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On July 1, 2011, a brand new Youngstown business will be open for business.  “Ghost Productions” is the promotional combination of Jack Loew, Mike Pavlik Sr., and Kelly Pavlik.  The trio who run the promotion will hold their first event, simply called Friday Night Fights.  The event will be held outdoors, weather permitting, at the Covelli Centre.  If there is a threat of rain, the event will be moved inside the Centre.

“There is an awful lot of local talent and this is a way to let them showcase their skills”, commented Loew.  “Don’t get me wrong, it is a professional boxing card featuring Dannie Williams in the main event, but we would rather fill the card with as many local fighters as we can.”

Loew said that some of the other local fighters who will compete on July 1 will be Marco Hall, Anthony Pientono, Darnell Boone, Billy Lyell, and possibly Jake Giuriceo and Durrell Richardson.  One young man who Loew has been high on for a couple of years, Juan Salinas, will make his professional debut on the card.

Tickets for the inaugural Friday Night Fights go on sale Friday, June 3.  Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster and are very reasonable at $10 and up (plus Ticketmaster fees and tax).  Tickets go onsale to the public at 10 a.m.

The absence of the Golden Gloves, formerly held at the Struthers Fieldhouse in the 80’s and 90’s, could make the ticket even more appealing for local boxing fans.

“It is a fairly priced ticket for a very good lineup of young local fighters,” said Loew.  “We would like to get television coverage as we continue to grow using some of the connections that Kelly [Pavlik] and I have made along the way.  Stations like ESPN, VS, and Showtime who air boxing regularly are targets.”

Congratulations NCAA!  Your Witch Hunt at Ohio State has almost been completed!  All you have left to do now is kick all of the players off of the team, strip the school of every game won under Jim Tressel, and fine The Ohio State University.  What else…  oh yeah, throw probation at them, keep them down.

Jim Tressel exudes class.  I had the pleasure of being a guest coach of the Red-White Game at Youngstown State University in 1991 and met Tressel.  I was impressed at his demeanor with the average student and his willingness to make his program the entire city of Youngstowns, his drive to make a Fall Saturday at the Ice Castle an event, but most importantly his desire to win.  He did plenty of winning at Youngstown State and was promoted to his dream job coaching the nationally-prominent Buckeyes.  Never an “in your face”, cocky, kind of coach either.  Tressel often deflected praise with the only negatives he could scour up from week-to-week.

The only memorabilia I will ever associate to Jim Tressel is the countless piles of things he has donated to charities.  I wrote Tressel a letter in 2006 asking for something to use for a Chinese Auction at the first-ever Korey Stringer Memorial golf outing.  I took all of the required steps and had a signed mini-helmet sitting on my doorstep in a week.  That item, along with some Kelly Pavlik memorabilia, drew the most money in the auction.  In fact, it seems like every charity event I went to locally, there was always something with Tressel’s signature on it to assist the folks raising money.

The main function of a college football coach is to coach football.  Tressel cannot babysit every player he has to make sure that they are doing the moral thing 24/7.  As Ohio State Alumnus and current New Orleans Saints DB Malcolm Jenkins recently said, “They have a formal meeting with the players every year to go over the rules of what they can and can’t do.  When they [players] do something wrong, they know it is wrong.”

The boosters are a good concept at the college level.  However, there are always a couple of them who like to lean on the water cooler at work and brag about what they can do to manipulate a system for their own betterment.  I will never badmouth anyone who supports collegiate athletics with scholarship donations.  I will criticize people who do it for their own gain and notoriety as a status symbol.

Leslie Cochran, the former President at Youngstown State University recently made comments in Sports Illustrated that made Tressel and his coaching staff sound like the new regime of the Youngstown Mafia.  Cochran referred to the program as “family” and said that those things happened but were always kept within the family.  Pretty brash for the “father” who sat at the head of the table glowing with pride when Tressel was winning National Championships.  Sad thing is, Cochran thinks that a fly pattern is the path an insect travels in a corn field.

