Trojan Nation

MySpace Blog from 11-01-06

2006-11-02T20:27:00.000-05:00

Week Ten

I'm curious to know what everyone thinks of this week ten situation. Personally, I thought it was great when I heard this year that teams were going back to a ten-game regular season.
However, this was before I learned that the games wouldn't count in the playoff points. I'm not sure what is to be gained by playing a game in between your ninth game and the first round of the playoffs.

Personally, I feel this is a gaffe on the part of the PIAA and District 6. They should have had the games count in the points, or start the playoffs week nine like in the past.

I think it's good to have the team have a game rather than have an off week in preparation of the playoffs. Everyone else is in AAA, but the games seem odd to me. It would be terrible if a team lost a player to injury in a meaningless game. Hopefully the coaches of all the teams involved in week ten will play it smart.

I'm interested to hearing from some of the players on the team and what they're thoughts are on this. I'm sure they want to play. When you're that age you want to play as many games as you can. However, I'm sure the bigger goal of getting back to the District Championship AND winning it, is tops on the priority list.

I'm also curious to see what the vibe is at the school these days. Is the student body behind the team or are there a lot of naysayers being negative? If so, you'll just have to prove them wrong.
Either way, holler at your boy. Word is the Nation will have a good fan following at Tyrone Friday.

I don't much care about that. What I do care about is PACKING Trojan Stadium next weekend for that playoff game with Hollidaysburg!

MySpace Blog 10-25-06

2006-10-31T19:30:00.000-05:00

Playoffs and Stats

I love this time of year. As a number cruncher and analyst by trade (i.e. "day job") I enjoy very much figuring out all the scenarios that go into the playoff hunt.

Rather than get in all the details, it's safe to say that a Johnstown win clinches the first seed in the 6-AAA playoffs. The other scenario that is favorable to JHS is if both the Trojans and Huntingdon lose Friday night. I'd never wish for a loss obviously, however, if the Trojans do fall to the Rangers AND Huntingdon loses to Philipsburg-Osceola, it appears that bonus points and the 10 point lead JHS has going into the week will be enough for the Trojans to hold on to the top spot.

Not only is hosting a first round game at Trojan Stadium a huge deal (we've mentioned that before) but the difference between playing Indian Valley (or Bellefonte) versus playing Hollidaysburg in the first round is HUGE. 1-2-3 are tight but there is a considerable drop off after that.

Now for some stats.

Brandon Hody has passed for 901 yards and is 6th in the LHAC. I'd look for him to surpass the 1,000-yard mark this week.

Antwuan Reed has 1,261 rushing yards which not only leads the LHAC but is ninth in the state.
Demetrius Young (417) and Adonis Jackson (325) are the 5th and 11th WRs in the conference.
Reed's 86 points are third in the LHAC.

Aaron Brezovic's 75 tackles are 7th in the LHAC while he is tied for the lead with Mitch Blackwell of Central Cambria for the league lead in sacks with 11.5. Brez and Blackwell's numbers are good enough for a tie for second in the state in the sack column.

MySpace Blog from 10-18-06

2006-10-21T03:58:00.000-04:00

Recovery week?

I don't have that much to say this week. Nowhere to go but up for the Trojans.

Let's look at some stats:
Brandon Hody's 798 passing yards are 6th in the LHAC.
Antwuan Reed's 1,119 rushing yards are 1st in the LHAC.
Demetrius Young's 357 receiving yards are 6th in the LHAC and Adonis Jackson's 290 are 10th.
Reed's 84 points are third in the LHAC.
Aaron Brezovic's 70 tackles are good enough for 4th in the LHAC while LaVarr Stephens-Howling's 62 stops are 11th.
Brezovic's 10.5 sacks are first in the LHAC and the state. Devon Huddleston has 3.5 sacks and is 10th in the LHAC.

MySpace Blog from 10-11-06

2006-10-13T11:05:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a chance to post this last night because I was traveling back to Pittsburgh after attending the Johnstown vs. Bishop McCort freshman game. I must say, it was a very intense battle and a very close game. We'll talk more about the game in next week's "Bullet Points" but Johnstown fell 22-18 in what was their first loss of the season.

I never cease to be amazed at the stupidity of some parents out there. The way they were yelling at the coach AND players last night, you'd have thought the team was 0-5 going into the game rather than 5-0. Sometimes it scares me that some of these "adults" are the role models and examples our young kids have at home. It's no wonder kids do drugs, get pregnant, etc!

I'm not saying that I've NEVER been critical of coaches. I had some choice words for the Head Coach in the days of Corky McCabe and Bill Cacciotti. Personally, those two never deserved to don the black and pale blue. McCabe was an embarrassment, towards the end of his tenure he'd actually argue back and forth with fans that yelled at him at the Point. Oh, and he tried to bring that friggin' Wing-T and install it in one summer! How the school board even hired him is beyond me, the guy was subpar at two programs that have improved greatly since he left (Penn Cambria and Bishop Carroll).

Cacciotti wasn't much better, I don't think I've seen worse clock management ever but at least he acted properly on the sideline.

Those two are where they belong. McCabe is an assistant coach at Portage and Cacciotti is coaching Middle School at McCort.

But I digress!

I've been looking forward to this Johnstown-McCort game since I woke up Monday morning and being at Trojan Stadium last night was just an appetizer.

I'm ready for the main course!

MySpace Blog from 10-4-06

2006-10-06T11:38:00.000-04:00

I'm done with message boards

Recently, some things went down over in the LHSports boards and I need to take a brief moment to address it. Apparently someone saw one of my previous blogs here on the MySpace page that was reposted on the Trojan Nation blogspot site. To make a long story short, people started posting about what I said here and I got involved in some lengthy back and forth posts.
I want to make something perfectly clear: I am NOT backing down from my original statements about Guru and the comments that he made that upset me. This is not an apology. Whoever the Guru is, (and apparently his ego is hurt since I don't), he has legions of fans that follow him and his picks blindly and feel he can do/say no wrong.

I don't care who you are, if you can't take a little criticism, you shouldn't be making posts, picks, etc. One person called him out and he decides to quit doing LHAC picks and is now doing WestPAC picks. What happens when a Windber or Portage fan gets upset with something he wrote? Is he going to move on to the Heritage Conference?

What I am sorry that I got involved in was the back and forth on that board. Really, I should have just let the post go with a grain of salt and ignored it. I felt the need to defend what I said. Furthermore after a few days of posting, the Guru never responded to the comments that really set me and some others off. He got a pass when it came to saying the Trojans were going to go on a downward spiral because LaRod was gone. He got a pass when it came to saying the Trojans were an "undiscplined Flood City team". He got a pass when he made the remark that Brezovic's Mom must be keeping sack stats.

But I probably shouldn't have jumped in the message board and got caught up in it. I will write more about this Monday for MMR, but from now on, the only message board I'm going to particpate at all in is going to be the one for Trojan Nation. I shouldn't be jumping into different message boards and debating people. It's time consuming and takes focus away from the website, which in turn, takes focus away from the kids.

In other site news, I'm looking to start a new feature as well as add something to an existing one. I am working on a "Coaches Corner" piece that I will put up each week either on Wednesday or Thursday. I'll pose five questions to Coach Arcurio and post them with his response. I'm also making an addition to the Thursday Helmets and Sweats. H&S has become a weekly preview of what's to come outside of the JHS game in the LHAC, District 6-AAA and the City League teams that are AAA. Starting this week, before we dive into that, I'm going to give a quick rundown of the LHAC leaders in statistical categories. We'll do this for the rest of the regular season in a similar fashion that we have started updating the Nation on Geroy, LaRod and all the other former Trojans on Tuesdays.

Don't forget, this Friday's game will be broadcast tape delayed on PCN on Saturday as part of their Game of the Week coverage. Nation, pack the stands this weekend, make extra noise and come out and support the team in it's quest to improve to 6-0. I want all the Penny Jug Divas to put an extra roll of pennies in your jug! I want more cowbell (I've got a fever, and the only prescription...!!!) Airhorns are not allowed, I think, but bring 'em anyway. Blow 'em until they make an announcement to stop. The guys on the team work hard enough, they don't need 15 yards penalities from the crowd!

And most of all, let's really take it to the Huskies. They're having a down year and I'd love to just shove it down their throat. I'd love to get back at them for that loss last year. I'd love for the Trojans to return the favor and shut them out this year. Just like we did two years ago... in a game that was also at Trojan Stadium. In a game that was also on PCN's Game of the Week.

MySpace Blog from 9-27-06

2006-10-02T12:42:00.000-04:00

Sorry this is late, I went out of town after the 1,000th game:

And then there was one!
As in undefeated team in LHAC. As in the Johnstown Trojans. The Men of Troy are also the sole undefeated squad in the District 6-AAA scene.
I know the naysayers will question "who have they played?" but hey, you have to play the schedule the way it's written. At this time last year the squad had two loses to teams they've beaten this year.
Yes, I can hear what people are saying about how hard it is to tell how good the Trojans are but they have been the only team to contain Matt Holsberger and the Penn Cambria line. Those guys have dominated the ground game against every other team they've faced this year.
I'd like to use this forum to congratulate some Trojans who have good numbers this year and are ranked among the best in the area. Yes, it's a team game but these guys individual accomplishments put them in this class.
Aaron Brezovic: his 9 sacks not only lead the LHAC but put him in tie for the lead in the entire state. His 43 total tackles put him at #4 in the LHAC.
LaVarr Stephens-Howling: 40 tackles rank him 11th in the LHAC.
Antwuan Reed: LHAC leading 605 yards rushing. 52 total points put him in third in the conference.
Brandon Hody: 28-48 for 515 yards; 5 TDs and 2 INTs. These numbers put him fourth in the league.
Adonis Jackson: 12 catches; 240 yards; 1 TD (6th in the LHAC)
Demetrius Young: 12 catches; 220 yards; 2 TDs (7th in the LHAC)
Devon Huddleston: 2.5 sacks are good enough for 8th in the LHAC.

And finally this week, the 1,000th game is upon us. This is a real nice opportunity to celebrate the program, it's almost like having a second homecoming. It was very accomdating for Somerset to switch the game to Trojan Stadium. It was the right thing to do but they didn't have to do it. And don't feel TOO bad for them, they will get the right to host Johnstown the next two years.
I'm glad the school changed the game to Saturday as it gets a lot more people that aren't living in the area a chance to get to the game.

MySpace Blog from 9-20-06

2006-09-22T17:11:00.000-04:00

The "Guru" had a change of heart and so have I.

It appears that the so-called Guru attempts to have missed the boat on this year's JHS football team. Check out the expert prediction from Week 3:

"W"illtoppers (1-1) at Trojans (2-0) (Turf)

The "W"illtoppers pitched a shutout on Friday night and this week they will do a 180. Reed has a need for speed and on the fast track at GHS look for him to run buck wild on the "W"illtoppers, that is of course if he is healed from his game ending injury against the Devils Friday night. As he gimped off of the field in the third quarter and I couldn't help but wonder why in the heck he was out there in the first place. With 209 yards and up 32-0 at the half, I would have had him in street clothes but not J-Town. Their starters played majority of the game. Their kicker got injured in the third quarter as well and I noticed that they carried him off of the field at the end of the game. If healthy, there is no one who can beat the Trojans but themselves. Bresovick is a "MAN". He can't be blocked and his motor does not stop. Best of luck to Westmont and the entire LHAC. Johnstown will not lose until week 7 or 9, if at all!

Trojans by 12.5

Funny, aside from misspelling the young man's name, I guess all he had to see was one game of action before he's on the bandwagon. Before he was questioning the validity of the sack total from 2005. This guy is a fraud and a phony. (And who is "GHS"?)

If you go to the main site for LHSports you can view a free preview of their webcast (how anyone pays for any content on that site is beyond me!) I'm guessing that the Guru is one of the co-hosts, Vince Pavic maybe, but I'm not sure. This guy is wearing a Raiders jersey and flexing! The Raiders are the LAST team I'd be sporting right now! He mentions in the free preview that Johnstown made him "eat crow". So, I'm just putting two and two together.

So, in one viewing of the Trojans, they went from being undiscplined and suffering a downward spiral because LaRod Stephens-Howling is gone to a team no one can beat except for themselves!

I agree with that last part, I truly think this JHS team could be it's own worst enemy and beat itself before a team beats them. They have the talent to beat every team on their schedule and the goal of an undefeated season is a great goal to have, just so that it is done with a one at a time mentality.

My change of heart has to do with the MTV show "Two-A-Days". A couple of things are bugging me now. First, I had no idea that this was filmed during the 2005 season. I was very confused when I looked at the Super 25 Rankings in USA Today and saw that Hoover was still undefeated despite losing a game in last week's episode!

Second, Coach Rush Probst is off his rocker. Look, I like my coaches with a little ego, but telling kids that you won't recommend them for colleges because they lost, that's over the top. This guy is a power-hungry egomaniac and if the kids don't win games for him, his name isn't mentioned in the paper. Therefore he feels he has the right to badmouth kids to college coaches!

Wasn't this a major plotline in All the Right Moves!?!?!

MySpace Blog from 9-13-06

2006-09-17T15:39:00.000-04:00

One of the things that caught my eye while I was getting out of my car Friday night was looking down on the field and seeing the Trojans in blue jerseys. I had to do a double take to make sure they weren't warm-up jackets. I thought this was a nice touch rather than the rather tame traditional road whites.

I see no reason why this can't be a trend at all levels of football. So long as the colors aren't too close for the players, coaches and refs to tell the difference I don't see why the whites can't be ditched. This is what is done at most levels of soccer. Some clubs choose white, but more times that not, the team picks a color in stark contrast to their regular kit.

And speaking of contrast, as my brother would say "everyone has a color TV now". In other words, it was thought the changes were made to have American Football jerseys in white because it offered better contrast when TV was in its infancy and still black and white. He, my brother that is, still longs for the return of the USC/UCLA game with both teams in their distinct school colors!

