Blanchard River Buzz

New media and HS sports coverage

By Dave Hanneman
I was meandering through some web sites the other day when a certain topic caught my eye.
The post basically asks people if they want to “cover” their school’s football games. They are looking for people top send them pictures, stats, line scores, even stories from games. Believe me, I’m not against getting prep athletes more recognition. I’ve always maintained that high school sports is still the best bang for the buck out there.
But something about this idea just rubs me the wrong way, and I know a good deal of that is because I’m considered old school.
I’ve been in this business over 30 years. And over those 30 years I’ve had some pretty miserable times covering athletic events. I’ve been stuck out in wind, rain, sleet and every other term they teach you in weatherman school. I once covered the state baseball tournament standing on an overturned bucket because they said the area reserved for the press was “overbooked.”
I’m not complaining. Well, actually I am.
Here’s the bottom line. I was hired by this newspaper to do a job. My job is to cover and report on athletic events. And when I go to do that job, I don’t ask for much. All I want is a spot where I can see the event and (hopefully) something I can rest a clipboard on so I can keep play-by-play and game stats.
For the most part, I’ve been treated very well at high schools and tournament sites. But there are also exceptions, and in most cases it comes down to an open-door policy of letting anybody and any one in who says they are “covering” the game.
I’ve gotten to events early, found a spot and set up my stuff, then left for a bit to hit the bathroom or get a bite to eat. When I got back, all my stuff had been tossed aside because somebody with “press credentials” needed three people to cover the game.
Liberty-Benton’s boys basketball team reached the regional tournament at the University of Toledo in 2001, 2003 and 2004. With the school located about a mile from our office, I imagine we covered L-B more than any other media outlet. Despite filling out all the proper credential forms, guess which paper didn’t have a courtside spot on press row? There did, however, seem to places for the guy who showed up with no clipboard, no stats sheet, not even a pen or pencil. But he did have a good looking girlfriend taking up a spot right beside him. There was also room for the coach of a small Northwest Ohio school and his buddy. They didn’t keep any stats either, but they sure had great seats.
See why I’m skeptical?
As I understand the plan, the guys running the web site are going to make all the arrangements for press credentials for anyone wanting to “cover” the games. If I was a school administrator, I’m not sure I’d want an outside party making decisions on who’s getting a free pass through the gates.
And who will be getting these “press credentials?” High school kids looking to highlight their buddies on the team? Dads (or moms) who may or may not have issues with the coach and how their kid is being treated? Rabid fans who win, lose or draw are going to slant their “reporting” in favor of the home team?
Go ahead, say it. I’m an over-reactive old fart.
But speaking from years and years of experience, all I’m saying is that this plan could open a can of worms better left unopened.

One bad choice was McNair's downfall

By BRIAN LESTER
Steve McNair was laid to rest Saturday afternoon, a week after he was found dead in his condo, shot four times by his girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, while napping on the couch. She then turned the gun on herself.
McNair had always been known as one of the good guys in the NFL and was the face of the Tennessee Titans franchise. He was tough, talented quarterback who stayed out of trouble off the field and was willing to give back to society. He seemed to be a perfect role model in a sports world that has so few of them.
Until last Saturday, our vision of McNair was a good one. But we learned in the days following the tragedy that he was having an affair with Kazemi, a 20-year-old waitress. The other side of McNair was revealed.
Professional athletes have it made in life. They have money, fame and the world at their fingertips. You think that would be enough, but all too often, it never is.
Had McNair stayed away from the temptation to cheat on his wife, he would probably still be alive today.
So how should McNair be remembered? I think you have to remember him as a football player who accomplished quite a bit, a football player who nearly led the Titans to a Super Bowl championship in 2000.
But McNair was also human and we have to remember that as well. He had flaws just as all of us do. It’s something we forget when we talk about pro athletes. They are put up on a pedestal and we hope they never fall off of it.
For McNair, it seemed as if he would never fall.  But he did. And his fall led to his untimely and tragic death.

Upper Sandusky wrestlers down to Division III

By Jamie Baker
Not to many changes for wrestling in the Northwest District.
The key thing is that the cutoffs for divisions keep going up but most area schools with wrestling teams keep shrinking in enrollment. Schools in our coverage area are among the smallest wrestling schools in the state.
Here are the breakdowns for the next two-year cycle.
OHSAA Wrestling Divisions
Division I — 424 or more boys
Division II — 232-423 boys
Division III — 231 or less boys
The only school from The Courier coverage area that will be switching divisions is Upper Sandusky which will be dropping down from Division II to Division III.
Here are the teams from the NW District that will be moving up or down...
• Mansfield Madison and Toledo Scott will be moving down from Division I to Division II
• Port Clinton will be moving back up from Division III to Division II
• Clear Fork, Galion and Upper Sandusky will be moving from Division II down to Division III.
Mansfield Madison was always a solid Division I program and with the Rams dropping down it will make Division II even tougher, especially at Shelby with Lexington already competing there. The addition of Galion, Upper Sandusky and Clear Fork will make things tougher at Owens too in Division III.
Also two new programs are starting up this season in NW Ohio. Antwerp will field a junior varsity team this year while Ada will kick off its program with a junior high team.