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Ed Puskas

All should compete, but don’t undermine female athletes

We’re nearing the 40th anniversary of an impressive athletic feat only a few people know about. In fact, I might be the only person involved who remembers it. And when I say “involved,” I don’t mean that the above-mentioned feat was mine, nor my partner in crime’s that day. Even though, at 18 or 19 back then, we both were considered at the peak of whatever extremely limited athletic abilities we might have had. So, sadly, our involvement meant that we were the Washington Generals — or worse — to the Harlem Globetrotters-like performance of two women’s college ...

What to do about hate and terrorists

I’ve never understood haters. People who make it their life’s work to demonize and hate others because they look different, speak a different language and have their own belief system always go out of their way to be miserable. It just makes no sense to me on any level. And let’s not make the mistake of believing that hate only comes from one group of people or a single political party or entity. A few clicks on your phone or a computer will show all the examples of atrocities committed by all kinds of people against a variety of other people for all kinds of reasons. But how ...

What’s on the tube? Lots and lots of cop shows

I’m told there is something wrong with my television. According to someone who knows (read: thinks they know), my TV’s scope is limited. It apparently only gets baseball, basketball, football, cop shows with serial killers and “Gutfield.” This “fact” was presented to me the other day. My response, as I flipped back and forth between a Cleveland Guardians game and an episode of “Criminal Minds: Evolution” was this: “You say that like it’s a problem. What else does anyone need?” Wrong answer. I know that now. The correct answer, apparently, is a never-ending ...

Sick or not, it’s fair to examine Joe Biden’s presidency

I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I’ve been in front of the camera a handful of times, but because I have the perfect face for radio, only a tiny, unlucky subset of the American people have ever experienced the misfortune of turning on the idiot box and seeing my unkempt look and awkward — but notably surly — demeanor in their living rooms. So I am not a medical expert, unless you count a couple of extended hospital stays, a couple of broken bones, witnessing a cesarean section and meeting my daughter moments later and watching some TV medical dramas. None of ...

It’s a hazy shade of spring in Ohio

I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed, but you almost can’t go anywhere now without smelling pot. Ohio’s legalization of marijuana isn’t completely responsible for that development, but it has doubtlessly played a role in the proliferation of people going about their daily lives smelling like they just went on an 420-mile road trip with Cheech and Chong. The stuff was out there and noticeable before the new law, but it usually depended where you were at the time. When my daughter was young, we went to Geneva-on-the-Lake one day and stopped for dinner at a restaurant with ...

Answer that newsroom phone at your own risk

Anyone who has spent time in a newsroom will tell you that answering a random telephone call can be like playing a milder version of Russian roulette. We just never know what the next call will bring. The possibilities are endless. It could be: • A news tip. (This is ideal.) • A complaint about a story we published. (Even when we think it’s an innocuous story, someone won’t like it.) • A complaint about a story we didn’t publish. (People often say we’re “not covering” something because we’re “in cahoots” with some business people or politicians. The reality is ...