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Tradition of fishing needs to be passed along

People who enjoy fishing and other outdoor sports would do well this year to consider giving a different sort of gift as we celebrate the Christmas season. Instead of rods, reels, clothing and accessories, anglers might consider giving back to the sport they have grown to love. We all enjoy getting and giving Christmas packages packed with the lures, tackle and gear that make fishing fun and catching more likely. Well-crafted rods and reels, cool-looking shirts and high-tech electronics are sure to cause big grins across the land on Christmas morning. Then again, lifetimes of ...

Can’t we all just get along with leagues?

Boardman football coach Joe Ignazio began explaining how his team was preparing for the 2019 season in his warm office with a fan circulating the humidity — an office parallel from the team’s practice field. Sweat occasionally dripped down from this reporter’s brow. Good, warm times. After the preview, I asked Ignazio about the current state of the All-American Conference, Red Tier, which was an Independent Tier this past fall for football. Canfield, Howland, Warren G. Harding, Austintown Fitch, Boardman don’t have a unified home for the 2020-21 season. Ignazio told me his ...

Don’t get tangled up with the wrong fishing line

The most important piece of anglers’ equipment unfortunately is something they all too often overlook. Fishing line is not the most exciting stuff that anglers use, so it is easy to shrug it off. That’s a shame because neglect and indifference can lead to a great deal of disappointment out on the lake. Line comes in many sizes, compounds, weaves and colors, each serving certain needs for those of us who spool them into our reels. Many who fish, however, are only vaguely aware of how the line they wind can work for or against them. Fishing presents baits and lures to the fish ...

A quick look back at football season

The Ohio high school football season came to an official end this past weekend with the crowning of seven state champions. The season didn’t end on a winning note for the Mahoning Valley, as Springfield’s historic run was halted in a 48-14 loss to Anna in the Division VI state title game. After winning 14 consecutive games — most in convincing fashion — the Tigers’ storybook season ended at the hands of the powerful Midwest Athletic Conference. Nonetheless, Springfield became the 15th area school to reach a state title game, and in the process the players and coaches ...

Listen up, Pelini coming back for YSU

YOUNGSTOWN — Telling people what they don’t want to hear is never an easy thing to do — for anyone. Doctors have to do it. Families have to do it. Friends, bosses, coworkers... and journalists. We all do. It’s part of life, whether we like it or not. So, while some people don’t want to hear that Youngstown State football coach Bo Pelini will be returning next season, he will, indeed, be back on the sidelines. He’s not quitting, and YSU isn’t firing him. Pelini and the Penguins agreed on a three-year extension in February of 2019, and YSU isn’t the type of ...

Fishing quells sports-induced anxiety

I am an anxious football fan. Game day stirs a churn of anxiety in me as the hours and minutes tick down to kickoff. Perhaps you are like me and were seeking distractions as The Ohio State Buckeyes prepared to square off against Wisconsin on Saturday evening. I was confident of the outcome, but no football game is a sure bet, especially the Big Ten championship. I had nervous energy to burn Saturday morning and afternoon. To calm my pre-game-jitters, I needed something other than the endless pre-game TV shows featuring talking heads blathering on about who will win and why. Enough ...