Not off the Press
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
After nine consecutive months of soccer matches, football games, basketball matchups and softball thrillers, amongst many other sports, the 2010-11 high school sports season has officially come to a close.
What started with watching Paint Valley football practice during two-a-day on a Friday afternoon in August concluded in interviewing two athletes preparing for the state track & field meet.
What a ride it was.
It was fun, there were many great games and the community was represented well by the student-athletes on the field.
We had close games, games that were over in the second quarter, and well, games that ended with controversy that will be talked about until the next game that ends with controversy. (Well, probably even longer than that.)
There were games you were sure were going to end one way, and through the reasons why we all love high school sports, well, they had a completely different ending.
My favorite part about this season was getting to know the athletes a little better than I have in previous years. One of the parts of the season I enjoyed was interviewing the students and learning about them through various features, and not just student-athletes from Highland County, but all throughout the SCOL area and parts of the SVC area.
Just last week, the Highland County Press had features on Luis Rivas and Felicity Peabody in preparation of their state track 400-meter runs. That was fun, and I hope to do it again next year.
But one last time, I just want to say a big thank-you to the schools, students and coaches for allowing me to be a small part of the Highland County sports scene.
But now it is time to put this past season in the record books and look forward to the summer.
• "The Boys of Summer"
Yes, it is summer, which means I will slow down some, but I won't be traveling under the speed limit anytime soon.
Summertime also means the American Legion baseball season is taking place, which I had the opportunity to cover last Thursday at Shaffer Park.
Like I told a couple people last week who asked me if I ever slow down, my response is that is why I'm at Shaffer Park … it relaxes me.
Covering the Legion team is fun because in all honestly, I love baseball in the summer, and it is just more laid-back. There is no worrying about getting multiple games covering in the same night.
I'm not complaining, but sometimes it is nice to just worry about one game a night.
• What to do with all this time?
My question to everyone is what are you interested in over the summer? Is there anything sports related that I should go take a look at or write an opinion about?
My goal is to keep Not off the Press and my sports pages as local as I can for the summer months.
I'm open to suggestions … email me at: sforsha@gmail.com.
• Many random thoughts (sports and non-sports)
1. The NBA Finals are getting better with each game, though I miss the days when Marv Albert was the play-by-play man for the Finals.
2. I watched the Top 50 Superstars of (pro) wrestling the other night on DVD. It ranked the 50 greatest, and I thought the list sucked. I may be rambling, but when Ric Flair is No. 17 and Hulk Hogan is No. 23 … can you say eject the DVD?
3. Is it wrong of me to root against the Miami Heat because I don't want Chris Bosh to get a ring before Karl Malone or Patrick Ewing? Also, can LeBron and D-Wade do a press conference without the other one?
4. Cleveland fans, don't be mad … even if you would have kept LeBron, the Cavs wouldn't have been in the Finals. True story.
5. I am getting starting to get nightmares we won't have a complete NFL season.
6. If there is no NFL season, though I love college football, I will still have this void in my soul.
7. If there is no NFL season, I will find a soccer team to cheer for. I still have the suggestions saved that were emailed to me last fall. In fact, I will still find a team to cheer for over the summer, even if there is an NFL season.
8. Watched Hangover 2 over the weekend … was better than I thought it would be. Though it would have been nice to be forewarned about a few things in a prepared statement of some sort. Let's just say I can do without hot dogs for a while.
9. When walking up to Great American Ball Park Saturday, the smells from the stadium officially made it summer.
10. I'm kicking the new book on the history of ESPN's behind. It is 748 pages of actual reading … almost finished with it in two weeks of reading it part-time.
11. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will get a win or two before the NASCAR season is over.
12. I am starting to think the Reds are in a bit of trouble, and here is why: their pitching is hurt or underperforming (OK, both), and they are near the Pittsburgh Pirates in the standings.
13. I still think the Reds can win the division, just have to get their swagger back. I know they still have it … maybe. Pitching is the key … bottom line.
14. There really can't be a fall without an NFL season, right? Say it ain't so, Mr. Goodell.
15. I don't think I could ever get used to reading a book on an iPad or Kindle. I look at a computer screen enough as it is.
16. Terrelle Pryor will not play for Ohio State ever again.
17. Thank you, Richard Childress, for punching Kyle Busch in the face and putting him in a headlock.
18. Thanks to the NFL Lockout, this is the first offseason in three years we don't have to worry about Brett Favre and him deciding if he wants to play football.
19. I can see Favre showing up at an empty stadium during the lockout and still throwing an interception.
20. Has anyone seen the list shows on the NFL Network? The Dallas Cowboys list is all messed up.
• One last item of business
Again, it was a fun nine months covering the high school season. In other news, I started a sports blog … you should visit it every day as I will make numerous posts throughout the week. Here is the site: http://sforshahcp.wordpress.com.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]
What started with watching Paint Valley football practice during two-a-day on a Friday afternoon in August concluded in interviewing two athletes preparing for the state track & field meet.
