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Growing up a New Orleans Saints fan sucked.  Since I was ten years old, in 1977, I have rooted for New Orleans.  Living halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland and geographically nowhere near Louisiana always made my explanation of rooting for this team even harder.  As new Super Bowl and NFL Champions, the Saints have helped remove the weight of 33 years of torture in a three-hour span.

As a youngster, I heard it all.  New Orleans merchandise was tough to come by in Ohio.  There was no NFLShop.com in 1977 and merchandise was hard to find.  With each Christmas, I was asked what I wanted.  I selected the obvious stuff:  Atari, Microvision, Bike, and every year, I would ask for a Saints shirt.  I got the obvious stuff, but never got a Saints shirt until 1981.  It was a #38 George Rogers home replica and I wore it until the paint fell off.

I heard all of the mularkey at school.  Everything from, “Tom Dempsey cheated, he used a nine-iron“, to “Hey Paneech, they are 0-3 already, get out your bag”.  It got old and never went away.  If a schoolmate wanted to unnerve me all they had to do was fire up the Saints jokes.

In college, more of the same.  Remember, the Steelers were just coming off of a dynasty and the Browns and Bernie Kosar were winning division championships, so I was getting slagged both ways.  By the time I graduated college, I owned a Bobby Hebert and a Rickey Jackson shirt.  It was really heartwarming to see Rickey get into the Hall of Fame as I still feel he may be the most unheralded linebacker to ever play the game.  Wanna credit someone for ‘Who Dat?”, I’ll give you a hint.  Long before Ochocinco, Jackson wore a towel tucked into the side of his pants with a little stick figure drawing on it. Dig up the tapes, the crowd was screaming Who Dat a long time ago in the Superdome.  ‘Dat’s Who.’

Things seemed to get better as Hebert and four great linebackers knocked the unbeatable Rams out in 2001.  However, other than hosting a few Super Bowls, the Saints would be a disappointment through the playoffs when they made it.  Again, the bag was back, the insults were flying, and I still stood by my team.

Just a couple of years ago, the Saints played well enough to get to the NFC Championship game, but ran into a buzzsaw in Chicago.  Dome teams do not play well in the snow.  Lesson learned, but enough respect garnered to keep the bag in that top right drawer.

As I watched the Saints win the Super Bowl, all I could think of was how to destroy my ‘Aint’s’ bag.  I dreamt of everything from setting up a lawn chair in my garage and flicking matches into the driveway until I hit the bag causing it to burn.  I thought of treating it like a pet and giving it proper burial in the backyard.  I even thought of giving it to my cousin who is a Browns fan, he needs it these days.  What I ultimately chose was to keep the bag, now over 30 years old, as a reminder of how things go in cycles through our lives.

If you are a fan of a sports team that has struggled for awhile, hang in there, things will eventually change.  It is way too easy to become a Yankees fan or to hop on the Kobe Bryant train.  This way is much more satisfying. 

The Youngstown Phantoms went into their crucial matchup with Waterloo in an unfamiliar place, last. For the first time all season, the Phantoms were in the basement, trailing Team USA by two points. The Phantoms are 1-10-0 in 2010 and if they lost one or even both games to Waterloo, the postseason could be very hard to reach.  The time was perfect to make a push.

Waterloo was in playoff position before this one started and did nothing to hurt their standing. The Black Hawks earned a hard-fought 3-1 victory to send the reeling Phantoms to their sixth consecutive loss.

The Phantoms and Black Hawks skated a scoreless first period. Waterloo took ten shots against Jordan Tibbett and Youngstown had nine stopped by CJ Motte.  The play was physical as both teams were hitting hard.

In the second period, Taylor Holstrom put the Phantoms in front 1-0 with his eleventh of the season.  The goal came at the 9:43 mark as Holstrom connected at even-strength.

Tyler Barnes picked up an unassisted powerplay goal that tied the contest.  For Barnes, it was goal number 20 on the year.  The Phantoms had just finished wiping out a two-man Black Hawks advantage and yielded the goal down one skater.

With 9:57 left in the game, Derek Arnold slid a shot through the crease and into the twine past Tibbett whose momentum was taking him away from the direction the puck was headed.  Brock Montpetit made the cross-crease pass and was awarded an assist on the beautiful feed that gave Waterloo a 2-1 lead.

