Arrows shock Avon Lake

The Ashland Arrows scored the first two touchdowns of the game and hung on for dear life in the Regional Semi-Finals,but managed to do just that in upsetting the number 1 seeded Avon Lake Shoremen 21-14.
Taylor Housewright ran for the first TD and tossed an 39 yard pass to Shane Kipp for the early lead.
The Shoremen battled back with a late first half score to trim the halftime score to 14-7.
Housewright scored the only Ashland second half points on another QB sneak,while the Shoremen again cut the lead to seven late in the game,they would never get the opportunity to score again as they would never see the ball offensively again.
The Arrows did exactly what they needed to do to dump the favored Shoremen as they forced 4 turnovers,3 of those via the interception route.
Ashland will take on Sylvania Southview for the Regional title next week in a rematch from last years first round matchup.
Ashland won that game at home 47-34.
More coverage on this over at ShoremenFootball.

Ohio State finishes their home schedule today vs the dangerous Illinois Fighting Illini.
OSU cannot look past this game to next weeks michigan battle as the Illini are a talented and improved team from past editions.
But they have been a different team on the road than the team that plays at home in Champaign.
I think this one will be close for a while and similar to last week,the Buckeyes pull away.
Our pick:Ohio State 31-20.

The New Jersey Devils return to action on the Island tonight against the Islanders at 7 in an attempt to keep the winning momentum going.
A victory would propel them out of the basement.

Bullpen Notes

Wake Forest opened up their hoop season with a win over Fairfield,but the pre-game honored former coach Skip Prosser with a video montage and a banner of Skip behind the Deacon bench.
Nice touch to remember Prosser permanently and classy presentation as well.
We will occasionally keep an eye on the Deacon hoop program here.

Former Pirate fan favorite Craig Wilson sounds like he would not be against a return to Pittsburgh.
I have always liked Craig,but not sure his skills really fit what this team needs.
I am reserving judgement until I see the rosters look after the many moves that I am sure the Huntington regime will make.

More on the Buccos.
I hear that Jason Bay is being pursued by several teams,but his most ardent admirer is the Cleveland Indians.
Since Neal Huntington came to Pittsburgh from Cleveland,he should be be very knowledgeable about the Tribe's farm system.
Two rumors that I have heard about Bay are these-One is for Jhonny Peralta,Cliff Lee and one of the glut of outfielders that Cleveland has accumulated,while the other removes Peralta from the deal but adds power-armed lefty (and autograph collector favorite,sarcasm here) Chuck Lofgren.

The infield renovation for Municipal Stadium has begun and you can watch it here.
The crew doing it is the same company that did the work on Frederick's Harry Grove Stadium last year.

Finally had a chance to watch last weekends fights and we went 1-1,as we had Juan Manuel Marquez's unanimous win over Rocky Juarez correct,while we missed on the Joe Calzaghe win over Mikkel Kessler.
We did score both fights and agreed with the judging on both.
Starting in 2008,we will be keeping track of the boxing prediction record as the year progresses.

Finishing up on another boxing note-Should be a good one for the WBA Welterweight title in New York tonight between Champion Miguel Cotto vs challenger Shane Mosley.
Tough fight to call,but let's go with the younger Cotto in a close battle.

Until tomorrow or sooner with Buckeye results,Browns-Steelers preview and maybe more on the Ashland-Avon Lake battle,if I can find more comments.

Photo Credits
Ashland-Avon Lake-Daniel Melograna- Mansfield News Journal
Helmets-Helmet Project

Cleanin' out the inbox

Here are a few things to post from the inbox and get them up before they get shuffled back by the new stuff.

Battlin' Bob sends us this link from MLB.com on the Pirate farm system.
Nothing to quibble with too much although I think they think a bit too highly of Nyjer Morgan and maybe not highly enough of Jason Delaney's season.

Our guy in Japan,Brandon Siefken sends us word that the New York Lite Red Sox are also very interested in Hiroshima Carp righty Hideki Kuroda.
Seattle is still considered to be the favorite.

Our source in Pulaski Virginia tells us that the Seattle Mariners are still pondering the acquisition of the Appalachian League franchise,but the other two teams that had shown interest had dropped out.
The other interested teams were the Giants and Rangers.
The Rangers had been based in Pulaski in the past.
If the Mariners go to Pulaski,I will pull for them a bit-LOL!

I have been talking all day with a fan of the Avon Lake Shoremen.
Frank has a great site covering the powerhouse from Avon Lake and we will be linking to his coverage of tonight's contest in Brunswick.

