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On a perfect Fall evening, a football game involving two teams in a must-win situation took place in Youngstown.  Youngstown State scored 31 first half points and Western Illinois didn’t score any.  However, Western Illinois scored 21 second half points, and YSU failed to score a point.  Combine the two very different halves and the result is a 31-21 YSU victory. 

Youngstown State wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.  Western Illinois booted the opening kickoff out-of-bounds giving YSU the ball on their own 40.  Brandon Summers and the offense efficiently marched 60 yards in 10 plays.  Kevin Smith capped the opening scoring drive with a 1-yard TD to give YSU a 7-0 lead.  This marked the first time all year that YSU scored on their opening possession. 

After stuffing the Leathernecks, the Penguins took over on their own 30 and marched 70 yards in 10 plays and Summers found Donald Jones for a 4-yard touchdown to increase the Penguin lead to 14-0 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.  Kevin Smith had a key 26-yard run on the drive.

Western Illinois went 3-and-out.  On the last play of the first quarter, Lenny Wicks returned a Leatherneck punt 25 yards to the WIU 38.  At the end of one, it was all YSU, 14-0.

YSU covered 38 yards in 5 plays to increase the lead to 21-0.  It was the Dana Brown show on this particular drive as Brown carried the ball on every  play with the last being a one yard rushing touchdown at 12:33 of the second quarter.

In a continual display of dominance, YSU’s Na’eem Outler sacked WIU quarterback Wil Lunt and Sir Demarco Bledsoe pounced on the ball.  On the very first offensive play, Summers went to the end zone for Donald Jones who made a remarkable effort but was interfered with giving YSU first-and-goal on the Leatherneck 8-yard line.  Two plays later, Summers hooked up with Dominique Barnes for the eight yard score pushing the margin to 28-0 with 10:30 left in the first half.

Stephen Blose connected on a 27-yard field goal with 1:52 left in the half.  The Penguin drive was 54 yards in 9 plays.  It almost seemed as though the Penguins were concentrating more on chewing clock and getting Jabari Scott some carries.  To this point, everything had clicked on offense, all three running backs had some yards, and Summers was 9 for 9 passing.

On the ensuing kickoff, YSU’s Brandian Ross recovered a fumble to give the Penguins the ball on WIU’s 37-yard line.  The Penguins were unable to convert the turnover into any points however, about the only bad series they ran in the first half.  Western Illinois seemed content to just run the clock out and try to get to the locker for a halftime regrouping session.  At the half, this one was all YSU as the Penguins dominated the Leathernecks in every possible statistic for a 31-0 lead at the break.

Western Illionois came out a better team in the second half.  The Leathernecks scored on a 30-yard strike from Lunt to Justin Rideau.  The scoring drive was 9 plays for 77 yards and cut the YSU lead to 31-7 with 10:23 left in the third quarter.

Brandon Summers was intercepted by Stephen Moore and a personal foul gave the ball to WIU at the YSU 38.  On a third-and-22, YSU got flagged for a roughing the passer penalty giving Western Illinois the ball on the YSU 12.  On the very next play, Dre Gibbs coughed up the ball by the YSU goal line and Lenny Wicks recovered for the Penguins to help swing the momentum back to the side it was on the entire first half.

At the end of the third quarter, YSU maintained their 31-7 lead with a strong running attack that chewed the last six minutes of the quarter up.  With the start of the fourth quarter, YSU had the ball on their own 48.  The first play of the fourth quarter, however, proved costly as Summers was chased down from behind and the ball came loose.  Brandon Kreczmer recovered the ball for the Leathernecks at YSU’s 34.

With 12:25 left in the game, Western Illinois got an 11-yard scamper from Gibbs to successfully convert the turnover into points and further cut into the dwindling YSU lead, now 31-14.

The Leathernecks continued marching back as Lito Senatus caught a bullet from Lunt for 12 yards and a touchdown with 7:54 remaining in the game.  The lead was down to 31-21 and Western Illinois was playing as good as YSU did in the first half.  Conversely, YSU was playing as poorly as Western did in the first half. 