As far as USC, I always have thought that you could switch the cardinal and yellow to blue and black and copy that uni to a tee and have a real classy look. That all being said, I think that this year's unis are great looking.

Now, to my second and final point. I recently came across a person that goes by the name of "Guru" in the LHSports Forums. He has picked against the Trojans each week on his Picks of the Week and I know hindsight is 20/20 but he seems vindictive and against Johnstown. I mentioned this briefly in my Monday Morning Ramblings this past week but I'll go more in-depth here. What I'm going to do is breakdown both of his "expert" calls so far:

Panthers at Trojans (Turf)

Look for the Panthers International Track Star, Holsberger, and wise old owl Ernie Fetzer to start off 1-0 as the Trojans, minus Coach Brian Wright, start to that downward spiral I like to call "Lack-O-Rod". Look for the undisciplined Flood City team to stay close on athletic ability alone but for the Panthers running game and physical defense to take over in the third quarter. Ernie for President!

Panthers by 13

Now, if you're going to pick against JHS, that's fine. I'm objective enough to know that there are some teams in this league will be picked to win against us so I'm not bitter about that. Plus, on the surface, this really isn't a bad pick as PC returned most of their players from a team that beat JHS last year and JHS lost most of it's line.

What does bug me are three things: a) What the hell does Brian Wright leaving have ANYTHING to do with the team's performance. Assistant coaches come and go all the time and personally, I say good riddance and the program added a better coach in Kevin Marabito anyway (that rant's for another day!). He writes this almost from the point of view that Wright was the head coach (God forbid THAT thought!). b) "Lack-O-Rod". That's clever, I wonder if he was up all night thinking of that gem. I can see using a crass line like that last year, but come on, it's two years out now. Furthermore, a 4-6 season a year ago was a setback yes, but not a "downward spiral". The way things are starting this year, it might have just been a blip on the radar. c) "undisciplined Flood City team" Like I said this past Monday, labels are tough to overcome, especially when they were true in the past, but this season is starting off proving this theory completely false. Trash talk and dumb penalties have been at a minimum and I attribute that to Coach Arcurio and his staff.

OK, had enough, well, here's week two:

Trojans (1-0) at Red Devils (1-0) (Natural Grass)

In the only battle of unbeaten teams this week the Devils host the speedy Trojans. With the Devils 0-5 (2 losses to Johnstown and 3 losses to McCort) in Johnstown over the past two seasons, there is no place like home. Last week, behind a strong performance by the offensive line, the Devils prevailed over the Eagles in the turnover filled County Seat Bowl (3 picks and 6 fumbles). In the second half the Devils held Somerset to (–3) yards on seven (7) total plays. The Trojans held the Panthers to a single TD in their week one win. They also had a pair of picks and held Holsberger to less than 100 yards. Look for the Trojans to put eight (8) men in the box and dare the Devils to throw. On offense look for the Trojans to use their speed in an attempt to get on the edge of the Devil defense. The Devils will be prepared so look for this one to come down to the guys in the trenches. I’ll take the finally healthy Averi and the boys in a defensive showdown.

Devils by 6

Nothing too earth-shattering here. I am miffed that how it almost seems equal to the "Guru" that CC holding Somerset to limited yardage is the same as the Trojans' performance against a much, MUCH better PC team. One coached by his hero, Ernie Fetzer! Let's be honest, Somerset sucks. As for one thing he DID get right, yes the game came down to the trenches. And JHS kicked their asses! This game was over in the second quarter, hardly the 6-point win by CC in a defensive showdown!

Now look, I've made predictions in the past and we still do The Pick Sheet on the site (and have been doing terribly so far this year!) so I know what Armchair QBing this looks like. But when I posted a response in the board someone else came to the "Guru's" defense saying that he makes some good points. Look, it doesn't take a rocket freakin' scientist to predict that Bedford should beat Cambria Heights by more than 40 points!

I hope this guy continues to pick against JHS week in, week out, maybe then we'll be looking at 10-0 in early November!!!!

MySpace Blog from 9-6-06

2006-09-08T00:24:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are, it's Wednesday and that means it's blog time.

It's a shame the rain kept so many people away because they missed a great game Friday night. Props to the defense, they held it down and came up with some big turnovers that put the offense in great field position and let them make plays to get in the end zone.
I was very impressed to hear how personal Coach Arcurio and the staff and the players took the loss last year. At the time it was a complete shocker. When all was said and done it wasn't that bad as Ernie Fetzer had that program turned in the right direction, even hanging with Tyrone for a half in a district playoff game.

I think a lot of people in the Nation thought it was a foregone conclusion that this game would be lost by the Trojans. Oh ye of little faith! Hopefully your eyes were opened a little on Friday night.

I like that option, hopefully we'll be able to run more of that as the season goes on.
I haven't looked at a forecast yet (it's too early) but hopefully it will be dry and there will be a better contingent of folks at the game this weekend. I felt bad as the players came out for pregame, there was hardly any cheering at all, mainly because most of the small crowd that was present were holding umbrellas and couldn't really clap!

One thing I'd like to do in closing is give props to the band. Even the numbers of the band aren't what they once were in the 80s and 90s (and unfortunately they'll probably never get back), I though they sounded great. Real crisp, despite the wet conditions that can wreak havoc with musical instruments. Good job guys.

I'm out, see you guys in Ebensburg.

MySpace Blog from 8-30-06

2006-09-01T09:03:00.000-04:00

So I watched this hour-long reality show and I give it a C. I'll give MTV their props, at least they picked a better squad than ESPN did with Montour for Bound for Glory. Hoover High is without a doubt one of the top five HS programs in the US. Their coach is super intense and he expects that from all his players. Hoover is ranked #1 in the country this year by USA Today.

As for the real thing, I must say, two-a-days sucked. I was always ready for school to start when they rolled around!

I posted my preseason rankings, check them out and feel free to let me know what you think.

What are we going to do with this blog during the regular season? Believe it or not, even with seven days a week of new content there is some stuff that slips through the cracks, this will be the forum.

Also, for those that want to check in on the blog and don't want to sign in through their myspace account necessarily, I'll post these blogs over at my Trojan Nation blog that I set up on Blogger.com a few years ago. That account has been idle for awhile but it's still open and I feel some people might be missing these posts since they are not members of myspace.

Well, that's it. I'm going to keep it short for this week. But fear not, the first game of the regular season is a mere 48 hours away.

GO TROJANS!

MySpace Blogs

2006-08-30T00:43:00.000-04:00

This will be quite lenghty, but I'm going to post all the blogs I posted on the Trojan Nation MySpace site here WITH THE EXCEPTION of today's. That one will be posted Friday:

Wednesday, July 5th - First MySpace Blog

I just wanted to put this out on the web. With so many people using MySpace as their main portal of web communications, we at Trojan Nation thought we'd get in the act to attract more viewers to our site.
In the upcoming weeks and months we'll be using the blog and bulletin features on MySpace to help communicate new features to the site and other happenings.
We all are looking forward to the 2006 season, thanks for looking.

Wednesday, July 12th - Post 2...

...and 20 friends and counting. I hope to keep adding more and more each day so if you know someone that you think would interested in following the happenings of the Trojan Nation by all means, send them our way.
One of the coaches recently posted on our message board and had some positive things to say about the upcoming season and the 2006 team.
I've posted the 2006 schedule on the profile in case you're going to the MySpace profile before the main Trojan Nation page.
In other site related news, I've come across a great web resource that will help me greatly in updating the Ken Lantzy page. I'll also add a spreadsheet with all the game scores since the first game back in 1971. One of the other projects being pieced together is year-by-year records for Boys' Basketball. I hope to at least have the shell of that up by the end of summer because once football season starts, all the efforts will be dedicated there.
Also, check out the Alumni Database. You can email me if you want added. Just send your name, email and graduating class.
Again, thanks for joining. With just about a month until teams in PA can start practice (August 14th) things will really start to pick up.
Later,
Kek

Wednesday, July 19th - Daily Content Review

In this week's blog, I'm going to do a small service to those of you new to the Nation. One of the things we pride ourselves in is that we provide new content on a daily basis.
As we've mentioned before, 2006 will be the second year that we will provide new content seven days a week. When the site was started in 2004 there was only new content Monday through Saturday. Last year, with the addition of the Sunday Report Card, we made that seven days a week.
What I'd like to do now is give a brief description of our daily features. This will be good both for those of you that are new to the site, as well as a refresher to our existing viewers.
MONDAY: Monday Morning Ramblings - This is a "catch-all" column that I like to write on Mondays. It can be pretty much about anything although many times it takes the tone of the something that happened Friday's game. Opinion and analysis of key plays, players, coach's calls, etc are all fair game for topics.
TUESDAY: Tuesday Trojan Trivia and A Look Ahead - On Tuesday I like to lighten things up a bit and see if the viewers have their thinking caps on. After that, the "Look Ahead" portion of this daily feature deals with the upcoming opponent. We'll highlight key players/match-ups and as we get deeper in the season we'll run down stats as well as won-loss records and prior opponents.
WEDNESDAY: Bullet Points - The first thing we do on Wednesday is answer the previous day's trivia question. After that, the bulk of this daily feature is to give props to the little guys. We'll run down to the best of our ability the previous week's result for JV, Freshman, 8th and 7th grade teams. We've had great cooperation from the coaches in the past few years and see no reason why that won't continue in the future. From time to time, at the end of the sub-varsity report, I'll throw in a few tidbits from high school football from around the state and beyond.
THURSDAY: Helmets and Sweats - this is the time of the week where we preview what the rest of the LHAC and District 6-AAA team are up to in the given week. We'll profile key matchups and give some thoughts and analysis on these games that indirectly affect the Trojans.
FRIDAY: Tale of the Tape - this feature breaks down the Trojans' opponent. We give you all the info you need to know. Where the school is located. What their enrollment is. What the name of their stadium is, their colors, etc. We give you their record last year and some historical data against JHS. We even give a weather forecast for the game.
SATURDAY: Saturday Game Report - Nowhere on the web is there a more in-depth report of the Trojans' game on a weekly basis. We give you all you need to know, in case you can't get to the game or if you want to read the account of the game you just saw.
SUNDAY: Report Card - School is in session. Each week we grade both JHS and their opponent on offense, defense, special teams and coaching. We give comments to follow that justify our grades. This year, we will start to grade the game officials as well.
Next week I'll give a rundown of our regular features.

Wednesday, July 26th - Regular features of the site

It's Wednesday so that means another blog posting. This week we'll take you through some of the regular features of the website:
Point/Counterpoint: This is one that I have a lot of fun with. Jason and I pick a topic, take opposites ends and post our side of the issue at hand. We are shooting for posting every other week at a minimum but we have enough topics to take us through the entire season.
Trojan of the Week: Amos put together a player profile survey last year and we will use it again in '06. Together with a picture of the player, we try to feature at least two new Trojans each week. This is just an avenue to get to know the players both on and off the field.
Viewpoints: This feature will be revamped this year. It will be Jason doing "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" each Monday following the game.
The Pick Sheet: This is a fun one that the entire staff of the Nation particpates in. Each week I'll pick eight games and the four of us will predict winners. The person with the best record at the end of the season will be crowned champion and get bragging rights until next year. Amos is the defending champ with a record of 52-20. He beat Jason by just one game last year. I expect another exciting season.
Numberology: Jason is billed as the resident number cruncher of the Nation and this year I'm putting him to work. Each week, he'll breakdown the situation in District 6-AAA from a points perspective. You'll always know where the Trojans and the rest of the district stand when it comes to playoff talk.
We're less than a month away from camp and September 1 and Penn Cambria will be here before you know it.
Check back in next week as we'll talk about the rest of the sections on the Trojan Nation website.
Later,
Kek

Wednesday, August 2nd - Crash Course in Site Navigation

In this blog I wanted to go over the other sections of the site. We can call them reference points as they are not daily or weekly features. That being said, some are edited and update more than others.
We'll just along the top of the webpage and look at the headers:
Statistics: We were blessed with this info each week last year thanks to Cyndi Ahlborn. Unfortunately I wasn't always on the ball when it came to posting it. This year I promise to keep it updated promptly each and every week. We'll have game-by-game as well as cumulative stats posted.
Message Board: There is also a link to this on the homepage. I have a free message board from another service (VoyForums). The link will open in a new window. Please try to keep the conversation sports and/or JHS related.
Rankings: Each week during the regular season I do a top ten for big schools (AAAA and AAA) and a separate list for small schools (AA and A) in Districts 5 and 6. They are updated each week. This info is also available at my PennLive blog.
Daily Features: Another place to get links to our daily features.
Standings/Scoreboard: The past two years I did the standings and scores for all schools in Districts 5-8. That proved to be too time-consuming. This year I'll simply do the LHAC and the 6-AAA points. There are other resources, such as ePaSports.com and MaxPreps, that have all the state's information
Schedules: Links to all schedules for JHS football. Not just varsity, but we'll keep JV, Frosh, 8th and 7th grade updated as well.
History/Traditions: Four different, cool pages here. Clicking on "Tradition" gets you words to the Alma Mater and Fight Song. "History" takes you to our Year-by-year archive of season win-loss records as well as all-time coaching records, Trojans that have been all state, Trojans that have represented JHS in the Ken Lantzy Game. There are also databases of Kamnikar Award Winners and Trojan Stadium Award winners. Some of these pages are incomplete and need blanks filled in so if you have any info, just email me. "Countdown to 600" tracks all schools in PA with 500 or more wins and helps us keep track as JHS approaches the coveted 600-win mark. "PIAA Past Champions" is simply a spreadsheet of past state champs since the current format began in 1988.
Links: Although this page probably needs cleaned up a bit, there are cool links to sites of interest to the viewer of Trojan Nation.
Contact Us: Just another place to find my email address and contact me with anything about the site you might like or dislike and ideas, etc.
About Us: This page has pictures, bios and email address of not only myself, but Jason Subich, Greg Keklak and Amos Myers. If you want to get in touch with us or just know a little more about us, this is the place.
Archives: I used to archive all content but I was running out of disk space and since there wasn't much traffic to old content, I decided to discontinue this feature. However, I left the page up because I wanted to let the viewers know that I have all the content from 2004 and 2005 saved so if there is something you might be looking for from years past, just drop me a line and I'll be glad to forward it to you.
Also, within the body of the homepage are the following:
Updates Page: As soon as content is added, or if I find an external link with a connection to JHS, I'll post it on this page with the appropriate date.
Alumni Database: Email me if you'd like to be added to our alumni database. Simply give me your name, email and the year you graduated from JHS.
From time to time there will be special, stand alone pieces. They normally appear at the top of the homepage in the blue highlighting.
That's all for now. Next week we'll have a little preview of camp as well as some talk of camps past.
Later,
Kek

Wednesday, August 9th - Camp is around the corner!!!

