The Youngstown Phantoms took to the road for a pair of games this past weekend.  Unfortunately the result was the same in both games, and the defense and goaltending seem to be struggling.  The positive to take from the two losses was the spirit of the team to fight back and make both games respectably close after trailing by larger deficits.

On Friday, the Phantoms were in Lincoln, Nebraska.  In a rare high-scoring affair, the Phantoms ended up on the short side of the stick in a 7-6 OT loss to the Lancers.  Ben Lynch spearheaded the victory for Lincoln when he connected on his second power-play goal in overtime for the win.  A Taylor Holstrom goal, his second of the game, put the Phantoms in front 6-4 in the third period.  Lincoln would rally on goals from Garrett Peterson and Andrew Ammon to tie the contest and force the extra period.

Saturday found the Phantoms a little closer to home in Des Moines to face the Buccaneers.  Yasin Casse scored for Des Moines just 18 seconds into the second period to give Des Moines a 3-0 lead.  Adam Berkle answered for the Phantoms just six seconds later to cut the lead to 3-1.  Brett Gensler and Nick Czinder scored a goal apiece for Youngstown over the next four minutes to tie the game at 3.  Connor Brickley converted on a power-play chance for Des Moines at the 2:52 mark of the third period with the eventual game-winning goal.  The Buccaneers Ryan Walters knocked in an empty-net goal to close the scoring at 5-3 in favor of the home team.

Youngstown (2-3-0) returns home for two games on Friday and Saturday against Tri-City.  Each game will start at 7:15 and Friday is $1 beer night. 

Covering YSU Football this season has been alot of fun.  Unfortunately, there is glass covering the press box area, which prevents sound to drift in.  I watched this entire clip of the Youngstown State University Marching Penguins and was impressed.  Maybe it is because I am a Queen fan.  Regardless, praise to the Marching Penguins!

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• Babes Love Baseball calling 2009 the year of the comeback after the Dodgers came from behind to further expose a struggling Phillies bullpen.
• PSAMP is calling out Chad Ochocinco for blocking the blog on his Twitter page.
• Not Qualified To Comment claims that Joakim Noah’s evil hair has reserved him a spot in hell.
• The Cage Doctors wrote about The Simpsons trying their hand at MMA.
• MoonDog Sports takes a look at the new mess in the NFL – Rush Limbaugh trying to be part of a group buying the Rams.
• Sharapova’s Thigh has all of the Week 6 scoop for the fantasy football owners.
• Detroit4Lyfe pays tribute to Nicklas Lidstrom for being the first European-born NHL player to reach the 1,000 point plateau.
• Major League Jerk does not let the ESPN promo team off lightly.  Take a look at the recent Dodgers-Phillies advertisement posted and see if you notice anything funny.

As YSU prepares for Southern Illinois on a bye week, I thought it would be appropriate to do a story on a local player.  As it turned out, I got one of my best interviews.  Marc Kanetsky graduated from Hubbard High School with honors of every kind.  There were the athletic honors of breaking records for his passing (5,042 yards and 47 TD’s), being nominated for Trumbull County Athlete of The Year, breaking basketball records in season and career categories for assists, and getting All-Ohio recognition for football twice.  More impressively to me was a 4.0 GPA, being named valedictorian of his class and continuing his academic excellence at YSU.  I recently interviewed Kanetsky and took a liking to his glib persona.  Hubbard deserves praise for producing a prototypical student-athlete.

Paneech:  Besides YSU, who recruited you out of Hubbard?

Kanetsky: I had alot of Ivy League and Patriot League schools like Holy Cross and Colgate because of my grades.  Being undersized hurt with the bigger schools, but I found a good spot here and received a full academic scholarship. 

Paneech:  Being the local guy, do teammates pressure you into being their tour guide?

Kanetsky: Not really.  Most of the older guys know their way around.  Some of the younger freshmen guys I take around when they first get here, but besides that, they usually find their way around and find the party spots before I can let them know where to go.

