Community is full of champions

May 28, 2017

Years ago, I remember attending a Champion vs. Liberty boys basketball game being played at Warren G. Harding High School. Champion and Liberty had a good rivalry going in the old Trumbull AA League in the late 1960s, and for a couple of seasons played their games at neutral, larger sites. If I recall accurately, despite the closeness of the games and the rivalry, the Leopards had won the league title the previous season and were on their way to winning it again. At this particular game, during the 1970-71 season, some witty Liberty student or students had put a sign on the wall that ...

Change on Horizon after Valpo exit

May 26, 2017

Valparaiso is out of the Horizon League, finally heading to the Missouri Valley Conference. So, what’s next for the Horizon? Horizon League Commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone tried to answer those questions during Thursday afternoon’s teleconference. LeCrone emphasized he wants to improve the league’s money sport. The remaining nine athletic directors meet next week to discus how the men’s and women’s basketball tournament in Detroit is to be going forward. Deputy commissioner Julie Roe Lach said that format should be revealed this summer. LeCrone added the league is likely ...

Calhoun continues progress with YSU

May 24, 2017

Jerrod Calhoun sat in front of the media for the first time since taking the head coaching position at Youngstown State. One of the first pieces of this new Penguins men’s basketball puzzle was complete with four high school signees, a transfer and three junior-college recruits joining the program. Calhoun made this transformation following his five-year journey at Fairmont State, ending with an appearance in the NCAA Division II title game. Calhoun said the incoming players are the right mix for what he wants to accomplish. The freshmen come to campus around June 8, but first and ...

YSU shows full-court press in recruiting

May 22, 2017

The hazy fog percolates through my head, attempting to shed the three-plus hours of intermittent sleep. A clear, plastic cup with a blue straw protruding through a transparent lid taunts me. A couple of drops of a 99-cent French Vanilla iced coffee is all that remains. The final sips of a now warmed liquid can’t give me the mental lift I need. Youngstown State University men’s basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun has a large, white Styrofoam Dunkin Donuts coffee cup in his hand. He takes a few quick drinks. He too knows the struggle is all too real. Calhoun presses on, the caffeine fix ...

County teams set for regional

May 21, 2017

Trumbull County traditionally does better at the regional and state level of high school athletics during the spring season, and that proved to be the case again in the 2016-17 school year. County athletes have been consistently outstanding performers in softball and track and field, and this season a couple of county baseball teams join the fun at the regional level. That’s not to say Trumbull County baseball teams have been struggling in the past. It’s just that they keep running into that one opponent — usually in district championship games — that kept them at home during ...

County’s baseball progress is evident

May 15, 2017

There have been more than a few times when this space in the Tribune Chronicle was filled with a column that pointed out how Trumbull County baseball has been terrible in the postseason for decades. In fact, I was the one who pointed out how it has been 73 years since a Trumbull team won a state title (Leavittsburg in 1943). I also pointed out how it has been nearly 10 years since a county school won a district title (Champion, 2009) Those facts may change over the next month, and they may stay the same. Regardless, one thing is certain: Baseball is making a comeback in Trumbull ...