Two things that go hand in hand for me when it comes to mid-August are the AAABA tournament and the start of football camp. This mainly due to them being so close to each other timing wise.
I can remember thinking "the summer is just about over" once the national baseball tournament rolled around the fields of the Johnstown area. Some years the tournament was still going on when we headed to camp, in others it was over already.
A few weeks ago, the Tribune Democrat reported that JHS will go to camp at Antiochian Village for camp this year. In a move out of the ordinary, the team will go to camp during the second week of preseason training, opting to stay home at the friendly confines of Trojan Stadium for the first week.
Jerry Davitch used Antiochian Village, which is near Bolivar and was founded in 1978 by the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, back in the early 90s for a camp locale.
The Trojans returned to Antiochian during the late 90s with Corky McCabe. In between that saw stints at Mount Aloysius and Camp Mantowagon in Saxton.
Regardless of the venue, one thing is for sure: after two weeks of two-a-days, the kids can't wait to get back to school. At least then there will only be ONE practice!
Finally tonight, please check out the bulletin in regards to finding materials, photos, etc, to be used in conjunction with JHS' 1,000th game in program history.
Until next Wednesday, signing off,
Kek

Wednesday, August 16th - Hump Day for Week One of practice

Camp opened Monday and we hear that 62 boys came out for the Trojans this year. Obviously, some guys will not make it through camp, deciding that football isn't the thing for them however, that is a good number. If that means they'll head to the regular season with a roster of 50 that's great. Depth is always a good problem to have in any sport.
The first preseason scrimmage will be held at Trojan Stadium this coming Saturday at 10:00AM. Although this is always an exciting time because we know the season is right around the corner, it is important not to dwell too much on the highs and lows of these performances. Keep in mind, the schools participating will have just one week of practice under their belt.
Also, coaches aren't going to open the playbook too deep. There is no reason to show a future competitor that really neat trick play in a meaningless (as far as wins and losses) scrimmage. Like the NFL Preseason, the important thing here is to evaluate talent. Coaches always have to be thinking two and three levels down the depth chart and when the second teams go at it this is very important for evaluating.
Years past, prior to the Trojans joining the LHAC, we saw the Johnstown vs. Forest Hills scrimmage as a big deal. I recall back in '91 the teams were led by two standout quarterbacks in JHS' Brian Mangiafico and FH's Brandon Bailey (currently Head Coach and AD at Richland). The stands were packed and the atomsphere had the electricity of a playoff game.
In other years, the scrimmage was played at the Point Stadium and Fitchner Field at the Johnstown Middle School. People that saw the scrimmage in '92 saw what may have been the best individual play a Trojan ever made on the field as future Maryland Terp and CFL standout Geroy Simon gathered in a pass at the near sideline and juked past 4 or 5 defenders to the endzone.
In 1994, the Trojans beat the Rangers seven touchdowns to one. This was the year that FH advanced to the PIAA state championship game in Class AA. Johnstown, on the other hand finished the season 4-6 in the WPIAL and stayed home from the playoffs. This leads to the next point: you can't judge or predict a season by performance in the preseason.
A good example is the above mentioned Geroy Simon scrimmage. JHS handled FH that year and then went on to finish the season 1-7-1. Another case in point is just a few years ago with the Johnstown/Bedford scrimmage of 2004. Although Johnstown didn't look stellar, Bedford looked terrible. The Bisons went on to finish the regular season 9-0 and thus were the only LHAC squad that season to finish with an undefeated record.
So, the moral of the story with these scrimmages is this: don't put all your eggs in this one basket.
Kek

Wednesday, August 22nd - Back in Black

Yes, it is my favorite AC/DC song BUT... that is NOT what this is about!
I noticed from some of you guys' profiles that there appear to be new uniforms in the Trojan Nation this year. AND, it's a return to the familiar black jerseys (with a very nice blue stripe I might add). I'm not sure what the pants combos will be but any of you guys on the team, if you know, shoot me off a note when you get back from camp.
Now, if we could get a Trojan head on that plain black helmet we'd be good to go!!!!
If there is a black-on-black look with the home uniform, I'm sure I'll get a call from my brother. During my own playing days, he always told me how he thought it was odd that a team that played its home games on Friday nights wanted to wear all black. Well, it's not like we're out there riding bikes! Furthermore, I would much rather sport all black at night when it's cooler than under the hot sun of a Saturday afternoon.
I can only recall unis from the Jerry Davitch-era on. Mainly because my playing days started at the end of his era and many of his fashion choices were on display after he left. From 1985 through 1991 very few changes were made to the Trojan kit. The early helmet had no logos just striping but later, Coach Davitch added the Trojan decal that has come synonymous with Trojan football in some circles (and graces the homepage of the Trojan Nation website).
In 1992, Coach Fleming added his first mark on the uniform as the squad switched from white shoes to black. Also for that year, black tights were worn by the entire squad. This was done over the socks to create a head-to-toe black look, similar to the look of San Diego State at the time. In '93, the head-to-toe black look was scrapped. However, the tights made a few appearances, but the socks were worn OVER them for those games. In '94, Fleming made a major change introducing blue pants. They weren't worn for all games but they alternated back and forth throughout the season.
After that, let's just say my memory is foggy. Fleming shared with me an idea he had for a Trojan head wrap-around logo similar to the Seahawks but this never got to see the light of day as he was out after the 1996 season.
Since the McCabe/Caccotti era is a period of time I'd much rather just forget, it's no surprise that I don't remember vivid specifics of what the team was wearing during that time. The helmet had a few facelifts during that time. I recall a small Trojan head with the script "Trojans" above it, a simple block letter "J", and the block letter "TROJANS" similar to the New York Giants helmet prior to them going back to the "NY". I'm not sure of when the black jersey/blue pants was reversed but I thought all these years it has been a good move. That being said, change is always good and it'll be neat to see the team in black shirts this fall.
If I could throw my designer hat in the ring I'd always thought a copy of the Carolina Panthers uniform with a Trojan head on a silver helmet would look sharp but I don't ever see that happening. Mainly, because silver isn't a school color.
Well, that's all for now. I started it on a AC/DC theme, I'll end it that way:
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK......

UPDATE!

2006-08-24T10:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, you might have thought this webspace was dead but alas, all is well in the Nation of Troy.

The main reason for this post is to explain a new feature. Over the summer I started at Trojan Nation profile on the wildly popular networking site MySpace. On that profile I post a weekly blog on Wednesday of each week. This feature started in August and I hope to continue throughout the season (maybe beyond, i.e. basketball and other winter sports).

However, I do realize that many people do not wish to sign up for a MySpace profile. In order to help reach everyone I am going to post the Wednesday blogs on Fridays here at the orignal Trojan Nation blog. I still want to give the "friends" at the MySpace site the bone of having exclusivity of getting that blog first.

Over the next few days, I'm going to post the blogs that have already hit MySpace. Hopefully by the end of the weekend they will all be posted here.

The other purpose this blog will serve in the season is I will attempt to again make audio posts from the games with scores at half and full time. There were some glitches last year but I will do some testing shortly to see if that feature still works.

Talk to you soon,
Kek

2005-10-21T20:14:00.000-04:00

2005-09-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

2005-09-30T20:27:00.000-04:00

2005-09-23T21:30:00.000-04:00

2005-09-23T20:12:00.000-04:00

2005-09-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

2005-09-09T19:58:00.000-04:00

2005-09-02T21:41:00.000-04:00

2005-09-02T20:09:00.000-04:00

2005-08-30T15:27:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation updates

2005-08-29T23:36:00.000-04:00

Rather than send out emails for every site update, especially since there
will be many more this year, I've instituted an "Updates" page. If you
click on the homepage the link is there, but it can be directly reached
from this URL:

http://www.trojannation.net/id164.html

Thanks and I hope you all are looking forward to this season half as much
as we are at the Trojan Nation!

--
Doug Keklak
Information Director, Writer
Trojan Nation
www.trojannation.net
412-860-6146

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXXII

2005-08-15T13:38:00.000-04:00

This is it... ...Make no mistake where you are...

OK, with apologies to Kenny Loggins! This isn't exactly it for good, just for now. With the high school football season approaching (most if not all teams in PA are in camp right now) energy will be taken away from this blog and put towards the Trojan Nation and the SW PA Sports Blog. Right now I am compiling information for a LHAC preview. It will be posted at both sites.

This year is going to be an exciting year as we are covering not only JHS but following grads at the next level with LaRod entering his frosh season at Pitt and Geroy starting another CFL campaign in British Columbia strong.

Monday Morning Ramblings will move back to its original home on the Trojan Nation website and will be geared toward the Trojans and other happenings in prep football.

I will still make use of this blog though, to post audio clips as well updated URLs for the Trojan Nation site throughout the year.

I really don't want to rant on much this final time before '06 other than to say although the outcome was sad, I'd like to congratulate the Johnstown Grays for a great AAABA. They went 4-2. I'd also like to thank my friends back in J-town that kept me abreast of what was going on, especially Don Petree who text messaged me not only from the Johnstown games, but from all the games he attended during the week. Thanks Don, it was really like I was there. And man I wish I could have been, I was so jealous! Props go out to Mike Tomachek and Jason Subich as well for keeping me informed with text messages and phone calls as well. Hopefully I'll be able to take in some action next year.

So now, I'll take you out, with the Trojan Fight Song, a fitting transition to the upcoming season!!!

Trojan power, firm and strong, out in front where we belong
push for victory, bring success, we're the finest, we're the best
so fight on Trojans, win this game, bring us fortune, bring us fame
our men of Troy will meet the test, Johnstown High School is the best.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXXI

2005-08-08T19:21:00.000-04:00

Just so ya know, next week (aka Issue XXXII) will be the final offseason MMR as I will be gearing up for the 2005 football season. Football camps will be opening and I'll be busy compiling LHAC and 6-AAA previews as well as covering the AAABA Tournament for the SW PA Blog. As we speak I'm getting 1-3 responses back a day from the many football coaches I've sent surveys to. This information will not only be used in my previews but help me compile my preseason District 5-6 rankings.

The WPIAL camps opened today! That's just too damn early but they got the OK from the PIAA last year to start their season a week early to preserve Championship Saturday. Yes, it's a great event but at what cost. I'm sure we'll cover that on the new Point/Counterpoint feature on Trojan Nation this year.

Tony Stewart got his win at Indy, but in stock cars at yesterday's Brickyard 400. Oh well, good for him I guess. The rest of motorsports that I care about (F1, ChampCar, IndyCar, NHRA, MotoGP) all took the weekend off.

Domestic soccer leagues are starting up in Europe. France 2 weeks ago, defending champ Lyon is off to a 2-0 start. The German Bundesliga started this past weekend. Defending champ Bayern Munich started their title defense with a 3-0 victory Friday Night at the first game at the new Alliance Arena. This coming weekend the granddaddy of them all, the EPL, gets underway. Look for the return of Fox Football Friday on Fox Soccer Channel.

Big ups to the local connection: trainer/driver Roger Hammer of Bedford won the biggest race in Harness Racing, the Hambletonian, Sunday aboard Vivid Photo. Congrads.

I'm off to Mountaineer Park this weekend for some slots and horses and one last mini vacation before my weekends are spoken for! Wish me luck.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXX

2005-08-01T10:15:00.000-04:00

ain't we lucky we got 'em....

Yes, you could say I'm happy that Good Times is now on TV Land nightly at 10. That is one show that although some of the material is dated, it is still funny. There is so much crap on TV these days, I like watching the old stuff. So now Sanford and Son rolls in to Good Times which rolls in to All in the Family which rolls in to Three's Company. That's some good sitcom action.

temporary layoffs...

Formula One had a pretty boring event in Hungary. Kimi continues to be the fastest driver and finally didn't suffer any hard luck. MotoGP was a good one, won on the last lap by who else? Valentino Rossi who took advantage of Sete Giberouneau's critical mistake going way wide in turn one on the final lap. American Nicky Hayden finished the podium at third.

easy credit ripoffs...

Bad, bad series for the Pirates in Hot-lanta ends today. Does anyone else think those red Braves Sunday unis are awful?

scratchin' and survivin'...

Domestic soccer campaigns are getting underway across Europe as Scotland and France opened this past weekend. Germany will start next weekend and England the week after.

hangin' in a chow line...

Yes, 'nuff respect to Chappelle for letting me know what this line was. Because before his skit I was under the impression that the line was "huckin' and a-jivin'"!

Steelers report to training camp sans Hines Ward. Kevin Colbert says they will not negiotate. Could be messy, I say he should get paid.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXIX

2005-07-25T09:14:00.000-04:00

What a glorious week for hockey in Western Pennsylvania!

The Johnstown Chiefs named a new head coach, the president of the Tampa Bay Lightning was in town and really seems to be committed to making the partnership with Johnstown work, Toby is back were he is better suited (GM), season tickets sales appear to be up and people in the area are just generally excited about the upcoming ECHL season and getting the Chiefs back in the playoffs.

