Stories from the Center of the Universe Paul Gilman

Brent Scopel and Rob Dull have consumed every episode of this podcast. Since they're the only two folks on earth to have accomplished this feat, I asked them to join me to share their top 10 episodes out of the first 250.

Rayne Wright and her dad/coach Rasheed join Paul to talk high school basketball. Rayne is a player on and Rasheed is the coach of the current Class 6 Virginia State Champions, Manchester High School. Paul talked to Rayne about her basketball journey from the beginning as well as what the future may hold for her on the hard court. They discussed what she loves about the game and Paul learned about what kind of leader Rayne is for her team. Paul discussed with both of them what the dad/daughter/coach/player dynamic is between the two of them and Paul discovered an interesting way they will communicate with each other at home and on the court. They finished by the three of them discussing the rise of women’s basketball in both college and the WBNA and the differences between the way the game is taught in Europe and the U.S.A.

Paul and the podcast travel to interview Laura Peery who lives in the Richmond area on the James River. Laura comes to the podcast via being friends with Debra and Steve Hall (Episode 264). They first talked about how her house on the James grounds her, is very peaceful and has lots of wildlife. Laura spoke about being a U.S. Army brat as she was born in San Francisco, but lived in Japan and Germany by the time she was six. Paul learned what her dad did in the Army and also about a fear she developed while in Japan. They moved to the Richmond, Virginia area when she was six. She attended the Collegiate School from second grade through high school. They discussed a major injury she sustained and how that helped her in one of her careers which involved a unique form of therapy. They talked about her college experience(s), her latest career as a realtor, how she is excited to be getting married in a couple of months and finished by talking about her three kids.

Marlee and Chris Gaskell join Paul for both the SCOTU and the VA is for Sports podcasts. Marlee is the first high school athlete to be on the podcasts as well as the youngest person Paul has interviewed. Marlee is a junior at Midlothian HS and is a left handed pitcher for their Varsity Softball team. Marlee started playing at a young age and says it’s the competition from both the individual and team perspectives that has fueled her passion for the sport of softball. They discussed her schedule which includes travel ball, going to camps, off season training and school ball. The three of them talked about the recruiting process and Marlee told Paul what was important to her when considering both softball and the school itself. Marlee has decided to attend Florida State and is very excited at the prospect of playing for a national championship. Marlee shared the best thing her Dad has taught her during her time playing softball. Paul also got some insight into the pitches that Marlee throws … and how she throws them. He also discovered a little bit about Marlee’s teammates at Midlothian HS and what advice she would give her 10 year old self.

Pictured - Ernie Johnson (left) and Lane (right) 
Lane Casadonte was born in upstate New York, but considers Richmond home. A lot of you know Lane by sight or voice as he has been reporting on Richmond area sports for thirty years. They discussed his last name, family history and growing up twenty minutes north of Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. They discussed him growing up and knowing at 7-8 years old that he wanted to be a sportscaster. He has been to Super Bowls, NASCAR races at Daytona, the World Series and many other major sporting events. He takes great pride in covering local college and high school sports and he and Paul talked about some of the best athletes he has seen from Virginia. Paul learned about what a “normal” day is for Lane, how he almost left RVA early in his career and what kept him here. They finished by talking about his wife Deborah and their kids Conner and Mary Catherine.

Brice Fritts is the Head Football Coach at J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County, Virginia. Paul and Brice talked about growing up and playing several sports, but over the years he settled on three very physical sports … football, rugby and wrestling. He played high school football at Freeman High school and then went on to play football at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA. They discussed his time at Robert Morris and how much he enjoyed competing at the college level. He came back to the Richmond area and has previously coached high school football at four different schools which has led to the head job at Tucker. They finished by talking about his wife Alyssa and their three daughters as well as Brice coming on the Virginia is for Sports podcast when it gets closer to the start of football season.