After another three-and-out, YSU punted the ball away.  Western Illinois started their next drive on their own 29.  Andre Elliott blitzed and absolutely smashed Lunt as he was releasing a pass which wobbled about half of its intended ditance where David Rach was waiting to intercept the ball back for the Penguins. 

YSU successfully chewed up the rest of the fourth quarter on the shoulders of Senior TB Kevin Smith (pictured) and held off a fierce Leatherneck comeback to preserve what seemed like a blowout but ended up somewhat of a nailbiter.

For YSU, Kevin Smith finished with 113 yards on 28 carries and a TD.  Donald Jones caught 8 passes for 94 yards and one TD.  Brandon Summers finished 12-18 for 134 yards, an interception, and two TD’s.  Stephen Blose had a good day as he kicked four extra points and was 1/1 on field goals.

Western Illinois was headed by Dre Gibbs who finished the game with 162 all-purpose yards (155 rushing, 7 receiving).  QB Wil Lunt was 9-19 for 109 yards, one interception, and two TD’s.  Justin Rideau caught 5 Lunt passes for 79 yards and 2 TD’s.  The statistic that buried the Leathernecks was penalty yards.  WIU accumulated 11 penalties for 108 yards compared to YSU having only five penalties.

After the game, Coach Jon Heacock praised the effort of his opponent.  “I don’t care what the records are.  You better show up and play every minute of every game on Saturday.  Give them [Western Illinois] credit for fighting until the end and playing hard.  We have some time [with the bye week] to pick out the things we can’t do and the things that we can do and become more consistent.”

Senior TB Kevin Smith, who has a couple of fumbles this season commented on grinding out the last four minutes of the game.  “It felt good.  I had a couple of drops and it felt good that the coaches had the confidence in me to give me the ball and run down the clock.”

Lenny Wicks talked about whether or not he was ready for the bye week.  “Yes, we have some time to rest and get alot of practice in to get ready for Southern Illinois because that’s a big game.”

YSU travels to Southern Illinois for an October 24th game.  With the extra week of preparation, Coach Heacock will have the team ready for that big game. 

About the only cooperative factor in Saturdays Youngstown State football game was the weather.  The Penguins (3-2, 1-1) shot themselves in the foot several times and ultimately lost, 17-7, to Missouri State (3-2, 1-1).  Missed opportunities proved to be the difference in the game.  A blocked field goal, a failed 4th-and-1 on the Bears 5-yard line, and three uncharacteristic Brandon Summers interceptions proved to spell the fate of YSU in the loss.

The Missouri State offense didn’t take very long to get on the board.  All-American Tight End Clay Harbor hauled in a 52-yard touchdown pass from Cody Kirby to put the Bears up 7-0.  The drive, which only consisted of four plays, covered 64 yards in 1:26 with the big blow of 52 yards.  Sir Demarco Bledsoe almost knocked the pass down but missed on his swat.

After YSU went three-and-out, the Bears struck again, but this time only got three to extend the lead to 10-0 with 6:57 left in the first.  On the drive, Kirby found Jonathan Davis for a 57-yard completion.  Matt Hottelman connected from 25 for the three-pointer.  YSU dodged a bullet as Missouri State had the ball 2nd and goal on the YSU one, but were unable to convert.

YSU took the next kickoff all the way out to their own 49.  Brandon Summers went to work with a 25-yard gainer to Dominique Barnes, a 16-yarder to Donald Jones, and another 10-yarder to Barnes.  After a couple of runs and a penalty, YSU had a 4th and less-than-one at Missouri State’s five-yard line.  Summers tried to sneak for the needed yardage for a new set of downs but was stuffed and YSU turned the ball over on downs.  Missouri State took over on downs and ran a few plays before the first quarter ended with YSU trailing 10-0.

YSU got on the board with 3:34 left in the second quarter when Summers found Donald Jones for a 32-yard touchdown.  Dana Brown had 4 rushes for 23 yards on the 11 play drive that covered a total of 76 yards.  On the TD, Summers had all day and Jones kept running until Summers found him in the corner for a great hookup to make the score 10-7 in favor of Missouri State.