Arnold got an empty netter, officially his second of the game, with 30 seconds left in the game to close the scoring with Waterloo ahead 3-1.  The Phantoms took 33 shots as compared to Waterloo’s 31.

Richard Young Tilt-O-Meter:

Into Waterloo 2/5 Game: 126 Penalty Minutes (USHL Leader).

After 2/5 Waterloo Game: 130 Penalty Minutes.

Young had a couple of games he missed due to injury.  He pretty much was not allowed to fight against Team USA 17 & Under and had not played many minutes in recent contests.  Young snagged a two-minute minor for elbowing in the second.  In the third period, Young got another minor for a delay of game penalty.  Four minutes, modest night.

When an outsider meets a guy like Curtis Carr, they usually scratch their head and wonder what exactly he does for the Youngstown Phantoms.  His official title in the media guide is Associate Coach / Director of Player Development.  To actually talk with him about his role with the team unveils so much more about what it is that prompts this blog to say that Carr is underpaid.

For as open and forthright as Bob Mainhardt is, you would think he would pick someone with the verbage to alleviate his public headaches.  Coach Carr is the first to admit that he is not a talker, especially to the public sector.  Yet, to have a conversation with Carr was surprisingly refreshing and not at all what I expected.  He hides his intelligence and his emotions but came off as very articulate and passionate about hockey.

Paneech:  As the Director of Player Development for a team in a developmental league, what exactly do you do?

Carr: I help out with the scouting in the offseason. As far as the guys that are here, I work with them before and after practice on their individual skills. I also monitor their off time as far as weight training, dealing with the kids that are in school as far as their academics, and keep track of their transcripts to send to recruiting colleges.  I also maintain profiles for the players for pro scouts.  I also review videotape with the team and players individually so they can pinpoint the things they need to work on.

Paneech:  What is the best thing so far about this year as well as the worst thing.

Carr: The best thing about this year is being in this league [USHL].  It’s been pretty impressive to work with kids at this talent level.  We have a great bunch of guys in our locker room that want to make something of themselves and they really work hard.  The most negative thing about this year is the current losing streak that we are on, but I think we are close to getting it turned around.

Paneech:  Being a married man, how does this all play out with the wife at home?

Carr:  I’m really fortunate, my wife met me when I was already doing this so she knew what she was getting into.  She is a teacher and very passionate about her job so she understands my passion for this.  When I go home, I try my hardest to shut this off and focus on my life away from hockey.  Usually, I will come home three nights a week and concentrate on the things I should at home.  I go to dinners and the movies, you know, just things to let her know that I care about her.

Paneech:  Talk about your one-game suspension.

Carr:  It was my first penalty as a coach. We were in Waterloo and the refs made a couple of questionable calls late in the game that I disagreed with.  I let my opinion be known after the game and got penalized for it.

Paneech: I know Coach Mainhardt wears his heart on his sleeve.  You seem much more reserved, how is the chemistry between the two of you?

Carr: I’ve worked with Bob [Mainhardt] for four years and consider him a very good friend.  We do have alot of the same opinions and similar feelings on things, but you are right he does wear his heart on his sleeve and can be a little more animated than I am.  He is very emotional and uses that to get the players going.  I hide in the back and take a couple of deep breaths before I speak, and I just say things in a different matter.  Good cop, bad cop would be a good way to put it.

Whatever the method, and regardless of the record, Carr and Mainhardt make a very strong tandem that will hopefully anchor this franchise for years to come.

Matt Gajtka, the Director of Media Relations for the Phantoms also speaks highly of Coach Carr.  “Curt is a very quiet guy until you get to know him.  Once you break through that exterior, you meet a quality individual who is genuine and concerned with the players in all phases of their lives, as well as hockey.  He does a great job on helping them as they try to get to the next level.”

It would be unfair to use every old adage in the book to describe how close the YSU Women were to their first victory.  Unfortunately for the Lady Penguins, the last couple of possessions were catastrophic and Loyola (11-10, 5-5) escaped Youngstown with a 63-59 triumph in a competitive game that went down to the wire.

Loyola, sky-high, after upsetting nationally ranked Green Bay in their last game ran into a buzzsaw they did not expect, Youngstown State.  The Lady Penguins have had a rough go of it this season battling injuries and carrying the unfortunate banner as the only Division-I program without a win.  However, YSU looked like anything but a winless and shorthanded team as they gave Loyola everything they could handle.

