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For Raninab and all Southern WVa old sports fans.

About halfway in the story of the ‘66 Big Creek-Bluefield game and Bob Turner is great!

Passing the mic

Jim Nelson reflects on being the voice of the Beavers

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — High school football fans glued to their radios will hear a new voice Friday night when the classic Beaver-Graham Game gets underway at Mitchell Stadium, but many of them will always remember the voice that for years gave them the playby- play and painted a word picture of all the action.

James A. “Jim” Nelson Jr., has been the announcer who tells the people who can’t make it to the Beaver-Graham Game and other sporting events what is happening, using his voice and wits to paint a picture of the ongoing action while giving them the information they need to understand what’s happening on the football field or the basketball court. For years, he’s been the voice of the Beavers.

Nelson will not be giving the playby- play at this year’s Beaver-Graham Game. He came to Mitchell Stadium Friday and spoke about what his experiences behind the microphone have

James A. ‘Jim’ Nelson Jr., has been the announcer who tells the people who can’t make it to the Beaver-Graham Game and other sporting events what is happening, using his voice and wits to paint a picture of the ongoing action while giving them the information they need to understand the action on the football field or the basketball court. For years, he’s been the voice of the Beavers. Staff photo by Tara Wyatt



Continued from A-1

meant to him.

“No sir, I’m not,” Nelson replied when asked about announcing Friday’s game. “I have basically said goodbye to folks and they have been very hospitable to me.”

There is more to delivering a play-by-play than sitting behind a microphone and watching a game. A lot of preparation goes into each broadcast, and the pace is very demanding.

“I’ll be 74 and just a bit and with what I have going on in my life, the prep work is so time consuming,” Nelson said. “Memorizing all the skill position players on other teams, calling coaches, trading spot charts, finding out what trends other teams have, all that type of stuff. History of the series, then writing a scripted pregame so that I don’t stumbled and stutter. All of those things really take it out of you, to repeatedly learn all those skill position players by number and name so you don’t look down at a roster while the plays are occurring. And then sometimes riding on school buses. This old body is not built for something that’s school bus-kid sized.”

Nelson stressed that while he is departing, people have been very hospitable to him.

“It’s been a venture of pure joy on my part,” he said of his radio career. He remembers how a love ofsports and a chance event led him to doing play-byplays behind the microphone. His father, Dr. Jim Nelson, started him down that path.

“I always liked sports. My dad kind of cultivated that in me when I was a little guy,” Nelson recalled. “And I would travel with him. He shot film for Merrill Gainer when he was the coach and a little later on, I realized I was not going to be the next West Virginia University star athlete; so I thought the next best thing – since I lived and died by the radio broadcasts – was to try and become a radio broadcaster; and I just had that sort as a pipe dream.”

This dream suddenly came to fruition when an inappropriate outburst over the airwaves suddenly opened up a slot for him.

“In 1966, Bluefield was playing Big Creek at Big Creek and there was a heated rivalry there because our head coach, Merrill Gainer, had come from Big Creek to Bluefield,” Nelson said. “It’s all cataloged in some ways in the “Rocket Boys” movie. One of the things that occurred was there was no press box. We were on the top floor of the schoolhouse at Big Creek because it was right behind the home team bleachers. It was in a classroom. So the principal at Big Creek at the time was a very energetic gentleman and he knew that Ed Elliott was the mayor, and all I did was keep stats and have my 30 seconds of fame at the half and after the game.”

Passions ran high when Big Creek moved ahead.

“And when Big Creek had jumped out to a lead on Bluefield and as the clock grew shorter and it was fairly apparent that Bluefield was not going to be able to stage a comeback to win, Mr. Turner, the principal, came into the room and he grabbed the microphone from Ed Elliott, the mayor; and he said something to the effect of ‘All right, Bluefield, how’s Gainer going to help you now?’ and Ed called him a name like a ‘beady-eyed monster’ or something like that,” Nelson recalled.