But that excitement is nothing compared to the buzz in the burgh. Only days after the new NHL plan had been laid out (new rules, CBA, etc.) it was revealed that the Penguins won the NHL Draft Lottery, sewing up the rights to phenom Sidney Crosby. This guy is supposed to be the next great thing out of Canada. Let's hope he's more like Lemieux and less like Lindros! The Pens look to really come out of this thing a winner.

See Pirates, sometimes you should sit out to get a better chance at being competitive.

I can only imagine the ticket requests and pro shop requests for #87 Crosby jerseys over this past weekend!

Well, it is almost upon us, NFL Training Camp, or as we say in Pittsburgh "The Official End to Baseball Season.". Here is some information on the Steelers training camp, including a schedule.

Motorsports wrapup: Kimi blew an engine, Danica looked more like Sarah Fisher, rainy day for MotoGP, caution laden Pennsylvania 500. One thing I do want to mention is that I have been watching more NHRA this year as I'm anticipating my first trip to an event. I'd like to be up to speed on all the goings on in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and the bikes for my September trip. The staging battle in last week's Denver Pro Stock final was classic. Next weekend is Sonoma, the final stop on the western swing.

Let me put myself in the clear minority. I am so sick of Lance Armstrong, I'm glad the tour is over and it's his last one and that I can now move on. This is ethnocentric behavior at its best as no one in America cared about this event even though it is a huge deal in Europe, that is of course until Lance came along. People didn't even care that much when Greg LeMond won. Look, I'm not being insensitive about his battle with cancer. To say it's heroic is an understatement. That being said, I think he's a whiny baby. He was quick to call out his team earlier in the tour but I didn't hear him praising them after the win.

Is OLN really going to cover the entire event next year sans Lance?

So resident loudtalker Stephen A. Smith is getting his own weeknight show on the worldwide leader come August. I think my brother-in-law put it best when he said that ESPN is becoming a parody of itself. I'm just surprised it's not going to be called AT THE END OF THE DAY. That has to be the worst overused cliche in business, sports, entertainment, etc. I just hope he has one segment a night where he blasts Michael Olawankandi... 'cause quite frankly, it's not a show until he does!

Carl Krauser is coming back to Pitt for his senior season and as a Pitt fan I couldn't be happier. I was surprised last night while watching the #1 Cochran Sunday Sports Showdown on KDKA the stupidity of the comments on said subject by Sports Radio 970's Stan Savran. He states that even though Krauser will be the best player on the floor for the Panthers, his return will retard the growth of players like Ronald Ramon and Antonio Graves. That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. When has that EVER been a valid point when discussing whether or not a player should leave early.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I just don't get the Pittsburgh media's disdain for Carl. He's everything someone in the media should want. He's outgoing, a great quote, charismatic, etc, etc. They should be salivating at the opportunity to cover this cat one more season. Instead all you hear about is "he's a selfish player" or "that streetball mentality". Just shows you how much the burgh has to grow if it wants to consider itself a college hoops hotbed.

REALITY CHECK: Normally, I hate the genre, but you if you have to watch one reality show this year, make it Bravo's "Being Bobby Brown". Two words: ghetto fabolous!

I normally like to get somewhat learned in a topic before I blast but I hope there is a "Scientology for Dummies" book. I checked Dianetics out at my local library and I cannot make heads or tails of it!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXVIII

2005-07-18T11:18:00.000-04:00

What's up everyone? Not too eventful of a weekend. Watched a lot of bad Pirates baseball as they lost 3 of 4 at Wrigley Field to the Cubs. I guess the saving grace is that I have Derek Lee on my fantasy baseball team this year!

A lot of controversy is brewing over the Montour football program's involvement in an upcoming ESPN reality show starring Dick Butkus. After Seton LaSalle's Lou Cerro was brought in to rebuild the program, the school board has essentially undermined him by making Butkus the head coach. The almighty dollar was at work here as the school will get new uniforms, equipment and a new scoreboard. Not that I think it can't be a positive thing for the school, I wish not as much control would be going to a has-been with ZERO coaching experience.

But hey, when your program is 13-45 in the last six seasons I guess any publicity is good publicity.

Look for updates on the SW PA Sports Blog sometime this week. I've been on hiatus but I'm going to get things back up and running there.

Pirates @ Nats 6/29/05 Pics

2005-07-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

This is a view of RFK from out in the parking lot after Greg and I arrived in The District

Here's a view from our seats on Wednesday night. The grounds crew is at work on the field. They would have much more work to do later in the evening!

The Pirates at bat early in the game. RFK isn't the most beautiful stadium in MLB by a long shot. Although it doesn't matchup with the new ballparks like Camden, Jacobs and PNC, I must say the sightlines were great. Far better than any seat I ever had at Three Rivers Stadium.

Here's a shot of the rather old-school scoreboard in effect at RFK.

You can vaguely make out the Washington Wall of Stars that honors the best of sports contributors from our nation's capital.

This guy was our Celebrity Look-Alike Superstar Challenge winner for the night. LOOK! Elian Gonzalez is all grown up!!! You be the judge.

The scowl of Mike says it all! GO NATS!

Needless to say my brother and I went home pretty disappointed Pirate fans. Especially as both games we attended really could have gone either way. We will do our best to try and make this an annual visit.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXVII

2005-07-12T11:38:00.000-04:00

Only one day off this week. I really need to get committed and on a schedule with this thing huh? Actually, I'm not too concerned as I don't think too many people are reading right now. That's OK, I hope to pic some traffic up here come football season when more traffic is at the new and improved Trojan Nation website.

Right now I want to talk about racing, racing and more racing. First off, congrads to Dale Jr for getting of the schnide of this terrible year he's having. The win at Chicagoland was his amazingly his first this season. I must say, this was the most NASCAR I've watched all year and I don't plan on catching much more until the Bud at the Glen. I just can't get in to this boring oval crap.

Open wheeled world had a full plate as Juan Pablo Montoya won at Sliverstone. The McLaren Mercedes' of both him and Finnish teammate Kimi Raikonnen looked very tough. Fernando Alonso and the Renault were right there in second and FA remains in the World Championship Lead and Renault remains in the constructor's title lead.

I couldn't believe the misfortune of Canadian Paul Tracy experienced at the Molson Indy in Toronto. First he got in to what I'll describe as a "racing deal" with Sebastian Bourdais leaving the pits. Unbelievably he raced several laps with half a front wing only to run out of gas! He'll get a chance for redemption in his home country though as the circuit travels across our neighbor to the north for the GP of Edmonton next Sunday.

Great win for Brit Justin Wilson, emotions had to be running high after the turmoil of the terrorist bombings of our allies across the Atlantic earlier in the week.

Last but not least in the motor sports world was the return of MotoGP to Laguna Seca and the win for American Nicky Hayden. I have just started following this racing this season and it is without a doubt the most exciting pure racing you could ask for as a fan. Valentino Rossi still has a stranglehold on the points lead and will most likely repeat as champ.

Although I felt bad for Jason Bay having to follow the amazing round one performance of Bobby Abrieu in last night's Home Run Derby and then subsequently not hitting a single ball out of the park, it was nice to see the Pirates represented. Maybe he can help out the NL cause tonight in the game. That way he can say he helped St. Louis or Washington get home field advantage in the World Series!

Trojan Nation News

2005-07-10T16:58:00.000-04:00

This started as an email, but when it got to be too long I decided to
simply put a link out on the Trojan Nation website itself for everyone to
look at their own convenience.

So here it is: http://www.trojannation.net/id150.html.

In addition to what is mentioned on that page there are also two other
additions that may make it to the website. First, I am putting together
an alumni database. So if you're a JHS grad you can email me and I can
add your name and email to the list. Also, I am thinking of setting up a
sponsorship/advertisement link. This way, if local businesses would like
some exposure on the site they would get it there. I will be crunching
some numbers and trying to get a pricing structure together so more to
come on this aspect.

For now, enjoy the enhancements to the site. I hope to see everyone in
the fall but for now, enjoy the rest of the summer!

--
Doug Keklak
Information Director, Writer
Trojan Nation
www.trojannation.net
412-860-6146

Thursday Morning Blues

2005-07-07T09:11:00.000-04:00

also known as Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Volume XXVI! (I just couldn't bring myself to title this post that way being that we're way past Monday!)

F1 is back to normal although the French GP was quite an uneventful race. Fernando Alonso took the win for Renault in their home grand prix. Off to Silverstone.

The 4th of July was fantastic. I absolutely love fireworks and I did my share of watching and setting them off over the extended weekend that's for sure!

Although the Pirates continue to slide it was nice to see Canada's native son Jason Bay not only get named as a National League reserve but as a participant in the home run derby contest. In doing so, he will be the first Bucco since Barry Bonds to participate in the event. Hopefully he'll do good and get the repeat invite next summer when the game is at PNC Park.

As for the Pirates, I was in DC last week to catch two of the three games against the Nationals. Although they were swept, the games I saw were at least close. As far as RFK goes, look it's an old venue. All the great things about the newer parks are absent however, I will say this: it is a much better park to watch a ballgame at than Three Rivers EVER was. The sightlines were fantastic. I will post some pics I took tonight so come back and look for them later.

I wore Pirates gear both games, including my unique Jim Leyland jersey which got many, many compliments, and was pretty much left along. Truth be told there was a lot of black and gold in the District for those two games. Not sure if they were transplants or people making the voyage from western PA.

MotoGP makes its return to the states this weekend and Speed not only will have their normal race coverage but qualifying coverage as well. I cannot see anyone stopping Valentino Rossi this year.

I have gotten a lot of new music lately although many of it isn't exactly new. I did pick up the new System of a Down and it is pretty good. I got the latest Chemical Brothers with the track "Galvanize" which features Q-Tip. Good track and good disc. I have been using BMG and Columbia House to build my selection of remasters of the old Van Halen and AC/DC albums. So far I have Van Halen II, Diver Down and 1984 as well as High Voltage, The Razor's Edge, Back in Black and For Those About to Rock. I also got the Johnny Cash 16 Biggest Hits Volume II. Even if you're not a country fan (which I really am not, in fact I HATE country music today, it's just glorified pop music with a twang, but I like the old stuff like Cash, Marty Robbins, Charlie Pride, etc.) every CD collection needs to have Johnny Cash's 16 Biggest Hits Volumes I and II as well as Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter. If possible, pick up the Folsom Prison recording and Live at Madison Square Garden as well but that's just for hardcore fans.

Well, enough of this, I'm back to work. Look tonight for pics from DC.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXV

2005-06-27T11:57:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 25th weekly installment of the off-season Monday Morning Ramblings Series! I watched the Champ Car race from Cleveland yesterday on CBS. Nice win for Paul Tracy, one of the few racers of any worth still left in that series. He refuses to jump to the IRL because they don't race in Canada.

I didn't take advantage of the free ticket promo with my USGP ticket as I was in Wheeling on Saturday playing slots and dog races. I picked a $25 winner so that was nice. I enjoyed watching the dogs and found the race card very fan friendly. They move things along at a much faster clip than the horse tracks do.

I will have some exciting announcements for the Trojan Nation website later this week so stay tuned.

I'll keep this short but sweet this week as I'm getting ready for my first trip to RFK to see the Pirates take on the Nats. I will be attending the games on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. One thing I will encourage you to do is check out my friend Damon's new blog on Formula One. It was inspired by our trip to Indy but he plans on keeping it going. Also, enjoy our pictures from the weekend that wasn't!

Formula One Antics

2005-06-22T10:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's two days removed from the USGP debacle and I'm beginning to think I'm siding with with FIA on this one. I've read numerous articles and scoured the message boards that I'm active in and the bottom line is it is their responsibility to have a quality product for their drivers at all events. Any concessions made would have been totally unfair to the Bridgestone teams. It's a shame for us fans (especially those of us that traveled) but hopefully lessons will be learned from these errors. Here are two good pieces I found scouring the net: Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star doesn't want F1 coming back and these are the letters that went back and forth between Michelin and the FIA.

Now I enjoyed Kravitz' work immensely and he's far from a mainstream sports columnist waxing on something he knows little about. Writing in Indy almost forces one to be knowledgeable on motorsports. I hope he's wrong on this one. However, his opinion is one in the majority that I have read over the past two days on this fiasco. If this incident prevents the USGP from running again at Indy that will be truly said indeed.

And for once, Tony George isn't the bad guy here! George has every right to be upset at the mockery that was made of racing at the world's most famous racetrack.

For conspiracy theorists, this may be just what Bernie wanted. He has been politicking HARD to get a race to Las Vegas. With dwindling crowds at Indy, a return to two United States races on the F1 schedule would just be a repeat of the mistake that had F1 leave the states to begin with. He would have all the ammo he'd need to pull out of Indy and get the US race moved to Vegas. It could be Monaco North America with all the casinos and beautiful ladies and whatnot. Who knows, maybe they'll dress in white like household appliances!

What really irks me is that Scott Speed is really making waves at Red Bull Racing. His Friday driving work in Montreal and Indy was highly regarding and many pundits have him being the first American in a long time to have a full ride in F1. How sad would it be if F1 pulls out of Indy, the Vegas deal falls through and there is finally an American driver in the highest level of motorsports in the world and he won't have a race on his home soil?

Formula One just doesn't translate to mainstream American racing fans. I say, it's their loss. People that watch stock cars go around in circles want to see pure racing, they aren't concerned with technology and the things that make F1 go. I'm not bashing Nascar, I've been to quite a few events myself (Dover, Richmond, Martinsville), it's just different strokes for different folks.

One thing that would make a lot of people take notice would be an American driver in F1. Similar to Danica Patrick getting attention as a female at the Indy 500, if an American got an F1 ride, excelled to podium finishes or even a win, this would be something that would captivate a mainstream American racing audience.

