A lot has happened over the past two weeks, and it’s been awhile since I wrote a ‘notes’ column, so let’s take a look at several different subjects that I’ve covered recently.
-First up, after my steroids column last week I got an email from a Mr. Ron Cobb, who took me to task for incorrectly relating the story about Ty Cobb’s feud with Babe Ruth. After doing some research, I’ve discovered that the alleged incident revolved around Cobb refusing to bunk with Ruth at a cabin, not refusing to shake his hand. I apologize for the factual error. I will point out, however, that Cobb’s reluctance to share a room still allegedly revolved around his belief that Ruth was of partial black ancestry. There is considerable evidence that later in his life Cobb’s racist tendencies significantly mellowed, and he did grow up in Georgia at a time when racism was, unfortunately, mostly the norm. I stand by my belief, however, that based on the facts, Cobb was in fact a racist and not a particularly nice guy during his playing career.
An interesting footnote to this story is the possibility that Ron Cobb is Ty Cobb’s descendant. I have asked Ron to clarify this but thus far he has declined to respond. I hope he does, and if he is, in fact, a descendant of Ty Cobb, I hope to conduct an interview with him. Based on his email, he is at the very least an avid fan of baseball history.
— Now let’s take a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Two weeks ago I blasted the team for making a coaching change, but stated that if they were still playing with intensity after 10 games under interim coach Dan Bylsma, then maybe they were onto something. Well, after nine games under Bylsma the team is 7-1-1, winners of five straight and looking much like last year’s formidable squad. Now, there have been other significant changes – Ryan Whitney was traded away for winger Chris Kunitz and promising prospect Eric Tangradi. I LOVED this trade, while Whitney has a lot of talent he simply needed a change of scenery and the Pens have plenty of depth on defense. Kunitz filled a vital need for a gritty scoring threat on Crosby’s wing, but the key to the deal will be Tangradi – if he reaches his potential, the could be the power forward the team has lacked since losing Jaromir Jagr.
The Pens also picked up winger Bill Guerin for a “song” (otherwise known as a conditional draft pick), a nice no-risk move. Most importantly, these moves have allowed Bylsma to field four competent lines for the first time all season – Dupuis and Talbot are stretched as top-line wingers but they make for one of the best 4th lines in the game. Finally, Sergei Gonchar is back from his shoulder surgery and his return immediately improved the defense and the power play.
But back to Bylsma – for whatever reason, the players are following his coaching much more than they were under Therrien at the end – the team is playing inspired, fast-paced, smart hockey. Even the game they lost was a close game until the third period, and they have physically dominated many of these games, including their 4-1 win Thursday at Florida. There are 16 games left, and the team isn’t out of the woods yet – they sit in 8th place, and another long losing stretch will mean no playoffs – but I have to admit that it appears Ray Shero made the right move replacing Therrien. We’ll revisit this once the regular season ends in early April.
— The Penn State men’s basketball team beat Illinois for the second time this season Thursday night on a last-second shot. The win moved the Lions to 21-9 and 10-7 in the conference, good for 4th place. The Big Ten is definitely down this season, and I know all about PSU’s weak nonconference schedule (does JoePa schedule for football AND basketball?), but 21 wins and 4th place in the Big Ten should equal an NCAA berth regardless of what happens next week at the conference tournament. PSU might be an interesting bracket-buster if they make it – they look to get a low seed, something between 9 and 12, but they play good defense and they have enjoyed good guard play – a combination that has led to tournament success in the past. A win or two in the big dance wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I’m sure Morelli OnLion will update us next week in-depth on this developing story.
— Finally, I know I already discussed winter sports, and there are plenty of standout athletes in the area I could write about, but as a former heavyweight wrestler, I’ll admit a certain bias towards wrestling, and Clearfield heavyweights in particular. Having said that, I think the amazing accomplishments of Sean Owen stand on their own: 41-0 this season, 133-26 for his career, a 79-match winning streak that stretches back to Dec. 1, 2007. This season Sean has recorded 33 pins, 2 forfeits, 1 win by injury default, a technical fall, 2 major decisions, and 2 regular decisions. In other words, in 41 bouts only FOUR wrestlers have gone the full six minutes with him!
Thus far at the state tournament Owen has a fall in NINE seconds and a fall in 1:06. There are two tough bouts left – next up is a rematch of last year’s championship final, Owen vs. Evan Craig (39-0 this season), and a potential championship match with yet ANOTHER undefeated wrestler, David Osei (43-0).
Regardless of how the rest of the tournament plays out, Sean Owen has had perhaps the most dominant season by any athlete in Clearfield history. I’m not saying he’s the best CAREER athlete, or even the best career wrestler – he was 16-16 as a freshman, and Clearfield has had many dominant freshman wrestlers – but I’d take his performance this season, against top competition, against anyone Clearfield has ever fielded. It’s a very debatable subject, and there’s no ‘right’ answer – you could make a case for any number of the great athletes of yesteryear, such as Chad Kroell, Jeff Droll, John Lytle, or several state wrestling champions, but I’ll take Sean Owen’s performance THIS SEASON as the best in a Bison uniform. Comments and arguments to the contrary are welcome!
Dave Glass lives in Clearfield with his wife, Suzanne, and their six children. He can be reached at buggyracer@verizon.net.