Bishop Media Sports Network
Jason Bishop Show April 10 2025
Pirates Sail Into Playoffs
By: Cameron Miller
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates are headed to the State Playoffs!
After a long regular season of ups and downs, the Brunswick High Pirates Baseball team punched their ticket to the state playoffs after sweeping the Evans Knights in 3 game series.
Since suffering a 2-1 series loss to the Glynn Academy Red Terrors in the city championship and losing one of their stars with Junior OF/P Grant Moore suffering a season ending injury during game one of the city championship, the Pirates have tallied wins in 8 of their last 10 games.
It’s safe to say the Pirates and head coach Greg Roberts seem to be getting hot at the right time. Brunswick definitely has a chance to make some noise in the playoffs this year, but with Grant Moore being out for the season it did seem to raise a big question of whether the Pirates have enough talent on the mound to replace him in the rotation.
Well, the short answer is yes.
They still have their other go-to starters in star OF/P Trenton Robinson who is only a junior and University of Central Florida commit standout senior Jordan Lodise. Robinson has pitched 53.2 innings so far this season with a 1.69 ERA that has led him to a 6-1 record on the mound. Jordan has pitched 46.1 innings this season with a 1.83 ERA giving him a 5-0 record.
Brunswick has a variety of options to go to on the mound besides those two. They have Junior Catcher Avery Jefferson, who has proven he can be a valuable asset behind the plate and on the mound.
Jefferson has a 2-0 record starting on the mound, pitching 24 innings for the pirates this season. The Pirates also have options in the Bullpen with Junior 2nd baseman Brett Hickson, Junior 1st baseman Braxton Johnson, and Sophomore Right Fielder Coleman Smith all being able to come in and provide quality arm talent on the mound to close out games.
We all know the importance of a team’s ability to pitch, but that’s still only part of the game. Not only was Moore a go-to on the mound, but he was also the Pirates starting Center Fielder and batting .311 as the number two hitter.
Coach Greg Roberts was forced to make some quick mid-season defensive adjustments and must have designed the perfect recipe for success.
With the emergence of Junior Braxton Johnson into the starting lineup at 1st base, it allowed Coach Roberts to Shift Trenton Robinson from RF to CF and Coleman Smith from 1st to RF.
You might be wondering what they do when one of those guys mentioned is told to head up to the mound, well that’s where the super versatile Junior Garrison Strickland comes in. Strickland is one of those Charlie Culberson types of players. This season Strickland has played right field, shortstop, 2nd base and even catches when Jefferson is on the mound.
The Pirates this season are averaging almost 7 runs per game, which means they can be a very dangerous team when they get their bats going in sync and get on base. Leading them in runs scored are Hickson (26) and Lodise (25), but the Pirates runs are being scored all across the lineup.
Close behind them you have Senior Left Fielder Dawson Parke (20), Coleman Smith (16), Garrison Strickland (14), Trenton Robinson (14), and even Freshman Bentley Henson (10) and Sophomore Brady Miller (7), who get brought in at times for some additional speed on the bases, have brought in their fair share of runs for pirates.
Brunswick’s batting is highlighted by Brett Hickson who is batting .442, Jordan Lodise batting .337, and Avery Jefferson batting .312, but they aren’t the only ones putting the ball in play.
A few others who have had a consistent season at the plate are Coleman Smith, Dawson Parke, and Trenton Robinson all batting over .250 for the Pirates this season.
The Pirates finished the regular season off very strong, but their big 10-0 win against Seckinger wasn’t the only accomplishment that night.
It was also a huge achievement for Coach Greg Roberts with that game marking off his 300th career win as a baseball coach.
There’s no doubt the Pirates have had a rough road to the playoffs, but with the ability of these players and their coaches being able to gain all of this momentum over the last few weeks, the only thing that matters now is what’s ahead of them.
The playoffs and a chance to reach the coveted State Championship. If this Pirates team under the leadership of coach Roberts can continue to stay hot and take it game by game the sky is truly the limit for them.
Masters Inspired Recipes
By: Callie Rose
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Hey y’all, Callie here!
And today I’m talkin’ about one of the greatest Southern traditions that ever graced a paper napkin: the pimento cheese sandwich. But not just any ol’ version—these are my fancy little Pimento Cheese Sliders inspired by those famous sandwiches from Augusta National.