Let's hope that this snafu at Indy didn't destroy the chance of seeing an American driver race in his own country. Personally, I'd love to have a giant Red Bull flag intertwined with old glory! I can hear the air horns now. Sweet music to my ears!

Road Trip Ya'll!!!!

2005-06-22T01:49:00.000-04:00

Man, my inbox and cell phone were buzzing with anticipation this morning as the Tribune Democrat dropped the news of a west coast swing that the Johnstown Chiefs will embark on shortly after Thanksgiving this year. The main stop on the trip: VEGAS!

Between November 29 and December 6 the Chiefs will take on the Las Vegas Wranglers, San Diego Gulls, Bakersfield Condors and Fresno Falcons. The full schedule is right here.

Although I'm still up in the air if I'll be able to make the voyage, it certainly is inviting. If anyone from the Jtown area is thinking of making the trip or organizing something please get in touch with me through this blog. Thanks.

LET'S GO CHIEFS! LET'S GO CHIEFS!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXIV

2005-06-21T11:53:00.000-04:00

Yes, I realize it's Tuesday afternoon smart guy! It's just that I needed time to recover and regroup from this past weekend's trip to Indianapolis for the US Grand Prix. I have time to read some articles and watch some of the practice and qualifying on my DVR and I'm still up in the air with how I feel about what went down.

Sure, I'm pissed that I was basically ripped off but hey, F1 is global, people traveled from all over the globe to come to Indy to see this race. It would be selfish of me to gripe about a nine-hour trip from Pittsburgh so I won't. It does go to show you how fan-unfriendly F1 really is. I cannot imagine a stunt like this going down in any other racing outfit or any other sport for that matter.

What bothers me is that if the tires (or should I say "tyres") were so bad, why did the teams feel safe enough to qualify on them? Sure they tinkered with the air pressure at Michelin's request but the cars still were safe enough to qualify. No tires failed on the hot laps, in fact, qualifying was pretty uneventful. There were no real incidents, the Minardis and Jordans were at the back like usual and the usual suspects (Kimi, JPM, Truli, Alonso, the Ferraris) were quick. In fact, Michelin tires were on the pole so I'm not so sure what the deal really is/was.

As for the request of adding a chicane on Sunday morning after the cars have been practicing and qualifying is just plain silly. If that's the best compromise that could be reached I'm glad it was shot down.

Hey, maybe the FIA should have let Michelin ship the tires in, maybe Michelin should have had better product, maybe the teams should have done their homework better on the track. It was re-surfaced (at least the oval part) recently and may have caused problems with the tires. I don't know, I don't care, I just want my money back.

Rumors have been floating around that the promoters of the Grand Prix of Cleveland (Champ Car) may offer a free ticket to anyone that presents a stub from the USGP. Ironic enough for me as that is a race I used to attend reguarly (back when CART was still around and real drivers were in the circuit). Also, I was going to return to that race this year but opted not to since we would be heading to Indy. More to come on this for sure.

Needless to say, this will be talked about for years and years to come by F1 enthusiasts. The silver lining is I can say I was there. I was there when the Ferraris, Jordans and Minardis did 73 test laps and they called it the USGP!!!

I will be posting some pictures from the Indy weekend, including a stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton as soon as possible so stay posted.

In other sports news the Pirates appeared to have been starstruck by their recent trip to baseball meccas Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park as they won a whopping one game over the seven-game roadie. Things didn't get any better last night on the return to PNC as they dropped the first game of a three-game set against the Nationals. I'm afraid the good feeling I had about the Buccos becoming respectable is going to be a sinking feeling and I'll be calling for Lloyd McClendon's head again.

Pitt's Carl Krauser will announce his future plans today at 5p.m. He was strongly advised by NBA types at a pre-draft camp that he's not quite ready for primetime. I think I'm the only person in Pittsburgh that would love to have this guy back on the Pitt roster. I don't get why the sports media in this town doesn't embrace this guy. He's friendly, outgoing a great quote, everything these guys normally enjoy. However, most media peeps are sour on Carl, saying he's too flashy, too streetball. According to the Post-Gazette, he's going to stay in the draft. If he doesn't go to the NBA, there is still the D League and Europe. There's also the And 1 tour!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXIII

2005-06-13T19:43:00.000-04:00

Michael Jackson not guilty on all ten counts. Wow, big surprise. Another rich defendant gets off, another D.A. is pissed and the beat goes on. I'm sure if I was charged with child molestation that people would be cheering for me during my trial.

Tale of two spring football leagues: over the weekend, the two spring football leagues that pigskin addicts have to hold them over until NFL Training Camp begins held their championship games. The Arena Football League held ArenaBowl XIX and it was a huge success. The game came down to the last play and was as exciting as the previous week's conference championship games. It was also the first ArenaBowl to be help at a neutral site: the Thomas and Mack Center in Vegas while the teams playing were Colorado and Georgia. The league, its teams and players as well as NBC have to be thrilled with this past season. Even in light of the tragic death of Al Lucas of the Los Angeles Avengers, the league had great success on and off the field this year.

On the flip side, the World Bowl XIII was held in Holland over the weekend to determine the NFL Europe League Champion. Although this game also came down to the last play, it just was a boring style of football. Watching the games that the NFL Network played during the season, it just didn't do anything for me. I rank the excitement of play up there with the NBDL and watching paint dry. Sure, NFL squads love the league because it's their minor league system if you will but there is a reason AAA baseball isn't on TV regularly.

One interesting thing I did not know is that field goal attempts of over 50 yards, if successful, count for 4 points. Very interesting rule but I'm not sure how much it comes in to play.

Afleet Alex, well, just give him horse of the year right now. What a dominating performance is the giant-killer 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes. Tom Durkin couldn't have called it better as A.A. did pass Giacomo like he was standing still. I had to watch a replay of the race just to see where the horse came from. Congrads to the local connections, both trainer Tim Ritchie (Ross) and jockey Jeremy Rose (Bellefonte) have local ties.

Off to Belmont again for the Breeders' Cup Classic? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, at least according to the Daily Racing Form, Afleet Alex's next start will be the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth on August 7.

Who would have thought that the Pirates would be entering their interleague series with the Yankees actually having one less loss than the Bronx Bombers. The Pirates nearly swept the lowly Devil Rays over the weekend and previously took 2 of 3 of the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the week. They truly are playing the best ball the city of Pittsburgh has seen in quite some time.

Talk to you all next week, I'll have stories from my trip to Indianapolis and the United States Grand Prix. I'll also be taking in an Indianapolis Indians game, they are the AAA affiliate of the Pirates.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXII

2005-06-06T09:39:00.000-04:00

The dirty birds of Baltimore are due to make their first appearance in Pittsburgh since the '79 series tonight. This is first meaningful game the two teams have played since Omar Moreno squeezed the final out in Game 7 of that World Series. The Pirates have been playing well, not great but good enough, only a handful of games below .500. They have many of the doomsayers in the "if it's not about the Steelers than I'm negative" Pittsburgh media eating crow. They just done taking 2 0f 3 from Atlanta over the weekend right after taking 3 of 4 from Florida.

Danica Patrick's career is over just after it really got going. Seeing that she's on the cover of SI she'll no doubt suffer from that jinx. Seriously though, it must be nice finishing 4th and getting the cover! How's the winner of the race... what's his name, doing?

In the "fruit doesn't fall far from the tree" category, can anyone that sawKellen Winslow's performance with the media be surprised at the lack of maturity and class that his seed has displayed. And this is a guy who works in the sports media for FSN during their college football broadcasts. I've thought for years that Winslow and Dan Fouts didn't get along in San Diego and that, coupled with a lack of defense is the reason why those Air Coryell teams don't have rings. You don't think defense wins championships? Food for thought: Trent Dilfer has a Super Bowl Ring, Dan Marino doesn't. Need I say more?

The jury is out on the Philadelphia Public League's initial season as PIAA members and the peeing contest between media outlets in the east and west continues. While the Philly scribes remain to keep their glass half full, writers elsewhere have a different opinion. I truly believe that writers in the west thought that Philly schools would make much more of an impact in basketball. I thought George Washington made a great showing in AAAA football and that has gone unappreciated.

Needless to say, everyone in the commonwealth needs to relax, the Philly schools will make their mark in basketball, but this is just one season. A notably down year in the Pub for Boys' Basketball, at least accoring to Rob Parent of the Philadelphia Inquirer who, along with Sam Carchidi and Ted Silary, is a premier preps writer on all things Philly.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XXI

2005-05-30T23:59:00.000-04:00

Not much to ramble about today other than the outstanding weekend of racing this past Memorial Day Weekend.

Indy 500 - Although I think there was a bit of overcoverage of the Danica Patrick story (Hey, ABC, she's in four place, how 'bout a shot at the leaders) but it is monumental and that girl gets mad props from this gearhead. She is not a gimmick as other female drivers that have come and gone (I won't name names but you can probably guess a few!).

I will say this, how much of an idiot is Robby Gordon? This guy never fails to amaze me! He's bitching because she's lighter than all the other men. I wonder why I never heard this when Lyn St. James or Sarah Fisher was in the cockpit? Hmm, maybe it's because this is a bonafide racing star in the making and in a few years she will make you forget she's a woman. She'll just be among the best racers, period.

Coca-Cola 600 - Although the race was sloppy with over 20 cautions (setting a Nascar record) it was exciting in spurts. Not sure what Dale Jr. and Michael were thinking getting caught up like that but Johnson's pass on Labonte makes for instant classic status.

Grand Prix of Europe - Everywhere else in the world (and everywhere else in the world is right on this one!) this was the biggest race of the weekend. How heartbreaking for Kimi to have the car breakup like that on the final lap. I guess the only solace is that if you were watching the race you just knew it was going to happen.

Great month of June coming up. The Pirates will host the Orioles and travel to the Red Sox and Yankees in Interleague play. Formula One will make it's annual stop in North America with races in Montreal and Indy. The triple crown circuit will end in Belmont in a few weekends. Although there is no chance for a triple crown winner this year, all eyes will still be on Afleet Alex, Giacomo and the rest of the field in the grueling mile and a half that has dashed so many triple crown hopes in years past.

It truly is the sport of kings.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XX

2005-05-23T11:03:00.000-04:00

Down the stretch they come....

What an outstanding Preakness weekend! The rain held off and the weather was beautiful (although not too many beaded babes if you catch me drift!) What an epic battle between Scrappy T and Afleet Alex. Big ups to Bellefonte native Jeremy Rose for getting the winning ride.

Off to Belmont...

The Pirates took 2 of 3 from the Rockies over the weekend and continue to play much improved baseball after their terrible start in April. Next up, mini-road trip to St. Louis and Cincy before returning home for a homestand against the Marlins, Braves, Orioles and Devil Rays.

The Riverhawks lost again over the weekend, and damn near got 100 points put on them as their defense did not make ONE stop! UGH! I know it's indoor ball but come on fellas.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XIX

2005-05-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

Well, less than a week away from the Preakness. My plans aren't complete yet. Not sure if we're going to be partying in the infield or the grandstand but either way, we'll likely be there. It may be my last trip to the second and penultimate jewel in the Triple Crown. I guess I'm just outgrowing the whole party scene.

I'd like to get involved in Harness action again, but I just can't find the time with everything else in and outside of work that I'm involved in.

Got to go to my first Pittsburgh Riverhounds... excuse me, Riverhounds FC game over the weekend. Now that they play at Falconi Field in Washington PA (home of the WildThings) they've dropped the Pittsburgh part of their moniker. Although there was way too much side entertainment that doesn't really fit (soccer has no stops in play as you may know) and the oddity of watching players go through a baseball dirt infield it was a good time and the home team won, their first game of the year I might add.

The Family Guy's Quagmire would have been in heaven, mad soccer moms in the house. Also, the KDK-babes, i.e. Sonni Abatta, Rebecca Hower and Kelli Olexia were there for an appearance.

It's too bad the rain didn't hold off Saturday night though, as the team was slated to have a game on Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Normally soccer games aren't called on account of rain, but with that dirt turned to mud, playing soccer would have been impossible.

Saw Anchorman on DVD over the weekend. Not the greatest movie but it had it's moments. Steve Carroll is one of the funniest actors in the business. Although his part of retarded weatherman didn't get too many lines he still was funny. Didn't necessarily steal any scenes but had some good lines.

Go f*** yourself San Diego!

Anyway, I'm out, you stay classy!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XVIII

2005-05-09T11:58:00.000-04:00

Mad stuff to discuss!

Who was that team dressed up in Pirate uniforms yesterday?! WOW! 16-2! It's like a team with offensive firepower came to the Bank One Ballpark! All kidding aside, it was a very impressive series in Arizona for the Buccos. I just hope they have some runs left for the Giants starting tonight.

Speaking of the Pirates, there was a very good editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette over the weekend. It is definitely worth a read.

All this business with Ben Roethlisberger and the motorcycle surely is much ado about nothing. If this guy is dumb enough to ride without a helmet, simply because the law doesn't require it, that's his choice. In a rare display of creativity, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review had the best headline that I saw: "Ben to be wild". That's funny.

Don't get me started on the helmet law. Rendell totally through safety out the window in order to obtain votes from the bikers. In case you didn't know, only California has more registered motorcycle owners than Pennsylvania.

You've got to love the Kentucky Derby. The second biggest longshot in Derby history wins it while Steinbrenner's horse hits the wall in the stretch. Hey Big Stein, might not be that easy of a series against the Pirates come June 14-16 that you might have thought it would have been prior to the season. Any race that has a $2 superfecta pay over $1.7 million is alright with me. The Kentucky Derby is the best "win-all" race of the year, meaning hedge your bets by purchasing a win ticket for every horse in the field. A minimum bet is $2 so that's a $40 investment in Saturday's race, profit a little over $60.

Off to the Preakness, which I believe I will be partaking in again after a one-year hiatus a year ago.

