Thankfully, 38 Special continues to rock into the night

After 38 Special performed at Tioga Downs Casino on July 28th, lead singer Don Barnes held up his guitar and spoke to the audience. In the midst of applause, he said "You guys are awesome. Thank you for being a part of our lives all of these years." The audience felt similar gratitude towards the band. Thankfully, 38 Special continues to perform and tour.

Tioga Downs donated all of the proceeds to local veterans groups. Every year Tioga Downs donates the proceeds from one concert to local veterans groups. The concert was originally scheduled for July 1st, but it was rained out. It was good that 38 Special came back to play for the local area. They performed with enthusiasm and genuine respect for the crowd.

38 Special began the show with "Rockin' into the Night," which is usually how they begin their concerts. The concert also featured their hits "Second Chance", "What if I'd been the one", "Wild Eyed Southern Boys", "Like No Other Night", "Back Where You Belong", "You Keep Running Away", "Teacher, Teacher" and other songs. The concert concluded with "Hold on Loosely" and "Caught Up in You." The band sounded good and the venue had good acoustics.

Their repertoire is a strong combination of classic rock songs and commercially successful ballads. Some prefer the rock songs, while others like the ballads. Some people like both. They have created a unique and distinctive sound. The presence of Barnes has helped the band maintain continuity. Many fans associate the band's songs with his voice.

Barnes is the only original member still with the band. Founding members Jeff Carlisi, Donnie Van Zant, Ken Lyons, Jack Grondin and Steve Brooklins are no longer with the band. Originally, the band had two drummers- Grondin and Brooklins. Van Zant is the younger brother of Johnny Van Zant and Ronnie Van Zant- two of the founding members of Lynrd Skynyrd.

38 Special started recording albums in the late 1970's. Their first two albums were not commercially successful. The band tried too hard to be like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers - two southern rock bands that they respected. However, the band soon realized that no one could perform southern rock like those two bands. So, the band stopped trying to imitate those two bands.

Barnes told Melissa Parker of smashinginterviews.com that 38 Special purposely tried to change and expand their sound. Barnes said "In the 70's we started out as Southern rock with country tones. But it has been done by the best- Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and Charlie Daniels." Barnes said that Ronnie Van Zant told the band to stop trying to be like other bands. Van Zant encouraged them to create their own sound. When 38 Special created their own niche, they became more successful.

Barnes left 38 Special in 1987 and returned in 1992. He left to pursue music that was less commercial. He favored a more traditional rock and roll sound. He told Greg Kretschmar that 38 Special had discovered "album oriented rock" and was moving in a more commercial direction. The band was recording more ballads, and Barnes favored a stronger rock and roll sound. As Barnes says, "I wanted to amp it up."

Barnes says that when he was growing up, he was influenced by Eric Clapton's music. He told Kretschmar "If you're going to pick someone, you picked a good one there." Barnes told Kretschmar "We came from the day of Hendrix, Clapton and Mountain, Leslie West, ZZ Top and Bad Company. That was more what I wanted to do. Great big guitars. Muscles and melody." Some of 38 Special's songs reflect Barnes' respect for strong guitar riffs and strong melodies. The guitar is a focal point of the band's sound as well as Barnes' solo efforts.

In 1989, Barnes recorded a solo album entitled "Riding the Storm." The band featured the Pocora brothers from the band "Toto". The band also featured other good studio musicians. Barnes recorded the album through A & M Records. However, during the recording and producing of the album, the record label was sold to Polygram records.

Unfortunately, the master copies of the recordings were destroyed. Only Barnes had a copy of the recordings. His son moved and kept the recordings. Eventually, Barnes found the copy at his son's house and was able to have the copy re mastered and sold this year. The band does 3 of the songs from the album on their set list.

The band has always taken pride in their live performances. In 2011, they recorded a cd entitled
"Live from Texas." The cd featured some of their best recordings from concerts in Texas. The cds were sold at live performances.

