Is it just me or does anyone else think the current set up by the Erie River Rats indoor football league team isn't quite right. ????? Yes, they play their home games at the Tullio Arena, but other than that, are no where to be found in the community. No office in Erie, no practices in Erie. In fact, I've talked to a few of the Erie players who do not like to make the trip near Butler to practice every week especially with the cost of gasoline. That's about a three hour round trip from Erie. It certainly seems like the River Rats franchise is just "using" Erie fans and business' to buy tickets and sponsorship. Perhaps they have plans to actually re-locate to Erie as announced last year by the league, but I've not heard of any move planned. From the media perspective, it is near impossible to get in touch with anyone from the team or front office to set up interviews since there has been absolutely no communication other than an occassional phone call with a final score, and that's not a sure thing either !!! Based on their performance as a franchise so far, this is not the "Erie" River Rats but rather, the Pittsburgh River Rats playing in Erie. It just doesn't seem right.

It is Masters week, and for many, the real start of spring. It's not exactly going out on a limb to pick Tiger Woods to win this tournament, but then again, logic makes sense. A recent study done by an Ivy League school showed that when Tiger Woods is in a tournament, other golfers shoot, on the average, a shot worse than when he is not in a tournament. Proof of the Tiger-intimidation factor that many talk about but few golfers are willing to admit. Tiger knows it, the other golfers know it and Tiger knows the other golfers know it. Tiger said earlier this year that he can win the Grand Slam, all four majors in one calender year. He's already done it over the course of two calender years. His logic is simple. Generally, he wins five or six tournaments in a year, it's just a question of winning the right ones. The key for Woods this week, watch how he drives the golf ball. If there is a slight weakness to his game, it's that he can be a bit inconsistent off the tee. If he is driving the ball well, look out. He knows the greens, he knows where to put the ball on the greens, he knows how to win at Augusta. As we begin the tournament, it appears that the 2008 Masters is Tiger's to win or lose. You never know, it seems the Masters has a way of bringing out the best is many of the players, like Zach Johnson last year. But as said in an earlier post, we could see one of the greatest years by a golfer in history if Tiger continues to play as he has over the first three months of the year.
Even if I'm wrong, I'll enjoy watching the ride. Until next time, get the golf clubs out and hit it straight this spring.

For some reason, this past weekend seemed to draw some well known sports names to the area. For example, I got word last Friday night that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was in Edinboro enjoying himself along with a few others at a local watering hole. I understand Ben had a good time and was quite friendly to those who recognized him. Also last Friday night, McDowell grad Kyle Mitchum, now an offensive lineman with Ohio State, had a few of his fellow O-lineman in town and at the Sports Page to eat some wings and pizza and to watch the NFL draft on Saturday. If memory serves me correct, Mitchum suffered a broken foot either last spring or during the summer and did not play much in 2007 but is expected to be a mainstay on the Buckeyes offensive line in 2008. We hope to catch up with him sometime between the end of spring and the start of summer camp in Columbus. Add Paul Spadafora fighting in Erie on Friday night, and "Lord of the Rings" star Viggo at Presque Isle and it rounds into a pretty good weekend. We'll keep our eyes out for more especially this summer.