Our Pulaski County recreation league basketball teams are getting deep into their schedules now, and there have been some great games so far.  Several contests have went into overtime, with many others being closely contested.  Congratulations to all of the teams on their hard work and as they continue to show improvement.  If you wish to have your basketball teams information reported in this column, feel free to email me at cougardave23@comcast.net.

 

Dublin Tar Heels Undefeated

The Dublin Tar heels have moved to 6-0 on the season.  The Tar Heels recently faced off with the Pulaski Blue Devils and came away with a 28-6 win.   Brody Fields had 9 points and 13 rebounds, Jaceri Eaves had 7 points, Kellen Dalton scored 4 points, Joe Reynolds had 4 points and 5 rebounds, Caleb Kirtner and Jackson Meek scored 2 points each.   In their sixth game of the season, the Tar Heels defeated the Pulaski Celtics 30-5.  Jaceri Eaves scored 8 points,  Kellen Dalton had 6 points, Joe Reynolds scored 6 points, Jackson Meek had 4 points, David Lynn scored 4 points, Jacob Ball had one point, and Brody Fields had one point and 8 rebounds.

 

Dublin Heat vs. Dublin Tarheels 11-12 Boys

Two Dublin teams recently met in what turned out to be a real barn burner.  The Heat got off to a great start, taking an early 6-0 lead on drives to the basket by Trent Blankenship. The Tarheels slowly crept back into the game by pounding the ball down low to Miguel Garcia. The Heat ended up with a 21-11 lead at half, with Hunter Thomas getting easy transition points.  The second half started off with a bang, with the Heat keeping a 10 pt lead most of the third quarter with good ball movement and points by Blankenship and the good shooting by Alex Akers.  In the fourth quarter the Tarheels mounted a comeback by applying pressure defensively, along with the good shooting by Braeden Blevins and solid inside work by Austin Testerman.   The Tarheels clawed their way back, and were only down 3 with 6 seconds to go in the game. After a timeout the Tarheels inbounded and tied the game with a last second 3 point bucket by Jaylin Nowlin, which left the score at 27-27 and took the contest into overtime. The Tarheels took the tip and scored quckly, and then turned up the pressure,  with turnovers created by Thomas, Anderson, and Braeden Blevins. The Heat came out and kept it close with a good freethrow shooting but the Tarheels pressure and late scoring earned the 33-30 win for the Dublin Tarheels.

Dublin Suns 6-2
The Dublin Suns, coached by Randy Turpin and Chris Castle, improved their record to 6-2 with a win over the Dublin Lightning at Dublin Middle School on February 15.  Leading the Suns in scoring was Benjamin Poe with 8 points.  Ryan Smith contributed 8 rebounds to lead the team.  Defense was key for the Suns and Jason Smith led the way in steals with four.  Other scorers for the Suns were Ryan Smith with 6 points, Ryan Castle added 5 points, Preston Eller with 4 points to his credit, and Jason Smith hitting for 2 points.  Coach Turpin summarized the Suns' season well by stating, "We are playing great team ball.  I'm so happy that each one of our players has scored this season."

AAU Cougars Finding Success

AAU Cougars Working Hard

By David Gravely

Finding success on the basketball court takes hard work, dedication, talent, and playing against tough competition.  That's just what a group of youngsters are putting together as they travel to different tournaments representing our county.  The AAU Pulaski Cougars seventh grade team is racking up the wins, and they're hoping that turns into success at the next level.

The Cougars have been to three tournaments to this point.   The first tournament was the Fort Chiswell Christmas Bash on December 11th and 12th.    "In the first game, we played the Botetourt Magic and defeated them 52 to 26" said Head Coach Todd Brewster.   "The second game we played the Fort Chiswell Pioneers and defeated them 53 to 22.  The third game was the semi finals against Auburn Eagles.  We beat them 46 to 33.  This put us in the finals against the Virginia Sonics." 

The Virginia Sonics have been together for several years, and are known as a tough and talented team.  "This game was a great game" said Brewster.   "It went back and forth and came down the the last shot with us winning 42 to 39.  It was a tough one, but the team really played well and we were very proud of them."