The current membership of 38 Special are very talented musicians. They include Barnes; guitarist Danny Chauncey; drummer Garry Moffatt; keyboardist Bobby Capps; and bassist Barry Dunaway.

Chauncey has been with 38 Special since 1987. Chauncey said that joining 38 Special was natural for him. He told Scott Greene that he got along with the other members of the band from the beginning. Chauncey had co-written the song "I Wanna Go Back", which had been a big hit for Eddie Money. So, he had a good reputation as a song writer. He told Greene "I was allowed to contribute (to the ) songwriting from the beginning as "I Wanna Go Back" was a hit on the charts for Eddie Money around the same time that I joined, so the guys knew I was a capable song writer." Chauncey has been with the band for 30 years.

Before he joined 38 Special, Moffatt was considered the best drummer in the state of Florida. Previously, Moffatt was in a band called Sons of Doctors in the Orlando, Florida area. Everyone in the band was the son of a doctor. Barnes told WNCX radio in Cleveland that when Moffatt joined the band he was very sarcastic, which was something the band had to get used to. Barnes said the other band members had less sarcastic personalities. However, after Moffatt joined, the other members learned to give the sarcasm right back to him. He has been with the band for 25 years.

Capps started working with 38 Special in 1988, and formally joined the band in 1991. Capps is from Nashville, Tennessee, where he is a co owner of a recording studio with Chris Henderson from 3 Doors Down. When he is not touring with 38 Special, he helps to produce and record albums by other artists.

Dunaway has played music with multiple artists throughout his career. He is the latest edition to the band. He joined in 2014.

38 Special give concerts in 100 cities each year. Their enthusiasm for their music has not wavered. They like what they do. They appreciate the opportunity to play rock music before appreciative and enthusiastic crowds. Thankfully, they continue to rock into the night.

The memorable name and game of World B. Free

In sports, certain names stand out. Certain players have unique names that  are memorable. A cool name can add character to a player's legacy. However, a cool name is not enough. A player must have talent in order to make his mark in athletic lore. Word B. Free was a talented player who has a memorable name.

In an interview with sixers.com, Free was asked why he changed his name from Lloyd Bernard Free to World B. Free in 1981. Free said "The name was given to me from the streets of Brooklyn, in the Brownsville section, for being one of the talents from there they thought might have a chance to make it to the NBA." Perhaps, his friends thought he would be "all world" as a player. In any event, it was a name his friends gave him at a young age. Free has said that even in junior high, he could do a 360 dunk. As Free said "My nickname was "All-World" for doing 360 slam dunks."He was dunking and leaping high in junior high school and in high school. His athletic talent was evident while he was in school.

He was asked by sixers.com what kind of significance the name has. Free said "That was very important to me. I saw how things were going and I just wanted the world to be at peace and be free." Free believes the name has social significance.

Free said that he had to fill out the paper work to officially change his name. He also said that initially some announcers did not want to call him "World" and that some players continued to call him "Lloyd." When players did not acknowledge the name change, it inspired him to want to score more points against them.

Free had an extensive basketball repertoire. He was good shooter, passer and dribbler. He moved well on the basketball court. He moved with a purpose.

Free could make left handed layups in the midst of defenders around the basket. Free glided along the baseline and would finish with a reverse layup. Free could make jump shots from the corner while he was being defended.

While in midair, Free would pass to an open teammate. Free was so talented in midair, that he became known as the "Prince of midair." Free could spin around a defender and then make a shot. Free could use the backboard, dunk, make lay ups, move around defenders, hit open jump shots, make decisions in midair and do other things on the court. Free was a very talented basketball player.

Free played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Buffalo Braves, San Diego Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets. He also played with the Miami Tropics of the American Basketball Association. Free averaged 20.3 points a game for his career in the NBA. He changed his name while he was a member of the Golden State Warriors.

