Waynesville's Ritchie wins Rae Burick Award - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

KETTERING -- Winning consecutive state tennis titles was toughenough. Being student council and class president was over the top.

'Both are so tough,' said Waynesville High School senior AlyssaRitchie.

'There's a little more pressure in tennis, maybe. But trying todo a lot of activities and please everyone is difficult, too.'

It wasn't difficult in choosing Ritchie the 2011 Rae Burick Womenin Sports Award winner Wednesday evening at a packed Trent Arena.The 24th annual event honored more than 330 senior girls from 48area high schools.

Ritchie succeeds 2010 winner Lisa Nouanesengsy of Wayne as the$1,000 college scholarship winner. Four other runners-up received$500 scholarships.

The event is a community service project of the Kiwanis Club ofDayton and The Children's Medical Center. Rae Burick was the wife oflongtime former Dayton Daily News sports editor Si Burick.

Athletics, academics, community service and a personal essay wereevaluated. Richie shined in all areas: Two-time unbeaten (66-0)Division II state singles champion, class valedictorian (4.7 GPA),president of two major school groups and a volunteer for physicallyand mentally challenged adults.

She also hopes to be a surgeon.

'You can't help but go away from this event feeling better aboutthe future of our own community and the generation that's comingalong behind us,' said selection committee chairman Stephen Brown.

Ritchie will pursue her tennis career at either Cornell or NorthCarolina-Wilmington. She's nationally ranked for girls ages 18 andunder.

'Being recognized with all of these athletes -- from all thesports and not just tennis -- is really great,' Ritchie said.

'This means a lot. It shows that hard work pays off.'

The four runners-up were Marianne Bonanno (Northmont), RebeccaEsselstein (Alter), Kelsey Schlater (Versailles) and Erin Yenney(Troy).

They too were No. 1 or near the top of their classes, excelled inmultiple sports and were involved in numerous activities.

'You're humbled every year when you hear everything that theydo,' said Alter athletic director and committee member Chris Hart.

PAXSON'S WORK ETHIC MADE HIM A WINNER - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

Cavaliers GM is a student of the game

DAYTON - Jim Paxson Jr. approached academics the same way heapproached basketball. The legendary Dayton Flyer was studious,organized and always trying to get better.

'I would say Jim was always a very serious person, highlymotivated,' said Paxson's godfather, Don Donoher, who coached UD from1964-89. 'He was well trained at home. I can give you an example:When we had our first academic advisor, we brought in a professorthat first year. The first time he sat down with Jim, the professorthought it'd be a big-time blowoff because Jim was a star athlete.

'Well Jim showed up with a notebook and a pen and was as attentiveas could be. That defines him.'

Paxson would earn academic all-American honors his senior year andwould graduate with a degree in business marketing. The 6-foot-5Kettering native would go on to have a stellar, 11-year NBA career.He was a two-time All-Star with Portland and was named second-teamall-league in 1984. He now is the Cleveland Cavaliers' generalmanager. Still, his college days remain close to the hearts of theFlyer Faithful.

From 1975-79, Paxson scored 1,945 points at UD, fourth all-time atthe school. Donoher called him the most fundamentally sound player heever coached (as proof, Donoher would use a film of Paxson as ateaching aide to his players after Paxson graduated). But Paxson hadno excuse for not knowing the basics. He was taught by the best atevery level.

His high school coach at Alter was Joe Petrocelli, winner of threestate titles. His college coach was Donoher, who has the most wins inUD history. His pro coach was Dr. Jack Ramsey, who won an NBA titlein 1977.

'I think I was very fortunate at every level to play for thesecoaches and have players around me, even in high school,' Paxsonsaid. 'We had four players go Division I out of my senior class.There was always the right form of discipline within the structure ofhow you play as a team from these coaches, but there was freedom togrow and express yourself and become the player you could become.

'I had that from Petrocelli, Donoher and Jack Ramsey.'

Paxson's greatness also was a product of his desire and the thingshe did in the off-season.

'In that era, weight-lifting wasn't that great a deal forbasketball players,' said Dayton Daily News sports reporter DougHarris, a teammate of Paxson at UD and Alter. 'It could mess up yourshot, we thought. Nautilus was getting big then, but I tried to avoidit. I hid when it was time to lift. Jim didn't.