The YSU Penguins had an 11-10 lead with 11:04 to play in the first half.  Kenya Middlebrooks got fouled after she picked the pocket of Loyola’s Shannon Finnegan.  The resulting bucket was a nice power move by Brandi Brown.  At the 7:17 mark, the Lady Penguins found themselves down 16-15 when Finnegan converted a fastbreak.

Macey Nortey connected from just inside the arc to cut the Ramblers lead to 33-28 at the half.  The Penguins had fallen behind by ten, but rallied before the intermission buzzard.  Brown, Rachael Manuel and Boki Dimitrov combined to score 21 of YSU’s 28 points.  For Loyola, Monica Albano threw in ten first-half points.  YSU shot 70% from the free throw line in the half compared to Loyola’s 20%, yet Loyola held the lead.

Youngstown State was playing like a hungry team.  With 13:58 left in the game, the Loyola lead which was as high as seven in the second half was trimmed to just two.  Manuel was having perhaps her best all-around game.  Her pair of free throws tied the contest at 42.

Over the next five minutes, Loyola took an eight point lead and YSU came back to trail only by two at 53-51 with 6:58 left in the game.  Nortey had a game-tying bucket at the 6:36 mark and YSU was striving for that elusive first victory.  Elyse Vanbogaert hit a couple of shots to give Loyola some breathing space with 4:15 left in the game giving her Ramblers a 59-56 advantage.

YSU tied the game at 59 with 1:40 left in the game when Brandi Brown scored underneath.  With 31 seconds left, Vanbogaert connected for her game-high 18th points off of an offensive rebound putting Loyola back on top, 61-59.  After a YSU timeout, the Penguins inbounded but could not get off a good shot.  YSU was held scoreless over the last 2:32 of the game. 

Middlebrooks fouled with 5.5 seconds left in the game to put Maggie McCloskey on the line for a one-and-one.  She hit both shots to make it a two-possession lead for the Ramblers.

Rachael Manuel (pictured) finished the game with a double-double for the Penguins.  The Senior from Illinois ended the game with twelve points and ten rebounds in her best all-around effort of the season.  “The game went well tonight, I thought the flow on our team felt good.  Despite the loss, it was a good situation to be in and we will use it as a building block for our game on Saturday [vs UIC]”.  Brandi Brown also picked up another double-double for Youngstown State.

After the game, Coach Martin showered her team with praise.   “This is much easier to deal with than being blown out by 30.  Anytime you can execute in a tight game when you have not been in a tight game all year shows that the ladies had poise and confidence and they executed to a tee.  I am extremely proud that they kept their composure.”  Kudos to the entire staff to prepare an 0-20 team to come out and fight the way they did.

The Youngstown Phantoms got embarrassed on their home ice Friday in dropping an 8-1 decision to Sioux Falls.  The Stampede beat the Phantoms in every phase of that game.  As Classic Rock legends Foreigner once sang, That Was Yesterday, and Sunday offered fresh zeroes on the scoreboard.

Unfortunately for the home team, the zeroes turned into bad numbers again.  The goals scored section read Sioux Falls 8, Youngstown 3.  The shots on goal column for Sioux Falls had a 38 underneath it, too many quality attempts for the Phantoms to give to a high-powered juggernaut like the Stampede.

The Phantoms got a goal from Taylor Holstrom (above) at the 9:35 mark of the first period.  Both teams had a man in the penalty box, so it was an even-strength chance.  Brett Gensler picked up an assist as the Phantoms took the 1-0 lead, quite a contrast from Friday when they were down 3-0 at this point.

Sioux Falls tied it up as Michael Voran connected when Matt Lindblad’s shot deflected off of Phantoms Goalkeeper Matt Mahalak.  Voran was in the right place at the right time as he picked up the easy goal.

Matt Zarbo gave Sioux Falls the lead when he connected on an assist from Voran just about a half-minute later handing Sioux Falls a 2-1 lead.

Matt Farris connected just 18 seconds later, and just like that, the Phantoms had dug themselves a hole at the end of the first period and trailed 3-1 at the intermission.  Sioux Falls took the big lead scoring three quick goals in the last 1:19 of the frame.

At the 9:09 mark of the second period, the Phantoms broke into the Sioux Falls zone with a three-on-two advantage.  Jefferson Dahl unloaded the puck to Ryan Jasinsky who nailed the shot from in between the faceoff circles, beating Stampede netminder Clay Witt (top photo).  The goal shrunk the Sioux Falls lead to 3-2.

