It was one shot, but it showed all the best that sports can offer
Over the past year, I've covered a lot of big-time sports eventsand interviewed scores of top athletes, but nothing moved me as much-- nor resonated more with readers -- than what happened whenFairmont High hosted Springfield North in the regular seasonbasketball finale at Trent Arena last February.
That's when Firebirds coach Hank Bias -- after conferring withNorth coach Eddie Ford -- put the team's beloved manager, MattyKauffman, a chunky 5-foot senior whose Down syndrome is eclipsed byhis upbeat personality -- into the lopsided game with 80 secondsleft.
Wearing an old 00 jersey, Matty gathered in a pass on the wingand drained a no-arc shot with just under a minute left. The crowd,which had been chanting Matty's name the entire quarter, went nuts.Bias, like many, was in tears, and at game's end, everyone stormedthe court and embraced the beaming Matty. That night showed the bestin humanity. It was a tribute to both coaches, the fans and bothteams' players, who showed in the midst of battle there can be amoment of brotherly love. As Deb Kauffmam, Matty's mom, put it: 'ForMatty, that 50 seconds of fame will last a lifetime.'
-- TOM ARCHDEACON Shearn makes the show, from a trailer to thebig time
Pitcher Tom Shearn (above) spent 12 years in the minors without asniff of a chance in the major leagues -- until the Cincinnati Redsbrought him up from Class AAA Louisville to make an emergency startAug. 26 against Florida.
After he pitched a 9-3 victory, the 30-year-old Columbus nativerevealed that he had been living in a trailer behind the outfieldwall at Louisville's Slugger Field. The trailer was owned by ChrisLapole, the team trainer of the Louisville Bats.
'I was doing it to save some money,' said Shearn. 'It was a shorttrip to and from the park every day.'
Shearn made six starts for the Reds and was 3-0 with a 4.96 ERA.
'I'm not greedy about making the rotation (for 2008). I just hopethey give me a chance to work in the bullpen.'
-- HAL McCOY
'Rocky Top' runs through Dayton on way to NCAA title
March 27 was a night to remember at UD Arena for the TennesseeLady Vols, as they captured an NCAA regional basketball crown (theywent on to win the national title).
Standing on the court with microphone in hand during the trophypresentation, UT head coach Pat Summitt paid homage to Dayton andfans from Big Orange Country who cheered the Lady Vols' 98-62 defeatof Ole Miss.
'I just want to thank all of you for making this the greatestatmosphere of any regional tournament in the country,' Summitt said.'And I want to thank you for being the greatest fans of women'sbasketball as we continue to grow our sport.'
Tennessee's Candace Parker, who was voted the Most OutstandingPlayer, was joined on the all-tourney team by teammate ShannonBobbitt, Mississippi guards Armintie Price and Ashley Awkward, andOklahoma center Courtney Paris.
-- CHICK LUDWIG
Diebler adds to legend as Dunbar adds to list of W's
As the years go by, Jon Diebler's mask-throwing will becomelegendary. Mr. Basketball from Upper Sandusky High School wasbloodied against Dunbar in March in a terrific Division II statefinal at OSU.
Diebler was hit in the nose, bled, started the second half with amask, shot poorly then dramatically took off the mask and tossed itto the bench.
He scored 48 points, but Dunbar took its second straight titlewith a magnificent 87-85 victory. Diebler became almost a mythicalfigure throughout as he set Ohio's career prep scoring record, buthe seemed very real and very tough on that afternoon.
-- KYLE NAGEL
Coleman fights cancer, and Stebbins team has his back
Ron Coleman was in the middle of the fight of his life, battlingbreast cancer.
It happened during the 2006-07 basketball season while he coachedthe Stebbins boys. Coleman shared his battle, became a spokesman andurged males that breast cancer doesn't only affect women. He evenmet cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.
As Coleman lifted his own players with his openness, they liftedhim. They shaved their heads (above) in support of their coach as hewent through chemotherapy.
He has since been declared cancerfree. Coleman 56, resigned inOctober to devote more time to his family.
Coleman always received an emotional boost attending OSU footballgames and watching No. 4 -- his son Kurt, a starting defensive back.He'll be in New Orleans for the national championship game.
-- RON JACKSON
Coldwater wins state, may be even better off the field
Coldwater's Division IV state football title run included acomeback, community compassion and a crowning upset.
- The comeback: A 59-52 win in three OTs vs. Alter in theregional semis. Coldwater twice trailed by three TDs.
- The compassion: A week later in the regional final againstClinton-Massie, the Mercer County community raised $15,120 for C-Mcheerleader Savana Coffman, who underwent a heart transplant thatweek.
- The crown: Heavy underdogs against nationally ranked YoungstownCardinal Mooney in the title game, Coldwater's teamwork trumpedMooney's talent. The Cavs' overcame a 21-7 fourth-quarter deficit,blocked an extra-point attempt with 21 seconds left and won 28-27.
-- GREG BILLING
OSU has 16 seconds of joy, four quarters of pain
The Buckeyes probably should have figured out it wasn't going tobe their night in the national championship game Jan. 8 when starplayer Ted Ginn Jr. was injured on the opening kickoff -- by his ownteammates.