And finally in a class move,the Pirates brought former manager Chuck Tanner home where he belongs as a senior advisor.
Tanner,who of course managed the Pirates to its last World Championship in 1979,had been scouting teams in PNC Park for the Indians for the last five years.

Until tomorrow morning with Avon Lake-Ashland,Ohio State-Illinois preview and of course more notes from the bullpen!

Starting to walk down the road.

Well,my hiatus is over,things are unpacked and I return to the mundane world of real work.
Hang in there,I will catch everyone up on things that I have missed over the next few days for plenty of opinions on the Pirates hiring for their open positions and others that I was away for.

But,first to avoid getting further behind,we will cover things from last night and today.
The New Jersey Devils dropped both of their hiatus games,as they lost to the Rangers in New York 2-1 in overtime (at least they get a point for that one) and were drilled at home by the Penguins 5-0 in a game that Doc Emrick said was their worst outing of the season.
But the Devils bounced back last night with a late first period blitz that sent Philadelphia goaltender Martin Biron reeling from the game and enabled the Devils to gain a 4-1 victory that was desperately needed over the first place Flyers.
Dainus Zubrus hit the twine twice during the flurry for his first two goals of the season,while Brian Gionta scored his fourth of the year in between the two Zubrus goals.
The second Zubrus goal was a shorthanded tally.
Former Buckeye Rod Pelley added his first ever NHL goal in the second period to complete the scoring.
The Devils held the Flyers to just 14 shots against Marty Brodeur and seemed to be paying more attention to the defensive end from the forwards.
Add to that two action fights from the game with Arron Asham and Sheldon Brookbank defending the Red and Black with the whipping of a rival-What more can you ask for,except maybe a shutout?
The Devils remain in last place in the Atlantic Division with 14 points,but as unaccustomed as Devils fans are to being in last,it really is not anywhere near dire straits yet.
The Devils are only 4 points away from first place Philadelphia.
New Jersey returns to action Saturday against the Islanders.

The Ashland Arrows battle the top ranked Division II team in Ohio tonight in the Avon Lake Shoremen in the Region 6 Semi-Finals.
The Shoremen played the Arrows in Round 1 of the Regionals in 2003 and came away with a hard fought 14-3 win.
Avon Lake eventually won the state championship and some Shoremen fans are of the opinion that the 2003 Arrows were the best team that they played that season.
The weather may play a factor in the game in Brunswick as the Arrow offense is tailored (no pun intended) to the passing game while the Shoremen are a bruising run-oriented squad.
The forecast calls for a mix of rain and snow showers.

Bullpen Notes

Here is a link to an article on the upcoming "yard sale" of leftover items and other things from Ray Winder Field in Little Rock.
Winder was the long time home of the AA Arkansas Travelers.

From the Wow department.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays announced that they are now the Tampa Bay Rays.
They also changed their team colors from green to blue.
The best thing they had going were the cool hats and uniforms,so they cannot even get that right!
Word is that the new logo will feature a guy from New York named Ray spinning a pizza on his finger.

And from the one shot ruined my career file-
Eric Lindros announced his retirement after 13 seasons.
Lindros was never the same after the devastating knockout shot that he took from Scott Stevens in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference finals.
Ken Daneyko spoke of Lindros and said the concussions were the key factor in his demise and that it was caused by this-Lindros never adjusted from his habit of skating with his head down.
He always got away with it as a developing player due to his bigger size and superior strength,but when the players caught up to him,they REALLY caught up to him.
Excellent observation I thought.

All of now-I may return later for some catch up work.
We have the Pirates and their surprise hirings,the Ohio State-Wisconsin and Browns-Seahawks games and last weekends big fights to comment on.

Photo Credits
Asham and Pelley-Jim McIssac-Getty Images
Helmets-Ohio Helmet Project
Lindros-Chris Gardner-AP Photo

From the road-Interview with.............

From the home office at the Holiday Inn,I had some down time and was able to get this up and finished.

This is an interview with John Morgan,the editor of Field Gulls.

Field Gulls is the elite Seahawks blog out there and details 'Hawk football in the same manner that I like to think we cover the Pirates and the SAL here.

Thanks to John for taking the time to do this for us and hopefully I can get him to make a return here after the season ends.

1) Why has Shaun Alexander's game declined so quickly and is there a chance that he could be gone in 2008?