With Missouri State driving and under a minute to go in the half, Lenny Wicks made a remarkable one handed jumping interception to keep the Bears out of the end zone and the half ended with Missouri State leading Youngstown State 10-7.

Youngstown State took the second half kickoff.  Kevin Smith coughed up the ball and it would be costly as Missouri State drove 36 yards in seven plays and would cash in on a 4-yard jaunt from Jonathan Davis to take a 17-7 lead with 11:36 left in the third quarter.

YSU moved the ball somewhat effectively on their next drive.  The drive was ended when Stephen Blose attempted a 37-yard field goal which was blocked by Waylon Richardet to give Missouri State the ball back on their own 35.  Richardet was dominant on defense all day for the Bears.

The third quarter ended with Missouri State on top 17-7.

Richardet stopped another YSU drive single-handedly when he picked off a tipped Summers pass.  YSU was in a third-and-goal at Missouri State’s 4-yard line when Summers threw his third pick of the evening.  This drive, the third of its kind in the game, covered 90 yards and resulted in nothing on the scoreboard for the Penguins. 

YSU could not stop Missouri State after the turnover.  The Bears were obviously trying to run some of the clock down, and YSU would give up a couple of yards on runs, yet the Bears converted twice on third-and long situations to take more than 5 minutes off of the game clock.  The Penguins finally successfully stopped the Bears and got the ball back with 2:24 left in the game and no timeouts.

The Penguins were unable to score and could not convert when they had to in this game.  A blocked field goal, three interceptions and a failed fourth and inches in the first quarter ultimately spelled doom for YSU as they fell 17-7 to the Bears.

For the Penguins, Kevin Smith rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries.  Dana Brown added 72 yards in 15 carries.  Donald Jones tied a school record with 11 catches for 130 yards and a TD.  Dominique Barnes had 9 catches for 113 yards and finished the game with 169 all-purpose yards.  Summers finished 23 of 39 for 251 yards, a touchdown, and the three interceptions.

Missouri State was led by QB Cody Kirby who finished the game 19-28 for 252 yards with a TD and a pick.  Clay Harbor had 6 catches for 106 yards.  Jonathan Davis finished with 118 all-purpose yards.

After the game, a very disappointed Jon Heacock addressed the loss.  “Missouri State came in and played hard.  They played like their life was on the line, give them credit, they played like crazy.  They were able to pressure us with three and four guys and we were not able to pressure them when we were sending six.”

Heacock also commented on the team being able to bounce back next week.  “If they have got any courage and competitiveness, they’ll be up.  I think our team does.  It’s not going to be easy.  We better buckle up.  If they have any red blood cells they’ll be competitive.”

Mychal Savage addressed the media after the game and took the loss particularly hard.  Having interviewed Savage this past week, I got a vibe that he is the pulse of this defense, the leader.  “I personally feel like tonight I let my team down.  I feel like I owe these guys one and that they deserve more from me.  I feel like I could have did more for this team, and I didn’t do it.”   This particular statement was delivered from the heart and I really feel for Savage.  He is putting way too much blame on himself though.  It is just his nature to assume responsibility for his group during a bad time, the mark of a true leader.  Mad respect for him.

YSU goes back to work in preparation for their Missouri Valley Conference game against Western Illinois Saturday.  The game is set for a 6:00 kickoff.

I wanted to do a profile piece on Ben Carlson about a month and a half ago.  When I asked him about it after a Scrapper game in July, he simply told me “we’ll see”.  Today Carlson admitted to me that he was reluctant to do a profile piece back then because he was not playing well and thought others on the team may have deserved the attention more than he did.  It is because of that attitude that today, I am happy to be doing a feature piece on Ben.  Carlson gives the words ‘team player’ and ‘wise beyond his years’, believability.

 Carlson and I have been linked closer since last Wednesday.  A line-drive foul ball off of his bat struck Luke Holko.  Having an idea of what kind of a person Ben was, I knew that he would be devastated.  After every game, I would talk to Travis Fryman.  Our conversations have been pretty structured lately.  My first question has always been, “Any news on Luke?”, followed by, “How is Ben doing?”, followed by, “Tell me about the start that Clayton Cook provided and how long are Kyle Bellows and Greg Folgia hurt?” 

