Not off the Press: We have some catchin' up to do 
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Due to writing some lengthy feature stories, along with providing coverage of the American Legion baseball team while also taking some "staycation days," I put Not off the Press on hold for a few weeks, concentrating on those previously mentioned endeavors.
With all of that over with, I do have a lot to talk about … like for example, we are less than 35 days away from Week 1 of the high school football season, or it could be called the Kiss the Fanny of Jim Tressel Day, but I prefer to just to keep it about the schools, games and players and call it Week 1.
Also in my time away from this column, I got the opportunity and privilege to interview former North Adams boys basketball coach Dave Young about his career that spanned 27 years at the varsity level, 24 being at North Adams High School.
It was probably the most fun I've had interviewing someone in the six years I've been interviewing people. I loved his honesty, and just from the over-hour-long interview I had with him, I gained so much knowledge about not only his basketball teams and his career, but just about people in general.
Maybe if schools would stay as loyal to their coaches as coaches are to schools, they could learn something, too.
It would be nice, though, to get some help with my jump shot. Ask any of my friends … I can spell "horse" faster than anyone, and it's not because I write for a living.
Well, let's get to some topics.
• Two-A-Days Are A Week Away; Football Preview In Progress
High school players will be taking part in two-a-day practices in a mere seven days, which means scrimmages will be here before we know it and the second annual Highland County Press High School Football Preview will be released before the start of the 2011 season.
This is my absolute favorite project I have all year long. Last year was the first time I had the opportunity to do an all-football preview, but this year I intend to make it even better.
Now, more on the actual football season.
Do you realize in 32 days it will be Week 1 of the high school season? Where did the summer go? I spent most of mine at Shaffer Park watching baseball or at Star Cinemas watching movies.
This football season will be a bit different when you look at the schedules of Hillsboro and McClain.
For Hillsboro, Chillicothe is on the schedule replacing the one year Zanesville was on the schedule last season. McClain has a couple different teams on the schedule this upcoming season. Gone is the juggernaut Jonathan Alder, and the longtime rivalry with Paint Valley won't happen this season. Added to the MHS slate of games are the East Clinton Astros, which is a non-league game this season and Greenville (replacing JA).
This is a part of the season that starts to answer some questions about any football team. How they react under pressure, who is going to stand out and just exactly what kind of team each school can potentially have.
Two-a-days may be a long two weeks, but they are a must for the game of football.
Later on, I'll talk about the questions I have for the upcoming season. Maybe you have some, too?
I am also wondering about quarterback situations for more than a couple teams in the SCOL, as I'm thinking at least three … maybe more teams lost their quarterback from a season ago. I know Hillsboro has to replace a three-year quarterback, and Miami Trace will be replacing a two-year starting QB.
When a team replaces a starting QB, it is always interesting.
More to come on the high school football season once scrimmages and practices happen.
• The Post 129 Legion Baseball Season
Last Monday, the Hillsboro American Legion Post 129 ball club wrapped up its summer season with a loss to Washington C.H. Post 25 in a district tournament game. Hillsboro went 1-2 in the District 7 tournament and 21-23 overall (10-6 in the SCOL).
What I'll remember the most about this team is how they were 1-9 and scratched and clawed their way to a respectable record because at the beginning of the season it would have been tough to say this team would eventually reach the .500 mark during any point of the season.
They did reach that point in an early July doubleheader sweep of Chillicothe Post 757 at Shaffer Park, to go 20-20 at that time. That was the only time all summer the Legion team was at .500.
Though they were knocked out of the district tourney this season, the way the team played the final three or so weeks made it interesting, to say the least.
• More on the Post 129 District 7 Tournament
Take a look at some of the stats from their three games played at VA Memorial Stadium in the District 7 tournament.
- Hillsboro finished 21-23 overall, 10-6 in the SCOL and 1-2 in the tournament.
- Here is what stood out from the District 7 tournament.
- In three games, leadoff hitter Ian Adams went 6-for-13 for an average of .461 with three doubles and one triple.
- In three games, Hillsboro walked seven times.
- Hillsboro scored 11 runs … were shut out in their first game of the tournament.
- Hillsboro finished with 24 hits in their two days in the postseason. They finished 24-for-106.
- Dustin Taylor had the second-most Hillsboro hits in the District 7 tournament with four. He finished 4-for-12 in three games for a .333 average.
- Six players had at least two hits for Post 129 in three combined games.