What a ride it was.
It was fun, there were many great games and the community was represented well by the student-athletes on the field.
We had close games, games that were over in the second quarter, and well, games that ended with controversy that will be talked about until the next game that ends with controversy. (Well, probably even longer than that.)
There were games you were sure were going to end one way, and through the reasons why we all love high school sports, well, they had a completely different ending.
My favorite part about this season was getting to know the athletes a little better than I have in previous years. One of the parts of the season I enjoyed was interviewing the students and learning about them through various features, and not just student-athletes from Highland County, but all throughout the SCOL area and parts of the SVC area.
Just last week, the Highland County Press had features on Luis Rivas and Felicity Peabody in preparation of their state track 400-meter runs. That was fun, and I hope to do it again next year.
But one last time, I just want to say a big thank-you to the schools, students and coaches for allowing me to be a small part of the Highland County sports scene.
But now it is time to put this past season in the record books and look forward to the summer.
• "The Boys of Summer"
Yes, it is summer, which means I will slow down some, but I won't be traveling under the speed limit anytime soon.
Summertime also means the American Legion baseball season is taking place, which I had the opportunity to cover last Thursday at Shaffer Park.
Like I told a couple people last week who asked me if I ever slow down, my response is that is why I'm at Shaffer Park … it relaxes me.
Covering the Legion team is fun because in all honestly, I love baseball in the summer, and it is just more laid-back. There is no worrying about getting multiple games covering in the same night.
I'm not complaining, but sometimes it is nice to just worry about one game a night.
• What to do with all this time?
My question to everyone is what are you interested in over the summer? Is there anything sports related that I should go take a look at or write an opinion about?
My goal is to keep Not off the Press and my sports pages as local as I can for the summer months.
I'm open to suggestions … email me at: sforsha@gmail.com.
• Many random thoughts (sports and non-sports)
1. The NBA Finals are getting better with each game, though I miss the days when Marv Albert was the play-by-play man for the Finals.
2. I watched the Top 50 Superstars of (pro) wrestling the other night on DVD. It ranked the 50 greatest, and I thought the list sucked. I may be rambling, but when Ric Flair is No. 17 and Hulk Hogan is No. 23 … can you say eject the DVD?
3. Is it wrong of me to root against the Miami Heat because I don't want Chris Bosh to get a ring before Karl Malone or Patrick Ewing? Also, can LeBron and D-Wade do a press conference without the other one?
4. Cleveland fans, don't be mad … even if you would have kept LeBron, the Cavs wouldn't have been in the Finals. True story.
5. I am getting starting to get nightmares we won't have a complete NFL season.
6. If there is no NFL season, though I love college football, I will still have this void in my soul.
7. If there is no NFL season, I will find a soccer team to cheer for. I still have the suggestions saved that were emailed to me last fall. In fact, I will still find a team to cheer for over the summer, even if there is an NFL season.
8. Watched Hangover 2 over the weekend … was better than I thought it would be. Though it would have been nice to be forewarned about a few things in a prepared statement of some sort. Let's just say I can do without hot dogs for a while.
9. When walking up to Great American Ball Park Saturday, the smells from the stadium officially made it summer.
10. I'm kicking the new book on the history of ESPN's behind. It is 748 pages of actual reading … almost finished with it in two weeks of reading it part-time.
11. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will get a win or two before the NASCAR season is over.
12. I am starting to think the Reds are in a bit of trouble, and here is why: their pitching is hurt or underperforming (OK, both), and they are near the Pittsburgh Pirates in the standings.
13. I still think the Reds can win the division, just have to get their swagger back. I know they still have it … maybe. Pitching is the key … bottom line.
14. There really can't be a fall without an NFL season, right? Say it ain't so, Mr. Goodell.
15. I don't think I could ever get used to reading a book on an iPad or Kindle. I look at a computer screen enough as it is.
16. Terrelle Pryor will not play for Ohio State ever again.
17. Thank you, Richard Childress, for punching Kyle Busch in the face and putting him in a headlock.
18. Thanks to the NFL Lockout, this is the first offseason in three years we don't have to worry about Brett Favre and him deciding if he wants to play football.
19. I can see Favre showing up at an empty stadium during the lockout and still throwing an interception.
20. Has anyone seen the list shows on the NFL Network? The Dallas Cowboys list is all messed up.
• One last item of business
Again, it was a fun nine months covering the high school season. In other news, I started a sports blog … you should visit it every day as I will make numerous posts throughout the week. Here is the site: http://sforshahcp.wordpress.com.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]