I'm not crazy about sideline reporting in any sport but you have to be impressed with the work former jockey Donna Brothers does for NBC. On horseback, reins in one hand, mic in the other, feet in the stirrups; she makes it look so easy.

Go out and pick up Nine Inch Nails new CD "With Teeth". If you like the older stuff (Broken, Downward Spiral, etc) you will enjoy this. If you're more the downloading type, grab Love is Not Enough, All the Love in the World and Everyday is Exactly the Same.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XVII

2005-05-02T10:35:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I read a really good article on blogging in BusinessWeek. It talked about how blogging is changing the way those in the mainstream media think as far as their processes and how they write stories and columns. It was a much more hospitable take on the blogging scene than anything I've seen thus far from the MSM.

For instance, elitest columnists that bad mouth blogging and then don't respond to a counterpart written about a certain Pittsburgh boxer! No, I still have not heard from either Mike Seate or Sally Kalson. Quite frankly my opinion of Seate has gone downhill over the last few months. Before he was the refreshing liberal columnist in the right wing rag that is the Trib. I believe Al Franken described best in "Lies" as a "fishwrapper". His writing as of late has been boring, lazy and uninspiring.

The Riverhawks got their second win of the season this past Saturday over the AIFL Ghostriders. The league is off this week and then action returns the following week.

Hoorah! Family Guy is back! It picked up right where it left off. I loved the blast at Fox with Peter going through all the failed shows that came on after FG's first cancellation! My wife and I were sitting in front of the TV and, after months of watching and re-watching reruns on Cartoon Network, TBS and DVD, it was quite different, almost surreal if you will, to be watching a brand new episode.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XVI

2005-04-26T14:05:00.000-04:00

...not to be confused with Pope Benedict XVI.

Oliver Perez finally got off the shnide last night with a masterful performance against the Houston Astros at PNC Park. Many empty seats were there in attendance to enjoy the win.

The Johnstown Riverhawks won their first game over the weekend, defeating the Canton Legends. Penn Trafford alum Tony Zimmerman, signed midweek, threw for 4 TDs in the victory.

After hours of waiting, the Steelers took Virginia TE Heath Miller with the #30 overall pick. This was the guy that pretty much everyone was saying they would take. One pick that I'm a bit confused with is the Lions taking Mike Williams of USC. WR seems to be the least of their worries.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XV

2005-04-18T10:09:00.000-04:00

The Johnstown Riverhawks opened up the AIFL schedule with a loss Saturday night in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the War Memorial.

The NFL Draft is this coming weekend, we'll do some in-depth analysis on picks next Monday. For now, it's nice to see Mel Kiper, Jr. come out of hibernation!

We'll be short and sweet this week as I'll be preparing to put some new content on the SW PA Sports Blog, so check that out this week, should be 2 to 3 new posts forthcoming.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XIV

2005-04-11T11:15:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm really not a golf guy at all. The only kind of golf I like is on the Playstation or mini-golf! However, yesterday's final day at The Masters is as good as it gets not only in golf but in sports in general. Tiger's shot on the 16 was amazing. Good stuff all around from him and Demarco.

The Pirates got the win yesterday to split the four-game series in San Diego. I have to say I'm pretty pleased with this considering the Padres are thought by many to compete for the NL West crown. I am not a Lloyd McClendon guy, but I can't think of firing him now would be the answer.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XIII

2005-04-03T19:15:00.000-04:00

It was quite a somber week with two high profile deaths in the news. Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II both passed away this past week.

As far as the Schiavo case is concerned, I really tried to divorce myself from this story as much as possible. I think what is lost in this case is the fact of what may have caused Schiavo's fateful heartattack: an eating disorder. If there are two lessons in this case, it's 1. You're never too young for a living will and 2. get help if you have an eating disorder before it's too late.

I won't get in to the battle between the husband and the family as it's apparent they've both whored themselves out to the media. One thing I will say though is that Terri's sister is a good looking lady!

As far as His Holiness, as a non-Catholic and a liberal I can't say I agree with many of his teachings but that aside, he was a great man. The work he did in the Polish solidarity movement and helping end communism there is a major point in that. He will be missed. He was such a charismatic figure, everyone you hear that got a chance to meet him just spoke about the moment in awe. He touched a lot of people, Catholic or not. May he rest in peace and his memory be eternal.

Another death completely caught me off guard when I was shocked to see that former Steelers LB David Little passed away (Read his obit).

The public vs. private debate will linger in the PIAA. A proposal was shot down last week and it appears that the debate is dead in the water.

Pirates opening day is today, I will be attending my first opening day game ever. Amazing, as I've been to hundreds of games but never an opener.

I'll leave it at that and see you all next week.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XII

2005-03-28T10:29:00.000-05:00

Well, Bishop McCort lost in their quest to win yet another state title in hockey, thus officially ending the winter sports season for Johnstown area schools. The JHS baseball team is fresh back from their annual spring trip.

I will be spending more time throughout the week now compiling the off-season "Ramblings" piece. I will still do a weekly roundup for the spring sports season at the Trojan Nation website. I also hope to continue blogging for PennLive on the spring season for the District 5-6 scene but I am waiting to hear from my editor on that note.

March Madness! Has this not been the best NCAA tournament in quite some time. You'd think I'd be a little down with Pitt's bad showing and I was for a bit, but now, I'm just all about watching good basketball. These overtime games are adding a lot of gray hairs out there.

Pirates opening day just a week away and I will make my first trip to an opening day ever. It's amazing to me that I've never got to an opening day, mainly since I've seen hundreds of Pirate games going back to the Three Rivers era (I'm a bit too young for Forbes Field, sorry!). I'm really amped, even if I'm going with a Penn State alumni group!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue XI

2005-03-22T11:41:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes, yes, I KNOW IT'S TUESDAY. I just had a lot to do on my other blog what with recapping all eight state title baskeball games from over the weekend in Hershey as well as preparing to cover Bishop McCort's appearance in the Class A Penguin Cup game tonight at the Mellon Arena. You can check my work out over at PennLive at http://www.pennlive.com/weblogs/swfootball/

I was a bit miffed at the snub the Trojans got in the year-end AAA poll. I'm not saying they should have been automatically #2, even though that seems to be what they did in the girls' AA poll with Westy, but they should have been higher than #6. Somewhere between 3-5 is more realistic of their true place. I wonder how they'll be ranked preseason with 4 of 5 starters back for their senior years. However, just when you really want to start complaining, think about it if you were an Erie Cathedral Prep fan. The Ramblers were in the semifinal state game in AAAA and didn't crack the top ten in the season-ending poll?! How in the world is that?!

It has come to my attention that some of the JHS football coaches were not pleased with some of my writing last year on the Trojan Nation website, mainly the Monday Morning Ramblings column which tended to be the most critical. Ha! Don't you know that's only going to make my turn it up a notch. All I can say to any coach on the staff, from Arcurio on down: my email address is at the bottom of every column I write so if you don't like something I wrote, drop me a line and tell me why. Personally I would think these guys would have more importants things to be concerned with but that's just me. I went back and reviewed my work and yes, I was critical when necessary but I never made personal attacks. Like I said, email me: trojannation@yahoo.com

I love the coverage of the local teams that were just in Hershey, it was quite an amazing winter sports season. The Tribune Democrat did a really nice job with the stories they ran.

A disappointing Chiefs season is coming to close and will make way to the Riverhawks initial season. I look forward to covering the Riverhawks here for the Trojan Nation blog. That and the AAABA league and tourney should give me enough to keep busy in the summer. There will also be the Ken Lantzy game thrown in there as well.

Stay tuned! Before you know football camp will open and we'll be chatting about the Trojans' first scrimmage!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue X

2005-03-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

Not much to report on this week because I've been busy with my other blog with the high school basketball playoffs. Just wanted to give an update that I didn't not hear from either Pittsburgh writer on my Spadafora piece. I doubt that I'll hear anything from Seate after his elitest column on blogging.

Catch ya next week.

Kek

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue IX

2005-03-07T12:19:00.000-05:00

I am going to take an unpopular stance in the Paul Spadafora case. It seems that two Pittsburgh columnists, that I like and respect very much, are taking the rather easy stance of a celebrity getting a slap on the wrist when one of us "regular people" would get a much stiffer sentence. Sally Kalson of the PG and Mike Seate of the Trib both wrote columns parallel with this central theme. While I understand the tone they write from I find it insensitive that neither really hit on the key issue. It is obvious that Spadafora needs help with his alcohol and drug problems. Chico Harlan's fine piece that ran on Sunday 2/27 in the PG points some of Spaddy's drinking exploits including his ability to drink two fifths of whiskey in one night.

It is very easy to write simply on the fact that yes, a man shot his girlfriend in a drunken rage over some flat tires. Newspaper writers love to follow the story of the collapse of a celebrity. Over the years this has become commonplace with the Johnstown Tribune Democrat and the eventful life of Cartlon Haselrig. I guess writing that someone really needs help isn't sexy enough to sell newspapers.

Everyone deserves one chance when it comes to drugs and alcohol. Relapsers like Steve Howe and Darryl Strawberry have had their chances and they have made the choice, for whatever reason, not to stay clean. I know, I know, this is far from Spadafora's first brush with the law but I think the effort of him trying to get clean is commendable. Different people need different circumstances to scare them straight. Some might take an event like a DUI arrest that does not involve a crash or injury as an eye-opener while others may shrug that off and need something a bit more serious to get them on the right path. I firmly believe the latter applies to Spadafora.
I could be totally wrong on this but I believe Spadafora when he says that he needs this one chance and he'll do the city proud. I'm sure everyone will come back and remind me how wrong I was if that is not the case and I'll take that like a man. However, I think the case of a man shooting and nearly killing the mother of his child is enough to get an alcohol and cocaine using boxer on the straight and narrow.

And if I'm right, believe that I will let that be known as well!

I have no vested interest in this, I am not a particularly huge fan of boxing. I'll occasionally watch Friday Night Fights on ESPN or a big bout on HBO, but I always watched Spaddy with interest. Sure, watching paint dry is more exciting than watching his fighting style but I think I enjoyed the idea of watching a hometown guy in the ring. I never saw a fighter so disciplined and hopefully he can apply that same discpline to laying off booze and drugs.

On a similar note I am quite pleased with the high court in the land and their decision to abolish the death penalty for minors. Before you flood my inbox with "you bleeding heart liberal" please recognize that I take the less conventional stance as a liberal Democrat that is pro-Death Penalty. That being said, I think that a minor, regardless of the grossness of the offense, should be given the opportunity to have a productive adult life. Let's let the juvenile detention centers and reform schools do their job. I'm particularly surprised that this went through, especially since the President is the former Governor of a state that excuted anything with a pulse, including mentally retarded individuals.

On a positive note I heard Neil Walker on the Junker and Crow show on Pittsburgh's ESPN Radio 1250 and it is so refreshing to hear a kid with a good head on his shoulders, from the area and playing for the hometown team. He's expected to be at Hickory this year. He was so courteous and said something that you very rarely hear in talk radio from someone in the professional ranks. He told them "thanks for having me." The great Larry Fitzgerald was this way and they are cut from the same cloth and also show that they were brought up by special parents.

I was so glad I got out on a Saturday afternoon to see a Pine-Richland game to see Walker play. He's the first high school baseball player I've specifically gone to see play since I graduated from high school myself.

I wonder who the next will be?

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue VIII

2005-02-28T19:45:00.000-05:00

2/28/2005

Far be it from me to complain about a team with a losing record not making the playoffs. If you are new to my writings you should know that every football season prior to the playoffs I analyze the WPIAL bracket and moan about how many 4-5 (or worse!) teams are in the postseason.

However, with their loss to Johnstown on Saturday, Indian Valley finished their 2004-05 season with an 11-16 mark. Hardly the stuff champions are made of. Don’t tell that to them though, as they played Cinderella by upsetting both Central Cambria and Bellefonte. It just happened to turn to midnight on them when they met up with JHS.

What’s my point, right? Well, if this were a year ago, the Warriors would be getting ready to take on a WPIAL team (most likely the #3 seed) in the first round of PIAA interdistrict play. Also, two teams with much better win-loss records, Bellefonte and Forest Hills, would likely have played a consolation game in order to qualify for the PIAA playoffs. They too would have been playing a WPIAL squad, most likely their #2 seed.

Not this year though, as only the District 6-AAA champion qualified for the state playoffs. So JHS goes on but two other good teams go home or get ready for baseball or track. What happened in a matter of one year that the 6-AAA goes from three qualifiers to one?

District 3 has 7 qualifiers, up one from a year ago and deservedly so as it’s a much larger district. The WPIAL, or District 7, is actually down one team. They qualify six teams at AAA this season. District 10 is also down a seed from a year ago, qualifying 3 squads. Just as a year ago, Districts 8 (Pittsburgh City League) and 9 (North Central PA) qualify only their champion.

A Western Pennsylvania bias might be quick to blame the admittance of Philadelphia Public League schools into the PIAA as the culprit but no dice. Must of the schools in the pub are AAAA, only one squad, Bok, qualified in the PIAA AAA bracket. The Allentown area, District 11 is sending one more team than a year ago. D11 will have 2 squads in the AAA bracket.

Clearly it’s a numbers game, and when your district only has eight teams that play at a classification and seven of them qualify for the playoffs it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense qualify nearly half your members for the state playoffs.

However, I would argue that it’s a hard sell for the individual coaches and players that work so hard. What the 6-AAA scene lacks in numbers it makes up in area. Had the first, second and third teams qualified this year, they would be representing Cambria, Mifflin and possibly Centre County. Those aren’t exactly neighboring counties.

At the risk of sounding arrogant, it’s a moot point for me as the Trojans are the district champs. However, with enrollment figures dwindling in the Laurel Highlands, it is most likely that at some point in the future it will be Johnstown that is froze out of the opportunity of playing in the state tournament.

