Democratic Debate from Winthrop U in Rock Hill, SC (3 of 3): Marijuana Is NOT Legal in the Palmetto State

Amazingly enough, a woman from Atlanta tries to smuggle marijuana into the Democratic Candidates Forum at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, earlier tonight.

The images above are of Cong. James Clyburn (D-SC, he represents the Charleston area), the only Democratic member of the House in Congress is also one of the most powerful Democrats on the Hill. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who, along with Martin O'Malley, is running against front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Here are the tweets:

1) Catholic Democrats: Contrast to the GOP_ they want softball moderators who support their typical ideological position. Liberal Rachel Maddow is asking sharp questions.

2) Philip Rucker (Washington Post): O'Malley did pretty well tonight: Some tough questions, but he gave sharp impassioned answers and drew contrasts with Clinton and Sanders.

3) Rock Hill Herald: Woman arrested on pot charge at Winthrop's DemForum in Rock Hill.

4) Ana Kasparian (liberal tv host): Who else is feeling the Bern!? (Bernie Sanders)

5) Brad Gorham (Syracuse University): Good showing for O'Malley; no major flubs, thoughtful answers, didn't dodge the tough questions.

6) Lex Alexander (liberal activist): O'Malley didn't say he'd close Gitmo, and Rachel Maddow let him off the hook.

7) Liz Mair (Republican strategist): Martin O'Malley.....still the only D that makes me look favorably on Hillary Clinton. What a clown.

8) Dan Zak (Washington Post): Martin O'Malley brought a Martin O'Malley to a knife fight.

9) Ari Melber (MSNBC): Martin O'Malley says Dems have lost SC because they've forgotten the middle class.

http://scdp.org/

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/

http://www.winthrop.edu

http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/

Democratic Debate Tweets (2 of 3): Starring Martin O'Malley as Hercules

Here is our second tweet script from tonight's debate at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. These tweets were taken as Martin O'Malley (pict. top) the former Democratic governor of Maryland took the stage.

 One female tweeter's enthusiasm for his physical appearance made us decide to compare him with Hercules, last played on film by Lou Ferrigno (pict. bottom), well, not that may not be entirely accurate!

Brer Rabbitt (pict. center) is our way of making sun of the South (my mom's side of the family is actually from South Carolina). On a personal note, my late grandfather Dudley "Doc" Sturgis taught at Winthrop. Here are the tweets:

1) Jessica Taylor (NPR): O'Malley applauds Obama on Keystone decision but not Secy. Clinton got there just last week.

2) Abby Miles: Could not be prouder to be a student at Winthrop University than I am tonight.

3) John Iodorola (Liberal talk show host/producer): On O'Malley's etch-a-sketch, he's winning in a landslide.

4) Dayna Colbert: I'm loving this. We need more forums.

5) Rachel Wright: O'Malley brought up the zeitgeist. I love fancy words.

6) David Doyen ("Salon"): None of the things O'Malley is saying will help him in the South.

7) Phillip Kessler: Candidates get to talk turkey without interruption from other candidates.

8) Kay Hanley: Martin O'Malley has ripped abs and glistening pecs but for some reason he insists on being in politics.

9) Toasty Poptart (Bernie Sanders supporter): I don't hate Martin O'Malley, but he has ZERO chance. He's barely a contender. This is a waste of time.

http://www.winthrop.edu

https://martinomalley.com/

Democratic Debate Forum Tweets from Winthrop U in Rock Hill, SC (1 of 3): Larry David 2016

Tonight, we give you live tweets from the Democratic Debate/Forum aired on MSNBC (which we are taping, but first we want to inform the world that the University of North Carolina women's volleyball featuring Paige Neunfeldt (pict. bottom) won on the road at Syracuse University by a score of 3-1 (25-19; 18-25; 26-24; 25-21). Kudos to the Tar Heels.

The Democratic debate took place at Winthrop University (center image is school mascot) in Rock Hill, SC, where my late grandfather Dudley "Doc" Sturgis once taught economics.

Though we didn't find any tweets we could use referring to comedian/actor Larry David (pict. top), there was much mention of him as he played presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) who was joined at Eagles U by Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley.

Since the last debate in Las Vegas, candidates Jim Webb and Lincoln Chaffee have dropped out of the race.

Here we go; most of these tweets were right before the start of the forum. Others are about politics or political views  in general:

1) Winthrop U: As Byrnes Auditorium filled up before the forum, attendees took time to document the special night with selfies.

2) Jim Bradley (A WSOC-TV reporter; ABC/Charlotte, NC): "Supporters outside Byrnes Auditorium. National spotlight on Rock Hill, SC. I'll let you know what the candidates say."