Steve Tater writes that Free helped saved basketball in Cleveland in the mid 1980s. During the early to mid 1980's, the Cavaliers were a struggling team that played before few fans. Due to poor attendance, their owner considered moving the team to Toronto. He even had a name picked out. The team would be called the "Toronto Towers."

The Cavaliers' owner also considered renaming the team the "Ohio Cavaliers." According to Greg Popelka, under this scenario, the team would play home games in Cleveland, Cincinnatti, Toronto and Pittsburgh. Popelka also points out that the NBA considered merging the Cavaliers with the Indiana Pacers. Clearly both the NBA and Cavalier ownership were concerned about the team's poor play and lackluster attendance.

Tater writes "In the 1984-85 season, Free would carry the team on his back to the playoffs after a wretched 2-19 start. Tater writes "Helping the team make the playoffs for the first time in seven years was not his only contribution to Cleveland basketball. More importantly, it was the way he played the game that got people to actually become fans of the Cavs." Attendance increased during this season. Free brought enthusiasm and excitement back to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He gave hope to the team's fan base.

World B. Free is one of the more memorable basketball players from the 1970s and the 1980s. He played well on the court and he will always be remembered for his name. Currently, Free Is a community ambassador for the Philadelphia 76ers. He also helps the 76ers team in the area of player development.

Frank Deford's life as a sports writer

Frank Deford played sports when he was growing up. However, he soon realized that he was not good enough to play professionally. So he realized that he wanted to be a sports writer. He graduated from Princeton University in 1962. He eventually wrote for Sports Illustrated and started "The National" which was the first daily sports newspaper in the United States. After 18 months, the newspaper folded because it could not deliver copies to their customers. In any event, Deford had an interesting career as a sports writer. Deford died in 2017.

Deford and his wife Carol were married since 1965. Deford was survived by his wife, his son, Christian and his daughter, Scarlet Crawford. The Defords lost their first daughter, Alex, to cystic fibrosis. After the loss of Alex, Deford served as Chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations board of trustees from 1982-1999. Deford also wrote a book in honor of his daughter entitled "Alex: The life of a child." Additionally, the Defords had two grandchildren.

His autobiography "Over Time: My life as a Sportswriter" was published in 2012. The autobiography chronicles his life as a sports writer and his perspective on writing.

When he graduated from Princeton, Deford applied for different jobs as a writer. He visited "Time.Inc." One of the references that he submitted said that Deford "was not very bright, but perhaps may have a passable way with words." Deford joked that the first thing the people at "Time.Inc" read about him was that he was "not very bright." This is not the first impression that every job applicant dreams of. However, Deford's writing ability was good enough to land him a job at "Time.Inc"

The person who wrote Deford's reference was blunt. Deford's basketball coach at Princeton, Cappy Cappon, was also blunt when he told Deford "You know Deford, you write basketball much better than you play it." Deford took such candor in stride, because he realized the assessment complimented his writing: Deford said "I wasn't hurt when Cappy Cappon told me I couldn't play basketball very well, because he didn't say just that; he also implied, in counterpoint, that there was something else I could do well: I was able to write." The exchange shows the importance of honesty. Deford was made aware of his limitations and his strengths through the blunt assessment of his coach.

Deford grew up in Baltimore - a city that he always respected. Deford said "As I grew older, I came to believe that my outlook had been affected simply because I came from Baltimore...There was, after all, a humility to Baltimore that was sweet and enriching; simply because Baltimore was, altogether, looked down on, we did not tolerate arrogance." As a teenager, Deford worked as a copyboy at the Baltimore Evening Sun. Deford recalled getting a tattoo as a youth. Deford said "I'm the soul of moderation, though, even when being extreme, and so the tattoo I got was rather small and in a discrete location, on the underside of my forearm."

Deford associated Johnny Unitas, former quarterback of the Baltimore Colts, with his upbringing in Baltimore. Deford said "No one is more associated with my youth than was Johnny Unitas. He meant so much to Baltimore."

