Jon Loyte has only been a Mahoning Valley Thunder player for a few weeks.  He likes his team, he likes the coach, and he really thinks that things have gotten better since he got here.

Loyte was a standout tight end at Boston College.  He played a big role in as a “shorter” guy in the Eagles offense.  Against Georgia Tech, Loyte had 80 yards receiving sighting that game as his biggest individual moment in football.  He put the team ahead saying that the win at Virginia Tech when Matt Ryan went completely nuts in the second half was his greatest moment while playing college ball.

Loyte grew up in Boston and claims to be a huge Red Sox fan. 

Jon enjoys going to eat at Antone’s and Jeremiah Bullfrogs saying that the food here in the area is good and he can really struggle when trying to figure out what to order at either place.

Loyte revealed that growing up in Boston, he was a headbanger.  He liked the mainstream hard rock of the day.  He has since modernized and progressed musically to Kings of Leon and the modern alternative groove.

He also revealed that he only gets FOX in his room and watches the show Family Guy.  He also is catching up on the USA series Burn Notice that he has on DVD.  Since he can’t get ESPN, he watches Sportscenter when it is on anywhere else.

Loyte likes his video games.  He has an X-Box 360 and said he is totally and completely addicted to Halo.  “I usually don’t like shooting games, but Halo is just addicting – I can’t stop playing it.”  He also plays Madden and used to like EA Sports NCAA Football, but they screwed his number up on the game so he is on a mental boycott.  If you play NCAA ’08, Loyte is incorrectly labeled with #96 if you pick Boston College.

As far as being a member of the Thunder, Loyte told me that this team has the pieces to win, it just all needs to be put together.  The constant carousel of two or three new faces per week have been improvements to the team and that things are getting better every day for the Thunder.

Jon smiled when I asked him some of these questions and came off as a really good person.  He didn’t use and profanity or speak negatively about anyone or anything we discussed.  He is genuinely a positive person.

College Football is only a couple of months away.  Probably my personal favorite sport to follow from year-to-year.  The Buckeyes are reloaded and favored to win another Big 10 Championship.  Here are some stories from other sites.

• My Sports Rumors does an interesting comparison of the Transformers to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, sighting good vs evil.
• Sports Rubbish posted a Ryan Parker song about the two A-Rods, Alex Rodriguez and Andy Roddick.
• Zoner Sports posted a picture of a Ryan Leaf jersey for sale in an NFL Shops brochure, I wouldn’t pay the shipping fee just to get the shirt.
• Josh Q. Public posted a video of Joana Krupa expressing hatred toward Terrel Owens.
• NESW Sports posted video of the Shaq and Ben Stein Wild West Comcast Commercial.
• PacMan Jonesin’ writes about the retirement of Donald Fehr after 25 years of trying to ruin baseball in Darth Vader retires.
• PSAMP has video of Rashard Mendenhall dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
• Steady Burn informs us that William & Mary University will change their school nickname again.  They were the Indians, then The Tribe, now God only knows what.
• The Fifth Corner reports that Tyler Hansbrough has been invited to Madison Square Garden on draft day meaning his stock is definitely on the rise.
• Fansided gives their Father’s Day Lifetime Achievement Award to Marv Marinovich.
• Detroit4lyfe thinks the Pistons should avoid taking BJ Mullens with the 15th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
• Style Points has the story on Vince Young getting booed at Coach Fishers charity softball game.
• Bootlegger Sports tells you why the US Soccer Team is setting a good example.
• Major League Jerk finds Yahoo saying Mike Cameron is suspended 25 games for using an illegal substance.  Are they guessing?  Nobody else has said a thing.

I am excited to announce that I have been media credentialed to cover the Mahoning Valley Scrappers for their 2009 season.  Big deal you say?  Actually it is.  With the growth of my websites hits multiplying by 5 in the last two months, this type of forum is perfect for coverage of minor league baseball.

Anyone who has followed the Mahoning Valley Thunder football team on this site has learned about the players, gotten game reviews, and had inside information through my profile features.  I plan on doing Scrapper profiles as well as game summaries and can post some interviews here as well.