The radio station’s general manager, John C. Shott, was listening to that football game. He did not like what he had just heard, so he called Big Creek High School and there happened to be somebody in the main office. The phone was answered and Shott had a message.

“And they picked up the phone and he said who he was and what he was going to do, Nelson said, ‘You tell Mr. Elliott the play-by-play guy, if he doesn’t take this phone call he’s fired right now.’ When that got back up to Ed, in the middle of the broadcast, there was the engineer and me, and he said when we come out of this commercial break, you’ve got play-by-play.”

Nelson didn’t have time to get nervous about going on the air; but as soon as he covered one or two plays, his nervousness left and he realized that he really enjoyed it.

“And when Ed came back after a tongue-lashing of a few minutes, he said, ‘I’m ready to get back’ and I said, ‘Mr. Elliott, I’ve got this one if you don’t mind,’ and so Ed was gracious enough to let me broadcast with him for a period of time,” Nelson said. “And that’s how it all sort of got started. Totally by accident.”

Nelson was at West Virginia University from 1967 to 1971. When he came back to Bluefield, he was able to get back into broadcasting.

One thing led to another and Elliott, with his responsibilities and his business, and with the city, decided to step away and the station let Nelson move into the main microphone slot and start doing play-by-play announcing for sports. Nelson kept broadcasting high school sports until he stepped away around 2000 when his wife had some health issues.

“When I did, there were a couple of gentlemen I knew pretty well and they were doing Beaver ball, so Bob Graham over at Princeton invited me to come with him and I was going to do it for one year, then some things happened over in Princeton and that one year ended up being 12,” Nelson said.

From 1996 to 2000, Nelson’s oldest son, Drew, was on Graham’s footballteam. Drew recentlyretired as a career Marine.

“So as a dad I got to broadcast games when he was suiting up for the G-Men,” he said. He then went to Princeton to do play-by-plays for sports and where the people were “extremely nice” even though there was an intense Bluefield and Princeton rivalry.

Being at so many football and basketball games let Nelson witness many milestone moments in many people’s lives.

“I was always treated wonderfully and I realized at some point when I saw these great things, you know, I’m sort of Forrest Gump. I just happened to be at the scene of so many memorable events in this area, and then to see the student athletes who play here go on to really great things,” he said.” I’m at the scene at what’s so memorable and God’s blessed me with the memory to string the beads and tell the stories.”

Nelson said the key experience for him was watching young men arrive as freshman and – with good coaching and some “hard love” at times – grow and develop into leaders and outstanding student athletes.

“And some go on to success on the football field or the basketball court, but a lot of them go on to success in life, and it’s those life lessons,” he added.

A new voice will be delivering this year’s play-by-play at the Beaver-Graham Game. Nelson said he saw new announcer Zack Helton when he was “a budding broadcaster” announcing games in Richlands, Va.

“We hit it off famously and I’ve watched Zach grow as a sportscaster and a young man and he’s polished his craft,” Nelson said.

Nelson emphasized again that there is more to be a sports announcer than simply sitting behind a microphone and talking about what’s happening. The announcer is serving the fans who can’t come to the game.

“I think the role of the individual doing play-byplay is to describe the scene as objectively, but reflect the enthusiasm of the game and let those fans that would give their eyeteeth to be here but can’t, we hope that we paint a word picture that is not bloviating, but an accurate, three-dimensional picture of what’s going on,” he said. “When I’m most fulfilled, it’s doing that. It’s an adrenaline rush. There’s a satisfaction to having done it well. Not because of who I am, but because of the product and the Bluefield-Beaver community and the area. They’re the ones that are special, the moms and dads and the other fans so invested for so long.”

“If Norman Rockwell was going to paint a picture of Friday night lights in a non-metro community, he’d paint one of Beaver-Graham,” Nelson declared.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
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Now that the roster is settled

We have some holes that Josh and company will have to overcome. The biggest is likely at back-up center. Can Akok, at 6'10" and 205, dripping wet, play quality minutes as Edwards' back-up? And who plays the 5 if they are both in foul trouble? Suemnick is the most likely it seems. Not ideal but hopefully Josh and staff can scheme around it. Bembry has to deliver quality minutes this season. He is an unknown and will be thrust into the rugged Big 12 and really needs to step up. Does he have that kind of skill? If both Kerr and Bembry are off the floor, I guess that Kobe or Perez might be our PG's. Again, not ideal.