Deford also enjoyed his time at Princeton. While he was there, Deford had two plays that were produced. As a student at Princeton, he covered sports and became the editor of a daily newspaper. One of his English professors asked the students to name the three writers that influenced them the most. Deford chose J.D. Salinger, Shakespeare and Red Smith. The professor was aghast that Deford would choose Smith, a sports writer. However, Deford always believed that the professor secretly admired Deford for his honest answer.

Deford wrote a lot while at Princeton. Deford said "In college, at Princeton, I continued apace with my writing. I had a couple of plays produced. On the newspaper, I wrote everything: stories, editorials, humor, columns, movie reviews. I covered the basketball coach, who told me I was no good, and the dean of students who threw me out once." Deford did not achieve the highest grades in college, because his study habits were inconsistent. However, he developed his writing skills while at Princeton. This helped him prepare for a career as a sports writer.

After Deford graduated from Princeton, Bill Bradley started there. Bradley was an excellent high school basketball player who had decided to go to Duke. However, he changed his mind and went to Princeton because it would help him to achieve his goal of becoming a Rhodes Scholar. Deford covered Bradley while he was at Princeton. Deford said "By the time Bill was a senior and became national player of the year, I had written even more about him. I liked him a lot. Yes, he was serious, an old soul, but he had a good sense of humor."

Deford said that Princeton seemed separated from other places. Deford said "Princeton was then a very contained place. You could not call it "isolated," for goodness sake, because it was only a hop, skip, and a jump from both New York and Philadelphia, but still it certainly had a sense of insulation." This may be true of many college campuses. Often campuses are designed to help students learn and study. A certain amount of insulation helps students to focus on their education. Nevertheless, this was a quality that Deford noticed about his alma mater.

Grandland Rice was a sports writer that Deford liked and learned from. Deford said that Rice "was the author of something like a thousand magazine articles, edited a magazine (American Golfer) put together a book collection of his works, had his own radio show, narrated movie shorts, provided endorsements, and picked the only certified official annual all- American college football team." Deford admired all of the writing that Rice did.

Deford also respected all of the events that Rice attended. Deford said "Rice beamed himself up everywhere - accumulating as many as sixteen thousand miles a year by train alone. It's amazing all the games he saw, never mind that he managed to actually have the time to write about them as well - and it seems, never, without taking off his grey fedora." Deford points out that during this time, without the internet and cable television, that a sports writer had to be at the events in order to write or comment about them. Rice attended so many events and wrote about so many events. It's amazing to think of the number of events Rice witnessed and wrote about.

Deford interviewed many athletes and ex athletes. Three ex athletes that he met and interviewed were Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Bob Feller. Deford said that DiMaggio semed "uncomfortable around people. You never hear any endearing anecdotes about him." Deford was not critizing DiMaggio. He was simply pointing out a quality of his personality.

Feller and Williams were different than DiMaggio. Deford said "Feller and Williams had been the grandest of rivals. Feller told me how they would both just sit alone and contemplate, with utter delight, the joy of facing each other two or three days hence - the greatest hitter versus the greatest pitcher of their time." Additionally, Deford spoke of Feller's barnstorming days and Williams's outspokenness.

Deford was known as the editor of the "National Sports Daily." He thought it would be cool for the country to have a national sports paper. He received financial backing from a wealthy sponsor and they gave the paper a try. The paper had good writers and a good format. However, it was difficult to circulate the newspaper. Deford said "Unfortunately, we couldn't deliver the "National" at a reasonable cost. Readers in other countries buy their sports papers at kiosks, next to where they take public transportation. Americans want their papers on their doorstep at six-thirty, before they have breakfast and get into their car." Deford said that he knew the "National" would struggle when he ordered a subscription and it was never delivered to his house! The inability to deliver the newspaper to customers proved to be the undoing of the "National."