Conor Allen pushed the Stampede margin back to two goals when he scored from in between the circles. The goal came with 5:38 left in the second period and anytime the Phantoms seemed to gain a little momentum it was yanked away.

Linblad got his second point of the game when he took a rebound and stuffed it past Mahalak.  For Linblad, it was his twelfth goal of the season.  The powerplay goal was scored with 1:19 left in the second. Voran and Anthony Day picked up assists.  After two periods, Youngstown trailed Sioux Falls, 5-2.

Clark Cristofoli drilled a slapshot past Mahalk from the farthest part of the right faceoff circle.  The goal came at the 2:34 mark of the final period.  Jacob Johnstone was credited with an assist on Cristofoli’s second goal of the season.  Sioux Falls seemed to be having all of the fun again as they opened the lead to four goals at 6-2, their largest margin on the afternoon.

With 15:18 left in the game, the Stampede struck again as Josh Holmstrom let loose at an empty net. Mahalak dove right to stop a shot seconds earlier and Holmstrom was able to buzz it by before the Phantoms goaltender could reload to make it 7-2.  With 11:31 left, Holmstrom again hit the twine to push the lead to 8-2, and the route was on.

Scott Mayfield picked up his seventh goal of the season at the 11:14 mark of the third to ease the sting and make the score 8-3.  Stuart Higgins tallied an assist, his sixth of the year.  Unfortunately, it was the last murmur of the game and when the horn sounded signifying the end, the Phantoms were on the short end of the stick.

Goaltender Clay Witt may want to call Howard Hanna Real Estate to see if there are any homes for sale because he plays well when he hears the word Youngstown.  Witt has only give up four goals in three starts against the Phantoms (14-21-2) this season.

The Phantoms return to the ice Wednesday morning to play defending champion Indiana with a special early start time of 10 AM. 

Cody Strang was named the Reebok USHL Offensive Player of The Week.  Strang recorded the first hat trick in Youngstown Phantoms history against Team USA in a 7-3 triumph.  More impressively, the three goals were scored consecutively. 

Strang has already signed the magic letter to play at The University of Wisconsin following the season.  Strang was dominant in high school and scored 39 goals in his senior year.  Strang is only 19-years-old and seems to have a bright future in the sport of hockey.

Wrist injuries plagued Strang for the early part of the Youngstown Phantoms season and he could be found running video equipment in the pressbox.  Once the wrist started to heal, Strang started resuming his normal practice routines and after a week he was dressed and playing again.  “The wrirst still hurts sometimes.  I am playing through it and it is getting better”, remarked Strang after a recent game.

Look for Strang to continue his offensive run if the Phantoms will be able to make any kind of push down the stretch.

Congratulations Cody Strang!

The Harlem Globetrotters were set to share their magic with Youngstown at The Covelli Centre  on Saturday.  Somehow the script was flipped and the Youngstown Phantoms took on the role of the Washington Generals, the team that was the patsy forced to play the Globetrotters and look foolish in losing badly.  Sioux Falls and Youngstown did their absolute best to provide a Globetrotters vs Generals matchup a night early as the Stampede pounded the Phantoms, 8-1, in front of a large crowd. 

The pregame fireworks left plenty of smoke.  Before the smoke could even clear, Sioux Falls scored a goal. Jacob Johnstone beat Matt Mahalak (see top picture) to a rebound and knocked the puck home to give the visitors the lead at the 16:52 mark.  The Stampede’s Michael Voran and Matt Zarbo picked up assists.

With a small cloud still lingering over the ice, like something from a Charlie Brown Halloween Special, Sioux Falls picked up a second goal. At 14:19 of the first, Voran connected with assists from Matt Linblad and Clark Cristofoli, and the fireworks were just starting.

With 9:39 left in the first period, Johnstone scored his eleventh goal of the season to put the Stampede up 3-0.  Matt Bailey picked up the assist.

Just 29 seconds later, the Stampede continued the offensive onslaught.  The larger-than-usual crowd was silenced as their hometown Phantoms looked totally outclassed in the early going and trailed this one 4-0. Coach Bob Mainhardt tried a switch between the pipes, switching to Jordan Tibbet, as Mahalak was ineffective.  The fourth goal was scored by Anthony Day with assists from Ryan Misiak and George Michalke.

