Once again sports brings smiles, awe and some failures

I was reading the account of the Wyandot County Sports Hall of Fame inductees on these pages last week when the first two to be enshrined caught my attention. It reminded me that the world of sports offers thrills and excitement more often than not. Occasionally however, the opposite is on display.Let's start with the good news. I must admit that I was not overly familiar with Mohawk High School's state runner-up softball team from 1994. I was however familiar with the coach of that team though not at the time.Carl Long came from Mohawk during my last few years of teaching at New Riegel and became my principal. He was an outstanding administrator, in large part because he was a nice and caring person. Apparently he was a pretty good softball coach as well.If I know Carl, he would give all the credit to the girls and none to himself for their stellar season. He's that kind of guy. I believe that a coach can make a difference and would like to congratulate him on this worthy achievement.The second inductee is a friend of mine. Larry Cole and I graduated in the same year. I was not aware of his athletic prowess at that time though I heard about it prior to reading of his greatness in both football and basketball.I made mention of Larry in a column a couple of weeks ago suggesting that he could hit a softball and golf ball a long ways. I also bowled with him for years and saw him do something at the bowling alley that seldom happens in the sport. The interesting part of the story I'm about to tell is that he DIDN'T see it!He absolutely buried his first ball one evening in the New York pocket. Alas, as happens sometimes a couple of pins stood and he was staring at the 7-10 split. Let's just say that Larry was a bit miffed by the outcome of that first ball. He fired his second shot at the ten pin hitting it directly and sending it straight back into the pit. At this point he turned and headed back to his seat still a little miffed.What he didn't see was that ten pin come back on to the lane from whence it left and roll completely across the surface and knock the seven pin over just before the rack came down. The rest of us started yelling and by the time he turned around the seven pin was already down.Though he didn't see his conversion of the 7-10 split he managed a smile as the "miffness" disappeared. No one should be surprised that Larry Cole excelled in so many different sports as he was an athlete. He, just like Carl Long, is also a nice guy. Congrats to both on your inductions.Angels outfielder Jo Adell brought three potential home runs back with miraculous catches in one game. His last pilfer took him over a low wall and into the crowd preserving the win. Three in one game… most don't do that in a single season!When LeBron James took to the court with his son Bronny recently in the NBA playoffs the pair became the first father son duo to accomplish that feat. LeBron is in the conversation for the GOAT and it is incredible that he can still play the game at such a high level.Another man who is always in the same conversation about the best of all time is Michael Jordan. He is now a successful Nascar team owner and his driver, Tyler Reddick, has won five of the nine races this season. I'm sure no one predicted that.Some great shots were struck at the Masters recently but a couple of golfers received criticism for their poor behavior. Robert McIntyre took a nine on #15 and proceeded to make an obscene gesture toward the green. He had to know that someone would catch that action. Not a good look for golf, but any golfer can relate to his frustration.Sergio Garcia became so incensed with a poor drive that he slammed his driver into the ground, tearing up the tee area and breaking his club. Again I can relate to the frustration, but I never did what he did. Why, you ask? Well, mainly because I couldn't afford a new driver!Finally Lehigh University's baseball team set a Division I record for the most runs scored in the first inning of a game. Taking on Coppin State, the Mountain Hawks scored 20 runs in that record setting opening inning.What amazed me though, was the number of hits that they accumulated in scoring that many runs. Only three of the 23 hitters that went to the plate garnered a hit though one was a grand slam. Coppin State pitchers (three were used in the inning) walked 11, hit six and threw several wild pitches. I'm not sure whether to give Lehigh credit or blame Coppin State for this record!I was in attendance at a college game where a team scored several runs in the first inning. Back in the day I played for Hiram College and we went to Jacksonville, Florida for a spring trip. Our last game of the trip one year was against Bowling Green and allthe pitchers had sore arms. Our coach asked for volunteers to pitch and one eager freshman offered his services.The rookie got the first two hitters out before issuing a couple of walks. BG's fifth hitter was Bob Hill who would later become the head coach of the Knicks, Pacers and Spurs in the NBA. He hit a lazy fly ball to left field and our pitcher started for the dugout envisioning a career as a college pitcher.Alas, the left fielder never saw the ball which dropped harmlessly near his feet. So it was back to the mound and no one could have predicted what happened next. Before our embattled freshman could get the last out the Falcons scored ELEVEN runs!Now don't feel too bad for the embarrassed rookie. He would go on to play third base for the Terriers as a sophomore, junior and senior. In his final year he batted third while manning the hot corner, hit over .300 and was co-captain of the team.As for pitching… I never pitched again in college!