Victor Martinez (above) was a Scrapper.  There are several others who played for this very team now playing in the majors.  Because it is a Cleveland Indians farm club, many current Indians played for the Scrappers.  There are also plenty of others who were once in the Indians farm system and were traded or left playing in te big league as well.

Current Indians players who were once Mahoning Valley Scrappers include : Trevor Crowe, Ben Francisco, Ryan Garko, David Huff, Aaron Laffey, Jensen Lewis, Scott Lewis, Chris Gimenez, and Tony Sipp.

Players on other teams include: CC Sabathia (Yankees), Josh Bard (Nationals), Ryan Church (Mets), Chad Durbin (Phillies), Kevin Kouzmanoff (Padres), Joe Inglett and Brian Tallet (Blue Jays).

An early notable off to a hot start is Bo Greenwell, 18 year-old son of former all-star Mike Greenwell. 

The Scrappers, much like the Thunder, are a very family-friendly organization.  Although they run a dollar beer night on Thursday and have a Playmate (Lisa Neeld) in future promotions, the Scrappers really aim for quality family entertainment.

Someone on this years team will make it to the big leagues, nobody knows who…  But by attending a Scrappers game, you can say you saw them when…

Congratulation to Lucas Glover, the 2009 US Open Champion!  Here are stories from other great sites!

• PacMan Jonesin’ pays homage to Tony LaRussa on his 2,500th win.
• NESW Sports  has a unique video of Michael Jackson vs Michael Jordan in a 1 on 1 matchup.
• FOX Sports takes a look at the rare Monday ending to the US Open, and poses the question, Tiger is out of it, isn’t he?
• Josh Q. Public invites everyone to enter the John Smoltz era, as Smoltz gets ready to make his long awaited Red Sox debut.
• Major League Jerk has had enough of ESPN’s Joe Morgan and gives plenty of examples of why the network should seriously consider firing him.
• Fanhouse has the scoop on John Daly wrecking his bus into a tunnel.
• Sports Rubbish has video of a jockey falling off of the horse well before a race ends, but the horse still going on to win the race.
• No Guts, No Glory posts six of the greatest manager ejection videos of all-times.  There have been plenty in baseball, but I like the ones shown in this post.
• The World Of Isaac found some funny photos from the US Open golf tournament.

ESPN is reporting that Bernie Kosar has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Miami.  Kosar’s filing lists his assets between $1 million and $10 million and debts falling between $10 million and $50 million.

Kosar owes the Cleveland Browns almost $1.5 million in unsecured debt.  He also owes ex-wife Babette $3 million and the owner of the Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football League) $725,000.  Kosar’s big hole is that he owes a bank about $9 million for bad real estate deals.

I knew the 45 year-old Boardman Spartans grad liked to invest and had a hand in ownership of some local Arby’s franchises.  Kosar also had ownership of a steakhouse which went out of business last year.

Kosar played his college ball at the University of Miami (FL) and was drafted by the Browns.  His 10 + year NFL stint also had stops in Dallas and Miami until he retired in 1996.  Kosar got divorced in 2007.

I can only hope Bernie can pull it together, he is a class act. 

A rotten rumor about Kelly Pavlik has been circulating nationally.  The rumor is that Kelly Pavlik is in alcohol-rehabilitation.  Seeing a very healthy-looking Pavlik at tonight’s Thunder game, I am disturbed by what some people are writing and publishing on the national level when they do not know or understand any facts, but rather base a story on heresay to boost hits.

Being from Youngstown, and a nationally recognized blog, I am going to do the right thing and try to set the record straight.   Pavlik is not and was not in alcohol-rehab.  Everything the poor guy does is magnified times twenty because he is now famous.  In the months between training for a fight and fighting, Pavlik is all business.  What he does in the recreational time he has between the end of a fight and starting to train for the next fight is his business.