Because let’s be honest—watchin’ the Masters without pimento cheese is like sweet tea without sugar.
I still remember sittin’ cross-legged on Mama’s old braided rug, the TV hummin’ soft in the background, and Daddy hollerin’ through the screen door about his bracket being busted again.
Mama always had a bowl of fresh pimento cheese chillin’ in the fridge, just waitin’ to be slathered on some white bread. And honey, when Jim Nantz whispered, “Hello, friends,” we knew we were about to witness magic—both on the course and at the kitchen table.
These sliders are my love letter to that memory. A little nostalgic, a little elevated, and just right for tailgates, porch parties, or your own Sunday watch party.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 4 oz diced pimentos, drained
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup Duke’s mayo (don’t even think about another kind)
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- Optional: pinch of cayenne for a little kick
- Soft slider rolls or Hawaiian rolls, warmed
- Chopped fresh chives for garnish (optional but sassy)
Instructions
- Mix it up: In a large bowl, stir together cream cheese and mayo until smooth. Fold in the cheddar, pimentos, and seasonings. Taste and adjust—just don’t you dare over-mayo it.
- Chill it down: Let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour (overnight is better) so all that goodness can marry up proper.
- Assemble your sliders: Slice your rolls, scoop a generous dollop of that creamy pimento cheese inside, and top it with a sprinkle of chives if you’re feelin’ extra.
- Serve ’em proud: These are best served room temp on a warm spring day—with sweet tea, a breeze, and the hum of golf commentary in the background.
Callie’s Tip: Wrap these up in wax paper with a green checkered napkin if you wanna feel real Augusta-like. But even if you’re sittin’ on a tailgate in South Georgia, just know—this bite brings a little tradition with every chew.
Bombs Away
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Torpedo bats have been the main focus of baseball at the start of the 2025 MLB season and bat companies are winning big as a result.
Marucci and Victus, the new official bats of MLB, as well as Chandler were the first manufacturers to put torpedo bats on sale, at prices ranging from $199 to $239.
MLB Commissioner Manfred also called torpedo bats, another relatively new advancement in the sport that’s rapidly gaining popularity, “absolutely good for baseball.”
The bats differ from traditional models due to their shape, which comes from redistributing their weight so that the densest part, or the “sweet spot,” is closer to the handle.
The barrel (where players want the bat to make contact with the ball) is bigger. These bowling-pin-shaped bats have sparked interest among players and spurred discussions among fans, and of course Manfred supports the interest and attention.
The Yankees helped bring the torpedo bats mainstream earlier in the season after they hit 15 homers and scored 36 runs in only three games against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Five Yankees — Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells — used torpedo bats in the opening 4 game series, and they combined for 10 of the club’s record-setting 18 home runs in its first four games.
If not for the initial offensive barrage from the Yankees, it’s likely the level of interest in the torpedo bats would not be so pronounced.
Torpedo bats are recently mainstream, but they were being used under the radar in 2024. Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo bat all last season and finished with his best stats since 2021.
Behind the scenes, Stanton’s adoption of the technology during his torrid postseason last October started generating buzz in the bat industry, according to Smith. Stanton had seven home runs and a 1.048 OPS for the Yankees in the 2024 playoffs.
New York Mets superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor also used a torpedo bat last season and finished second in the National League MVP voting.
While the bats have only recently become a major storyline across the league, it turns out that uniquely shaped bat experiments have actually been happening quietly across baseball for a long time. Why the national uproar now on bat technology?
Torpedo bats are not under the radar anymore. Players across the sport have started asking manufacturers for their own versions.
Birch seems to be the preferred wood for the bats, which were designed to help hitters make truer contact in an age where more and more pitchers are throwing 100 mph and offering nastier repertoires than ever.
For decades in baseball’s past, players swung bats made of ash until Barry Bonds (with the help of steroids) helped popularize maple in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Christian Yelich was happy that there was a possible technological advancement in hitting. Yelich noted that over the past several years, most of the advancements have come on the pitching side.
Torpedo bats might be the response to the technical and analytical advancements that pitching has seen in the past 5-10yrs.
In other words, time for the hitters to get their turn.
The Next Chomp?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators are the national champion after a 65-63 win over Houston.
