Classic causes changes

Youngstown State basketball fans who were planning a big weekend in November at Ohio State will have to make a few changes in their schedule.
The YSU men's team was originally scheduled to play the Buckeyes Nov. 17 in Columbus, the day before the Ohio State-Michigan football game at Ohio Stadium.
But that has been changed; the Penguins and Buckeyes are now scheduled to meet Nov. 25 in Columbus.
The Penguins will open the 2006-07 basketball season Nov. 8 in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
The 16-team tournament is broken down into four regional tournaments; the Penguins will participate in East Lansing, Mich., along with host Michigan State, Central Michigan and Brown.
YSU will meet Central Michigan in the opener, while Michigan State meets Brown. The winners and losers will play Nov. 9 and the winner of each bracket will advance to the semifinals and finals, which will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City Nov. 17 and 18.
Thus the Penguin have to keep Nov. 17 and 18 open on their schedule in case they advance to the championship round.
The original schedule worked out well for YSU fans since the YSU football team has an open date Nov. 18 and there would have been no conflicts.
But now the Nov. 25 date falls on the same date as the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs.
If the Penguins have the season that most people are expecting, they could be playing host to a first-round playoff game at Stambaugh Stadium.
Whatever happens, fans will have to make a choice where they go.
Both scenarios are good for the YSU program; only the fans will have to deal with the problems.
Good start forbasketball camps
The basketball teams had plenty of success during their first week of summer camps at Beeghly Center.
Jerry Slocum's boys individual camp had 80 attendees for the first session last week and is expecting a group of at least 60 more for the second session which begins today.
Women's coach Tisha Hill's girls individual camp had more than 50 kids participate, while the team camp featured 19 teams with more than 200 girls taking part.
Even though the basketball camps are done for the summer, individuals can get on the mailing list for information about next year's camps by calling the basketball office at (330) 941-3004.
FSN highlightsFlorak's story
Everybody in this area knows about the struggles that YSU baseball coach Mike Florak has had to overcome in his battle with Crohn's Disease. Now the whole country will know.
Florak's battle with the disease will be the subject of an NCAA On Campus feature televised by Fox Sports Net in August.
A television crew was in town following the Horizon League tournament to interview Florak and get some video of him at practice.
But with no practice going on, sports information intern John Vogel stepped in to field grounders at short and fly balls in center for the cameras.
Promotion schedulefor football season
The YSU athletic department recently announced its promotional schedule for the football season.
YSU kicks off the season Aug. 31 against Slippery Rock at Stambaugh Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
"We are very excited to combine some traditional gameday activities with some new elements this year," said Rick Love, the school's associate director of athletics.
BJ Alan Company will sponsor two fireworks nights, Aug. 31 and Sept. 23. Homecoming is Oct. 21 and Senior Day is Nov. 4 when the Penguins play host to Southern Illinois at 1 p.m.
Season and group game tickets are on sale through the athletic ticket office or by calling (330) 941-7227.
Pete Mollica covers YSU athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at mollica@vindy.com.