Archive for November, 2009

It was a special Friday the 13th at the Covelli Centre. There were bombs and fireworks, Joey Fatone and Guy Fieri, and the Youngstown Phantoms and Green Bay Gamblers providing spectacular USHL Hockey action in front of a good crowd. There was a lot at stake in this game. If the Phantoms could get a win, they would be playing for first place against idle Chicago on Saturday.   Unfortunately, the home team came up a bit short in dropping a 4-3  verdict to the visiting Gamblers.

The Green Bay Gamblers took a 1-0 lead with just 45 seconds left in the first period. Ryan Furne connected to beat Matt Mahalak from 15 feet in a mad flurry of action on an unassisted chance. The first period would come to a close as Green Bay outshot Youngstown 13-8.

After a Richard Young fight riled the crowd up a bit, Jefferson Dahl connected on a power play goal to tie the game at the 4:50 mark of the second. For Dahl, it was his fourth goal on the year and he was assisted by Andrej Sustr. For Young, the season total on penalty minutes climbed to 60, most by a Phantom. I am going to buy him his own camera to snap me some photos when they move his locker plate to the box.

Green Bay reclaimed the lead when Anders Lee scored his second goal in as many games at the16:57 mark.

The lead would be short lived as Green Bay went on the power play and Brett Gensler connected for a shorthanded goal. The goal was Gensler’s ninth, ironically tying him with Lee for second in the USHL for second. Lee had scored his ninth just seconds earlier for Green Bay. At the end of two periods, the score was tied at 2 and the stage was set for a thunderous ending.

During the second intermission, Guy Fieri of cooking fame, hosted a meatball eating contest at mid-ice. Joey Fatone was also nearby,  but incognito, disguised as the Phantoms Mascot (see above right). The two celebrities made appearances and mingled with fans throughout the evening.  On the left, Fatone is pictured with Phantoms President, Alex Zoldan.

With 8 minutes left in the game, Richard Young was ejected for fighting, With Matt Stewart serving a Green Bay penalty and the teams playing four-on-four, Anders Lee scored again to give the Gamblers a 3-2 lead at the 12:09 mark.

With 3:22 left in the game, the Gamblers took advantage of a two-man advantage to increase their lead to 4-2. David Makowski scored on the Gambler power play and was assisted by Mr. Everywhere for Green Bay, Anders Lee.

A minute and eight seconds later the Phantoms scored to make it 4-3. The goal was scored by Joe Zarbo who was assisted by Brian Dowd on a successful power play conversion. The Covelli Centre was jumping as the Phantoms had a chance to pull off an unlikely comeback with 1:38 remaining.

Green Bay held off the mad charge to come away with a hard-fought victory. The Gamblers took 27 shots on goal as compared to the Phantoms 23.

After the game, Coach Bob Mainhardt was not upset with his team’s effort.  “I’m not uspset at all.  Quite frankly, it was probably the best 60 minutes we have played in a long time.  If we can continue to play with that level of effort we will be just fine.  We will take the positives out of this tonight and turn it against Chicago tomorrow.  Our guys aren’t real happy that they played so hard and came away the loser tonight.”

First place Chicago is rolling into town atop the standings.  Tomorrow is a special night and in my eyes, the most important promotion of the year.  A donation of $3 for every ticket sold will be donated to the Luke Holko Foundation.  Please make an effort to attend this game to assist the Holko family during a very rough time.  I will have my blue “Pray For Luke” armband on, stop by and say hello.

The Youngstown State Women’s Basketball Team opens a fresh season.  For Coach Cindy Martin, it is a chance to show people that this year’s team can overcome a brutal shortage of bodies and succeed.  The Lady Penguins have not had a winning season since the 1999-2000 campaign in which they earned an NCAA Tournament berth.  Since that appearance, YSU has had 20 losses in a year four times including last season’s 3-27 mark.