Deford did different things after the "National" folded. Deford said "After the 'National' folded, I worked on novels. I bounced around as a contact writer, for "Newsweek" and "Vanity Fair" However, Deford always seemed to return to sports writing.

Deford also wrote about the NBA. He covered games, events and different teams. Deford said "My first assignment in the NBA was with the Lakers. Young Leggert was going to write a story about the Laker-Celtic rivalry, and since he was going to travel with Boston, I was designated to go along with Los Angeles, embedded as Young's reporter. This must have made a strong impact upon Deford. It must have been a plum assignment to cover the rivalry between the Lakers and the Celtics. There were so many good players and coaches on both sides. It must have been a dream come true for a sports writer.

Deford remembered the initial impact of the experience. Deford said "Anyway, I was supposed to officially meet the Lakers in the hotel lobby the next morning, where we would jam into cabs, our long legs all entangled, and go to the airport...This was, if you will, my debut as a travelling sports writer." One could only imagine what Deford was thinking. What a great assignment for a beginning sports writer.

In addition to covering the NBA, Deford played some basketball for the New York Nationals in an exhibition game against the Harlem Globetrotters in Italy. Deford said "I played against the Globies in Bologna. This violated my promise to myself that I would never, on a story, try to do with any of my subjects what they do for a living." Deford scored 8 points for the Nationals in a loss against the Globetrotters. After this game, Deford would jokingly tell people that he played some profressional basketball in Italy. In addition to being a talented writer, Deford always had a good sense of humor.

In 1992, Deford convinced "Newsweek" to put the Olympic men's basketball team on the cover of the magazine. He asked them to do this before they had actually won the Gold medal. After the United States defeated Brazil, the team appeared on the cover of "Newsweek" the next day. The magazine took a chance because if the United States' team lost the championship game, "Newsweek" would have looked foolish for putting them on the cover the next day. However, since the United States won, the editors at the magazine looked wise.

Deford was asked once in a while who he thought the best athlete of all time was. People often expected him to cite Michael Jordan as the greatest athlete of all time. However, Deford thought that Jackie Robinson was the best athlete of all time. Deford pointed out that Robinson was a hall of fame baseball player who also excelled in football, basketball and track while in college.

Deford had a very successful career as a sports writer. He offered good perspectives about many topics and events. On July 10th, 2013, former President Barrack Obama presented Deford with the 2012 National Humanities Medal. The medal citation said the following: "Frank Deford for transforming how we think about sports. A dedicated writer and storyteller, Mr.Deford has offered a consistent, compelling voice in print and on radio, reaching beyond scores and statistics to reveal the humanity woven into the games we love." The citation aptly described Deford's career.

What's going on in Cleveland?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are having a difficult off season. General Manager David Griffin's contract was not renewed; Lebron James has not lobbied hard for players to join the Cavs; and Kyrie Irving has asked to be traded. What's going on here?


Griffin helped guide the Cavaliers to three straight trips to the NBA finals including an NBA championship. James was supposedly surprised by the decision to not renew Griffin's contract. The Cavs expressed interest in Chauncey Billups becoming the new general manager. However, Billups has no front office experience. Talks did not lead to a contract.


One wonders why owner Dan Gilbert decided not to renew Griffin's contract. Some speculate that Gilbert is anticipating the end of James' time in Cleveland. Maybe he wants to begin a rebuilding effort with another GM. Still, it's hard to understand why the Cavs would not renew the contract of a GM who has presided over three straight Eastern Conference titles.


James, who is signed for next season, usually lobbies for top free agents to join the team he is on. He did this when he was  with Miami, and he has done this as a member of the Cavaliers. However, he has not done the same for this offseason. Could James be looking to leave after next year? Some believe that James wants to join the Lakers after next season. James has acting aspirations and may like to finish his career in Hollywood.


