Toland: Writer enjoys stay in Salisbury

By Roger Toland, Journal staff | Thursday, May 03, 2007

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SALISBURY, N.C. - Busy, busy, busy is an apt description of a three-day trip to Salisbury for the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association awards gathering.

From the moment we landed in Charlotte (despite a bumpy landing), our trip was loaded with busy times.

When the bus from Charlotte to Salisbury was delayed (from 1:30 p.m. until after 3 p.m.), Belle Fourche radio personality Bob Julius and his wife (Bea) took control.

Getting out of the airport was a major challenge!

On our first try, the bus driver took a wrong turn, and we had to go back and start over from the terminal. We got started again, but the driver's phone rang to come back to pick up some more people. We departed again and you guessed it, the phone rang again and we made that same trip around the terminal.

We eventually got going, just after one of the radio people said, "If that phone rings again, we're going to hijack the bus!"

Eat, eat and more eat was the norm for those three days.

The first night, the state and national winners, along with their spouses, were treated to a scrumptious southern style barbeque at a local historical site, the N.C. Transportation Museum Roundhouse, a building loaded with old-time trains.

We happened to be seated with Wyoming winners Reece Monaco of KFBC and Robert Gagliardi of the Cheyenne Tribune Eagle.

Both wanted to talk about Post 22 baseball.

"We're trying to pattern our Legion program like Rapid City's," offered Gagliardi, while Monaco asked, "When is Dave Ploof going to quit coaching?"

After a breakfast buffet the next morning, the National Athletic Trainers' Association put on the lunch buffet, complete with baked Alaska.

Sunday night, there was a trip to Lowe's Motor Speedway (eat your heart out Jim Holland) for another buffet meal.

The highlight was seeing the Speedway under the lights. Several of the guests were treated to a ride in one of the racecars, which reached speeds of 185 miles per hour.

Nancy Lindquist, wife of Verne who was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, was one of the "casualties" as she now has a "NASCAR knee" while getting out of the vehicle.

In the only meal we paid for all weekend (I spent a grand total of $20 those three days), our hostess Daisy Nichols (husband Jim was golfing) took "acquired" friends Bob and Janet Tompkins of Louisiana and us to a quaint sidewalk deli. Each host family pays $250 for the "right" to host a winning family.

The awards banquet and ceremony - the culumination of a great weekend - was held at another historical site, the Salisbury Depot.

Each state winner was introduced separately, followed by the national awards which were presented to FOX Sports' Joe Buck (he sent a video of his acceptance) and Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly.

Hall of Fame awards were presented to CBS Sports' Verne Lundquist and Golf Digest's Dave Kindred.

Lundquist, who was introduced by figure skater Scott Hamilton, was the hit of the night with his stories and recollections.

Hamilton, who told us that he had skated in every state except South Dakota (the Ice Capades came to Rapid City a year after he retired), plans to bring his son to the Black Hills.

My wife, JoAnn, should be a member of the Chamber of Commerce for her "promoting" of the Black Hills.

From those tree-lined highways to that genuine Southern hospitality, the weekend was worth making a part of my life in sports. We like the area so much that we are staying an extra week with transplanted South Dakotans Mike and Brenda Mosley in Sumter, S.C.