I met Chad and Nicole Holko on Wednesday, a week after the incident.  The Scrappers played Brooklyn that night and I waited until after the game to talk to Ben and Travis about my visit.  Ben told me, “I gotta get up there and see him.”  The next morning, Ben and I were on our way to Akron Children’s Hospital.  Ben brought a bat to give to Luke.  We had about two hours to talk, so this profile piece is done with more than the usual amount of information.

We met at 9:00 AM at Eastwood Field.  I learned that this early time of nine was a sacrifice in itself for Carlson who said he usually sleeps until 11.  It sounds bad, but when you weigh the normal day ahead of a Scrappers player, it seems that isn’t enough rest.  These guys got home at 6:00 AM from one of their unpopular eight-hour bus rides.  On a gameday, which is pretty much every day, the players are required to be at the field by 2:00 PM for meetings and stretching followed by batting practice.  Then they hit the field for the game.  After showering and sometimes short post-game meetings, a player can expect to get home between 11:00 – midnight.  That’s a long day.

One of the first things I talked with Carlson about was “home”, both growing up and here.  The growing up part was in Kansas.  Carlson has loyalty to the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs, two franchises which have not been lighting it up as of late.  We talked about George Brett and Christian Okoye and if the Chiefs were capable of winning even three games this season.  Carlson has three brothers, all playing baseball at some level.  His oldest brother is in the Detroit Tigers system, and recently needed surgery on his wrist.  Ben attended Missouri State for a bit, but once you get drafted, college ends up on the back burner.  After this season with the Scrappers, he will go to an instructional league in Arizona on September 30.  His father runs a car auction back in Kansas.  His parents recently made a trip to Ohio to see Ben play and because it was Labor Day Weekend, the car auction was delayed until Tuesday.  “My father hasn’t missed an auction in 24 years.” 

Nick Kirk and Brett Brach live with the same host family as Carlson.  He claims that it is nice to have some teammates around but was quick to point out that pitchers are pretty much on a different schedule, so they go to the park at different times.  “We pretty much have an area of the house to ourselves.  There is a nice setup with a big screen when we have time to watch it.”  Carlson said his host father leaves for work at 5:30 in the morning and he went a stretch of about two weeks without even getting to see him.

Once we got to the hospital and parked, the reality of our trip started to settle in.  We agreed that it is tough to see Luke on the machines as we had both already been there once.  Walking to the room, a million things race through my mind, the most important being some sign of improvement or some good news.  Our unannounced visit was well-received.  Nicole and Chad and Nicole’s parents were all there.  Nicole told us about Eric Wedge’s wife coming yesterday and showed us all of the nice stuff she brought with her including a two-foot card signed by the entire team, some autographed bats, and even a Jamey Carroll glove.  Nicole then talked with us about improvements.  There is something caled an ICP count which is monitored on a screen.  Luke’s ICP count rises when he gets annoyed.  I was fixated on this single monitor for most of the visit.  We had to leave before 11:30 because Carlson had to be back in Niles by 12:30 for practice.

One of the things Carlson and I talked about was his music that he picked when he comes up to bat.  Most of the Scrappers pick R & B stuff, or newer music.  Casey Frawley has a country song.  Ben Carlson has Ted Nugent.  Yep, the Motor City Madman.  I asked Carlson if the music gets assigned or if they get to pick it. He told me that they get to pick what they want.  I then asked how he ended up with ‘Stranglehold’.  He told me he loved the song as a teammate of his in college used it when he came to bat.  Once he got to Niles, he picked the song to use for himself.

Carlson is still getting used to hitting with a wooden bat.  Having used aluminum bats his whole career, it is a big change.  He is also learning to play first base.  He had played there before, but very sparingly.  “You go where they put you and make the most of it,” remarked Carlson whose primary world was the outfield.

Moises Montero, Jesus Brito, and Argenis Martinez do not speak much English yet.  From what Carlson told me, Rafael Vera should draw an additional check from the Indians organization for being a full-time interpreter.  The language and communication problems don’t end there.  Carlson’s roommate on the road is Chun Chen.  I asked him what they could possibly do or how they communicate.  “Chen knows a little English and is learning, we get through it.”