'In between his sophomore and junior year, he put on 15 pounds oflean muscle and his game went to another level. I was thinking, `Man,I wish I had lifted those weights.' '

Paxson did other things to improve his game. He attendedbasketball camps religiously, before camp-hopping became a big thing.Donoher took him to the NCAA Final Four in 1970, and the coachremembers his future star being mesmerized by the action, not sayinga word, taking it all in.

'He's the same way now,' Donoher said. 'He has a very keen eye.'

'He was a student of the game,' said Jack Zimmerman, a teammate ofPaxson at UD and Alter. 'He worked extremely hard at all aspects ofthe game. He was always putting in the extra effort other guysdidn't. He set a high standard for himself. Jim was workmanlike,fluid in the way he moved.'

So much so that his closest friends called him the Gazelle.

'He wasn't fast, but he was deceptively quick,' Zimmerman said.'He didn't jump high, but he wasted no motion. Every action he tookhad a purpose. He was a perfectionist, efficient.'

And he was tough to keep up with. Paxson was a master at runningdefenders into picks.

'But you can make all the cuts you want . . . if you don't finish,you're not a player,' Donoher said. 'He finished. Through theinfluence of his father (former UD player Jim Paxson Sr.), Jim becamea real student of the game. He was a triple threat. He could shootit, put it on the floor and pass.'

He didn't defend nearly as well, but unlike many scorers, heworked at it.

'I was never accused of being the stopper, but I was never accusedof being a poor defender,' Paxson said. 'It's something where you'realways trying to get better at what you're doing. You have to finddifferent ways to motivate yourself or you get stale.

'I think I was always looking for an edge, even in the pros. Itwas something I always felt I needed: to be in great condition to getan edge.'

EIGHT INDUCTED INTO CITY'S WALK OF FAME - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

Among inductees: Ritter Collett, Roz Young

DAYTON - Eight notable Dayton area figures, two of them stillliving, were inducted Wednesday to the city's Walk of Fame.

The induction ceremony took place in a tent on South WilliamsStreet, behind the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center and not far fromthe West Third Street sidewalk where commemorative stone slabs willbe installed for those honored. Eighty had been named earlier to the'Walk,' which began with the Wright brothers in 1995. Educator,author and journalist Roz Young, 91, and community leader John E.Moore Sr. both brought smiles as they thanked the nominatingcommittee and the audience of about 200 people.

'You have honored me more than you know and I hope you will walksoftly on me,' said Moore, 80, who retired in 1979 as a civilianpersonnel director at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and startedseveral new careers in community volunteer work.

Young told the audience that well-meaning friends had relieved herof her coat and pocketbook and her eyeglasses were in the latter. 'Ican't see a thing without them,' she exclaimed.

Saying she was grateful and 'highly pleased,' Young thankedeveryone with a special appreciation of her late cat, Edith, aboutwhom she wrote prize-winning stories.

'I think that I have said enough. Thank you very much,' Young thenadded. Her trim acceptance was worthy of another great non-talker andone of her many biographical subjects, Orville Wright.

Dayton Daily News sports editor and Baseball Hall of Fame memberRitter Collett, who died Sept. 25, 2001, was represented by hiswidow, Jean, and their daughter, Rhea. The daughter, who is blind,gave a moving tribute that she'd delivered at Collett's memorialservice: 'Thank you for being a hall-of-fame dad.'

Family and friends of several other inductees were present, withthe exception of attorney and Congressman John A. McMahon (1833-1923), who was represented by heirs of his law firm, now calledBieser, Greer & Landis.

The other inductees are federal Judge Lester L. Cecil (1893-1983); military aviator Major Dominic S. Gentile (1920-51); inventorJacob O. Joyce (1823-1905) and aviator Neil V. Loving (1916-98).

REGIONAL HEADLINES - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

TEEN BOYS DIES AFTER WRESTLING

BELLEFONTAINE - A 14-year-old boy died as he and other teenswere wrestling at a campground, authorities said Monday.

Shortly before Nicholas Crosby of Bellefontaine died Saturdaynight at the Eagles Campground, several boys between ages 14 and 16had been placing each other in choke holds, Logan County sheriff'sDetective Jeff Cooper said.

Rescue workers were called to the campground, which is about threemiles north of Bellefontaine and approximately 62 miles northeast ofDayton, to try to revive the boy.

No charges had been filed Monday, said Sheriff Michael Henry, whonoted that he was awaiting county Coroner Dr. Michael Failor's rulingon how the boy died. The body was taken to the Montgomery Countycoroner for an autopsy.