Paneech: You have carried a 4.0 grade point average for awhile, have you decided on a major yet?

Kanetsky: I am a Biology major and I am thinking about Dentistry after Biology.  One of my brothers graduated from Dental School at Ohio State, and the other one is about to.  I’m leaning towards that, but I still have a couple of years to see what happens with the economy.

Paneech:  If you were in charge of recruiting a student-athlete to play football, how would you convince him that the YSU academics are second to none?

Kanetsky:  I am part of the honors program here.  We have a 99% placement rate into your professional school after you graduate from here.  It’s kind of self-explanatory, if you want to get into school when you are done with the undergrad program here, it will happen.  Get in the honors program, keep your grades straight and work hard.  Get involved with other stuff, that always helps out on a resume.

Paneech:  How hard is it for you to be ready at all times to go into a game if called upon?

Kanetsky: It’s kind of tricky because you always have to be ready.  You sit on the sidelines the whole game and it could be any play.  All week, I sit in the film room to be just as prepared as Brandon [Summers], and I spend equal time going over stuff with the coaches.  Come Saturday, you could get in for an entire half, you could get in on the second play of the game, or you could end up just sitting.  I could just be used to hold on four PAT’s and that will be it.  It’s tough not getting to play, especially coming out of high school where you are the stud athlete, and that is what are used to.  You always have to be prepared, but as far as getting the job, you just have to wait your turn.

Paneech: Did you prosper at Hubbard more under Coach Bayuk or Coach Hoffman ?

Kanetsky:  (laughs) I would say I prospered equally under the two great coaches.  My Sophomore and Junior year (under Bayuk), we had a line that was just unreal.  When those lineman graduated, we only had a couple of experienced guys back so we weren’t able to power it down a team’s throat but rather had to rely on speed.  We definitely threw the ball around more under Hoffman.  Under Bayuk, we were just a well-oiled machine because we could run the ball whenever we wanted to and set up play-action passing which is easy when there are eight guys in the box and only three defenders in coverage.

Paneech:  You played baseball and basketball while at Hubbard.  Do you ever get the urge to go Bo Jackson here?

Kanetsky: No (laughs).  I would have liked to play basketball but I’m too small and I can’t jump.  I’ve got good vision and I play good rec ball.  No aspirations of collegiate ball.  If I wanted to do that I would have played Division-III somewhere where I could have played both.  I still miss basketball, but football is the way to go.

Paneech: How has your experience at YSU changed you as a person so far?

Kanetsky: It has opened me up to different lifestyles.  You get guys coming here from California that have never seen snow.  There are guys from Florida, a guy from Africa here.  All kinds of different guys that you wouldn’t talk to otherwise, and then you join the team and they are your friends that you hang out with on the weekends or going and eating with them after practice.  It’s a great experience, you end up friends with guys you could never see yourself hanging out with in a million years.

Paneech: Walk me through a typical Wednesday during the season.

Kanetsky: I wake up around 7:30, take a shower, and get ready for class.  I go to Spanish class at 8 o’clock for two hours.  Then I go to my American Government class at 10.  Then Organic Chemistry kills me at 11.  I run over here [Stambaugh Stadium] to lift at noon.  I get done lifting at about 12:45 and I run and get something to eat.  I get back here at 1:30 and try to watch a bit of practice film from the day before and then we have meetings at 2:12 followed by practice.  Then whatever after practice, alot of interviews (laughs). 

Paneech:  Do people besides family from Hubbard come to the games to support you?

Kanetsky: I’d like to think so.  I know alot of my friends starting coming when I got moved to number two on the depth chart against Southern Illinois.  I know there alot of people who know my parents and followed me in high school.  I think if I ever get the chance or get in one week and do something positive that more people from Hubbard would come to the games. 

Paneech:  Tell me what it is like playing for Coach Heacock.

