Mahoning Valley Thunder Coach Chris MacKeown insists that Tom Zetts is now with the team because he is a player, not because he is a local guy to promote as a ticket selling scheme.  Zetts enjoyed a very successful career at Boardman High School and later with Youngstown State University.

As a member of the Penguins, Zetts recorded school bests for pass attempts (1,094), completions (654), touchdowns (51), yardage (7,643), 200-yard games (13) and completion percentage (59.8). His 8,277 total offensive yards are also tops in Penguins history.

Zetts spent the 2008 season with the Parma Panthers of the Italian-American Football League.  In his only season at the controls he guided his Italian Panthers team to the EFAF Cup Championship.  At season’s end, Zetts returned to the area and coached at Duquesne.

The Thunder contacted Zetts in the Spring to be a part of the team, but Zetts is very devoted to his job at Boardman High where he teaches a couple of levels of algebra.  His involvement in Spartans extra-curricular activities limited his time.  With three weeks left in the Thunder season, he wanted to take the time to see what he could do while still young and in good physical condition. 

Zetts told me he is thrilled to be a part of the Thunder and maybe getting the chance to play in front of family and friends.  Because of his familiarity with the area, a few of Zetts’ new co-workers have tried to make him tour guide for Youngstown nightlife and places to meet a pretty girl.  A chuckling Zetts replied that he is happy and that with a great girlfriend he doesn’t do too much solo nightlife activity.

Zetts said he didn’t hear much about the Steve McNair tragedy other than the fact that he was dead.  He was in San Diego enjoying a visit with his brother. 

Tom likes to watch Two And A Half Men and Sportscenter.  He is a Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers fan, but credits the emergence of cable television and TBS for his liking of the Atlanta Braves.

Zetts told me all of the places he has been, nobody has the selection of good pizza like Youngstown.  His favorite place is Belleria, but said he enjoys pizza from many places in the area.

Tom is a country music fan.  His favorite artist is Pat Green.

Zetts, like every other Thunder player likes video games.  He has a PS3 and is currently playing Call of Duty 4.  He also enjoys tinkering with some sports games.

Tom Zetts is a welcome addition to this team.  He knows his role and says he is not here to take Brad Roach’s job.  Coack MacKeown says that the person who plays will be the person who puts the team in the best position to win.  I like both Zetts and Roach and would not want to make that decision. 

Let the Roy Halladay bidding war begin!  I know two teams who won’t be submitting – Pittsburgh and Cleveland, who both gave up on their seasons a bit early.  My guess is that Halladay will end up with the Phillies or Mets.  Halladay will be strong for whoever scoops him up, I think he is the best pitcher in baseball.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• NESW Sports has video of Serena Williams on David Letterman’s show discussing her grunts.
• Josh Q. Public takes a look at Seattle Mariner pitching sensation Felix Rodriguez.
• MoonDog Sports wrote a good piece on how the economy is forcing many high school athletes to pay if they want to play.
• Fantasy Pros 911 says that the roll that Scott Rolen is on is just about over.
• Fansided tries to speculate in his piece, What If The Greatest Rappers of All Time Were Sports Legends?
• PSAMP repots that LaMarr Woodley is Essence Magazine’s single man of the month.
• Not Qualified To Comment has a change of heart toward Carlos Boozer maybe becoming a Bull.
• Steady Burn finds Roger Goodell and Jim Mora climbing Mt. Rainier to raise money for charity.
• Hugging Harold Reynolds reports that Sonia Sotomayor has put David Cone on her character witness list.
• Bootlegger Sports says former San Diego State Football Coach Chuck Long might be your new hero because San Diego State just can’t get rid of him.
• Zoner Sports found video of Asians doing Christopher Walken impressions.

Kelly Pavlik was at the Mahoning Valley Scrappers game on Thursday night and revealed his plans for the future, as well as what he has been up to lately.  A swarm of fans greeted Pavlik to get autographed copies of his book written by David Lee Morgan, Jr. and Greg Gulas.  The book is for sale on the official Team Pavlik website.

Pavlik said that the Felix Sturm (32-4-1, 14 KO’s) fight is on the board, but not set in stone yet.  “That’s the talk.  A couple of weeks ago it was definitely Felix Sturm until he backed out.  Now that this Super Middleweight Tournament is going on Showtime, I think it’s pretty much a reality that the fight [Sturm] is going to happen.” 

It seems the holdup on making the fight with Sturm official is the proposed purse from HBO.  “Somebody better throw some more money out there.  He’s got the WBA world title, I’ve got two titles.”  HBO has offered the fighters roughly $1 million each.  “If we’ve got to split that, I wasn’t going to take a fight for that.”

