Four Things I Want For Christmas

Yesterday on Twitter I noticed the hashtag #FOURThingsIWantForChristmas was trending. I was curious to see what everyone's top four Christmas wishes were. Unfortunately, I was quickly disappointed when I discovered the majority of tweets mentioned the newest cell phones, concert tickets, and worst of all, just plain old money. Pretty shortsighted if you ask me. It got me thinking what four things I want for Christmas. As you can imagine, my wish list pertains exclusively to Ohio high school sports. I know these items won't make it under my tree this Thursday, but perhaps I might receive them by another Christmas in the near future...

#1 - Return football to six divisions
I liked the playoffs better in 2012, back when there were only six divisions. I realize when the sport expanded to seven divisions in 2013 the reason given was to level the playing field in Division I. Fine, we tried it for a couple years, but I don't like it. It just feels a little "watered down" right now. Maybe this years state championship three-peat by the MAC influences my opinion. No need to worry MAC fans, prior to expanding to seven divisions you still won something like 22 conference state titles.

Minster won D-VI this year and also D-V in 1989

#2 - Live video at the state cross county meet
Cross country athletes run 3.1 miles across fields and through woods, so some might argue it's the least spectator-friendly sport out there. I'll estimate that the majority of fans at the state meet can see about 15-20% of the race from the grandstands located around the 3/4 mile mark and finish line of the course. I wish several video cameras could be located at different spots on the course and perhaps on the vehicle that leads the race. The action could then be displayed on a video board in front of the grandstands. You see this at college championships and it would give folks something to cheer about the entire race.

Cross country fans would cheer for a video board like this

#3 - Modernize basketball with a shot clock
The National Federation of State High School Associations doesn't mandate it. It's been talked about for years in Ohio. Several other states use them. I've heard the cons. Some say high school basketball is already exciting enough. Others say training volunteers how to operate them would be difficult. Have you seen some of the scoreboards in gyms today that include player numbers, individual scoring and fouls? I'm confident there are enough intelligent people out there. Let's modernize the sport with the college game like we did with the three-point line in 1987.

Basketball is exciting, unless a team is stalling

#4 - Wood bat baseball
I'm all for technology and keeping current with the times, but when it comes to baseball I'm a traditionalist. I like baseball stirrups and wood bats. The decision in 2012 that all aluminum bats must meet BBCOR testing standards was a good thing. Prior to that, the speed at which the ball was coming off the bat was scary. However, hearing the crack of a wood bat instead of the ping of an aluminum bat would be music to my ears. Think of it this way... have you ever gone to a Cincinnati Reds game and wished they were swinging aluminum bats? I didn't think so.

Good hitters can hit with an aluminum or wood bat

There's my list, #FOURThingsIWantForChristmas. Of course I imagine all those items might be easier with money. On second thought, maybe I want just plain old money too!

Merry Christmas everyone.

Piano Man in Versailles

This past weekend I attended my first-ever concert at BMI Indoor Speedway in Versailles. I picked a good one too, because according to the internet the show I was going to see was "the world's most authentic tribute to the legendary Billy Joel". The official billing was: The Stanger: The Ultimate Billy Joel Tribute Show. I was looking forward to this for a couple reasons. For one, this was a very popular show at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC, which has been a regular vacation destination of mine. Also, BMI has hosted some major acts in the last couple of years and I'd been wanting to experience this concert venue that's located just a few miles from my home.

The actual Billy Joel imitator was a Long Island native by the name of Mike Santoro. The show website claims that Mike "not only has an uncanny resemblance to Billy Joel, but sounds so much like Joel himself that it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference." My skepticism alarm went off... nearly impossible to tell the difference? I actually saw the real Billy Joel back in 1994 in Cincinnati when he was on tour with Elton John. The Piano Man and Rocket Man joined forces to belt out a tremendous playlist of duets and solos that highlighted decades of their hits. It was one of those moments you went home afterward and checked another item off your bucket list. Granted it was 20 years ago and my seat was in the nosebleed section, but I felt I was certainly qualified to decide if this impersonator was legit.

As you can see, my seat for this Billy Joel tribute was better 
than my nosebleed seat for the real Billy Joel in 1994

The tribute show was sponsored in part by Catholic Social Service of the Miami Valley and was booked by a local lady who has seen this act several times. The band included five guys that all traveled up from Charlotte, NC.  I believe at their shows in the Carolina's, like House of Blues, the band might add a few extra back-up singers. At center stage of course is the Piano Man and surrounding him are a drummer, a couple guitar players, and a keyboard player that doubles on the saxophone. The front man, Mike (Billy Joel), even played lead guitar a few times. 

