Archive for August, 2009

Jabari Scott and Nick Gooden play different positions for different coaches.  Scott is a Senior, while Gooden is a Junior.  Scott is a Communications Major while Gooden claims he can sell me a toothpick for twenty dollars using tricks he learned in his marketing classes.  The thing these two guys have in common is that they went to the same high school.  Taft High School is in the San Antonio area where both of these guys were standouts, and heavily recruited.  Now Penguins, and adapting to Winter as best they can, they also share the goal of making a statement on the field this season.

Jabari Scott

Jabari Scott was a standout running back while at Taft.  In his Senior season, Scott scored 33 TD’s and had 2493 total yards.  Last season as a YSU Penguin, he carried the ball 55 times and gained 403 yards, that is a 7.3 yards per carry average.  He missed the final four games last year with a leg injury.  “I had a quad injury that kept me out of the last four games last season.  It was very hard for me to move around.  I feel 100% now, I’m ready to go and get some action,” remarked Scott.

Scott was optimistic about the 2009 season saying, “Anything is possible.  I feel like we have a good, strong squad.  As Seniors, we are trying to lead, and I think we are gonna be real good this year”.

I asked Scott how involved he was in the recruiting of his high school teammate Gooden to which he stated, “I talked with the coaches and let them now that he was a pretty good player and that they should go after him”.

” I won’t lie to you, I still get homesick.  It gets too cold up here, I’m not used to all of this snow.  Back home it will go down to the thirties or forties, that’s the coldest it ever gets.  Here [Youngstown] was the first time I ever saw snow and I thought it was crazy”.

Scott said he really doesn’t have a favorite place to eat in this area, he would rather hit different spots.  He is a Communications Major and enjoys the classes that deal with his area of concentration. 

Jabari was recruited by some bigger Texas schools but opted to play at YSU.  “I was recruited bu SMU, Tulsa, a few other Division 1-AA schools as well.  I chose YSU because i had some falls in high school with grades, and YSU was my best choice [academically].  It’s tough to practice and go to classes during the season, you have to get the girls out of your mind and just focus on school and playing football”.

Scott referred to his position coach (Sam Eddy) as a nice guy and a good coach who has helped him progress into a better student-athlete.  He also praised the Dallas Cowboys as his favorite NFL team, but cited Warrick Dunn as his favorite player.  

Scott has all of the seasoning to be special this season.  He is healthy and happy and really thinks that this team can perform beyond expectations and surprise the doubters.  He was very serious with most of his answers, unlike his colleague, Nick Gooden, the other Texan in Youngstown.

Nick Gooden

Nick Gooden said Jabari Scott played a big role in his recruitment from Taft High School.  “He [Scott] came back home on a Thanksgiving or Christmas break and we were in the process of distributing tapes to different teams and I was like, Jabari, take this tape back to Coach Heacock and see what he says.  So he played a big role, he was kind of the middle man”.

Gooden, a Marketing Major, said his favorite class was English with Dr. Cook.

In 2008, Gooden did not see the field much.  2009 shows more opportunity and Gooden is doing all he can to prepare himself.  “I’m working hard and staying in the playbook.  I’m really trying to get a hold of everyone’s positions because that was my struggle last year”.

Gooden compared Youngstown to San Antonio.  “Back in San Antonio, we have a big Mexican population. so we would always eat alot of Mexican food at any occasion.  Up here [Youngstown], it’s like we eat spaghetti and Italian food for every occasion”.  Gooden also remarked that authentic Mexican food and Taco Bell are very different and that he does not frequent the fast food chain.  He also said he would choose David Robinson over LeBron James if he had to pick, staying loyal to his Southwestern upbringing.

When asked about the cold Winter months and snow, Gooden chuckled and said, “I got used to it a little last year.  My first year. I was down, no sun for five months.  It was kind of weird for me”.

When I was doing my Gooden research, I stumbled across his Facebook page, which said he absolutely loved Freeze Pops.  When I asked Gooden, he laughed hard and said he thinks he has some in his freezer right now and referred to himself as a ‘fiend’ of the frozen treats.

Gooden’s position coach is Mike Kolakowski, who he referred to as simply ‘Coach K’.  “He gets on me, but I need a coach like that.  He’s crazy though”.  ‘Coach K’ is prepping Gooden for the opener against Pitt, which Gooden is anxiously awaiting.  “I’m ready to play at Heinz Field.  I never played against Pitt before, only Ohio State, so I think this will be a good game and think we stand a good chance”.