John:Shaun Alexander's decline is typical of players of his age, injury history and usage. It doesn't help that his offensive line has taken a big step down in the past two seasons. That doesn't mean the line is bad--just not the "best in the league" unit of 2005. What's exacerbating his decline is that his style is particularly precarious.When he could cut with authority, and moreover, had the initial burst or first gear to hit the hole or cutback, he was a legitimate big playback. Now that he can't, he's attempting to do too much with a body that is simply no longer able. It is very reasonable to think thatAlexander will no longer be with the team in 2008.

2) The offensive line was thought to be a strength,but has been a mild disappointment,why so and your thoughts on improvement?

John:The Seahawks offensive line is a strength, it just is masked beneath the poor rushing of Alexander and the recent injuries to the Hawks' top two wide outs. The former has made the run blocking look far worse than it has been. The latter has led to cover sacks, as Matt Hasselbeck seems content to take a sack or attempt a futile scramble rather than throw to a receiver he cannot trust. With the exception of Chris Gray,every member of Seattle's line is above average for their position or better. I think a big story next year will be the improved run blocking of Seattle's line, but in reality the improvement will be moderate, more a result of improved running back play

3)Is the long term plan for Seneca Wallace to be a " slash" player or continue as the 2nd QB?

John:Slash. That's clear this season, the coaching staff cannot have that much faith in Frye after only a couple of months. I think we can saywith some certainty that the Hawks have long wanted to convertWallace, but that David Greene simply was not good enough to allow that

4)I have thought that teams are beginning to see the Holmgren "routine" on playcalling,for example the play action to the TE on short yardage. Your thoughts?

John:Up until last game, the Hawks ran a ton out of 3 WR, I-Back sets. So I watched for that, but they mixed it up. It didn't help, because Alexander was still not rushing well and other than Engram, Beck had no one he trusts receiving. I don't think Seattle's problem is overly
predictable play calling. I think it's lack of execution. When you think of 2005, everyone in the stadium could see an off tackle run with a Hutch pull block coming a mile away, but when the talent and execution is able the plays work.

5)Your thoughts are the performance of this years rookie class?

John:Seattle, I would say good to excellent. Mebane is a proper run stuffer, a big upgrade over Darby and a good fit in Seattle's preferred one gap system. Josh Wilson could develop into an elite nickel back and once Seattle moves Nate Burleson (I think they will do that this off season) should be able to be a similarly explosive kickand punt returner. Wrotto and Kent are all potential, so that's very wait and see. Taylor has Engram like hands, savvy and work ethic. I believe he should have little trouble sticking with the team, and should become a very valuable slot or possession receiver. Vallos has a chance of being a very good center or utility lineman after some seasoning on the practice squad. Herring is a contributor on special teams and could work as a third down linebacker eventually. Baraka Atkins is still having problems converting his athletic talent into on-field production, but at the very least he's a sound run stopping end that has value in a rotation. The Hawks lacked a first round pick,but few teams can boast the kind of immediate and comprehensive production Seattle has gotten from this last draft class.

6)What is the reason behind the seeming lack of chemistry between Hasselbeck and his receivers?Seems like they are on the wrong page often even with the veterans that have been there for a while

John:I don't know why Beck takes so long to get a feel for his receivers,but you saw that last season with Branch too. Holmgren's system is all timing, I would guess a lack of rhythm in the literal sense of timedmotion is the culprit. Beck is not seeing his receivers where he needs them to be when he needs them to be and has gotten the Holmgren brainwash to not improvise.

7)Chances on re-signing Marcus Trufant?

John:The chances of resigning Trufant, I would guess, are very good.

8)Could there be a chance that Holmgren steps down at seasons end?If so,will the replacement be inside the organization or outside?

John:I fully believe this is Holmgren's last season, and though I'm not very keen on the idea, it's also very likely that Jim Mora Jr. will have every opportunity to take over

9)Your thoughts on the 2nd half?

John:The Hawks likely have a playoff spot for the taking, so WRT the secondhalf, you can nearly count on that. This team has a lot of upward or downward mobility. Upward, dependent on health and some needed personnel changes (especially in the running game). Downward, injury,injury, injury. Walter Jones may no longer be WALTER JONES, but he's still an upper echelon left tackle. Obviously if Beck gets hurt the offense will stall. The Hawks are currently very thin behind Brandon Mebane, but I like Mebane's ability to stay healthy. One player people don't understand that Seattle can't live without is Rocky Bernard.He's possibly the most underrated 3 technique tackle in all offootball and really drives the pass rush. You can say injury could fell any squad, even the NE juggernaut would be lost without Brady, so take the injury stuff as you will. Healthy, with some semblance of a rushing attack (something as simple as giving Weaver and Morris carries), and this team is a true Super Bowl contender in the NFC. No NFC squad, short of a miracle, is going to stand a chance againstwhatever AFC squad emerges, but football isn't truly a zero sum game.Fans and franchises benefit from simple success. So, if you are willing to see the playoffs as not entitled, but a reward most fans don't get and some haven't gotten for a very long time, the Hawks are and have been one of the most rewarding teams in football.