Sioux Falls connected for a powerplay goal with 2:47 remaining.  Conor Allen connected on a nice pass from Johnstone who recorded his third point of the first period.  The five goals scored against the Phantoms were a season high.

The first period would mercifully come to a close with Youngstown trailing Sioux Falls, 5-0. The Phantoms were outshot 14-5 and of the 14 Sioux Falls shots, better than 33% resulted in goals.

Sioux Falls picked up where they left off to start the second period as Day picked up his second goal of the game, a powerplay chance.  The goal was scored with 16:43 left in the second period and Michalke and Chad Ruhwedel gathered a point each for assists.  With 5:26 the Stampede got their seventh unanswered goal.   Jamie Oleksiak recorded his first of the season, assisted by Linblad.

Another powerplay goal came with 7:24 left in the game.  Sioux Falls used only five seconds of a man advantage to find the net.  Linblad and Voran piled up their stats with an assist each. 8-0 Stampede.

Luke Eibler got the Phantoms on the scoreboard and broke up the shutout bid of Stampete Goaltender Clay Witt with 2:22 left in the game.  Adam Berkle nabbed an assist on the goal which made the score 8-1.  The Phantoms were outshot 27-21 but the shots on goal were not the difference, the pace and play went the way of Sioux Falls.

After the game, a dejected Coach Mainhardt said this one hurt.  “There will be some changes.  I did not have these guys prepared tonight.  I have been cutting corners as I coach and try to make exceptions and that never works out well, so I have learned a pretty important lesson here this season.”

The Phantoms get another crack at Sioux Falls on Sunday, the puck drops at 3:00 PM, see you there!

The casual college basketball fan would see that North Carolina Central had four wins and 17 losses coming into Youngstown State. What the casual basketball fan does not know is that this NCC team has lost to North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana, Miami (Fl), SMU, Ball State, Air Force, and Virginia Tech.

The Penguins had a balanced scoring attack and took good shots in getting by UNCC, 70-57.  The win snaps a four-game losing streak, but according to Sirlester Martin, the victory goes further than that.  “It felt good to get the win but it really helps us get ready for a league game this weekend.”

Youngstown State (8-12) did the right things according to their Coach, Jerry Slocum.  “We did the things you have to do to win basketball games.  When they cut it to seven, I thought we were patient and kept our composure.  We made free throws at important times in the game, and those are things you have to do to win.”

Dan Boudler tied things up at 15 with 11:51 left to go in the first half when he tipped in a partially tipped Vytas Sulskis shot. On the next possession, Sulskis hit a three that wasn’t tipped as the Penguins took an 18-15 lead with 9:41 remaining in the half, triggering an 11-0 Penguins run that would span over the next three plus minutes.

At the half, Youngstown State held a 32-21 lead.  Sulskis finished the first half leading the Penguins in scoring with eight points. Nick Chasten finished the first half leading all scorers with 11 of his teams 21 points.

With 11:28 remaining in the contest, YSU maintained their double-digit lead at 46-36.  Sulskis buried a three with the shot clock near zero giving the hometown the feeling that things were clicking.  Coach Slocum picked up a technical foul when he argued that an Eagles defender hit the rim.  Moments later, CJ Wilkerson hit a jumper to cut the Penguins lead to 49-42.

DeAndre Mays connected for three after the lead had been cut to four points to put the Penguins in front, 52-45.  Kelvin Bright was intentionally fouled meaning he got to shoot a pair of free throws and the Penguins retained possession.  Dallas Blocker got in on the action as he hit a pair of free throws to push the YSU lead back to double digits at 55-45 with 7:58 left in regulation.

With 3:44 left in the game, YSU pushed their lead to 64-47 when Sirlester Martin hit a 15-foot jumper.  CJ Wilkerson connected for his eighteenth points of the second half and had 26 in the game, leading all scorers, to keep his Eagles within striking distnace.  YSU thwarted any comeback when Bright hit a nice floating sweep through the paint.

Youngstown State showed good balance and poise in holding on for a 70-57 victory.  Balanced scoring for the Penguins translates to four players with at least 11 points and DeAndre Mays leading the way with 17.  For UNCC, CJ Wilkerson finished the game with 26 points.