Kanetsky: He is a no-nonsense guy.  He’s a great motivator and a great football coach.  He goes out and gives everyone a chance and he doesn’t discriminate against anyone.  He preaches team, family, and faith which is everything you need. 

One Word Answers

Favorite Board Game:   Settlers of Catan.  (I never heard of this game which prompted Marc to laugh.  After researching,  it is a game where you are trying to be the dominant force on the Island of Catan by building settlements, cities, and roads.)

Best Chicken Wings In The Area:  The Lube.

Favorite TV Show:  Sportscenter.

Browns or Steelers:  Browns.

Who Wins The 2009 World Series:  The Phillies.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream:  Apple Dumpling.

Best Class Offered At YSU:  Athletic Participation Class where you just get an “A” for being on a team.

Word Friends Use To Describe You:  Quirky.

Best Album / CD Ever Made:  Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell.

Favorite Fruit:  Pineapple.

Rockband or Madden:  Madden, actually NCAA Football.

Nicest Thing Someone Has Ever Done For You:  My mother gave birth to me, that was a good deal.

The title Sports Information Director almost sounds like a gift job, one that a smart laborer might be able to handle.  I never knew how many things were involved in such a job until I sat down with Trevor Parks.  Parks has been at YSU for 9+ years and seems to get better at what he is doing instead of riding on the wave of things he has done.  Parks grew up in Nebraska and still likes to talk about the times he had attending Cornhusker Football games.  I recently talked with Parks about the job, the area, and the future in a very in-depth interview that revealed the best and worst of times he has endured during his tenure.

Paneech: How did you first become involved with Youngstown State?

Parks: In July of 2000, I had the opportunity to interview here.  I came in and met with Ron Strollo, Dan O’Connell and Rick Love.  They showed me around and I liked the campus alot.  They liked me, Coach Tressel liked me, and I knew the history of the program a little, but not fully until I walked through the doors.  I liked everyone here and coach called and offered me the job in August of 2000, and I have been here ever since. 

Paneech: Talk about the duties of a sports information director.

Parks: We handle the athletic department’s website which is a variety of information including press releases, game recaps, and select feature stories.  We handle statistics at all home sporting events, coordinate interviews with media to talk with selected student-athletes and coaches, and create media guides for various sports.  It’s sports information whether it is local, regional, or national to get the word out on what is going on here at YSU.

Paneech:  How much contact do you keep with other SID’s at other colleges?

Parks: Probably not as much as I think all of us would like to just because of our daily schedules.  Our organization is called CoSIDA, which is over 1500 people in our profession.  I have teleconferences with that group where we share our challenges and what we do.  E-Mail has changed things a ton.  I still try to call the SID that we play the week of a game just to touch base and say hi, but 90% of the contact I end up having is through e-mail, which is both good and bad.

Paneech: How often do you talk with Coach Heacock and does any of your work involve him?

Parks: Anywhere from five to ten times a day.  If I have to talk to him, it’s a good setup because he has to walk by our doors to go to practice so if I need him, I can grab him real quick.  It’s changed alot this year since he took over the Defensive Coordinator position.  Before, I could just walk in the door and tell him, hey I need this or that.  Now, I kind of have to work around things.  You don’t want to walk in on the defensive staff when they are putting a weekly gameplan together.  The good thing about him [Heacock] is that his door is always open for us which has been a real positive in working with him.

Paneech: What was the nicest place that YSU ever visited to play a football game?

Parks: Ohio State was gorgeous.  The good and bad about going to the big schools is that they have so many people there.  Sometimes it is nicer to go to a place like Western Illinois where the press box isn’t very big, but you can get anywhere in two minutes.  At Ohio State, it’s going to take you at least ten minutes to get from the press box to the field if you are lucky.  The nicest place I actually remember was McNeese State.  If we ever had to do a redesign here, I would call them up.  Cal-Poly was different, it was kind of a scaffold with a tarp over it but it was unique because the mountains were right there, it was neat.