• Thoughts On Sports
1. The NFL Lockout hopefully ends this week, so we can hear the NBA Lockout talk. Somebody find me a key.
2. TV sports over the weekend were kind of boring. Nothing to watch except for baseball and Carl Edwards winning a minor league NASCAR race.
3. I forgot about the WNBA All-Star game.
4. OK, I just didn't know it was scheduled for Saturday.
5. I still don't think there is enough loyalty to some high school coaches in the area. Well, loyalty to coaches who give years and years of service to a school and team.
6. I'm glad I don't have to worry about rain delays until the end of March 2012.
7. The MLB All-Star game a couple weeks ago was one of the most boring baseball games I've watched in a long time.
8. I don't get the hype of "Moneyball." Why make a movie on a system and team that won zero World Series championships? Though I know the ending, I will go watch the
movie.
9. The possible return of Brett Favre to the NFL isn't unexpected, but man, this dog-and-pony show sure gets old.
10. I wish I could predict a winner of the NL Central this season, but this has to be the trickiest of all divisions in baseball. No team is overly dominant this season. A prediction is whomever makes a bang before the trade deadline will be the winner.
11. The Buckeyes are very lucky they won't get the worst NCAA sanctions. As for Oregon … we will have to wait and see what is going on in the Pacific Northwest.
12. It's a shame there will be no Hall of Fame game this season the day following the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions.
13. The upcoming NFL Free agency period (possibly this Saturday) will be one of the best few days in all of sports. We may never see something like this ever again. It's going to be a train wreck, and I will have to watch.
14. Can you tell even though I have my guard up with the NFL, I am excited for not only the real NFL season, but fantasy football, too?
15. Just try fantasy football … you will know much more about individual players of the NFL.
• Two Top Quotes Since My Last NOTP
"My teams were known for playing hard, whether they were winning or losing. I expected that, and I told my players, 'Give me what you got, and we'll figure out a way to use it.' I wanted my teams to represent the school in a good way, and we weren't going to have players with tattoos and their pants hanging down in pre-game. I know that's a little bit of old-school, and that wasn't accepted too well in the last couple years. But I wanted North Adams to have the stamp of 'we played hard.' I wasn't going to make them play a style they weren't capable of playing, but we were going to play hard." — Dave Young, former North Adams head basketball coach.
- - - - -
"When we first started putting the team together in late May, we struggled to get close to .500 at first. The guys kept battling and working hard and played well at the end of the season. They came together, but we just couldn't get the timely hits when we needed them in the tournament." — Ritchie Butler, Post 129 baseball coach following the final Post 129 game of the summer.
• Random Stuff
1. Went to a thrift store Sunday, and for $1.91, I purchased John Madden's first book. It was printed in 1984, and I'm looking forward to reading it … eventually.
2. Found an old NFL Preview magazine from the 1998 season with Terrell Davis. The headline from the magazine said "Will the Broncos Repeat?" (To answer that question they did. Defeated the Falcons in Super Bowl XXXII.)
3. Name the starting QB from the 1998 NFL season? Answer: Jeff Blake.
4. I've realized I buy way too many books at thrift stores.
5. If I seem sleepy, don't worry … just cutting back on caffeine for a little bit.
6. Rent or buy "The Lincoln Lawyer." Best movie I've watched in a long time.
7. Speaking of movies … to get away from the heat I watched all three Transformers movies in a 24-hour period. I'd never seen them … and though I'm not a big fan of robots, they were not bad at all.
8. I'd rent "Limitless" too. Watched that movie in the theaters … worth watching.
9. Though I can't name one Amy Winehouse song unless I look it up, it's sad to see someone my age have so much trouble in their personal life and die at a young age.
10. For fans of pro wrestling … is it me, or is the writing much better? It even got a column by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com.
11. Which movie trailer looks worse: the remake of "Footloose" or "Conan the Barbarian?" I think I will just watch the originals, but I am excited to see the movie about the boxing robots ("Real Steel") because it has to be better than any boxing match for the past 15 years.
12. Speaking of movies, I was a fan of "Cars 2," "The Hangover Part II," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and "Bad Teacher."
13. I'm starting to think I watch too many movies.
• Best Stat Since My Last NOTP
Two players for Post 129 batted .400 for the regular season with at least 45 at-bats (Dustin Taylor and Tucker Hughes).