EX-SPORTS WRITER

GUILTY OF INDECENCY

KETTERING

- A former Dayton Daily News sports writer faces as many as 30days in jail and a $250 fine for his plea of no contest to a chargeof misdemeanor public indecency.

Municipal Judge Thomas M. Hanna accepted the plea from ScottHalasz on Aug. 12, found him guilty and set sentencing for Sept. 9.The charge, which requires evidence of reckless exposure undercircumstances `likely to be viewed by and affront others,' stems froma complaint made April 12 during the Centerville Elks Relays.

Halasz, 32, was working for the newspaper and had been assigned tocover the relays when police contacted him about a complaint, saidEmily Chambers, vice president/human resources of Cox Ohio, whichpublishes the newspaper. Halasz was suspended after the newspaperlearned of the complaint, she said, and later was fired.

Kettering city Prosecutor Jay Newberry said prosecutors would makeno recommendation on sentencing.

ONE QUESTIONED IN MAN'S SLAYING

DAYTON

- Police were questioning one man and searching for another Mondayin Saturday's fatal shooting of a Cornell Woods resident, Daytonpolice said Monday.

Gary L. Jones, 27, of 3807 Cornell Woods Drive died at 12:50 a.m.Sunday at Good Samaritan Hospital after he was shot in his apartment,the Montgomery County Coroner's Office said.

Jones died from a shotgun wound to the chest, Lt. John Huber said.Witnesses saw two men, one holding a handgun and the other holding ashotgun, flee from the residence and leave in a purple Dodge Neon,Huber said.

Tips led police to a Trotwood apartment off Westbrook Road, wherethey found one possible suspect and the Neon. They also found ahandgun there, Huber said. Anyone with information about the homicideis asked to call Sgt. Jimmy Rohrer at 333-1240.

MAN ENTERS PLEA

IN TRAFFIC FATALITY

TROY

- A Huber Heights man pleaded no contest Monday to misdemeanorvehicular manslaughter in a March 4 crash in Bethel Twp. that killeda Tipp City woman.

Victor Cobb, 42, was found guilty in Miami County Municipal Court.A sentencing date was not set.

Mildred Wortman, 68, was killed when a car Cobb was driving wentleft of center on Ohio 202 and hit a car driven by her husband,Thomas Wortman, 69, head-on, sheriff's deputies said. He was injuredseriously.

Charges of driving left of center and vehicular homicide weredismissed as part of a plea deal outlined for Judge ElizabethGutmann. Municipal Court Prosecutor David Caldwell said that officewas recommending probation and a three-month operator's licensesuspension.

Cobb could receive up to 90 days in jail. Andrew Stewart, a lawyerrepresenting the Wortman family, asked Gutmann to consider some jailtime. Cobb's lawyer, Dana Stamps, said he had a driving record`without blemish' before the crash.

BUTLER SHERIFF

PLANS TO RETIRE

HAMILTON

- Butler County Sheriff Harold Gabbard announced Monday that hewill not seek re-election to the office he has held 11 years and willretire when his term expires in December 2004.

Chief Deputy Richard K. Jones became the first to vie for the jobwhen he submitted a letter of intent to the county Republican Partyand announced his plans to seek the office in November 2004. Jones,49, was brought in by Gabbard when Gabbard became sheriff in 1993.

Gabbard, 71, said he never intended to run for a fourth term. Theonly question was whether he would finish his third term or retireearly, he said, noting that commitments such as the new county jailkept him from leaving early. The father of six said he hopes to spendhis retirement `holding hands and tiptoeing through the tulips' withhis wife, Phyllis, 68.

Jones worked for Lebanon Correctional Institution from 1976 until1993, when Gabbard hired him. The Hamilton High School graduate holdsa master's degree from Xavier University and has taught as an adjunctprofessor in criminal justice.

Jones said he already has the support of county Prosecutor RobinPiper and hopes to earn the party's endorsement. Party spokesman JoeStatzer called Jones a strong candidate with `big shoes to fill.'

CANOEIST PULLED FROM MAD RIVER

SPRINGFIELD

- Springfield Twp. Station 3 rescued a 23-year-old man Sunday whoflipped a canoe in the Mad River.

The man hit a rock when he fell in and was lying on his stomachwhen the fire and EMS department arrived just after 2:30 p.m.,assistant chief Mike Sanders said.

