Published Sunday, April 6, 1997
Lynn
Saternow
Sportsview
CONGRATULATIONS to The Fabulous 15 and other special honorees who are cited in today's Herald. These athletes and coaches have excelled in their sports and are deserving of postseason laurels.
The young men and women who were picked from an extremely talented group of Mercer County area athletes provided local fans with a lot of excitement this past season.
Picking such a small number of athletes from so many talented performers wasn't easy. My staff _ assistant sports editor Jeff Greenburg and writers Ed Farrell and Brad Isles _ put in a lot of time discussing the picks and narrowing the list of contenders.And more than just athletic ability is considered. Sportsmanship and team play also come into play.
Basketball is a team game, so every team member can take pride in the fact that they helped contribute to the success of today's honorees. And while wrestling is an individual sport, it takes good workout partners in practice to help a teammate reach the top level.
Two of today's honorees _ wrestler Josh Pearce of Commodore Perry and basketball player Amos Upshaw of Grove City _ were also members of the The Heralded 22, which honored Mercer County's top football players in December. Way to go, guys.
For the seniors listed here today: Thanks for the memories.
For the underclassmen: Keep up the good work and we may see you among
I don't know how many people feel the same, but I'm glad baseball season is finally with us. Despite the past strikes, despite the greed of the owners and players, despite the continual change of players from team to team, it's still the greatest professional sport.
The best sports writer of all time, Red Smith, once wrote: ``Ninety feet between bases is the nearest to perfection that man has yet achieved.''
How true. There's something about baseball that brings out the kid in every man. There's some unexplainable feeling you get watching the game, as slow and tedious as it may be.
The novelist W.P Kinsella (who gave us Field of Dreams wrote: ``Within the baselines, anything can happen. Tides can reverse, oceans can open. That's why they say, `The game is never over until the last man is out.' Colors can change, lives can alter, anything is possible in this gentle, flawless, loving game.''
Well, maybe not anything, W.P. _ I don't think the Pirates can have a winning season. And right now, who knows about the Indians.
Both teams got off to 1-2 starts prior to Saturday's games. While the Pirates should be fun to watch, don't look for great things from a team of players combined who make less money than Albert Belle.
As for the Indians, they have great potential. But with all the new faces in the lineup, it may take time to build the team chemistry that the Tribe showed the past two playoff seasons.
It's a shame that guys like Carlos Baerga, Kenny Lofton and Albert Belle _ who gave Indians fans so many thrills _ are gone. But that's the state of the game today. Money rules.
But somehow, it still can't ruin America's Game.
Lynn Saternow is sports editor of The Herald.