The concert started with the song "Angry Young Man" which is a rousing Billy Joel hit from the 70's that displayed just what kind of piano player we had. Make no mistake, the guy can play piano! It was a great start to the show, but then the band went into several B-side songs that nobody on my table was familiar with. To Mike's credit, he interacted well with the crowd and even asked us if we wanted to hear more B-side stuff. He then went into all the hits, both old and new, including tunes like "My Life", "Just The Way You Are", "We Didn't Start The Fire", "An Innocent Man", "Keeping The Faith" and "New York State of Mind". With about five or six songs left the band broke out "Uptown Girl" and a large part of the audience immediately marched to the dance floor, which had been mostly unoccupied until then. After that, the band played several more hits including "It's Only Rock and Roll to Me" and ultimately the sing-a-long "Piano Man". Interestingly, they ended the night with the Paul McCartney/Beatles hit "Let It Be". 

So, does Mike Santoro resemble a young or old Billy Joel? No, not to me. Does he sound like Billy Joel? Most definitely, both his voice and piano playing. I would recommend the show to anyone, Billy Joel fan or not. Also, unlike that concert I attended in 1994, this show was cheaper than the ticket price back then and the traffic to get home took me all of five minutes.

Mike Santoro (right) might not look like the real Billy Joel
to me, but he could have fooled this Piano Man fan 

Finally, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was also excited to experience my first concert at BMI Indoor Speedway. This arena has hosted such acts as Joe Diffe, Quiet Riot, Petra, Winger and Molly Hatchet to name a few. I have to admit, my first impression was that it was a little odd seeing the stage setup in the middle of a banked go-kart track. However, the unique venue created a memorable experience and the folks at BMI did a wonderful job putting it on. Will I go back on Decemeber 6th when BMI hosts a Midget Wrestling event? Uhh, I think I'll stick to the musical acts!

End of a Rivalry

Perhaps a rivalry was born in 2012 when sophomore Sarah Kanney of 

Coldwater took the top spot on the podium that Liberty Center sophomore  

Brittany Atkinson occupied the year before. Brittany is 2nd in this photo.

Individual sports rivalries are pretty unique. It typically takes two elite athletes that dominate their sport and are fortunate enough to compete head to head for an extended length of time. For the rivalry to be legitimate the opponents almost always bring out the best in each other, and if one athlete consistently wins it's usually not considered much of a rivalry.

This Saturday will mark the finale of one truly special high school sports rivalry. Senior cross country runners Sarah Kanney from Coldwater and Brittany Atkinson from Liberty Center will meet for one last time on their sports biggest stage, the OHSAA state cross country course. Over the span of four seasons these two girls have been widely regarded as two of Ohio's best distance runners, and not just in Division III, in all divisions. Their careers against one another have defined what a rivalry is. In 2011 as freshman they met at the regional and state meets. Brittany beat Sarah at both, including winning the state championship. In 2012 as sophomores they met again at the regional and state meets. Sarah beat Brittany at both this time, including winning the state championship. In 2013 as juniors they met for a third time at the regional and state meets. Sarah won the regional, but Brittany won state. In 2014 as seniors they met during the regular season for the first time at the Tiffin Carnival. Sarah ran an eye-popping time of 17:57.87 to win, while Brittany ran a 17:59.78 for second place. The two rivals also met again last Saturday at the regional meet. Sarah won and Brittany finished second. For those keeping score, their record against one another is Sarah 5 - Brittany 3 or Brittany 2 state titles - Sarah 1 state title, depending on how you're counting.

In 2013 both girls ran together for much of the first half of the 

state race. In the end Brittany won her second state title.

I've had the opportunity to meet both runners and both are class acts. Sarah will be heading to NC State after graduation to begin her collegiate running career and Brittany hasn't decided on a college yet, but has six official visits scheduled after the state meet. Until then, high school cross country fans will enjoy one last battle this Saturday at National Trail Raceway in Hebron. I'm not predicting who will win this final showdown, but I predict both girls will be running side-by-side as they pass in front of the grandstands for the first time around the 1/2 mile mark. The crowd will come to their feet and the rest of Ohio's best runners will likely be a distant third at that point. Enjoy it folks, it's the end of a rivalry.

With close to 10,000 spectators, the OHSAA State Cross Country 

Championships is one of the largest meets in the nation.