I recently stopped to buy gas on my way to work.  I was wearing an Ohio State shirt.  When I went inside to prepay for my criminally-priced fuel, a Michigan fan, wearing a Michigan shirt pounced on the wrong Buckeye fan.

“Looks like you guys are done for awhile”, he said.

“Yeah, I guess we are.  If you guys would have won any Big-10 Championships and had rings to sell you would have gotten into more trouble than us”, was about the best response I could give.

Congratulations on what you have achieved so far Coach Tressel.  You have more to do and don’t let the minority ruin what you have created for yourself.  Relish in your successes and learn from your defeats.  This may be the biggest defeat of your storybook career, but I know it won’t be the end.  You didn’t know your ex-quarterback was driving with a suspended license.  You didn’t know your running back had a tattoo of a rose on his thigh.  Guess the NCAA will have to add some more rules so they can move on to the next campsite to invade like coyotes.

The NCAA crackdown is coming to a school near you!

“Mom! Phineas and Ferb are going on a live tour!” Join the Danville Tri-State Area Gang for a high-energy ride through their wildest invention yet in Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! The beloved characters from Disney Channel’s animated series embark on a bold escape from the television screen to a live action adventure – right in your hometown! This brand new live stage production performs at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown on October 29, 2011 at 1pm and 4pm. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 4^th at 10am.

Produced by Feld Entertainment, Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! brings Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford and friends to the stage as they make the most of the last day of summer by building an invention bigger, better and more amazing than ever. And, before you can wonder, “Hey, Where’s Perry?” the beloved pet platypus shifts to his secret double life as Agent P to foil another one of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s evil plans.  Musical madness abounds in an escapade so awesome that even Candace can’t help but join the hilarious hijinks.  It’s the ultimate end to summer vacation, so seize the day ‘cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all!

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster , at  the Covelli Centre Box Office or by calling 1-800-745-3000. To find out more about Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever!, go to the Phineas And Ferb Live Disney Page, or visit us on Facebook and YouTube.

Youngstown State senior outfielder Joe Iacobucci has been named to the All-Tournament Team for his performance at the 2011 Horizon League Baseball Championship.

Iacobucci, a Boardman High graduate, hit a team-best .438, posted four RBIs and scored twice in leading the Penguins to a 2-2 record and third-place finish at the tournament.

He scored a run and drove in another in YSU’s 4-2 win over Milwaukee in the opening round. The senior then went 2-for-4 in a loss to Wright State and 3-for-4 with two RBIs in an elimination game against UIC. Iacobucci went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI in his final collegiate game on Saturday, which was an 8-6 loss to Valparaiso.

2011 Horizon League All-Tournament Team

Damon McCormick, Valparaiso
Michael Schum, Wright State
Corey Davis, Wright State
Will Hagel, Valparaiso
Michael Moreman, Valparaiso
Zach Tanner, Wright State (MVP)
Justin Kopale, Wright State
Chris Manning, Valparaiso
Tristan Moore, Wright State
Joe Iacobucci, Youngstown State
Robbie Robinson, Valparaiso

What has only happened a handful of times in the past 20 years seems to be breathing again.  It is almost June and the Pittsburgh Pirates are flirting with .500.  The Pirates have one of the worst streaks in all of sports, in fact it is the worst.  Eighteen consecutive seasons with more losses than wins come September.  Kevin McClatchy, who was the majority owner for many of those years, and Dave Littlefield, who was McClatchy’s pon in dumping payroll, caused the Pirates to be the punch line of many jokes over the past couple of decades.  This year, the team is not laughing.

The Yankee fans, always known for running their mouths about “homegrown talent“, have done little with their farm system over the past ten years.  Everyone knows that the mighty Yankees can buy things they need whenever they need them.  Unfortunately, Pittsburgh can’t do that.  Yep, it is a small market team and the best shot they have is to develop players through a good farm system.  That farm system is starting to show effective on the big team.

