By Jim Raykie
I don't know a great deal about speed skating, but when the Winter Olympics roll around every four years, it’s one of the events that I enjoy the most. The long and short tracks this year had a little more intrigue and interest with the return of American star Apolo Ohno.
Despite his controversial disqualification in the short track Friday night, he won a bronze medal in the 1,500-meter relay and ended up with eight medals from three Olympics, beginning in 2002. He is the most decorated American Winter Olympian in history.
Ohno “bumped” Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay in the final lap, and the Canadian skidded into the padding. Ohno was disqualified and afterward questioned the judge’s decision. The judge was Canadian and two Canadians were in the race, a situation at the center of the controversy.
Whether Tremblay was losing control without Ohno’s hand on him is one of the sticking points. My complaint is why only one judge in such an event, and why a Canadian? Why create a scenario where a judge can be questioned, fairly or unfairly, because of his nationality?
• I ran into old friend Nick Cannone in the grocery store early Sunday afternoon. I saw him walking in while I was looking for a place to park, and hunted him down in the check-out line shortly after I grabbed a shopping cart.
Nick’s the head basketball coach at Hickory High, and I wished him the best in his game later Sunday afternoon against Girard High at Edinboro University, which Hickory won 38-36. Nick has been coaching for 20 years, and spent eight of them at Farrell High, his alma mater, where he compiled an impressive 167 wins and 56 losses from 1990-98.
His Hornets lost some early games by a handful of points, and were considered by many as dead in the water as far as playoffs were concerned. But reflecting the toughness of their coach, they rebounded to win their last five regular season games and enter the tournament as the region’s third seed.
• While we’re on the subject of high school basketball, Coach Jim Smiley quietly has put together a solid season for his Sharpsville High Blue Devils. The Blue Devils notched a playoff win Thursday night against North East and moved to 15-8 for the year. Not bad considering that the Devils were 7-15 last year with predominantly the same cast of players.
When Smiley was hired at Sharpsville last spring, some Neshannock High fans had little good to say about him on Internet forums and other blogs, including The Herald’s defunct Community Forum. Smiley was unceremoniously fired at the Lawrence County school after many successful seasons. I wonder what his critics are saying today?
• Leave it to the NBA to give you a good laugh to help during the throes of winter. Caron Butler, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, has had a habit of chewing plastic drinking straws during games, especially ones from McDonald’s, since his teenage days. He’s been playing in the NBA for seven years after a successful career at the University of Connecticut.
The NBA, in a glaring attempt to clean up its public image after Washington Wizards teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton pulled guns on each other in the locker room last December, has banned the chewing of straws. How about mouthpieces that you see players chomping on? How about chewing gum?
Given the rows of empty seats in NBA arenas across the country (and players pulling guns on each other), Commissioner David Stern has way more problems to address than plastic straws.
The editor’s mail bag
I got this e-mail from Bill Alsnauer, a former Sharon resident who is a lawyer in Santa Ana, Calif. “I read your column with interest today (last Monday). As you may know, my uncle was Joe Duich (Farrell’s late athletic director) so my connection to Farrell basketball goes way back.
“I am looking forward to checking out the Facebook page as I’m sure it will bring back many fond memories like the Denny Wuycik appearance you referenced. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance and get an autograph from him. Continue the great work.”
I haven’t seen ex-Farrell High point guard Danny Jordan in more than 30 years, but I got a message from him last week about the Facebook page:
“I am a former Farrell High Steeler (Class of 1974) and I have recently viewed the FHS Basketball Facebook page. I now know who is responsible for it and I want to personally thank you. If it is one thing that people from Farrell will always remember, it is those heydays of our basketball teams that put us on the map.
“Thank you Jim for your insight to unite us using today’s technology. Sure I get the digital Sharon Herald, but the interaction of former players and fans on Facebook and the photos that you and others are sharing just brings everything to life. Thank you Jim, and take care and God bless.”
Finally, I got an old-fashioned, hand-written note from Martha Wareham of Sandy Lake, who recently turned 95, and was thrilled that people remembered her. “My 95-year-birthday picture was in your paper last week. Could you please put a thank-you note in the paper? I appreciate everyone who remembered my 95th birthday. The messages were enjoyed.” Cheers, Martha.
Jim Raykie is the editor of The Herald and his column appears on Mondays. His e-mail is jraykie@sharonherald.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JimRaykie