Pavlik (35-1, 31 KO’s) said he has been keeping busy lately and has even started to get into shape.  “We are starting at about three days a week now, I run.  Then next week we start with the weightlifting and getting back into the boxing gym.  We’re not going to do it too hard now because we still have a long way.  When you do eight weeks of seven hours a day of training, you don’t want to go too long out. I keep myself in pretty good shape, three days a week I always work out whether it’s lifting weights, or my basketball court, we get some pickup games going – we’re out there for four hours a day playing against different teams that come in, so I’m always doing some kind of activities.”

Kelly stressed that he is very anxious to get back in the ring.  ” As soon as we find out the exact date of the fight, and the date can still change, know that I am definitely excited to get back in the ring.”

Pavlik commented on the internet and blogs.  ” They wrote me off before and look what happened, I’ve got two belts.”

When asked where the fight might take place, Pavlik answered, “AC [Atlantic City], Youngstown or Cleveland.  Sturm’s coming over from Germany, I don’t see it happening in Vegas because he fought [Oscar]DeLa Hoya there and he kind of got robbed on that fight.  AC is kind of my second home, so, they’re going to have to pick somewhere in the Midwest I guess.”

On a very busy night at Eastwood Field, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers completed a sweep of the Auburn Doubledays, winning 4-3 in 14 innings.  The four hour and twenty-four minute marathon was the longest in Niles since the Scrappers beat Staten Island, 3-2, on August 6 of 2005.

Kelly Pavlik was at the park signing copies of his book alongside authors David Lee Morgan, Jr. and Greg Gulas.  Pavlik also threw out the ceremonial first pitch (above).  The weather was perfect for the big crowd to enjoy “Buck Night”, as well as an appearance from the Cavs dancers.  There was something going on everywhere before the game started.

Once the game started, Auburn jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Yan Gomes double.  In the top of the sixth, Auburn tacked on another run as Jimmy Gonzales drove in Welington Ramirez with a bases-loaded RBI single with one out.  Scrapper reliever Jose Urena pitched himself out of the bases-loaded one out jam to keep the score at 2-0 in favor of the Doubledays.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mahoning Valley got on the board as Jordan Henry singled and advanced to second on Lurvin Basabe’s walk.  Jason Smit found the hole between short and third scoring the speedy Henry cutting the lead to 2-1.  After Ben Carlson walked to load the bases, Chun Chen was hit by a pitch forcing in the tying run to knot the contest at two apiece.

In the tenth inning, Auburn got a run when Welington Ramirez singled home Brad Glenn.  The Scrappers tied the game in the bottom of the tenth as Ben Carlson led off with a single.  Carlson was then lifted for pinch runner Kyle Bellows, who stole second base.  Chen came through again with an RBI double that scored Bellows tying the game at 3-3.

In the bottom of the 14th inning, Rafael Vera delivered with a two-out, two-strike RBI single that would score Chen lifting the Scrappers to their fourth straight victory.

After the game, Coach Travis Fryman commented  on the long game.  ” I don’t have a lot of answers for that ball game, I really don’t.  I thought it was a very poorly played game, but a very gutsy game.  Both teams played hard for 14 innings.  We had many opportunities to win that game and it should not have went 14 innings.”

Fryman was also very praiseworthy of his catcher, Chun Chen.  “Fourteen innings to catch, three steals, three or four hits, it was a very gutsy effort on his part.”

A new feature here will be the Smit-O-Meter, tracking the nightly efforts of Scrapper Jason Smit, one of the most charismatic athletes I have ever met.

The 7-9-09 Smit-O Meter:  3-7 with an RBI (10), currently batting .325.

What a story Lance Armstrong could write.  He is peddling his way up the standings in this years Tour de France bike race and has already won there in the past.  He beat cancer and got to date Sheryl Crow for awhile.  He is truly living the dream.

Couple of updates for you readers…  Kelly Pavlik is throwing out the first pitch at the Scrappers game tonight, I will have something posted here tomorrow of his appearance at the game.

I am interviewing Jason Smit before the game.  Smit was drafted at age 16 and is from Australia.  He is working hard to climb the ladder and get to the next level.  I have had brief conversations with him before and he is an enjoyable person.

I am close to gaining credentials for Youngstown State Football and couldn’t be more excited about the potential of Coach Heacock and this years team.

I spoke with Mike Pavlik yesterday and am very close to securing an interview with Kelly Pavlik in the next couple of weeks, stay tuned for that.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• Sports Rubbish found Colin Montgomery warming up for the British Open by hitting some targets provided by Pirates.  Check out the divot he takes out of a green.
• PSAMP likes the brand of humor that Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes brings to the table.
• The Fifth Corner updates the progress of Team USA’s basketball squad in the World University Games.
• Zoner Sports thinks that Alfonso Soriano is not good enough to complain about a day off he was not expecting.
• Babes Love Baseball posted a video of Mark Wahlberg throwing some pitches and hitting a fan right in the ass on his first pitch.
• Sharapova’s Thigh looks at the ridiculous money people like Marcin Gorcet are handed as NBA free agents.
• Style Points has Albert Pujols with a blank slate after finding an interview with the machine where nothing was answered with a cliche or traditional answer.
• NESW Sports also has a video of Mark Wahlberg throwing out the first pitch that errantly hit a fan in the butt.
• Fansided previews the tough ACC Conference for the upcoming college football season.
• Cubbies Crib thinks the Cubs are too reliant on Derek Lee and need something from Aramis Ramirez and/or Alfonso Soriano.