Free agency is non-existent in Pittsburgh unless they are selling.  The Pirates look like a pack of geniuses for picking up Kevin Correia (pictured, top) for a 12-pack of balls and some fireworks.  Correia has been among the leaders in the NL in wins, WHIP, and ERA.  The other big acquisition was probably manager Clint Hurdle.  Hurdle had success in Colorado and was notorious for a couple of blistering months where his team was unbeatable.

Look at what has come from the farm system and how they are doing.  Andrew McCutchen is not where he should be as far as batting average, but he is piling up extra-base hits at key moments.  He is also one of, if not the best, defensive outfielders in the game today.  Neil Walker is showing no signs of a sophomore slump.  Jose Tabata is making strides in the right direction.  Paul Maholm has had a few hard luck losses but has a stellar ERA and all of his starts but one have been quality starts.  Evan Meek is rested and ready.  There are more.  Pedro Alvarez is the question mark of the group.  Alvarez, known for his slow starts, can really give the Pirates a lift if he can come off of the DL swinging a hot bat.  Evan Ryan Doumit is contributing with game-winning grand slams.

All of those guys came from a farm system striving to serve a purpose instead of agricultural turnover.  A farmer raises a pig and sells it.  These pigs are staying in the pen for a few more years.

Coach Bob Boldon and staff are conducting a series of women’s basketball camps in June.  The camps are open to the public and are a terrific resource  for refining fundamentals or learning new skills.  The camps are broken down into three categories: Team Camp, Half-Day Individual Camp, and Overnight Elite Camp.  Coach Boldon, and his outstanding staff will supervise all aspects of the camps.

Team Camp will be split into two separate sessions.  Session I is on June 10 and Session II will be held on June 12.  The cost of the Team Camp is $200 per team, per session.  Each team is guaranteed four games per session.  The coaches will try to match teams of equal ability to play on the games which will be officiated by certified high school referees.  The focus of the team camp is geared toward coaches and players developing winning programs and finding ways to stay on top of the game.

Registration will be at 7 a.m. on both days for the team camp and the games will be played from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.  The camp is uniquely offered to JV and Varsity level players.

Half-Day Individual Camp is a fundamentals camp to enhance the skill set of all attending cagers.  The Half-Day Camp registration will be on June 27 at 8 a. m. and the camp itself will be held on four days, starting Monday, June 27 through Thursday, June 30.  The cost of the four-day package is $85 per player and each attendant will receive a t-shirt and other prizes.   The areas of concentration will be ball-handling, passing, shooting, defensive, and rebounding drills.  This camp is open to players entering grades 4-9 in the 2011-12 school year.

Overnight Elite Camp is just what it sounds like, the chance for the players hoping to advance to the college level to push their abilities to a new dimension.  This is the most intense of the three offered camps with areas of skill development such as shooting, passing, post moves, ball handling, and defense.  The first half of this camp is Thursday, June 30, from 5-9 p.m. and the second session starts at 9 the next morning until noon.  The cost of the Overnight Elite Camp is $50 per player.  For anyone seriously wanting to advance their game, this will be a college-level practice environment with speed and agility drills, as well as, game action.

If there are further questions, contact the YSU Women’s Basketball Office at (330) 941-3004.

These three camps, all very different in skill level, are a great resource for a wide array of ages! Sign up!

Blake Aquadro threw 5.2 innings of shutout relief, and the Youngstown State baseball team got solid contributions throughout the line-up in a 12-7 win over UIC in an elimination game on Saturday in the Horizon League Baseball Championship.

Youngstown State will play another elimination game this evening against the loser of the winners’ bracket final between Wright State and Valparaiso.

The Penguins jumped out to an 8-1 lead, and Aquadro brought calmness once UIC got within one after four innings. While the sophomore lefty from Memphis, Tenn. kept putting up zeros, the offense added a run in the seventh and three more in the ninth.