Irving has expressed the desire to be the focal point of his own team. Supposedly, he is tired of playing along side James. However, for the three years that Irving played without James, the Cavs were one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. So far, Irving has not proven that he can carry a team or even be the focal point of a team. In any event, Irving would like to take his talents elsewhere and be the major superstar of another team.


Many question the timing of Irving's request. Why not wait until after next year when James may  bolt for tinsel town? Irving is only 24 years of age, so he has many years to be the go to superstar of a team. Why not finish this current run in Cleveland? Only the Golden State Warriors are better than the Cavs. So, why not try one more year to win a title in Cleveland?


According to Chris Chavez of Sports Illustrated, "Irving was growing unpleased with Lebron James controlling the ball more than him. He was also upset that James had a friend that would travel with the team." However, in the years that they have played together Irving has had the basketball almost as much as James. ESPN points out that Irving led the team in shots per game and that it was the first time in James' career that he did not lead the team in shots per game. Also, Irving averaged over 24 points per game. So, Irving figured prominently in the team's offense. Additionally, Irving is not a top flight defender. He is a good offensive player, but an average to below average defender. James is a better all around player.


Irving has said he would like to be traded to the Miami Heat, the Minnesotta Timberwolves or the New York Knicks. It's hard for a team to get equal value for a top notch player like Irving. The T-Wolves will not part with Karl Anthony Towns who had a break out season last year. Perhaps, the T- Wolves would be willing to trade Andrew Wiggins. It would make no sense for Minnesotta to trade Jimmy Butler, whom they just acquired from Chicago.

Dave McMenamin thinks the T-Wolves will land Irving. McMenamin says "A trade package centered on Andrew Wiggins would be a poetic twist on the CAVS roller coaster ride since 2014. Jimmy Butler and Karl Anthony Towns, sources tell me, have been lobbying both Irving and the Wolves' decision makers to make a trade happen." Irving, Butler and Towns would be an interesting trio for Minnesota to build around.

Ramona Shelburne thinks Irving will be traded to the Heat. Shelburne says "Pat Riley and Andy Ellsburg are both creative and bold enough to find a way to get this done." Maybe the Heat can put together a package of draft picks and players that Cleveland finds acceptable.

According to reports, Irving's preference is the Knicks. Dan Feldman,of NBC sports, understands why Irving wants to join the Knicks. Feldman says "I can see why he'd want to go to New York- a big market in his home area, a team he could take over. Even as Porzingis grows in stature, he's not a ball dominant player who'd step on Irving's toes." If Irving would like to be the focal point of a large market team, then New York fits the bill. However, whether or not Irving could lead the Knicks deep into the playoffs remains an open question.

It's very difficult for a team to obtain equal value for a top notch player in a trade. Irving, despite his poor defensive skills, is a top notch offensive player. If the Cavaliers trade him, they will have to get high draft picks or a few good players in return. It will be difficult for the Cavaliers to find an acceptable offer. Now that Irving's trade request is public, the Cavaliers have less leverage in trade talks.

The Cavaliers decided to sign Derek Rose to a one year deal for the veteran minimum contract. Maybe they want him to be the starting point guard if they trade Irving. If they keep Irving, maybe Rose will be the back up point guard. They also could consider moving Irving to the shooting guard position, which may be a better position for him anyway. If they cannot trade Irving, then Irving and James will have to coexist. If Irving is back next season, he will have to meet with James to resolve whatever differences they have.

While Irving made news with his trade request, James remains the centerpiece of the organization. It makes sense for the Cavaliers to make one more title run with James. A player of his caliber does not come around very often. James is, arguably, the best player in the NBA. He is the most versatile player in the game today. He can score, rebound, dribble the basketball, facilitate opportunities for teammates, drive into the lane, hit outside shots and play stellar defense. The Cavaliers could never replace James. If James leaves after next season, then the Cavaliers will probably have to rebuild completely. However, for at least one more season, they are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Boston, Washington and Toronto are almost as good as Cleveland, but all three teams remain a step behind the Cavaliers.