• One Last Item Of Business
Again, I'm in football mode now. High school football practices are around the corner, I have a college football preview magazine and the NFL Lockout is almost over. Football is my favorite sport, and even though baseball relaxes me … I really do miss the sport of football.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]
With all of that over with, I do have a lot to talk about … like for example, we are less than 35 days away from Week 1 of the high school football season, or it could be called the Kiss the Fanny of Jim Tressel Day, but I prefer to just to keep it about the schools, games and players and call it Week 1.
Also in my time away from this column, I got the opportunity and privilege to interview former North Adams boys basketball coach Dave Young about his career that spanned 27 years at the varsity level, 24 being at North Adams High School.
It was probably the most fun I've had interviewing someone in the six years I've been interviewing people. I loved his honesty, and just from the over-hour-long interview I had with him, I gained so much knowledge about not only his basketball teams and his career, but just about people in general.
Maybe if schools would stay as loyal to their coaches as coaches are to schools, they could learn something, too.
It would be nice, though, to get some help with my jump shot. Ask any of my friends … I can spell "horse" faster than anyone, and it's not because I write for a living.
Well, let's get to some topics.
• Two-A-Days Are A Week Away; Football Preview In Progress
High school players will be taking part in two-a-day practices in a mere seven days, which means scrimmages will be here before we know it and the second annual Highland County Press High School Football Preview will be released before the start of the 2011 season.
This is my absolute favorite project I have all year long. Last year was the first time I had the opportunity to do an all-football preview, but this year I intend to make it even better.
Now, more on the actual football season.
Do you realize in 32 days it will be Week 1 of the high school season? Where did the summer go? I spent most of mine at Shaffer Park watching baseball or at Star Cinemas watching movies.
This football season will be a bit different when you look at the schedules of Hillsboro and McClain.
For Hillsboro, Chillicothe is on the schedule replacing the one year Zanesville was on the schedule last season. McClain has a couple different teams on the schedule this upcoming season. Gone is the juggernaut Jonathan Alder, and the longtime rivalry with Paint Valley won't happen this season. Added to the MHS slate of games are the East Clinton Astros, which is a non-league game this season and Greenville (replacing JA).
This is a part of the season that starts to answer some questions about any football team. How they react under pressure, who is going to stand out and just exactly what kind of team each school can potentially have.
Two-a-days may be a long two weeks, but they are a must for the game of football.
Later on, I'll talk about the questions I have for the upcoming season. Maybe you have some, too?
I am also wondering about quarterback situations for more than a couple teams in the SCOL, as I'm thinking at least three … maybe more teams lost their quarterback from a season ago. I know Hillsboro has to replace a three-year quarterback, and Miami Trace will be replacing a two-year starting QB.
When a team replaces a starting QB, it is always interesting.
More to come on the high school football season once scrimmages and practices happen.
• The Post 129 Legion Baseball Season
Last Monday, the Hillsboro American Legion Post 129 ball club wrapped up its summer season with a loss to Washington C.H. Post 25 in a district tournament game. Hillsboro went 1-2 in the District 7 tournament and 21-23 overall (10-6 in the SCOL).
What I'll remember the most about this team is how they were 1-9 and scratched and clawed their way to a respectable record because at the beginning of the season it would have been tough to say this team would eventually reach the .500 mark during any point of the season.
They did reach that point in an early July doubleheader sweep of Chillicothe Post 757 at Shaffer Park, to go 20-20 at that time. That was the only time all summer the Legion team was at .500.
Though they were knocked out of the district tourney this season, the way the team played the final three or so weeks made it interesting, to say the least.
• More on the Post 129 District 7 Tournament
Take a look at some of the stats from their three games played at VA Memorial Stadium in the District 7 tournament.
- Hillsboro finished 21-23 overall, 10-6 in the SCOL and 1-2 in the tournament.
- Here is what stood out from the District 7 tournament.
- In three games, leadoff hitter Ian Adams went 6-for-13 for an average of .461 with three doubles and one triple.
- In three games, Hillsboro walked seven times.
- Hillsboro scored 11 runs … were shut out in their first game of the tournament.
- Hillsboro finished with 24 hits in their two days in the postseason. They finished 24-for-106.
- Dustin Taylor had the second-most Hillsboro hits in the District 7 tournament with four. He finished 4-for-12 in three games for a .333 average.
- Six players had at least two hits for Post 129 in three combined games.
• Thoughts On Sports
1. The NFL Lockout hopefully ends this week, so we can hear the NBA Lockout talk. Somebody find me a key.
2. TV sports over the weekend were kind of boring. Nothing to watch except for baseball and Carl Edwards winning a minor league NASCAR race.