I know Kelly throws darts and shoots pool in sanctioned leagues in Youngstown.  Unfortunately for him, the dart matches do not take place in a church basement, but rather at a bar.  So he goes to a bar two or three times a week to throw darts or shoot pool with his friends.  Does that mean he automatically has an alcohol problem?  I shoot pool in sanctioned leagues too, the same ones as Pavlik.  I go to bars four nights a week, should I check into Betty Ford now? 

President Obama was photographed at a Washington Wizards game this past Winter.  He was photographed relaxing and drinking a beer.  Should we impeach him now?  I thought it was one of the coolest photos I ever saw because it showed him being a human being, an American.

First of all, drinking is legal in this country, and if any citizen chooses to drink, it is their legal American right.  Secondly, Kelly Pavlik is a self-advertised proud father, to him family comes first.  To me, that is respectable, because family comes first here as well.  Finally, I have had conversations with Jack Loew, Pavlik’s trainer, am friends with Mike Romeo, a member of team Pavlik, and have several common friends with Pavlik.  If this rumor were indeed true, I would know.  If I found out it was true, I would not write anything, especially in defense of Pavlik.

Bottom line is that my sources are people on the inside, and they would tell me the truth knowing I would not publish anything on this website to harm the reputation of someone who is pictured in my banner.  I can report here and now that Kelly Pavlik is just fine and that RingTalk.com writer Pedro Fernandez needs to re-check his sources because he was sorely misled.

The credibility of this website hangs on the balance of what I type every day.  I am willing to risk my own credibility based on who I have talked to and what they know. 

With a new deal in place with Top Rank signed about a month ago, Pavlik will continue to defend Youngstown.  With my credibility and reputation at stake, I will continue to defend Kelly Pavlik.

The Mahoning Valley Thunder finally won the paying crowd a free crunchy taco by scoring 50 points.  However, the Thunders record continued to make its own run for the border with another nerveracking loss Friday night at The Covelli Centre.  The Manchester Wolves know they won one they didn’t deserve to win, finishing ahead of Mahoning Valley on the scoreboard, 59-53.

The game started out all Thunder as quarterback Brad Roach was impressive early on.  The Thunder hurried out to a 20-0 lead and really looked like a well-oiled machine in doing so.    Manchester outscored Mahoning Valley 59-33 the rest of the game.

In a weird fourth quarter, where both teams scored 37 points, turnovers proved to do the Thunder in yet again.  Tied 41-41, Roach found Mr. Thunder, Quorey Payne on a 15-yard TD to give the Thunder a 47-41 lead.  On the extra point, the snap went over the holder Jermaine Moye’s head and was caught by kicker Nathan Palkovic.  Palkovic found lineman Kenny Shayne who caught the ball on about the five but came up a half-yard short of getting the two-points. 

The Wolves answered quickly as Mike Potts found Steve Savoy who made a circus catch for a 28-yard TD.  The Wolves kicked the extra point to take a 48-47 lead with less than a minute left in the game.  Quorey Payne returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to put Mahoning Valley back on top.  The two-point conversion failed and the Thunder held a 53-48 lead with :45 left in the game.

Mahoning Valley then tried something people were confused about, an onside kick.  Coach MacKeown told me after the game, “In arena football, you want to have the ball last, I figured if we got the kickoff, we could run out the clock.  If the kick failed, we would get the ball back with enough time to mount a drive and score.  People were screaming at me from the audience, calling me an idiot, but with the speed of the game and scoring happening pretty frequently, you always want to have the ball for the winning drive.”

Manchester recovered the onside kick attempt and scored when Potts jogged around the right side for six, and a two-point conversion made it 56-53. 

The kickoff hit a bar and the screen before Quorey Payne could field it cleanly.  He struggled to get the ball out of the end zone and was tackled on the one.  After a seven-yard completion, Roach fumbled the snap from center and Manchester recovered.  Mahoning Valley’s defense, which played well most of the night, forced Manchester to kick a 35-yard field goal.  The Thunder got the ball back with 10.5 seconds left.

CJ Brewer caught a Roach pass to get the ball near midfield with :03 left in the game.  On the last play, Roach lobbed a pass into the end zone, but it was knocked away and the Thunder came out a day late and a dollar short losing 59-53.

