Can the Pirates be the Pirates without ’Cutch?

November 22, 2016

Most fairweather fans and national baseball writers can agree that the Pittsburgh Pirates became legitimate contenders by playing in the 2013 Wild Card Game. By defeating the Cincinnati Reds on Oct. 1, 2013, the Pirates proved they belonged at the top of Major League Baseball. Personally, I felt that the Pirates “made it” earlier in that season. Say, May or June. Then, inside the team store at PNC Park, one could find multiple T-shirt jerseys with various players’ names on the back. I was actually taken aback when I saw a Clint Barmes No. 12 shirt available for purchase. ...

A big hire ahead for BL

November 21, 2016

Buckeye Local High School has a really important hire coming up. The Panthers will be looking for their third head football coach in three years. I know not everyone understands the importance of this next move. But, it’s a big deal. A real big deal. “I am a big believer that participating in organized athletics — especially team sports — can teach values and life lessons that youngsters can use in their teenage years and beyond,” Buckeye Local Athletic Director Sam Jones said. “Athletics teach discipline, hard work, sacrifice, teamwork, dealing with success and ...

Life in and about the sports world

November 14, 2016

I read that Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is going to declare the 2016 World Series a tie. Apparently, not everyone likes the fact that the Loveable Losers — a.k.a. the Chicago Cubs — broke an 108-year-old streak of not winning the World Series. So, in the interest of fair play and the everyone-gets-a-trophy world, he is making an extra World Series trophy and shipping it to the Cleveland Indians and declaring there are co-winners. Not everyone likes that idea either, but fewer people are offended. ¯ In other news, Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans sat ...

Big 10 and its greed

November 7, 2016

Gordon Gekko was wrong. And, so is the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten decided last week to play six conference games a season on Friday nights through 2022. No team will play more than one per year. And, according to Big Ten Conference Senior Associate Commissioner Mark Rudner, the games have been added to the television agreements with Fox and ESPN/ABC. They are doing this under the guise of more exposure for the conference. But, don’t let that fool you folks. Much like Jerry Maguire, this is ALL about showing the Big Ten the money. This is greed. With a capital ...

Coaches, players remained stoic about approach

November 3, 2016

CLEVELAND — Aside from the hundreds, if not thousands, of reporters watching the players’ every move on Wednesday, batting practice before Game 7 of World Series was like any other session from any point of the year. Players were taking their cuts, laughing with each other and running the bases like it was June 2, as opposed to Nov. 2. With a game time temperature of 72 degrees, it certainly was more like the regular season than the postseason. But, it wasn’t a normal game. Far from it. However, there was a sense of normalcy in the Cubs and Indians locker rooms before the ...

Confident Perez had the best moment to remember

October 26, 2016

CLEVELAND — Driving up to Cleveland on Tuesday, I thought that I was the luckiest 27-year old in Northeast Ohio. Turns out, it wasn’t me at all. It was Indians catcher Roberto Perez. Though, Perez’s heroics in Game 1 of the World Series weren’t based solely on luck, it was his confidence that helped propel him to blast two home runs against the Cubs. “It means a lot,” Perez said after the 6-0 victory at Progressive Field. “I’ve come a long way. I’m playing with a lot of confidence right now. I’m not trying to do too much at the plate. I’m trying to control my ...