Paneech:  What was one of the worst places YSU ever went to play a football game?

Parks: I don’t want to say anything bad about anybody.  One of the most interesting places we went for football was Richmond when we went there for the playoffs.  That was the year we were 9-2, and we have this nice place here.  They were 9-2 and we ended up going there.  Their stadium was on like an old horse track or whatever it used to be.  The press box was fogging up during the game and the weather was miserable and we lost 10-3.  It just made you wonder, why aren’t we hosting this at our place?  They won the National Championship last year, so hats off to them.  Another interesting place was Chicago State because it was in not one of the nicer parts of Chicago so you had to be careful about getting there, and you saw doors with chains on them, the toilet paper there was chained down in the men’s stalls.  Those are probably two of the more interesting places we have been.

Paneech: How big of a transition did you undergo in relocating to Youngstown from Nebraska?

Parks: I was at Chattanooga before I got here.  Going from Lincoln to Chattanooga was a culture shock and a half.  The people there were great.  It was my first time away from home and I’m glad I went there before I got here because I’m not sure what it would have been like to go from Nebraska to here.  I got to spread my wings a little at Chattanooga, but I had to adjust to the weather, and it was just a different vibe.  Coming here was like coming home in alot of ways.  The weather here is the same [as Nebraska weather], you get storms, snow and cold, I already was used to driving in Winter weather.  If I ever get bored I can hop on I-80 West and drive straight for 950 miles to get home.

Paneech: Describe a typical day at work from start to finish.

Parks:  There really isn’t a typical day.  You can write down a thousand things on paper and hope to get as many done as you can.  You never know when somebody is going to call and need something.  If we have a basketball game on a Thursday night, you get here at about nine-o’clock in the morning but your not getting out of here until ten p.m., a thirteen hour ordeal.  In the Summer, you get here at about 8:30 a.m. and you are out of here at five, so it’s not too bad.  You need that energy for the Fall and Winter when there are events scheduled.  We work alot of weekends, so you try to get as much done as you can during the week. 

Paneech:  Tell me about the worst day, a nightmare day, that you have had here.

Parks: There have been a few of those.  One was when I almost quit.  We played Valpo in basketball and it was a great thing, and then Coach Robick freaked out after the game about some stuff, I was at my wit’s end and wrote a letter of resignation up.  I had only been working here for like eight months, so it is now one of those deals that you look back and laugh about.  When Shawn [Coin] died, it was by far one of the worst days here.  I walked in that morning with him, I walked down the hallway and he said he wasn’t feeling good, and two hours later he had a heart attack and shortly after that they said he was gone.  When I was dating my wife, I got a call here from her saying that her father wasn’t doing too well.  That situation was tough because he volunteered here [YSU] for years and was really well-liked.  Everyone was hurting when Shawn died, everyone was hurting when Mr. Strollo died.  (* Shawn Coin was a video coordinator at YSU who was 31 when he suffered a fatal heart-attack.  He died on August 18, 2008.  He and his wife Jennifer were expecting their first child in April of 2009.)

Paneech:  Will Youngstown State ever consider a jump to Division 1-A for football?

Parks: You look at what a school like Boise State has done.  We beat them in 1994 and now they are in the Top-5 of the BCS Schools.  The struggles with finances create problems.  The guys from Western Illinois said our facilities were nicer than Northern Illinois, so we obviously have a nice facility.  You also look at jumping from 63 scholarships you can split up to 85 full-boar scholarships.  I think after seeing football here for 10 years, its pretty darn good, but I think we are where we need to be.  It will be interesting to see what happens next year when a new president comes on and what direction things will go.

One Word Answers

Favorite Magazine:  Hockey News.

Best Stock You Ever Owned:  I’ve never dabbled in the stock market.

Pellini or Stoops:  Pellini.

If You Could Add A Color To YSU’s Red And Black, What Would It Be?  I have always liked teal, but I don’t see how it would work.

