Ed Puskas: Some New Year’s resolutions

There are always things we can do better. So let’s get right into some New Year’s resolutions:

NO MORE JACKSON ACTIONS

I resolve to stop writing about Hue Jackson and what a lousy head coach he was with the Cleveland Browns. I will no longer engage in the column-writing version of a Baker Mayfield staredown.

I won’t mention again that he was 3-36-1 in two-and-a-half seasons. Nor will I bring up his 0-16 record in 2017 and the fact that he could have been 0-32 in his first two seasons if not for Jamie Meder blocking a field goal against the then-San Diego Chargers on Christmas Eve in 2016.

There will be no more mentions of Jackson officially being the second-worst head coach — by winning percentage — in NFL history.

NOT BUYING THE HYPE

I resolve to stop believing the college football “experts” who insist every summer that Michigan and Notre Dame are national championship contenders.

OK, let’s be honest. I wasn’t ever really on board with that theory, but after the Wolverines and Irish were bowled over on Saturday, they’re low-hanging fruit when you have 18 inches of space to fill.

But it seems every year we’re told that these two blue-blood college football programs are top-10 teams and will challenge for a title.

And then we end up watching what happened to Michigan and Notre Dame on Saturday. And what happened to the Wolverines in Columbus on Nov. 24.

That’s not a mirage, with apologies to Chase Winovich.

The mirage — which arrives annually in August — is the notion that the Wolverines and Irish are national title contenders.

new sports horizons

I resolve to take more of an interest in hockey and soccer, which have always acted as sports tryptophan on my system.

Friends and colleagues can tell you the name of the backup goalie for the Calgary Flames and they know all about Premier League and Bundesliga.

(No, I didn’t just make up that last word.)

But when the conversation shifts to hockey and soccer, I’m always the odd man out.

MADNESS BEFORE MARCH

I resolve to watch more college basketball before the NCAA Tournament.

This has already started. With Division I men’s and women’s programs at Youngstown State, it’s part of the job.

But beyond the Penguins, I tend to wait until March to get mad about basketball.

Related note: It was disheartening to see so many empty seats at Beeghly Center on Friday, when the YSU men opened the Horizon League schedule against Detroit Mercy.

I know it was an odd start time — 2 p.m. — for a Friday and the Penguins (4-10, 0-1 HL) are still struggling to establish an identity in Jerrod Calhoun’s second season as their head coach.

But it’s a Division I program right here in Youngstown and if YSU puts it together in the Horizon League Tournament one of these years, the Penguins can be part of March Madness. The YSU men host Oakland at 2 p.m. today.

The YSU women have made the NCAA Tournament three times and are a solid Horizon League program under John Barnes. The Penguins (9-3, 1-0 HL) have gone 19-7 in their last 26 games dating back almost a calendar year. The women are at Oakland at 3 p.m. today.

Here’s hoping that with football’s bowl season winding down and the NFL playoffs about to begin, attendance picks up at Beeghly for both programs.

DIET AND EXERCISE

This is a tough one, given the season and the fact that two huge Tupperware containers of Christmas cookies — courtesy of Brian Dzenis’ mom — are within reach right now in the sports department. Oh, and an assorted of miniature candy bars is just a short walk across the newsroom.

Is walking over for a Twix bar considered exercise if you do it often enough?

But lately I’ve invested in a blender, fruit, protein powder and almond milk and recently joined the ranks of fellow geriatric types who walk the mall in the mornings. I figure walking the mall is better than getting hit by a snowplow.

The toughest thing for people whose business mostly involves sitting on their duffs for an entire shift is eating well (fast food was invented with sportswriters in mind) and finding time to exercise. But I resolve to do just that.

NOT SLEEPING ON THIS ONE

This one dovetails with the last resolution.

A lot of sports people are night owls. It goes with the job. My 1 a.m. is most other people’s 5 p.m. The problem is a post-work adrenaline rush that can stretch until 6 a.m.

Sleep habits? That’s an oxymoron because my sleep pattern is neither a pattern nor habitual.

This might be a more difficult proposition than diet and exercise. But I have a feeling that turning off my phone, computer and TV after work will help.

BREAKING 100

I resolve to play more and better golf in 2019.

If you played a round with me this year, I apologize. If you played multiple rounds with me, God help you.

READING AND WRITING

You’d think this would come with the job and you’d be right, for the most part.

But smart phones, computers, social media and streaming TV have all played roles in getting us out of the habit of reading and writing. How many emails did you send in 2018? Now how many letters did you write? I know I didn’t read as much as I wanted.

I want to spend more time in the library and become a man of letters. I know I’ll be swimming upstream on this — who will read my letters and respond to them? — but that’s my nature.

Happy New Year!

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.