YSU’s top five hitters in the line-up combined for 12 hits, eight runs and 11 RBIs. Freshman Chris Mitko drove in a game-high four runs, and leadoff hitter Drew Dosch scored four times. Jeremy Banks and Joe Iacobucci both had three hits and two RBIs.

UIC starter Tim Suminski struggled with his command early, and the Penguins took advantage by scoring four runs in three hits and four walks in 1.1 innings. A double play got Suminski out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, but he wasn’t as fortunate in the second.

After getting the leadoff runner, Suminski walked Jonathan Crist and Dan Hurlimann and Padraic Williams reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Dosch walked to force a run in, and Suminski handed the ball off to Collin Weyer.  Neil Schroth flew out to shallow center for the second out, but Banks drove in two with a single to left. Iacobucci singled on a hard shot right back at Weyer to load the bases, and Mitko came through with another two-run single to left to make the score 5-0.

Bill Turosky allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the second, and an 8-5 double play got him out of a bases loaded jam with one out.  A two-run single from Schroth and a sacrifice fly from Mitko in the third put the Penguins up 8-1.

UIC trimmed the lead to 8-4 in the third after a bases-loaded walk and a two-run double by Joe Betcher. The Flames then scored three more in the fourth to cut the margin to 8-7.  Ganek doubled in the first run to knock Turosky from the game, and Matt Serna brought in another run on a ground out.  Andy Leonard then singled in Ganek with two outs.

Neither team scored over the next two innings, and Iacobucci drove in Dosch with a two-out single in the seventh to make the score 9-7. The Penguins added three more insurance runs with two outs in the ninth. Iacobucci brought in Dosch with a sacrifice fly, Schroth scored on a wild pitch and Mitko drove in Banks.

Aquadro was not charged with a run in his 5.2 innings of work. He allowed just three hits, walked one and struck out two in his first win of the year. Suminski dropped to 0-2 with the loss.

Aquadro continued his recent hot streak in May. He entered the month with a 9.80 ERA, but he has allowed just five earned runs over his last 23.2 innings. He’s pitched in all three of YSU’s games in the tournament and has allowed one unearned run on six hits over 8.1 innings.

The Youngstown State baseball team scored four runs in the eighth and got an outstanding performance from senior pitcher Phil Klein to defeat Milwaukee 4-2 in a first-round game in the Horizon League Baseball Championship on Wednesday at Nischwitz Stadium.

The sixth-seeded Penguins advance to play top-seeded Wright State on Thursday at 7 p.m. No. 3 Milwaukee will play an elimination game at 11 a.m. against No. 5 Butler.

Klein allowed two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out 10 in eight innings. He blanked the Panthers for the first seven innings and didn’t allow a run until there were two outs in the eighth.

Klein outdueled Horizon League Pitcher of the Year Chad Pierce, who also did not allow a run for the first seven innings.

“We got an outstanding outing today by Phil, going toe-to-toe with the Pitcher of the Year (Pierce),” YSU head coach Rich Pasquale said. “He showed that he can dominate today. He got good defense behind him, and we came up clutch for him in the eighth.”

Klein allowed two base-runners in the first and another in the second, and Milwaukee had its best chance to score early in the third. After a double play accounted for the first two outs, the next two Panthers reached to put runners at the corners. Klein got Paul Hoenecke to line out to Neil Schroth in center to end the inning. The Panthers had runners at the corners with two outs again in the sixth when Klein struck out Jonathan Capasso to end the inning.

The Penguins also had a chance early when two hits and a walk loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but Pierce worked out of it when Chris Mitko grounded back to the mound. After Jeremy Banks‘ two-out single in the third, Pierce did not allow another hit until the eighth.

With a high pitch counts to Penguin hitters, Pierce began to labor as the innings went on. He walked Drew Dosch to start the eighth, and Banks’ single to center ended the hitless drought. David Leon then reached on an infield hit to load the bases with one out. Pierce walked Joe Iacobucci to force in the game’s first run, and he left after starting pinch-hitter Jonathan Crist off with a ball.