Favorite YSU Player of All-Time:  Kyle Smith.

The Indians Should Hire ____ To Run The Team:  Mike Florak.

Golf Club I Hit The Best:  8-iron.

One Word To Describe Donald Jones:  Amazing.

Best CD/Album Ever Made:  Michael Jackson’s Thriller.    Milli Vanilli.

Favorite Non-Sports Activity:  Walking the dog with my wife.

Favorite Holiday: 4th of July.

Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh:  Neither.

Joe Zarbo grew up a Buffalo Sabres fan.  Call it attraction by proximity as he grew up fairly close to Buffalo.  In the inaugural USHL season of the Youngstown Phantoms, Zarbo is one of the “go-to” guys, a veteran who played in the USHL last season.  A veteran in any other league would refer to a 35+ year-old player who has experience in many situations.  At 18, a veteran of the USHL means someone who played in the USHL last season.  I caught up with Zarbo at the Ice Zone and talked about Youngstown, Goodfellas, and about the pressure to lead a new team.

Paneech:  What kind of feelings do you have about scoring the first-ever USHL Phantoms goal?

Zarbo: It was a pretty special feeling getting the first USHL goal for the team.  It was also a pretty good feeling for myself.  I thought I had a pretty good game even though we lost.  We came out strong in the first [period] and I thought it was pretty cool.

Paneech:  How disappointed was the team with the loss to Indiana?

Zarbo: We were very disappointed.  We outworked them in the first period and we just got outside of our game and fell apart.

Paneech: Did Coach Mainhardt make wholesale changes after the loss or is he going to stick to a gameplan that he has laid out?

Zarbo: Coach is switching up the lines a little, but he is stressing for us to stick to the gameplan. 

Paneech: If Goodfellas is your favorite movie, you had to be thrilled about coming to Youngstown.

Zarbo: It’s a good movie.  I heard some stories about Youngstown, but its a cool place and those are all old stories.

Paneech: Tell me about Clarkson University and how you are already signed up for next season.

Zarbo: Clarkson is a small university in upstate New York that plays in the ECAC and I committed to go there three years ago and I should be on my way next year.  They are usually ranked in the Top-10 of Division-1 schools.

Paneech: How can Bobby Orr be your favorite hockey player if he retired before you were even born?

Zarbo: He set the level of play.  He was one of the greats and was just so much better than everyone else.

Paneech: Why the Buffalo Sabres?

Zarbo: I’m from Buffalo and growing up they were my favorite team.  I really liked Pat LaFontaine when he was there.  I also liked Rob Ray and Dominik Hasek.

Paneech: How do you like Youngstown so far?

Zarbo: It’s pretty nice.  I like being in the East.  Last year I was in Nebraska and I like it alot better here than there.  Days off are nice, I hang out with the team, watch some TV, play a video game.

Paneech: Predict your numbers for the season (goals and assists).

Zarbo: I would like to have 30 goals and 30 assists.

Paneech:  Why should people come and see the Phantoms instead of going to a movie on a Saturday?

Zarbo: It’s alot more intense than a chick flick.  If you like sports, it’s a fun sport to watch.  It’s high-level, high-intensity, fights, all kinds of stuff.

One Word Answers

Favorite Nickelback Song?  This Is How You Remind Me.

Favorite Flavor of Ice Cream?  Peanut Butter.

Best Show On Television?  Entourage.

Simpsons or Family Guy?  Family Guy.

Bills, Jets, or Giants?  Bills.

Best Goalie In The NHL?  Hasek.

Nicest Thing Anyone Has Done For You?  My parents putting up with me and raising me.

Topping(s) On A Pizza?  Pepperoni.

Favorite Soft Drink:  Cherry-Coke.

Ideal Number of Hours of Sleep Per Night?  12.

Don Cherry Is An Idiot, True or False?  False.

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. 

