Growing up in central Ohio, I loved sports and I loved to write. I even planned my life around those passions. In high school I played basketball while writing for the yearbook. In college I played about every intramural sport I could find (I wasn't good enough to play for the school!) and I studied journalism and wrote for the The Post, the Ohio University student newspaper. After earning a journalism degree from Ohio University, I began a newspaper career and loved every minute of it. Now, I'm a dad ofthree kids 4 years and under. I no longer work in the newspaper industry because the hours and commitment simply would not work the way my wife and I manage our family.
However, I still crave writing. I finished my first book, Odyssey: From Blue Collar, Ohio to Super Bowl Champion, last fall and, all things considered, I consider it a success. But I still want to write; the time for long projects, however, is not there.
That's where this blog comes in. I want to continue writing about what I love. I want to stay sharp and continue to open up a dialogue about sports and life in general. I used to have a podium in the newspaper business; this blog will have to make due for now.
Thank you for your interest and please come back often. Tell your friends, too!
Below are links to my latest posts ... enjoy and comeback often!
"Thursday Night Hoops is the equivalent of three hours of therapy every week. We all have problems ranging from health issues to work stress to family situations. It builds and builds during the week and somehow, some way, there needs to be a release. Thankfully for all of us, Thursday night is always just around the corner.
"To be expected, there have been injuries, too. Broken fingers, torn ligaments, knees that bend in the wrong direction, broken noses, rolled ankles, teeth marks on balding heads, skinned knees, and sore shoulders. We are a tangle of wraps, knee braces, and sports goggles.
"But we always come back. It’s Thursday Night Hoops for God’s sake; we’ve been waiting all week for this."
"I will say that I still respect Jim Tressel. I feel in my heart of hearts that he is a good man who tried too hard to protect players that didn't show him the same respect. He knew that what he was doing was wrong, but I cannot believe his intent was to cheat the NCAA.
"I just hope I'm not being naive. Because I don't know what would hurt more: hearing the allegations against Jim Tressel and seeing his tenure end at Ohio State, or accepting and believing that those allegations are all true."
"These fans with the audacity to fire off a death threat to a player just trying to do his job need to get a clue. They need a little perspective. Maybe they ought to visit Bryan Stow -- the fan who was beaten within an inch of his life over a baseball game -- in the hospital and see what a death threat really looks like."
"NFL players were mythical beings. They were athletes and celebrities trying to sell me Pepsi or aftershave on television. They were behemoths, running in slow motion while a baritone-voiced narrator spoke of magical places like The Frozen Tundra and Soldier Field. To me, football players were Vikings and Giants and Raiders.
"Now, one of them was a Byzantine Catholic. Like me."
Growing up in central Ohio, I loved sports and I loved to write. I even planned my life around those passions. In high school I played basketball while writing for the yearbook. In college I played about every intramural sport I could find (I wasn't good enough to play for the school!) and I studied journalism and wrote for the The Post, the Ohio University student newspaper. After earning a journalism degree from Ohio University, I began a newspaper career and loved every minute of it. Now, I'm a dad ofthree kids 4 years and under. I no longer work in the newspaper industry because the hours and commitment simply would not work the way my wife and I manage our family.
