DON McCORMACK
Paying another Sunday morning visit to the variety store...
No average Joe
Of the many enjoyable interviews I’ve had the pleasure of doing in recent years was the one with Joe Zelenka about a year ago.
Zelenka, the former Jacksonville Jaguar and now Atlanta Falcon, is better known in these parts as the husband of one of Ashtabula’s own, the former Rebekah Demshar, and as the son-in-law of Rebekah’s delightful parents, Paul and Jennifer.
(Paul, of course, was the subject of our “Greatest Story... Never Told” feature that ran in our Christmas Day edition).
Now, you, too, Loyal Readers, will have an opportunity to hear Joe’s inspiring message.
He will be the keynote speaker at a special event on Saturday, March 20. The North Coast Fellowship of Christian Athletes, led by our own Warren Dillaway, will host the event that day. It will be held at either Lakeside High School or Lakeside Junior High School, depending on facility availability, and the exact location will be announced in the very near future.
The event will run from 10:30 a.m. to noon and here’s some good news, Loyal Readers — there is no cost.
Zelenka is a Northeast Ohio native, graduating from Benedictine High School and then attending Wake Forest, where he played his college football and, best of all, met his lovely wife, Rebekah, while sharing a ride back home one weekend.
He just concluded his 11th season in the NFL.
Tribe talk
Listen to Indians president Paul Dolan’s attempt at explaining why the Wahoos have cut and slashed payroll after crashing and burning to a 97-loss demolition last summer:
“I can’t change the economic demographics of our marketplace,” Dolan said. “What we can do is put the best people in place. I feel with the team we have in place, we have the best folks to do what’s necessary within the confines of our market to succeed. They’ve got what they need, given our limitations.”
In case you’ve been under a rock, the Indians have gutted their team since winning the AL Central and coming within one game of the World Series in 2007, peddling away former AL Cy Young winners CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee, along with All-Star catcher Victor Martinez.
Which prompted Dolan’s (lame) attempt of rationalizing (spinning) where the Wahoos stand (hunched over).
Memo to the esteemed Mr. Dolan — explain then, please, how Dan Gilbert and Randy Lerner can spend out the wazoo... in the exact same “market.”
Sell the team, please, now.
Scratch that — make it yesterday.
Oddly enough
Benjamin Eckstein is the guy who produces the America’s Line feature for Universal Press Syndicate that appears on these pages on a daily basis.
Here’s how he sees the odds on how the Indians will fare in the 2010 season:
n To win the World Series — 80-1.
That’s tied with the Padres, with the only teams facing longer odds being the Orioles at 100-1, the Blue Jays at 125-1, the Nationals at 150-1 and the (Triple-A clone) Pirates at 200-1.
n To win the American League pennant — 40-1.
That’s tied with the Royals, with the only Junior Circuit nines facing longer odds being the Orioles at 45-1 and the Blue Jays at 50-1.
You can bet the only reason the Orioles and Blue Jays face longer odds is because they both play in the rugged American League East with the likes of New York, Boston and Tampa Bay, while the Indians are part of the Comedy Central.
Weather... or not
Mother Nature’s fury has once again run amok and played havoc with the high school winter sports schedules, even going as far as to force the postponement of some boys sectional games Friday night.
Well, check this story out:
Ohio schools hard hit by this year’s snows still have five calamity days for canceling classes without having to make up the lost time. That changes next year, the 2010-11 school year.
Districts will have only three calamity days beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
Educators, state officials and others say making up lost days can complicate school planning and even add costs, at times. But many support reducing calamity days in favor of providing as much class time as possible for students.
They say instructional time is necessary as schools in Ohio and around the country look to improve student achievement.
The cutback was a compromise after legislators decided against Gov. Ted Strickland’s more extensive proposal to add 20 more school days over the next 10 years.
For high school students in these parts, that means you’ll be spending more of your Junes in the classroom than ever before.
Speaking of weather
With their contests being postponed Friday night, area boys squads from Conneaut, Jefferson and Perry will now play next week.
Coach Tim Tallbacka’s Spartans will take on Cleveland East on Monday at 5:15 in a Division II sectional semifinal at Lakeland Community College, while coach Steve Locy’s Falcons and coach Chad Frazier’s Pirates will square off in another D-II first-round game at Lakeland on Tuesday at 5:15.
Word is, though, tournament officials at first wanted those two games played Saturday... morning.
Yes, morning.
As you might expect, the respective coaches wanted no part of that scenario. Hence, the games will be played Monday and Tuesday.
Zach attack
Pymatuning Valley wrestling coach Kevin Brown shouldn’t be faulted if he appears a bit confused from time to time.
His Lakers, who won PV’s first Division III sectional mat championship last weekend at Beachwood High School, sport three guys with the first name of Zach... and they wrestle in back-to-back-to-back weight classifications.
Zach Campbell competes at 119, Zach Benedict grapples at 125 and Zach Jones goes at it at 130.
Of course, if more Lakers come along named Zach and have the same success as Campbell, Benedict and Jones, you can bet Brown won’t complain.
All three guys qualified for district competition this weekend at Maple Heights High School.
