Wednesday, January 1, 2003
Here we go again.
A night of celebration and reflection has come and gone, and today we start over.
Good-bye, 2002. Hello, 2003.
There is always something sacred about looking ahead into the unknown. There are no limits. We can take who we are now, better ourselves and change the things around us to fit who and what we want to be.
Today serves as the starting point. We can set our own pace. What is important is that we reach the finish line.
We approach the new year with hopes and expectations, not only of ourselves but of others. So as I work to meet my own expectations, allow me a moment to present my hopes and expectations of the Mahoning Valley sports scene.
The list
UOhio State fans. That they represent Ohio and the city of Columbus with class, whether the Buckeyes win or lose Friday night against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. Of course, most fans will act appropriately. It is a smaller faction, such as the one that rioted after the win over Michigan, which ends up embarrassing the Buckeye State.
UMaurice Clarett. That, for one night, the Youngstown native, Warren Harding High graduate and Buckeye running back remains injury-free, putting him at full strength against the defending national champion Hurricanes.
UYoungstown State basketball. That men's coach John Robic and his staff work to recruit local talent.
The Mahoning Valley is known for its high school football, but that doesn't mean it doesn't produce boys basketball players worthy of playing for the Penguins. Coach Ed DiGregorio and the YSU women's program has shown the ability to keep players home. It would be nice to see the men do the same.
UYoungstown State fans. That they support the basketball teams as much as the football team. There's some good basketball at Beeghly, just not enough people in the seats. If the fan base improves, maybe top local players would have more of a desire to play for the Penguins.
UYoungstown State football. That coach Jon Heacock and his staff recapture the national prominence the Penguins enjoyed for much of the 1990s.
UProfessional athletes. That they learn how to celebrate after big-time plays. Dwayne Rudd's helmet-tossing incident in the season opener -- following his sack -- nearly cost the Cleveland Browns a playoff spot.
Emotion and creativity are one thing; intelligence is another. Rudd should be thanking the New York Jets, whose victory in the season finale qualified the Browns and helped put his antics in the background.
UKelly Pavlik. That the Youngstown native begins to assert himself as one of the best professional boxers and that his promotional company, Top Rank, starts proving his worth by matching him against better competition.
UMahoning Valley Scrappers. That manager Ted Kubiak takes the Cleveland Indians' next draft class and shapes the players into future stars for the franchise.
Kubiak's 1999 and 2000 classes that went through the Mahoning Valley, and brought division titles, have fared well. With the Indians in a rebuilding mode, there is now more of an urgency to produce on the farm.
USteel Valley Conference. That the remaining schools -- Cardinal Mooney, Ursuline and Warren Harding -- find a way to survive successfully. Without Austintown Fitch and Boardman, who moved into the Stark County-based Federal League, there has been talk of SVC expansion. Talk is one thing. Action is another.
UOur readers. That your hopes and expectations will be met in the new year.
XBrian Richesson is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at richesson@vindy.com.