Only six players on the current roster have any Division I playing experience and only eight players are able to dress.  The numbers game may create some problems for Coach Martin at some point this season.  In the case that a player were to injure herself or foul out, the other players understand they may be playing 45 minutes a contest.

Martin is a hard-working coach and the “things can only get better” or the “woe is me” labels are tags she probably would not welcome.  “I’m excited for a fresh start.  Our execution on offense has been really good and we have come a long way developing our fastbreak.  Elon and High Point are good teams to start with and it would be great to start out 2-0.  They are both good teams and we feel like we will have a chance to be in both of those games.”

Kenya Middlebrooks (left) and Rachael Manuel (right) discussed the expectations and where improvement will be most obvious this season.  Middlebrooks replied, “We push each other very hard every day.  We are a close team that is really communicating well.  There will be improvements defensively and with our rebounding.”

Manuel, one of only two Seniors, commented on the conditioning when a team has to play so many minutes, “We will be playing alot of minutes together, and we are obviously a close group.  We are in really great shape and can handle the minutes.”

Martin is one I would never doubt.  She is a fiery leader with alot of character and it seems to be rubbing off on the players.  If she can manage to get a couple of her players who are injured back, this team has every chance in the world to go .500 this season. 

Coach Martin also announced  Monica Touvelle of Boardman, Jill Herman, and Heidi Schlegel have signed National Letters of Intent to attend YSU.  The trio consists of two guards and a post player.

YSU will host Kent State in the first game of a doubleheader at Beeghly Center on Wednesday with the men’s teams playing the second.  Tipoff is at 5:15 at Beeghly Center.

One of the brightest spots in covering YSU football this season was the chance to speak with Brian Mellott.  Mellott is very intelligent, in fact, he graduated in August.  He is loyal to Coach Heacock and the YSU system and feels he has come out a better person.  Brian is one of just twelve Seniors who will be playing one last time in front of the Youngstown State faithful.

Paneech: Coming out of Austintown Fitch, you went to Ohio University.  You redshirted in 2005 and transferred to YSU.  Why the transfer?

Mellott: It just wasn’t for me down there.  I never really felt comfortable and got hurt on the very first day of camp.  I had surgery and was out of the loop.  I never felt like I was really part of anything there [Ohio University].  These guys [YSU] were winning back home.  There are friends and family here and that is how it all kind of worked out.

Paneech: When you got to YSU, you were a defensive lineman and now you are an offensive guard.  How did that happen?

Mellott: We lost an All-American Center, Ryan Jewell, during my Redshirt Freshman year.  They [coaching staff] were looking for a guy to try it.  They approached me about playing center, which I was at first, unsure about.  It ultimately came down to playing and I got that chance, took it, and never turned back.

Paneech: You have flirted with an overall GPA of 4.0.  What do you attribute your academic success to?

Mellott: Just showing up in class every day and paying attention.  My parents stressed to me when I was young to take advantage of all of the opportunities you will get.  I have got to be here anyways, so I may as well take advantage of it.  I realized that I was ahead of schedule and realized I might be able to get more use out of my scholarship by continuing.

Paneech: When did you graduate and what are you doing with your days now?

Mellott: I graduated right around the time of the second jersey scrimmage, sometime in August.  I have about 11 hours of the 32 that I need in for my MBA.  I will finish it up in July.  These days I am able to get some rest, I sleep a little bit longer.  I prepare for the week, watch films, and receive treatments if I need them.  After football practice, I go straight to class four nights a week.

Paneech: How much salvation can this team get out of winning these last two games?

Mellott: Well, that’s all that is left now.  It’s all about pride and how you want to go out.

Paneech: This group of Seniors is really unified.  I don’t see any fingerpointing, bickering, or hear any excuses for the somewhat average record.  How frustrated are you to know that this team has still not played a complete game?