LOOKING AHEAD: Most pundits would agree that JHS is the clear favorite in their game with Elizabeth Forward this Friday night. If that pans out, Johnstown fans have a chance to see the premier player in the western part of the state in Yough’s Ben McCauley. The 6-8 senior is heading to North Carolina State to continue his career. The Cougars are 19-8 and coming off a loss to Moon in the WPIAL finals over the weekend at the A.J. Palumbo Center. They are taking on the District 10 runner-up Grove City (19-7) on Friday at Plum High School at 7:30 p.m. If Yough wins, they would play the winner of the JHS-EF game on Tuesday, March 8 at a site to be determined.

If JHS would win two contests, the bracket would have them playing someone from a eastern district. A team from either District 4 (Milton), District 2 (West Scranton), District 3 (West York) or District 11 (Blue Mountain) will advance to the round of eight and drop to the western half of the bracket in AAA.

Doug Keklak can be reached at trojannation@yahoo.com.

This article can also be read at the Trojan Nation website. Don't forget to check out the all-new Trojan Nation Message Board as well.

Trojan Nation content

2005-02-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry gang, this info was posted last night, just didn't get a chance to send the e-mail notification out.

New Weekly Roundup:http://trojannation.tripod.com/id144.html

Also, brand new feature, the Trojan Nation Message Board. I have the URL posted both in the Weekly Roundup Article as well as the homepage, but if you don't get a chance to get to those, here's the URL:
http://www.voy.com/192029/

And look for updates during the basketball playoffs at the SW PA Sports Blog on PennLive at: http://www.pennlive.com/weblogs/swfootball/

Also, if anyone has any problem navigating the Trojan Nation main site please let me know. I have been having difficulties with my browser freezing up. I am going to contact Tripod to see what the deal is. If anyone has similar things happening please let me know.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue VII

2005-02-21T19:02:00.000-05:00

I for one believe that the NBA Slam Dunk contest is back. And who needs the big names when you've got the originality that was on display Saturday night in Denver. I loved Steve Nash showing off his soccer past in helping teammate Amare Stoudamire with some really neat dunks but nothing was cooler than Josh Smith donning the Dominique Wilkins throwback for his winning dunk. Here's a cool link: it gives you winners of all past dunk contests. Might be nice for future reference purposes.

NASCAR is back and better than ever after a great kickoff to the '05 campaign. Jeff Gordon found victory lane and less boos than normal. I guess the rednex "hatee du jour" is Kurt Busch these days!!!!

The District 5-6 PIAA basketball season is in full swing, peep the Southwest PA Blog on PennLive for the latest.

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue VI

2005-02-14T08:26:00.000-05:00

Sean Miller was back in the Burgh yesterday as his Xavier basketball team took care of Duquesne 83-72 at the Palumbo Center. Yes, the WPIAL finals will be the first time this year that any competitive basketball will be played at that building. Heck, the Pittsburgh Piranhas of the CBA were probably the last competitive squad that played there. I feel for Danny Nee, every time the program seems to take a step forward, it takes ten back.

More on college hoops: Ron Cook just continues to not get it. He claimed both in a PG column yesterday as well as on the #1 Cochran Showdown on KDKA that he couldn't believe that Jamie Dixon benched Chris Taft and that Pitt couldn't win down the stretch without Taft in the lineup. In his defense, Cook stated that he isn't at odds with Dixon's decision, it's just that he can't believe he had the guts to pull it off. Taft has been a no-show this year for Pitt. Everytime they talk about this guy being a lottery pick, his game disappears. Gray and Kendall are playing much better and Troutman is the star of that team, not Taft. I disagree that the Panthers can't go far without a strong Taft. They took care of a pretty good Notre Dame team in the second half without him. We'll see tonight how #23 reacts. Syracuse away is a tough game, we'll see if he's stands up to the challenge.

I'm normally not a big Pro Bowl fan, but I thought I'd take some of the game in what with the Steeler presence both on the field and sidelines. I wasn't disappointed as I saw Hines Ward get two exciting touchdowns. The AFC rolled.

The Johnstown Chiefs' playoff hopes right now are slim and none. They dropped a game to Peoria yesterday 7-1. They are two spots away from the fourth and final berth in their division and the rest of the year is playing out the string and evaluating talent.

For those of you missing hockey, fear not, the AHL All-Star game is on ESPN2 tonight at 7:00.
Yes, I watched the Jose Canseco piece on 60 Minutes last night. And while I think a lot of what he says is true, Jose still has major credibility issues. The guy writes in his book that he injected McGwire numerous times and Mike Wallace calls him out on it after he says it was only once or twice. Hey Jose, proofread what you wrote before the big interview OK? The timing of BALCO has been the greatest thing for this book. He's acting like he's breaking a story. Had it not been for BALCO there would be no audience for his book. As for the book, like I've told a few family members, I'm intrigued to read, however I won't spend a dime on it. Apparently eight other people feel the same way as I'm ninth on the list to get the book at the Carnegie Library System!

The Grammy Awards Show was last night and although I despise award shows I was somewhat surprised at all the music I own that won awards. Kayne West, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Usher and Jay-Z right off the top of my head. Pittsburgh's Nancy Wilson took home the Grammy for jazz vocal album with her "R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)".

My favorite issue of Parade Magazine was inserted in my Sunday paper yesterday. No, it's not the high school football All-American team as you might expect. It's the Top Ten Dictators issue. It's especially relevant this year as "President" Bush (thanks Ohio) has put an all-out assault on ending tyranny around the globe. As I'm reading, I'm assuming we'll be going to war with Sudan, North Korea, Burma, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea. Of course we all know that the only real possibly of war with any of the above nations is North Korea.

Tina Fey had a great joke during Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. In making fun of people coming forward testifying that Michael Jackson never molested them she announced that she was going to testify for Robert Blake because he never murdered her!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue V

2005-02-07T23:56:00.000-05:00

I guess I won't talk much about the Super Bowl since I didn't make a prediction and every other media outlet and form as overkilled it by now. Congrads Patriots on being a full-fledged dynasty. Great shot of Bellichick hugging his two, soon-to-be ex-coordinators (Weis and Crenell) after the game.

There was a lot of whining in the Pittsburgh media and callers of talk shows around town regarding Central Catholic's Eugene Jarvis. The fact of the matter is Jarvis had offers from Pitt and WVU and he wasn't quick enough to commit. Too bad. Signing came and went and Jarvis is going to Akron. He'll be a good fit at Akron. And by the way, don't sleep on the Zips, they are an up-and-comer in the MAC. J.D. Brookhart had a great recruiting class, picking up Jarvis and stealing Bishop McCort Tight End Jose Cruz away from North Carolina. In addition, Kevin Garner (DE/LB, 6'2", 225) out of West Mifflin was also a good pick up. All in all, the Zips will be getting 6 WPIAL guys from last Wednesday's signing day. No shame going to the smaller school, as Woodland Hills grad and current Miami Dolphin Jason Williams will tell you. Williams played his ball collegiately at Akron.

I am upset with the fact that many are jumping on the fact that Pitt took LaRod Stephens over Jarvis because they are similar in stature. I think time will tell that Pitt got the better guy. Even when JHS was a WPIAL member, the Pittsburgh media didn't bother going over the mountain to see what was going on in the J-town area. Their loss I guess.
In all fairness, I do have to give props to WPXI. They led their coverage of Pitt's recruiting day with a nice run by LaRod at Trojan Stadium for a touchdown. Fedko never mentioned him by name, but it was nice seeing the columbia blue and black on TV in Pittsburgh.

With the Arena Football peeps out there, here's an amazing stat: over the weekend Joe Hamilton (Georgia Tech) became the first person in the history of the AFL to rush for 100 yards! Not only that, but the previous record was 91 and it was set by Major Harris (WVU) in 1991! I know it's a passing league but my God!

Do yourself a favor and don't try the new Green Apple flavor gum by Extra. It is terrible!
And in other snack news, pass on the Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits unless you're looking for a cracker that tastes like Stove Top Stuffing!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue IV

2005-01-31T10:21:00.000-05:00

Not too much going on this past week. I spent Saturday at Piratefest at the Convention Center. I don't care what negative Pittsburgh media types say about the Pirates and Pirate fans in general. There is always a lot of talk about the burgh being a one horse town when it comes to sports and the Steelers. Certain folks, which will remain nameless but I'll tell you his last name rhymes with Geigerbald, don't want anything to do with non-Steelers topics.

The line to get Rookie of the Year Jason Bay's autograph was out of this world. I spoke to a good many Pirates fans that are excited about the upcoming season. I'm sure the majority of them, like myself, know there is little chance for postseason play. However, baseball is different. There is something about it. There are so many games. You will have many chances to see a win. I spoke to a fan that traveled all the way from Columbus, Ohio for the event.

Oh, and by the way, the Pitt men's basketball team isn't too shabby. They are sold out for the entire season of home games. I was lucky enough to come up with tickets tonight for the Providence game. I hope there is not a letdown after back-to-back, come-from-behind wins against UConn and Syracuse.

Yes, Pittsburgh, there is life after the Steelers!

I ran in to Eddie Olczyk at the Mount Lebanon Rec Center. He was coaching one of his sons games prior to my nephew's Johnstown Warriors game. Good to see the coach keeping active with hockey during the work stoppage. It's already been reported that he's helping his older son at Chartiers Valley High School.

Unfortunately, the Warriors lost to the Mount Lebanon Hornets.

Trojan Nation content

2005-01-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

New Weekly Roundup posted at:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id144.html

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue III

2005-01-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

Well, we only get half the Commonwealth Bowl as the Eagles came through but the Steelers did not. As per usual with the Bill Cowher regime, the Steelers just can't win the big one. Especially when the big one is an AFC Championship Game at home. As a Steelers fan I am concerned that Cowher's legacy is going to be that of his mentor's (Schottenheimer): good coach with some good teams but will never win a Super Bowl. Lord I hope I'm wrong.

I finally got a chance to watch my tape of the US Army All-American Bowl. I liked the synergy of NBC by using the Arena Football League ball, especially since the league kicks off play during the off-week leading up to the Super Bowl. That's great for the football diehards for sure!

The announcers mentioned it was odd to see the ball punted, as there is no punting in the AFL.
Back to the NFL, I thought that Big Ben was a completely different QB in the playoffs than he was in the regular season. He seemed to be forcing the ball, aiming it, was overthrowing wide open WRs.

In a rare form of solidarity from a western Pa person, I will be rooting for the Eagles come Super Bowl Sunday.

I was saddened when I heard the news that Johnny Carson died over the weekend. I'm a huge David Letterman fan and have become a big Conan O'Brien fan and am anxiously awaiting when he takes over the Tonight Show from Jay Leno however there will never, ever be another Johnny. He was truly the King of Late Night and will be sorely missed. I can recall watching Carson with my father and how big a deal the monologue was then. It really isn't as big anymore. If you watch the Tonight Show now, or Late Night w/ Conan or the Late Show with Letterman or the Late, Late show with Craig Ferguson (or Craig Kilborn prior) or even the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, you'll see Carson's influence. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and as they same about the Grambling State Marching Band: often imitated, never duplicated.

I enjoyed seeing all the famous people that Johnny "made" like Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Drew Carey. Amazingly, off the four, Carey looks exactly the same today as he did then!

Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue II

2005-01-20T21:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, I do realize it is Thursday, do shut up if you post reminding me such! My divisional playoffs picks were 50% right. I had the Steelers who really got lucky and the Falcons who took care of the Rams pretty easily. I missed on the Vikings and Colts. I really thought this was the year for Manning. Oh well, I guess that goes to show that shooting your wad to early can come back and haunt you in the playoffs.

So, I'm going with the Commonwealth Super Bowl. I just don't see the Falcons beating the Eagles (with or without T.O.). Of course the Steelers pick is with my heart but my head also knows they can win as well. They spanked the Pats on Halloween and all anyone is talking about is that NE didn't have Corey Dillon. That's fine, but in case you didn't notice they play against a lot of solid RBs this year (Jamal Lewis for example) and they are pretty damn good against the run. It's not like they never saw Dillon before either, I mean, they used to get him twice a year when he was with Cincy.

I am soooo tired of hearing about Big Ben and the glove. Much ado about nothing, no one was bitching when he had his best game of the season against the NY Giants in December. He's not the first QB to do and he won't be the last. He had a bad game against the Jets but very little had to do with the glove.

Even though the NHL stoppage continues there is plenty of hockey for me in Western Pennsylvania. I can go an hour to the west to catch the Wheeling Nailers or an hour and a half east and see my hometown Johnstown Chiefs. Over this past weekend I caught the Chiefs in action. Kudos to GM Jim Brazill who let common sense prevail and moved the start time back to 8:00 Saturday night to accomodate those watching the Steelers game. Even with this move I was disappointed with the crowd. I guess people partied to much or had chest pains from heart failure after the football game! I had a grand time watching the Chiefs from the Parrot Bay party pit and while stoppages in play, glanced over at the TV and caught the Falcons' game. It was a tough weekend for the Chiefs as they lost Fri, Sat and Sun. They are currently sixth in their division of which only four make the playoffs.

Sunday morning was a real treat for me as I got to see my nephew Luke in action on the ice of the War Memorial. He plays for the Johnstown Warriors, who defeated the Arctic Foxes of Neville Island 5-3. I think it is so cool that my nephew is playing down on the ice that Slap Shot was filmed on.

Only one TV note, I caught the first American Idol and have my favorite loser already. The guy who had the "5.9%" headband on was classic! He will by William Hung for me this year!!!

Later, I'll try to get back to you guys on Monday next week!

GO STEELERS!!!!!

