63° Sunny Login Buy & Sell My Account Subscribe E-Paper Obituaries Newsletters Gene Sapakoff Recent Articles +2 Sapakoff: ACC-SEC football rankings amid The Great Head Coach Shuffle Dec 1, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: The only thing we know for sure is Georgia. Otherwise, the SEC is 7-3 against the ACC, Clemson is rolling and Shane Beamer is in rare territory for a South Carolina football coach. Sapakoff: Dabo softens on Clemson transfer portal stand; Gamecocks dive in Nov 29, 2021 Gene Sapakoff: It isn’t just going after the best high school players anymore, the Tigers and Gamecocks are likely to go after transfers while working hard to keep from losing key players. +3 Sapakoff: A missed Gamecocks football opportunity vs. ‘poor Clemson’ Nov 28, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: South Carolina had a home-field advantage and a rare matchup with a Dabo Swinney-era Clemson team not in the College Football Playoff or ACC championship mix. It won’t usually be that way going forward. +5 USC-Clemson rivalry returns with new twist: Dabo Swinney, Shane Beamer are friends Nov 26, 2021 Two-time national championship winner Dabo Swinney of Clemson and new South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer have known (and liked) each other for years. They even talked this season during one of Swinney’s radio shows. +3 Sapakoff: The Muse family’s evolving Clemson vs. South Carolina allegiances Nov 25, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Tanner Muse played at Clemson before moving on to the NFL, Nick Muse plays at South Carolina and their parents Kevin and Shannon know the Gamecocks-Tigers rivalry inside-out. Sapakoff: 3rd-string? 7th-string? No, Gamecocks’ No. 1 QB Jason Brown Nov 24, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Better late than never, and better late in games, Jason Brown has gone from forgotten man to transfer portal gem +3 Sapakoff: Virginia Tech football can one-stop coach shop at Carowinds Nov 23, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Hokies’ management would be smart to do all of its head football coach interviews at a secret location in South Carolina. +2 Sapakoff: Gamecocks’ 4 in a row at home vs. Clemson’s 4-0 ‘right time’ streak Nov 21, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Clemson has the better record, South Carolina has the home-field edge and both fan bases have reasons to be excited after a lot of 2021 frustration. Sapakoff: Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell joins ACC’s old guard Nov 18, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: With Roy Williams gone, Mike Krzyzewski on his way out and other coaching changes, Clemson’s Brad Brownell appears at the Charleston Classic as one of the ACC’s elder statesmen +2 Sapakoff: Clemson next in Sam Hartman’s Oceanside to ACC championship quest Nov 17, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Former Oceanside Collegiate Academy quarterback Sam Hartman is one victory away from leading Wake Forest to an unlikely ACC Championship Game appearance. +3 Sapakoff: Pat Kelsey is John Kresse’s latest College of Charleston pupil Nov 16, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: The Cougars won’t take their home court against North Carolina on Nov. 16 without new head coach Pat Kelsey having absorbed some serious knowledge from the legendary John Kresse. +2 Sapakoff: Clemson, Dabo add to Mount Pleasant’s Lou Spanos’ bizarre year Nov 14, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: An interim head coach who lives part-time in South Carolina has had to deal with his father’s death, a bout with COVID and close losses, and has taken every step with enthusiasm +3 Sapakoff: Ex-Clemson quarterback Willy Korn helps Coastal Carolina roll Nov 12, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Much of the Chanticleers’ success is grounded in a hybrid offense opponents still can’t figure out and few people know it better than Coastal Carolina co-offensive coordinator Willy Korn, who goes way back with Jamey Chadwell. +2 Sapakoff: Zany hoops year tips off with Citadel-Pitt, Bill Walton in SC Nov 11, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: The transfer portal and roster shakeups have already made the 2021-22 college basketball season hard to handicap, which should be fun for fans who embrace the early-season madness. Sapakoff: Sustainable value in Gamecocks’ Florida win, one-off or not Nov 10, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: A historic flip of a predicted point spread and final score against Florida means more if South Carolina wins another game to seal a bowl trip, but is paying off already Sapakoff: First down, Jason Brown renown turn Gamecocks into bowl contender Nov 7, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: South Carolina football went from doldrums to bowl hopes as a bye week full of changes paid off against Florida Sapakoff: Shane Beamer isn’t facing Steve Spurrier’s SEC East competition Nov 5, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: The Head Ball Coach had it a lot easier when facing the Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky meat of the South Carolina football schedule, and he knew it. Sapakoff: What Arch Manning saw at FSU vs. Clemson, and didn’t see Oct 31, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Las Vegas odds do not favor Clemson in the Arch Manning recruiting sweepstakes but maybe he saw some things he liked in a visit to Death Valley Sapakoff: Tragedy and S.C. State football triumph for Corey Fields Jr. Oct 29, 2021 Gene Sapakoff: After a slow start tied to a brutal schedule, S.C. State has won back-to-back games in big part thanks to a steady leader who lost his brother in an ATV accident earlier this year. Sapakoff: The answer to every Clemson football question for this season and next Oct 27, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Why can’t Clemson score more points? What to do about the coaching staff? Why can’t Clemson cover a pointspread? Here are the answers. +2 Sapakoff: Win or not, Braves’ World Series honors the great Hank Aaron Oct 25, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Atlanta Braves buzz is in overdrive, with a nod to late icon Hank Aaron from Truist Park in Atlanta to Houston, where the World Series begins Tuesday night. +3 Sapakoff: Presbyterian’s no punting coach Kevin Kelley still upbeat at midseason Oct 24, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Hiring 9-time high school state championship winner Kevin Kelley was a bold move for Presbyterian College, off to a 2-5 start. But his pass-happy offense distinguished by almost no punting and special teams play featuring lots of onside kicks and 2-point conversions can work, eventually. +2 Sapakoff: Pitt ‘thrilled’ to have 3 Vardzel brothers from Mount Pleasant Oct 21, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Oh, brother – Michael Vardzel blazed the trail from Wando High School to Pittsburgh, John Vardzel made one of the most inspirational plays of the 2020 ACC season against Clemson and Peter Vardzel is in the wings +2 Sapakoff: Clemson vs. Pitt shows flaws in ACC, SEC schedule rotation Oct 20, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: So many teams in conferences and divisional obligations mean rare clashes between some programs, which is too bad for student-athletes and fans. Some overdue solutions. Sapakoff: The Gamecocks’ win possibilities post-Zeb Noland thrill ride Oct 17, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: One minute South Carolina’s football season has no hope, 59 seconds later maybe more wins are in store +3 Sapakoff: Kicker parent anxiety? Parker White’s mom just kisses a lot. Oct 15, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Watching your son attempt a field goal before a packed college football stadium in a nationally-televised SEC game can rattle a parent’s nerves, but South Carolina Gamecocks kicker Parker White’s mother Jennifer Howe has found a way to enjoy the ride. Sapakoff: PETA joins App State as a new CCU rival after chainsaw stunt Oct 14, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Postgame locker room stunts celebrating wins are part of the Coastal Carolina culture, but so is remarkable balance on offense and defense. Sapakoff: Defense travels, unless it’s with a sluggish Clemson offense Oct 12, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Clemson has a standout defense but faces back-to-back ACC road games and a stretch of offenses mostly better than the ones the Tigers have seen so far. Sapakoff: Gamecocks, fans get the offense the school signed up for Oct 9, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: A stunningly lopsided loss at Tennessee shows South Carolina football progress on offense over the second half of the season will be hard to come by +4 Clemson football, Mount Pleasant barbershop intertwined in UConn coach’s bittersweet tale Oct 7, 2021 Lou Spanos was named UConn’s interim head coach the day before his father’s Mount Pleasant funeral in September. Brett Gardner weighs Summerville home life, future with Yankees after Wild Card loss Oct 6, 2021 Former College of Charleston star Brett Gardner will weigh baseball and family considerations after the New York Yankees’ Wild Card playoff loss to the Boston Red Sox. Sapakoff: Shane Beamer vs. Vols’ Josh Heupel is a ‘fair comparison’ Oct 6, 2021 Gene Sapakoff: South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, on an Oct. 9 collision course in Knoxville, were both hired to start the 2021 season, both charged with reversing SEC East fortune. Sapakoff: Clemson crowd buzz vs. BC compared to biscuits in 2020, 2022 Oct 3, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: A Clemson vs. Boston College matchup at Death Valley was in many ways a capsule version of a strange start to the 2021 