In his spare time, Gooden said he is keen on studying the game Black Jack.  “I got the strategies, so when I can play legally someday, I think those strategies will work”.  He also spends spare time watching the History Channel.  If he could go to a zoo and bring home a pet, Gooden said, “I would bring home a lion.  I have got a lion tattooed on my arm and I feel like I am a lion sometimes, see the mane?”

Jabari Scott and Nick Gooden can really step up to make a difference for the YSU Football Penguins this season.  With the September 5 opener fast-approaching, the hard work they are putting in will hopefully pay off for both guys.  It doesn’t matter whether YSU has the ball, or is on defense, there is gonna be a guy from Texas making an impact either way.

I was very sad and disappointed to learn that Topps has acquired exclusive licensing of Major League Baseball cards.  The deal starts with the printing of the 2010 baseball cards.  Upper Deck, making cards since 1989, is the big loser in the deal.

Up until 1981, Topps was the only consistent manufacturer of licensed trading cards.  There were times before that when Fleer attempted to issue cards to compete, but Topps was so recognized and popular that all minor challenges were beaten back.  That all changed in 1981 when Fleer and Donruss both issued player cards for the 1981 baseball season.

Upper Deck got into the action in 1989.  Their cards featured a much thicker card stock, better photography, and the ‘premium’ tag.  In 1991 Topps countered by issuing Stadium Club, a set which featured borderless cards and premium Kodak technology (their logo was on the wrappers).

From there, things went nuts.  Every company producing cards started issuing a premium set, a mid-level set, and a low-end product designed for kids.  It seemed as though the hobby shifted from the collector to the investor overnight.

This ruined the hobby for many.  To get all of the cards of a player a person rooted for became next to impossible because companies stressed the scarcity of a card to appeal to the hobbyist only collecting to sell.  There were cards issued with serial numbers on the back.  You could get a card that said 1 of 1, meaning it was the only card created for that player.

Eventually, the competition got to be too much for Fleer and Donruss.  Upper Deck stayed around and is now being penalized for promoting the league.  Upper Deck is allowed to issue cards with the likeness of a player, but not allowed, under the new agreement, to use team logos and trademarks.  Basically, if Upper Deck continues to produce, the consumer will have a choice to buy pieces of what will look like someone’s Facebook page.

I hate the new deal.  Granted, the average collector could walk into any shop and have to decide between 25 different packs of cards to choose from, that was ridiculous.  But to hand Topps the keys to the kingdom while everyone else gets pushed into the moat makes no sense to me. 

The perception of collecting is also a problem right now.  A kid does not open a pack of baseball cards in hopes of finding his or her favorite player, but rather hoping to get lucky and pull a high dollar insert card.  It Topps wants to do the right thing with their new exclusive licensing, they will eliminate insert cards altogether and focus on the players instead of the gimmicks.

Topps has been quoted as saying that the move will help bring kids back into the collecting realm of the hobby.  News Flash to Topps *** The people who put cards in the spokes of their bikes in the 50’s owned a bike.  I seldom see a kid riding a bike, no less with his or her glove on the handlebar.

The 2009 Lowellville Rockets Football Team is getting ready to do battle this Fall.  Always small in quantity, Lowellville can boast about the quality of a team member, both on and off of the field.  Mike Palumbo has been the Head Coach at Lowellville for the past two seasons.  Going into his third year, Palumbo is still enjoying what he is doing and says he won’t go anywhere unless Joe Paterno steps down at Penn State and he is offered that job.  Chuckling, and knowing that probably won’t happen soon, he stated that he does not want to use Lowellville as a springboard to move to another school.

Palumbo, now 25, was hired at the age of 22.  “I think I was the youngest head coach in the country,” said Palumbo, “My first year here we had an issue with seven players getting caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing.  It allowed the players to see that I would not tolerate those sorts of things and that I would enforce discipline when I had to.  The situation was hard to deal with, but it proved to people that I could handle that kind of thing.”

With seven or eight of this year’s players starting on both sides of the ball and playing special teams, Palumbo knows that an injury can be devastating.  There are people in place to step in if needed, but when you lose one of those eight guys, essentially you are losing four positions.  “If we stay healthy, we are going to surprise some people.  Our strength is our D line, even though we are young there.  We have two Sophomores who will rotate in”.