Next up for YSU is Cleveland State on Saturday as the Penguins start to see Horizon League opponents for the second time.  Tip-off is set for 4:00 and the game can be heard on AM-570 with Robb Schmidt calling the action.

Macey Nortey is the first player ever recruited by Coach Cindy Martin.  Martin and her staff have a good eye for talent, which will be better proven over the next couple of seasons as these recruits gain experience.  Nortey, who constantly hustles, was leading the Horizon League in assists for a good part of the season.  It is hard not to root for a 5’3″ spark plug of energy who still maintains a frequent smile off of the court despite the winless season.  It surely isn’t apathy that she is expressing, it is just who she is.

Paneech:  Doing a bit of research, I noticed you were born in Toronto.  You now call California home, so are you an American citizen?

Nortey:  I am not an American citizen and I still have my Canadian citizenship.  Maybe when I am done with school, I will apply for dual-citizenship. 

Paneech:  Anyone who comes from California to Youngstown has to hate this weather.

Nortey:  I love cold weather and don’t like the heat very much.  I was actually upset that it wasn’t very cold through most of January.  There are three of us from California on the team,  Brandi [Brown] and Maryum [Jenkins] both live about an hour from me in California.  We will be hanging out alot over the next few years.  Really the biggest difference between here and Cali is that everything in Cali is fast.  Here, everything is so much more mellow.

Paneech:  How did you end up at Youngstown State and what did it feel like being the first ever recruit of Coach Martin?

Nortey:  They came and found me.  My mentor was actually very good friends with Coach Martin, so they connected with each other and came to see me in Long Beach.  I was not recruited by any California schools and was considering going the junior college route, but luckily, I ended up here.  I was Coach Martins first recruit.  (At this point I couldn’t resist asking…  Do you think she recruited you because she needed someone shorter than her to coach?-Nortey laughed for a minute).  Actually, with my shoes on I am 5’3″, without them, I am only 5’1″, but you never see me on the court without my shoes on, so technically, I am 5’3″.

 

Paneech:  Your assist numbers have dropped a little.  What can you do to reclaim your place atop the league in that category?

Nortey:  I have gotten away from the things I was doing at the beginning of the year and I need to get back to doing them.  I know that I need to set my teammates up and I have really been working on that in practice this week.  I’m a passer and I like to set people up. 

Paneech:  You have three more years, when can we expect this losing streak to end?  How much of losing comes from having virtually no bench?

Nortey:  It is going to end alot sooner than later.  In fact, I really feel like this upcoming road trip that we have got it.  They can’t guard our bigs and anything can happen on any given night.  With a short bench, when you pick up a foul, you can still play “D”, but you have to watch.  You can’t really have a ‘sneak attack’.  It’s tough and we have learned.  Obviously our results are not what we want, but we have learned plenty.

Paneech:  How is it working out when you go on the road for a few days and have to miss classes?  Are the teachers accomodating or do they make it tough on you?

Nortey:  Personally, my teachers have been really cool with it.  I recently had to switch one of my classes and have only actually been to that class once.  The professor has done a great job of keeping me informed through e-mails, we are e-mailing back and forth and she sends me the work I need to do.  Overall, the professors here are really cool about the situation and getting us our work.  As a student, you have to stay on top of it, you can’t just procrastinate and say, ‘I’ll do it when I get back’.

Paneech:  Walk me through a day from the time you wake up until you go to sleep.

Nortey:  I wake up, brush my teeth, grab a bite to eat and head out for class and you can’t be late.  I sit through my morning classes for about three hours, come to treatment after class if I need it, then I grab lunch.  After lunch is films, and then practice.  Stretch, practice, and if we do not do a study hall, I go home and do my homework.  I watch some TV, eat dinner somewhere and then go to sleep.  On a good night, I will go to sleep around 10.

 

One Word Answers

Biggest Phobia:  Being trapped under something.

Favorite Breakfast Cereal:  Frosted Flakes.

Best Show On Television:  Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Worst Habit:  Never Listening To My Mom’s Voicemails.

Favorite WNBA/NBA Player:  Steve Nash.

Who Wins The Super Bowl:  Saints.  🙂

What Other Sports Do You Watch:  Tennis and Soccer.  I think the Williams Sisters will square off in Australia with Venus winning.

Favorite Toy As A Child:  My Jeep car.

Favorite Fast Food:  Burger King since they don’t have Wing Stop here. 

