More recent, and in some cases, passionate response from readers on recent Press Pros columns concerning…winning, youth baseball, coons in the corn, and has anyone seen Greg Hoard lately?
You would never suspect that it’s summer, that people are away from their computers and on vacation; or that different priorities would interfere with their will to read and respond to Press Pros.
In particular, we received 24 responses to the June 25th column entitled, What Sport Teaches Us. The farthest came from Livingston, Montana:
“I cannot agree more that winning is a life priority that must be taught young and followed throughout. It is the basis for success in everything we do.” … Jas. Clegg
“Winning is what separates us from the ideologies of nations that now seek to kill us and destroy the American way of life. When you think of it in those terms…what choice do we really have?” … Michael Sydenstricker (Livingston, Montana)
“Mr. O’Neal’s letter was absurd.” …. Doug King
“If people are that concerned about sending the wrong message about winning, does it mean that the cheer should be changed to…go, fight, tie?” … David Waller
“I guess from this point all sports pictures should feature nothing but smiling people, huh?” … Joe DePriest
“Frankly, I don’t understand the OHSAA saying the outcome is secondary to how you play the game. If that’s the case why do they keep records? Why would you work that hard? Why would you train? Why even care? There’s a lot of wrong messages here, but I’m not sure winning is one of them.” … Tom Lovejoy
Our June feature on the Craig Stammen youth baseball tournament brought more than one popular response:
“Great job and fun to read. Thanks.” … Justin (Arcanum)
“Besides the story the best part is someone like Craig Stammen making the effort to promote the fun of playing baseball. I’ve become a fan.” … Jeff Wilson
“Is that the Craig Stammen that pitched here for the Clippers last summer?” … Tim (Columbus)
(Ed. Note: To my knowledge there’s only one.)
Our story on raccoons eating the sweet corn was an “encore”, first published three years ago from columnist Tom Cappell. And it struck a chord with several local readers.
“Great story that brought back a lot of memories. I prefer the electric fence.” … Terry Lavy
“Not only do they eat the corn, they bring more with them once they find it. Funny story.” … Casey Smestad
Finally, some people have inquired about columnist Greg Hoard, who’s activity on the site has been limited by leg surgery this spring. He’s doing well and looking forward to a triumphant return.
“To whom it may concern, I’ve missed the stories from Greg Hoard about old ballplayers like Musial and Willie Mays. Will he be writing more in the future?” … Jasper (Youngstown)
(Ed. Note: Where we’ve really missed Greg is his coverage of the Ohio State Buckeyes this spring. He’s doing well and WILL make a triumphant return.)
For those who have missed Greg Hoard's nostalgic baseball stories on greats like Roger Maris (above with Mickey Mantle), like Mark Twain, reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. He'll be back soon.