Palumbo says that the recent division of the Inter-County League into a Tier I and smaller school Tier II has its advantages as well as disadvantages.  ” I don’t like it because I would rather played teams like South Range and Springfield every year.  As a coach I would rather play better competition.  For example, Sebring has been down the last couple of seasons.  You blow them out and you don’t take away much from it as a team.  I would rather play close games against better teams.  There are teams in Tier II who are very good.  Wellsville, Western Reserve, and McDonald should all be good.  McDonald has something like 68 kids out for football.”

This years Rocket team will be led by skill position players.  Ryan Whinery (RB/OLB) is a playmaker that Palumbo thinks can do some damage with the ball in the open field.  Patrick Collins (QB/MLB) will be the quarterback and he will have three senior wide receivers to look for in Jimmy Perry, Pat Minnie, and Dennis Davis.  Evan Phillip, just a Sophomore, is one of the fastest players on the team and will be used on offense.  Tony Schialdone will be an impact-maker at safety and will also see time in the offensive backfield.  Bill Burrows (6’7″, 340), is the only big offensive lineman on the team.  “We have veteran skill-position guys who can make plays,” remarked Palumbo.

Palumbo likes his coaching staff and says that they know what to expect from each other.  Tom Collins will serve as defensive coordinator.  Collins has been a coach for Lowellville for 15+ seasons.  “Coach Collins is our motivator.  He is always positive and knows how to get the most out of the kids,” said Palumbo.  Bill Schiraldi, Andrew Mamula, Bill Wharry, and Brian Wharry, have been attached to Lowellville football as players and also as multiple-year coaches as well.  “We don’t get mad at each other if we argue about things.  We know that it isn’t personal and are friends at the end of the day.”

Lowellville starts out with Malvern, a team that went 13-1 last season, narrowly missing a State Championship bid.  They then host Tuscarawas C. C., a team with 18 Seniors.  Their final non-conference game is at Springfield, as the old rivalry is renewed.  None of the three non-conference games are against cupcakes, but Palumbo welcomes the challenge and says that these games will help this team gauge its capabilities before heading into league play.

Call me a homer,  but I am thrilled watching this guy coach.  He is only scratching the surface of what can be a long and healthy career of coaching.  Mike Palumbo is as bright and articulate as people double his age who still are trying to figure out secrets to success in this pressure-filled sport.  Surrounded by a good staff, and the support of family and friends, the sky is the limit.  Ohio is a high school football mecca and nothing comes easy.  I wish this year’s Rocket team and the entire coaching staff the very best of luck staying healthy and winning football games. 

You never know,  Penn State hired Paterno when he was young. 

2009 Lowellville Schedule

Aug. 28    Malvern

Sept. 4    Tuscarawas C.C.

Sept. 11   @Springfield

Sept. 18    McDonald

Sept. 25   @ Jackson-Milton

Oct. 2     @ Sebring

Oct. 9     Southern Local

Oct. 16   @ Leetonia

Oct. 23   Wellsville

Oct. 30   @ Western Reserve

*** All games are on Fridays and start at 7 PM.

The Kelly Pavlik vs Paul Williams fight originally scheduled for October 3 has been put on hold due to a staph infection on Pavlik’s left index finger.  The fight will be reschduled for November 21 and still be televised by HBO.  This hand injury dates back to February and has already prevented Pavlik from fighting against Sergio Mora in June.

Jack Loew told me that Kelly is not depressed, but rather relieved at the postponement, “We don’t want to go in there unprepared while nursing this injury.  Kelly is relieved that he will not be pressed into this fight without being prepared.”

Loew told me that when Pavlik ran through Mill Creek Park on Monday that his hand was wrapped.  When Pavlik finished his run, Loew had him remove the bandages so he could check the status of the infection.  “It was disgusting, not even a cut, but more like a hole in his finger,” Loew commented.

Loew stated in an interview with me in May that if Pavlik was less than 100% that he would not compete in a championship fight.  This belief is what the end feelings were in the Pavlik vs Bernard Hopkins fight, where Loew commented that “the writing was on the wall twice, and we chose to ignore it,” referring to Pavlik needing to get his arm drained and a bout with pneumonia in weeks close to the fight.

