Holiday Basketball Tournament recaps

High School Basketball Tourneys have come and gone. Here are some of the results involving Lorain County schools.

Lorain County Holiday Tournament (Dec. 27 & 28) at Vermilion

Championship Game
Elyria 62, Sandusky 59 | 2nd recap | Listen
Sandusky (3-4) (11 15 22 11—59): Jefferies 4-1-9, Johnson 2-0-5, Smith 2-2-6, Stickland 5-0-11, Stovall 2-1-5, Turner 1-0-2, Turner 8-3-19, Williams 1-0-2
Elyria (6-1) (11 16 17 18—62): Bender 5-2-14, Dickerson 8-3-20, Horton 3-5-11, Latees 1-0-2, Swidecki 2-0-4, Walton 3-0-6, Zinimon 0-5-5

Consolation Game
Lorain 64, Vermilion 43 - Listen

First round games
Sandusky 64, Vermilion 61

WWE wrestling at the CSU Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio

Just returned from a Smackdown house show on the Cleveland State campus.

1. Kofi Kingston won a battle royal with the winner earning an Intercontinental Title shot later in the evening. The final four eliminations were Mason Ryan (eliminated by Ezekiel Jackson), Jackson (by Drew McIntyre), McIntyre (by Kingston) and Jack Swagger (by Kingston).
   
2. Womens Champion Natalya & Beth Phoenix defeated Layla El & Naomi when Phoenix pinned Layla after hitting the Glam Slam.
   
3. Mason Ryan (billed from Cleveland, Ohio) defeated Chavo Guerrero.
   
4. Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre defeated JTG and Trent Barreta when McIntyre pinned Barreta after hitting the Future Shock DDT.
   
5. Rey Mysterio defeated Alberto Del Rio
   
   Intermission
   
   
6. Chris Masters defeated Jack Swagger when Swagger tapped out to the Masterlock full-nelson submission.
   
7. Intercontinental Champion (and St. Edward graduate) Dolph Ziggler pinned Kofi Kingston.
   
8. Smackdown World Champion Edge defeated Kane and CM Punk to retain the title in a triple-threat steel cage match.

NFL needs to stop postponing games

Another week and another NFL game involving the Minnesota Vikings is changed. The blizzard that has hammered the United States East Coast has postponed the Vikings / Eagles game from Sunday night to Tuesday. The blizzard is expected to dump more than a foot of snow on Philadelphia.

Let me take you back to another famous game played in Philly: the 1948 NFL Championship game.

Philadelphia was already well in the midst of an actual blizzard. The Eagles played the Chicago Cardinals in for the championship game in an era where men were treated like men.

Steve Van Buren, Philly's star halfback who was in the fifth season of his Hall of Fame career, had to walk down 12 blocks down Broad Street after having ridden three trolleys from his home to the Eagles stadium. He then set a then-NFL record by running for 196 yards and scored the only touchdown of the game to help Philadelphia win their first championship.

Van Buren celebrated with his teammates, then walked up Broad Street 12 blocks and rode three trolleys home.

I understand most of NFL history prior to 1967 doesn't count but there was a time when NFL players were real men.

AIW Wrestling at St. Gregory's Byzantine Hall

1. Preshow: Mr. RBI/Kombat Kid beat Lights Out
   
   
2. Preshow: "The Aftermath" Justin Lee beat Nick Ando and Maximo Suave
   
   
3. Da Latin Crime Syndicate vs. Blackballed went to a no contest when they refused to wrestle causing Mr. RBI/Kombat Kid/Lights Out to attack. They were quickly out numbered by Da Latins and Blackballed, causing The Duke to make the save. Duke announced he's reforming Alpha Beta Duke and they would be his first pledges.
   

Happy 55th Birthday Steven Wright

OK - this is a sports blog but in honor of the comic's birthday today, here are some Steven Wright quotes to make you smile.

The eyes are the second thing to go. I forget the first ….

I planted some birdseed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.

I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart.

Last week I forgot how to ride a bicycle.

Photons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.

All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

A beggar asked me for 50 cents for a sandwich. I said, "first let me see the sandwich."

What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

They told me I was gullible – and I believed them.

Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to edge his car onto a freeway.

Two can live cheaply as one, for half as long.

Experience is the thing you left when everything else is gone.

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.

When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.

A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.

What was the greatest thing before sliced bread?

My weight is perfect for my height – which varies.

I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.

How can there be self-help "groups"?

Is there another word for synonym?

Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?"

Don't look now. Tiger Woods is back.