Mellott: I couldn’t sit here and try to put it into words.  When you sit back and look at some of those games, you just wonder what could have been.  It will not help us beat Illinois State.  We will have time in two weeks to reflect and do that.  Our goal now is to play four solid quarters so we can look back and say, hey, we went out with a bang.

Paneech: Looking back at four years here as a player, which team was the most fun to be a part of?

Mellott: It was definitely 2006, just because of the winning.  I kind of got spoiled by that situation.  They had 27 Seniors that season.  We worked hard every year I was here.  That team [2006] had alot of guys who were making plays.  I was lucky to be along for the ride.  I wasn’t expected to play in any of those games, but I traveled with the team, it was almost like a vacation every week.  I got to watch and see alot of things and I got in here and there, but the whole playoff thing was an amazing experience.

Paneech: There is alot of references at the press conferences about the 2008 team and the internal problems that existed.  How bad did it get last season?

Mellott: I wouldn’t even say you could pinpoint one thing.  We lost Mychal Savage real quick and people don’t realize, maybe next year they will, that his presence carries alot of weight around here.  His presence on the field makes guys more accountable.  I think losing a guy like that hurt alot.  Then you have guys quitting, and that divides the team somewhat.  As young as the team is this year, we were even younger last year.  When you have alot of young guys, the focus shifts, the losses snowball, and it just is not a good situation.

Paneech: When does a press conference, where so many negative questions get asked, become an annoyance?

Mellott: It was annoying at the first one I did, where the negative questions started popping out.  The other two were not as bad.  When I walked into the press conferences, I told myself that I would not sidestep any questions.  I don’t think it is annoying, and I understand that it is the jobs that you guys have to ask the hard questions sometimes.  As a Senior, it is my job and provide a solid answer that not only the reporters can understand, but also the fans.

Paneech: Being a local guy, how would you convince athletes to attend YSU instead of going somewhere bigger?

Mellott:  I made that mistake when I went to OU.  If you are being recruited by a big school, 9 times out of 10, you are going to go.  The things that are making schools popular these days are: Do you have a sponsor, how many games are on TV, is there an indoor practice facility, and the material things drive the signings.  I wasn’t at OU long, and I am not bashing them by any means, but I just never felt right being there.  It’s a genuine family-type atmosphere here, and that is hard for a guy coming out of high school to appreciate or understand.

Paneech: Much has been said lately about Coach Heacock and maybe it being time to go.  Do you think he will be asked to come back?

Mellott: I pray he will be asked to come back.  I don’t see how you can take a guy like that and not be able to show him off as an asset to your team.  People around here don’t realize how lucky we are to have a guy like that.  He puts time and effort in that you couldn’t ask for.  He has two kids and a wife who miss him at home.  The winning has not been around the last couple of years.  This season he took a more hands-on approach by taking over the defense, and from last year to this year, you would be crazy to not give him the credit.  I don’t think that it is fair and that they would be cutting themselves short to get rid of him.  I dont think it is called for and there are always going to be peaks and valleys, but that is your guy, so you have to stick with him.  It bothers me that I am a part of the reason that he is in this situation.

One Word Answers

Favorite Board Game: Monopoly.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream: Cookie dough.

Best Show On Television: (long pause and a laugh)  SportsCenter.

Favorite Holiday: New Years Eve.

Best Musician Out There: Tim McGraw.

Worst Habit: Saying “Uh and Um” too much in interviews.

Favorite NFL Team: Dallas Cowboys.

Favorite NFL Player: Jason Witten , Jay Ratliff.

Best Area Pizza: Wedgewood.

One Word To Describe The Season: Frustrating.

One Word To Describe Tax Season: (hardest question I asked) Exciting.

Dream Car: Escalade truck.