Pavlik is currently undergoing serious IV treatments.  “He is doing IV treatments twice a day every twelve hours to fix this.  The doctor said he should be ready to resume training in a few weeks and that it can be healed,” added Loew.

Paul Williams and his group knew nothing of the postponement and have yet to agree to the November 21 reschedule date.  Joe Scalzo, of the Youngstown Vindicator, quoted Dan Goosen (Williams’ promoter), “Obviously we are very surprised.  When I hear that date [November 21], I’d be very interested in one thing: Who’s he [Pavlik] going to fight?  We know nothing about it.”

It’s no wonder Brett Favre is always banged up…who does he think he is?  Hercules?  Anyway, it looks like Minnesota is probably going to have Favre in a purple outfit by the time the regular season starts.  Like sands through the hourglass.  Here are some great stories from other sites:

• MoonDog Sports tells all about the NCAA Football opening weekend which will be called ‘Respect Weekend’.  The teams are supposed to meet at midfield for pregame handshakes to promote sportsmanship.  They could really test this theory out during Rivalry Week to see if it works.
• Not Qualified To Comment previews Big-10 school Northwestern for the upcoming 2009 NCAA football season.
• Pippen Ain’t Easy takes a look at a time when the Chicago Bulls were a dominant NBA team.
• PSAMP says that the NFL will make money on gambling one way or another.
• Josh Q. Public does a nice profile on Aubrey Huff.
• NESW Sports has an EA Sports video of how Madden 2010 rates rookies Stafford and Sanchez.
• Hugging Harold Reynolds shows the page of the NFL website where you can buy licensed Eagle memorabilia for dogs.
• The Friendly Blogfines reports that Kevin Gregg is out as the Cubs closer after blowing his third save in two weeks against San Diego on Monday.
• Major League Jerk takes a look at the Carolina Panthers vs New York Giants preseason game with some in-depth observations, as well as that trademark MLJ humor.
• Outside The Boxscore tells us that Michael Irvin will be on Dancing With The Stars this season.
• Inside The Iggles says that Andy Reid will not run a ‘Wildcat’ offense, but rather a ‘Wild Stallyns’.  Personally I thought ‘Wilddog’ would have been the right fit for an offense run by Michael Vick.
• The World Of Isaac sarcastically applauds the Detroit Lions for winning a preseason game in front of 50 fans.

Warner Fusselle is not flashy or boastful about what he has had a chance to do in his life.  Fusselle hosted ‘This Week In Baseball’ after Mel Allen and had a weekly show on ESPN.  His current role as radio announcer for the Brooklyn Cyclones is tiring, but he enjoys it.  I recently had a chance to have a sit-down with this guy who has more good stories than Aesop.  Here were the highlights of our conversation.

Paneech:  Tell me how you got your break to start with ‘This Week In Baseball’.

WF: I was in Virginia broadcasting the Virginia Squires games and the ABA folded, so I needed to get in my car and get a job.  I started riding around with no idea where I was going.  I was going to apply for a job with the Washington Bullets, but the PR guy wasn’t there that day, so I got back in my car and drove toward Trenton, New Jersey.  I was at a place where there was a right lane that went one way and a left lane that went another.  I went right not knowing what awaited.  I was there about two weeks [New York] and I got a job for Major League Baseball Productions that was kind of starting this show called ‘This Week In Baseball’.  I was hired to work for $200 a week, and my first day was the blackout of July 13, 1977.  Everything in the world happened like it always does, bit it all worked out and that is how I got my start.

Paneech:  Do you still follow the majors or are you too wrapped up in the Brooklyn Cyclones job?

WF: I follow it but it’s hard.  We got here [Youngstown] two days ago and I couldn’t name one player on the team [Scrappers], tomorrow we have got an eight hour bus ride to Oneonta and right now I couldn’t name one player who plays for Oneonta.  You get there and you are playing these teams you have never seen before and you don’t have a roster so you really have to take time to concentrate on what is going on in this league [New York-Penn League].  I have a slight working knowledge of what is going on in the majors and when this is over I will pick up more on that.

Paneech:  Who was a better announcer, Harry Caray or Jack Buck?

WF: The St. Louis Cardinals were my team and I listened to those guys every night.  I loved Harry Caray, Jack Buck may have well been better, but Harry Caray had so much enthusiasm.  Caray was my guy and I loved listening to him and the St. Louis Cardinals on KMOX.