Greg Blohowiak came in for relief, and Crist laid down a bunt single near the first base line to bring in Banks. Dan Hurlimann singled through the right side with the infield drawn in to plate Leon, and Iacobucci scored on Padraic Willams‘ fielder’s choice.

After the long lay-off, Klein allowed a single and a walk to start the bottom of the eighth. He got two big outs when Doug Dekoning flew out and Sam Sivilotti struck out, but Klein beaned Sam Koenig to load the bases.  Jonathan Capasso hit a two-run single to center on an 0-2 pitch, but Klein got Drew Pearson to ground out back to the mound to end the threat.

Klein handed the ball off to Blake Aquadro in the ninth after throwing 140 pitches, and Aquadro earned his first collegiate save. The Panthers had the winning run at the plate after a hit batsman and bunt single, but Aquadro got Dekoning to fly out to right to end the game.

Klein’s 10 strikeouts against the Panthers brought his career total to 258. He moved into second place on YSU’s all-time list, surpassing Justin Thomas (250) and Dave Dravecky (251). Klein also set a new single-season record by making his 15th start of the year.

Youngstown State senior pitcher Phil Klein (above) was named Second-Team All-Horizon League, and freshman third baseman Drew Dosch was named to the all-newcomer team in a vote of the league’s coaches.

Klein, a native of Gahanna, Ohio and graduate of Gahanna Lincoln High, returns to the all-league team after being a first-team honoree in 2009. Dosch is a native of Canal Winchester, Ohio and a Canal Winchester High graduate.

Klein went 4-5 with a 3.74 ERA this year while leading the league with 95 strikeouts and ranking fifth in innings. In eight conference games, he was 2-2 with a 2.61 and 57 strikeouts in 51.2 innings. Klein was extraordinary in April when he went 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA in four starts. He posted 10 straight quality starts from March 13 to May 13, and his ERA is 2.26 over his last 11 starts.

Dosch missed 13 games with an injury but still made a good enough impression to earn all-newcomer honors. He hit .252 overall and .310 in Horizon League play.

Wright State claimed four of the top five individual awards. WSU’s Jake Hibberd was named the Player of the Year, Michael Schum was named the Relief Pitcher of the Year, Corey Davis was voted the Newcomer of the Year and Rob Cooper was named Coach of the Year. Milwaukee’s Chad Pierce was named the conference Pitcher of the Year.

Crews from the Sports Construction Group L.L.C. of Brecksville, Ohio, began synthetic turf replacement at Youngstown State’s Beede Field/Stambaugh Stadium on Monday. The project will move quickly and is expected to be completed in early June.

SCG will install a Shaw Sportexe PowerBlade HP+ synthetic turf system, which combines the appearance of natural grass with the engineered performance of modern synthetic turf. It is specially designed to enhance player speed and performance while providing for maximum player safety.

In addition, SCG recently installed Shaw Sportexe PowerBlade HP+ synthetic turf in YSU’s Watson and Tressel Training Site, an indoor practice facility for several YSU athletics teams.

The Penguins will be one of four Division I football programs to play on the surface. Arkansas’s Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Middle Tennessee State’s Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium and UC Davis’ Aggie Stadium are the only other PowerBlade HP+ Division I fields.

Youngstown State Athletic Director Ron Strollo said he is impressed by the Candy and Eddie DeBartolo and Family Field in the WATTS, and the surface in Stambaugh Stadium will be just as immaculate.

“Nobody builds quality athletic fields like Sports Construction Group. Their experience at the pro, collegiate and high school levels is unparalleled,” Strollo said. “We saw this first hand with their work on our new Watson and Tressel Training Site. It made SCG the obvious choice for the field construction at Stambaugh Stadium.”

Stambaugh Stadium is home to the YSU football and soccer programs and plays host to high school footballgames, numerous intramural events and Health and Physical Education classes.

Through careful planning, the funding for the project comes from a reserve plant fund dedicated solely for the replacement of the stadium’s turf.