Assuming Battle gets his waiver, we likely see Wilson and Kobe as back-ups at the 2. Hopefully Battle can routinely give us 30 minutes. Both Kobe and Wilson are limited. But they must have been better than the options in the portal. And Harris really needs to come on. We need him to provide quality minutes at the 3 behind Perez. Akok and Slazinski should be fine at the 4. I am not sure what Naveh can bring to the table and if he can add value this season. Hopefully he can. He seems like a 2/3.

Is Silverio still going to sue the NCAA? He might have a chance if he does. We need him. Needless to say, the Battle waiver is just enormous. Several things have to go very right for us to make hay in the NCAA tourney. Our depth seems pretty thin.

Uber-wealthy foreigners such as Hansjorg Wyss are laundering hundreds of million of dollars to left-wing groups, to undermine the U.S. Constitution.


The Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has a profound interest in American politics. Over the years, he has pumped $475 million he has earned manufacturing medical devices into left-wing advocacy groups – $72 million in 2021 alone, according to a new report from the conservative watchdog group, Americans for Public Trust.

Oceana /The Wyss Foundation

Hansjörg Wyss: Since 2016, some $245 million of the Swiss billionaire's spending on American politics has gone to Arabella Advisors, which controls a vast network of progressive nonprofits.
Oceana /The Wyss Foundation

According to a biography of Wyss written by a sister, Wyss’ goal is not to bend laws to his business’s advantage but to “[re]interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics.”

Although foreigners are prohibited from donating money directly to political causes, Wyss has donated lavishly to progressive political organizations. The New York Times reported in 2021 that these include the “Center for American Progress and Priorities USA, as well as organizations that ran voter registration and mobilization campaigns to increase Democratic turnout, built media outlets accused of slanting the news to favor Democrats, and sought to block Mr. Trump’s nominees, prove he colluded with Russia and push for his impeachment.” Since 2016, some $245 million of his spending on American politics has gone to Arabella Advisors, which controls a vast network of progressive nonprofits which, among other activities, has financed hundreds of smaller groups that campaign for specific issues and candidates. Arabella, which raised $1.6 billion in 2021, was dubbed by The Atlantic “The Massive Progressive Dark-Money Group You’ve Never Heard Of.”

Critics argue that Wyss’ largesse illuminates a gaping loophole in political finance that essentially allows wealthy foreigners to launder their contributions – one that has been exploited far more robustly by Democrats than Republicans. That may help explain why the issue became more prominent on Aug. 14, when House Republicans announced an investigation “into whether entities that qualify as tax-exempt under Section 501 of the U.S. Code are abiding by the statutory and regulatory prohibitions against … foreign sources of funding … being funneled through such organizations to influence America’s elections.” As part of that probe, the House Ways and Means Committee produced an open letter detailing the problem and requesting information from the public. A significant portion of the letter discussed the political donations of a single foreigner – Hansjörg Wyss.

WVU Release Big 12 Conference Partners with U.S. Integrity for Sports Wagering Monitoring and Regulatory Compliance Software

Big 12 Conference Partners with U.S. Integrity for Sports Wagering Monitoring and Regulatory Compliance Software - 08/23/23 08:00 AM
The Big 12 Conference and U.S. Integrity today announced a partnership that will provide the Conference with monitoring software and tools that will play a pivotal role in preventing student-athletes, coaches, and staff from engaging in prohibited sports wagering.

This partnership will also see Big 12 officials and each Big 12 institution provided access to U.S. Integrity's monitoring software and resources. These resources include annual onsite training for all student-athletes, coaches, staff, and officials, weekly integrity monitoring across all sports, and access to the Prohibet system.

