Bowl game opt-outs are not a bad thing

January 3, 2022

We’ve seen it happen already in professional sports leagues like the NBA and NFL. Now, the balance of power is shifting in college football. No longer are players beholden to their “corporate masters” — their respective universities and athletic departments. More and more, players like Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett and Ohio State receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson will opt out of playing in relatively meaningless bowl games in order to preserve their bodies and draft stock as they begin preparation for the NFL Draft. Like it or not, player opt outs will continue to ...

Gradishar deserves Football HOF nod

December 31, 2021

It’s funny that I have to write another one of these. Not funny in a “ha ha” kind of way, but more of a “Seriously? You’re actually making me do this again?” kind of way. The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee has once again decided to carry on the tradition of missing the mark. With its nominee pool for the Class of 2022 down to 15 finalists, there were bound to be some great names left off. Around two years ago, I wrote a column talking about Champion High School alumnus Randy Gradishar’s exclusion from the expanded Hall of Fame class in celebration of ...

Already looking forward to next fishing season

December 27, 2021

Sometime later today, when the relatives have gone home, your house is finally quiet and you are relaxing in your favorite recliner next to your beautiful Christmas tree, you will dream ahead to the upcoming fishing season. We who are anglers have a special wanderlust when it comes to traveling to places where we can cast our lines. No matter how many successful fishing trips we have logged in our memories, we always yearn for the next one – and then the one after that one. Christmas is such a special time for families, friends, festivities and magical moments that accrue over the ...

Local angler shares his Christmas wish list

December 19, 2021

Wow. It’s getting serious now. The countdown to Christmas is in the single digits and the holiday hustle is accelerating. While it’s the season of giving and getting, Christmas of course is about so much more than “stuff.” It’s the traditional time of family gatherings, joyous parties, giggling children and shell-shocked parents. It’s the season to celebrate faith and to share our blessings with people who make our lives whole. Christmas is a pitstop in our lap around the sun. It’s a time to stop for a moment to rest and recharge for the new year that awaits our ...

A 2021 letter to Santa …

December 15, 2021

This Christmas season, I’m going to have a talk with the big guy with the red suit to see if he can do something about the state of sports, namely major league baseball and college football. Things have gone a little haywire with these two pastimes. Santa Claus wasn’t particularly good to two Ohio teams with red uniforms in 2021 — namely the Buckeyes from Ohio State and the Ind...er Guardians from Cleveland. By the way, will the Guardians still be wearing red in 2022, if there is a 2022 season. Santa, what can you do about getting that lockout fixed? Don’t you have a ...

Experienced local angler navigates steelhead rivers

December 12, 2021

Chris DePaola has soaked up so much fishing experience in his lifetime as an angler that one might guess he doesn’t have much more to learn. Not true, admits DePaola, of Austintown, particularly as it applies to his frequent fishing trips on several of America’s great steelhead rivers. But DePaola isn’t jetting to the Pacific Northwest to work the runs, seams, and riffles of the famous Trinity, Rogue, and Deschutes. Rather, he’s motoring north on Ohio 11 and pulling on his waders at the side of streams named Ashtabula, Conneaut, and Elk. DePaola is a true-blue Lake Erie ...