The man, whose name was not released, was taken to Miami ValleyHospital with a fractured back and ankle, Sanders said.

MAN INVADES HOME, TAKES ATM CASH

FAIRBORN

- A man forced his way into a Fairborn home Sunday and demandedmoney from the occupant, police said Monday.

The man knocked at the door of 32 W. Thunderbird Road about 11:21p.m. and told the female resident who answered that he had a pistoland walked in, police said. The woman told police she never saw aweapon.

She told the intruder she had no money in the house, and the manforced her to drive to an ATM where he ordered her to withdraw anundisclosed amount of cash, Capt. Ron Van Nuys said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Fairbornpolice at 754-3068.

LEBANON SCHOOLS TO SEEK RENEWAL

LEBANON

- The Lebanon Board of Education on Monday night approved ballotlanguage for the district's permanent improvement levy that voterswill decide on in November.

The legislation was the final piece needed from the board tocertify the renewal levy request and send it to the Warren CountyBoard of Elections. By definition, the five-year, 2-mill levy must bespent on permanent expenditures - those that have a shelf life ofmore than five years - such as roofs, parking lots and classrooms.

The levy, if passed, will have an effective rate of 1.646 mills onresidential and agricultural properties and will cost the owner of a$100,000 home approximately $50 per year. It will generate just over$1 million annually.

Superintendent Bill Sears reiterated that the levy is a renewaland there will be no additional taxes if it passes. The renewal couldhelp to ensure the district's eligibility for as much as $33 millionfrom the state, district Treasurer Mary Beth Kemmer said.

By law, there must be at least a 0.5-mill permanent improvementlevy passed by voters for districts to be eligible for funding fromthe Ohio Schools Facility Commission. Predictions indicate thatLebanon could receive between $32 million and $33 million in 2008.

NO CHARGES DUE ON EX-WORKERS

HAMILTON

- Criminal charges will not be filed against five former ButlerCounty Adult Probation Department employees, one of whom wasMiddletown Mayor David Schiavone, accused of falsifying time sheets,officials said Monday.

Chief Probation Officer Gary Yates said he has decided not topursue charges because the case was handled administratively. Allfive have resigned during the investigation that spanned nearly eightmonths and forced an audit of approximately 600 cases.

Yates forwarded the investigative file to the sheriff's office inJuly. That office reviewed it, but took no action and said criminalcharges could be difficult to prove, according to a correspondencesent to Yates on Monday.

The investigation stemmed from a complaint that the workers hadbeen gathering at the house of probation officer William Gray inHamilton for several hours in the afternoons. According toinvestigative files obtained by the JournalNews, on Feb. 3 Yatesordered video surveillance on the house.

The men were observed on tape on numerous occasions in Februaryand March arriving at the home about lunch time and staying sometimestwo to three hours. Time records confirm the men claimed they hadworked full days on several occasions when they were videotaped atthe house. One probation officer said he and the others had playedcards and smoked marijuana during those visits. The others deniedusing drugs during the gatherings.

Schiavone, a supervisor, entered into a settlement agreement andresigned. Probation officer James Armbruster II of Monroe, a formerMiddletown city commissioner and two-time city commission chairman,also entered a settlement agreement. Gray and probation officers RickBaker of Fairfield and Ron Wells of Middletown also resigned.

SPORTS WRITER CHARGED WITH PUBLIC INDECENCY - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

`Daily News' suspends man pending outcome of case

CENTERVILLE - Centerville police charged Dayton Daily News sportswriter Scott Halasz with misdemeanor public indecency Friday stemmingfrom a complaint made April 12 during the Centerville Elks Relays.Police were dispatched at 3:39 p.m. to investigate a report of publicindecency that happened about 12:30 p.m. at Centerville High School,records show. Police gave no other details.

The charge requires evidence of reckless exposure of private partsunder circumstances `likely to be viewed by and affront others.'Conviction carries as much as 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.

Centerville police notified Halasz, 32, of 912 Revere VillageDrive on Wednesday that Centerville schools had made a no-trespassing request barring him from school property, a policespokesman said.

Michael Sheets, Halasz's attorney, could not be reached Monday forcomment.

Emily Chambers, vice-president/human resources of Cox Ohio, saidHalasz was working for the newspaper and assigned to cover the relayswhen police contacted him about a complaint.