Carlson is very complimentary of the coaches and trainers.  He has much respect for Travis Fryman and Phil Clark and said nothing but good stuff about both guys.  Nothing but praise for the Scrappers organization and not a bad word about a teammate.  Carlson said in some ways it has been a very long Summer.  He is looking forward to going to his brother’s wedding in Las Vegas in November.  “He is 6’4″, she is 6’3″ and used to play basketball at New Mexico, they are going to have some tall kids.”

Carlson and the Scrappers will be competing for the NYPL championship this weekend.  He was quick to point out that the Scrappers lead the NYPL in team batting, yet no Scrapper player is even in the Top-10.  “We are a true team, everyone has been contributing all season.  When someone gets hurt, someone else has been able to step in and get the job done.”

I enjoyed my time with Ben Carlson.  He is a refreshing person who contradicts the young pro athlete stereotypes.  If he doesn’t make it in baseball, he will succeed in some other avenue his path may drive him to. 

The guy in the picture is Joe Madden.  Kind of looks like Mr. Bunny Rabbit from Captain Kangaroo with those glasses.  Anyway, he is the most underappreciated manager in the bigs right now. Here are some stories from other great sites:

• In Game Now takes a look at the Top-10 all-time anthem butcherings, funny videos, some you may have seen, but always fun to see again.
• PSAMP has video of a classic Kordell Stewart commercial and suggest that if Big Ben gets hurt, to sign Kordell back up!
• Chicago Now posted an article written by my pal, The Zoner of Zoner Sports titled, “Denver Is Really Taking This Jay Cutler Trade Hard” .
• The World Of Isaac finds an aging and confused Regis Philbin trying to figure out basketball jerseys.
• Detroit4Lyfe jokes that the female track star might be a man and that Usain Bolt might not be a human.
• Bootlegger Sports thinks maybe more college football teams should really consider selling beer at the games, like the schools in Louisiana are doing.
• Sharapova’s Thigh says that 22 year old tennis phenom Maria Sharapova, is nowhere near retirement despite speculative reports.
• NESW Sports has the video of Chad Ochocinco kicking an extra point in a preseason game… why?  What if he hurts his ankle kicking? More great decisions in the weirdest division in football…
• That NBA Lottery Pick has video of Steve Nash competing on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
• Style Points reports that Louisville is running some kind of sex study and Rick Pitino is participating.

Kelly Pavlik does not need to move up in weight and play with Showtime in their tournament.  As Pavlik recently said, “Careers will be ruined by that tournament and I will beat whoever wins.”  The champ is set to be interviewed within the next couple of weeks as he nears a Fall fight date.

Other great stories:

• My Sports Rumors thinks that Tampa Bay will be in for a good battle in camp to name the starting quarterback, Luke McCown, Josh Freeman, and Byron Leftwich all want it.
• Detroit4Lyfe has a screenshot collage of a call the umpires blew in the Pittsburgh vs SF Giants game.  Delwyn Young got screwed (and so did Garrett Jones).
• Tony Blogs says the NFL got it right by reinstating Michael Vick.
• The World Of Isaac found an executive for the Florida Panthers hitting on the FOX News lady, on the air.
• Pucks & Pitchforks takes a look at the greatest hockey uniforms, now and then.
• Inside The Iggles sends an open letter to NFL Commish Roger Goodell about Michael Vick, Plaxico, and addresses the fact that only four first round draft picks have signed.
• Joe Sports Fan says the influx of “Pujols 5” jerseys are so 2008.
• The Fifth Corner previews a game to have Carolina Tar Heels from the 04-05 season against members of last years team and 8 other alums in a charity contest.

The newest gimmick to boost ratings on Monday Night Raw is to have a guest host who will serve as an on-air commissioner, matchmaker, and celebrity presence.  This week’s guest host is Shaquille O’Neal.  I got to thinking about some people who would want to run with the ball in this capacity and have designed a Top 10 list of potential hosts.

#1 Dana White

Dana White would be my choice for #1 guest host.  After what Brock Lesnar did at UFC 100 proves that anyone can leave the WWE, but the WWE never leaves anyone who was there.  There could be some real heat to have White come out and blame McMahon for all Lesnar said and did.