After going winless for over a year, the man now more famous for his out of control adultery than his golfing is now leading the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament in Thousand Oaks. Tiger Woods shot a six-under 66 today at the par-72 Sherwood Country Club to lead Graham McDowell by four strokes.

It's not just the score that is impressive this weekend; it’s how Woods is playing. He is hitting fairways, he is hitting greens in regulation, and he is punishing the par-5 holes. 

Tiger started to find his golf swing again in the last two events finishing in the top-10 including a 65 in the final round in Australia. He has quietly kept the momentum going into this weekend. It will be nice to see Woods make headlines again for success on the golf course.

By the way, the Chevron World Challenge is an 18-player tournament that benefits Woods' charity, the Tiger Woods Foundation, and pays $1.2 million to the winner. Woods has won the event four times - nothing like having the home field advantage.

Boys High School Basketball Results: 2010-2011

Saturday March 12
Berea 64, Lorain 59 | 2nd story
Lorain hungry for more

(6) Lorain (15-9) (19 9 11 20--59): Cheers 3-0-6, Craighead 3-0-6, Mike Davila 7-6-23, Davis 3-0-7, Jerome Golson 4-3-11 (18 rebounds), Wilson 0-1-1, Winbush 2-1-5
(9) Berea (16-8) (12 16 21 15--64): Bates 1-0-2, Javon Cook 2-12-16 (12-14 FT, 4 steals, 5 assists), Hayes 2-5-9, Jared Paster 6-2-20 (18 pts. on 3-pointers, 11 rebounds, 2 steals), Perry 5-0-13, Swinnerton 1-0-2, Wade 1-0-2

Quitter at the Q tonight and it wasn't LeBron.

What a huge disappointment. The Cleveland Cavaliers have their biggest game of the year as LeBron James returns to the place where he spent his first seven NBA seasons. It was the biggest regular season home game in franchise history. All eyes in the sports world were on the north coast, the TNT game, hundreds of media credentials were issued.

Problem is no one apparently told the Cavaliers that this was a big game.

Maybe the Cavs were swept up in the LeBron hype. Maybe they were licking their wounds from last week's four games in five nights with Thanksgiving. Maybe they were trying to treat tonight like one of 82 games played.

Inexcusable. The team could go 1-81 and if the one win was tonight against the Miami Heat, Cleveland fans would be happy. If there was any game on the regular season to punch in, it was tonight. How can a professional with any kind of pride not get jacked up for tonight’s game?

The Cavaliers came out flat. A very uninspired first half, they shot 29% and did not play much defense. That was before the 3rd quarter debacle when they shot 4-21 and LeBron James scored 22 points. At that point it was time to locate the Hefty bags for garbage time.

Losses happen in pro sports. Just how the Cavaliers lost tonight is the most irritating. Where was the effort? Where was Mo Williams? Why was the Cleveland bench chatting with LeBron during the game?

Cleveland fan should be applauded for their behavior unfortunately the Cavaliers effort did the fans a disservice.

KIA Soul hamster commercial has grown on me

I guess I watch too much football. I used to hate this commercial and now I can't get enough of it ... weird.



Who's the Black Sheep, what's the Black Sheep?
Don't know who I am, or when I'm coming so you sleep
Wasn't in my room, wasn't in my sphere
Knew not who I was, but listen here

Then of course, the choice is yours

You can get with this, or you can get with that
I think you'll get with this, for this is where it's at

Where's the Black Sheep, here's the Black Sheep
Even if we wanted to the flock could not be weak
Watch me swing like this, why should I swing it like that,
Because in fact, on me it might not attract

You can get with this, or you can get with that
I think you'll get with this yes, for this is kinda fat

The Best of Lorain County High School Football

Congratulations to the following players for earning all-Ohio honors.

Division 1
1st team: Chase Farris, Elyria, DE, Sr.

3rd team: Tyler Parris, Amherst, WR, Sr.; Marty Thomas, Amherst, LB, Sr.; Mat Malloy, Amherst, DB, Sr.

Division 2
2nd team: Brian Mihalik, Avon Lake, DE, Sr.; Patrick Furnas, Avon, LB, Sr.

3rd team: Ronnie Willoughby, Avon Lake, WR, Sr.; Matt Eckhardt, Avon, WR, Jr.; Andrew Bohan, Avon Lake, OL, Sr.

Division 3
2nd team: Anthoney Budka, Vermilion, RB, Sr.; Joey Kudella, Firelands, LB, Jr.

3rd team: Carlton Watkins, Buckeye, WR, Sr.; Kyle Smith, Firelands, QB, Jr.; Nick Deichler, Firelands, RB, Jr.