Despite negatives, Pelini will be missed

January 31, 2020

The news was a little hard to believe. A high-profile coach who had been successful leading one of the nation’s storied programs was coming to Youngstown State. Bo Pelini, the intense and oft-criticized Nebraska coach who won more than 70 percent of his games with the Cornhuskers, decided to come home. Not many saw it coming. Heck, days before he made the decision, back in December of 2014, a department head within YSU athletics laughed when I brought up the “rumor” that Pelini might come to YSU. “Who else is coming, (Michigan State coach) Mark Dantonio?,” he quipped. Days ...

Intensity key part of push by YSU

January 30, 2020

YOUNGSTOWN — Intensity, it’s easy to say, hard to display when exhaustion runs through your being. School and other factors can affect the all-out intensity in preparation. It’s about being ready for 40 minutes of dribbling, shooting, rebounding and boxing out on a hardwood surface with a Penguin embossed on the floor. On Wednesday, the Youngstown State men’s team was preparing for tonight’s game against Illinois-Chicago starting at 7. Defense is YSU’s calling card, with a focus on rebounding, making those box outs, keeping the opposition out of the paint. Offensively, ...

Learning to select the right spinner

January 25, 2020

In the millennia that have passed since anglers first started tinkering with pieces of shiny metal to add flash and vibration to their fishing lures, spinners have accounted for uncountable numbers of fish catches. Like most of us here in northeastern Ohio, I have caught hundreds of fish on spinners over the years. Long before I learned about crankbaits, jigs and plastic worms, I tinkered with inline spinners. The first artificial lure I used to catch a fish was the venerable C.P. Swing spinner. My father taught me the ins and outs of trolling the old Junebug Spinner with a gob of ...

Gradishar more than Hall of Fame worthy

January 19, 2020

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has been known for questionable, or frankly, downright stupid decisions over its lifespan. The Hall of Fame class for the NFL’s centennial season was a chance to make up for all the mistakes that have been made. All the legends over the years who have yet to get the call to Canton — Roger Craig, Clay Matthews Sr., Drew Pearson, Randy Gradishar. The latter, a Champion High School graduate, once again has been kept out of the Hall of Fame and, to me, it gets more egregious every time. There are 10 linebackers in NFL history with seven Pro Bowl ...

Penguins look for rebound tonight

January 18, 2020

FAIRBORN — The bus exited BB&T Arena in Northern Kentucky, only a 15-to-20-minute drive north toward downtown Cincinnati. Silence. Not much was said by members of the Youngstown State University men’s basketball team. Many were listening to headphones or ear buds. It was a time for reflection and regrouping after a 25-point loss at Northern Kentucky. Friday’s hour-long trip to the Wright State University campus was about focus, concentrating on the ESPN-Plus rebroadcast of the Cleveland State at Wright State game. Looking at the media screens on the team bus, all you ...

Attracting success in home of Norse

January 17, 2020

HIGHLAND HTS, Ky. — The drive from downtown Cincinnati is about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the traffic flowing out of the city on Interstate 471 toward a bridge connecting Ohio and Kentucky. The trek into the Bluegrass State starts with a blue sign with a white outline of the horizontal state. Didn’t realize (or forgot) this was the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. That’s my fun fact for the day. The drive doesn’t take long as the interstate soon becomes a major four-lane road. Turn left and there’s the Northern Kentucky campus. You can see cluster of the yellow and ...