Thanks for doing this John,I appreciate the time.

One for the road.

Since I am up before the road,I thought I would bang out one more post before hiatus.

The New Jersey Devils used a strong performance from Martin Brodeur and two timely 3rd period goals to squeeze out a 3-2 win at the Rock over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
John Madden(6) scored a shorthanded goal late in the third to break a 1-1 tie and shortly thereafter Zach Parise (4) added an insurance goal that would be needed as the Leafs cut the lead to one with 32 seconds to go.
The Sundin goal was a throw it towards the net and pray type and was totally a lucky bounce.
Brodeur played well for the second game in a row and I am anxious to see if Brent Sutter uses Kevin Weekes tonight vs the Rangers or sticks with Marty.
The Devils first goal in the game went to the always gritty David Clarkson for Clarkson's first goal of the season.
Looks like the Devils are picking things up somewhat,but the two wins were over teams that you should be able to beat at home.
But the wins count the same no matter what,so I am happy to take them.
The Devils play twice during hiatus-tonight at the Rangers and Monday night vs the Penguins at the Rock.
Unless my hotel has Versus,I will miss both games.

Watching the Ashland Arrows take on the Olentangy Liberty Patriots on Sports Time Ohio tonight,I realized again why states like Ohio and Pennsylvania's high school football has so much
excitement,tension,atmosphere and fan support than the tepid version that we are fed locally.
Putting the actual game aside,the fans and the environment in Ashland tonight were electric and it came across well on television.
You could never get anything close to that here.
Perhaps for their Halloween parade (Huge eye roll here),but nothing else.
The Arrows stormed from the gate with three first half touchdowns to build a 21-0 lead,but the visiting Patriots scored on their final first half drive to cut the lead to 21-7 at the half.
Olentangy continued to dominate the second half and pulled into a tie with roughly five minutes to play before Taylor Housewright struck the telling blow with a long TD pass to Anthony Fairhurst to put the game winner on the board.
The Arrow defense held on fourth down and used three kneel downs to end the game.
An excellent game and well played by both teams,as only 1 turnover was made during the contest.
The Arrows move to battle the top seed in Region 6 in the Avon Lake Shoremen.
This is a tournament rematch from 2003.
I have a report that the game will be at Brunswick as the neutral site,but no confirmation.

Bullpen Notes

Former Buckeye passer Justin Zwick did color commentary on the game and when they reviewed each teams season to date,play by play Matt Underwood apologized to Zwick for showing the Ashland win over Orrville.
Zwick left Orrville (without changing his address) to play at Massillon Washington for his final two years of High School.

Another show ruined by Alison Stewart as she is on Bill Maher's panel tonight.
Very few things are worse than watching someone 41 years old act like they are 21.

Until Wednesday!

Photo Credit
Clarkson-Bruce Bennett-Getty Images

Last post before Hiatus?

Could be my last post before hiatus here,if I have time I will add a recap of tonight's Devils vs Maple Leafs.

As mentioned the Devils play the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs at the Rock tonight at 7:00.
Marty Brodeur is between the pipes for the Devils,so bet on Kevin Weekes playing tomorrow night vs the Rangers.
I will miss the game vs the Rangers and Monday's game vs the Penguins.

Predictions for this weekends pair of terrific title bouts.
We like Juan Manuel Marquez over Rocky Juarez by decision,as well as Mikkel Kessler by close decision over Joe Calzaghe.
But keep in mind that the Kessler-Calzaghe fight is in Calzaghe's native Wales,so if indeed the decision is tight,the call may go the way of the Welshman.

The Ashland Arrows are at home in the State playoffs vs the Olentangy Liberty Patriots.
The game is televised on Sports Time Ohio at 11 PM on tape delay.

Our man in Japan,Brandon Siefken sends us a note that the Seattle Mariners were in Nippon land talking to Hiroshima Carp righthander Hiroki Kuroda.
The 28 year old Kuroda is expected to come to the US for next season.