#2 Don King

Don King is one of the most unliked sports promoters ever.  Wouldn’t it be great to see King in the WWE?  He could come out to some grand entrance, run his mouth for about ten minutes while trying to use as many three or more syllable words as often as possible.  Would be great TV!

#3 Howard Stern

The self-proclaimed “King of All Media”, Howard Stern, would be a great choice for McMahon.  Not only will he draw huge numbers in viewership, but he will talk about it on the air for four weeks in between Robin Quivers G-Cups and Artie Lange’s DUI.  Any Stern fan knows that the show still rocks but that Howard has mellowed a bit through the years.  What better opportunity to regain his edge.

#4 Joseph Jackson

Another guy who can chirp to the masses under any circumstances is Joseph Jackson.  Maybe the WWE will install a segment where the loser gets beat with Joseph’s belt if he loses.  They could even take five random wrestlers and have Joseph whip them into shape to perform a Jackson 5 classic at the end of Raw.

#5 Hercules

The original steroid abuser, Hercules, can teach the boys a few things about rationing the supply to get past the age of 40.  He could also beat up anyone on the Raw roster who will not comply.  Hercules was a McMahon if you do the geneology correctly.

#6 Michael Phelps

Who better to pass the bong with than Phelps?  The WWE is notorious for their wild drug abusing personalities.  I could see Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy lighting one up under the ramp before a main event.  It wouldn’t hurt their careers any.  Look at what hanging out with Michael Phelps did for the career of Braylon Edwards (17 drops in 2008, led the league).

#7 Erin Andrews

Erin Andrews is currently living out her WWE fantasies muired in controversy.  The peephole video was nothing.  When Andrews gets her opportunity to be the guest host of Raw, she will surely go over the edge to get the heat off of that silly internet video which has recently surfaced.  She will face Steven A. Smith in a steel cage match filled with racial overtones, wardrobe malfunctions, and guest referee Joe Namath.  Can you imagine the numbers?

#8 Donte’ Stallworth

Stallworth would probably do the WWE hosting gig for a dollar.  The reason I say a dollar is because it is income considered work so he can leave the house.  Of course, arranging for transportation and the post party are thing Vince McMahon will have to iron out.

#9 President Barack Obama

Seriously, how cool would it be for our President of The United States to host a wrestling program?  Obama has already proven that he is a normal guy to an extent and he does television appearances frequently.  This may be the most accurate guess on the whole list.  Don’t be suprised!

#10 Charles Barkley

Barkley would be a perfect fit for the WWE.  Never short on opinion or the cockeyed reasoning to back up his opinions, Sir Charles could feud with Jim Ross and the rest of the announcers about the way they handle the mic.  It would be a monumental Raw to see Barkley calling the shots. 

Professional Wrestling is fixed.  95% of the people that go see the stuff live have accepted that fact.  So if it has predetermined outcomes, why do people cheer and boo for the participants?  A “Bad Guy” aka a heel, and a “Good Guy” aka a babyface act very differently to get crowd reaction.

The Good Guy

The good guys are usually wholesome looking athletes who speak well and smile too much.  The prototype “good guy” is smart enough when using a microphone, to include the fans as some sort of special unit that is paramount to their success.  They either downplay a bad guy or credit the fans for support to get a response.

Sgt. Slaughter (above) used the patriotic angle to ride the “good guy” wave for years.  By carrying an American flag into the ring while your Iranian opponent waits for you, a cheer or two should be heard.  The chants of “USA, USA, USA”, usually start a few times during the match to support the face.

Hulk Hogan used his great physique and some line about taking your vitamins and saying your prayers to seem wholesome.  His allegiance of fans were even called “Hulkamaniacs“.  This was really the first time that merchandising and storylines became more important than the action to take place in the ring.  Hogan was the master at working a crowd during a match.  After the match, he would crank his wrist clockwise a few times and put it up to his ear for more approval.

Today’s wrestlers are different “good guys”.  The storylines, not the personalities, more dictate who should be cheered and who should be booed.  As Randy Orton was climbing the rungs on his last championship run, he gave a woman the RKO and kicked Vince McMahon seemingly unconscious.  This would thrust Triple H into instant hero status.