At a glance, it looks like everyone just left a time machine.
A 30-something former college point guard with one stopover as a mid-major coach takes over and eventually puts together a deep, balanced roster that’s remarkably efficient on both ends of the floor. A title follows.
Florida forced four turnovers in the last two minutes. The title was won on a stop and a scramble for a loose ball as time ran out. The defense displayed dominance during the most critical point in the game.
The two-point final margin? It matched the Gators’ largest lead of the night. Florida scored the second-fewest points they had all year in the championship game. Their comeback (a third in a row in this event) tied for the third-largest comeback in men’s championship game history.
This version of Florida does have some conspicuous differences from the one Billy Donovan first led to the pinnacle in 2006, nine years after arriving from Marshall.
Today’s head coach obsesses over data and analytics and unflinchingly runs a system with origins in the Ivy League in the most obsessively competitive athletic conference in the country.
Walter Clayton Jr., the inaugural first-team All-American in program history and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player — was a four-star football prospect who started at Iona as a good passer that was “a little bit heavy,” in the estimation of his coach, Rick Pitino.
All things considered, cutting the net would’ve been easier. This NCAA Tournament has made one thing abundantly clear: There is no Venn diagram, ever, in which “easy” and Walter Clayton Jr.’s name overlap.
How does anyone explain a former zero-star recruit winning most outstanding player in the toughest Final Four of all time? So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that as Clayton ascended a ladder , scissors in hand, he went to snip at a championship net … only to realize he didn’t need to.
Twenty minutes later, Clayton made a beeline to celebrate with the people he’d come to Florida with in the first place. Kindly requesting no questions or other distractions.
This group raised the trophy after conquering the most loaded Final Four in history, and the Gators are another unified team assuring that they will be among the favorites to do so again next spring.
Florida will lose very important cogs like Clayton, Martin, and two assistants. Golden’s de facto offensive and defensive coordinators accepted head coaching jobs elsewhere.
Florida still might be the preseason No. 1 and should be among the top contenders for the 2026 national title.
Finally, the ambition of Coach Golden has never been terribly difficult to measure, which means the Billy Donovan comparisons may run even deeper.
Florida is the first and only program to win three National Championships in both football and basketball.
Championship Chomp
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators are national champs, and they absolutely earned it.
This wasn’t one of those lucky runs or feel-good Cinderella stories. Florida took the hard road, the kind that leaves no doubt about who deserves the trophy.
They battled through the SEC, the toughest conference college basketball has ever seen, which somehow managed to send 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Then they won the conference tourney. And from there? They tore through a stacked NCAA bracket that saw all four No. 1 seeds make the Final Four. That almost never happens.
To even reach the championship game, the Gators had to take down UConn, a team that had won back-to-back national titles.
Then they found themselves down 12 points in the second half against Houston, a team that led for most of the game. But Florida didn’t blink. They chipped away at the lead, made big-time plays down the stretch, and pulled off a gutsy 65-63 win to claim their third national title.
It wasn’t always pretty, but it was gritty, and that fits this team perfectly.
Florida didn’t get here by stacking up five-star freshmen. They built this roster with savvy transfers—guys who had already proven themselves elsewhere.
Walter Clayton Jr. started at Iona. Alijah Martin played most of his college career at Florida Atlantic. Will Richard came over from Belmont. None of them were top 100 high school recruits, but together, they formed one of the best and most well-rounded squads in the country.
Clayton was a star all tournament long. Martin brought leadership and toughness from his deep run with FAU last year. Richard, who scored the most in the title game, showed up big when it mattered most. These weren’t one-and-done prospects. They were veterans who knew how to win.
Head coach Todd Golden deserves a lot of credit for putting it all together. In just his third year with the Gators, he’s built a team that thrives in today’s transfer-heavy landscape.
That said, his season wasn’t without controversy. Golden was the subject of a Title IX complaint before the season started, involving accusations of stalking and harassment.
The university later said there was no evidence to support the claims and closed the investigation in January. Golden hasn’t said much about it, and neither has the school, but after this season it’s likely his next big headline will be about a contract extension.
Now, as impressive as Florida’s run was, it also says something bigger about where college basketball is heading.