3) Bernie Sanders (from earlier in the day): Anybody who suppresses the vote, who intentionally tries to keep people people from voting, is a political coward. They are undermining democracy." (Ahhh, it's too bad Sanders didn't run against Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey; we aren't a fan of his).

4) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va., from earlier in the day): Effects of climate change in VA are real. Sea levels rise and recurrent flooding putting community of Hampton Roads at most serious risk."

5) Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC, from earlier): "The president's rejection of Keystone XL pipeline, which has strong bipartisan support, is shameful."

6) Anna Douglas (newspaper reporter for "The Rock Hill Herald"): "The stage seats are full now too. I see many Winthrop students. They look excited."

7) David Corn (liberal journalist with "Mother Jones" referring to the next GOP debate): "Chris Christie in the kiddie debate will be like Godzilla against the kittens."

8) Michael Clark (WBTV-TV; CBS/Charlotte, NC): A mix of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Sanders supporters outside forum.

9) Chris Cillizza (Washington Post blog "The Fix" discussing GOP contender Ben Carson): "Just to avoid future controversy; I applied to Stanford. They saw fit not to admit me."

The Olympics List (4 of 10): The Canadians

While those of us on the east coast of the United States are in the midst of yet another major snowstorm mess which will probably provide fodder for Bill O'Reilly to say Al Gore is wrong, there is no global warming, ya da ya da ya da..........we have noticed that there is seemingly no snow in Sochi!

With that in mind, here is our list of ten Canadian athletes who are assuredly more used to snow than students at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, one of the zip codes affected by today's storm:

1) Alex Bilodeau. Age 26. Home province: Quebec. Men's Free-style Skiing. Has won gold.

2) Dara Howell. Age 19. Home province: Ontario. Women's Free-style Skiing.  Has won gold.

3) Jesse Lumsden. Age 31. Home province: Alberta. Men's Bobsledding.

4) Heather Moyse. Age 35. Home province: Prince Edward Island. Women's Bobsledding.

5) Ryan Fry. Age 35. Home province: Ontario. Men's Curling. The team beat Russia 7-4  today.

6) Jennifer Jones. Age 39. Home province: Manitoba. Women's Curling. The team beat Great Britain 9-6 today.

7) Shea Weber. Age 28. Home province: British Columbia. Men's Hockey. Plays for Nashville Predators (pictured).

8) Laura Fortino. Age 23. Home province: Ontario. Women's Hockey. Plays for Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. The team beat the United States 3-2 today.

9) Charles Hamelin. Age 29. Home province: Quebec. Men's Short-track Speed-skating. Won gold.

10) Rosalind Groenewood. Age 24. Home province: Alberta. Free-style Skiing.

For our list of athletes from Scandinavian countries, go to our sister blog http://www.polticscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

SIDEBAR: NBC News is reporting that my beloved hometown of Roanoke, Va., will get 10-15 inches of snow during the major storm which will hit virtually the entire east coast. This is virtually the same amount of snow they are expecting in Rutland, Vermont! Major metro areas which have been affected include Atlanta, Columbia (SC), Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh (NC), Richmond (Va), Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

http://olympic.ca/

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/

http://olympics.cbc.ca/

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

http://www.winthrop.edu

Sports Desk- Radford Wins Bracket Busters Game

In the world of journalism, objectivity is a key element of the profession. In blogging, however, we can show not-so-subtle favoritism. And, I am doing exactly that right now as I am promoting my alma mater Radford University (in Radford, Va).

The RU Highlanders (6-23) have had a tough season but they defeated the visitors from Bighamton University (Bighamton, NY) in a Bracket Busters match-up on Saturday afternoon by a score 64-59. The home team was paced by Blake Smith, a junior guard from Charlotte, NC, who came of the bench and scored 15 points. Javente Green and R.J. Price also had an outstanding game for RU. And, Tolga Cerrah, a personal friend of mine who hails from Ankara, Turkey, added a key dunk during RU's second-half 14-6 run.

But, in all fairness, the key victory on Staurday for the conference arguably came up the road in Lexington, Va., where the VMI Keydets pulled a mild upset by downing William and Mary, from Williamsburg, Va. VMI (13-14) was lead bu Stan Okoye, a junior guard from Raleigh, NC, in the Keydets' 73-65 win.

In another key regional matchup the Winthrop Eagles, a Big South school in Rock Hill, SC, (where my late grandfather Dudley 'Doc' Sturgis once taught economics) lost to Appalachian State, a team in the Southern Conference, in Boone, NC, on Saturday by a score of 79-64.

For the home team Mountaineers seniors Isaac Butts and Omar Carter scored 15 points each and for the visiting Eagles senior Matt Morgan scored 22 points.

Kevin Martin, a forward for Charleston Southern, was named Big South Conference Player of the Week as he averaged 21 points in wins over conference rival Gardner-Webb and bracket busters opponent Wofford.

