Staying up with what’s what and who’s who in sports

By Naeem McFadden
Marion Star & Mullins Enterprise Reporter
Published: July 23, 2008

Like clockwork, every day that I sit at my desk at the Star & Enterprise office, I practically go through the same routine.

First, I check about 25 to 50 e-mails. Then I scour the globe of the world wide web for the latest sports scores and any breaking news. I’m talking about sports in a number of leagues from football, basketball, baseball, soccer, boxing and what’s becoming a new favorite of mine, mixed martial arts ultimate fighting. Throw in a little track and field, golf, tennis, along with ice hockey, and I’m caught reading through more articles than a librarian. However, there is a method to my madness, one where everything is mostly dependent on draft preparations, trade deadlines, free agency, tournament brackets, and box scores.

However, in my opinion, it’s fun finding new sources of information and sharing that sports knowledge. If you’re about to get blindsided by insane personnel moves by your favorite teams, it’s nice to be prepared for the heartache and pain. So I pose this question: How and where do you get your sports news information? With the high school football season fast approaching, how do you stay on point with your favorite team’s progress and learn of the scouting reports on their opponents? What are some of your favorite sites to log onto when gathering the latest sports information?

Anyone with answers can contact me at the Star & Enterprise office via e-mail to or by telephone at (843)423-2050. I’m only one person, so I can’t cover as much ground as I’d like to, so I’d greatly appreciate any assistance where I can get it. So, if there’s a local team you’d like to follow this season, let me know. We’ll negoiate some coverage. If you’re coaching little league sports, keep me updated on your team’s progress and feel free to pass along any story ideas. For those who coach on the middle school and high school level, please send me a schedule, roster and comments on your squads and their progress through the season.

Or you can get like me and add to your favorites, scnow.com, espn.com, si.com and msnfoxsports.com. These are some of the top sites for news in the world of sports. I’d also recommend reading the columns of Charley Rosen, Peter King, Ian Thomsen, Jayson Stark, Buster Olney, “The Sports Guy” Bill Simmons, Scoop Jackson, and Jemele Hill. If you love boxing as much as I do, Dan Rafael pulls no punches. In fact, you might want to call up some friends and order via pay-per view the fight of year, when welterweight champions Miquel Cotto and Antonio Margarito battle on July 26.

As for the latest scores and access to stories regarding your local high school teams, I suggest a visit to maxpreps.com. Check out the fan pages—there is also a South Carolina school’s lists. I have to thank Marion varsity boys basketball coach Pete Ellis for the heads up on this trusty site, which has scores and stats dating to the 2005-06 season. It covers, basketball, football, baseball, and volleyball and more, as folks add to it.

The South Carolina High School league gives you access to exclusive team schedules and state championship brackets along with a “Palmetto’s Finest” record book that could blow your mind. You can visit that site at http://www.schsl.org.

The High School Sports Report is another great source of information, regarding high school athletes in South Carolina, important for fans keeping track of USC, S.C. State, Coastal Carolina and Clemson squads’ recruiting. You’ll find Lake View’s Quandon Christian, Travis Ford, Paul Thompson and Dillon’s L’Twane Thompson on the list of top football prospects.

I also have to thank coach Steve Smith for putting me on to hoopscooponline.com, for a list of the top high school basketball players in the country. As a subscriber to Slam magazine, for years I’ve been wanting to be the first to know which potential NBA star is coming through the pipelines.

Outlets like these, along with rivals.com and dimemag.com, have helped me discover the talents of a pre-teen O.J. Mayo, 16-year-old Lebron James and articles on Raymond Felton. In fact, visit youtube and check out Raymond Felton in HS for some awesome footage … the 360-dunk at Mullins High School was magnanimous! For you football fans, search out the high school highlights of Allen Iverson playing quarterback and Mountineers running back Noel Devine. So again, putting you on to game, these are just a few of the sites I visit in my spare time, and I hope you’ll find them useful in keeping track of your favorite teams and players. If you know of others I should check out, let me hear from you.

Also, with the Olympic games coming in August, http://www.nbcolympics.com could be useful. I know I’ll be paying close attention to the USA basketball “Dream Team,” record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps and 200-meter champion sprinter Allyson Felix. U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!