The Bad Guy

Wrestlers are categorized as bad guys for several reasons.  Anti-patriotic usually is the easiest angle to sell.  The Iron Shiek was never a good guy for a reason.  His accent was not an act, he was actually an Iranian amateur wrestler.  What put Shiek over the top was his ability to criticize America and say that his country was #1.

A good heel knows how to piss the audience off.  Whether it be by cheating to win, insulting audience members every week, or just acting real dark, bad guys have the harder challenge in my opinion. 

A good heel was someone like George “The Animal” Steele.  Steele’s character was dark and mysterious.  No one could seem to control or communicate with him.  He always had a foreign object in his trunks and was a master at acting challenged.  The green tongue, the abundant body hair, and the look in his eyes elicited fear from some.  Steele would later magically learn a few words from the teaching of Dr. Papoofnick and fall in love with Miss Elizabeth, but for most of his career, he was Uber villain.

In today’s wrestling, the heel is someone who is cowardly, has allies, and can just talk in a different tongue.  Chris Jericho does a good job, blaming the hypocrite fans for his recent attitude problems.  Freddie Blassie also used to do well with his “pencil-knecked geeks” references to the audience.

Big Kenny Shane credits his father with all of the success he has achieved throughout his life of playing football.  Shane said his dad got him into it and just kept on him all of the time to make him a better player.  He played on a traveling team as a kid, and would blossom into a complete player while attending his high school in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Shane progressed all the way up to the Big-10 level, where he played at Michigan State during the Drew Stanton era.  He said he is really having fun playing for the Mahoning Valley Thunder and sees it as an opportunity to stay in shape in hopes of moving to the next level.  The next level in this case would be the UFL, or AF1 if it starts back up.

Kenny likes to take in Sportscenter on ESPN when he has the chance.  Other than that he will watch a movie when time permits.

Shane, like many other Thunder players, likes Jeremiah Bullfrogs.  He told me that he likes to get the different burgers that Bullfrogs offers and will change it up from time-to-time in search of that perfect burger.

Kenny has an X-Box 360 and is currently playing Rainbow 6: Vegas 2.  He listens to Rap and R & B and told me if he could only take one CD with him somewhere it would be T.I.

A few weeks back, an errant snap gave Shane a chance to prove that big guys can handle the ball.  The errant snap was never touched by the holder, Jermain Moye, and ended up in then-Thunder kicker Nathan Palkovic‘s hands.  Shane scrambled around and was the open guy in the middle.  He caught the ball on about the five and dragged a pile of bodies inside the one, but came up just short.  “I played some tight end.  There were a couple of times against Albany where passes came my way, but they were intercepted.”

Kenny likes the area, seems to be enjoying his time with the Thunder and hopes the team can string together some wins to end the season.

While Santa is away on a golf trip, the lists are starting to pour in.  Thanks to an elf who reads my blog, I was able to get my hands on a few lists.  Christmas can be a rough holiday when your brother or your sister is your competition in the world of sports.  The nephews and nieces always seem to run to the winner first and the less successful sibling is an afterthought.

Without further ado, here is what sibling athletes are asking Santa to bring their brother or sister for Christmas this year:

Wladimir Klitschko currently holds the IBF, IBO, WBO, and Ring Magazine world heavyweight championships.  His older brother Vitaly currently holds the WBC title.  These two siblings have said numerous times that they will not fight each other.  My elf found greedy Wladimir’s Christmas letter to Santa.  In Wlad’s letter, he asks Santa to bring Vitaly a trainer to teach him MMA hoping to convince Vitaly to be in next years Ultimate Fighter, Russia vs The UK on Spike.  If successful, Wladimir will hold all the belts and have sole commercial rights to do Absolute vodka commercials without having to cut in brother Vitaly.

Now that the 2009 Wimbledon Women’s Final will be Serena vs Venus, I asked the elf to dig for a letter from either Williams sister.  Low and behold, the elf came through with a letter from Venus.  In her letter Venus asks for free consultation with Michael Jackson’s skin doctors.  Venus figures if she can turn colors like that chameleon Jackson did, that she can change her name to Williamsky and represent Germany. 