Ryan sends us the news of the death of Paul Tibbets at the age of 92.
Tibbets was a pilot that named his craft after his mother (Enola Gay) and then used the plane to drop the first atomic bomb.

The Seattle (Super) Sonics have applied to move the team to Oklahoma City.
This has been the most well known secret to NBA followers for quite a while.
Nothing against Oklahoma City,but it certainly is no Seattle in population and after a few year honeymoon,it too will struggle at the gate.

Troy Crowder is playing in Thailand and is a goal scorer?
The former Devil tough guy noted for his classic clashes with Bob Probert played for a North America team that lost in the semi-finals.
Crowder was always a favorite of mine and I even have a VHS tape of his fights on ice....

The Casper Rockies of the Pioneer League have changed their name to the Casper Ghosts (bad pun) and their 3 different hats will glow in the dark.
Oh Brother....

Back with the Devils recap if I can,if not- we will see you Wednesday.
As always if you see anything that you think is interesting and would like me to comment on-drop a link by email.
If I use it,you will get mentioned for sending it of course.....

Photo Credit
Kessler-Calzaghe-London Daily Mail
Helmets-Ohio Helmet Project

Devils defuse Lightning in 1st win at the Rock.

The New Jersey Devils stepped up and played their first complete game of the season.
And as a result,the Devils rolled over the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-1 and earned their first win ever at the Prudential Center.
Brent Sutter moved Dainius Zubrus to the line with John Madden and Jay Pandolfo and the move paid immediate dividends as the line combined for 4 of the 6 New Jersey goals with three of the goals by Pandolfo(4,5, and 6).
The hat trick was the first of Pandolfo's NHL Career.
Madden popped in a goal (his 5th) and also assisted on each of the Pandolfo goals,while Zubrus added 2 assists on the evening.
The remaining Devil goals went to Zach Parise (3) and Arron Asham (3).
Marty Brodeur got the win and generally played well although he was not often tested as he faced just 22 shots.
Best effort of the season by far and hopefully this game will allow Sutter to kinda lay low on switching lines around for a while and see how things jell.
Some of the offensive problem could be that guys just aren't getting enough time together to create chemistry as a unit.
The Devils were tough and physical between three fights and generally bouncing the Lightning around the rink all evening and were able to assert the physical dominance.
I wonder if Tampa's Andre Roy will get any fines for an obvious sucker punch on David Clarkson.
Roy made an excellent and hard check on Clarkson that drove him into the boards and I have no complaints on the hard play,but the follow up uppercut on the unsuspecting Clarkson was unneeded and simply dirty hockey.
In any event-Great job for the Devils tonight and here is hoping they can carry it over into Friday night's game vs the Maple Leafs at the Rock!

Bullpen Notes

The Pirates are still looking for a field boss and it looks like one of the early favorites has removed himself from the running.
John Farrell,the Boston pitching coach, is leaning towards staying in Boston.
Likely a good career move as Farrell will likely get a raise and stay with a high spending winner.
If he accepts the Pittsburgh job,it could take a while to get things turned around and the next manager could get the resulting benefits.

More Bucco boss news.
Cleveland third base coach Joel Skinner will be interviewed today,while early next week White Sox bench coach Joey Cora will get his chance to impress Huntington and company.

The Cleveland Browns placed large Ted Washington on the IR list and claimed former Steeler corner Ricardo Colclough off waivers.
Washington had been playing little and his future was in the past,so I have no problem there.
He certainly was not going to be the cure for this defense.
Colclough intrigues me though.
He was a second rounder in 2004,which means not too much mileage on him,but has only been activated for four games this year.
Is he having physical or off the field issues or is his skills not a good fit for the Steelers defense.
I don't know,but for the waiver price of 100 bucks-I am happy to take that chance to find out.

In basketball exhibition action,the Ohio State Buckeyes hammered the visiting Ashland Eagles 88-59.
I taped the game,if I have time to watch it,I will do a run-down before hiatus.

Finally for the chileheads out there (like me) we have a new reigning champ as "Hottest Chile' Pepper in the World"!
The Bhut Jolokia was discovered in India and displaced the Red Savina at the top of the Scoville Scale.
At one million Scoville units,it blows away the Red Savina's 577,000 units for the crown.
Now that is hot!!!

Photo Credits
Pandolfo-Rich Schultz-AP Photo
Colcolough-Upper Deck
Bhut Jolokia-Darren Phillips-New Mexico State University