Today's Sports

Dalton Gore is preparing to travel to Pebble Beach and participate in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, presented by Nature Valley, as a representative for The First Tee of Brunswick County.

He is taking with him his own dreams and the hopes and dreams of the hundreds of volunteers who have made a positive impact in his life. We are all wishing him well.

Pat Sandifer, widow of longtime county commissioner David Sandifer, joked she had to nail the back door of David’s office shut so he wouldn’t sneak out and play golf instead of work.

“He played every opportunity he got,” Pat Sandifer said.

It’s a fitting tribute then, she said, that an upcoming golf tournament includes two of his passions—golf and education.

After starting the season with six top-10 runs in 10 events, Chad McCumbee and MRD Motorsports appeared to have the right momentum as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entered into a tough stretch of races during the summer months.

But this string of races posed some challenges. The team had an unexpected 26th- place average finish that was not indicative of how the team performed during those races. A series of on-track incidents outside of the team’s control left it even more eager to head to the Music City to get back on beat.

Readers have their opinions about my opinions.

In response to my July 17 column, “My mighty, majestic home run*,” Joe Small elaborated on the sound of hitting a home run:

“I hit a few of those in my (distant) youth,” he wrote. “I was also fortunate enough to hit a few legitimate home runs. There is no sound in ANY sport that resonates like the sound of a baseball being hit solidly (right on the sweet spot) by a wooden bat. Forget the ping of aluminum bats. Doesn’t come close.