For the first time since 1934, a Lowellville High School Sports team has advanced to the Ohio State finals to compete for a championship.  The Lowellville Golf Team, coached by Tom Pilkington, is only in its eighth season as an existing program.  Naturally, the first five years were a slow progression from worse to better.  The team failed to win a match in its first three years of competition.  Pilkington has turned the program around as the Rockets have recently won their third straight league title.

The actual team is comprised of Anthony Alfano, Mauro Amendola, Ray Carlson, Joey Smith, and Tyler Vitas.  The format for high school league play is to have five golfers play a round.  The top four scores are used as a team total and the team posting the lowest score will win.  The alternate player is Dean Donatelli.  An alternate is used if one of the five starters are unable to compete for whatever reason.

The finals will be played on Friday and Saturday, October 16-17 in Columbus on the private Scarlet Course. The Rockets home course is Bedford Trails in Lowellville.  Bedford Trails has pretty much revitalized interest in local golf over the past several years.

Good Luck to the Rocket Linksters this weekend! 

At a school notorius for running the ball, an exceptional receiver rarely makes headway.  Donald Jones is the first exception to the norm at Youngstown State that I can recall since Jimmy “The Flea” Ferranti played at YSU about 30 years ago.  Jones is being watched by NFL scouts at every game.  He has been electrifying all season long and his work ethic is unmatched.  I would credit his off the field preparation for his Saturday success.  In a 17-7 loss Saturday, he tied the record at YSU for most catches in a game with 11.  Showing his true colors at the postgame press conference, Jones said the record was not very enjoyable because the team did not win.  Probably as humble and unselfish of a guy that there is, I sat and talked with Jones about his present, past, and potential future.

Paneech: Being one of 12 seniors, how important is it for you to lead by example?

Jones: It’s real important to lead by example as both a senior and a captain, but really, we need the whole team to lead by example.  Hopefully, everybody from freshmen to seniors step up because we need leaders at every position and in every group.

Paneech: I was sitting next to a Philadelphia Eagles scout who was here looking at you Saturday.  Do you know when they are coming and how does it effect your performance?

Jones: I guess I kind of hope that a scout is at every game.  I try not to pay attention to it.  I have to go out and perform if they are there or not to help this team win.

Paneech: Talk about how special this offense can be with all of the veterans at skill positions.

Jones: This offense can be very special with all of the veterans that we have.  We have to just go out there and make it happen on Saturdays.  We did not get the job done last weekend, but we need to change that this coming weekend.

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

Jones: I usually wake up real early on the day of a game even though I can’t sleep the night before.  Then I take a shower and go to walk-throughs we have if it’s a night game.  We then have our team meal.  After that I go to the stadium and the first thing I do is pray, then start warming up.  After that, I listen to a little music and then we hit the field for the game.  What I do after the game usually depends on the result.  If my family comes in, I hang out with them, win or lose.  If they are not here, I usually like to go home and just watch more college games on TV.

Paneech: Why communications as a major?

Jones: I like the speech classes.  I want to be a coach when I get done playing so it is good practice of learning how to talk in front of people. 

Paneech: Having been here for a few years, do you still get homesick?

Jones: Not really.  Even when I was at my other shool [Lackawana CC], I was only two hours away from home, and I never really went back just so I would be prepared for when I went further away.  I never really got homesick.

Paneech: Can Donald Jones play in the NFL?

Jones: We hope so.

Paneech:  Tell me about #81, and how you ended up with it, are you a T.O. fan?

Jones: It has nothing to do with T.O. (laughs).  I’m a Giants fan, so I would never do anything that T.O. does.  That was just the number they gave me, I always wanted to wear #10 which is what I wore in high school.  Ten was my favorite number but they handed me 81 so I stuck with it.

Paneech:  What other schools recruited you out of Plainfield (NJ) High School ?