Paneech: Talk about your collection of records.

WF:  When I was growing up you would hear an ad on the radio for a St. Louis Cardinals record that you could get by sending a dollar to KMOX.  I Have a Cleveland Indians record from 1949 or 1950, which is one of the earliest highlight records.  So it didn’t start out a record collection, I was just a baseball fan.  When I got to New York. I met a guy who had all sorts of baseball songs and I got interested in that and things got out of hand somewhere and I had actually been put in charge of putting together a couple of collections of baseball songs on Rhino Records that are still available, they were very successful.  Today, my collection is mostly rock and roll, but I’ve got a little bit of everything.  If you were to come to my house, I’m sure I would have something that you like.

Paneech:  If the Phillies called and said “we need an announcer”, would you go?

WF: It depends on who called and what kind of tryout they wanted.  If somebody wanted me to do something, and I wasn’t one of ten different announcers and I didn’t do just cable or I didn’t do just TV, you know, radio is so much more important to me, I would go anywhere.  Right now I’m here because I am in New York, and this is where the Brooklyn Cyclones are.  The rich heritage of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and of Brooklyn and baseball, it’s an honor to know right now that I am the voice of baseball in Brooklyn.  I knew Red Barber, I interviewed him on ESPN for ‘Major League Baseball Magazine’.  I didn’t know anybody in Brooklyn, I was just lucky that I got the job.

Paneech:  I heard a story about you meeting Dizzy Dean, tell me about that meeting.

WF:  I was working for the Phillies team, the Spartanburg Phillies.  We were in South Carolina for a game.  I read in the newspaper there that Dizzy Dean would be nearby and that he was going to be speaking at a banquet.  So I said, ‘this is great, I was a St. Louis Cardinals fan, and Dizzy Dean was going to be there’, I was not a big fan of his as an announcer because I wanted everything to be done properly.  I went down there and they said that Dizzy Dean was going to come in and work an inning with me, and I said, “Oh really?”, so I met him and asked him to come over, he was with all of the Falstaff people who were promoting Falstaff at the banquet.  He was kind of reluctant, but he came over, he was there for an inning and didn’t want to leave.  The Falstaff people had to drag him off, but he told some of the greatest stories.  Somebody from the wire services came in and took a color picture of both of us, which I still have today.  Then I was going to get him to autograph it a few weeks later by sending it to his hometown in Mississippi, and he died a few days before I could do that.  That was one of the greatest experiences I had.  It was a thrill and came out of nowhere.

Paneech:  Talk about steroids and today’s game, does it bother you?

WF:  It does, but you hear so much about it everyday, that you kind of get numb to it.  I don’t like it, but I am so busy with what I am doing that I don’t get caught up with it.  I hope it ends, but the next day something else trickles out. 

One Word Answers with Warner Fusselle

Favorite Meal?  Whichever one I can find the time to eat, usually my only meal.

Favorite Musician or Group?  Bruce Springsteen, Elvis, and Pink Floyd.

Favorite Current MLB Player?  Albert Pujols, I like guys who wear their socks right.

Tears For Fears or Kiss?   Tears For Fears, definitely.

Favorite TV Show?  For a guy that doesn’t have a TV, I would have to think about it.

Favorite Food?  Barbecue, Fried Chicken, Bagels, Pizza.

Favorite College Football Team?  Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Favorite Non-Sports Activity?  I don’t know of any, sleep I guess.

One Word To Describe Pro Boxing?  ‘Not interested’ is two words.

I Have To Move Up or I’m Happy Here?  I don’t have to do anything.  I would be happier if it wouldn’t rain every game in Brooklyn.  I have to build a fortess to survive because it rains every game in Brooklyn.  That’s why I love the road, it is beautiful here and it will not rain!

Fusselle also joked when I asked him if he was Italian.  He said yeah, and then he said on Latino Heritage night he is Fusselleis, and on Irish Day is Fusselligan, so if I wanted him to be Italian I can call him Fusselli.

Kurt Angle, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, was arrested on charges of possessing a human growth hormone and for violating an order to stay away from his girlfriend.  The arrest took place on Saturday at 7:50 AM in a Robinson Township parking lot.  The reports say Angle was circling the parking lot and staring into a coffee shop where his girlfriend happened to be.

