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How the Phantoms manage road trips

Athletes at all levels are familiar with the bus trip. Few, if any, in our area log more miles on their bus trips than the Youngstown Phantoms. Trips to Dubuque, Iowa; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Chicago are yearly affairs, and depending on how the schedule falls that season, Fargo, and western Nebraska are potential destinations as well. It’s a great time for team bonding and creating memories during a situation very few would call enjoyable. I mean, being stuck on a bus for what’s around a 17-hour bus ride to Fargo isn’t what anyone would necessarily call ideal, but how you ...

Spring angling success depends on weather

Unsettled weather is a hallmark of spring in Ohio, a phenomenon that runs in lockstep with the fishing here. Whether you chase walleyes, bass or crappies, your fortunes almost always swing on the weather. Generally speaking, warm and sunny days put most of our popular species in the mood to feed in advance of spawning, while the transition from good weather to bad often ignites the bite while stalling the spawn. Everybody loves to pack their gear and head to the lake when the forecast is for sunshine and a warm breeze. The fishing probably will be good, but just getting outside ...

Spring brings hope for fishing, baseball seasons

Who doesn’t love the spring season so packed with hopes for renewal and dreams of better days to come? Spring is not just the end of dreary winter, relief from the tedium that overcomes many who shutter indoors to hide from gray clouds, freezing temperatures and icy conditions. For me, spring means two very important games leap front and center: fishing and baseball. Spring is prime time for anglers at Mosquito and Pymatuning and for fans who cheer for the boys of summer in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Thank goodness for April, the month when many anglers start getting serious ...

Jerrod Calhoun left his mark on Youngstown State hoops

YOUNGSTOWN — It almost seemed inevitable, perhaps because it was. Jerrod Calhoun’s departure from Youngstown State comes as no surprise. That’s the life of mid-majors, particularly lower mid-majors, in the college basketball landscape. The more you win, the more your coach gets ...

Easter marks the beginning of spring fishing

Regardless of the actual date, Easter in Ohio is a sure sign that spring fishing is peaking. Walleyes, crappies and bass are like Easter basket goodies for anglers in the spring, and no corner of our state is better capable of fulfilling our desires than Trumbull, Mahoning and Ashtabula counties. In fact, April is the best month of the year to catch the Northeast Ohio trifecta: a walleye, crappie and largemouth bass all on the same day. Three lakes are especially likely to yield each of the Big Three to spring anglers. Mosquito would be the best bet, followed closely by ...

Bassmaster Classic set to crown champ

Sometime just after 7 p.m. today, the world of professional bass fishing will crown a new world champion at the 54th annual Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Okla., completing another chapter in the long and colorful history of fishing’s biggest event. The field of 56 Classic anglers launched Friday for the first day of competition on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake and will conclude later today at the final weigh-in stage in front of more than 15,000 fans in the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa. Today is the day when the focus of everyone in the bass world is directed on one event. On-the-water ...