This year’s tournament? Not exactly the wild ride we’ve come to expect. No buzzer-beater upsets. No Cinderella crashing the party. The lowest seed in the Sweet 16 was a No. 10 from, you guessed it, the SEC. It was a tournament full of top dogs, and Florida, with its battle-hardened group of transfers, came out on top.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I firmly believe players should have the freedom to move, get paid, and find the best spot for themselves. It’s just… different.
The charm of March Madness has always been its unpredictability, the chance to watch tiny schools knock off the giants. But when all the best mid-major talent ends up at places like Florida, those magical moments might become a lot rarer.
Still, none of that is Florida’s fault. They just played the hand they were dealt better than anyone else. They didn’t just adapt to the new world of college hoops. They owned it. And now they’ve got another championship banner to show for it.
So, while this year’s tournament might’ve been a little short on the “madness,” it was full of high-level basketball.
Florida’s path was as tough as it gets, and they passed every test. Like it or not, this is what winning in college basketball looks like now. And Florida? They’ve set the standard.
Azaleas In Bloom
By: Brian Albertson
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For all of us golf enthusiasts, the Masters is and always will be the official start to the golf season.
We look forward to the blooming azaleas and the lush green fairways from Augusta National Golf Club.
This year‘s Masters is set for April 10-13. I for one always eagerly await to watch the honorary starters tee off on Thursday mornings. This year will have Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson again doing the honors on the first tee.
The Masters has traditionally been a melting pot of the best golfers in the world coming together at the same wonderful venue every spring.
This year’s Masters will not disappoint, as players from all over the world, every tour, professionals and amateurs will be competing again for the coveted Green Jacket.
This year‘s betting favorite is world #1 and defending champion Scotty Scheffler, followed closely by world #2 Rory McIlroy.
Several other top contenders are not as highly ranked because they have not received world golf ranking points while playing the LIV tour. Some of the top LIV players competing this year are John Rahm(2023), Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith, Joaquin Newman along with several former Masters champions, including Phil Mickelson (2004,2006,2010), Patrick Reed(2018), Charl Swartzel(2011), Sergio Garcia(2017), and Bubba Watson(2012,2014). 5-time champion Tiger Woods will unfortunately be unable to compete this year due to a recent Achilles tendon tear.
The mystique of Augusta National Golf Club and the golf course are a huge part of the anticipation of the Masters.
Last fall, hurricane Helene ripped through Florida and Georgia on its way to devastating North Carolina. The Hurricane did extensive damage to the Augusta area with winds near 100 mph. Augusta National Golf Course lost many trees and some fell across greens.
Masters Chairman Fred Ridley has assured us all that the golf course will be in the usual pristine condition the Masters is accustomed to, just missing a few trees this year. I am hearing they have already replaced several key trees.
As a spectator, I have been attending the Masters every year since 1984 with the exception of the two Covid years (2020, 2021). I remember my mother taking me as a teen.
She was perfectly happy to sit in her Masters stool on 18 green waiting to see Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Seve Ballesteros finish.
I wonder how many pimento cheese and barbecue sandwiches I have eaten on those grounds over the years. I know many of you will go with the legendary egg salad sandwich.
The names change and the trees get taller, but it is by far the greatest golf tournament and sporting event in the world. I look forward to returning again cheering on several former UGA Bulldogs, and many of my fellow St Simons Island residents.
Cheers to happy spring golfing and have a fabulous Masters week!
Jason Bishop Show April 3 2025
Raw Deal
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The final day of March was one that Braves Manager Brian Snitker must have been hoping was either a bad dream or an early April Fool’s Day prank.
In one day, the Braves not only dropped their fifth straight game to open the season, but also learned that Reynaldo Lopez needed to be placed on the IL with arm issues along with the gut punch that key offseason acquisition Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games by the Major League Baseball Commissioner’s office for testing positive for a banned substance.
Profar was dinged for testing positive for Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) which is a performance enhancer that is in violation with MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
Profar will be suspended for the next 80 regular season games which will remove him from the Atlanta plans until the end of June.
In addition, the second piece of the penalty is that if the Braves make it back to post-season play, Profar is not allowed to participate in any post-season games this year.
The 32-year-old Profar was the closest to a splash that Atlanta had this past offseason when Alex Anthopolous signed a three-year, $42 million deal in January.