Until the complaint is resolved, Halasz will not be givenreporting assignments, Chambers said.

SCHOOL BOARD DROPS COACH, 23 OTHERS - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

New Lebanon parents, students want to know why Jewett's contractnot renewed

NEW LEBANON - School was closed for snow and cold, but last week'smeeting of the New Lebanon school board was decidedly hot.

About 50 parents, students and residents packed the small meetingroom Feb. 24 to voice their complaints about the school boardreplacing Dixie High School football coach Jim Jewett.

The board did not renew the one-year contracts of Jewett and 23other coaches and advisers at its Dec. 23 meeting.

Superintendent Timothy Barrett said that was standard procedurefor nonteaching contracts.

Local teachers are given first chance at the openings, Barrettsaid. Teachers from outside the district are then given theopportunity to apply for remaining openings and finally, anyone canapply for any positions still available.

The openings for coaches and advisers were properly posted,Barrett said.

But those in the audience questioned why only Jewett's jobresulted in a classified ad in the Dayton Daily News when otheropenings were not equally recruited.

Barrett said he wasn't aware of an ad other than a noticepublished in the Dayton Daily News sports section.

Barrett also told those in attendance that Jewett was evaluated byAthletics Director John Stekli and not himself. He said he wouldn'tdiscuss personnel matters.

Members of the football team and their parents had numerouscomments and questions for the school board.

'I think this is a manhunt,' one said.

Jewett spoke, too, asking for clear-cut reasons why he wasn'tbeing rehired.

In the end, the school board voted 5-0 to hire Mike Bullock ashead football coach.

Bullock is a teacher in Beavercreek and worked previously atBellbrook, Preble-Shawnee and the University of Dayton.

Twenty-one others were hired to various coaching positions. All ofthe supplemental contracts run one year.

In other matters:

* At two special meetings the previous week, the school boardfinalized plans for a 2.8-mill permanent improvement levy to beplaced on the May ballot. It would replace a 2.0-mill levy, which isending.

Two levies were defeated in November. The current 2-mill levycosts the owners of a $100,000 home about $50 a year; the new 2.8-mill levy would cost the same homeowner $98 a year.

BUCKEYES EARN SHOT AT TITLE; C-J WINS ONE - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

DAYTON - National pundits still can't believe it.

On a radio show, columnist Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Timeswent so far as to suggest Ohio State turn down its bid to the FiestaBowl on the grounds that the football team isn't as good as its 13-0record would imply.

How's that for respect?

Then again, it's been about respect all season for the Buckeyes -finding it, keeping it, then solidifying it through narrow, heart-stopping victories over such Big Ten rivals as Purdue, Penn State,Michigan and anyone else that tried to spoil (or devalue) theirunblemished record going into Friday's national championship gameagainst the University of Miami.

If some remain unconvinced - hey, what can you do?

Beat Miami, you say? A win over the Hurricanes - oddsmakers makeOSU a two-touchdown longshot - would give the Buckeyes their firstnational title since 1968, back when Woody Hayes prowled thesidelines and terrorized yard markers, referees and whatever elsewandered into his path.

Lose and they still might get a parade down High Street, such isthe nature of the love affair between this surprising team and itsadoring fans.

Ohio State's return to prominence is the biggest story of theyear, as determined by an esteemed panel of writers and editors inthe Dayton Daily News sports department. It emerged from a passelof other noteworthy events including Pete Rose's pursuit ofreinstatement, Chaminade-Julienne's thrilling drive to a state highschool football championship, Cinergy Field's gates closing for goodand longtime DDN baseball writer Hal McCoy being voted into theHall of Fame by his peers.

Of the many individual stories arising from OSU's triumphantseason, perhaps none warms the heart more than that of placekickerMike Nugent, who in the span of one year went from shaky freshman toAll-American, joining teammates Matt Wilhelm and Michael Doss on thatprestigious squad.

Nugent, the former Centerville High standout, kicked up a stormand helped the Buckeyes ascend to unimagined heights in just thesecond year of coach Jim Tressel's tenure.

He made 23 field goals in a row to obliterate the school record of15 and come within two of the NCAA mark for one season. He's madegood on all but two of 26 attempts.

'I never saw this coming,' said Nugent, who made 7 of 14 fieldgoals and heard boos as a freshman.

Sure, running back Maurice Clarett and the defense receive most ofthe accolades, but without a steady kicker, where might the Buckeyesbe? Probably not in Tempe, Ariz., preparing for the game of theirlives.