Wow, time for college hoops again!  Who will make it to this years March Madness?  Can Youngstown State pop through and use all of that experience?  Will the five teams YSU plays that were in last years tourney get back in?  Will Xavier run the table this year?  Will Coppin State get blown out in the first round like they do every other year?  Will Pitt have enough in the paint?  Stay tuned, it all starts this week.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• Zoner Sports compiled a list of 8 other athletes who should retire in light of Allen Iverson’s latest threats to step away.
• Fansided lists some flowcharts for the cast of the new hit TV show Flash Forward.
• Major League Jerk rolls out a preview of Wintergreen Copenhagen.  Having chewed for about 26 years myself, I found the article to be enjoyable despite the author ripping on Cope Straight.
• Josh Q. Public takes a look at Milwaukee Bucks Rookie superstar Brandon Jennings and his 30+ point effort making him the second youngest Buck ever to do it (behind Kareem).
• Sports Rubbish rolls out a new golf product, a women’s putting green bra.
• Detroit4Lyfe has a 5’11” player named Will Bynum with the most spectacular dunk of the night.
• Bootlegger Sports finds Shaq and his wife divorcing.  Is this another way for Shaq to keep himself in the spotlight or is it all legit?
• Outside The Boxscore has the story on Brent Musburger punching Colin Cowherd.  The incident took place on ESPN’s Sports Nation show.
• Babes Love Baseball recognizes this years NL Gold Glove award winners.
• Global Sports Fraternity has Earl Smith III changing his name from J. R. Smith, which is what this headcase was called before the switch.
• Style Points takes a look back at a time when former Kansas City RB Larry Johnson used to be a blood-sniffing animal on the field.
• NESW Sports features a snippet of the new Manny Pacquiao’s Punchout video.
• Hugging Harold Reynolds reported that former Philadelphia Eagles tackle Joe Runyan is thinking about running for Congress in New Jerseys 3rd District.

Youngstown State University Coach Jerry Slocum thinks his Penguins will face their toughest test of the year at Xavier on Friday.  “Xavier is the best team we will face all year.  They are better than Pitt and Butler.  They have a potential NBA Lottery Pick in Jordan Crawford who is a transfer from Indiana, and they are very big inside.”

Experience should help the Penguins improve on last year’s 11-19 record.    Youngstown State is returning 10 letterwinners and four starters from 2008-09.  Slocum said this difference between last year and this year going into the opener are night and day.  “This year at practice, when a player makes a mistake, they point it out before you can even correct it.  It is much more productive to start with so many things in tact already.  It is much better trying to prepare this team when coaching from a positive perspective.” 

This will be the fourth time that YSU has played Xavier, but the first in the past 60 years,  with the Penguins losing all three previous meetings.  Xavier was a Sweet 16  team in last year’s NCAA Tournament and have seemed to somehow gotten better.  The game will be televised on FOX Sports Ohio and Robb Scmidt will be calling the action on AM-570. Tipoff is set for 7:30.

The Penguins will return home to host Hiram on Sunday.  The Hiram contest starts at 4:05.  Quite a contrast in opponents, but Slocum sees the variance as a non-issue, but rather ‘our first two games’, downplaying Xavier as a big test and Hiram as a potential laugher.

DeAndre Mays, who was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team last season averaging 10.7 points and 3.5 assists per game, said the Penguins want to prove things this year.  “Practice has been loud.  All the guys are taking the Xavier game seriously, we want to prove things this season.  Last year, communication was a problem, this year we are communicating better and with our experience, the hard work should pay off.”  Slocum clarified the ‘practice has been loud’ comment made by Mays as a positive.  Slocum stated then when practice is quiet, the team is off of its’ rhythm and having a bad day, but when things get loud, the team is doing the right things, and practice has been loud.

When things seem to be going your way, they really are.  The Youngstown Phantoms couldn’t buy a break in their first three home games.  On this night, seemingly everything went the Phantoms way in a 3-2 victory over a very respectable Green Bay Gamblers team.  Matt Mahalak (pictured) stopped 33 shots in net and the Phantoms were limited to just nine shots of their own in the victory.