The suspended outfielder was coming off by far his most productive season at the plate last year with San Diego (which coincidentally or not is where the Braves had just wrapped a four-game season opening series the night before when the news broke on Monday).
Last season for the Padres, Profar hit .280 with 24 homers and drove in 85 (all career highs) in route to his first career All-Star Game selection.
The former Padre also set a career high with 158 games played and marked just the third time in his 12-year career that he played in more than 140 games which leads to the question that has been swirling around the baseball world… “is it actually a coincidence?”
You can’t help but question how much coincidence is in the scenario that he has a career year in more games than he’s ever played in a single season, then four games into the following season, gets popped for PEDs.
Profar did say in a released statement on Monday that, “I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates, and the fans. It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it. I have been tested my entire career, including eight times last season alone, and have never tested positive. I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB’s decision.”
Now where do the Braves go from here? The Braves signed and subsequently on Tuesday activated Stuart Fairchild to help fill the void.
Fairchild, a career .224 hitter knocked a career best 8 homers and 30 RBI in just 94 games last year with Cincinnati.
Along with Fairchild, Bryan de la Cruz was signed by the Braves in the offseason, so it looks like a combination of those two will be the band-aid in the interim until at least Ronald Acuna Jr. returns from knee surgery (which is expected to be May at the earliest).
The Braves also signed Alex Verdugo late in Spring Training but isn’t expected to be ready for live games for at least a couple of weeks.
While the Braves must in the interim find a leadoff hitter and outfielder, I think another look needs to be taken at some of the screening that players must go through in that pesky “pending a physical” clause at the bottom of the headline signing.
Less than 3 months after signing the contract to be suspended for PEDs is a little quick for my liking, and I would be shocked if that’s not looked into already in Atlanta.
Crisis Level: High
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Oxford dictionary defines the word nightmare as “a frightening or unpleasant dream”, and “a person, thing, or situation that is very difficult to deal with”.
Major League Baseball’s opening day has come and gone and that definition fits the Atlanta Braves perfectly.
The Braves’ early season has already gone from bad to worse. The Braves got another gut punch when outfielder Jurickson Profar was hit with an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
Hours later, they placed starting pitcher Reynaldo López on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. Then, they lost 6-1 to the Dodgers, extending their winless start —Atlanta’s worst since 2016.
The Braves signed Profar to a three-year, $42 million deal in January, expecting him to be a key part of their offense after a breakout 2024 season with San Diego. Now, he’s out until late June and won’t be eligible for the postseason.
In a statement, Profar said he would “never knowingly take a banned substance” but accepted the suspension.
The Braves, clearly blindsided, said they were “surprised and extremely disappointed” but support MLB’s drug policy.
Profar’s absence leaves a big hole in an already struggling lineup. Atlanta made a quick move, acquiring outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Reds.
With Ronald Acuña Jr. still recovering from ACL surgery and likely out for another month, the Braves now have to lean on Bryan De La Cruz.
As if losing Profar wasn’t enough, the Braves also lost López to a shoulder injury. The right-hander struggled in his first start against the Padres, and after experiencing soreness in a bullpen session, the team decided to shut him down. Lopez will undergo surgery and will miss several months.
To fill his spot in the rotation, Atlanta called up Bryce Elder from Triple-A Gwinnett. Elder was an All-Star in 2023 but had a rough 2024 season, finishing with a 6.52 ERA.
If Elder struggles, the Braves may have to turn to top prospect Hurston Waldrep or another minor-league arm to stabilize their rotation.
To this point every game has followed the same frustrating script for Atlanta. The offense can’t solve opponents pitching.
The good news is that it’s still very early, but the Braves’ start has been a disaster. They were supposed to be World Series contenders, but instead, they’re dealing with a suspended star, an injured rotation, and an offense stuck in neutral.
General Manager Alex Anthopoulos is already facing tough questions. He signed Profar expecting his 2024 numbers to be legit, but now there’s doubt.
The Braves are on the hook for that $42 million, and if Profar can’t produce clean, this deal could turn into a disaster.
For now, Atlanta just needs to stop bleeding. Asked about how the team is handling everything, Austin Riley kept it simple: “We’ve just got to focus on today.”
Let’s hope that we can all wake up, pass our drug screens, and move on from this nightmare.