Angle and his girlfriend were fighting Friday night, forcing the woman to seek an order of protection.

Hygetropin was the substance police found in Angle’s car.  Angle told the officer that he had obtained the human growth hormone through legal perscription.  As far as circling the coffee shop like a buzzard, Angle said he was out looking for a hotel room because he was banned from entering his house.

Angle, 40, posted bail and will be in court Tuesday and Wednesday to answer the drug charges and the harrassment charges the next day.  He was officially charged with violating a protection order, harassment, possession of drugs and paraphenalia, and driving with a suspended license.

Angle is the current TNA champion.  He is also a two-time NCAA Division-I wrestling champion who represented Clarion.  Angle garnered most of his success as an amateur by winning an Olympic gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta.  He has been a pro wrestler since 1998.

Saturday night’s NFL Preseason opener looked like a 2008 Cleveland Browns highlight reel.  The game against Green Bay featured all of the elements that Browns fans have been getting used to lately.  The two quarterbacks competing for the starting job (Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, pictured above) were outplayed by Brett Ratliff.  Ratliff will probably be the scrub squad quarterback on the practice team. 

Brady Quinn looked better than Anderson.  Anderson only attempted two throws (neither completions) in his two series.  Quinn drove the Browns down the field before half with four straight completions, only to be *FLASHBACK* intercepted by Anthony Smith.  Before the interception, Braylon Edwards dropped a would-be touchdown *FLASHBACK* and finished the game (one half) with zero receptions. 

Eric Mangini was not pleased at all by much of anything he saw.  Neither were the Browns fans who had to listen to Bernie Kosar do color commentary.  Nothing clicked.  Aaron Rodgers looked decent, but didn’t do anything remarkable for Green Bay.  Rodgers ended up with 102 yards and a TD on 5-10 passing.

The Browns defense gave up 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a half *FLASHBACK*, they too are in midseason form showing off an array of stupid penalties, missed tackles, and blown coverages. 

If first impressions really do mean anything, we have learned that the Browns haven’t learned much regardless of who is coaching.  We have also learned that Quinn and Anderson either do not have much to work with, or are both not as good as people think.

It’s like watching the Muppet Show.  Everyone knows Kermit The Frog is the star of the show.  Unfortunately, Cleveland is trying to assume that Ernie and Bert (Quinn and Anderson) are every bit as good as Kermit, and unfortunately, they are not.  Cleveland does not have a Kermit The Frog to lead the show, not on this years roster.   Gonna be a long year in Cleveland.  Start the Tim Tebow draft campaign now and get a jump.

Aaron Pitts is one of twelve Youngstown State University Seniors on the 2009 football team.  He has lettered the past two seasons and is looking forward to 2009.  The Marion Harding product is 6’3″ and weighs 195.  The thing that impressed me most about Pitts was his love of college.  If YSU Football pieced together an academic challenge team and I got to pick who would be on it, Pitts would probably be my first pick.  He is an accounting major.  In 2007, he received the Gateway Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award.  I got to talk with Pitts after a recent YSU practice.

Paneech: As a two-year letterman, you bring some experience to the team, what kind of expectations do you have for this year?

Pitts:  We had a disappointing season last year.  I got to go to the Final Four in 2006, and I want to go back and win a National Championship, definitely. 

Paneech:  Tell me what it is like to be one of only twelve seniors.

Pitts:  We are very outnumbered as far as how many of us [seniors] that there are, but sometimes they say it’s not the numbers but rather the type of people that you have who are the leaders.  I think we have a real tight-knit senior group and that we will be able to go out and surprise some people by winning games.

Paneech:  How does the enthusiasm compare from this year to other years in camp?

Pitts:  I think we’re pretty hungry this year.  We went 4-8 last year and alot of the guys were disappointed so we are out here trying to get it the best we can.

Paneech:  How excited are you guys for the Pitt game?

Pitts:  Really excited.  I was there in ’05, but I was redshirted so I didn’t get to play.  We’re trying to go in there and shock the world.

Paneech:  What other schools recruited you coming out of high school [Marion Harding]?

Pitts:  I had a few MAC schools interested, like Dayton.  When I came here on my visit, I just loved the atmosphere, I knew about the tradition that Youngstown had, and I wanted to play for a winning program.