That prickly Rose

If OSU represented the good in area sports this year, the Rosesoap opera was both the bad and the ugly as baseball's all-time hitsleader continued his campaign for reinstatement into baseball and, asmany think, his rightful place in the Hall of Fame.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, forever seeking ways to restorethe sport's popularity, appears anxious to run interference for Rose,the disgraced former Reds player and manager who 13 years ago signeda lifetime ban after being found to have bet on baseball games.

Did Rose bet on Reds games while managing the team? The evidenceis being dredged up again and at least one audiotape has surfaced inwhich Rose chats with a notorious underworld figure.

Will Rose be forced to admit betting on baseball and apologizebefore being reinstated? Selig plans to discuss this and other issuesnext month with a group of Hall of Famers, many of whom (Bob Fellerfor one) are so fed up with Rose that they have trouble even talkingabout him in civil tones.

But Rose remains popular where it counts. Fans blindly cheer hisevery move, which ultimately could tip the scales in his favor.

C-J had a Ringer

The beauty of sports can be found in the absence of script. Youwould know this if you followed C-J, which beat Macedonia Nordonia,41-26, for the Division II state football title before 8,851 fans atPaul Brown Stadium in Massillon.

Despite losing players to injury, suspension and academicineligibility, C-J would not be diverted. Nordonia was the finalobstacle, and with sophomore sensation Javon Ringer racking up a D-II championship game record 251 yards rushing and four touchdowns,hope became reality.

'All year long we talked to our kids about the magic, about theEagle magic,' C-J coach Jim Place told the DDN afterward. 'And thiswas the year of Eagle magic. Man, that magic was flowing tonight.'

C-J finished 14-1 and bagged its first state championship, but itwasn't easy. Punter Isaac Hull severely sprained his ankle on hisleft (punting) foot before the title game even started. QuarterbackAnthony Turner's passing hand swelled up due to a hematoma and helost four fumbles.

It was Ringer to the rescue as the All-Ohio back scored on runs of12, 70, 60 and 37 yards. 'I don't want to take all the credit,' helater said, graciously. 'I wouldn't have been able to make all thoselong runs if not for my line.'

Place had taken nothing for granted at the start of the season,even wondering if his team could contend for a title. He challengedhis players to take control of their season and discover theintangibles that would reveal their character.

In the end, that's what happened.

So long, Cinergy

Midway through the baseball season, tributes to Cinergy Fieldbegan flowing as if a dam had burst. The Reds were going nowhere, sowhy not reminisce about better times and better players?

And look who came back for one last stand on this lot. Youcouldn't turn your head without spotting a Hall of Famer. A JohnnyBench. A Tony Perez. A Sparky Anderson. A Joe Morgan.

They talked about the Big Red Machine, about championships won andfriendships cherished. It was baseball when the grass was real, evenif theirs was fake up until a couple of years ago.

The final Cinergy event was a softball game involving Rose andmany other legends of the game, including Dayton's own Hall of Famer,Mike Schmidt. Some 40,000 paid between $20-34, with proceeds going tocharity. Cheers for Rose nearly brought down the house a few monthsearly, especially when he favored the fans - at age 61 - with one ofhis trademark head-first dives into third base.

Peering through the tears and magical moments, discerning fansrealized Cinergy was nothing more than an outmoded facility whosetime had come. This morning, it becomes rubble, making way for thecompletion of Great American Ball Park.

HOF summons McCoy

Hal McCoy has spent three decades in Riverfront Stadium/CinergyField chronicling the exploits of the Reds. The power of endurance,coupled with an unrivaled ability to entertain and inform, earnedMcCoy the prestigious J.G. Taylor Spink Award 'for meritoriouscontributions to baseball writing' in a vote of the Baseball WritersAssociation of America.

It means he's going to Cooperstown next summer to enter thewriters' wing of the Hall of Fame.

'Probably the highlight of my career,' McCoy said. 'I will beawestruck to stand on the stage with all of those baseball greats,many of whom I covered.'

McCoy's impeccable credentials include the fact that he's coveredsomewhere in the neighborhood of 5,760 games (including 161 WorldSeries games) and written about 25,000 baseball stories.

Columnist Terry Pluto of the Akron Beacon-Journal had the best andmost succinct reaction to McCoy's honor when he wondered, 'Why did ittake so long?'