The second tournament was the Cougar Classic, which was held here in Pulaski County.  Unfortunately, the Cougars were missing two key starters and didn't fare as well in this tournament.  In all they played three games, losing to the Botetourt Magic 45-32 and  the Virginia Sonics 52-40.   The Cougars were able to rebound, however, and beat the Salem Spartans 38-35.

This past weekend the Cougars traveled to Bristol to compete in the Cat Classic and finished in first place again.  The action opened up with a big win against Hurley, VA by a final score of 37-6.  The action got a little tougher in their second game, but in the end the Cougars fought their way to a 40-37 win over Bristol.  The win put the Cougars into a match up with the tournament host team Abington.  The young Cougars stepped up to the challenge and took home another win, 30-20.  The championship game found the Cougars facing Powell Valley.  Pulaski took home yet another big win by a final score of 36-16.

"We played very well this past weekend, and we played as a team" said Brewster.  "Every player scored and every player contributed to the wins.  That's what we want to see happening.  They all give 100%.  If the ball is on the floor, we expect to see at least three players on the floor with it."

The Cougars will be back in action this coming weekend when they compete in the Floyd Boys Clash.  The following weekend will find the Cougars in Wythe County for the Wythe Vegas Shootout.

Basketball Rec League Roundup: Week Two

Rec Basketball Roundup

By David Gravely

 

The Pulaski County rec league basketball teams continued their seasons this week, with most teams getting into the action at least once.  The following reports were sent in by the coaches of each team.  If you would like to have your teams games reported in this column, feel free to email the information to cougardave23@comcast.net.

 

Dublin Suns Finding Wins

The Dublin Suns and Dublin Globetrotters recently faced off at Dublin Middle School.  Both teams are part of the Pulaski County Recreation Basketball, Boys ages 8-10.  The Dublin Suns came out of this one with a victory.  Leading the scoring for the Suns were Ryan Castle and Benjamin Poe both of whom contributed six points.  Justin Turpin added two points to round out the Suns' scoring.  Jason Smith was the leading rebounder, with seven boards to his credit.  Leading the team in steals with four was Ryan Smith.  The Suns performed well defensely with contributions from Preston Eller, Chandler Dishon, Jason Hall, and Luke Russell. 

 

Pulaski Elementary School was host to the Dublin Suns and Pulaski Spurs basketball game on February 3, 2011 with the Suns picked up the victory.   Leading in scoring and steals was Ryan Castle, who posted ten points and eight steals.  Justin Turpin lead the way in rebounds with five.  Rounding out the scoring for the Suns were Ryan Smith with four points and Jason Smith and Preston Eller, who both added two points. 

 

The Dublin Suns and Pulaski Hokies met at Pulaski Middle School on February 8.  This game came down to the final seconds with the Suns pulling out the win 14-12.  Benjamin Poe led the Suns in scoring with six points and in rebounds with five boards.  Defense was key for the Suns.  Along with Poe, Ryan Castle, Ryan Smith, Jason Hall, and Luke Russell had three steals each.  Rounding out the scoring for the Suns were Preston Eller, Chandler Dishon,  Castle, and Hall all contributing two points.  The Suns moved to 5-1 for the season.

 

Dublin Tar Heels 4-0The Dublin Tar Heels in the junior division boys 8-10 are currently 4-0.   Head coach Troy Dalton reports that the Tar heels started their season off with an overtime win over the Riverlawn Magic 28-26.   Jaceri Eaves had 15 points, Kellen Dalton had 4 points, Brody Fields had 2 points, Caleb Kirtner had 2 points, and Joe Reynolds had 5 points. The Tar heels second game was a victory over the Dublin Rockets 18-7.  Jaceri Eaves had 7 points, David Lynn had 8 points, Kellen Dalton had 2 points, and Joe Reynolds had 1 point.   The Tar heels third game was a victory over the Dublin Blue Devils 15-9.   Jaceri Eaves had 7 points, Kellen Dalton had 6 points, and Caleb Kirtner had 2 points. The Tar Heels fourth win of the season came against the Dublin Suns 21-18.   Joe Reynolds had 7 points, Jaceri Eaves had 6 points, Kellen Dalton had 6 points, Jackson  Meek had 2 points, and Brody Fields had 13 rebounds.  The rest of the Tar heels are Jacob Ball, Evan Martin, and Ian Martin, who have all played strong defense.