All of today’s games are postponed till tomorrow due to rain. I can see softball but what’s the problem with playing some soccer in the rain? Bad weather would have made for some interesting pictures. Now I might be stuck here till Sunday…

I’m in Radford, VA for the annual VHSL spring sports championships. My allergies are kicking up (or I caught the swine flu), and the forecast is fairly ugly. I decided to skip trying out any remote cameras as I have had little to no success with them this season. Might as well keep it simple. Today is tennis. Tomorrow is 2 softball games and a soccer match. The best part – all 3 games start at 10 and I am on my own. A couple of years ago we would have had 2 shooters down here but not anymore. As newspaper managers across the country have said in the face of crushing layoffs, do more with less. I’ll let you know how that works out for me…

On Monday friends, family and fellow Rangers gathered at Massaponax High School to remember Cpl. Ryan McGhee who was killed in Iraq on May 13.  Through a variety of spoken testimonials and slideshows, those left behind told  a story about a young man who had likely experienced the spectrum of what humanity has to offer. At the age of 21 and already a veteran of three trips to Afghanistan, Iraq was his fourth deployment. Undoubtedly he saw the worst of what people can do to each other and at home he left behind a loving family and his high school sweetheart. From what their friends and family said, they shared an incredible love story.  One of the videos highlighted his football career at Massaponax and was a montage of still images and video of him playing.  It was a little weird in that a lot of the still pictures were photos I had taken that season. It was a little strange to see them projected at a memorial service when you think about the spirit in which they were taken – of a vibrant teenage life pursuing sports. After the service, the crowd moved down to the football field for a candlelight vigil. It was still pretty bright out so the candles didn’t have much effect but the sentiment was still there.

Masasponax football coach Eric Ludden speaks at a memorial service honoring Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee in the auditorium of Massaponax High School in Spotsylvania, VA on Monday, June 1, 2009. McGhee, an Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from Ft. Benning, Ga. was killed in action in Iraq on May 13, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)

Ashleigh Mitchell of Spotsylvania hugs her father Christopher Mitchell after he spoke about his daughter's fiance, Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee.

Mourners gather around the McGhee family on the football field at Massaponax High School.

Early on Tuesday Rusty and I drove to Arlington for his funeral. I had never covered a funeral at Arlington before and aside from the expected traffic, we ran into a few minor problems. It was a combination of me confusing where I needed to be at what time and getting the runaround from some of the Arlington people. It was a bummer that we got there early but by the time the confusion was worked out, we were very nearly late. In the end, though, all that is irrelevant as Rusty and I were able to witness the ceremony, do our jobs and make our way back to the Burg. The reporter from the Post remarked that he has covered something like 70 funerals and hadn’t seen too many that drew a crowd like Cpl. McGhee’s.

A caisson carries the remains of Cpl Ryan Casey McGhee to his gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery.

Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, fold the flag covering Cpl. Ryan McGhee's casket during his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. McGhee, an Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from Ft. Benning, Ga. was killed in action in Iraq on May 13, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)

Steven McGhee is comforted by his wife Kristie McGhee during the funeral for his son Army Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. McGhee, an Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from Ft. Benning, Ga. was killed in action in Iraq on May 13, 2009. Joining Mr. McGhee, from left, is Casey's fiance Ashleigh Mitchell, Casey's mother Sherrie Battle-McGhee and brother Zachary McGhee. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)

I spent last Saturday in Harrisonburg shooting the AA state track meet. Aside from surly meet officials and quite possibly the worst case of allergies i’ve ever encountered, it was a fairly uneventful meet. It was originally projected that the Louisa County boys team would win if their winter track results were any indicator. They blew away the compeition in the winter but it looked like they struggled on Saturday. It came down to the final event, the 1600-meter relay. They were in the fast heat and finsihed third there but placed 8th overall as a couple teams in the early heat posted better than expected times. I didn’t really have much of a reaction picture aside from some tired kids sitting around on the ground but the frame never really came together. That’s the trouble with trying to layer a complex picture; either everything comes together perfectly and you have a deep picture or something is out of place and the whole thing doesn’t work. Should kept it simple, I guess!  Anyway, here are two frames, one of the girls 400-meter run state champion and the first handoff in the boys’ 1600-meter relay.

Orange County's Ashontae Jackson launches from the starting blocks in the 400-meter run at the AA state track meet at Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, Va, on Saturday, May 30, 2009. Jackson won the state title with a time of 56.68 seconds. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)

Louisa's Brandon Payne, left, hands the baton to Brandon Parker in the 1600-meter relay at the AA state track meet at Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, Va, on Saturday, May 30, 2009. Louisa placed eighth in the event, giving them only enough points to place third overall. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)

Tomorrow the AA state sports jubilee begins at Radford University. So far there is a local tennis player and a softball team. There likely will be a girls soccer match as well. So, this afternoon I’ll make the trek down to Radford. In years past, the area has had a lot more representation and consequently it took more staffers to cover the weekend’s events. Now, not so much. Plus it looks like the softball and soccer will be going on at the same time, so I’ll have to make some decisions as to how  I go about getting to both and still get some storytelling images.

While waiting for my coffee to cool and taking a moment to discuss the upward trend of my recently acquired holdings in Harley-Davidson I noticed that one of our feathered friends had made their home in one of the old ornate castings on the building next door. But I digress. Lets us get on the road.......