The Phantoms were first to score in this one as Taylor Holstrom connected at the 12:12 mark of the first period. The goal was Holstrom’s fifth and was the second game in a row he was able to tally. Nick Czinder was credited with an assist, his third consecutive game with a point. The first period would end with Youngstown holding a 1-0 lead on the Holstrom goal.

The Phantoms took advantage of a Gamblers penalty at the 6:17 mark of the second period when Scott Mayfield scored his fifth goal of the season.  Mayfield was assisted by Dan Senkbeil on the power play score that saw the Phantom lead increase to 2-0.

Brian Dowd’s fourth goal of the season increased the Phantoms lead to 3-0. Dowd was the recipient of a beautiful feed from Andrej Sustr who took a lead pass from goaltender Matt Mahalak, both credited with assists. The goal came at the 12:43 mark of the second. With only seven shots on goal, the Phantoms were playing the most effective hockey they possibly could to this point. The assist credited to Mahalak was the first point recorded by a Phantoms netminder on the young season.

At the end of the second period, Green Bay had 20 shots on goal and nothing to show for it. The Phantoms, on the other hand, only took eight shots on goal but were successful on three of the eight shots to hold a 3-0 lead.

The Gamblers hit the scoreboard at the 6:35 mark of the third period when Anders Lee connected on his eighth goal of the season. Anders was assisted by Nick Jensen and Matt Stewart.

Brett Gensler was awarded a penalty shot when he was pulled down from behind on a breakaway chance at the 9:59 mark. Steve Summerhays turned Gensler away on the chance to keep the score 3-1 in favor of the Phantoms.

Just eleven seconds later, Ryan Furne connected on a quick strike to put the Gamblers one goal away at 3-2. Furne was assisted by Lee on the goal, and suddenly the Phantoms went from a potential 4-1 lead on the Gensler penalty shot to just a 3-2 advantage.  Fortunately for Youngstown, the Gamblers were unsuccessful in trying to knot the game and time would also be on Youngstown’s side as the home team was able to hold off a furious Gamblers rally in the final session.

Matt Mahalak was sensational  for the Phantoms between the pipes as the Gamblers took almost four times the shots as the Phantoms did. Mahalak improved to 4-1-1 on the season in stopping 33 shots. The Phantoms managed three goals on just nine shots.

Coach Bob Mainhardt was thrilled by the effort put forth by Mahalak.  “We definitely got a little lucky tonight.  Thanks to Matt Mahalak, we were able to pull that one out.  We had some really good opportunities, but we were killing penalties almost the entire second period.  Give my guys credit, they stayed pretty focused.”

Sixteen-year-old Matt Mahalak was also happy to get a win at home.  He was not even with the team last week as he was representing the US team in Slovakia.  “I played with the USA under 17 team and we went 3-0 in Slovakia.  It was a tremendous experience and I got to play against the host team.  I got to work with alot of people and pick up some pointers.  It was great to come back, get my first start at home and help the team get a win.”

Several Phantoms regulars were not dressed for action.  Goaltender Jordan Tibbett will be sidelined at least a couple of weeks with a broken hand.  Richard Young had stitches in his leg but is expected to return to action this week.  Luke Eibler, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, is also expected to dress for both games this weekend.

The Phantoms improved to 7-4-1 with the win and Green Bay dropped to 7-4-2.  These two teams will hook up again this week on Friday night.  Joey Fatone, of N’Sync and Dancing With The Stars notoriety, and celebrity chef Guy Fieri will be on hand for Friday’s game.

Saturday will be a special night.  Anyone who reads this page regularly knows how much I support the fundraising efforts of Luke Holko.  Saturday, $3 of every ticket sold will be donated to the Luke Holko Foundation.  Please come to this game if you have not had the opportunity to check out the Phantoms yet.  If I were on a gameshow playing for a charity, this would be the one I would select.  For the hockey community that may be unaware of who Luke Holko is or how he was injured by a foul ball at a Scrappers game this Summer, feel free to click here for a story published on Paneech.com the night the incident happened.  Please stop by the Vindicator press box and say hello.  For those who do not know who I am, I will be wearing my blue “Pray For Luke” bracelet.

