Upcoming decision on school sports is difficult

July 26, 2020

Decisions, decisions. That little phrase used to be a funny way of expressing the struggle of a minor choice in life. It doesn’t seem like there are any “minor” choices these days. The state, the schools, the Ohio High School Athletic Association and everyone involved in the potential restart of fall high school sports certainly knows the difficulty of a decision in today’s world. There are an endless number of factors to weigh when considering restarting sports, and there doesn’t seem to be a right answer. After writing tens of thousands of words about this topic, it seems ...

Indians’ games on TV in short season

July 22, 2020

All Cleveland Indians games of the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season will be on television. SportsTime Ohio will air 57 of the 60 games, including the home opener Friday night at Progressive Field against the Kansas City Royals. The Indians will play 10 games each against their four AL Central Division rivals, while the remaining 20 games will be split among the NL Central Division teams. The Tribe will be on national television three times on the Fox network — all road games July 30 at Minnesota; Aug. 29 at St. Louis and Sept. 12 again in Minnesota. WKYC-TV 3 in Cleveland will ...

Golfing can keep families close

July 15, 2020

If the Covid-19 pandemic has kept you from connecting with family and friends, it’s time to play nine. I’m talking about playing nine holes of golf. In fact, you should call a loved one and hit the links right away. Heck, even if you’ve never picked up a club, now is the perfect time to learn a game that has captured the imagination of people for over one-hundred years. My mom and dad, Flo and Joe Zampedro, are now in that 65-plus age bracket. They have basically been in quarantine since March. Although our lives have changed, we still have the game we love keeping us ...

Finding the elusive bass at local lakes

July 4, 2020

Like the proverbial needle in a haystack, the bass in a weed bed can be difficult to find. Bass love aquatic vegetation. Lakes like Mosquito, West Branch and Pymatuning are loaded with a variety of leafy green plants that harbor largemouth bass and the food on which they prey. But thousands of acres of grass flats and lily pads are puzzles with which many anglers struggle. With all that greenery, the bass can be anywhere, so the temptation is to try to fish all of it. Success, however, depends on weeding through the water to find spots likely to harbor the food that bass want ...

Jaws drop at move Howland makes

June 21, 2020

Jaw-dropping moments are pretty common in sports, and they come in all types. The last-second shot to win the game. The big hit or amazing catch in football. A walk-off hit or a diving catch in the outfield. Heck, they’re a big reason sports are so much fun. There are other shocking moments that have a similar effect but for a different reason (think LeBron James taking his talents to Miami). There haven’t been many awe-inspiring instances lately — thanks a lot, MLB — but the Mahoning Valley did have one last week. The Howland school district chose not to renew the contract ...

MLB needs reform before it’s too late

June 12, 2020

It's nice to finally be able to catch a baseball game at one of the local parks in the area as baseball is starting to begin play around the Mahoning Valley. Groups of men and women came together, along with Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health, to find a way to work around the COVID-19 pandemic and bring baseball back. And yet owners, players, lawyers, unions or any other type of national mediator can’t do the same with Major League Baseball. Let this sink in for a minute: Youth leagues created ways to play the game safely at sandlots in a matter of weeks, but ...