Here is a list of how the bracket buster results from Saturday for teams in the Big South Conference. The schools from the conference are marked with #s and the home teams are marked with *s.



*Northwestern State 100 #Campbell 86
*# Radford 64 Binghamton 59
*Morgan State 81 *Liberty 69
*#VMI 73 W and M 65
*Ohio 81 UNC-Asheville 62

*App St. 79 # Winthrop 64
*Tenn. Tech 77 # Coastal Carolina 71
*Stephen Austin 69 # High Point 62

*# Gardner-Webb 57 Delaware St. 56
*# Char. So. 77 Wofford 59
* Jacksonville St. 67 # Presbyterian 48

NOTE: We should point out that the image here is of Rowdy Red, who was mascot when I was at Radford U. Ironically, the school might not be happy with me because I am not using the current mascot The Highlander, and if that is the case they should forward their complaint to Javier the intern, who deals with such matters. (This is a joke; there is no Javier the intern here).

MY NCAA Final Four Predictions

This will come as a shocker to all college basketball insiders like ESPN's Dick Vitale, Bobby Knight and Jay Bilas, but I am going to go out on the proverbial limb and predict an all Big East Final Four, which is scandalous considering that as North Carolina residents we should all be pulling for Duke University (the notable exception are those who live in Chapel Hill), which is one of the four number one seeds.

But, I see a rematch of the 1985 NCAA final classic between Georgetown University, the Big East tournament's runner-ups, and Villanova University, but this time I think the Hoyas will prevail and pull off a shocking national championship run!

My other two Final Four teams are West Virginia University and Syracuse University, whom Bill Clinton has picked to win it all.

Of course, Georgetown will need to defeat 14-seeded University of Ohio in Providence, RI, first, while West Virginia will face a tough Morgan State team out of Baltimore, which deserved better than a 15th-seed.

Syracuse will face Vermont in Buffalo, NY- a team that upset them once in another NCAA tournament and Villanova will face Robert Morris University in Providence.

As for Duke, they will face the winner of the Winthrop University-Arkansas Pine Bluff game. I would love to see them face the Winthrop Eagles from Rock Hill, SC, since that is my cousin Mike's alma mater and they beat my alma mater The Radford Highlanders in the Big South Tournament!

Duke Beat Radford U in Men's Basketball

For the first since losing to the University of North Carolina in the opening round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Greensboro, NC, this spring, my alma mater Radford University, located in Radford, Va., came to Durham, NC, to play the Duke Blue Devils.

The result was alas more or less the same as Duke beat RU 104-67. Though more Duke alumni were probably focused on the Blue Devils' football game with the University of Miami (Fl) on the same afternoon, which Duke lost.

But, I expect good things from the Radford University men's basketball team, which I wrote about in the Greensboro alt weekly "Yes Weekly!" earlier this year (when RU was playing UNC).

The RU Highlanders, a team which is the defending Big South Conference champion, plays their conference opener at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The team's next home game will be against Roanoke College from Salem, Va., on Dec.
13. The Highlanders will be in the Triad on Jan. 19. 2010, to face High Point University.

Meanwhile, the next home game for the Blue Devils men's basketball team will be against St. John's on Sat., Dec. 5, and their ACC home opener will be against Clemson on Sat., Jan 3., 2010. I'm sure Coach K will have the team ready for both games.

I have to think if the Highlanders were to have played the Blue Devils at the Dedmon Center, RU's home gym, that the outcome would have probably different....we may have lost by just 36 points!

PS_ One team that Radford University fared better than was the English soccer team Wigan Athletic- they lost to Tottenham by a score of 9-1 yesterday! I also want to applaud my favorite Turkish soccer team Bursaspor for winning 1-0 over Gaziantep. In the MLS (the USA's main soccer league), Real Salt Lake edged out the Los Anglese Galaxy to win the MLS Cup.

Facebook Friend of the Week- Patrick Dawkins

This is my second entry which features a family member. It may be hard to believe that someone with the last name of Gokbudak and someone with the last name of Dawkins are first cousin but this is the world we now live in!

Patrick Dawkins is a freshman at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.

He was born two days after my 19th birthday on March 6, 1989.

My alma mater Radford University plays his school in Rock Hill on Feb. 2.

Last night, we defeated our arch rivals Liberty University of Lynchburg, Va., by a 94-82 count in double overtime (Yay!). The assistant coach of Radford U is my friend Ali Ton.

As for Patrick, he is a fan of McAlister's Deli in Rock Hill and he is a member of WU Amnesty International.

Patrick is one of 45 cousins on my mom's side........ok, that's an exaggeration, but not by much!

This picture is of the WU mascot (the eagle) meeting with the Oregon University (the duck) mascot during an NCAA men's basketball game. The effing ducks won this particular game!