Jones: Almost every school on the East Coast.  I committed to Wisconsin which did not go through because my grades weren’t good enough.  I ended up going to Lackawana CC Junior College.  Coming out of JuCo, I ended up selecting Ole’ Miss, but the coaching staff was fired so I selected Youngstown State.

Paneech:  Was the move to junior college the right move for you in the long run?

Jones: I’m real happy I made the move to Lackawana [Junior College].  The coach over there changed my whole mindset and ways of thinking for the better.  I got my grades up while I was there and I feel that if I would have went to a big school that I may have ended up there anyway.

Paneech: When you played high school baseball, what position did you play and what kind of batting average did you have?

Jones: I played centerfield and shortstop and I don’t remember my batting average.  I had like six home runs during my senior year. 

Paneech:  Talk about the toughness of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Jones: It’s a real tough conference.  Every team that we play is tough and it seems like when these other teams play Youngstown State, they play extra-tough.

One Word Answers

Favorite NFL Team:  New York Giants.

Favorite NFL Player:  Anquan Boldin.

Favorite Sport To Play Besides Football:  Baseball.

Favorite Sport To Watch Besides Football:  Basketball.

Favorite Toppings On A Pizza:  Pepperoni.

Best Show On TV:  Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Best Way To Spend A Day Off:  Sleep.

Funniest Movie Ever Made:  Bad Boys 2.

Best Fast Food Restaurant:  McDonalds.

Worst Class Ever Taken Here At YSU:  Writing Class.

Favorite Musician of All-Time:  Luther Vandross.

Best Thing About Youngstown:  The fans!

Now that the Indians have removed Eric Wedge from managerial duties, the search is on.  It has been widely assumed that nobody currently managing at a different level within the Indians system will be promoted.  This leaves a couple of hard choices for management.  I figured I would add my two cents (in case the great Mark Shapiro googles his name and hits this article) to post choices which would merit strong consideration.  Without hesitation, here are my top candidates to manage the Cleveland Indians:

#1. Reuben Kincaid

For all of my younger readers who have no idea, Reuben Kincaid managed The Partridge Family.  He propelled the Partridge’s to the top of the charts in the 1970’s.  He even has experience keeping eyesore Danny Partridge (Danny Bonaduce) in line.  If you hire Kincaid, you also gain a bench coach in Shirley Jones.  The only drawback on the Kincaid proposal would be having to suffer through “I Think I Love You” instead of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” for the 7th-inning stretch.

#2. Captain Lou Albano

Why not bring in Captain Lou Albano?  He has managed champions throughout his career.  If he can keep The Wild Samoans and George “The Animal” Steele under control, why would he struggle with Kerry Wood or Travis Hafner?  Pro wrestling and baseball are about neck-in-neck on the steroid abuse charts, it would be a magical fit.  The Indians may have to allow facial rubber banding, but what a small price to pay for someone with such a brilliant track record.

#3. Pete Rose

The legalization of casino gambling is a hot topic in the State of Ohio these days.  Some argue that they hate seeing the tax dollars earned go to surrounding states that Ohioans are frequenting.  By bringing in Pete Rose, you would have a win-win situation regardless of what happens to the proposed gaming legislation.  Someone has to bet on the Indians, why not Pete?  The bookies are dying for a fish to start betting consistently on the Tribe.  Yeah he may concede every third game by chewing up his bullpen to win some money but people know he would be firing on his own team causing a contagious reaction to betting on Cleveland to win.

#4.  Sir George Martin

This guy was able to make Beatles albums without the Beatles around each other.  He and his son then remix everything 40 years later and are making a killing in Vegas on the “improved” product.  Why don’t the Indians owners take a chance on Sir George Martin coming in to ‘remix’ the Indians?  Teach Grady Sizemore how to throw a curve, show Kelly Shoppach how to be the cutoff man on a single to right, work with Jensen Lewis on stealing second.  Remix things.  Could it be worse than it was most of this past season?

