Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993 TAG: 9312230095
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
That's why WSLS-TV general manager Jim DeSchepper has waited until now to serve notice on American Network Group of Columbia, S.C., that his station would like to be paid.
DeSchepper said the next Tech basketball show, Jan. 9, will not be aired unless American Network Group meets its financial obligations by Dec. 31.
"We're only talking a couple of thousand dollars," DeSchepper said, "but it comes down to station policy. We've been calling for several weeks and several times have set payment dates, but they were not met."
DeSchepper said the station also has not been paid for Inside Tech Football, a football highlights show that began in August.
"In no way should this reflect on Virginia Tech," DeSchepper said. "This has nothing to do with Virginia Tech."
In fact, WSLS and Tech have collaborated on two Independence Bowl specials that will air Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and New Year's Eve at noon, 30 minutes before game time.
At various times, WSLS has produced its own Tech show and served as production advisor when Tech produced its own show. This is the first year that Tech has sold the rights to a syndicator, which paid the school on the front end of the agreement.
Hokies' athletic director Dave Braine said Wednesday that American Network Group was being sold, but that company representative Don Williams had told him payment to WSLS would be forthcoming. A company official said Wednesday that Williams had left for vacation.
"We have a soft spot for the local teams, which is why we carried a full season of football before taking any action," said DeSchepper, whose station also carries University of Virginia football and basketball shows. "It's the first time in seven or eight years that we've had any kind of problem."
\ PARKER LIKES HOKIES: Salem High coach Willis White said running back Marcus Parker is unlikely to have his head turned by the Notre Dame mystique. Parker, a former All-Group AA selection, will visit Wake Forest on Jan. 15 and Notre Dame the next weekend.
Parker said he favors Virginia Tech, which he visited in early December, but looks forward to seeing Notre Dame and experiencing some of its history. Parker was recruited by Skip Holtz, who was Notre Dame's offensive coordinator until he was named head coach Wednesday at Connecticut.
"He's not like a lot of recruiters," said White in reference to Holtz, son of Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz. "He pores over film. It was probably the most thorough job of any recruiter who hadn't seen Marcus before."
\ RECRUITING: New Clemson football coach Tommy West, who has expressed a preference for a spread offense, had been on the job slightly more than a week before he received a commitment from Kenya Crooks, an All-America wide receiver from Seneca, S.C.
Bill McGregor, coach at DeMatha in Hyattsville, Md., said Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are the leaders for running back Cordell Smith, also a national caliber decathlete. Virginia and Texas are the teams to beat for All-Met wide receiver Brian McCarthy from DeMatha.
\ HOKIE CONNECTION: Only one Division I-A football team, Southwestern Louisiana, had a bigger improvement than Virginia Tech's 5 1/2 games. The Ragin' Cajuns, coached by one-time Hokies' assistant Nelson Stokley, improved six games from 2-9 to 8-3.
\ STATE TIES: Towson State running back Tony Vinson, who led Division I-AA in rushing with 2,016 yards and scoring with 144 points, played at Menchville High School in Newport News and began his college career at Purdue. . . . Marshall running back Chris Parker, who went to Heritage High in Lynchburg, finished 10th in Division I-AA in rushing and scoring.
\ WOMEN'S HOOPS: There is much question whether freshman Konecka Drakeford, the second-leading scorer on Virginia's women's basketball team, will play for the Cavaliers again.
Drakeford, arrested Friday on charges of credit-card theft and credit-card fraud, has been suspended by coach Debbie Ryan until a Jan. 4 court date and could face expulsion if found guilty of an honor offense by the school.
Crystal Wilson, who had 18 points and 19 rebounds for Roanoke College in a 69-62 loss to Ferrum, is a transfer from Hastings (Neb.) College. Wilson's father lives in Salem, which gives her some connection to nine teammates who come from a 60-mile radius of the Maroons' campus.
\ LOCAL UPDATE: Lynchburg College's Kelly Fackler, a freshman from Fieldale-Collinsville, was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference player of the week for the second time in four weeks. Fackler, leading the ODAC with 20.9 points per game, had 34 points and 18 rebounds in a 73-72 victory over Salisbury State.
Winthrop junior Mike Fayed from Cave Spring had a career-high 26 points against Queens (N.Y.) on the day after his grandfather died. . . . Craig Turman, an All-District basketball player at Blacksburg High School in 1992-93, is a reserve guard at Bridgewater College.
\ NON-REVENUE: The new women's soccer coach at Auburn is longtime UVa assistant Bill Wilkins, whose big rival will be Alabama and its new coach, Don Staley from Radford. Highlander assistant Karen McGrath, offered the opportunity to join Staley in Tuscaloosa, Ala., may be in line for the Radford job.
Roanoke College men's lacrosse coach Bill Pilat had an unexpected Christmas gift when his wife, Dianna, gave birth to twins Dec. 13. The twins, Will and Emily, were born two months early, and each weighed less than four pounds. They have been moved from intensive care to intermediate care but will remain hospitalized until the time of the original due date.
by CNB