Sliders will begin season on the road
April showers bring May flowers, along with something new this year — a professional baseball team.
Ready to make their debut on Wednesday in an away game are the Slippery Rock Sliders, an entry in the Frontier League, and a team that will play its home games at SRU’s Jack Critchfield Park.
It is a unique situation with Slippery Rock University teaming up the Frontier League, a group of independent sports franchises that have been providing top level baseball for athletes still looking for a shot in the major leagues.
Most of the work involving the team will be handled by SRU students who will get a first-hand learning experience through the school’s sports management program.
For weeks now, the Frontier League and SRU have been selling season tickets for the Sliders’ 32 home games. The ticket sales have been staged at SRU’s home baseball contests throughout the month.
Fans were given the opportunity to select their own seats for the Sliders’ games while at the same time picking up some of the team’s apparel
The Sliders will be handled by general manager Steve Tahsler and piloted by Greg Jelks. a five-year taskmaster of the Evansville Otters who won the Frontier League championship last year.
Joining forces with these two Frontier League representatives will be students from the areas of sports management, communications, marketing and others. The concept between the two segments is a good one and both should benefit handsomely with its functioning.
The Frontier League is said to be on an even keel with the New York Penn-League, a circuit of which the Mahoning Valley Scrappers is a member. The Scrappers, whose home is in Niles, Ohio, has been very successful and fans love their team. The same scenario exists with another team in Erie, the SeaWolves.
There is no reason why the Sliders cannot enjoy the same success.
Double take
I was checking out the sports pages the other day when I came across a name that brought back some old memories.
The name was that of one Mike Rice, who was named head basketball coach at Robert Morris University. He’s the son of the Mike Rice I knew when he was head coach at Youngstown State University. YSU was one of my beats when I was working full-time as a sportswriter at The Vindicator.
The elder Rice, now a TV analyst for the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA, coached the Penguins from 1982-87. He was a dramatic coach, one full of life. He was colorful and one you hoped would win.
Earlier in his coaching career, he was head man at Duquesne from 1979-82
The younger Rice was an assistant coach at Pitt last season. The 38-year-old mentor had been an assistant at Fordham, Marquette, Niagara, Chicago State and Saint Joseph’s but has never been a college head coach. He takes the reins at Robert Morris from Mark Schmidt who has gone to St. Bonaventure.
Rice will have a nice squad returning this season, one that went 17-11 last season and shows four starters returning from that unit. The Colonials play in the Northeast Conference.
In his one year at Pitt as an assistant, the Panthers posted a 29-8 record and was ranked No. 2 nationally.
Name is the same
Once a Golden Eagle, always a Golden Eagle.
Perhaps that best describes the exploits of former Kennedy Catholic High School football standout Ross Gargano who most recently declared that he is taking his talents to Clarion University .
The 5-10, 190-pound speedster has received numerous accolades for his spirited play at Kennedy. He was featured, along with teammate Lee Plotts, in a Sports Illustrated feature when the two created a state first by surpassing the 4,000-yard mark. They accomplished the feat not only in the same season but in the same game.
Intelligent not only on the playing field, but in the classroom as well, (3.8 GPA) Gargano was also named to other honors by the Associated Press, Pennsylvania Football News and the Pittsburgh Sports Report.
In his 34-game grid career, he showed 6,224 all-purpose yards, scored 65 TDs and passed for 549 yards. He was just an outstanding all-around football player and we’re sure he’ll continue his tremendous play at Clarion.