3. I forgot about the WNBA All-Star game.
4. OK, I just didn't know it was scheduled for Saturday.
5. I still don't think there is enough loyalty to some high school coaches in the area. Well, loyalty to coaches who give years and years of service to a school and team.
6. I'm glad I don't have to worry about rain delays until the end of March 2012.
7. The MLB All-Star game a couple weeks ago was one of the most boring baseball games I've watched in a long time.
8. I don't get the hype of "Moneyball." Why make a movie on a system and team that won zero World Series championships? Though I know the ending, I will go watch the
movie.
9. The possible return of Brett Favre to the NFL isn't unexpected, but man, this dog-and-pony show sure gets old.
10. I wish I could predict a winner of the NL Central this season, but this has to be the trickiest of all divisions in baseball. No team is overly dominant this season. A prediction is whomever makes a bang before the trade deadline will be the winner.
11. The Buckeyes are very lucky they won't get the worst NCAA sanctions. As for Oregon … we will have to wait and see what is going on in the Pacific Northwest.
12. It's a shame there will be no Hall of Fame game this season the day following the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions.
13. The upcoming NFL Free agency period (possibly this Saturday) will be one of the best few days in all of sports. We may never see something like this ever again. It's going to be a train wreck, and I will have to watch.
14. Can you tell even though I have my guard up with the NFL, I am excited for not only the real NFL season, but fantasy football, too?
15. Just try fantasy football … you will know much more about individual players of the NFL.
• Two Top Quotes Since My Last NOTP
"My teams were known for playing hard, whether they were winning or losing. I expected that, and I told my players, 'Give me what you got, and we'll figure out a way to use it.' I wanted my teams to represent the school in a good way, and we weren't going to have players with tattoos and their pants hanging down in pre-game. I know that's a little bit of old-school, and that wasn't accepted too well in the last couple years. But I wanted North Adams to have the stamp of 'we played hard.' I wasn't going to make them play a style they weren't capable of playing, but we were going to play hard." — Dave Young, former North Adams head basketball coach.
- - - - -
"When we first started putting the team together in late May, we struggled to get close to .500 at first. The guys kept battling and working hard and played well at the end of the season. They came together, but we just couldn't get the timely hits when we needed them in the tournament." — Ritchie Butler, Post 129 baseball coach following the final Post 129 game of the summer.
• Random Stuff
1. Went to a thrift store Sunday, and for $1.91, I purchased John Madden's first book. It was printed in 1984, and I'm looking forward to reading it … eventually.
2. Found an old NFL Preview magazine from the 1998 season with Terrell Davis. The headline from the magazine said "Will the Broncos Repeat?" (To answer that question they did. Defeated the Falcons in Super Bowl XXXII.)
3. Name the starting QB from the 1998 NFL season? Answer: Jeff Blake.
4. I've realized I buy way too many books at thrift stores.
5. If I seem sleepy, don't worry … just cutting back on caffeine for a little bit.
6. Rent or buy "The Lincoln Lawyer." Best movie I've watched in a long time.
7. Speaking of movies … to get away from the heat I watched all three Transformers movies in a 24-hour period. I'd never seen them … and though I'm not a big fan of robots, they were not bad at all.
8. I'd rent "Limitless" too. Watched that movie in the theaters … worth watching.
9. Though I can't name one Amy Winehouse song unless I look it up, it's sad to see someone my age have so much trouble in their personal life and die at a young age.
10. For fans of pro wrestling … is it me, or is the writing much better? It even got a column by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com.
11. Which movie trailer looks worse: the remake of "Footloose" or "Conan the Barbarian?" I think I will just watch the originals, but I am excited to see the movie about the boxing robots ("Real Steel") because it has to be better than any boxing match for the past 15 years.
12. Speaking of movies, I was a fan of "Cars 2," "The Hangover Part II," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and "Bad Teacher."
13. I'm starting to think I watch too many movies.
• Best Stat Since My Last NOTP
Two players for Post 129 batted .400 for the regular season with at least 45 at-bats (Dustin Taylor and Tucker Hughes).
• One Last Item Of Business
Again, I'm in football mode now. High school football practices are around the corner, I have a college football preview magazine and the NFL Lockout is almost over. Football is my favorite sport, and even though baseball relaxes me … I really do miss the sport of football.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]