It's hard to believe the fall sports season is over (excluding local football teams Lake Catholic and Chagrin Falls).
Just as we are wrapping up all-star teams for fall sports, the winter season is here.
There will be new faces, new standout teams and new goals set.
A goal for most individuals and teams is to advance to the state meet.
While that's on the top of the list, it shouldn't be the defining moment in a season.
Along the way, there are many milestones and memorable achievements that are just as important if not more.
Take for example The News-Herald girls cross country runner of the year Abbie Clifford of Perry. She was out the first half of the season with mononucleosis. She came back in the second half even though she was not at full strength. The talented runner battled her way through the postseason to qualify for state for the third straight year.
She finished fifth in Division II. A year ago, she was runner-up. As a freshman, she took fifth.
That's quite an accomplishment.
To me what's more impressive is Clifford's comeback.
Some high school athletes may not have finished the season.
But Clifford was determined to come back.
That's more impressive than her top five finish at state.

-Theresa Neuhoff Audia

I've never had a problem with self-promotion if I think it is worthy and not just an egotistical, obnoxious boasting session in front of a mirror.

So, allow me to toot the horn of The News-Herald for a second without lapsing into any of the aforementioned pitfalls.

Starting next Monday, Nov. 30, a live weekly boys basketball talk show called "Monday Night Fast Break" will debut at Hooley House in Mentor. The N-H panel will interview coaches and players from area teams and break down the upcoming season. Every Monday from there on is unique insider's look at the teams, the players and the matchups that shape high school hoops in this area.

Let me say this, even if I had NOTHING to do with this show, I would want to check it out. That because ladies and gentlemen, I will make an admission in public for the first time in my career. I am a high school basketball junkie.

I can't get enough. In the middle of the football season, I was thinking about boys basketball Top of the Crop. I've been keeping tabs on scrimmages, heck even open gyms are somewhat interesting.

So, what I can tell you is that if you enjoy boys basketball and you don't want to hear what I have to say every day in the paper, come get the information directly from the players and coaches at Hooley House in Mentor on Route 306 every Monday night.

Believe me, I am the first one to admit Coach Bob Krizancic can tell you a lot more about Mentor's matchup with Cleveland Heights in an LEL showdown than I can. No doubt, VASJ coach Dave Wojciechowski can give you a glimpse into the development of his extraordinarily young and talented Vikings team and assess the race for the Division III state title in much more vivid detail than I. Want the PAC broken down? Looking for behind the scenes in the three CVC divisions? What are the players thinking as we approach the tournament.

Hooley House will have all the answers all winter long.

If that makes me sound like a shameless, barking seal for The News-Herald ... so be it.

But in actuality, I am just a hoops junkie and I know nobody else offers something like this on a weekly basis. It seems like Internet talk shows, radio coverage and TV blitz for high school sports stops when football ends in December.

Not here. Check it out once and see what you think.

If you are a basketball junkie in need of a fix, my guess is you will be addicted quickly and back for more.

- Bill Tilton

You don't have to be much of a soccer fan to know what the big topic was this week.

Ireland and France had a two-leg playoff that culminated Wednesday with a World Cup berth on the line.

To quickly set the stage, France went to Ireland on Saturday and won, 1-0. But underdog Ireland came back strong Wednesday on French soil, getting a first-half goal from Robbie Keane to "tie" it. Since it was tied, 1-1, on aggregate after regulation, the match went to extra time.

And then came the sequence that got the sports world talking. Here's the video (this, I believe, is the French feed, so please excuse the commentary):



What people are talking about most is Thierry Henry's blatant handball (watch his left hand after the free kick bounces) before serving across to defender William Gallas at the line. But that wasn't the only problem.

When the free kick was served in, a French player was clearly offside. Furthermore, there was a handball BEFORE Henry's when the same player that was offside flails at the free kick.

So we had offside AND two handballs, but the refs incredibly allowed the goal as France held on to advance.

It only got worse. Pretty much the entire world, INCLUDING Henry (who admitted it was a handball), called for a replay of the match.

