No flash, just grit for YSU women

February 27, 2018

YOUNGSTOWN John Barnes sat at the weekly news conference Monday at Youngstown State, talking about his women’s basketball team. There’s a lot to talk about. One is freshman McKenah Peters winning Horizon League Freshman of the Week. She’s feisty player and timely shooter who has seen a lot of time in place of the injured Alison Smolinski, whose foot has healed, allowing the junior to come off the bench. Likely Horizon League Freshman of the Year Chelsea Olson, who has won the weekly honor four times, has shown YSU much needed depth. Barnes’ team has won nine of its ...

Harding has turned season around

February 26, 2018

They didn’t really look like a Division I team. In fact, they didn’t look like a Division II team, either. As lopsided losses started to pile up, it was hard to determine just how rough of a year it was going to be for the Warren G. Harding boys basketball team. Maybe they could finish .500, if they were lucky. Then they lost to a subpar Youngstown East team — by 29! — and a .500 record seemed rather optimistic. Those were my thoughts — and probably those of several fans as well, even if they won’t admit it — after watching the Raiders earlier this season. Aside from ...

Cavaliers are much improved

February 23, 2018

CLEVELAND - Look at his feet. You’ll see the black sneakers with yellow lip and laces worn by Kyle Korver. The Cleveland Cavaliers guard takes shot after shot. His lanky, 6-foot-7 frame is squared up to the glass hoop inside Quicken Loans Arena. Korver’s feet are parallel as he swishes yet another 3 pointer. Practice. Repetition. Even the professionals get their warm-ups in prior to game time, which was at 8 p.m. Thursday, against the Washington Wizards. J.R. Smith came out a bit later. His footing, a bit more erratic, but he started at the free-throw line. Eventually, the ...

It’s more than just basketball

February 12, 2018

WINDHAM There’s the small lot, snow piled up in scattered places. Enough room to park a tiny Hyundai Accent, which looks like a clown car with this tall, overweight, middle-aged writer standing next to it. No luck; there’s a small side lot with spaces marked off at 45-degree angles. One empty spot. I’ll take it. I grab my 20-year-old weathered, metallic clipboard — stuffed inside is information on both teams — a slim reporter’s notebook with some pages ripped away and curved in slightly. Can’t forget that statistics sheets to tabulate both team’s exploits. Some ...

Postseason starts well thanks to Canfield

February 4, 2018

Congratulations to the Canfield Cardinals wrestling team which last week became the first area team to advance to the dual team wrestling state tournament. The Cardinals defeated West Branch and Louisville in the Division II regional last week and will compete next Sunday (Feb. 11) in the state quarterfinals at St. John Arena in Columbus. The dual team tournament, now in its sixth season, kicks off the winter sports postseason, which gets going in earnest later today when the girls basketball district brackets are released. Canfield is seeded fourth of the eight teams at Columbus ...

Picking winners in EOWL tourney

February 1, 2018

It’s generally never a good thing when a 285-pound wrestler points at you in disgust, but this time was a little different. As former Girard wrestler Ben Norman walked off the mat following a close victory over a fellow heavyweight from Crestview, he pointed at a skinny little reporter and said, “You had him ranked ahead of me!” Yes, yes I did. Oops. Not many things bother a wrestler like not being ranked accordingly, and most high school kids usually believe they should be first (or close to it). It’s understandable. They should be confident in themselves and believe ...