Mike Potts led the Wolves offense on 32-47 for 273 yards with 5 TD’s and 4 INT’s.  Of the 4 interceptions Potts threw, Mahoning Valley’s Brandon Taylor collected a franchise record three picks for the Thunder.  Manchester receiver Steve Savoy caught 12 balls for 120 yards and 4 TD’s.

Brad Roach was 16-32 with four interceptions.  Roach played much better than last week saying, “I am still learning the speed of arena football, everything is happening fast on the field.  I feel more comfortable and like this team, we can win once we eliminate turnovers and mistakes.”  Roach was given a vote of confidence by Coach MacKeown, “Brad is only in his second week, and really his first to prepare.  He is learning fast and if this were the eighth week of a new season, people would be Brad Roach fanatics, he is going to be great.”

Next week, Goliath returns to Youngstown as the 9-2 Wilkes Barre team revisits The Covelli Centre.  Coach MacKeown was adamant that this loss and last weeks were very different, but both still losses.  “I won’t rest until we win.  It’s going to be a tough week against Wilkes Barre, but if we play like we did most of tonight, we have a chance.”

#1. Popeye – Spinach My Ass.  Whatever was in that can was laced with some kind of HGH.  The guy is 65 years old and can still twirl Bluto on his finger effortlessly. 

#2. Superman – What do you think he was doing in that phone booth besides changing clothes?  He pulled out his Super Syringe and bulked up quick.  Kryptonite was just an excuse not to get tested.

#3. Captain Caveman – A little too much energy and spotty behavior convinces me this guy is using some kind of foreign substance.

#4. Batman – This picture shows Batman really needing a hit.  Robin was really a dealer who kept all of the injections and pills in order for Batman. 

#5. Hercules – This guy was the one responsible for starting this whole mess.  Would have hit 80 HR’s in the New York Yankee’s new stadium.  The father of steroids.

#6. Thor – Another early user, went down the same path as Hercules.  Swinging that big sledge hammer just isn’t possible au natural.  There was something going on there.

#7. Mighty Mouse – Definitely the smallest offender on the list.  If you study the picture above, you can see obvious pupil dilation and facial discoloration.  Two sure signs there was horseplay.

#8. Foghorn Leghorn – This was one of the first examples of why PETA jumped into Kentucky Fried Chicken’s business.  Genetically enhanced meat here. This is also the perfect example of what happens when you juice but don’t work out enough.

#9. Fred Flintstone – Look at the appetite imbalance.  Flintstone was another example of how not working out defeats the purpose.  He also tried to juice little kids in his Flintstones Chewable Vitamins.  What do you think was really in those?

#10. The Incredible Hulk – Another no doubter on the list.  Obvious skin discoloration and facial sagging.  He is the best example as far as mood swings as a side-effect of abusing steroids.

It looks like I will be covering the Mahoning Valley Scrappers this season.  I am excited for this opportunity and cant wait to cover the Cleveland Indians-affiliated group in Niles.  Remember, there have been some pretty solid guys who played for the Scrappers.  How about CC Sabathia, Ryan Church, and Victor Martinez, for starters.  I am encouraging everyone in the area to get to a Scrappers game this year to see the couple of guys who will be big-league stars someday.  I am also covering the Thunder and will opt to go to their game tonight instead of the Scrappers opener.  They only have a couple of games left and have been good to me.  The beauty of covering both is that the Scrappers play so many more games, so I will make my share after this hectic week.