"The Big 12 Conference is thrilled to partner with U.S. Integrity as a continuation of its commitment to sports betting compliance," said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. "Given the current landscape of sports betting in our industry, it's more important than ever to double-down on ensuring sport integrity across our Conference."

Through their partnership with U.S. Integrity, the Conference will be provided access to ProhiBet, a technology that provides a secure and transparent method for sports properties and sportsbook operators to ensure that student-athletes, coaches, and administrative staff remain compliant with the intricate web of state regulations that govern sports betting activities.

"We are thrilled to partner with the Big 12 -- the combination of ProhiBet's state-of-the-art encrypted data transfer system and the Big 12's dedication to upholding the integrity of sports will undoubtedly enhance the transparency and trustworthiness of collegiate sports betting activities," stated Matt Heap, Managing Director of ProhiBet. Heap brings a wealth of experience in the field as the former head of the Colorado Division of Gaming's sportsbook operations.

The Big 12's partnership with U.S. Integrity and ProhiBet is part of a two-fold approach to solidify the Conference's oversight surrounding sports betting. This approach will also see the Big 12 strengthen its control over the dissemination of the Conference's data.

About ProhiBet:
ProhiBet is a leading provider of encrypted data transfer solutions for the sports betting industry. With a focus on regulatory compliance and data security, ProhiBet empowers sports properties and sportsbook operators to navigate the complex landscape of state regulations related to prohibited bettors. For additional information, visit www.prohibet.com.

About Odds On Compliance:
Odds On Compliance is a technology and consultancy firm specializing in sports betting, iGaming and gambling compliance and regulatory frameworks, in the U.S. and abroad. Odds On Compliance provides a range of services that assist clients navigating, mastering, and staying up to date with the rapidly developing regulatory compliance framework at state and federal levels throughout the USA. For more information please go to OddsOnCompliance.com or the Odds On Compliance LinkedIn page.

About U.S. Integrity:
U.S. Integrity is a leading technology-driven sports wagering monitoring company, providing the highest level of protection against betting-related fraud and corruption. U.S. Integrity's mission is to grow the legal, regulated sports betting market by providing solutions that ensure sports betting integrity in every play, every game, every sport. Supported by investors including Las Vegas Sands, SeventySix Capital and the New York Angels, U.S. Integrity partners with some of the largest professional sports leagues and collegiate conferences in the U.S., as well as licensed sports-betting operators and regulators. U.S. Integrity is based in Las Vegas and New York. For additional information, visit www.usintegrity.com.
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Just for fun

I want all or any of the Leftists who regularly post on this forum what they think are problems with Trump to tell us once and for all why they voted for Biden instead? It would be nice to read this thread full of support for that mindless vote, but I suspect all we'll read are blank spaces followed by irreverent mocking over the prevalence of ignoranant silence substituted as informed intelligence for that vote.

So @moe @Soaring Eagle 74 @bamaEER ...(there are more but these seem to be the biggest Trump detractors on the Left of this forum)...let's hear your valid reasons/support for Biden? What did you like about his candidacy going into the '20 election, and what has he done since then to strengthen that initial support?

Let's hear it?
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WVU Football: A rolling thunder, pouring rain. I'm coming on like a hurricane...

My lightning's flashing across the sky
You're only young but you're gonna die!

I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives
Nobody's putting up a fight
I got my bell, I'm gonna take you to hell
I'm gonna get you, Satan get you...

Hell's Bells
Yeah, Hell's Bells
You got me ringing
Hell's Bells
My temperature's high
Hell's Bells!

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Attorney: New bombshell report confirms Mark Meadows “ratted out Trump to the Feds”

Oops.

Attorney: New bombshell report confirms Mark Meadows “ratted out Trump to the Feds”

Former federal prosecutor Richard Signorelli predicted that Meadows will ultimately only have two options in the D.C. case: be an "indicted non-cooperating defendant for which conviction will mean lengthy incarceration" or a "fully cooperating defendant which will preserve all or most of his freedom."

"Not complicated," he added.
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