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It’s not a College Football Playoff flaw, it’s just the year

Last Saturday, the college football world got it’s first look at the expanded 12-team playoff. The College Football Playoff ads were plastered all over television, YouTube channels and social media since the start of the football season. It was marketed as a chance to see more teams with the national title on the line. So, jump forward a few months later and how did it go? Well, that depends. For casual fans and members of the ESPN staff -- oh, lord, the television media complaining -- you would have thought this was the worst thing to happen to American sports since Major ...

Another memorable year of fishing

But for some twist in the road back around about the time John F. Kennedy was president, I might be writing today about a topic other than fishing. Indeed, something about fishing lit a fire in my soul when I was a youngster. I often reflect about my earliest fishing experiences, and I’ve reached way back in my brain to try to pinpoint the moment I was bitten by the fishing bug. Despite trying, I still don’t recall the exact event to spark my fire, but I’m happy the flames today are as hot as ever. Indeed, fishing and thinking about fishing helps melt snow, thaw ice and warm ...

Hiner: Make or break for Day in matchup with Wolverines

So, Ryan Day, you wanted to be the head coach of the Ohio State football team? With that title comes presssure, and for a number of successful coaches, today marked a dark day in their careers. The most notable on the Ohio State end of things was John Cooper. Yeah, he finished his time as the Buckeyes’ coach with a 111-43-4 record, but his struggles with Michigan were well documented. He finished 2-10-1 against the Wolverines, and became the postchild for the need to win “The Game.” Jump ahead 30 years, and Day has developed a bit of reputation among his naysayers. He can be ...

Wollitz: Quick flashes of Muskie fishing

Who doesn’t love getting struck by lightning? It’s happened to me many times while I cast my way around northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Bolts of lightning have lit up my days while fishing for bass, walleyes and crappies. And yet, I’m here today to write about lightning strikes – the most descriptive term I can imagine to describe out-of-nowhere attacks by muskies. They are sudden, startling and spectacular, always when I least expect them, and always exploding peace and tranquility into electrified mayhem. Muskellunge, aka “muskies” to most anglers, are ...

A crappie autumn tradition

Nothing says Thanksgiving like a bucket of crappies. Well, I exaggerate. Family gatherings, turkey dinners, Macy’s parade and NFL football are long-lived Thanksgiving traditions for most everybody in the Youngstown-Warren area. The anglers among us give thanks every autumn for the abundance of fish readily accessible to those who venture out to try their luck. Lifelong Niles residents Tyler Woak and Tony Baragona are two of the most enthusiastic fall fishermen. Though they represent generations separated by more than 50 years, Woak and Baragona share a great love for the ...

Best parts of fishing often change and vary

People often ask what I like best about fishing. Though it may seem easy to respond that it’s reeling in a big one, the answer really isn’t so cut and dried. The best part of fishing? It depends. It depends on the lake. It depends on the season and the day. It depends on the weather, the conditions and a myriad of other factors that drive our experiences every time we go to the water. For me, in fact, it is almost impossible to single out a “best” from a day on the lake. It might be sunrise, the fresh scent of a brand new morning, the whiff of outboard motor smoke or the ...