And the Penguin band played on.  The above photo was taken at last week’s Youngstown State Homecoming Game.  The band really sounds good and they do a nice job playing and moving around.  The amount of time that these folks spend practicing is very underappreciated by football fans sometimes.  Go buy a hot dog at the two minute warning and show some respect to these students who are literally playing their hearts out every week.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• PSAMP shares another moment from the wide world of unlicensed Pittsburgh Steelers sports memorabilia.  Take a look at Ben Robosberger.
• The Cage Doctors inform us that Youngstown’s own Ed O’Neill, of Al Bundy fame,  is a trained black belt.
• Sports Untapped takes a look at the betting power rankings in the NFL for Week #10.
• NESW Sports launches a new feature called 8 random videos with my buddy David Chalk moderating.  This week videos focus on the Cavs spanking practices, the Bucs orange throwbacks, and the night Jaromir Jagr almost killed Sean Avery.
• Josh Q. Public notes the quick impact of a returning Troy Polamalu to a Steelers defense that always has a big play or two up their sleeve.
• Not Qualified To Comment finds Chicago sportswriter Rick Morrissey literally eating a column he wrote in 2007 (with salsa) that said Joakim Noah would never amount to a useful NBA player.
• No Guts, No Glory warns that you better learn who Bill Martin is or you will be roughed up.  (Martin is the Michigan Athletic Director).

This week is a special week for 12 individuals who will be playing in their final home game ever at YSU.  Saturday’s game pits Youngstown State University (4-5, 2-4) against Illinois State University (5-4, 4-2) in the home finale for the Penguins.  It also marks Senior Day, a celebration of the hard work put in by the leaders.  Parents and friends will come out to see YSU Seniors give it one last go at The Ice Castle.

The twelve YSU Seniors are a pretty unique group.  Not once this entire season have I heard a Senior on this team make excuses or point fingers of blame toward underclassmen, coaches, or each other.   They have won and lost as they should, a unified team.   I can see why these twelve are so special and respected by those learning from them.  Paneech.com congratulates this very unique and tight-knit group of young men for striving to be leaders on and off the field.

The 12 Seniors:

• Kevin Smith, Brandon Summers, Draye Ersery, Dana Brown, Lenny Wicks, Jabari Scott, Ben Nowicki, Brian Mellott, Donald Jones, Aaron Pitts, Crispin Fernandez, and Mychal Savage. Congratulations Seniors! Not for the wins and losses, but for never quitting, playing hard, and most importantly setting an example for the future.

So Saturday marks the end for some.  Illinois State is no free lunch either.  The Redbirds have continued to improve all year and run a wide open offense that YSU has not been used to seeing much of this season.  Coach Heacock was complimentary of the Redbirds saying, “They have alot of things in the arsenal.  They play with alot of emotion and seem to just get better every week.  We have to play a great game to win this week.”

Heacock seems to genuinely like this group of Seniors.  “There is no more important of a week than Senior Week.  It’s all about these 12 seniors this week.  There is nothing like it, and it is a game they will never forget being a part of, their last game at home.  We, as coaches, want to find ways to get them all on the field.  We used to start all of the Seniors, some out of position, but we had more than 24 a few years back, so that tradition doesn’t exist anymore.”

To hear Senior Brian Mellott talk about Heacock proved that the respect is mutual.  “Coach Heacock is here 18 hours a day battling for his life right now.  He handles things with class and dignity.  I’m not badmouthing anyone, but when some guys got here, the transformation they underwent as people under Coach Heacock was very obvious.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the early forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a high of 58 degrees.  The game will also be televised on tape-delay on MyYTV with Chad Krispinsky and Chris Burch.