#5. LeBron James

This may be the most realistic choice on the menu.  Think about it.  He is now wearing #6 because he wanted to change things up.  He won a gold medal wearing #6, he is now #6 for the Cavs.  Braylon Edwards punches his little buddy and ends up in New York.  LeBron was instrumental, intentional or not,  in getting Braylon sent away.  It is probably a blessing for Cavs fans that Edwards is a jet.  The only bad scenario would be if LeBron went to New York after the season ended, he may order the Jets to ship Edwards back to Cleveland. 

The Indians can use that kind of stroke.  If you don’t think James has more power in Cleveland than anyone else than you are naive.  He pretty much dictates what the Cavs do, he is now dictating what the Browns do.  Hell, give him all of the keys to the city, let him say what the Indians should do too. 

The 2009 MLB Playoffs sure pose some interesting scenarios.  A potential Boston vs New York ALCS, an all-L.A. world series, who can cool off the red hot Twins, the wisdom and leadership of Joe Torre vs Tony LaRussa, the thin air of Colorado, and pitching.  P-I-T-C-H-I-N-G…  Whoever has it is going to keep advancing, whoever does not get it can start priming the snowmobiles now.

Twins vs Yankees

Depending on how long the Twins were out partying or not CC Sabathia should dominate Game 1.  The Twins trot out their rookie Brian Duensing as the lamb in this one.  However, the unpredictable AJ Burnett and the predictable Andy Petitte are pitching games 2 and 3 for the Yanks.  If the wrong Burnett shows up and Petitte throws his normal game, the Yanks could be in a 2-1 hole.

The Twins are just hot enough to start a descent, in this case, a season-ending fall.  The Yankees know that Jeter is a gamer in the postseason and A-Rod struggles.  Mark Teixera will make a difference and Nick Swisher will have one of those unlikely big games in leading the Yanks to the ALCS.

Yankees over Twins: 3 -1

Rockies vs Phillies

Pitching is really going to push the Phillies in the playoffs.  Cliff Lee gets the call for game one.  Cole Hamels gets game two.  That should be enough for a 2-0 Phillies lead.  They haven’t even announced a starter for game three yet but it won’t be Jamie Moyer.  The offense has been sluggish at times, but Jimmy Rollins is a big-game guy and Ryan Howard is always a threat.  Shane Victorino also knows how to turn it up in the postseason.

Yay Rockies!  You made it to the dance again!  Unfortunately for Colorado, Jorge De La Rosa (16 wins) isn’t active for the series due to injury.  This puts all of the pressure on Ubaldo Jimenez.  If Jimenez gets two starts and Colorado can grind out another win somewhere, they could stun the Phillies.  Don’t hold your breath.  Jimenez will walk a few guys in game one.

Phillies over Rockies: 3-1

Cardinals vs Dodgers

This series will be more of a chess match between the two best managers in baseball, Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa.  Unfortunately, LaRussa has a lethal queen (Pujols) and not many other pieces on offense.  With Clayton Kershaw limping down the stretch and Vicente Padilla’s unpredictability, the pitching edge would have to go to St. Louis.  However, I am not so sure that the Cards can muster enough offense to win.  Look for many close and low-scoring games in this series.  Manny Ramirez might play a role in games one and two, but I look for the Cards to handle him with care if they get burned once.

St. Louis over LA Dodgers: 3-2

Red Sox vs Angels

Perhaps the toughest series to break down, the pitching favors Boston and the offense favors the Angels.  However, the Angels pitching is capable of throwing shutouts and the Red Sox offense can score 13 runs in a game.  Josh Beckett has a reputation for throwing his best stuff in postseason competition.  If the series goes 5 games, Beckett gets two starts.  If Lester or Buchholz can squeeze a win, I think Boston will prevail.

This will also serve as Kendry Morales’ national stardom party.  I expect Morales to hit like crazy throughout the series.  I just don’t feel he will get much help. 

Boston over LA: 3-2 in a coin flip