Time of year to remember old friends

'Twas was the night before Christmas,
and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring
except the Vindy computer mouse
How often does Christmas Eve fall on a Sunday? Not very often, but today that's where we find ourselves. Waiting on good Ol' St. Nick to make his appearance once again.
Since living in Pennsylvania and especially at this time of year, it was great to hear from some of my old Buckeye friends of long standing like Byrd Gampetro, Greg Gulas, Dorothy Perazich and Ken Brayer, and from some Keystoners who I don't get to see very often anymore: Lou Falconi, Joe Onderko, and another guy from Westminster College who calls himself my "Swedish Cousin," Dar Huey. Dar is an educator at Westminster, a former athletic standout and coach for the Titans and an all-around nice person. From what I understand, he's also a great fan of Notre Dame football.
Most of these people either work or have worked behind the scenes in bringing the world of sports to your doorsteps each day. My hat is off to all of them. These are just some of the people who make the world a better place in which to live. They help fill your sports pages daily with truthful and readable material.
And so at this time, I would like to wish each and every one of them and the people from the four corners of the earth, a joyous and peaceful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Kosar the golfer
We turn back the sports pages a few years, to the time when Boardman's Bernie Kosar had wrapped up sparkling careers at Boardman High School and the University of Miami. He was only days away from taking over the quarterback reins of the Cleveland Browns but first and foremost, he was going to relax and take his mind off football for a few hours and get in a few rounds of golf at one of Youngstown's beautiful courses.
When I arrived at the course for an interview, Bernie was approaching the final hole which had an elevated green with a bunker right in front. As I sat there on the veranda thinking of what questions I was about to ask this young quarterback sensation who was making his initial venture into pro football, I noticed that his approach shot landed directly in the bunker.
Well, to be honest with you, I thought I was watching "Dorf On Golf" or something. I saw a lot of sand come flying up over the hill, several times, and onto the green, but no ball. Finally, I saw the little white ball flying up on the green and landing about 10 feet from the cup. Bernie climbed up the embankment, strolled over to his ball and knocked it in.
I didn't want to sound like a smart-aleck sports writer, but without thinking I blurted out, "I hope you are a better quarterback than you are a golfer."
Breaking out into a big broad smile, Bernie replied, "I hope so too."
That statement, however, broke the ice and Bernie and I settled in for a great interview session. He went on to a sparkling NFL career. I remained a hard-working sportswriter.
I've only seen Bernie recently on a few television clips but what brought his name back to mind was his interest in acquiring the head coaching position at the University of Miami before the school hired defensive coordinator Randy Shannon.
The spot was vacated by the firing of former Hurricane coach Larry Coker, who will remain on to coach the Hurricanes in the bowl game against Nevada. A Miami television station reported Kosar was interested in the position at Miami. Bernie has no NFL coaching experience but he told a newspaper that he did have preliminary talks with university officials over the position. He often serves as a mentor to quarterbacks at Miami, where he's a university trustee. In the NFL, Kosar had a 12-year career with the Browns, Cowboys and Dolphins.
Present for Trunk
The Presidents' Athletic Conference recently named Westminster senior Ryan Trunk as the PAC Men's Swimmer/Diver of the Week. Trunk, a three-time All-American for the Titans, led Westminster to a first-place finish at the Wooster Invitational Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 at the Ellen Shapiro Natatorium.
Trunk posted a national qualifying time of 45.41 in the 100-yard freestyle.
The time qualifies Trunk for the NCAA Division III National Championships which will be held March 15-17 in Houston, Texas.