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas.

Favorite Drink:  Chocolate Yoohoo.

Would you rather live in Youngstown, Canada, or California?  Can I pick all three?

 

Courage. It is a word that bends many different ways.  Cancer. It is a word that doesn’t show mercy and sometimes has a long and tragic meaning.  Don’t get me wrong, plenty of courageous people have lost battles with cancer and paid with their lives.  Dallas Blocker is one of the courageous who survived and to hear his story weakened me.  Mad respect to the big 6’9″ Youngstown State Senior for openly talking about his fight with the evil disease.

Paneech: Talk to me about the battle you had with cancer.

Blocker: As of right now, I am free of it.  At first it was rough because you are not used to it.  You think, ‘old people get cancer’ not people who are 21 years of age, so it really hit hard at first.  I was diagnosed with testicular cancer.  I went through four rounds of chemotherapy and I would go five days a week for about six hours a day.  I would sit in a chair while they pump stuff into my blood through an IV.  For the first couple of weeks I was fine, and I was functioning as normal.  After that second time, it kind of hit me.  All of my hair started falling out and off of my body, and my energy level went way down.  I was struggling to go up a flight of steps. I was eating real good, I like mexican and spicier foods, but by the third or fourth treatment I could not hold anything down.  I would be with Andy Timko in the Summer, and we would like to go out to eat.  We were just talking about it the other day, he would see me run off to the bathroom and he knew I just couldn’t keep anything down.

Paneech:  Did your fight with cancer give you a different outlook on the life you lead?

Blocker:  Going through what I did, I look at every day as a blessing to be here. Days are more important to me now.  Before all of this, I would just go through life with a ‘who cares about this’ attitude.  Now I am really concentrating on school and my future because I am not going to be playing basketball forever.  I am transitioning to being an adult and will graduate with a degree to teach in a year.  The whole thing has opened me up and made me a more mature person.

Paneech: Using a bad situation to make something positive from can transition to this basketball team you are on.  How does YSU pick itself up and move forward?

Blocker: We [the five seniors] are looking at it as our last chance.  We all have a role on this team and have to buy into Coach Slocum’s system.  Right now, not everyone has bought into the system and we are playing as individuals.  We actually had a meeting after practice where DeAndre Mays stood up and reminded everyone that everyone is starting to fall off and we need to circle the wagons and get back into it.  We have eleven games left in the season and if a team gets hot in this sport at the right time they could go pretty far.  We still believe we can get hot enough to still make it to the NCAA Tournament if we can get going that well.

Paneech: What changes can Coach Slocum make and how do you compete with a team like Butler?

Blocker:  Butler is just an all-around great team.  They are beatable and have their flaws though.  We had them on their backs at times but had a bunch of unforced errors that they took advantage of and that is what they [Butler] do best.  Coach Slocum wears his heart on his sleeve.  You always know where he is at emotionally.  When he is down, he is really down.  He tells us everyday at practice that he is not going to change, and he never does.  He has very good character and I like the attitude he brings to practice.

Paneech: What NBA player do you like?

Blocker: I’m not really a big fan of the NBA, I would much rather watch college basketball.  If I had to pick a player I would say Kevin Garnett because of the way he prides himself as a great defensive player.

Paneech: I have seen a little change on offense where it seems the big guys are getting more chances to score.  What brought that on?

Blocker: I brought that up a couple of weeks ago.  DeAndre [Mays] and Sirlester [Martin] are going to shoot the ball.  After one of them hits a few shots, the defense is going to adjust to them, so why not dump it down in the post.  When we score a couple of times, the defense will adjust again and then we can kick it back out to our pure shooters.

One Word Answers

Favorite Meal Of The Day: Dinner.

Best Fast Food: Taco Bell.

Biggest Phobia: Maybe being claustrophobic, maybe.

Worst Habit: (laughs)  Lying.

Favorite Soft Drink: Dr. Pepper.  Cherry Dr. Pepper is ok too.

What Do You Get On Your Pizza: Meat Lover’s.

Last Book You Read Not For School: The New Moon from the Twilight Series.

The Hardest Thing You Ever Had To Do: Survive Cancer.

Worst Class You Had At YSU: Math for teachers.  I got a B but the content was so boring.

The Biggest World Problem That Needs Fixed: The economy.

Favorite Childhood Toy: My Ultimate Warrior action figures.