That being said, here are some other great stories from around the blogosphere:

• SBC Blogging has the story of some trash talking between Mike Golic and Ocho Cinco on Twitter which results in Golic saying he wants to fight Chad Johnson.
• Yanks Go Yard gives a testemonial on Sammy Sosa and whether or not we should even care about steroids.
• Zoner Sports found an interesting picture of a kid wearing a Sammy Sosa jersey with some alterations.  Check it out.
• Major League Jerk composed a steroid opinion poll, which I voted in and my results are in his article.  Pretty interesting answers to read here.
• Josh Q. Public takes a look at the reason Colorado has caught fire – Jim Tracy, he also assesses the performance of Joe Morgan with the Red Sox.
• Gunaxin has compiled an interesting list on the Top Ten athletes with illegitimate kids.
• Fansided analyzes the rebuilding process in sports.  The Pirates should check this out as they have been rebuilding for 17 years.
• Detroit4lyfe looks at Dontrelle Willis as a head case.  Willis has just been put on the DL for anxiety disorder.
• NESW Sports posted a music video which pays tribute to all Pittsburgh sports teams called Pittsburgh Sports Teams Rock.
• Style Points submitted an article of a school teacher diving in to save Tom Brady when he kayak spilled.
• Bootlegger Sports reports that Jose Canseco has filed a class action lawsuit against MLB and the players association.
• Lake Show Life found Lamar Odom giving his fellow Lakers a customized bottle of Crown Royal XR as a gift for winning the NBA Championship.
• PSAMP found Max Talbot writing about how it feels to win the Stanley Cup on his blog.
• Steady Burn compiled a list of stories from fellow bloggers about what their earliest memories are in relation to sports.
• PacMan Jonesin’ posts that the UFL ran a suprise draft.
• Sports Rubbish has video of Kobe Bryant appearing on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

Baseball is trying to clean up its act.  Unfortunately, most of it’s biggest stars over the past ten years are somehow linked to steroids and HGH.  As baseball continues to try to weed out the artificial enhancements, the point is raised that there are plenty of other sports where steroid use is obviously rampant.  When will the other sports be forced to take the same stance as Major League Baseball?

Tony Mandarich can be called the Jose Canseco of the NFL.  He has not outted guys the way that Canseco has, but he has been quoted as saying that steroid abuse is very popular in the NFL.  Is John McCain a baseball purist?  He spent almost a year scolding MLB’s testing policies but said very little about football players.  Let’s face facts here.  Steroids are all about adding bulk and muscle.  NFL lineman are the bulkiest athletes in sports, yet you are not hearing about too many of them using steroids.  Football has adopted the slogan “bigger faster, stronger“, in its description of a complete player.  In a league where bulk is everything, we all know they are using.

Boxing may be the most corrupt of all sports.  For years, talk of fixed outcomes and political agendas have scarred the sweet science.  Recently, the names of “Sugar” Shane Moseley and Bernard Hopkins have come up in steroid discussions.  They are both in the “old man” bracket, but have come off of recent performances where they looked like they were 20 years old.  I wouldn’t put it past boxing to hide the drug testing results of any of its participants to keep the popularity wave on an increase.  The heavier the fighter, the more likely he is on something. 

There has also been plenty of chatter lately about the use of steroids in golf.  Maybe that is why many of us common folk can’t hit our drives 300.  Granted, I am not dropping any names in this category and the reason I chose the Tiger Woods picture is simply because of the pose.  Golf, questioned to even be a true sport by many for years can quite possibly be the next big list of names we see dropped when the muscle police get done with baseball.

Call Dana White a genius, I will continue to call him a weasel.  MMA may have the highest percentage of users.  Many MMA fighters have more muscular definition than bodybuilders and it isn’t because they can jump rope for an hour straight or learn how to pass a guard in an octagon.  I look for MMA to head down the same path as professional wrestling soon.  Not in the sense that the match outcomes will be predetermined, but rather it’s stars start dying at young ages due to all of the substances used in training.  The UFC is not a legal sport in many states.  The states that do permit MMA would be wise to start drug testing as a mandatory requirement.

Bodybuilding and pro wrestling do not need to be mentioned, I would be stating the obvious.  Batista of the WWE is way too big, too muscular and has to be on something.  He is only one example.  Vince McMahon is a weasel, moreso than Dana White, but is awfully bulky for a man at his age. 

Bottom line, any athlete who competes and brings home a check needs to be tested by an outside company before and after competing.  If this were ever going to happen, America’s new #1 sport will become archery.