Ed Puskas: Many thanks in the Valley

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Ed Puskas

Does anyone really give thanks on Thanksgiving or do we just stuff our faces, watch football and argue about politics as we pass the food around the table?

Guilty as charged here, but there are a great many things for which I’m thankful. Here are just a few:

LeBron James — Yeah, I know. He returned to Cleveland on Thanksgiving Eve wearing another team’s colors and he has left twice for warmer climates and ostensibly brighter spotlights.

But 2016 mitigates that. Yes, we should always remember that the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, but James was the biggest reason that happened and he’s the reason Cleveland’s championship drought ended.

Baker Mayfield — A look at the statistics of the Cleveland Browns quarterback compared to those of other QBs in his draft class shows a lot of people were wrong about Mayfield.

I’m happy to admit I was one of them. The Browns had tried the Big 12 QB thing before with Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden and Johnny Manziel — all guys who put up impressive numbers in a conference in which defense is just a rumor.

But that’s why John Dorsey is the Browns’ general manager and we’re not.

The firing of Hue Jackson — Credit to to Dorsey here, too, even if the move took way longer than it should have.

The Browns really didn’t need a reason beyond Jackson’s record of 3-36-1 since 2016. But the fact that it took an injury to Tyrod Taylor to get Mayfield off the sideline and the trade of Carlos Hyde to get Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson more touches showed that Jackson needed to go.

The Browns also have played a more disciplined, exciting brand of football since Gregg Williams took over as interim head coach after Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were fired. That is not a coincidence.

The Girard Indians — The Mahoning Valley’s last football team standing will meet Licking Valley in a Division IV state semifinal in Dover on Saturday night.

It’s hard to believe that there was a point during the regular season where the Indians might not get into the playoffs thanks to the awful bottom of the All-American Conference’s Blue Tier.

But Girard (12-1) hasn’t lost since Week 2 against Hubbard and the Indians handled the Eagles last week in the Region 13 final.

Twitter — I can do without the political tirades, but most everything else is fun.

The Curbstone Coaches — There was a profound sadness this week when the organization announced it planned to discontinue the Byrd Giampetro Scholarships that have been awarded annually to Valley football and basketball players for so many years.

Part of the reason was a general lack of participation from many schools that, for some reason, didn’t participate by putting up athletes for consideration.

It’s puzzling that schools wouldn’t try to take advantage of every opportunity to get their kids noticed and help with college costs. We enjoyed our role in the annual football and basketball banquets. My hope is that they will return in some form.

And a huge thank you to the Curbstone Coaches for including me in the organization’s 2018 Hall of Fame.

Colleagues — It isn’t said enough, but there are so many people who play roles in getting this sports section, the newspaper and the stories and photos on our website to you. I’m grateful to be part of a special team.

Readers — You’re why we’re here. Keep those emails and tweets coming.

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