Fishing can create a special bond for any marriage

April 24, 2022

So April 24 has been a pretty big deal around the Wollitz house for quite a few years. By April 24 most years, Northeast Ohio weather starts to settle into a reliable spring pattern of warming temperatures and enough rain to wet the roots of the flowers we expect to enjoy in May. By April 24, the trees buds are bursting and the bass are up in the flooded bushes to eat heartily as the spawn period approaches. Everything outdoors is really revving up by the tail end of April. One more thing about April 24: It is also the anniversary of the wedding of Barb Woods to this writer. Thank ...

Penguins find success with transfer portal

April 20, 2022

A year ago, the Youngstown State men’s and women’s basketball teams picked up some of their biggest contributors from the transfer portal. They appear well on their way to doing it again this recruiting cycle. On the men’s side, the Penguins added Dwayne Cohill (Dayton), Tevin Olison (Cumberlands — NAIA) and Chris Shelton (Hampton) last year via the portal, and Cohill and Olison cracked the starting five while Shelton regularly worked into the rotation. On the women’s end, YSU picked up Lilly Ritz from Division II Wheeling and also nabbed Megan Callahan (Robert Morris), ...

Officials believe Mosquito walleyes will bounce back

April 10, 2022

The year was 1977 and four friends piled into a new red runabout for a sunny and warm spring weekend of boating and walleye fishing at Berlin Reservoir. We knew relatively little about catching walleye beyond drifting and dragging nightcrawler harnesses and a few trips to Lake Erie to sample the popular technique of casting and swinging Erie Dearies and other weight-forward spinners. Around dinnertime on the first of our two days, I dropped the anchor on a sandy hump with a clump of willow trees. The side of the hump sloped gently down to six feet of water where the four of us ...

SteelHounds night brings back memories

April 4, 2022

The Youngstown Phantoms knocked it out of the park with their SteelHounds throwback night. From the jerseys that were nearly identical to the inaugural season, going the extra mile with pants and socks as well (unlike most specialty jerseys), to using the original scoreboard graphics and video intro, it really took me back to being 10 or 11 and watching these games with my dad. As I was taking photos of the team going on the ice for warm-ups for the first time, it was hard to not feel emotional. Especially because the SteelHounds are the reason I’m here writing for this ...

Spring weather continues to tease local anglers

April 3, 2022

Northeast Ohio’s on-again-off-again spring weather is the only thing keeping our local reservoirs from hosting a huge horde of anglers who are excited to get started on their 2022 fishing season. The time for teasing us is over. The week ahead looks like we’ll experience highs in the 50s and low 60s, which are trending in the right direction. But the truth is most prefer to wait for snow flurries to subside and the mercury to scratch 70 before hauling out the gear for walleyes, crappies and bass. Another few days of chilly, rainy weather will only intensify the eagerness of ...

Schools should keep embracing local history

March 31, 2022

Everyone loves a good throwback uniform. Whether it’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their creamsicle sets or the Pittsburgh Pirates in their pillbox hats, sometimes throwing it back to the teams of years past is fun for fans new and old. We’re starting to see this trend at the high school level as well. When I was still in high school, Harding started to wear throwbacks honoring the pre-merger era of Warren City Schools. As a student there at the time, I thought it was a great way to experience some of the traditions my parents were a part of as former Panthers. During this ...