Trojan Nation content

2005-01-15T00:50:00.000-05:00

New Trojan Nation content for 1/13/05:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id144.html

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Monday Morning Ramblings 2005, Issue I

2005-01-10T11:16:00.000-05:00

After a lengthy hiatus from blogging at this site (save for updates to the Trojan Nation website and SW PA football blog) I will now return on a tentative, time-permitting basis to do a weekly post. Those of you familiar with the Trojan Nation website will recognized the moniker: Monday Morning Ramblings. During the high school football season this column was a nice catch-all of the week that was around the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, the WPIAL and beyond. In this capacity, MMR will be used to ramble about any topics I deem necessary: sports, business, politics, music, movies, TV, etc.

So without further adieu, here we go:

NFL Playoffs (Wild Card round): The Saturday games were much more interesting than the Sunday games for sure. Here's a mini-breakdown of each:

Rams v. Seahawks: This was a sloppy game played by two teams that pretty much didn't deserve to be in postseason play but a close game that comes down to the wire is all you can ask for from these two offensive "geniuses".

Mike Martz continues to amaze with his total lack of time-out conservation. They blew two TOs early in the first half and were out of TOs in the third quarter. I just can't believe that doesn't come back to bite them in close games but this game is a prime example. I have heard Martz in interviews say he doesn't care about saving time-outs, he'd rather have the perfect play in the situation called.

Jets v. Chargers: I kind of wish the media would take it easy on the "Marty can't win the big game" theory. Sure that was true in Cleveland and Kansas City but this Chargers team is a different story. They were absolutely dreadful last year and it isn't as if they made wholesale changes to the roster. That coach-of-the-year award was right on considering the job he did with that club.

Harris Barton gets the "How stupid can you be award". How in God's name can you throw that forearm while your bringing the QB down on FOURTH DOWN with seconds to go? He eventually got bailed out but that was the type of move that Jimmy Johnson would cut a guy for during his tenure in Dallas.

I question the logic of the Chargers running the third down play outside the right hash when it appeared obvious on the previous two plays they were making a conscience effort to stay in the middle of the field. The kick is good from the middle of the field and San Diego is making plans to visit Heinz Field.

Colts v. Broncos: 35-3 at the half and it should have been 42-3 had Manning not forced a ball in the endzone that was picked off in a goal-to-go situation. Most QBs would have been content with Manning's first half stats let alone the stats for the complete game.

Denver was completely outplayed and looked like they didn't belong in the playoffs. I think some of the luster of the "O-Genius" tag placed on Mike Shannahan is starting to fade. Brian Griese was a flop and Plummer doesn't look any better. Funny thing, Dan Reeves couldn't win the big one with Elway, Shannahan can't seem to win without him!

Vikings v. Packers: Wow, I wonder where John Madden and all the Favre-lovers are now. Oh, wait, I heard them making excuses about the trying year in his personal life and believe me, I can empathize. I still went to my job and did it well. The same really can't be said for #4 this year. I am beginning to think Favre has reached his peak and his performance is going down from here. The Washington Post's Mike Wilbon agrees.

And please stop with all this Randy Moss nonsense, to quote Judge Mathis "ya'll need to stop!" That fake-mooning thing was no big deal. Joe Buck should be reprimanded for his ridiculous comments about being sorry it was showed on the air on Fox. Fox. That's right, the same network that brought you Temptation Island. The same network that is bringing back Family Guy after twice canceling because the DVDs sales soared. Now, don't get me wrong I am a HUGE fan of Family Guy (and the Simpsons for that matter) but I think the following line by Peter Griffin is MUCH more offensive than Randy Moss' TD celebration:

"Is this really the blood of Christ? That guy must have been wasted 24 hours a day!" This was said while taking communion in church.

Kudos to Mike Golic who took all these clowns to task on the Mike and Mike in the Morning Show. Even calling out Chris Berman and Tom Jackson of NFL PrimeTime in a rare critique of one ESPNer to another.

Predictions for next week: Indy over the Pats; Steelers over Jets; Vikings over Eagles; Falcons over Rams.

TV: JACK IS BACK! American's favorite counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer is back for Season 4 (Day 4 if you will) of 24. Last night's two-hour premier cut right to the chase and it appears tonight's will do more of the same. Great job by the writers of getting some good action stuff going right off the bad. It took too long for some things to develop in the previous two seasons.

MUSIC: A 22-year-old Chinese piano protege named Lang Lang is taking the Classical Music scene by storm. A world-class pianist with a flair for showmanship is getting attention worldwide although some critics don't like the flash. 60 Minutes ran a piece on this super-talented musician last night.

I have a new found appreciation for classical music as I was forced to listen to a lot of it while I waited for a new surge strip to plug my radio in to. I normally listen to talk radio during the day and I can't listen to pop or rock music because I find myself distracted, singing along to the songs. So it was classical and jazz in the Windows Media Player for me. Needless to say, my brother has quite an impressive collection of classical music on CD that he let me copy (thanks bro, good lookin' out!).

After seeing Lang Lang in action I will definitely want to pick up a few CDs of his work.

NEWS: By now everyone has seen, heard or read about the terrible devastation the tsunamis brought to the Indian Ocean area. Apparently some aren't as sensitive as they should. Bonehead comments started filtering out, this particular letter, by Mr. William Kelly of Collier, PA set me off so bad I felt forced to reply.

I don't know how someone could compare a minor flood with the deaths of nearly 150,000 people. I guess it doesn't matter since they weren't OUR people, right?

I am lucky enough to work for an employer generous enough to match my donations to the Red Cross for the Tsunami victims. I encourage everybody to get involved, even if you can only afford $5, it is truly the thought that counts. The Pittsburgh joint broadcast channel telethon raised nearly $1 million in one hour of air time.

For those of you looking for an investment opportunity I'd like to pass on one I saw a Fox News analyst pass on during their weekly "Cost of Freedom" block. It was on the show Bulls and Bears and it was for a Thai fund, ticker symbol TTF. It is currently trading at $9.75 a share. This would be a neat way to help support the rebuilding of that area in my opinion.

That's all for now. Go Steelers! Go Panthers!

Trojan Nation content

2004-12-21T23:15:00.000-05:00

Trojan Content for 12/21/04:

Second Weekly Roundup is posted:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id144.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-12-01T04:39:00.000-05:00

New Trojan Nation content for 11/30/04:

New photos added from Selinsgrove game:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id3.html

Updated Playoff Recaps:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id130.html

New Clarifications/Amplifications page, where we shed
some light on the punt call in the Selinsgrove game:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id143.html

And just because the Trojan season is over, there are
still two weeks left in the PIAA season, follow the
action on the SW PA Football Blog:

http://www.pennlive.com/weblogs/swfootball/

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2004-11-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

2004-11-20T14:47:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content

2004-11-19T01:27:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/19

New Tale of the Tape posted:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id62.html

last week's moved to archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id70.html

Also, plenty of new content at the SW PA Football
Blog:
http://www.pennlive.com/weblogs/swfootball/

And don't forget about text messages and audio blog
posts, updates from the game!

Texts @
http://www.upoc.com/group.jsp?group=j-town-news

AudioBlog @ http://trojannation.blogspot.com/

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-18T00:39:00.000-05:00

I've posted "Helmets and Sweats":
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id61.html

and moved last week's to the archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id69.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/16

New Bullet Points posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id60.html

Last week's moved to archive
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id68.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-16T08:24:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/16

New Tuesday Trojan Trivia/A Look Ahead posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id59.html

Last week's moved to archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id67.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-15T07:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back from South Bend (HAIL TO PITT!!!)

here is the updated Trojan Nation content for
11/15/04:

New Saturday Game Report:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id63.html

Last week's moved to archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id71.html

New Monday Morning Ramblings:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id58.html

Moved last week's to archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id65.html

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2004-11-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

2004-11-12T20:07:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content

2004-11-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content:

I posted the "Tale of the Tape" early:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id62.html

Last week's moved to archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id70.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-11T02:09:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation for 11/11/04:

New "Helmets and Sweats" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id61.html

Last week's moved to archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id69.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-10T07:13:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/10/04:

New Bullet Points posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id60.html

last week's moved to archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id68.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-09T08:11:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/9/04:

New Tuesday Trojan Trivia and "A Look Ahead" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id59.html

Last week's moved to archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id67.html

Standings/Scoreboard pages updated:
District 9: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id42.html
District 10: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id43.html
Pittsburgh City League:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id41.html

New page added "District 5-6 Playoff Results"
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id130.html

New content at SW PA Football Blog:
http://www.pennlive.com/weblogs/swfootball/

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-08T08:21:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/8/04:

New Saturday Game Report posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id63.html

and last week's moved to archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id71.html

I got back home to the burgh a bit late last night.
I'm on my way to work now, but I'll be posting Monday
Morning Ramblings sometime before lunch. Stay posted!

Kek

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-06T03:00:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/5/04

New "Helmets and Sweats" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id61.html

last week's posted to archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id69.html

New "Tale of the Tape" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id62.html

last week's moved to the archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id70.html

Also, I regretably announce a few things. I had some
unforeseen personal problems this week that I allowed
to distract me and I was not able to post my Thursday
daily feature in a timely manner. For this I
apologize, I have attempted to run this site with as
much professionalism and passion as possible and I am
sorry I let some things get the better of me.

Since the start of the season, I have only been late
on one daily post and that was because of some PC
problems I was having at the time.

Second, it because of the above mentioned issues that
I will be unable to attend the game Friday in
Johnstown. I will be out of town, so my Saturday Game
Report will hopefully be posted late Sunday night. I
apologize for this in advance.

Obviously, I will be unable to do text messages and
audio blog posts this week.

I will be in South Bend Indiana next week at the
Pitt/Notre Dame game, so my next chance to see JHS in
action would be the first round of inter-districts. I
implore those of you that can attend to cheer on the
Trojans as much as possible so I can get the chance to
see one more game!

Later,
Kek

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-04T15:35:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/3:

New Bullet Points posted at:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id60.html

Last week's posted to archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id68.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-03T06:24:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/2/04

New Tuesday Trojan Trivia and "A Look Ahead" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id59.html

Last week's moved to archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id67.html

ALL Standings/Scoreboards updated:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id37.html

Final District 6-AAA points table:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id94.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-02T14:33:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 11/1/04:

New Monday Morning Ramblings:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id58.html

Last week's moved to archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id65.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-11-02T00:55:00.000-05:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/31/04 (Happy Halloween!):

New Saturday Game Report posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id63.html

Last week's moved to archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id71.html

Updated varsity schedule:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id47.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-30T18:41:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/29/04:

New Tale of the Tape posted at:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id62.html

and last week's moved to archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id70.html

and the text messages and audio posts to the Trojan
Nation weblog will be back this week.

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2004-10-29T21:40:00.000-04:00

2004-10-29T20:14:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content

2004-10-28T17:13:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/28/04:

New Helmets and Sweats posted:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id61.html

Last week's moved to archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id69.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-26T00:53:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/26/04:

New Tuesday Trojan Trivia and "A Look Ahead" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id59.html

Last week's moved to the archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id67.html

Updated the following standings/scoreboard pages:
LHAC: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id38.html
Other District 5-6:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id39.html
WPIAL: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id40.html
Pittsburgh City League:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id41.html
District 9: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id42.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-25T07:58:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation Content for 9/25/04:

New Monday Morning Ramblings posted:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id58.html

and last week's moved to the archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id65.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-24T15:54:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/24:

New Saturday Game Report posted:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id63.html

and moved last week's to the archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id71.html

Updated both the varsity schedule:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id47.html

and the District 6-AAA points table:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id94.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-22T00:32:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/22/04:

First of all, I hadn't realized until now I forgot to
post notice of yesterday's "Helmets and Sweats":

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id61.html

and we moved last week's to the archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id69.html

The Penn Cambria version of "Tale of the Tape" can be
found at:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id62.html

and last week's is moved to archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id70.html

No text alerts or audio post to the blog this week as
I won't be in Cresson to attend the game.

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-20T04:46:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content 10/20:

New "Bullet Points" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id60.html

Last week's moved to archive:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id68.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-19T08:03:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/19/04

New Tuesday Trojan Trivia and "A Look Ahead" posted:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id59.html

Last week's moved to archives:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id67.html

WPIAL Standings updated:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id40.html

City Leagues Standings updated:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id41.html

Countdown to 600 page updated:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id36.html

Class AAA Points page updated:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id94.html

Also new content at SW PA Football Blog: http://www.pennlive.com/weblogs/swfootball/

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-17T22:17:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/17:

Updated the following standings pages:
LHAC: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id38.html
Other District 5&6:
http://trojannation.tripod.com/id39.html
District 9: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id42.html
District 10: http://trojannation.tripod.com/id43.html

Updated the Varsity Schedule:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id47.html

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-17T00:21:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/16/04 (well, actually
it's already 10/17) Sorry I'm late but busy day, was
at Pitt game today and then out tonight.

New Saturday Game Report posted here:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id63.html

and moved archive here:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id71.html

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2004-10-15T21:22:00.000-04:00

2004-10-15T19:58:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content

2004-10-14T17:51:00.000-04:00

I've posted the Tale of the Tape for Bishop McCort
early as I'll be hitting the road tomorrow, you can
see it at:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id62.html

and we've moved last week's to the archives:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id70.html

Also, like I've said before, give me your cell phone
number if you'd like text messages from the game and
check out the Trojan Nation weblog at
http://trojannation.blogspot.com/ for audio updates at
half and full time.

GO TROJANS!!!

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-14T08:30:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/14/04:

New Helmets and Sweats:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id61.html

and moved last week's to archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id69.html

Updated District rankings:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id64.html

New content at SW PA Football Blog:

http://www.pennlive.com/weblogs/swfootball/

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Trojan Nation content

2004-10-13T08:15:00.000-04:00

Trojan Nation content for 10/13/04

New Bullet Points posted:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id60.html

Last week's moved to archive:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id68.html

Updated Class AAA points table:

http://trojannation.tripod.com/id94.html

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