Where the boys... aren’t
While Ashtabula County hosts two sectional-district girls basketball tournaments — the Division II event at Pymatuning Valley and the Division III tourney at Lakeside — not to mention a Division I sectional-district at nearby Perry — one has to wonder why the same can’t be said for wrestling or boys basketball?
Especially with all of the new, beautiful facilities being constructed locally.
Oops
MSNBC won’t be receiving a medal ... of any kind, for its interview Friday with United States goaltender Ryan Miller, who will be between the pipes today when the Americans tangle with host Canada for the gold medal.
Turns out, its telephone interview was a hoax, with someone impersonating Miller. The hoaxer had guaranteed a United States victory if it ended up playing Canada for the gold.
Turns out, the real Ryan Miller telephoned in to report the hoax, which forced MSNBC to break into its popular “Hardball” political show to make the announcement it had been hoaxed.
Big bucks
Thanks in large part to its television network, the Big Ten pays its members more money than any conference in the country.
While most schools across the country are struggling to keep their bottom lines in the black, the members of the Big Ten receive more assistance than anyone.
Neither the conference nor its television network discusses its finances publicly. However, according to tax forms the non-profit conference is required to make public, it generated $217.7 million and paid each school about $18.8 million in 2007, the most recent year for which tax forms are available.
According to the Sports Business Journal, in 2008, the new TV network added another $66 million to the league’s coffers. That pushed the per-team payout to about $22 million each, a figure officials from several Big Ten schools confirm remains accurate.
Compare that to the next-most prosperous conference, the Southeastern Conference, which paid its member schools about $11 million each in 2007, according to tax documents.
Seeing how the Big Ten Network has been a such a cash cow for its members, word is the Pac 10 is contemplating creating its own TV network.
The Pac 10 paid its members between $7 million and $11.5 million in 2007, while the ACC pays from $11.2 to $12.2 million each, the Big 12 about $7 million to $12 million to each school and the Big East $4.5 million or less to its schools.
Like the Big Ten, the Pac 10 does not have a conference championship game, which is a huge moneymaker for the SEC.
The SEC reports it made $14.3 million off its title game last year.
That doesn’t mean the Big Ten would generate the same type of dollars if it does expand, as is being discussed, and adds a conference championship game.
David Carter, an economist at Southern California who studies sports, doesn’t believe a Big Ten title game would generate that much money, certainly not right away.
“You have to look back at just how embedded the SEC is, their deal with CBS, their incredible tradition,” he said.
No tall tale
Just how good was Wilt Chamberlain?
On this date in 1967, Wilt the Stilt missed his first field goal... in four games.
That brought to an end his NBA-record shooting streak of 35 consecutive field goals.
That’s 35 straight makes, basketball fans.
Of course, that’s not his greatest claim to fame. That would be his quote regarding the number 15,000, but this being a family newspaper, we’ll refrain from going there.
But he certainly did... or least he said so.
Fashion plate
Hefty Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, quoted by the Chicago Tribune on trimming down to 275 pounds:
“I had to buy new belts. I’m too cheap to buy new pants, so I’m just getting smaller belts.”
Dig it!
Dwight Perry, fine columnist of the Seattle Times whose writings appear on these pages from time to time, reports professional wrestler Mark Calaway — better known as The Undertaker — suffered burns on his chest but still performed for about 25 minutes after a fireball exploded a bit too close as he was entering the ring during last Monday night’s WWE “Raw” show in St. Louis.
The Undertaker, we take it, isn’t a big fan of cremation.
The write stuff
Brad Dickson in the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald, after some University of Alberta students recently staged history’s biggest dodgeball game, which included 600 players on each team.
“Everyone had fun except the last guy taken when choosing sides,” he said. “He should be out of therapy around 2018.”
Ad out
Headline at NewMexiken.com, after The Wall Street Journal reported that NBC’s 31⁄2 -hour broadcast of the Winter Olmypics on Friday, Feb. 19 contained 24 advertising breaks, which totaled 563⁄4 minutes:
“Nothing But Commercials.”
Random thoughts
n Wish the Cavaliers would ash can the throwback blue uniforms from the Daugherty-Nance-Price era they’ve been sporting this season. All they bring to mind are the playoff heartbreaks from years past.
n Speaking of uniforms, Mike Holmgren, while you’re peddling Derek Anderson for a bag of balls, can you throw in those gruesome brown pants the Browns wore for road games last season?
n Along the same lines, now the Indians have gone to a cap in spring training in Goodyear, Ariz. with a block C, similar to one the club wore in the mid-1970s. Throwback? Anyone who endured those days with the Indians would probably describe the lids as “throw up.”
n Major props to Ron Weaver’s fine staff at the Division II girls basketball sectional-district basketball tournament for the excellent hospitality room that has been open for every event, including last Wednesday night — when only one game was played — the Lake Catholic-Harvey sectional semifinal.
n Ran across a movie called, “The Legend of 1900,” last week while roaming through one of the billion or so channels on DirecTV (Cable? Forget about it!) If you haven’t seen this delightful 1998 flick, check it out. A big thumbs up from here. If you check it out, let me know what you think.
n Never thought I’d admit this, but being around young kids as much as I am, I actually find myself nodding my head to the beat of songs by something called Ke$ha and something else called Lady GaGa.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