Penguin Notes

• Last year, Illinois State won a wild one, 54-44, at Hancock Stadium.
• The series is tied 9-9 and is seperated only by one point (446-445) in favor of the Redbirds.
• Illinois State Coach Brock Spack makes his initial appearance against Youngstown State.
• The last time YSU had a 60+ yards passing touchdown was last season against Illinois State when Brandon Summers hit Donald Jones for a score.  It was also the last time YSU went over the 500-yard mark for a game.

Kelly Pavlik wants to get a fight in by then end of 2009.  Mike Pavlik, Kelly’s father and co-manager, has confirmed the date and opponent to be Miguel Espino (20-2-1, 9 KO’s).  Pavlik (35-1, 31 KO’s) has been battling a staph infection for months which caused the cancellation of two scheduled fights against Paul Wiliams.  The fight will take place on the campus of Youngstown Stae University’s Beeghly Center.

Espino has rattled off 11 straight wins, six by knockout, since losing to Peter Manfredo in 2004.  The fight will be a Top Rank Pay-Per-View event which will co-feature two fights from Cancun.  When Pavlik beat Marco Antonio Rubio in nine round at the Covelli Centre in February, Top Rank fielded a similar package of combining locations with co-features.  The other two fights on the “Latin Fury” PPV are Humberto Soto (49-7-2, 32 KO’s) moving up to 135-pounds to challenge Jesus Chavez (44-6, 30 KO’s), and Vanes Martirosyan (25-0, 16 KO’s) against a yet to be named opponent for the vacant NABF Jr. Middleweight Championship.

Pavlik was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago with a 104 degree temperature, skin discoloration, and a racing heartbeat.  Therapy has done him well in recent days as the champ continues on his road to recovery.  Having followed Pavlik from the beginning, I can tell you that he will duck no one, including Paul Williams.  Williams’ Manager, George Peterson, was recently quoted as saying, “We weren’t surprised.  This is really the fourth time now, so this fight will never take place.  We’re going to move on.  There’s no injury, he [Pavlik] just needs a heart transplant.”  Very observant Mr. Peterson, very observant indeed. 

Jack Loew would be the first person to tell you that he will not let a fighter who is not at 100%, which Pavlik was not even close to, enter a fight.  When I interviewed Loew in May, he was quick to blame himself for allowing the Bernard Hopkins fight to even take place.  “The writing was on the wall twice, and I chose to ignore it.  In the future and moving ahead, if I have a fighter who is not at 100%, whether it be Kelly Pavlik or a 15-year old Golden Gloves entrant, he will not fight.”  I am sure Loew would vouch, as would many others who have seen Pavlik’s ailing hand, that to be ready for Williams would have been catastrophic at best.

The national media can say what they want about Pavlik.  He is used to people doubting his abilities and was quick to point out that nobody picked him to beat Jermaine Taylor, either time they fought.  Keep doubting him, but never question the heart.  If it were his decision alone, he would have tried to fight Paul Williams with one hand.  Management and trainers will not let that happen.  Don’t worry Paul, he will still be the man to beat at the 160-pound mark next year.  Hope you win yours.

I have been at this blogging stuff for almost a year and I have tried to get credentialed to as many things as possible.  I have had moderate success, but the rejection I have received is for what I think are the wrong reasons.  Most of the time when I am denied a credential to a concert or major sporting event, I am handed the line that the performing party will only credential major traditional media such as television or newspapers.  I understand that advertising is a reason why those outlets receive preferential treatment and I respect both the local newspaper and the local television stations.

My first break for a credential came with the now defunct Mahoning Valley Thunder arena football team.  I called and asked, explained that I get some hits and outlined what I could do to help promote their product.  The powers that be issued the credential and I was extensive in my coverage of a team that would pack it in at the end of the year.  When I look at my hits and where they are coming from today, people are still looking at player profile pieces I did on Quorey Payne, Larry Harrison, Blake Powers, and Tom Zetts.  I took about 95% of my own pictures, made sure to have a player profile up every week, did game previews and summaries, and received the respect of the people who took a chance on me.

