Can I at least finish the last few games of basketball season?

On Wednesday, Graham Hill and I were working on our 11th episode of The Flourish Hill Podcast before getting a mention from North Lenoir’s baseball account on Twitter, referencing the Hawks’ opening night against Spring Creek. Upon further review, Greene Central, South Lenoir and Ayden-Grifton started their spring campaigns with Kinston getting the bats out Thursday.

There’s no rest for the weary.

If anything, the winter season is the only time there’s something considered a reprieve around here. Basketball is the main entity to handle, with a bit of wrestling and indoor track sprinkled in. The same luxury isn’t given during the spring with baseball, softball, girls’ soccer, boys’ tennis and track and field to handle. This is the first spring Neuse News is trying to put it all together and although the first week is not going to be the best, expect vast improvements as time progresses.

Also, please send all spring sports results to jsmith@neusenews.com and jsmithiii1988@gmail.com. It’ll help the process out immensely.

THE FLOURISH HILL PODCAST ENDS NEXT WEEK

Graham and I will shoot our 12th episode Monday and there’s no telling what will happen from there. If we can get a couple of sponsors for the show, we’ll continue with a second season, but everything’s in limbo now. We’ve appreciated everyone who tuned in to the episodes when we went on Facebook Live, streamed via Anchor, iTunes and Spotify, commented and shared. An idea Graham kicked around with me for laughs turned into something legitimate and we’re in awe.

A special shoutout goes to every guest who came onto the show: Christopher Bradshaw, Ethan Cahoon, Imajae Dodd, Ariel Epstein, Jeremiah Fields, David Fernandez, Bryan Hanks, Curtis Hines, Dory Hines, Parker Mitchell, Chappriel Pitt, Dontrez Styles, Thomas Vermillion and Jay Wilson.

Every week we sought to get better and even though we were an upstart podcast, they all came out to show support and took time out of their schedules to make it happen. Special mention has to go to B.J. Murphy and Travis Towne for setting it up each week and making us look somewhat professional. We’ll have another guest for the final installment and hopefully we can keep this going in the future.

PLEASE SHOW UP TO THE PLAYOFF GAMES

As basketball season comes to an end, some of our local teams may have games on the road. Some squads have the luxury of playing close by and others may not. Still, if you can, please come out and make some noise for your favorite teams. Having someone in the crowd can boost a player’s confidence, especially in those tough environments. The potential of another local state champion is here, and support is always appreciated.