Lots to talk about after a weekend of activities, plus the annual angst regarding the time change that the US Congress seems unwilling to deal with (doesn’t that sound somewhat familiar!). Here’s hoping all of you remembered to move your clocks back—the funniest comment I read was that “workers were extremely busy over the weekend at Stonehenge in England moving the rocks back one hour!”
Congratulations to area prep cross country runners who competed at the OHSAA state meet in Columbus this Saturday. Special mention to two thinclads who claimed state titles, senior Landon Kimmel of Tipp City, who won his second championship, this time in D-II after last year’s triumph in D-I, with a time of 15:12.7 over the Fortress Obetz course and Ansonia’s Bennett Lehman, the junior winning the first ever D-IV race in 15:17.91. Be sure and read Dale Barger’s article about Bennett on the My County Link website, it’s an interesting story on the Tigers’ runner and his preparation for this year’s competition!
Area results of note in D-III were Jackson Spitzer (13th) and Tony Moorman (16th) of Versailles, pacing their team to a 5th-place finish, and Oakwood’s girls winning a state title. In D-IV, Sam Phlipot of Russia was 18th in pacing the Raiders to a fifth-place team finish, while TriVillage’s Coleman Trantham placed 59th. In girls D-IV, Michelle Flora of Newton ran an outstanding race in finishing 6th overall, while Anna Yeomans of Ansonia placed 35th. Minster’s girls finished 2nd, Fort Loramie 7th, and Versailles 12th. A special mention goes to senior Sophia Szolosi of Athens who won the D-II bracket and established a new girls course record in the truly impressive time of 17:02!!
First round of the high school football playoffs saw Ansonia, Arcanum, and Covington’s seasons, among others, come to an end, while winners moved on to the second round play as the top four seeds in each region of the seven divisions swing into action after first round byes. Check the OHSAA website for all upcoming action this Friday.
What a great World Series with a drama-packed Game Seven win by the now back-to-back champion Dodgers, the franchise’s ninth overall. Toronto had a two-run lead late in the game erased by home runs from Max Muncy in the eighth and Miguel Rojas in the ninth. The Blue Jays were within inches of a title-clinching win but a close play at the plate in the bottom of the ninth and a deep fly ball that was run down by Andy Pages (who also ran over his teammate to make the catch) saved the Dodgers and sent the game to extra innings where Will Smith hit the game-winning homer as LA broke out the champagne.
Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named MVP of the Series after exceptional outings in Games Two and Six, followed by an even better two-plus innings to finish Game Seven. I just f inished reading a book on World War II’s Battle of Midway and have to say the Dodger’s hurler had a better day than Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy did as his fleet lost four aircraft carriers, 247 planes, and 110 of their finest pilots at the hands of the US Navy on June 4, 1942 in what was a major turning point in the Pacific Theater of the War. Think there’s any chance the two Yamamotos are related?
As mentioned, the Dodgers now have nine titles—here’s today’s trivia question. The Yankees have won an amazing 27 World Series—what is the only other franchise to have won more than Brooklyn/LA?
In blowing yet another late lead in a 47-42 debacle to Da’ Bears, the Bengals became the first NFL team since the 1960s to score 38+ points in back-to-back games and lose both games. Something has to be done with the Stripes’ defense—maybe basic tackling techniques in stopping ball carriers and receivers instead of trying to shoulder block them!!
Everyone knows that THE and Indiana were dominant in Saturday’s college action and that the ACC saw major upheaval with the upsets of Miami (FL) and Georgia Tech but how many were aware of the following games? The Terrible Swedes of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas fell to 3-6 after a loss to the Ottawa Braves; the Yotes of the College of Idaho improved to 7-1, howling after a 28-7 win over the Arizona Christian Firestorm; and the Cumberland Phoenix rose up and outscored the Patriots of Cumberlands 40-37. Confused by the two Cumberland teams? Cumberland University is in Lebanon, Tennessee while the University of the Cumberlands is in Williamsburg, Kentucky; formerly known as Cumberland College the Kentucky school is the alma mater of good friend and Greenville Green Wave athletics booster extraordinaire Randall Bowman.
Finally, the franchise with the second-most World Series titles is the St. Louis Cardinals, with 11 crowns, the last in 2011. Watch out, those Dodgers are closing in pretty quickly —it’s amazing what money can buy!! Have a great week, stay active and healthy!