Paneech:  What is it like playing for Coach Heacock?

Pitts:  I like it alot.  He definitely cares about his players.  Alot of coaches at other schools just see players as their guys.  Coach Heacock takes time out to meet you as a person and he definitely cares about us as people.

Paneech:  How about the rest of the staff?

Pitts:  The rest of the staff is great.  I have loved my time here and a part of that has been the coaches, they will try to help you out as much as they can.  My position coach is Coach Elliott, he is relaxed and isn’t a yeller or a screamer, but he expects us to go out there and do the best that we can.  We respect that, so we go out there and play for him.

Paneech:  In an average practice, how many times do you catch a football?

Pitts: Other when we do like perimeter and team, we do alot of ball drills as receivers.  I would say I catch anywhere between 50-100 balls a day.

Paneech:  Are you a possession type or a gamebreaker?

Pitts:  Right now I’m in the possession-type category, but if someone goes to sleep on me, I’ll definitely try to break it.  I like to run a post-corner, kind of giving a double-move, get ’em leaning one way and then go the other way.

Paneech:  Who is your best friend on this team?

Pitts:  I would have to say Donald Jones.  He is one of our other wide receivers.  We are roommates too, we have been best friends for over a year and we have been pretty close.

Paneech:  Have you ever seen the movie The Program  where a fumbler has to carry a ball everywhere, have you ever been that guy?

Pitts:  Actually, I have.  In middle school, I played QB, and every now and then when I ran the ball I would hold it like I was about to throw it, so my coach made me carry a ball around the middle school and everyone would try to knock it out of my hands.

One Word Answers

Favorite Meal?  Lunch, that’s when I eat the most.

Why Accounting As a Major?  Love numbers, it’s like a puzzle to put together.

Favorite NFL Receiver?  Chad Ochocinco

Favorite Team:  Cincinnati Bengals (and yes, he’s watching Hard Knocks on HBO)

Best Madden 2010 Secret?   Pass the ball every play

Favorite Area Restaurant?  Definitely the MVR Club, great Italian!

Scoring Avg. From High School Basketball Days?  18-20 PPG

Best Class Taken At YSU?  Advanced Acoounting

Favorite Television Show: SportsCenter

Could Keep One CD, What Would It Be?  It would be a mix of Gospel, Kanye West, John Legend

Pitts is a guy who would be tough to dislike.  He is engaging and articulate in his conversation and general demeanor.  He wants the best for his team above himself and is respectful and humble about where he is and the people that got him there.  He is the kind of athlete that people root for to do well because of his charisma and loyalty.  So when #83 pulls one in this season, clap a little louder, he deserves it.

Rashard Mendenhall was drafted out of Illinois as the 23rd pick overall in the 2008 draft.  He was billed as a durable back who could handle a heavy workload and take a hit.  Ray Lewis changed that description by knocking Mendenhall out for the season with one hit.

Mendenhall, only the second running back drafted in the first round by the Steelers (the other was Tim Worley from Georgia in 1989), is still an unknown commodity.  Willie Parker has proven he cannot handle all the carries, he is just not big or durable enough.

Going into Thursday’s preseason opener with the Cards in a pseudo-rematch of last years Super Bowl, Parker was ailing and Mendenhall saw some live action.  He ended the game with 24 yards on 9 carries (2.7 yards per carry average) with his longest run going for 7 yards.  It was not an earth-shattering performance by any means, but it at least showed the Steeler faithful that he is ready to accept a role with this team in 2009.

Limas Sweed, the 22nd pick in the second round ithe 2009 Draft, seemed like the guy they wanted when they picked him against the Cards Thursday.  He used his size to outjump defenders twice and made a great catch.  Sweed ended the game with two receptions for 56 yards, one reception was good for 45 yards.  Where was this guy last season?  He only caught 6 passes all year and missed the first five games.  I think he will put up significantly better numbers this year.  Someone surely had to tip Tomlin that the skinny guy from Texas can jump.  After all, Sweed was a four-year track star in high school with his best event being, what else, but the hurdles.

The only thing I don’t like is his number.  #14 should be on a quarterback or a placekicker.  Steeler fans will say he can wear number #103 if he can garner over 1,000 yards receiving in the next couple of seasons.

Mendenhall, Sweed, and Dixon are the future in Pittsburgh.  In my opinion, the future looks pretty bright.