RAY SWANSON | Keystoner PBA tour beckons coaching legend

Richie Antol is back on the PBA tour.
The former Hermitage resident who lives with his family in Traverse City, Mich., has decided to give it another shot following a short breather and things are looking up.
Richie, a long time manager of junior baseball in the Hermitage area, is retired and works part-time at a bowling establishment in Traverse City.
Richie and his wife, Georgiana, who also bowls, stopped by the house the other day for a visit and to catch up on things in the Shenango Valley.
"Where's all my boys now?" asked Richie, referring to a number of players he coached in Hermitage.
"I really don't get too much information on the area anymore since I've been up in Michigan and most of the kids I coached in the area are now grown up and on their own."
New shoes: Richie said he has been bowling in a number of tournaments and he's getting used to a new pair of bowling shoes.
"I had a pair of shoes for about 25 years and they were super. They fit like gloves and I really didn't want to give them up. The new shoes were a little tough to get used to but now things are coming around a little better. You know how it is when you have something for a long time. You hate to give them up."
In one of the tournaments he competed in, Richie said he ran into Bill Beach, another pro bowler from the Hermitage area.
"It was very nice talking to Bill," Richie said, "and we had a nice long chat."
Richie and Georgiana were in town to visit relatives and spent about three or four days in the Mercer County area.
"Man, this place sure has changed," continued Richie, referring to the many new businesses in the area. "I hardly knew the old place."
Coaching legend: An avid fisherman, Richie was one of the finest baseball managers in the Hermitage area. His teams were sound fundamentally.
He worked with his players and they responded to his efforts and he turned in championship caliber teams every year.
He respected his players and they respected him. Richie was formerly employed at The Herald in Sharon and left the area for a similar position in Traverse City a number of years ago. He was one of the top-notch bowlers in the Shenango Valley for a number of years.
Now that he's back on the tour, we'll have to watch the pro bowlers results more closely. Those new shoes could be just the ticket Richie needed.
Internet: All Westminster College sports broadcasts for the 2001-02 academic year can be heard via the Internet, as all Titan broadcasts will be available on the NSN Sports Network. To access the games, fans should log on to www.nsnsports.com.
NSN Sports evolved from the Nauticom Sports Network, which ceased operations Dec. 28, 2000.
During the former Nauticom Sports Network, most notably Operations Manager and Studio Host, Don Rebel, approached Management Science Associates, Inc., (MSA), a pioneer in marketing and media research, to sponsor the radio and Internet broadcasts of those playoffs.
The playoffs were a success, the fan response was tremendous and NSN on May 31, 2001, achieved a coup by broadcasting the first WPIAL baseball championship from PNC Park and marked the formal announcement of the re-launch of NSN Sports.
NSN Sports has returned to its grass roots in Western Pennsylvania by adding quality radio stations and providing Western Pennsylvania Sports fans with the best and most comprehensive sports coverage in the region.