“Hired to be fired” is a phrase frequently heard around the sports world, particularly at the college and professional levels. The latest victim of the “pink slip” locally is David Bell, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, after six seasons and a 409-455 record. Despite being given a three-year extension on his contract last year, Reds upper management and ownership decided it was time to move on in a different direction.
While I, along with many others, didn’t always think that Bell was a great in-game strategist (but what do I know!) he was definitely hampered this year by a boatload of injuries, including losing four of his five projected starting pitchers (and the fifth was traded to Milwaukee halfway through the season); infielder Matt McLain missing the entire season; Christian Encarnacion Strand only available for 29 games; multiple players on and off of the Injured List; and a front office unwilling to provide much in the way of help either through trades or the waiver wire. Bell was seemingly doomed from mid-season on.
It will be interesting to see which direction the Reds organization goes in seeking a new field general but fans are starting to tire of mediocre baseball with no playoff series wins since the 1990 “wire to wire” World Series championship team. Hope springs eternal but die-hard fans certainly deserve better—can you say “David Ross”, the former Reds catcher and Cubs manager?
Hard to believe, but it’s that time of the fall high school sports season when the OHSAA tournament trials begin. Boys and girls golf started last week as both sports consist of three divisions. Girls tennis begins action September 30th with only two division splits. Girls volleyball with seven divisions is “set” to start on the 14th as boys and girls soccer both kick off the tournament beginning the same date, each with five divisions. Boys and girls cross country consisting of three groupings each toe the starting line at various sites on October 19th. Finally football sees the start of playoff games on November 1st with action taking place in seven divisions, each with four regions consisting of a total of 64 teams. Plenty of opportunities to see a lot of good competition in the various athletic endeavors!
When I was a kid, my father, an OSU alum, always took my brothers and me to see the Buckeyes play at least one home game every year or so. One of the highlights of the trip to the ‘Shoe (remember this was in the day before jumbo scoreboards and instant updates on scores around the Big Ten and the rest of the country) was always waiting for the public address announcer to give the latest score of the Slippery Rock University game. The crowd always roared when informed of the “The Rock’s” success or failure.
This year’s version of Slippery Rock football is a perfect 3-0 with a big game this weekend against the Fighting Scots of Edinboro State in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference encounter. All of which leads us (in a very roundabout way!) to this week’s trivia question. What former Greenville High School football coach holds the Edinboro record for most career coaching wins? Answer to follow!
Four college football scores that weren’t of national prominence but still caught my attention this past weekend—
James Madison 70, North Carolina 50. No defense, or was this an early season basketball upset?
Buffalo 23, Northern Illinois 20. The Huskies fall only two weeks after knocking off Notre Dame.
Boston College 23, Michigan State 19. Spartans fall to 3-1, host THE this Saturday.
Indiana 52, Charlotte 14. 4-0 Hoosiers about to see how good they really are as Big Ten play begins with Maryland coming to Bloomington.
And in the NFL, what to make of the Brownies losing to the Giants? With Myles Garrett facing foot surgery and Deshaun Watson still trying to justify his contract things are approaching a critical stage here in the early going even though the AFC Central should be a close race all season. And the Bengals? What in the name of Sam Wyche is going on with the defensive unit as they failed to stop the Commanders even one time. Joe Burrow and the offense played well enough to win most games but Lou Anarumo’s group of defenders made Washington rookie QB Jayden Daniels look like a young Tom Brady. The Bengals 0-3 start makes for an almost impossible playoff appearance.
Former Green Wave coaching legend Tom Hollman (he of the 26-2-2 record from 1971-73 at the GHS helm) holds the all-time career win mark with a twelve-year posting of 78-49-2 for the Fighting Scots of Edinboro from 1988 through 1999. Hollman, who for many years was assisted by GHS Hall of Fame member Mark Nisonger, Class of ‘73, was a true leader and football guru with a talent for placing his players in optimal positions and opportunities for gridiron success. Ask any of his former Greenville players about just how good he was as a young coach!
Have a great week, stay active and healthy!!