Since Jordan Staal was on the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins championship team and had to beat brother Eric and his Carolina Hurricanes to get there, the elf thought it weird that Eric has asked Santa to bring the cup to the Staal home.  He gets pretty graphic in the letter but says his plan is to destroy the cup and blame it on brother Jordan. 

The elf dug up a no brainer for these two brothers.  Seems Mark McGwire wants brother Dan to get bigger and stronger.  So he asked Santa to deliver a case of Shredded Wheat and milk.  He also told Santa to ignore Dan’s list and bring nothing stronger than One-A-Day vitamins.

Well, I hope Santa can accomodate these requests, I hate it when family becomes the enemy and these all seem like ways to eliminate the problems caused in sibling sports rivalries.

My heart goes out to Coach Chris MacKeown, his staff, and the players for Mahoning Valley.  If there were a betting line on this game in Vegas, Wilkes-Barre would have probably been 30 point favorites.  Mahoning Valley played a great game against a great team and came up short in the end, losing 62-47.

In a familiar scene, Quorey Payne returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown only to be called back for an illegal block.  That has to be the third or fourth time that has happened this season to Payne.  The Thunder took the ball and drove to a score when Brad Roach found CJ Brewer.  Nathan Palkovic missed the extra point, and the Thunder lead the game 6-0.

Wilkes-Barre returned the kickoff to the Thunder 8-yard line and scored on a Ryan Vena to JJ Outlaw pass on the first offensive play to give the Pioneers a 7-6 lead.  On the next drive, Roach was picked off on fourth down by Micheaux Robinson who returned it 15 yards for the Pioneer TD, and with the extra point kick the score was Wilkes-Barre 14, Mahoning Valley 6.

The Thunder responded on their next drive, cashing in on a CJ Brewer 1 yard run, and another Palkovic miss made it 14-12 in favor of the Pioneers. 

The two teams would exchange touchdowns several times as Ryan Vena was deadly accurate in the first half.  The Thunder kept responding behind Roach to Brewer and Payne scores all night.  At half, the Pioneers took a 35-28 lead to the locker room.

The Pioneers, who scored on 9 of 11 offensive possessions, took the second half kickoff and marched the length of the field capped off by a Vena to Outlaw strike putting the Pioneers up 42-28.  On the next possession, the Thunder again responded when Roach hit Quorey Payne in stride for a 45-yard bomb pulling the Thunder back to 42-34 as Palkovic missed another extra point.

After the teams exchanged TD’s, the Pioneers lead was 49-41 after 3 quarters. 

Vena hit Outlaw again at 9:39 in the fourth quarter to push the lead back to 56-41.  As things began to look gloomy for Mahoning Valley, CJ Brewer turned a modest gain into a monster play as Brewer sprinted up the field and got one of the best blocks I have ever seen by Jermaine Moye.  Moye’s clean hit knocked the helmet off of the Pioneer defender and when the block was shown on the replay, it was a better hit than I originally thought.

However, Vena hit Larry Kendrick in the end zone  for a 62-47 Wilkes-Barre lead.  Mahoning Valley got the ball back and drove to a first and goal, but Kendrick picked off a pass that was tipped to end the scoring.  The Pioneers ran the clock out to seal the victory. 

Coach MacKeown saw his team fight until the end, “We need to learn faster.  It’s a loss against a great team but it is still a loss.  This proves to everyone that we can play with anyone in the league.  I have a good feeling we can win our last three games.” 

Ryan Vena was 23-28 for 274 yards and 8 TD’s.  JJ Outlaw caught 6 Pioneer TD’s and ended up catching 8 balls for 126 yards.

For Mahoning Valley, Brad Roach had his best showing completing 21 passes in 41 attempts for 309 yards and 5 TD’s. Quorey Payne and CJ Brewer caught 15 of Roach’s 21 completions for a total of 240 yards.  They each ended up with three TD’s.

The Thunder head into the bye week at 1-12 with a 12 game losing streak.  They play next on July 11 in Peoria.