season for a program used to annual College Football Playoff contention Sapakoff: Clemson’s suddenly different 12-team playoff perspective Oct 1, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Dabo Swinney liked the idea of maintaining a four-team College Football Playoff in August but a sour September might make Clemson fans warm up to the more-the-merrier format that’s on the way. Sapakoff: Upset alert for the Gamecocks, among others, in a wacky 2021 Sep 29, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: A record pace for college football upsets keeps fans on their toes and favored coaches on edge +4 RiverDogs win Charleston’s 1st minor league baseball title since 1922 Sep 26, 2021 The last time Charleston won a minor league baseball championship? The 1922 Charleston Pals. The only other time? The 1908 Charleston Sea Gulls. +3 RiverDogs pushed to Game 5 in Low-A East but boosted by Rays’ success Sep 25, 2021 Charleston’s wait for a first minor league baseball championship since 1922 will have to wait until Game 5 of the Low-A East Championship Series, hopefully for the RiverDogs. The the road team has won all of the first four games of the matchup. +4 A Bill Murray pep talk, 6,224 fans but RiverDogs can’t seal Low-A East title Sep 24, 2021 The Down East Wood Ducks won Game 3 of the best-of-five Low-A East Championship Series to trim the Charleston RiverDogs’ lead to 2-1 and force a Game 4 Sapakoff: For the love of ‘Khash Money’ on Khris Middleton Day at Porter-Gaud Sep 24, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Porter-Gaud School honored alum Khris Middleton after a whirlwind summer including an NBA championship and Olympic gold medal. RiverDogs 1 win from first Charleston baseball title since 1922 Sep 24, 2021 The Charleston RiverDogs for the first time all season extended its starting pitchers and grabbed a 2-0 lead in the Low-A East best-of-five championship series. Sapakoff: Shane Beamer’s sideline style, as with Dabo Swinney, will evolve Sep 24, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Like many football coaches, first-year South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is a little bit of everything during games, from strategist to cheerleader. But with a twist of enthusiasm all his own +3 Sapakoff: Days later, Clemson still flunks its Georgia Tech finish Sep 20, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: A famously smart and very deep Clemson coaching staff apparently doesn’t understand the concept of an intentional safety when necessary +3 RiverDogs try to bring 1st minor league championship to Charleston in nearly 100 years Sep 20, 2021 The Charleston RiverDogs have a shot at the minor league baseball championship thanks to Tampa Bay Rays prospects. Sapakoff: Gamecocks running back room runs out of room too fast at UGA Sep 19, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: South Carolina still has plenty of time to make improvements but three games into the season the running game is far from a strength and might be a weakness Sapakoff: Ranking ACC non-conference wins with a sad surprise at No. 1 Sep 17, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: For conference pride and respect (and for a better Clemson resume to be put before the College Football Playoff committee), the ACC must finish fast in its few remaining non-conference games Sapakoff: A quarterback controversy is just what the Gamecocks need Sep 15, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Luke Doty or Zeb Noland vs. Georgia? And beyond? Usually, two quarterbacks are not better than one but South Carolina is a needy exception +3 Sapakoff: Will Muschamp, from Gamecocks to a ‘jolt of energy’ for UGA Sep 13, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Will Muschamp was hired by his longtime buddy Kirby Smart as an analyst but moved into an on-field role when Georgia’s special teams coach left the team for personal reasons. The move has already paid dividends for the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs. Sapakoff: Charleston Southern vs. The Citadel and 9/11 football beauty Sep 12, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: A Chucktown Throwdown on a Saturday afternoon was fun college football surrounded by tributes to those that make such sports escapes possible +2 Sapakoff: Dabo’s culture strong enough to embrace the transfer portal Sep 10, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Dabo Swinney is an admirable stickler but loyalty policy gets tested as Clemson loses big games to teams with key transfer portal additions when the Tigers have holes to fill. +2 Sapakoff: Mike Houston on The Citadel’s Gamecocks fun, ECU’s rebuild Sep 9, 2021 Gene Sapakoff column: Mike Houston as The Citadel head coach led the Bulldogs to a 2015 victory at South Carolina and prepares again for the Gamecocks, this time with East Carolina the home team. 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