Ginn (above right) raced 93 yards for a TD and then suffered afoot sprain while getting mobbed in the end zone. He played a coupleof snaps in the first quarter and then disappeared, although itprobably wouldn't have mattered.
Having been worked into a frenzy by the public debate aboutwhether they even belonged in the national title game, the 12-1Gators coasted to a 41-14 win, holding the Buckeyes to just 84 totalyards and spoiling their bid to become the first team in schoolhistory to hold the nation's No. 1 ranking for an entire season.
-- DOUG HARRIS
Flyers (and Raiders) stun Miami with basketball rallies
The halftime score of the UD men's basketball team's road game atMiami on Nov. 28 was Michael Bramos 25, UD 18.
That's right, the RedHawks' 3-point ace tallied more points thanUD in the first 20 minutes as Miami rushed to leads of 10-0, 20-2and 30-9.
But the Flyers whittled the deficit to 33-18 by halftime, andthen scored 12 points in the final 45 seconds to pull out aremarkable 63-62 win. It was one of the most stunning turnarounds inUD history and gave the Flyers only their second victory againsttheir rivals in Millett Hall in the last 20 years.
The RedHawks have shown they can handle late-game pressure withwins over Xavier and Illinois this season, and they probably neverthought they'd experience another collapse like that. But a coupleof weeks after the Dayton debacle, they coughed up a 16-pointhalftime lead in a last-second loss at Wright State.
-- DOUG HARRIS
Tide turned for Bengals as Browns game slipped away
Of the 952 offensive snaps this season, the Bengals wish theycould have one mulligan. It came in a 51-45 loss at Cleveland BrownsStadium on Sept. 16.
Leading 7-0 and facing third-and-16 at the Bengals' 21-yard lineat 8:09 of the first quarter, QB Carson Palmer took a shotgun snapand launched a deep pass over the middle toward Chad Johnson thatwas intercepted by safety Sean Jones.
That play represented the turning point in the game ... and theseason.
Palmer's club-record six TD passes weren't enough to win thatday, and now the Bengals are guaranteed their first losing seasonsince 2002.
'You can never pick one (interception),' Palmer said. 'But that'sdefinitely one I'd like to have back.'
-- CHICK LUDWIG
Frye flies away as Browns stun QB with Week 2 trade
The look on his face, as if he had been struck by a two-by-four,told the story as quarterback Charlie Frye stood at the Clevelandairport on Sept. 11, about to board a plane to Seattle.
After a 34-7 opening-day loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in whichhe was benched in the second quarter, it no longer mattered to theCleveland Browns that Frye hailed from nearby Willard or that he hada picture of Bernie Kosar on his bedroom wall as a kid.
They had traded the former thirdround draft choice to the SeattleSeahawks, as far away as they possibly could, opening the way forDerek Anderson to start the next week and throw five touchdownpasses in a 51-45 victory over the Bengals that rescued theirseason.
-- SEAN MCCLELLAND
Cook holds fast to NBA dream despite doubters
He was called overrated, ridiculed for his shooting slump andblasted for his decision to make himself available for the NBAdraft. But ex-Dunbar and OSU basketball player Daequan Cook (above)never took his eyes off his goal: Playing in the NBA.
He started just one college game and saw his contribution for the2007 NCAA runners-up shrink down the stretch. He played at the NBApredraft camp and toured the country for team workouts. He wasdrafted 20th overall and scored 17 in his NBA debut for the MiamiHeat.
'I let the doubters say what they have to say,' Cook said. 'I'mjust going to prove myself by just working hard and not listen tothat. That doesn't affect me. If it's going to do anything, it'sgoing to inspire me to make sure I keep doing good.
'There's not a lot I have to say to them, because I never feedinto that.'
-- MARK GOKAVI
Distance runners, T-M relay a have year to remember
Watching area runners have a great year was a treat, especiallyat the state high school track meet.
- Sam Borchers (above) of Yellow Springs was dominating in theDivision III 800 and 1,600 meters, breaking his own state record inthe 800.
- The Dayton Christian boys won the D-III team title with twinsJohn and Walter Luttrell getting the needed points in the 3,200.
- Trotwood-Madison's boys won the state D-I 1,600 relay and alsowon the national title at the Nike National Scholastic championshipsin North Carolina.
- Tara Storage of Beavercreek and Ann Alyanak of Bellbrook bothmade U.S. National women's teams. Storage was on the U.S. roadracing team that ran in the World Championships in Italy. Alyanak,the UD cross country coach, ran the marathon in World Track andField Championships in Osaka, Japan.
-- DAVE LONG
Climmons gets a kick out of football, finds end zone, too
Brittany Climmons of Fairborn High School raised the bar for allgirls who play football.
The senior kicked extra points for the Skyhawks for a couple ofseasons, and she turned in a first in the season finale againstSpringboro. With just one second remaining in her prep footballcareer, Fairborn faked the kick and Climmons darted into the endzone for the successful two-point conversion.
It's believed she's the first Ohio female to score in a footballgame other than by extra-point kick or field goal.
The honor student landed a soccer scholarship to play at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.
-- MARC PENDLETON