My next big break was the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  The Scrappers are the short-season Single-A affiliate for the Cleveland Indians with Travis Fryman as their manager.  I embraced the Scrappers project much the same way I did the Thunder.  Profiles, pictures, game summaries, and extensive coverage.  Overall, I feel the Scrappers also liked the efforts I put forth to cover their team. 

I consider Youngstown State to be a sports school.  With a national reputation as the school where Jim Tressel came from, I was so honored to gain access to YSU sporting events.  I am currently covering football, but mens and womens basketball are right around the corner and I will be as extensive as I ever have.  This was the biggest credential I have received to date and it really keeps me busy.  I know players see their profiles because I receive favorable feedback from them.  YSU has “traditional media” covering their games and I am thrilled that I am rubbing elbows with the best in the area.

The most recent credential came from the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL.  Same deal as above in the sense that I am trying to cover this team to the best of my ability.  It is harder to take pictures at these games because of the glass, but I am doing my best to give the readers a good shot.  This season is young but I feel comfortable with the coaches, players, and front office people who have extended the olive branch to the blogger.

Toward the end of the 2009 baseball season, I decided to take a chance and call the Pirates and Indians to maybe get a credential to one game at each place and interview anyone I could.  Both markets refused to give me a credential stating non-traditional media with no affiliation could not be awarded credentials.  I didn’t argue because if it is their policy, then so be it.  The way I see it, baseball attendance in these two markets is not soaring and if they want to roil in disaster, it is obviously less pressure on me to find positive things to write about.  The 4500 people who went to a Pirates home game surely would have spotted me and filed some form of complaint with Bud Selig or Pirate Management.  That nearly empty press box would have needed a good cleaning after I got done with one game and I am well aware that cuts were made and it might be hard to send Ryan Doumit back up there with a broom with his shin hurting so badly.

My latest endeavor of credential seeking failure comes from the land of music.  Concert promoters carry the same belief as MLB, an unlikely Rock & Jock connection.  They too feel that traditional media is worthy of a credential.  Mind you, a credential at a concert means you have permission to take pictures for the first three songs, there are no interviews or backstage access.  To be denied the privelage to snap a few photos was upsetting.  Traditional media was allowed to do so.  This is brilliant for many reasons. 

Firstly,  I have no beefs with the local newspaper, I think they do tremendous work and the promotional articles are on time and to the point, they work.  However, when a guy in New York is looking for a review on Styx, Daughtry, or Kelly Clarkson (all denials for me ), I don’t think he is going to hop in the Jeep and drive to Youngstown to read the local newspaper for a review.  If these people were on the fence about buying a ticket, they would probably Google a specific band and maybe use a keyword of “review”.  I know that is the route I would take.  They find a website that reviewed the concert, they read the review, they are impressed that Styx played “I Am The Walrus” as their third song and want to hear it, so they buy tickets.

Will there be newspapers in 15 years?  No one can answer that.  I read mine every day and will continue to subscribe.  But is there anyone with a brain cell who doesn’t think that websites are turning into mainstream media?  There is an unlimited audience, it doesn’t cost a penny to visit most sites, and the coverage is adequate.  Writers like Jay Marriotti have blasted the internet contributions in the past, probably because they feel threatened.  Yeah, kudos to those who went to school for four years and got a journalism degree, they have my respect and write some intriguing pieces.  Should they be allowed to have websites?  Do they have programming certification and/or even know what a widget is? 

I will continue to seek media credentials for any event I feel will generate this site more hits.  I will also be as diligent and prompt as I can be to ensure exposure of a positive nature to the group or organization who issued a credential to me.  Thanks to those who have said yes! 

To those who will only cater to traditional media:  Welcome to the future where typewriter ink rolls are going through the roof and black and white film is getting harder to come by.