The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Now It Can Be Told
Some 2017 memories from our sports staff:
JOHN KAMPF
The never-ending quest for more video clips and highlight reels has caused me to get a little more television airtime than I’d prefer to get. That point was driven home during Mentor’s Division I state semifinal football game against Olentangy Liberty. Trying to position myself for celebration and reaction video clips for when the clock struck zero in Mentor’s 27-21 win over the Patriots, I slid up the sideline closer to the Mentor team and coaching staff. Twice coach Steve Trivisonno was smackdab next to me, his hands on his knees watching the final plays unfold. And when the postgame celebration ensued, I shot video of as much of the hoopla as I could, including Trivisonno’s energetic postgame speech to his state championship game-bound team. It wasn’t until afterward that I checked my phone to realize three friends — who had been watching the game on Spectrum Sports, had blown up my text message in-box with comments of, “Get the heck out of Triv’s way,” and “Are you trying to get on TV, or do you just like getting in Triv’s way?” ... Sorry about that, coach. I’ll try to do better next year.
CHRIS LILLSTRUNG
The car ride home from the state track and field meet June 3 was unforgettable. Once a year, my mother-in-law asks me to stop at a Kroger in the Columbus area to get sweet pickle chips for her, which are not available at grocery stores in Cleveland. So on the way back north, I go to a Kroger in Sunbury, just north of Columbus. My plan was to write my state track and field stories on site at Ohio State, then post video when I returned home later that night. After stopping at Kroger — and then at a Wendy’s for a lemonade — I was a half-mile from returning to Interstate 71 when the driver in front of me stopped to turn left into her driveway. A Honda Civic was stopped behind me. The driver of a truck behind us on the road, which in that spot is 55 mph, failed to notice our cars stopped, slamming into the Civic and sending the Civic into my car. Thankfully, everyone was OK. The Civic was totaled, but the young woman driving the car was shaken but all right. My back fender was mangled, and I needed to have my bumper tied to the car body to make it home. But to bring it back to high school sports, the lemonade on impact spilled all over and into my computer bag, but fortunately spared my video camera. Beyond my own well-being, I was horrified moments such as Perry’s Leah King winning the Division II 100 hurdles state title and Beachwood celebrating its D-II girls team crown were lost forever. Thankfully, though, the camera was OK. Me? Like the camera — a little rattled, but safe.
NATE BARNES
A game between crosstown rivals nearly didn’t happen this year, which would’ve been disappointing on many levels. As a Pitt graduate who watched rivalries between the Panthers and West Virginia and Penn State deteriorate partly due to administrative apathy, this reporter urges schools to continue to schedule dates with rival schools even if district, regional, divisional, or personal reasoning may not compel the matchup.