Tank Spencer is the host of a weekly sports talk show, “The Sports Tank,” on Asheville’s News Radio WWNC (570-AM) that airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Spencer also serves as WWNC’s news anchor, reporter and afternoon producer. This column features posts from his blog.

•

The following was posted Feb. 24: 

The college basketball world lost one of its greatest superstars this February.

Dean Smith was not just the man who helped develop all-time great players like Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and Phil Ford. He was more than an inspiration to coaches like Roy Williams, Larry Brown, and George Karl.

Coach Smith was more than his 877 wins, his 11 Final Four appearances, his streak of 23 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, or his two national titles.

According to numerous accounts, Dean Smith was as good and principled a man as any. He’s well remembered for his advocacy for African-Americans and helping to break down the walls of segregation in the state.

He brought in UNC’s first black scholarship player, he played a major role in integrating a restaurant in Chapel Hill, and even helped a black grad student buy a home in an all-white neighborhood.

Smith is also known for his fervent opposition to the death penalty and the Vietnam War. When most coaches shied away from taking a stand, he stood up.

Everything written here, each individual fact, is reason to admire a man. It’s no wonder his influence has spread so far… on and off the court. Dean Smith would have turned 84 on Saturday. One story proves to me the kind of man Dean was. It came to me second-hand, so take it for what you will.

Years ago, a salesman for a local radio affiliate of the UNC basketball team was participating in a golf tournament promoting Tar Heels basketball. He was new to the job (just days I’m told) and did not know anything about basketball or the Tar Heels. Coach Smith just so happened to walk up to the salesman and strike up a conversation.

Smith says to the man “How are you, what’s your name?”  The man answers with his name and tells him what he does. Then the man asks, “What business are you in?” At this Coach Smith smirks and politely informs the salesman of who he is and what he does for a living. The conversation continued long after the awkward exchange.

Dean Smith’s humility, integrity, and tenacity are all traits heralded by the masses over and over since his death on Feb. 7. 

He commanded respect, and gave it freely. He changed lives, not just a game.He wasn’t just the coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. He coached all who paid attention in the game of life.

The following was posted Feb. 20:

Long, boring baseball games to get quicker

New Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred appears to be off to a good start, at least in the eyes of the casual baseball fan.

One of the biggest criticisms of the game in recent years has been the slow pace of games. Friday (Feb. 20) it was announced that some new rules are going to be in play this coming season to help remedy that.

The first and most effective rule for speeding up the game is: now a batter must keep one foot inside the batter’s box at all times.

There are exceptions in cases, such as the batter is chased from the box by an inside pitch, fouls the ball off of his foot, a wild pitch, etc.

As a Red Sox fan, I have enjoyed some of the at-bat traditions that drag out the game over the years like Nomar tugging at his gloves 80 times in an at-bat or Big Papi stepping out to spit on his gloves three times, but enough is enough. I’m older now and the attention span is shorter. In the words of an internet sensation… “ain’t nobody got time for that!”

Since 1981 the average length of a MLB contest has grown to 3 hours and 2 minutes. All those years ago it took just 2:33 to play one out on average. If you watch a Red Sox-Yankees game you know how agonizing that has become.  Several games between the two have gone on close to or just over four hours. So, yes, I’m all for speeding up the games.

Two other rule changes will help as well, though I doubt will have the major impact of the new rule for the batters. The first, there will now be a timer on between inning breaks. Once TV goes to commercial, a timer will start (2 minutes and 25 seconds for locally televised games, 2:45 for national broadcasts).

In that time, the pitcher is to take the mound and deliver his eight warm-up pitches. If he hasn’t done so by the time the clock hits 30 seconds, he loses the opportunity for the rest of those pitches. The batter is to be in the box, ready to go with 20 seconds on the clock.

Lastly, managers must now stay in the dugout on challenges. It has become a tradition for managers to come onto the field and waste time before officially challenging a call in order to give guys in the press box enough time to review plays.

This, thank goodness, will end with the new rule.