There was universal agreement - even the French people were embarrassed. That is, except for governing body FIFA, who said no. A spokesman said it would throw the sport "into chaos."

So a replay after a match that embarrassed the beautiful game to historic proportions throws the sport into chaos? Wow.

FIFA butchered this big-time. Soccer has enough problems, and one of them is a perception they favor seeing the "big boys" excel, of which France is one.

Ireland has a right to be angry, because this has to rank as one of the biggest injustices in modern sports history. Considering its horrendous form in qualification and then this, France backed its way into the World Cup through a trap door.

The world has your back, Ireland. Too bad FIFA doesn't.

- Chris Lillstrung
CLillstrung@News-Herald.com

Saturday night provided the perfect scouting report for Buckeyes' fans as to who Ohio State will play in the Rose Bowl.

No matter the opponent, OSU better be ready. The Pac-10 is a fun, wide-open league, and Saturday night was proof of that.

If the Buckeyes don't make the likes of Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State or Arizona play their game in the Rose, it could be a long trip back to Columbus on Jan. 2.

Trying to track the Stanford-Cal and Oregon-Arizona games on TV at the same time was a challenge. If you weren't careful flipping the channel, you might have missed a big play. They were seemingly non-stop in both contests.

Oregon looked impressive early on, but Arizona was resilient. The Wildcats would be an interesting opponent for OSU because they've never played in the Rose Bowl.

Stanford QB Andrew Luck and RB Toby Gerhart were awesome the entire night against rival California.

The results on Saturday didn't decide anything in the Pac-10. The opponent for OSU might not be known for two more weeks. It should be fun watching it unfold.

- Mark Podolski

Ohio State holds a 21-10 lead over Michigan going into the fourth quarter.
Answering Michigan's touchdown midway through the third quarter could prove to be the big turning point in the game.
The Wolverines drew within four at 14-10 when Vincent Smith caught a touchdown pass from Tate Forcier. But the Buckeyes, starting at their own 10 yard line, drove 90 yards for a touchdown to take a double-digit lead.
On third down, QB Terrelle Pryor lobbed a screen pass to Dan Herron, who took it in for the score. Had the Wolverines gotten a stop there - or forced a field goal to keep it a 7-point game - the momentum could have swung to the home side of the field.
After throwing for 31 yards in the first quarter, OSU seems to have junked the passing game. Since then, the Buckeyes have thrown for 36 yards and rushed for 222.
The big fourth quarter remains.
- John Kampf

After a lackluster first quarter, Ohio State got its rushing game going and took a 14-3 lead over Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor.
The Buckeyes were held to zero yards rushing in the first quarter, but piled up 119 yards on the ground in the second half. The rushing totals would have been more had QB Terrelle Pryor not been flagged for intentional grounding - a spot foul that cost a scrambling Pryor about 20 yards.
OSU took a 14-3 lead on a 29-yard touchdown run by Brandon Saine. Overloading the right side with three receivers, Pryor handed off to Saine going left, going through a gaping hole and running untouched for the touchdown.
At the half, OSU is outgaining Michigan, 169-166. The Wolverines get the ball to start the second half, so a defensive stop to start the second half would be huge for the Buckeyes.
- John Kampf

Although it didn't play an extraordinary first quarter, Ohio State came away from the first 15 minutes of play in Ann Arbor with a 7-0 lead over the host Wolverines.
OSU was outgained, 93-31, in the first quarter, struggling to run the ball (0 yards) and settling for short throws. The only points of the quarter came when Michigan QB Tate Forcier dropped the ball while scrambling in his own end zone, with the ball being recovered by defensive lineman Cameron Heyward for a touchdown.
OSU's defense looks decent, but seemed to struggle when the Wolverines put Denard Robinson in at quarterback. Robinson used the opportunity to simply run the ball, picking up big hunks of yardage.
The OSU offense is going to have to take a few cracks downfield to possibly loosen up the Michigan defense.
- John Kampf