In what can only be described as a weird thought, Joel Hanrahan could have been the first player in major-league baseball history to win and lose the same game. If Hanrahan had been traded to Houston instead of Pittsburgh, the oddest scenario ever could have been played out.

 The Astros and Nationals have to finish a suspended game tomorrow. The game is tied 10-10 after ten and a half innings.  Joel Hanrahan pitched the top of the 11th for Washington without giving up a run.  He is in line to get the win if Washington could scratch out a run in the bottom half.  The game was then suspended before Washington got to bat.

Here is where it gets tricky…  Had Houston acquired Hanrahan instead of Pittsburgh and put him on the mound in the bottom of the 11th and Hanrahan gives up a run.  He would have been the winning pitcher for Washington and the losing pitcher for Houston.

However, it will not happen as Pittsburgh continues to run a flea market for the rest of MLB.

Just saying though, how weird would that have been?

Marty Popham (on mound in picture) seems to get better every start and the statistics are backing him up.  Popham threw a career-high 7 innings, struck out a career-high 9 batters and only walked one in leading the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to a 6-1 victory over the Auburn Doubledays.   

Popham threw 89 pitches before giving way to reliever Austin Adams.  Adams kept the no-hit bid alive but after a couple of Scrapper errors, Doubledays LF Chris Hopkins singled with two outs in the ninth inning.  There has never been a no-no thrown at Cafaro Field.  The Scrappers recorded a no-hitter in 2007, but that was in Vermont.

A vocal audience of 3,903 enjoyed one of the best pitching performances in Scrapper history.

Mahoning Valley wasted little time getting on the board in the first inning as Jordan Henry walked and would later score on a Brian Justice wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.

In the third, Kyle Bellows, who walked three times in the game, reached via the free pass with two outs.   Greg Folgia delivered with an RBI double, scoring Bellows,  to double the Scrappers lead to 2-0.

Back-to-back singles by Henry and Kyle Smith set the stage for Jason Smit’s RBI double in the sixth.  Ben Carlson’s sac fly plated Smith to push the lead to 4-0.

In the bottom of the seventh, Lurvin Basabe’s double to left scored Folgia.  Besabe came home to make it 6-0 on Jordan’s third single of the night.

Marty Popham was throwing a perfect game into the seventh inning.  His walk to Eric Eiland squashed perfection possibilities, but he did leave with a no-hitter still intact.  After the game, Popham commented on his effort, “I had everything going for me tonight – all of the pitches, good catching behind the plate, and great defense in the field.  Going seven almost perfect, it was a hell of an outing.  I haven’t started since college, when I first got drafted they put me in the bullpen for the whole year and I just started coming back as a starter.”

Coach Travis Fryman praised the performance that Popham had, ” Two in a row, back-to-back performances that we expect from Marty.  At this level the guys are on pitch limits, obviously your not going to see an individual throw a no-hitter.  To get seven innings, frankly, this early in the year is a testament to how efficient he was from inning-to-inning.”

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

The Good Guy

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

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

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

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

The Bad Guy

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

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

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

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

Patrick Wells is one of the newest members of the Mahoning Valley Thunder.  He has led the team in tackles the past couple of games, and has been a difference maker on a defense that seems to be improving every week.

Wells grew up in Dayton and played his high school football in the Cincy hotbed.  Wells played his college ball in Michigan at Ferris State.  He was recruited to go to camp with the Cleveland Browns after Ferris State.  ” I got calls to go to many camps as the most-recruited guy at Ferris State.”

Wells said he likes the area and really likes eating at Antone’s.  He told me that the fried cheese and chicken parm are out of this world.

Patrick likes to play Call To Duty with QB Brad Roach.  “We got here about the same time and we have gotten to be pretty good friends.”

Wells said he does not have the time to watch too much television.  He will watch Sportscenter when it comes on, but other than that he would rather spend his spare time lifting weights and working out.

Wells is in a retro music mode right now.  He is on a Bone, Thugs, & Harmony kick.  However, with the fast-paced practices and workouts, he said he has been listening to slower and calmer music to unwind.

We briefly discussed the deaths of stars like Steve McNair and Michael Jackson.  I asked Wells who might be next.  “If Eminem died, it would shock people.  He mistreated his body early in his career.  That would be a real suprise.”  Granted, Wells is not wishing death on anyone, just merely doing his best Nostre Damas at my request.

Wells was well-spoken and seemed focused throughout the practice I attended.  He will be around for awhile if the opportunity does not present itself at the higher levels.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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